"Math teacher? Her again?" Grover groaned
"I run into a former teacher monster who has a crush on me and I don't meet her in a positive atmosphere. Sure why not." Percy said sarcastically
Everybody snickered.
"Hold up. You said your math teacher which means Hades' fury. You went to the Underworld again?" Poseidon asked
"Oh well, yes. This was not the ideal visit though." Percy said, looking at Hades
Hades grinned sheepishly.
Poseidon groaned.
"Nico, before we read the chapter I wanna tell you that I don't blame you for anything that happened." Percy said
Nico gave him a grateful look.
"Oh my dad is not going to be happy about this…" Percy said rubbing his temples
"Rightttt.. No he's not." Nico said
"What did you do Hades?" Poseidon growled
"Uhh." Hades started
"He might have thrown me into a dungeon because of Zeus and Hera if you have to go into the blames." Percy said
"Zeus and Hera?" Poseidon asked in a controlled voice
"Well bitterness really." Percy said
"Percy-" Poseidon said
"Let's just read please." Percy said
"Fine." Poseidon sighed
Nico sighed in relief.
We emerged in Central Park just north of the Pond…She just smells the way home."
Everybody snickered.
"The territory part won't be good." Beckendorf said
"Oh I know all right." Percy snickered
I frowned. "Through the rocks?"… "Dude with the lyre," Nico corrected
"What a description." Hermes laughed
"It was accurate." Apollo shrugged
"But yeah, him. He used his music to charm the earth
"Charm Gaia?" Leo gagged
"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." Nico said
Leo gagged.
And open a new path into the Underworld…stories that always made us demigods feel warm and fuzzy.
"Ah so typical." Triton said
"Dude I'm not kidding. It's kind of basic. That guy just didn't have to look back. He had one job." Percy said
The demigods nodded.
"That's fair I guess." Triton said
"So this is the Door of Orpheus." I tried to be impressed…"We need music," Nico said. "How's your singing?"
"Yeahhh no." Percy said
"It's good dude! I remember the New Years." Frank said
The demigods and gods nodded.
"Yours and Nico's both." Jason said
"Hey yours is awesome too." Percy said
"Thanks." Jason grinned
"You do sing well." Poseidon said
"Thanks." Percy grinned
"Um, no. Can't you just, like, tell it to open? …"I have a better idea." I turned and called, "GROVER!"
"That's a good idea." Thalia nodded
We waited for a long time…The roots seemed to be shaping themselves around him, slowly pulling him into the earth.
"NO!" Thalia yelled
"GROVER!" Annabeth yelled
"Just asleep for months guys." Grover said
"What?!" They yelled
"I'm fine now." Grover smiled
Thalia and Annabeth calmed down.
Grover, I said. Wake up. Unnnh—zzzzz…FOOD, I suggested. PANCAKES!
"That'll get his attention." Chris chuckled
"ENCHILADAS!" The Stolls shouted
Everybody laughed.
His eyes shot open. A blur of thoughts filled my head…Grover fell out of the branches, right on his head.
"Ouch!" Dionysus said and held his head.
"Dad you okay?" Dakota asked
"All good." Dionysus said
"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary looked up, probably wondering if we were going to play fetch with the satyr.
Grover bleated in indignation.
Everybody snickered.
"Blah-haa-haa!" Grover bleated. "You okay, man?"… They don't understand height very well."
Everybody laughed.
"I got that." Dionysus grumbled
He grinned and got to his feet—well, his hooves, actually…almost manly (or goatly?), and he was as tall as me now.
"Wow Percy. First goatyback ride and now goatly." Reyna laughed
Percy grinned sheepishly.
Grover shook his head.
"Good to see you, G-man," I said. "You remember Nico."… It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild.
"That's so cool." Leo said
Grover grinned.
Anyway, I started following the scent…Just looking at him made me sleepy. I said
"Morpheus." Hermes breathed.
"You should be glad you woke up. There was a chance that you would fall asleep forever." Apollo said
Grover nodded.
'What are you doing?' He said…You're lucky you ever woke up."
The gods nodded.
"This wouldn't have happened if the minor gods got more respect but noooo, Zeus is higher than they are and the minor gods are his slaves right?" Percy asked angrily
Zeus glared at him.
"They are not part of the council." He said
"Yeah that same attitude got you there. They don't sit in the council so they don't deserve respect." Percy said in a mocking voice.
"Grow up for gods' sake. This isn't just about minor gods. Look at your brother and your sister. Seriously you and Hera only care about yourself and always think you're right. Grow up Zeus and learn." he said
"He's right." Nico agreed.
Everybody was silent for a few seconds. The sea gang and the demigods were first to recover from the shock.
"Percy calm down." Poseidon said worriedly
Percy took deep breaths.
"All good dad." He said
Zeus made to get up from his seat but Thalia and Jason gave him a warning glare.
"That was… Percy I-." The Stolls started
"It was odd but true." Percy shrugged
"I'm just gonna continue." Clarisse sighed. They all knew Percy never cared about what the gods thought about him. It was kind of admirable but he needed to find a better way to express it.
Persephone stared at Nico and Percy. They felt awkward so cleared their throats.
"Two months," Grover moaned. "He put me to sleep for two months!"… "I don't like this 'main event' thing he mentioned."
"It wasn't pleasant but it did prove helpful in some circumstances." Katie said
The Greek demigods nodded.
"He's working for Kronos," Nico said. "We know that already…But okay, here goes nothing."
A few chuckles.
"Well we go through it." Percy shrugged
Grover grinned.
I peered inside. Steps led down into the darkness…that was almost always a one-way trip.
"That's not wrong." Triton said
"Did you know there is a video game called Hades?" Percy said
"What the-?" Nico asked
"I'm not kidding. I don't play it though." Percy shrugged
"How do you know all of this? The retellings and this." Thalia asked
"How do you think I spent my free time in the nights?" Percy raised an eyebrow
"Fair enough." Thalia chuckled
I turned to Grover. "Thanks…I think."… Maybe we can help. I'll see if we can find this Morpheus!"
"You've grown." Thalia smiled
Grover smiled as well.
Hermes nodded approvingly.
"Better tell Juniper you're okay, too." His eyes widened. "Juniper! Oh, she's going to kill me!"
Everybody chuckled.
Grover blushed.
He started to run off, then scrambled back and gave me another hug. "Be careful down there! Come back alive!"
"I'm sure I tried all right." Percy said, giving a glare to Hades
Once he was gone, Nico and I roused Mrs. O'Leary from her nap…hellhound wedged halfway down a tunnel to the Underworld.
Everybody snickered.
"Ready?" Nico asked me. "It'll be fine. Don't worry." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"I was." Nico said
Percy and Hades sighed.
I glanced up at the stars, wondering if I would ever see them again…What was that expression on his face…doubt? "Just keep moving," he said.
"What happened?" Lee asked
"Hey taking a bath in the Styx s complicated. He's probably nervous because what happens to Percy is his plan." Michael said
Nico winced.
I didn't have much choice. I followed Mrs. O'Leary into the depths…To our left, far away in the gloom, fires burned on the ramparts of Erebus, the great black walls of Hades's kingdom.
"You know the map quite well." Persephone said
"I've been there enough times to go for adventures so not unexpected." Percy said dryly
I shuddered. I'd first been here when I was twelve…He looked pale and worried himself.
"I'm sorry about that Percy." Nico grimaced
"It's fine. It makes sense you were nervous." Percy said
"Yeah, you knew the Styx was dangerous but you had to help Percy go there." Silena said
Nico and Percy grimaced.
Only Mrs. O'Leary acted happy. She ran along the beach…"We have to go inside the gates first," he said.
"What? The river is there, there isn't any need to go inside the gates." Castor said in confusion
"Maybe he has to find something?" Pollux said
"Yeah maybe." Castor said finally
"But the river's right here." "I have to get something," he said. "It's the only way."
"He just has to prepare himself and jump." Poseidon said
"Dad please." Percy said
"What happened Nico?" Will asked in worry
"It'll come up." Nico said miserably
Hades grimaced at his son's tone.
He marched off without waiting…because even the EZ-DEATH line was backed up.
"Oh that's gonna be more work for me." Hades sighed
"Eh you're gonna have help around now." Hermes shrugged
Hades and Persephone looked up but the messenger god gestured to Clarisse to read.
"Yeah. I agree with Hermes." Apollo and Percy said
Before anybody could say anything Clarisse continued.
"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary said. Before I could stop her she bounded…rottweiler so big he made Mrs. O'Leary look like a toy poodle.
"Damn." Beckendorf said with raised eyebrows
"Mrs. O' Leary as a toy poodle." Silena shook her head.
Hades smirked.
Cerberus was half transparent, so he's really hard to see…"Mrs. O'Leary, no!" I shouted at her. "Don't sniff…Oh, man."
Everybody snickered.
"Oh great." Hades muttered
Nico smiled. Then he looked at me and his expression turned all serious again…I might end up here forever, but I tried not to think about that.
"You won't get Asphodel. You'd get Elysium." Hazel frowned
"Yeah but then the type of relation I had with Hades, I wouldn't be surprised if would've ended up in Asphodel." Percy said
"You and your friends gonna end up in Elysium." Hades said
"Oh that's a relief." Percy said
The demigods nodded.
Nico trudged ahead, bringing us closer and closer…she held a flaming whip and a paisley handbag.
Grover, Annabeth, Thalia and Poseidon groaned.
"What is she doing there?" Katie asked
"She works for dad." Nico said
"I know that but what is she doing there?" Katie asked
"It'll come up." Percy said
"I'm gonna start hating that line." Katie grumbled
"Mrs. Dodds," I said. She bared her fangs. "Welcome back, honey."… "I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace."
Nico braced himself for the reactions.
"What's going on here?" Michael demanded
"Michael calm down. It already happened." Percy said
"Okay. What's going on here?" Michael asked in a more controlled voice
"Like Nico said." Percy said
"Let me read on." Clarisse said
I tensed. "Wait a second, Nico…but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."
"Wait what the heck?" Pollux asked
"Pollux calm down." Castor tugged at his brothers' sleeve though he himself was glaring at Nico.
"You betrayed him." Dakota said
Nico flinched.
"Guys it happened in the past." Percy said
"Percy if we count what Luke did in the past then we have to count what all of us did." Triton said hesitantly.
"Nico is not Luke. He did not come close to what happened to Luke. Luke's a good guy now but Nico has always been a person. He himself fell for the trap." Percy said
Hades winced.
"No Percy. You're the most loyal person I know. You always looked out after me even when I was rude to you. Yet I still betrayed you. I hunted for news for my family when I was younger but I forgot about who my family was at the time." Nico said, looking down.
"Nico…" Percy swallowed "I'm not going to deny that I was hurt but what you did. More hurt than angry but that's not going to change that you're still my younger brother and I'm still gonna look after you. This happened before and even you were tricked." He said
A few tears formed in Nico's eyes. Will got up and sat with him. He pulled his boyfriend in a hug. Percy swallowed guiltily.
"I'm sorry if I said something wrong." He said
"No-no you didn't." Nico said
Hades looked and felt guilty as he saw his son and winced.
"You tricked me?" I was so mad I couldn't think. I lunged at him, but the Furies were fast.
Everybody grimaced.
Nico and Will pulled back though Will still held Nico's hand.
Two of them swooped down and plucked me up…"I don't want her to get hurt, Percy.
"Mrs. O' Leary should not be hurt." Beckendorf said
"She wasn't." Percy assured him
Beckendorf nodded.
My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."
"He's not going to let Percy go easily." Poseidon said angrily
Hades grimaced.
I wanted to tell Mrs. O'Leary to attack Nico
Percy and Nico grimaced.
But it wouldn't have done any good…"All right, traitor," I growled at Nico.
Nico winced.
"You've got your prize. Take me to the stupid palace."… I'd have to wait for my revenge.
Nico shuddered.
"I'm not going to do anything to you Nico. This is the past. I'm not gonna dwell on it." Percy said
Nico managed a weak smile.
I stared at the empty thrones, waiting for something to happen…"Mother!" Persephone replied.
The demigods snickered.
"Gonna hear about Nico's skit now." Lee chuckled
The demigods chuckled.
"We have visitors!" Hades barked…Hades, one of my least favorite gods
"I'm not getting how you two like each other here." Triton said
"Lol I have no idea. I guess after Nico's cabin at camp and Nico's story." Percy shrugged
"Nico's story?" Triton asked
"My past." Nico said
"Oh okay."
"Though I don't like the previous Hades." Percy said
"I don't think I can say you changed." Hades said
"Nah, Percy's the same." Annabeth said
Smoothed his black robes, which were filled with the terrified faces of the damned…"Percy Jackson," he said with satisfaction. "At last."
"I think you have the wrong person. I'm Peter Johnson." Percy said
"Sure." Hades said
"Perry." Dionysus corrected
The campers laughed. Chiron chuckled.
Queen Persephone studied me curiously.
"That's creepy right?" Percy asked
"Kind of but not new." Nico shrugged
"I'm thinking maybe we could start with Hypnos and Hecate's lessons now itself." Thalia said
"No let's wait. I already have mist lessons and let's relax for some time." Percy said
"Okay then. How's it going, the mist lessons?" Thalia said
"It's interesting. I have to focus a lot though." Percy said
Hazel and Thalia nodded.
"You're doing well. Just a couple of more lessons and you'll be able to do it every time instead of just once." Chiron said
Percy smiled.
"He already manipulated it once?" Thalia asked
Chiron nodded.
"How many lessons are done yet?" Hazel asked
"Three." Chiron said
"Wow Kelp head." Thalia said approvingly
Percy smiled.
I'd seen her once before in the winter…changed and bloomed—roses, tulips, honeysuckle.
"See!" Demeter said
Nico groaned.
Clarisse snickered and continued.
The woman standing between them was obviously Persephone's mother…I figured if somebody lit a match next to her, she'd be in serious trouble.
Everybody snickered.
"I can't believe you were thinking that at such a time." Katie shook her head
Percy grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
"Hmmph," the older woman said…sword so I could cut his stupid head off.
Nico flinched. He knew Percy looked out for him and now Nico tricked him and Percy wanted to kill him. Will glared at Percy.
"Sorry Nick. I definitely don't want to hurt you let alone kill you." Percy winced
Nico waved it away.
Unfortunately, Riptide was still out in the fields somewhere…"Your sister would've done a better job."
The demigods stiffened.
Will glared at Hades.
"That was cruel." Will said
"Harsh blow. He's twelve." Hermes frowned
Hades flinched.
"I'm sorry Nico. I shouldn't have said that. There's no excuse to compare you and Bianca." He said
"It's fine dad. You already apologized 5 books ago." Nico said
Hades recalled the day.
"Still." He said
Nico smiled.
Nico lowered his head…"I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you.
"See Nico did want to help Percy." Will said
"Will we get he was tricked. Calm down." Michael said gently
Will nodded and sat back. Nico squeezed his hand.
The boy is as honest as he is dense.
"Nico is not dense." Will said angrily
Hades nodded.
"I know. I'm really sorry Nico. You aren't dense and I'm glad you're alive." He said
Nico smiled.
"What happened has happened. We're good now. History well to hell with it." He said
Hades smiled.
"Father," Nico said, "you promised that Percy would not be harmed.
"Well at least you got him to promise that." Piper said
"Though loopholes can be found." Poseidon said grimly
"Best way to make sure that doesn't happen, when you ask somebody to swear an oath on the Styx you should ask them to never find loopholes, never even try to find loopholes or get out of the deal. I've learnt that from a lot of experience and now I'm sharing it with you." Percy said, sounding like a teacher at the end
"That's a good way." Hades said
Everybody chuckled at the way Percy said it.
You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past…You had to eat the pomegranate."
Every single elder Greek demigod burst into laughter.
"Nico, that skit was on point!" Lee yelled
Nico smiled.
"I told you that's how it went." Percy grinned
The demigods laughed harder.
"Who's the god of lawyers though?" Castor asked
"Uh, there's Themis but she's a Titaness." Annabeth said
"And Asclepius is the closest to the god of doctors being the god of medicine. Dad is the god of healing thought I think the closest to the god of doctors is Asclepius." Will said
"He is." Apollo nodded
"Though Asclepius was born after Hades and Persephone got married." Will said
Persephone rolled her eyes.
"See mother." She said
Demeter grumbled.
"You know what? WE NEED ANOTHER NICO SKIT!" Lee yelled
"Yes, yes." The demigods chanted
"Come on Nico." Jason said
"Fine." Nico smiled
The demigods cheered.
Nico smiled. This time he actually felt like everybody left this all in the past.
"Mother—" "And get stuck in the Underworld!"… Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"
Katie snickered but only the demigods, Persephone and Hades heard her. Demeter was still grumbling.
Katie and Persephone shared a glance and snickered.
"DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough…Make my daughter live in this dark, damp—"
The demigods were laughing again.
Demeter was grumbling and Hades was snickering.
"I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth…could you just get on with it?"
Everybody laughed.
"Only you Percy." Thalia snickered
"Could you not ask him that?" Poseidon sighed
Percy grinned sheepishly.
"I couldn't listen to the argument and I didn't want to stay for the benefits of cereal." He grinned
Everybody laughed.
All three gods looked at me. "Well, this one has an attitude," Demeter observed.
Everybody snickered.
"Indeed," Hades agreed. "I'd love to kill him."… Let me kill him, just a little bit."
"You can't kill anybody a little bit." Poseidon said
Everybody including Percy snickered.
Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes.
"How much do you smoothen your robes?" Poseidon asked
"The souls try to escape." Hades said
"That is why t-shirts are better. They're also more comfortable!" Nico exclaimed
Hades chuckled.
"Point brother." Percy grinned
"And so I shall. Your mother—what can I tell you?... I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."
"Don't tell me I'm related to Hitler." Nico groaned and pleaded
"No don't worry, you're not. Some people do think that. In the days during the war, Hitler was the person many people were scared of, so I looked like that for a couple of years, especially as Hitler would kill many. Though I don't like doing that anymore." Hades said
Nico sighed in relief.
"Well I'm glad about not being related to him and you not looking like him or any other villain." Nico said
Hazel nodded.
"Agreed." She said
"That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?"… "I do lawyers and teachers very well!"
"That lady is scary." Grover said
The demigods nodded.
Hades smirked.
Nico was trembling. "But why did you free us from the casino?"… allowed to be the child of the prophecy."
"Percy's not an idiot." Poseidon gritted his teeth
Percy smiled.
I plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sank harmlessly into his robe.
Everybody stared at Percy and started snickering.
"You did what?" Hades asked
"You didn't even notice." Percy shrugged
"That's not the point." Hades said
"You called me an idiot and you wanted to kill me." Percy said in exasperation
Hades grumbled.
The demigods were shaking with silent laughter.
"You should be helping Olympus!" I said…I'll stay here with my forces intact."
"Oh so this why the indirect blame lands with these two." Poseidon said gesturing to Zeus and Hera.
"Indirect blame will not lead you anywhere." Jason said
"Sometimes you have to be better than the ones you blame rather than prove them right." Percy agreed
Poseidon looked proudly at Percy.
Nico nodded. Hades grimaced.
"I know now." He said
"Let him try. He'll be weakened…"Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you
"Nico can do crazy lot of stuff now." Reyna said
"I know. He's a great kid." Hades said
Nico smiled.
"But I do get tired." Nico said
"So do we." Jason said, gesturing to him, Thalia, Percy and Hazel
They nodded.
"That person who we saw and all, it made sense to get tired." Reyna said referring to Bryce Lawrence
"Oh that one." Nico said, rubbing his neck
Hades raised his eyebrows. He knew Nico could conjure skeletons and bring roof tops down but apparently that's not all he can do. There's more Nico could do. Hades was quite curious to know what all powers his son had.
It would've been better if Bianca had lived.
Nico flinched this time but so did Hades.
"That's basically implying that you want him dead." Will said coldly
"No. I didn't mean that. I definitely want Nico alive. I do love him." Hades said a little desperately to Nico.
Nico nodded and smiled.
"It's fine dad. I know." He said
"Know what?"
"That you want me alive and love me." Nico said
Hades nodded.
But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely.
"No you can't." Poseidon said
"I know that at least half." Hades frowned
"You just said…" Poseidon trailed off
"Please read on." Hades urged Clarisse
Clarisse's eyes widened and she continued.
Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says…And I will be king of the gods."
Zeus growled.
"Hold up one second Zeus." Poseidon said
He shared a look with Hades.
"Dad what's wrong?" Triton asked
"Kronos." Hades said
Nico and Percy's eyes widened.
"Something like Ares?" Nico asked
Hades nodded.
Nico and Percy froze and shared looks.
"The part about being king and stuff, that's not me. Though the part about trapping you is me. Sorry about that." Hades said
"Oh it's fine. The first part is more concerning currently." Percy said distractedly.
"So what part is you and what is not in the whole waiting it out part?" Chris asked in confusion.
"The part about becoming king is not me. The one about wanting Nico to be accepted is me." Hades explained.
Annabeth and Will's eyes widened as well and so did Jason and Thalia's.
"You're crazy," I said. "Kronos will crush you…If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx.
"I love loopholes when they help me but I hate them when somebody uses them against me." Percy grumbled
"It's like that for everybody." Triton said
"Well thanks for trying Nico." Percy sighed
Nico sighed.
Now go to your room!" He waved his hand and Nico vanished…"He's too skinny. He needs more cereal."
Everybody groaned.
"I'm gonna have nightmares about cereal monsters." Nico groaned
Everybody snickered. Demeter glowered at Nico.
Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can't let this little hero go? He's awfully brave."
"Er… thanks." Percy said awkwardly to Persephone
"It's fine." She said
"No, my dear. I've spared his life. That's enough."… I'm starving."
The sea gang gave glares to Persephone but then they knew it wasn't her fault.
"Cereal," Demeter said.
Everybody groaned and put their faces in their hands. Clarisse put her face into the book.
Demeter glowered at them.
"How much cereal do you eat granty?" Nico groaned
"Every breakfast and evening." Demeter said
Everybody gulped.
"Mother!" The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat…We'll check on you again in—oh, fifty or sixty years."
Poseidon glared at Hades who grimaced.
"Done." Clarisse said in relief.
"I'll read." Chiron said
Clarisse gave him the book.