Hehehehe. A very mild cliffhanger at the end of this chapter.
Replies:
Undeath9087: You'll just have to wait and see. Also- Hades is so not used to people liking him.
Thickneck: Hades is, 110% the cool uncle.
Zephyr0f8: Well, currently Percy doesn't know about them, so that makes Hades slightly hesitant but the time will come. And as for Poseidon's reaction, that will come in time.
Guest: That would be unholy. I'd say she's more likely to get some sort of puppy as a gift, hint hint.
Guest: I laughed at that. And now every time the Greeks piss her off Percy's just going to turn to Piper or Annabeth or whatever Greek is with her and be like 'they're your gods' to which the other will be like 'For fuck sake not this again you're a demigod too!' and you shall see.
Guest: Hades will anonymously send it via Hermes lol. Also, this information is taken directly from the wiki by the way:
Celestial Bronze: Celestial bronze is mined by the Cyclopes from Mount Olympus. The ore is shaped by tempering the metal in Mount Etna and cooling it in the River Lethe.
Imperial Gold: Imperial gold was consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill.
Stygian Iron: Is mined and forged in the Underworld and consecrated in the Styx. It can only be wielded by people connected to the Underworld, hence Percy being so emotional about Hades giving it to her as a gift.
"You-" Percy faltered, "I don't understand. Is this- did you give this to me as a test? Biologically-" her voice was confused, and Hades gave a wry smile.
"Biology doesn't matter every time. In any case you do have ties to the Underworld other than just your father- you yourself said that you were the Eye of Nephthys. And you were right to say that she is an Underworld goddess- and a water goddess too." he remarked, "A perfect fit for a child like you I think. I was simply testing to see how truly tied to the Underworld you are. And you are connected enough that you don't seem uncomfortable holding it."
"I-" Percy shrugged, "It's a little cool to touch but I feel fine." she swallowed hard, "I-" and it was stupid- it was stupid for her to get all choked up over it. She'd considered herself a child of the Underworld for years- the Egyptian Underworld anyway. But- well, biologically Percy wasn't even Julius' daughter, and the fact that he was Osiris' eye didn't automatically mean she was tied to the Underworld.
Nepthys helped of course- she was the protector of the Dead, that made her an Underworld goddess. But- well, she hadn't been sure how much that would tie over to her Greek side. And she'd been slightly afraid that it wouldn't. Yes she was the daughter of Poseidon, child of the oceans, but, well, her Underworld ties were part of her too. It would have royally sucked to be rejected as not Underworldy enough.
But she hadn't been. This was Hades accepting her as a child of the Underworld- and she curled her fingers around the bracelet, surging forward and wrapping her arms around the god- and he let out a slightly startled noise, holding his hands up very awkwardly. "Niece! There's no need for such- affections."
"Let her have this." Piper was snickering, "You won't get out easily Lord Hades."
And Hades patted her back awkwardly before the daughter of Poseidon pulled away. "Thank you uncle." her voice was just slightly unsteady "Thank you so much." she carefully fastened the bracelet around her wrist, lifting her arm so that she could admire it. There was a very faint almost purplish glow to the metal. And Hades watched her an almost soft gleam in his eyes.
"Do not thank me child. I am the one who should thank you. And I will be reaching out to Osiris soon."
"I'm sure he'll be pleased." Percy gave a wry smile, "I know that you guys tried to keep a distance, with Demigods and Magicians at least but I mean- that's not really possible anymore so I mean-" she gave a small shrug, "I'm sure he'd appreciate the hand of friendship."
"Yes. And I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that you returned home safely." Hades declared, "If you give me my foolish brothers Master Bolt I'll ensure that it's returned to him as quickly as possible."
"Thank you again for that." Percy gave a wry smile as she pulled the bronze cylinder from the bag, holding it out to Hades, who accepted it with an expression that screamed distaste as he looked at it.
"Yes, that's my brothers Bolt alright. Far too ostentatious for my tastes. I like my Helm." Hades nodded his head at Percy. "I will see you soon enough I'm sure niece, but now I believe it's time for you to return to your home."
"Of course." Percy snorted, "At least we can just get a plane home since we don't have the Bolt anymore. It should be safe enough." as she spoke she slung the backpack over her shoulder again- after all she might as well keep it- she went through backpacks quicker than she'd have usually liked, she even stuffed the one she'd brought to fool the Furies inside of it.
"Or I could send you both to Manhattan." Hades offered, "It would be quicker for you. And it would get you out of my hair quicker." and Percy resisted the urge to laugh at that. Because that was such a thin excuse that it was laughable. Hades didn't like to show that he was doing something to be nice-and as much as a part of Percy did want to push it- she wasn't that mean.
"That would be pretty good." Percy gave a wry smile, "Thank you uncle Hades. Seriously we owe you one. Right Pipes?"
"Of course."
And then Hades was gesturing to the air beside his throne, and a dark doorway opened up.
Percy couldn't help but grin. "It's gotta be nice being able to do stuff like that without having to anchor the portal to something."
"Yes, well being a god does have some perks."
"That it does." Percy smiled faintly, glancing back at Piper, who had a soft expression on her face.
When Percy held out her hand Piper took it.
"We'll be back soon enough Lord Hades." Piper bowed her head, "It was an honor to meet you."
"See ya around Uncle Hades." Percy gave a jaunty little save, and then the two girls stepped through the dark doorway.
It wasn't the same as usual Portal travel, Percy had done that a million times, she knew it very well but this felt different.
The world around her turned black, cold and she could hear soft whispers, barely audible-and then she was stepping out into bright sunlight.
Percy blinked rapidly, eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight- she'd not really noticed how dark the Underworld was until the sudden sunlight was beating down on her.
She squinted slightly, tilting her head back and looking around curiously.
It took her a few moments to figure out where Hades had dropped them off- and when she glanced over her shoulder she saw that the dark doorway was gone.
"Is this- Are we in Central Park?" Piper asked after a moment.
"I think so." Percy nodded, "I haven't been here much." they didn't come to Manhattan that often after all- Percy didn't pay too much attention to what her uncle had said all those years ago, but still, it wasn't like she visited it more than a couple of times a month- if that. And she didn't usually bother with Central Park, as pleasant as it was.
They'd come out of the shadows amongst some trees- that was pretty useful actually, it meant that there wouldn't be any confused mortals wondering how to girls stepped out of thin air. And Percy could see a brightly painted wooden carousel- though- it was empty. Percy realised. Which made sense- she looked up at the sky, it was bright already, warm, but it was still early.
"Well. We made it back." Percy said after a moment, running her fingers through her hair, fingers getting caught in some of the tangles- it had been a pretty crazy few days- and she could still feel a twinge of pain in her shoulder. She'd forgotten about it, been distracted in the Underworld, but now it was hard to forget, that persistent ache.
"I think we did pretty good." Piper paused, "Or- you did pretty good. I didn't do that much-"
"I dunno, you saved my butt against Crusty."
Piper flushed about that but she smiled slightly, "You're right. I was pretty good there."
And together, hand in hand the two girls started walking, quickly making their way through Central park and out into the streets of Manhattan.
They walked for maybe twenty minutes before Piper stopped, a smile playing across her lips, and Percy raised an eyebrow. "What's up Pipes?"
"There." Piper nodded to a cafe that they were passing and Percy blinked before laughing "I remember. That's the place we went the day before-"
"Before we took that backpack." Piper shot her a sidelong grin, "Wanna go get some breakfast on our way home?"
"Hmm..." Percy hesitated before grinning, "It can't do any harm right?" she asked, "I mean, we didn't give mom a date to expect us back and it'll only delay us by a couple of hours or so."
"I think it's a great idea."
So the two girls quickly made their way into the cafe, Percy ordering herself a hot cocoa, whilst Piper ordered herself a coffee- she did get a disapproving look from the lady who served them at that, but Piper just glared in return, and they both ordered pastries- Piper a croissant, and Percy a blueberry muffin.
And it was nice, amazing actually. Just being able to sit down and breath- sure they'd have peaceful moments during their adventure- or as most demigods would probably call it, quest, but there had always been the knowledge that they were just trying to pass the time until they moved on towards their final goal.
And now it was over, Percy let the tension ease out of her shoulders, her gaze drifting to the window, to the world outside, it was early but the streets were already busy, humming with life.
Percy did make sure to take a few minutes to stuff some of the food from Piper's pack into hers- to share the weight.
"You know." Percy spoke up suddenly, "The candy store my mom used to work at when I was super little isn't too far from here."
"You want to stop there on our way back?"
"Yeah." Percy nodded, her gaze shifting to Piper, "I think I should pick some up for mom. An apology for all the stress I've caused her lately."
"Of course." Piper nodded, "Do you think she's home?"
"Dunno." Percy pressed her lips together into a thin line, "She was meant to stay in Paris for a couple of weeks but this is mom and she was probably worrying about me the whole time- which is sweet and all but like, so totally unnecessary, we were fine."
"Wonder how Carter and Sadie reacted when they were told-"
"And why would you bring that up." Percy shuddered, "I am going to be dead meat, deader than dead. Uncle H is gonna have to have that discussion with dad a lot sooner than he expected." she paused, "But hey, at leats Uncle H likes me."
"Of course he does. You're a hard one not to like." Piper laughed, leaning back in her chair, and Percy watched as the other girl rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms behind her head.
She could definitely see how Piper would be related to Aphrodite, weather or not her best friend wanted to admit it. Even sleep deprived, wearing dirty clothes, and Percy was well aware that her clothes would be worse- it was her blood on Piper's tee after all- the other girl still looked effortlessly pretty.
Her eyes looked almost blue in the light of the cafe.
"Wonder how long it'll take him to get the Bolt to Zeus." Percy remarked, forcing herself to look away from Piper out of the window.
"He said he'd do it as soon as possible. And I don't think he was lying,"
"Yeah, Hades is one of the few Greek gods that's actually known for keeping his word." Percy remarked before pausing, craning her neck as she stared across the street..
"Pipes-"
"Yeah Perce?"
"Is that-" she shifted closer to the window- I swear I just saw some kid wearing one of those orange tees. Like that Silena girl was wearing."
"What?" Piper was moving quickly too, "Where?"
Percy pointed down the street, "I think- I think it was a girl, maybe blonde. She looked like she was looking for something."
"You think it's connected to us?" Piper was worried, "You had that dream-"
"Yeah but that was the guy we took the bag from," Percy pointed out, "I doubt he's got minions or whatever hunting for us." but still, suddenly Percy didn't feel quite so good about their decision to get breakfast before heading home.
"Maybe we should leave." Piper said, snatching up her croissant from the table as she got to her feet, "You said that- that your grandfather ordered the thief to find us and kill us. I don't think we should be just casually sitting here having breakfast a few streets away from where we snatched it."
"Okay- okay." Percy held up her hands, "We need to calm down and think rationally- he has no clue who either of us are."
"You're literally America's sweetheart, the most famous twelve year old around, he's gonna find out-"
"I-" Percy groaned, snatching her muffin off the plate, "Fine. Fine let's go."
She let Piper grab her free hand and drag her out of the cafe.
But they hadn't made it more than five steps before a very angry voice called out from behind them. "Hey. I think you kids have something that belongs to me."