Leo was in the back, so I hadn't noticed him before. He was trapped in what I assumed to be an airtight container under water. He wouldn't be able to use his powers in there or he'd run out of oxygen. He was going to run out soon anyways. Charlie was messing with the chain that kept the box suspended but he couldn't seem to make a difference.

"Casey, I'll be right back!" I yelled. Casey didn't take her eyes away from the monster she and Dad fought but she nodded to show she'd heard me.

"Charlie! What can I do?" I ran up to them and put my hand on his shoulder. Charlie whipped his head towards me then back towards his father's entrapment.

"Jase, the water," he said.

I nodded. "Got it. Stand back." I raised my hands, taking the water from the tank with me. Charlie took that as a sign and jumped into the now-empty tank. He took his hammer, the one his father had made, and began hitting the clasp with all his strength. Finally, just as I thought I was about to drop the water, it broke. I yelled out, hoping Charlie would understand my urgency, and he quickly pulled his father from the tank. They scrambled back on land and I shot the water at the giant Casey was fighting. Leo and Charlie began talking quickly in Spanish as they embraced.

"I'm glad we're all alive and together and all, but we have other issues at the moment," I interrupted. Leo grabbed his toolbelt from Piper, who had thrown it to him. He winked at Charlie, then ran off into the fight.

"FLAME ON!" we heard him yell. By now there was only one monster left. She was the biggest of the bunch but she'd lost her bravo after we'd taken care of the others.

"Where is Nyx?" Piper demanded. Jason had his sword pointed at the giantess's throat. In response, the monster only laughed.

"Kill me now," she spat. "We're all going to die anyways."

"WHERE IS SHE!" Piper screamed.

"She's coming." The giantess suddenly grabbed the blade of Jason's sword and plunged it forward, into her own throat, killing herself. We didn't need a god if she did the deed herself. Jason cursed and took back his sword.

"She's right. Nyx is coming. We have go get out of here before she finds us," my dad said. He held mom's hand tightly. I knew this must have brought back memories for them. Bad memories. Suddenly, there was a loud screech from deeper within the cavern. My mom took my hand and pulled me towards the exit with the others. I nearly froze at her touch.

"Hurry!" she urged. We waited, letting the others pass before us. The Zhangs got through first and made a run for the ship. Kat and Jon were in the wind (literally, Kat flew them towards the ship). Jason placed his hand firmly around Piper's wait but before they could take off, Nyx found us. She screeched and slammed her claws into the ground, sending us flying. A large crack tore through the ground. Lucky me, I landed closest to Nyx. Note the sarcasm.

"JASE!" Casey scrambled towards me. She was too late. Nyx snatched me up and pressed her nose to my cheek. She was smelling me.

"Ah, Jackson," she hissed. I squirmed persistently, but she only squeezed tighter. Another crack formed. Nyx nearly dropped me, which meant she couldn't control the cracks. Somebody yelled out and couldn't help but look for the source. Charlie. Charlie was dangling over the edge. The edge to Tartarus. Leo ran to help him but Charlie was too far down to reach.

"I have the world at my fingertips! In just days the gods will be at my beck and call and I will rule over all that is known. I shall have the greatest armies there are and will be worshipped by all there is! I have everything!" She cried, digging her fingertips into my shoulder. She was going to use me to get to the others. She was going to kill them so she could reach Olympus. The giants may have been fixed on revenge, but Nyx wanted power. She was the mastermind behind this whole thing, which explains why the giants were so easy to get rid of.

"And you also have my son," A deep infuriated voice growled from behind us. Nyx turned around, dragging me with her. In the entry to her cave was Percy Jackson. He was covered in scratches and his clothes were torn to threads but he looked more intimidating than I'd ever seen him. He didn't look at me. His penetrated glare was fixed onto Nyx. If I were his enemy, I'd probably be peeing myself at this moment. I wanted so badly to hug him, to grab him and pull him far away, but I couldn't move. I wanted to tell him to run but the selfish side of me wanted too badly to get away from this evil goddess. I knew my dad would never leave me. Not willingly anyway. Charlie was still grasping for something to hold on to but made so little noise that everybody focused on Nyx and my dad instead.

"Someone get Charlie!" I yelled, my voice cracked as Nyx suddenly tightened her grip on my throat. My dad's eyes skirted over to Charlie and I saw confusion, for just a moment. That's when I realized that he had no idea who Charlie Valdez was. Well, I didn't really have the ability to explain it at the moment so he'd just have to wait. Dad raised his sword to fight of Nyx but he was missing the point (no pun intended.) Charlie was losing his grip, the ground was crumbling.

"Dad, Charlie!" I hoped he'd understand. He took a step closer to the ledge but couldn't really make a move because Nyx and I were in the way.

"Jase, calm down, it's going to be ok," my dad comforted. Yeah for us maybe, but Charlie didn't have that much time. In that moment, a large rumble shook the concave and the ground split beneath us once again. Dad's sword was thrown from his hand and Nyx lost her grip and dropped me to the floor. She raised her claws and was about to dig them into my chest, probably deciding that killing my would be so much easier than whatever else she had planned. Charlie gave one last scream before the ground gave out completely and he fell. Alone.

I don't know what overcame me. Mom and Dad had told me the terrors of Tartarus many times. I'd heard their muffled screams from my bedroom at night and sobs as they comforted each other. But there was only one thing that stuck out to me in this moment: my parents survived because they were with each other. Nico went alone and nearly died, but mom and dad were there longer than him. They traveled through the pit and escaped. All of these thoughts were processed and cataloged in my mind in no less than half a second.

So of course, I did the logical thing. I drew my knees to my chest and kicked off the goddess as hard as I could, lodging myself in the direction of Charlie's screams.

I couldn't hear exactly what my dad yelled but it sounded vaguely like my name. It was the last thing I heard before the light disappeared and I was swallowed into the darkness of Tartarus.