Today's recommendations are 'cause you've been sinning in this city' by Seaweedbraens and 'kiss me once 'cause you know i had a long night' by herecomesthepun. The two of the best one-shots I've read. Also, bonus rec! 'Flipping the Hourglass' by MisguidedPenguin.

Also, Acceptance is completed and re-written! Check it out after reading this chappie!

Hope you enjoy!

The poorly lit lobby in the dusty alleys of LA greeted us.

The words, 'DOA Studios' were emblazoned in neon yellow on the doors, a sharp contrast to the dull environment around. While some would see it as ironic or humorous, I would shamelessly admit that the flickering old-timey lights, made it much more creepy.

"Uh, Percy?" Annabeth gulped. "I'm really hoping that you remember the plan."

"Oh, yes, the plan," Grover muttered unenthusiastically. "How could we forget the plan."

I turned my head around to meet Annabeth's nervous gaze. I was half-tempted to admit that I was pretty much going to wing it, but the terrified expressions of my friends made me swallow my words.

"Yeah," I said in a really small voice, before clearing my throat and repeating it. "Yeah, I do remember the plan."

Annabeth did not seem convinced.

I shivered, a slight chill settling on my nerves, and my gut flared up. I would've ignored it, but years of instincts were what had kept me alive, and I wasn't going to ignore them anytime soon.

Something was going to go horribly wrong.

Shaking my head of the negative thoughts, I walked towards the entrance. Grover bleated nervously, noticing my jitters. "It's going to be alright, Percy. We'll get your mom back." He nudged Annabeth.

"Yeah," She sighed. "C'mon, let's go in."

The lobby wasn't any different from the last time. Spirits flitted around the room aimlessly, passing through the Italian furniture and each other. Above us, soft Mozart was playing, over which I will enunciate my thoughts again, creepy.

A sick thought entered my head, and I wondered if I would see Gabe and his poker buddies here. I was hoping not, because I wasn't ready to see the proof of him being dead. I did not need that on my conscience, no matter how much he deserved it.

A sharp intake of breath drew my attention to the daemon ahead. A pair of eyes, each one as black as the night, greeted mine. The ferryman to the underworld looked the same the last time I'd seen him, with his tailored Italian suits and a gold watch.

I squinted at his nametag for added effect. "You're Charon? The ferryman to the Underworld?"

"Mr. Charon," He corrected and leaned forward. "What a precious lad we have here. You're obviously well-educated mate, so, tell me what can I do for you?"

"We request passage to Erebos," Annabeth said, stepping forward.

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?" His eyes swept over our forms. "What a brilliant change of pace. Usually, it's all about 'It's unfair, Mr. Charon!' or 'I have to go back, Mr. Charon!' but we have none of that, I see. No matter, unless you have payment for your passage, I'm afraid you'll have to... take a seat for the next century."

"What?!" Annabeth growled, her exhaustion of the past days catching up. "I'm sorry but we don't have the time. We're trying to save the world here. We don't have a century to spare, in case you might not have noticed we are mortals-"

"Annabeth," Grover squeaked. "Maybe, you shouldn't-"

"Annabeth," I snapped. "Shut up!"

"And there it is," Charon drawled, twirling a cheap pen in his hands. "I was wondering when one of you'll slip up. Ironic that it was a daughter of Athena, but I suppose every mortal loses their rational side when annoyed, eh?"

Annabeth looked horrified and extremely embarrassed at her mistake. "I-I don't know-"

"No matter, dear," He straightened his back. "I wouldn't be a good doorman to the Underworld if I couldn't sniff out the living, eh? I could practically smell the lot of you when you entered this lobby! You are a Satyr," He pointed to Grover before turning to Annabeth. "As I said before, you smell like parchment. Definitely, a daughter of Athena."

"But you," He narrowed his eyes at me. "You smell different."

I gulped. Fuck.

"A son of Poseidon, no doubt, but there's something underneath the scent of the sea," He hummed, licking his lips. "Something... ancient, familiar."

"Drop it!" I snapped. "We have much more important things to do, so don't bother playing the guessing game. Now, are you going to give us a lift on your glorified canoe or not?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Alright then, keep your secrets," Charon said, stretching out the word languidly. "As for the lift, now why would I do that? We've already established that you aren't dead, nor dying, so unless you have an appointment with death, I suggest you run along-"

He abruptly lurched forward and his eyes glazed over. Grover tripped over his braces, startled. Annabeth grabbed my hand as its twin went to my pocket, gripping Riptide.

"Charon?"

Exchanging a confused glance with Annabeth, I waved my hand over the glassy eyes of the daemon. "Charon?"

I yelped and recoiled backward when wisps of darkness flowed out of his mouth, as he moved his lips silently as if conversing with someone. His trance did not continue for long before he blinked and his eyes returned to the normal state.

"Percy Jackson?" He asked, his voice losing the previous faux-cheer and his back straightened. "You're Percy Jackson, correct?"

I hesitated, looking at Annabeth for reassurance but she looked even more conflicted than me. "Yeah, uh, that's me."

He nodded as if he expected it and got off his chair. "You've been granted entrance to Erebos. The payment will not be necessary for you and your companions. Follow me."

Walking towards the dark-grey elevator doors, he pushed a button and waited, raising an eyebrow at us. "Well? Oh, do come now, I haven't got any time to spare."

"Percy," Annabeth whispered. "What the hell? How did he know your name?"

Ignoring the question, I hesitantly walked towards the Ferry of the Underworld-disguised-as-elevator, giving reassuring nods to my friends. Annabeth stared at me in disbelief before glancing at Charon with distrust while Grover nervously ate the sleeve of his shirt.

If I was correct about my assumption over Charon's behavior, then it wouldn't be unlikely that a certain primordial would receive a nice bouquet of flowers from me.

Mumbling a short prayer of thanks to Nyx, I carefully got into the boat. A faint, yet, chipper 'You're welcome, Perce!' sounded in my mind and I smiled.

Reluctantly following me, Annabeth got into the boat, followed by Grover, who slipped at the foothold slightly. His legs almost met the waters of the Styx but fortunately, he jerked up at the last second and gave a sheepish smile in my direction. I glared at him, my heart thumping wildly in anxiety.

The ferry creaked and groaned as Charon began rowing. By now, his humanoid face had slipped off and the skeletal countenance had taken its place. I could see Grover shivering slightly while looking around warily.

The Styx gurgled past us, the various trinkets and trash pittering against the sides of the boat. The same conversation about the polluted river ensued between Annabeth and Charon.

Annabeth scooted a little closer to me. I could see the expression of burning curiosity etched on her face as she turned her eyes to meet Charon's.

"Was it Hades who allowed us to pass through?" She asked, her eyes sharp. "But why would he do that?"

Charon stared at her before a strange sound rumbled through his body, as he shook silently. It took me a minute to realize that he was laughing.

"That was not Lord Hades, daughter of Athena," Charon shook his head. "Lord Hades, however powerful may he be, he does not have the means to speak in my mind. No, it was-"

"Hey, Mr. Ghoul!" I interrupted, panic evident in my tone. "When will we get there? We've been on this boat for ages and I'm starting to feel queasy."

Annabeth frowned and glanced at me with concern but my eyes stayed on Charon, gesturing wildly as if to say. 'Shut the fuck up!'

Charon narrowed his eyes but gave a discreet nod and I sighed in relief. I turned to find Annabeth staring at me suspiciously. I gulped, faking a cough.

"What were you saying?" She asked, turning to Charon. "If it wasn't Hades, then who was it?"

Charon shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We are here. You need not concern with the identity of the person. You have enough to worry about as is, namely, the purpose of getting out alive."

"We will get out alive," Annabeth scoffed, more so to convince herself.

The ferry creaked to a halt in front of a rickety bank, just across the Ez-Death line.

Charon almost smirked, "Looks like Old Three Face is hungry. Good luck, demigods. Now shoo, I have my cassettes to play."

We dismounted the boat.

As I was readying to follow Annabeth and Grover, who were walking ahead, Charon grabbed my arm. I blinked in confusion.

"My mother does not favor many, demigod. I wonder what she saw in you," He said throatily. "Nevertheless, I would advise you to be cautious. While she may act childish, she is the most powerful protogenos there is. She values loyalty above all else. Once you sever your loyalties or break her trust, I doubt even Lady Chaos would be able to shield you from her wrath."

I wrung my hand free from his grip. "Good thing that I'm not going to do anything along those lines," I stated evenly.

Charon nodded and stepped on the glorified dinghy. I turned towards my friends who were waiting for me right at the edge of the queue for Asphodel.

"What did he want with you?" Annabeth asked once I caught up with them.

"Nothing," I lied. "He just said to be careful while addressing Hades and throw in some comments about his pay-raise."

"His what?"

"Pay-raise," I repeated, before adding helpfully, "He really likes Italian suits."

"Ah," Grover nodded sagely as if he understood Charon's troubles. I, on the other hand, did not. Neither did Annabeth, if the pinched look on her face was anything to go by.

"Well," Grover said, his voice cracking slightly. "I guess it's time to go to Hades' court," He swallowed thickly. "And possibly seal off our inevitable deaths."

"Shut up, goat-boy. We'll get Percy's mom and the bolt back," Annabeth chided, taking a deep breath, "Now, which way is the damned palace?"

Unfortunately, Hades's Throne room had not moved beside Elysium like I hoped it would've. It still was situated next to the torturous Fields of Punishment. (I had no idea how Hades found the agonized screams of the wicked bearable on a Sunday morning)

The poisonous green mist cleared as we reached the three paths. The center one, the fast lane to Asphodel, had a long queue of the dead. The adjacent two, however, had sparse numbers as a common board between them read, 'Attendant on Duty.'

"The line to Asphodel," Annabeth whispered, wincing at the spirit of a child holding his mother's hand in the middle of the queue.

"That's where we have to go?" Grover asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth nodded. "If the Illiad was correct, then the palace of Hades should be just beyond Asphodel, next to the Fields of Punishment. We could cut our journey in half if we go through the lane for the Fields of Punishment, but I'd rather not."

"Agreed," Grover and I chorused instantly. I had witnessed the horrors of the fields firsthand, and it was something I'd rather never do again.

We started walking towards the lane, as I prepared myself to face off against the guard dog of the Underworld again. Right on cue, the green mist shimmered and the shadow of the three-headed beast loomed over us.

Unlike the last time when I had blurted out that he looked like a Rottweiler, I pulled out the red ball from my backpack and gripped it tightly.

"Cerberus," Annabeth squeaked. "How did we miss it?"

"I think it was because we were alive," Grover said faintly. "And now we can see him because we're one step closer to death."

Cerberus growled and sniffed the air. The dead passed through him like he wasn't even there. Even if I knew that we were going to be alright, I couldn't help but wish for the luxury of the dead.

The beast barked, a sharp sound that rattled my bones, much like that of an artillery shell.

"Guys," Grover began timidly. "He's saying that we have ten seconds to pray to whoever we want and after that... well, he's hungry."

"Annabeth," I muttered, shoving the ball in her hand. My hands glowed a pale orange as I attempted to calm her hammering heart. "Distract it."

"What?" Annabeth whispered urgently. "Why me?"

"You mentioned that you were good with dogs on the train to Denver. Cereberus may be a monster, but it's still Hades' pet. If there's anyone who can tame it, it's you."

Now, here's the thing. I am not good with dogs. I seriously lucked out when Mrs. O' Leary adopted me as her human because I'm pretty sure if I had to make her like me, first, then I definitely would've done something stupid. And the hell-hound, even one as nice as Mrs. O' Leary would've ripped my head off. (Man, I miss my hellhound)

Annabeth stared at me. "Okay," She swallowed, nodding. "Yeah, I'll distract it while you and Grover slip underneath him."

I gave a small smile of reassurance, before grabbing Grover's hand and started walking towards the over-grown puppy. Cereberus snarled and his legs tensed, as he prepared to pounce.

"Cereberus!" Annabeth's sharp voice rang. "Sit!"

Cerebrus looked stunned.

He growled in defiance and glared at Annabeth. I probably would've flinched, but of course, it was Annabeth, the single most intimidating person, ever, even at the age of twelve.

She just glared back, undeterred, and waved the ball. "Sit!" She commanded, "If you want the ball, sit!"

He stared at Annabeth, his three heads cocking and eyeing the ball hungrily. A soft whimper escaped, as Cerebrus plopped down on his butt unceremoniously.

I withheld a snicker and urged Grover to go round it. Following him while keeping an eye on the monster, I crept around its side, careful to not cross the EZ death line, yet.

Cereberus turned towards us and growled. "Stay!" Annabeth yelled before he could sniff us out. "If you want the ball, stay!"

Cereberus froze. Whining nasally, he turned towards Annabeth, wagging its humongous tail slightly. The ground rumbled at the action.

Annabeth smiled tightly. "Good boy! Now, do you want the ball? Huh? Here!"

She threw Cerberus's object of fascination as hard as she could. The three heads yowled in glee as they clambered and wrestled each other to get the ball, covering it in slobber.

"Drop it!" Annabeth said, just as the ball was in danger of being ripped to shreds.

Cereberus looked at her in annoyance. (Don't ask me how I knew it was annoyance, I've been subjected to enough annoyed looks from Mrs. O'Leary when I would refuse to let her onto my tiny bed in my cabin)

Annabeth, however, remained impassive and stared right back. "Drop it," She said. "If you want me to say, drop it!"

Cereberus whimpered but complied, dropping the spit-covered toy onto the granite below. Annabeth stepped forward and gingerly picked up the mauled ball and pursed her lips.

"Annabeth!" Grover called out urgently, keeping an eye on Cerberus. "C'mon!"

Annabeth cast a helpless look at me and then glanced back at her new friend. I knew that Cerberus reminded her of her pet from when she was little. A tear slid down her cheek and she hastily rubbed it away, petting Cerberus below his chin. The monster rumbled happily, tapping his foot delightedly.

"Annabeth," I sighed. "I'm sorry, but we have to go."

"Yeah," She swallowed, rubbing her palm over his nuzzle for the last time before walking towards us. "I'll visit you again," She promised shakily when Cerberus keened mournfully. "Would you like that? Good dog."

I just squeezed her hand in comfort when she turned towards us, parting some of mom's soothing orange-y magic to lessen her frayed nerves.

Grover pushed past the security metal detectors which immediately blared in alarm. A shrilly voice blasted from the speakers above, "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"

"Wait!" I shouted as Annabeth and Grover prepared to bolt. I uncapped Maelstrom, watching it extend into the four feet of awesomeness.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed, unsheathing her dagger. "What're you doing?! They'll catch us!"

"That's the plan," I said, dodging a slash from one of the skeletal guards. "If they capture us, they'll take us to Hades!"

"You idiot!" Annabeth said, cutting down a couple of spirits who dissolved into wails. "This is the stupidest plan, I've ever witnessed! The Furies have jurisdiction over the planes of the dead. They'll toss into the dungeons and Hades wouldn't know or care! If I die because of you, Seaweed Brain, I will murder you!"

"Good thing, I'm not going to let you die then," I answered, stabbing a hell-hound who had lunged behind Annabeth, desiring to find her distracted.

The sounds of leathery wings filled the humid air, somewhere above me. I knew who it was but I didn't dare look up, lest I would've ended up distracted.

"Guys," Grover squeaked, finally voicing my thoughts. "The Kindly-Ones are here."

Stabbing through the gut of the last spartoi, I looked up. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed more dead swarming us, not attacking, presumably upon the order of one Mrs. Dodds.

"Skata," I cursed, as I leveled my Trident horizontally, narrowing my eyes at the grinning form of Alecto.

"Hello, dear," She cackled, as the dead took advantage of the intervention and cornered Annabeth, forcing her to sheathe the knife. "Oh, how delighted am I to see you, Perseus Jackson, in the Underworld no less!"

Tisiphone hissed beside her sister. "Indeed," She licked her lips in apprehension. "Finally, we can have our revenge and tear this upstart demigod apart! Lord Hades will be most pleased!"

"Not now, Tisiphone," Alecto said. "Lord Hades wants to meet the intruders first. He will be the one to decide their fate. Perhaps, he may be kind and give their tortures to us. We have been starved since Tantalus was offered to us."

The other two laughed maniacally.

I grit my teeth at the mention of the dead king of Sipylus and CHB's past/future activities director (Shocker, I remembered a piece of Mythology)

"Seize them."

Pushing me harshly, the dead guards chittered and led the three of us towards Hades' palace. Fortunately for me, they seemed to have taken a detour, which meant we weren't going towards Tartarus. Even if we may have been on... amicable terms after our interaction, I preferred to stay as far away from the pit as it was humanely possible.

Another plus point was that the path we took also seemed to be a shortcut, and my back was absolutely killing me from the weight of one disguised Master Bolt.

Rubies and other precious gemstones glittered in the dark, giving the whole atmosphere an eery air (as if the Underworld wasn't eery enough). I could hear the Furies circling over in the parapet, their leathery wings flapping amongst the anguish cries of the fallen.

At one point a spartoi pushed Annabeth particularly harshly when she slowed down a bit. A low growl erupted from my throat, a sound so deep, that even I was surprised by the note. The spartoi stared back at me with its cold dead eyes, but I, not one to relent, glared harshly into the bottomless pits.

I could feel the shadows nipping at my feet, threatening to take tug the spartoi into their chasm. I almost willed them to do the same until- Percy!"

I broke off my staredown with the spartoi (Which now seems quite stupid, as I say it out loud) and turned towards a pale Annabeth.

"What was t-that?" She asked shakily, peering nervously at the shadows.

I looked at her in confusion. "What was what?"

"Percy," Grover started. "Your eyes... they started glowing."

I blinked, obviously taken aback by their statements. My eyes... were glowing? Did they notice the change? Wasn't Chaos' mist suppose to be full-proof?

The crackle of whips sounded from above, interrupting my thought process.

"Keep moving, demigods!" Alecto snarled, swooping down. "Lord Hades wouldn't mind fewer limbs concerning his guests if you disobey me further."

I narrowed my eyes but refrained from adding a biting remark. I turned and caught Annabeth's eyes, gulping. She had her- If you don't tell me what the fuck's with you, you're dead- face on. I nodded timidly in response to her challenging gaze as if she was daring me to refuse.

We then resumed our 'trek' to my spooky uncle's palace.

At some point, the gloom began to settle, as the cavern started becoming brighter than when we had started walking. Braziers of Greek fire hung lowly from the obsidian cliffs, giving the area a green glow, as we trudged along the gravel-laid path.

A faint silhouette of a castle came into view. My hands went to my pocket, rubbing over the pearls in trepidation. I could feel them faintly hum with magic and I smiled slightly, feeling the presence of the sea within them.

My heart nearly stopped when Grover stumbled over a rock slightly, my mind reflexively going to Luke's blasted sneakers. Thank Poseidon, I had left them inside the bus when the Kindly-Ones had attacked, otherwise, this could've been a very different situation. Fortunately, none of the above occurred, and Grover quickly regained his footing.

We quickly approached the massive doors of the Throne room a la Hades. Alters to various deities were built in proximity to the main shrine for himself. (Dam, who would've thought of Hades to be one of the vain ones) I could make out a couple- Hecate, Morpheus, Melinoe, and the handsome bust of Thanatos, but the rest were too far away to make out.

I couldn't help but be impressed at how... regarding was Hades to his subjects. I'm pretty sure Olympus did not have even half as many shrines to minor gods as Hades had built. And Zeus would wonder why minor gods swayed over to Kronos's side, I thought bitterly.

A couple of guard skeletons with rifles (Carcano 91/38 Italian short rifles, I think) stood at the lookout, eyeing us vigilantly. They raised their guns but a shrill shriek from Alecto immediately made them drop their armaments.

The gold doors crept open with a loud groan as the familiar aura of death hit me. I noticed Annabeth and Grover flinch.

Hades blithely sat upon a simple obsidian throne, which shifted with the horror-stricken aspects of the wicked. The similar thought of a poor soul trapped in the god's undies threatened to make me double over in laughter.

He was easily ten feet tall, just as the last time, and wore the darkest of robes, coupled by silky, midnight-black hair reaching his shoulders. Piercing black eyes (Just like Nico's), in sharp contrast to his albino white skin, stared at me with hatred.

"You are very brave to come here, son of Poseidon," He said in an oily voice. "Or perhaps very foolish, after what you've done to me."

Alecto and Tisiphone flew and perched atop the sides of Hades' throne.

"Theíos mou," I greeted, with a short bow, ignoring the accusation. "I have come to negotiate."

"Oh," Hades raised his eyebrow, looking slightly intrigued at the greek term of familial endearment. "Negotiate, eh? Well, you amuse me, sea-spawn. A chuckle because of your impudence would only save your life for so long. Speak."

I blinked at the statement, one whose meaning I did not get, but took a deep breath, ignoring the chill over the back of my neck. Annabeth jabbed me with a finger to the back to say something.

"Uncle," I began carefully. "A war between the gods would be... bad."

"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.

"Yeah, and innocent mortals and demigods will lose their life if the conflict isn't called off," I said. "We will be forced to take sides between Zeus and my father if the war continues."

"What's your point, godling?" Hades growled, standing up. "Do you think I want war?"

The miasmic aura doubled as I saw Grover and Annabeth reel back slightly. I stood my ground and shook my head vigorously. "No. Not at all. I'm aware that Death is the whole point of life. There is no life without Death. Everyone in this world will enter your domain at some point in time, and you'd rather have it later than sooner. I do not believe that you want war," I stated firmly.

Hades' eyes widened infinitesimally before they narrowed. "Oh?" He tilted his head lithely. "And what about your... companions? Do they share your sentiments?" He asked, almost mockingly.

"Yes, Lord," Grover squeaked, nudging Annabeth, who looked much more reluctant to agree. I gave her a pointed look and she nodded.

"As much as I loathe to admit it, Percy is correct. While I had my doubts, it doesn't make sense for you to steal the bolt, unless it's to usurp Mt. Olympus. Which, you have refrained to do in the past and as such it makes no sense for you to do so, right now," She said, taking a deep breath. "As a daughter of Athena, I have to take the logistic path and not let my displeasure hinder my conclusions. We talked during Ares' mini-quest and I agree that you didn't steal it." She said, conveniently leaving out the fact that she had a mental breakdown when the notion of Hades being innocent came up.

"Is that so?" Hades hummed, narrowing his eyes, "Then why come here? Why enter my domain if the Bolt is already with you?"

"We were hoping you would- wait a minute, what?!"

Hades chuckled darkly. "Oh yes, daughter of Athena, it seems my brother's spawn's gilded tongue has fooled you all. Check his pack and you shall see," He sneered, turning to me. "Your father may have deceived all of Olympus, boy, but I see his plan. You were there at the Winter Solstice! You stole the bolt and my Helm of Darkness!"

Annabeth gasped. "Your helm is missing too?"

"But I wasn't!" I protested. "I wasn't even present at the Winter Solstice. I literally came to know about the divine world a week ago-"

"Lies!" He roared. "Unless my Helm is not returned, I will flood the mortal realm with the dead. I will open the doors of Death and let the worst of all the spirits out, leaving them to wreak havoc in the living world," He warned. "That is my counter-proposal unless my Helm is not yielded. And your skeleton, Percy Jackson, will lead my army out of Erebos."

"You're lying!" Annabeth cried. "I was there at the Solstice! Percy wasn't even on Olympus, he couldn't have stolen your Helm."

"Yeah," Grover said. "I was with him, we weren't even near the Empire State building! We were both still at Yancy."

"Dull satyr!" Hades sneered. "If that is the case, then why is the bolt in the sea-spawn's bag?"

My eyes widened. This would not end well.

"P-Percy?" Annabeth asked, confusedly eyeing the backpack. "What does he mean?"

Almost robotically, my hands went to my backpack's zipper. The crackle of the Master Bolt sounded, as the bag opened, and the smell of ozone permeated the air. Grover and Annabeth gasped.

My hands wrapped around the leather grip and I pulled the weapon out. Hades smirked triumphantly.

"Ares..." Annabeth whispered, aghast. "It was him all along."

I nodded.

"Lord Hades," Annabeth said. "You have to believe us, it was Ares-"

"Still in the boy's favor, girl?" Hades snarled, his smug demeanor fading. "Perhaps, the bag was given by Ares, but the boy was working with him all along! I read both of your minds! Your and Satyr's are clean, with no part in this... conspiracy. But the boy's mind has charms and protections all over it, the caster, no doubt, stronger than an Olympian. This, I swear on the Styx!"

Thunder boomed.

Annabeth faltered, looking like she was grasping at straws. "I-I, he didn't-"

I was too stunned by the change of the situation to respond.

Did Hades... just try and turn my friends against me? Surely Annabeth wouldn't believe him, right?

I turned and looked at her grey eyes. A myriad of emotions were surging through them, the most promising being confusion, shock, and doubt. Doubt that I was the lightning thief.

"Annabeth," I whispered.

She looked up at me, conflict as clear as night. "I-I don't know-"

"You may have deceived your friends, but I know your intentions," Hades said. "You brought the bolt here to bargain for your mother. However, that won't work, boy. I have no qualms about letting you leave alive. The Bolt will prove an excellent bargaining chip."

He snapped his fingers and a golden light emanated from his closed palm. The face of my mom, still frozen mid-scream, hovered amid the brightness. My throat closed up.

"Yes," Hades spoke. "I have your mother. She is not yet harmed. But that will soon change if you displease me."

My mind racing furiously, I touched the jewels of the sea, still nestled into the safety of my jeans. Hades jeered. "Ah, my brother and his petty sea-magic. The pearls of Amphitrite. Bring them out."

My hand snaked into my pocket, as I brought the gifts out. The three gems fit within my palm, humming with the magic of the sea.

My face hardened in determination, as I came upon a decision. An idiotic one, but a decision, nonetheless.

"Only three?" He mocked. "A single pearl only transports-"

As fast as a viper, I pulled out my bow and notched an arrow. Before Hades could even realize what was happening, a green fletching embedded itself into his shin.

He screamed in agony.

As Hades was distracted, I turned to Annabeth and Grover, stuffing one of the pearls into their hands. They gaped at me, stunned, and then at Hades' cursing form.

"Go," I said. "Crush them at your feet, they'll take you to Santa Monica beach. Do not, under any circumstances, engage with Ares. He'll be free to kill you if you do."

"Percy," Grover said shakily, his eyes as wide as drachmas. "You just attacked Hades-"

"I know, now go! I'll buy you time!"

A complete lie.

Annabeth looked pained. "Seaweed brain, don't you dare die-"

"I won't, now go!"

Again, quite possibly, a lie.

The pearls smashed, my friends were engulfed in a bubble of sea-water, as they rose rapidly towards the ceiling of stalactites. I slung the backpack with the bolt over my arm.

"Destroy them!"

I turned towards where Hades had healed himself, murderous intent showing on his face. His lips pulled into a ferocious snarl, he ordered his army to open fire on us. An awe-inspiring bident morphed into his arm as he growled.

I raised my arms, a massive column of shadows erupting from the ground as it shielded me and my ocean-bound companions from the bullets. Based on the gasp, I figured Hades just seemed to have received the shock of his immortal life. A son of the Sea and Hearth (not that he knew) able to control the Night so efficiently. Unfortunately, his shock didn't remain for long.

The seemingly easy task of maintaining the shadows turned excruciatingly painfully when I felt the god of the Underworld exert his might to collapse the column.

I groaned under the stress, but there was no way in hell I was going to give up before my friends were safe. Only a few seconds, I screamed to myself, when the hold began to lessen.

Sensing the bubble disappears, I almost moaned in relief as I let go of the construct, the shadow whipping to the floor under their new master's control.

Fortunately, the dead did not open fire on me, they too sensing their master's astonishment. I glanced to the side, panting like a dog in mid-July, where my opponents stood frozen.

The dead, of course, had no expression on their... uh... dead faces, but the furies and Hades wore comically bewildered faces. I would've laughed if I wasn't so out of breath.

"H-How?" Hades whispered, his dark eyes shifting in confusion. "You have the powers of Umbrakinesis?"

"Yep," I coughed, rubbing my mouth. "Now," I uncapped Riptide and grinned bloodily. "Let's dance."

I charged.

Two seconds into the fighting, I realized how stupid it was to charge an army with guns, three Furies with fiery whips, and a fucking god who was ten times more powerful than me without the curse of Achilles.

I could almost imagine Artemis and both of my moms wearing similar horrified expressions as they thought about how idiotic their friend/son was.

I was able to dispatch two skeletons efficiently before a bullet ripped through my abdomen.

Oh, dear, I thought beneath the haze of pain, This is going to be a long fight.

I still don't know why I remained behind in the Underworld when I still had a fucking pearl left in my pocket. My thoughts were a bit muddled, yes, but in no way they should've been stupid enough to let me stay here.

Perhaps, it was how badly Uncle Hades had interacted with me, but I wanted to leave his domain on good terms. Of course, this was a completely new scenario where he definitely didn't remember the good times that we had when we put shaving cream in Apollo's underpants. (Well, I did. He just stood there and brooded), so I shouldn't have expected him to be civil.

Well, the point is, I wanted to leave Underworld with his backing and a nice uncle-nephew chat. And that wasn't going well.

Agonizing pain shot through my gut as I gasped and coughed blood. The Furies screeched in delight as they swooped down for an easy kill.

However, I, not one to relent this early, pushed past the barrier of pain and swung upwards. Riptide, by pure luck, found the wings of Maegara as she wailed and exploded into dust.

Alecto and Tisiphone shrieked and dodged the edge, veering upwards.

I was feeling pretty good about myself (No, don't laugh! You try killing a fury while a bullet is embedded in your gut!), until a similar sting of pain shot through my arm and Riptide clanged to the floor.

Fuck.

Disoriented and bloody, my eyes turned hazy as I collapsed onto the ground. My ears rang as if they were placed right next to an emergency fire alarm.

"Stop!" Someone ordered as the clangs of metal subsided. I shifted slightly. With bloodshot eyes, I noticed a dark-robed figure approach me and bend down, gripping my jaw into his bony fingers. I groaned in pain.

"A valiant effort, nephew," He said. "But a futile one, nonetheless."

He summoned a midnight black dagger in his hand, one I knew it wouldn't be fun to get stabbed by. He raised it above his head, his dark eyes glinting with something akin to sympathy before he swung down.

The last I discerned, were my nails elongating into claws and fur sprouting from my arms, and then I was grasped in the arms of Night.

Well, Percy gets his ass kicked.

I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I'm sorry. I'm not gonna lie and say I didn't have time to write. I just got so roped into completing Acceptance and Descant of Moonlight, that I completely forgot about this fic. That reminds me, Descant of Moonlight is halfway done with about 18k words! Though, sorry to all perlia lovers, it would take another month to complete it.

However, now I'm back for good. No additional fics except DoM and a surprise fic (Duckie has helped a lot with this one) coming next month will be updated, other than this.

I have a good plan of what i want to do in SoM, so sit tight, because trust me when I say this, it's going to be wild.

also, if this chappie has some grammatical errors, please just review them, I'm way too tired to re-read it again. I'll correct them tmrw, I swear.

Now, for some reviews.

Mark Andrew: Aw, thank you! I'm doing well and here's your update. As I said before, it was a combination of studies, DoM, and Acceptance that kept me from updating this fic. Triton is still adjusting, but you'll see some brother fluff soon ;) For your second question... I hope this chappie answers it.

Jack's shack of story yaks: Thank you!

Guest who advised me to skip SoM: I wanted to skip it too, but I figured it wouldn't be too fun. Hopefully, I can make it more entertaining when I write about it lol.

HellRaiderS: Thanks!

bradinator77 and LoneNoble: Ohhhh... thank you for enlightening my dumbass. I do get the saying now.

CommanderDuck!4: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I did not mean it to come out like that. Do not feel insultingly special, just the latter one. Also, I'm jealous of your grammatical superiority and aptness in Title Selections. So, yeah.

Otagema: Thank you so much for understanding!

MisguidedPenguin: Ignoring the unhealthy use of 'Aphy-poo', I can firmly state that I learned something new. Thank you for that. I now find myself using this same method to check my dialogues. Seriously, thank you!

KitKathy520: Here it is! I hope it was worth the wait lol

PreviouslyYesse: Thank you, man. I do like to switch up things, rather than redo the same dialogues and scenes from canon. I'm just happy that y'all are finding this moderately entertaining to read. Also, SoM will have some much-needed pertemis with a new canonical character, that honestly, no one will expect ;)

Holy fuck thank you so much for the 500 favs and 700 follows. you guys are awesome!

Byeeeee