The Fates Want Change

by FMPtrumpets

The Fates are tired of watching it. There is a storm coming, and if they want to survive... so they force them to read what they're actions are doing to themselves and their children. And they pull Percy and a few others along for the ride.

23. Annabeth Does Obedience School

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven.

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

---

"That was the chapter." Reyna said quietly.

"Just how many big name monsters or figures are you going to end up fighting over the years?" Piper asked Percy, incredulous. Even she knew about the Stretcher, but that was mostly because of the research her and her father had done before that stupid movie.

"I think almost all of them." Percy grunted. He'd even defeated one that Hercules himself failed to defeat. A feat that he was actually rather proud of...

After a few more moments, Jason reached out and took the book from Reyna, opening it without a word and finding the right page. "I'll read next." He said with a sigh, not really looking forward to reading about the Underworld. Death is something the Romans knew happened, and accepted it even. But they also refused to acknowledge anything related to aspects of death as Roman, like with Thanatos. He had a Roman name, but the Roman people refused to call him by anything but his Greek name as if that somehow completely eliminated him from the equation.

Chapter eighteen: Annabeth Does Obedience School

Jason paused briefly, confused, but decided that they would find out if he kept reading. Hades got a sinking feeling he knew what the title was about.

"Obedience school for what?" Will asked, confused.

"I think I know... Cerberus, right?" Nico asked. When Annabeth nodded, he grinned slightly. "He's a big puppy sometimes. He loves to play." Cerberus was fun to play with, too. You just had to know how to handle him so he didn't accidentally hurt you.

He was rather big, after all.

Hades sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't always have a chance to play with him." He said in frustration. He was glad that it sounded like Nico got to spend time with him.

(We stood in the... RECORDING STUDIOS.)

"Well, at least you're finally there." Reyna said.

"It was a long trip, but we made it." Percy agreed with a sigh.

"They still have to actually get into the Underworld, and figure out what was really going on." Jason reminded the room.

"How much time did you have left?" Katie asked, concerned.

"We had until noon, it was almost midnight by the time we actually found the entrance." Annabeth informed the room. Most of the room's occupants flinched back, because that was really going to be pushing it.

(Underneath, stenciled... LOITERING. NO LIVING.)

"Well, that's cheerful." Rachel muttered.

"It's the Underworld, it's not meant to be cheerful." Nico informed her with a scowl. She grimaced in apology.

Nobody noticed Hazel bite her lip, concerned. She really hoped that all this talk, and the descriptions that were about to come, didn't push her into a black-out. That would be bad, especially since her dad and Nico were the only ones aware of the truth about her.

(It was almost midnight,)

Annabeth raised her hands with a shrug. "Like I said." She said.

"And you only had until noon the next day to be back in New York with the Bolt?" Katie clarified.

"They still have to find the Bolt." Piper clarified further.

(but the lobby... full of people.)

"Huh?" All the demigods were confused. Shouldn't those people already be on the ferry or something?

Hades and Persephone sighed. They really needed to figure out a better system, because right now there were just too many people. Mentally, Hades was thanking all the other Pantheon's for having their own 'afterlife', otherwise his domain would be much, much more crowded than it already was.

(Behind the security... remember the plan.")

"You actually had a plan?" Clarisse asked in surprise.

"Bet that didn't last long." Travis snorted. Plans with Percy involved often didn't.

Percy sighed. "No... the plan actually worked. We just... needed to fine tune it a bit." He revealed, to everybodies surprise. And really, how were they supposed to know that Cerberus would prefer red balls to sticks?

Annabeth sighed at the odd looks she and Percy were getting. "You'll see." She wondered if Hades would let her come back if she asked, once this latest quest was over with and things calmed down, that was.

("The plan,"... I love the plan.")

"Is that just Jason being sarcastic, or were you really being that sarcastic?"

"Oh, no, that was all me." Grover said with a huff. "I hated the plan." He glared at Percy and Annabeth, but mostly Percy because it was his plan to begin with.

"What?" Percy asked. "It worked, didn't it?"

"There were a few moments, though..." Grover shuddered. Percy shrugged.

(Annabeth said... doesn't work?")

"Uh, you might want to work that out before you go in there." Thalia said slowly, blinking. "You know... just a thought."

Percy sighed. "Maybe, but it was the only thing we could think of, and we didn't have time to try and come up with something else. Besides, I'm better at thinking on my feet, anyway." He said, sinking back into the cushion behind him.

Somehow, that didn't reassure very many people.

("Don't think negative."... shouldn't think negative.")

"No, you really shouldn't." Nico agreed. "This is the Underworld after all, negative thoughts will only hinder you."

Hades nodded in agreement. Negative thoughts could break their spirits further, making them completely lose the will to continue living or to continue what they were doing. It was a very good security system, with the obvious flaw of them having an upbeat, or optimistic, attitude.

(I took the pearls... went wrong.)

"Never judge something by it's appearance." Poseidon said with a small smirk while Hades scowled at him.

He was pretty sure this was cheating. Didn't those pearls count as direct interference? Or something? Those shouldn't be allowed!

Poseidon eyed his sons bag, the one he said came from Waterland, the one that he said he took with him on every quest. The one that had all his supplies, that was kept ready to grab it and go whenever he needed to. Narrowing his eyes, he nodded once before summoning three pearls, put them in a clear hard case, and magically snuck them into that bag, knowing that his son could find some use for them. Amphitrite was the only one who noticed what he was up to, and she just rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it." Percy grumbled, responding to what his father said. Honestly, the world was so confusing sometimes.

(Annabeth put her... It'll be fine.")

"Wow..." Thalia blinked suddenly and thought back to how she first treated Percy, even before she learned his parentage. "You really changed your mind on him, huh?" She asked her little sister quietly.

Annabeth hesitated slightly. "Yeah, I guess I did... I watched how he acted, and then there were the talks we had..." She shrugged. Percy glanced over at them, but didn't say anything. The others pretended not to hear their conversation, either.

(She gave Grover a nudge.)

"That I didn't need." Grover complained with a playful scowl. She just grinned back at him.

("Oh, right!" he... mom. No problem.")

"Problem." Most demigods muttered. Even if they found her, how were they going to get back out again? And they still had to find out who really had the Bolt.

"Yeah, well, I was trying to make Percy feel better. He looked like somebody kicked his Pegasus ever since we left the waterbed place." Grover muttered, he hated that look.

"He is really good at pulling that look off." Annabeth rolled her eyes, and ignored Percy's indignation.

"It all worked out in the end, didn't it?" He grumbled.

(I looked at them... deluxe water beds,)

Annabeth grunted in frustration and glared at her boyfriend, who wouldn't look at her. "You did not get us stretched, that was all Crusty. Unless you were actually the one to shove us on those beds and make those ropes appear..." She said, threateningly. His eyes widened and he leaned away, frantically nodding his agreement with what she was saying. She narrowed her eyes before turning away.

Percy breathed out a faint sigh of relief and looked at his guy-friends with wide eyes. Chris grinned, unsympathetic (Clarisse was also watching him at that moment) while the Stoll brothers made a motion like they were cracking a whip. He glared and was satisfied when they looked away quickly, paying attention to the reading that continued once Annabeth was done making sure he didn't still blame himself.

(and now they... me feel better.)

"Eh, we were also reassuring ourselves just as much as we were trying to reassure you." Grover added, making sure there was no confusion.

"Gee, thanks." Percy drawled with a grin.

"No problem." Grover said cheerfully.

(I slipped the... Underworld butt.")

Hades growled lowly. "Better not." He muttered darkly, glaring at the three in question.

Percy smirked briefly, but didn't say anything.

(We walked inside... was black leather,)

"Those decorations just sound depressing." Aphrodite said, wrinkling her nose. "Can't you get some color in there?" She asked, ignoring her glare. Demeter nodded fervently.

And she thought the decorations in the Palace were depressing!

"Why should I? They're all dead, it's not like they're even aware enough anymore to care." Hades drawled, while Persephone sighed.

Besides, she was the one to decorate in the first place! While she would have personally preferred some more color, she also knew that it was the Underworld, and that all that color wasn't in her husband's personality. So, she found a good middle ground for their home, while she decorated everywhere else to fit the 'theme' of where they were.

"But some color would really liven things up in there." Aphrodite was just dying to fix Hades decor problems.

"There is nothing to liven up." Persephone said, narrowing her eyes.

Jason cleared his throat and hastily kept reading when he saw the Greeks make frantic motions towards the books. It seemed they all had experience with Aphrodite and her... advice, and they didn't want to let her get going.

(and every seat was... much of anything.)

"That's odd."

"And a little creepy." The Stolls said. Everyone else shivered, especially the demigods.

That kind of setting always freaked them out, because a silence like that was so unnatural. In the kind of lives they led, anything out of the ordinary could be nothing good.

Nico started paying attention to Hazel, who had her eyes closed and was trying not to listen.

(Out of the corner... looking... transparent.)

"Because you are among the living still." Nico muttered.

(I could see right through their bodies.)

"They're all spirits." Reyna said quietly.

"Why are they all just standing around?" Clarisse asked, confused. Shouldn't they already be in the Underworld?

"Charon." Percy, Annabeth, and Grover said at the same time.

"Or, they might not have payment for the ferry." Nico said instead, giving them a dark look. The last thing he wanted right now was to have to listen to another rant from his father about Charon. He honestly wondered why his father kept the ghoul around if he really did such a bad job.

(The security guard's... matched his hair.)

"Him and his suits." Hades grumbled, wishing that he'd never heard of those things. That was when his demands for money really started happening, although he'd always badgered for a pay-raise.

"They are nice suits." Persephone pointed out, only to get a dark, disgusted look from her unamused husband.

(A black rose was... "Your name is Chiron?")

Hades coughed to hide his laugh. Oh, he loved it when Charon was called that, he often called him Chiron just to get a reaction out of him. Charon hated it! He hated Chiron, too, which made it sweeter.

"Oh, he's not going to like that." Persephone said in amusement while Nico, unlike his father, made no attempt to hide his laughter.

"He hates it when he gets mixed up with Chiron!" He laughed. He often did it on purpose just to hear him make empty threats and promises.

Chiron sighed. "That... is because of a little, ah... mix-up, a few hundred years ago." He said uncomfortably. And refused to say anything else.

No matter who asked or what version of 'puppy-dog eyes' employed.

(He leaned across... before it eats you.)

"An apt description." Hades admitted, and wondered how he would be described. So far, the boy was very observant and descriptive, if not... creative, with how he described those around him.

("What a precious... as a second language.)

The gods all shrugged or waved it off. They all learned English as a second language. Whenever Western Civilization shifted, and they moved to a new country, they had to learn the language. It wasn't difficult to do for them, but for those like Charon who didn't interact with the general population like they did, or have the powers that they did... well, he probably rarely spoke English even though he learned it.

"I'm pretty sure his accent is a mix of all the different languages he would have learned as needed. But we were in England the longest before coming to America." Athena said, tilting her head to the side.

"English would have been his fourth or fifth language, actually." Hades shrugged, not caring.

("Tell me, mate... like a centaur?")

There were some snickers from the more immature members of the group.

"I should hope not." Chiron grumbled.

("N-no.")

Eyebrows were raised in his direction. Did Percy Jackson just stutter?

"I was nervous about getting into the Underworld, and about the plan not working." He rolled his eyes, not really sure why he was explaining himself.

("Sir," he added smoothly.

"Sir," I said.)

The demigods were amazed. "Percy is showing respect towards somebody." Thalia breathed. They all looked at Percy as though he'd suddenly sprouted multiple heads.

"What?" He asked, suddenly irritated. "I do know when to toe the line." He pointed out. He just didn't see the need to most of the time, especially with some of the gods that were here.

"Sometimes I wish you would toe it a little more often." Annabeth muttered, thinking of all the near-heart attacks he'd given her over the years because of his attitude. Percy grinned at her, unrepentant.

(He pinched the... me: CARE-ON.")

"He sounded like my teacher from first grade." Percy said with a scowl. He hated it when adults talked like that to him, especially when he got older.

There were a few snorts, but nobody said anything.

("Charon."

"Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon."

"Mr. Charon," I said.)

If anything, the amazed looks towards Percy increased. He was being so respectful right now! It was just so, so... not Percy. His irritated glare increased until nobody could look straight at him anymore.

Sally had to hide her face in Paul's side before everyone else figured out she was laughing.

("Well done." He... little dead ones?")

All the Underworld dwellers' jaws dropped. How had Charon not smelled that they were still living?

"Oh, he better hope that firing him is the only thing I do if he lets them through." Hades growled.

"Dear." Persephone said quietly, calming him down.

(His question caught... like a fastball.)

"I wasn't expecting to be called that." Percy shrugged, uncomfortable. "I think it just hit me right then, just where we were going. I'd been avoiding thinking about it too much the entire trip."

"Same." Annabeth said.

"I tried to avoid thinking about it until after we left the Underworld." Grover snorted. Underground... why did it have to be underground? And worse, the Underworld! That was the ultimate underground, right there.

(I looked at... Underworld," she said.)

Hades banged his head backwards on his throne. If that didn't tip that useless ghoul off...

Charon better realize soon that they weren't dead, and he better not just let them on that barge. Not if he knew what was good for them.

(Charon's mouth... that's refreshing.")

"It is?" Most of the kids questioned, confused. Annabeth hid her grin.

"I imagine that it is." Hades said, amused, a little amused by the kids' reactions. He'd heard his own share of excuses over the years from the newly dead about it not being fair, or not being true.

("It is?" She asked... did you die, then?")

"Oh, this should be interesting." Hades muttered. It was always interesting to hear the excuses that the living came up with for how they died so that they could trick their way past Charon and into his realm.

"Hopefully whatever they came up with is at least original." Persephone muttered. It often became tedious hearing all the excuses, and they weren't always the most original.

"Did he have to ask it like that?" Sally asked, not at all happy with where her son was.

"I doubt he cares about such things like 'tact', Aunt Sally." Clarisse snorted.

"Still." Paul muttered.

(I nudged Grover... in the bathtub.")

The room was silent. "That's the best you could come up with?" Hades deadpanned. He'd heard better. Although, he did have to admit that excuse was at least valid.

"Now, if you had said in a lake, or a river, that would be more believable. But a bathtub?" Leo asked in disbelief.

Grover turned bright red. "I panicked, ok? I was supposed to say a lake, but..." He shrugged sheepishly and ignored the snickers that were going on around the room.

"He's going to know in an instant... I'm surprised he hasn't already figured it out since you won't even smell dead." Nico informed the room helpfully.

"Smell dead?" Reyna asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course. The dead and the living both smell very different." Hazel said, agreeing with her brother and fighting to not think too much, else she be pulled into a black out. Now most of the room just looked creeped out.

"And, of course, Grover would not even smell human, so..." Nico shrugged.

"He should have smelled them the moment they walked in the door." Persephone agreed with her step-children.

("All three of you?" Charon asked.)

"Yeah... you should have remembered to say it was a lake." Chris laughed. There was no way he was going to fall for an excuse like that.

Grover grumbled, but didn't say anything.

(We nodded.

"Big bathtub."... mildly impressed.)

"You've got to be kidding me." Nico deadpanned, not at all impressed. Hades growled, all his anger and annoyance with Charon coming back.

"It's official." Will said. "He's an idiot."

("I don't suppose... your last cable bill.)

"And nobody questions a larger than normal bill?" Sally asked, surprised.

"If the family questions it, or goes to the company wanting to know what the extra charges are for and it doesn't add up, then the company either 'pays back' the excess, or find some way of justifying it and telling the family 'tough'." Persephone answered, frowning. The question was, though, how much of that extra charge was legitimate, and how much was Charon pocketing?

"That doesn't seem right." Paul muttered.

"Gotta pay for passage." Hades shrugged.

(But with children... never die prepared.)

"Well of course not. Who expects a child to die so soon?" Sally demanded, incensed at the cold way he spoke of children dying. "They have their whole lives ahead of them."

"It may not be expected, Mrs. Blofis, but it does happen. It's tragic, and nobody wants to think about it, but it does happen." Persephone said softly, looking sympathetic.

"It's Sally." Sally told her absently, then sank into Paul's side, looking disturbed.

(Suppose you'll have... a few centuries.")

"Centuries?" Most of the demigods asked in disbelief.

"That's not fair." Rachel said with a frown.

"Death isn't fair." Hades deadpanned, eyeing everyone else.

"You better find a way on that boat, you don't have centuries to sit around." Athena murmured.

"Not only that, but by that point, they would actually be dead." Apollo gave her a strange look. "And I think you completely missed the point." He informed her, shaking his head.

("Oh, but we have... in Crusty's office desk.)

"Bribery, nice." Hermes nodded. "But you better be careful that you don't tip him off."

"He should have noticed long before now." Hades scowled.

("Well, now..." Charon... seen these in...")

"Since you were last paid the day before." Hades deadpanned. This was the night before the Summer Solstice, so he would have been paid the day before.

"I think he was talking about not seeing them from any spirits in a while." Percy said slowly, not wanting to earn anymore of his uncle's ire.

"I don't care what exactly he was referring to." Hades gritted.

(His fingers hovered... Charon looked at me.)

Hades groaned and mentally promised to kill Charon. "Of course. What else would it be that they were lying. It's not their scent, it's not the ridiculousness of their story. It's not even that he couldn't read properly! Oh no, it's the fact they have drachmas. If he even thinks about letting them in because they flashed some coin under his nose..." He started describing everything he was going to do to his ferry operator in horrible, gruesome details. "And after his insides have been turned outside for the next few centuries, he's fired." He finished, angrily.

Luckily for him, Poseidon had been able to form ear-plugs for the younger children out of water, so they didn't hear all the details of what Hades was going to do to his employee, or Sally and Hestia would have had some words with him.

"Now, dear-" Persephone started with a grimace. It wasn't that she didn't agree with him, to a point, but... who else was going to ferry the souls across the river?

"No!" Hades slashed his hand through the air with finality. "I should have gotten rid of him centuries ago. He's lazy, overcharges the souls for the trip and pockets the rest, he's constantly demanding that I give him a pay-raise, even though he pockets at least half of what he charges the dead souls for entry, he doesn't bother trying to clean up the river even though part of his job is to make sure the souls don't throw stuff in it, and now he's going to let unauthorized person's into my kingdom! Some gatekeeper!" He ranted.

Persephone sighed. "Why don't we talk about this later, dear?" She finally asked softly, putting a hand on his arm. "When there aren't children around?" He glanced at her, then at the crowd of children in the room and grunted his agreement.

(That cold stare behind... through my chest.)

"I hate that feeling." Most of the demigods said in unison.

"It's like your being x-rayed, and they can see right through you." Annabeth sighed. That happened too many times for comfort.

("Here now," he... said. "I'm dead.")

"Nah, you've already been caught. Trying to sell it further will only confirm his suspicions." Hermes denied, and Percy sighed.

"Yeah, I know..." He muttered.

(Charon leaned... I should've known.)

"Yes you should've." Hades growled again. Persephone sighed and started mentally going through a list of their employees, or spirits in the Underworld that would be interested in taking Charon's post, since she had a feeling it would become suspiciously absent once they left this time-bubble.

In a fit of childishness, Poseidon mentally taunted his brother, that his employees would never be this careless on the job. Hades only scowled.

(You're a godling.")

"Yes, very well spotted." Nico said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Hazel managed to muster up a smile, and tried not to remember her own first encounter with Charon.

("We have to get... their wristwatches.)

"Whoa." A few people said. Nico was the only one who actually looked worried, the others were confused and cautious looking.

"Be careful. If he really gets them agitated... well, lets just say the mortal's stories and fears about zombies have some truth to them." Nico warned.

"Indeed, they will attack the closest living thing, and in their agitated state, they can do considerable damage despite being spirits, while being spirits will protect them from taking any damage." Hades agreed with his son. It was a great security measure at the gate (some of those spirits weren't actually waiting for passage, they were actually being put to work), but at the moment could cause him trouble if his spirits tore the sea-brat apart.

Grover gulped and Annabeth blinked a few times. Their younger selves looked terrified of the thought. "It's... a good thing we didn't know that before now." Percy said faintly, eyeing his mother who looked like she really would faint at the news.

("Leave while you... forget I saw you.")

"Don't let him touch those!" Hermes warned with a yelp.

Percy just looked insulted. "Just who do you think I am?" He demanded. "That's, like... 101 of bribing somebody!" He said indignantly. Hermes shrugged sheepishly while Sally sighed and planted her forehead in her hand.

Honestly, her boy.

(He started to go... braver than I felt.)

"I thought you sounded pretty good." Annabeth reassured.

"Yeah, your voice was shaking a lot less than mine would have been." Grover agreed, and Percy stuck his tongue out at them while a few others laughed.

(Charon growled... blood-chilling sound.)

"You might want to start thinking about running." Nico warned, knowing that this was their last warning.

(The spirits of the... elevator doors.)

"Pretty, ah... good for a bunch of transparent spirits." Will said faintly.

"They're getting more and more agitated. If he works them up even a little more, they will attack, and the questing trio don't have the weapons or abilities to stop them." Hades said grimly.

"Their best chance will be to try and make a run for it through the mob, and back out onto the street." Nico agreed with his father. The others shivered, Sally whimpered quietly, and Mrs. O'Leary pressed herself closer to her human with a whine.

"No..." Hermes disagreed. "At this point, their only option is to push forward with the original plan, and bribe their way through. If they can't fight, they'll be overrun before they even make it half-way. Charon is both greedy and lazy, and while he could just take the money for himself after the spirits are done with them, that would require paperwork to explain what happened, and to request a clean-up team. Paperwork takes effort to fill out, and he won't get whatever else they might offer him as well." He reasoned out.

The others had to admit he had a point.

("It's a shame, too,"... through my fingers.)

"How many coins were there?" Luke asked, curious.

"Oh... about thirty I think. I didn't really count, though." Percy shrugged. He'd split what was left after dealing with Charon between the three of them once he got back to camp from Mt. Olympus. But he didn't really remember just how many he gave Charon, so he couldn't say how many there were originally. Add that to what they still had from the 'bag' Ares gave them, and what was leftover after buying their plane tickets, and they'd had a decent amount of money on them by the end of the quest.

There were a few impressed whistles. "Wow, Crusty was loaded."

That was quite a bit by demigod standards, it wasn't like they got regular allowances from their parents. Every drachma they got was from camp, from Chiron, for either doing a good job on a quest, or from working for the camp as a counselor or trainer, or if they exchanged mortal money for a drachma or two at the camp store.

Percy got paid to be a combat instructor, and Annabeth got a small allowance as a counselor (some form of compensation for being in charge of keeping their often unruly siblings in some form of obedient order, he'd heard that Clarisse actually got a bonus if her cabin didn't start any fights that week). Percy, of course, being the only one in his cabin, didn't get that allowance.

Aphrodite frowned. "That's not that much money." She said slowly.

"It is for us." Luke retorted, shaking his head. The gods looked at each other and shrugged, while Poseidon sighed.

(Charon's growl changed... be bought, godling?)

"Yes." Nearly everyone in the room stated. Hades growled and the shadows in the room danced with his anger.

In response, Hestia had to spread out her own aura to counter it, otherwise the children would have been adversely affected. Persephone sighed and started trying to calm her husband down.

(Eh... just out... you got there?")

"They got him." Hermes said confidently, and leaned back in his seat, content to listen. They would be fine now.

Hades growled deeper, sounding much more dangerous and bone-chilling than Charon ever did.

("A lot," I said... such hard work.")

"Don't even start with that!" Hades burst out. "I pay him well enough for the poor quality of work he gives me! In fact, I'm probably over-paying him!"

"Hey, calm down Uncle, you know that flattery is the best form of manipulation." Hermes tried. Unfortunately for him, Hades wasn't in the mood to be placated or calmed down.

("Oh, you don't... three thousand years.)

"When you earn a pay raise, I'll give you one." Hades snapped at the book. Jason barely managed to not cringe back at the glare the Lord of the Underworld was shooting the book in his hands.

Persephone sighed and tightened the hold she had on his arm. "Dear, the children." She murmured, reminding him to try and rein it in.

(Do you imagine... this come cheap?")

"No, they don't." Apollo shook his head.

"Then maybe he should stop buying them." Hades grumbled. He was sick and tired of hearing about how nice and amazing Italian suits were. According to Charon, they were the most comfortable things in the world. And while he could agree they were comfortable, he also knew they were expensive, and Charon never shut up about them whenever he started demanding a pay raise.

("You deserve better,"... Good pay.")

"What he deserves is a good beating." Hades muttered with a growl, making Persephone sigh again.

"If you don't like him so much, then why do you still have him around?" Hermes was somewhat amused by Hades' reactions, but also knew that if he got too riled up, the children would be the ones suffering for it.

Hades graced his nephew with a scowl, but didn't say anything else.

(With each word... something even better.)

"Oh, please no. Do not get him started on anything else." He warned. Percy grimaced apologetically.

("I must say, lad... talking to Hades.")

"Do it, and die!" Hades growled at Percy, who gulped and eyed him like he was a particularly hungry shark.

"Ah, well, I said I would mention it, I didn't make any promises about actually making sure you promised anything." He said carefully.

(He sighed. "The... three and be off.")

Hades' growl deepened while everyone else actually relaxed.

They were in.

That was one less obstacle in their path.

(He stood, scooped... "Come along.")

"Sorry, Uncle." Percy said, suddenly, thinking of all the commotion they'd caused when they burst through the gate, and remembering what Hades had said about all the extra work that was created whenever somebody entered the Underworld illegally. "Just remember, we had to enter to find out what was going and stop Zeus and my father from fighting."

"Yeah... we had no choice. All the answers were in the Underworld." Annabeth said softly.

Hades growled again, quieter this time and not as angry sounding, but couldn't really stay mad at them, they had a point, after all. All their answers to preventing the end of the world laid in the Underworld.

He could, however, stay mad at Charon for not doing his job properly.

(We pushed through... couldn't make out.)

"That's a good thing." Nico informed the room, seriously. Then he went back to watching Hazel, worried.

"What would it mean if he could understand them?" Will asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"It would mean he was dead." Hades said bluntly.

(Charon shoved... grumbling, "Freeloaders.")

"Rude." A few muttered. Hades shrugged.

(He escorted us... into the lobby.)

"Huh." Hades murmured. "There's always a few that are more aware than others." He shrugged at some of the looks he got.

("Right. Now... waiting room.)

"How can a bunch of spirits get ideas?" Will asked.

"You would be surprised." Hades said dryly. Persephone snorted beside him.

"They can be rather... mischievous when they want to be." She rolled her eyes. Everyone was honestly surprised to hear this.

("And if anyone... years. Understand?")

"Harsh." Thalia grimaced.

"Not really, they're the ones stupid enough to mess with a guy's music." Apollo defended, and Will nodded in agreement.

"You've got to be kidding me." Clarisse muttered, eyeing the two of them with a strange look on her face. Now, if it was about weapons, or something, that she could understand.

"Probably best not to try and understand." Chris muttered in her ear with a small grin, she glared balefully back and momentarily regretted that he was one of the few who remained unaffected by her bad moods.

(He shut the doors... started to descend.)

Those that had never been to the Underworld before leaned forward in anticipation. They wanted to hear all about it, even if they weren't really sure if they wanted to know.

"This is the only time I've ever used the front gate." Percy said suddenly, tilting his head to the side in thought.

"Just how many times have you invaded my domain?" Hades demanded after a moment of shock.

"A few. I was actually invited on one of those occasions, though, so..." He shrugged. Nico couldn't look at anybody at the moment, thinking again how he kinda... tricked Percy that one time.

("What happens to the... feeling generous.")

Nico snorted. "Which is never." He said dryly. Hades and Persephone nodded in agreement.

"What? That's so unfair." Most of the younger demigods protested.

"Life isn't fair." Travis said blankly.

"What makes you think death would be any better?" Conner asked, and the others nodded in agreement.

Those that fought in the Titan War, and were currently dealing with monsters that didn't even have the courtesy to die like normal all knew that there were only two constants in the life of a demigod. Fighting monsters, and watching friends or family die. That was why, as the ladies had spoken about earlier (unknown to everyone else), they knew the importance of enjoying themselves and having fun together every chance they could get.

("Oh," she said. "That's... fair.")

"Again, what about death is fair?" Hades asked this time, shrugging. Thanatos actually took it as an insult when he was called fair or anything like that.

(Charon raised an... where you're going.")

"It won't be that easy to kill them." Clarisse scoffed, while Sally took a shaky breath at the (again!) casual way her sons possible death was spoken of.

She may know that it was a very, very real possibility that he wouldn't come back, but that didn't mean it had to be rubbed in her face like this!

"He's too stubborn to die." Chris agreed with his girlfriend.

"Let alone let anything happen to his companions." Connor scoffed. "Well, if he can help it." He amended after a moment, remembering what he'd heard about Bianca's and Beckendorf's deaths.

"It can't always be helped." Annabeth reminded him quietly when he got that 'I'm blaming myself for something' look on his face.

"I know... doesn't make it any easier." He mumbled.

("We'll get out... sudden dizzy feeling.)

"You've entered the Underworld." Nico said simply while Hazel shuddered. They may not personally know that feeling, since they themselves were children of the Underworld, but Hades had told Nico about the effects the Underworld could have on the living, and he shared everything their father taught him with Hazel.

Hades grumbled about paperwork. Thankfully, he'd managed to finish most of what he'd brought with him to the Solstice meeting, by the time these books were done, he was hoping to actually be ahead in his paperwork. He had a pretty good idea of what would be waiting for them when they got back after all, he could get some of it done early!

(We weren't going... began swaying.)

Everyone was starting to look more and more interested in what the Underworld would be like.

"These books are taking a lot of our privacy from us." Hades grumbled to his wife, who merely rolled her eyes lightly and rubbed his arm.

(I blinked hard... long black robe.)

"It was a little jarring. I didn't blink." Annabeth said, shuddering lightly at the reminder of that sight. It was like the robes melted, and the plain robe sort of... shimmered into view. It had been bizarre.

(His tortoiseshell... death and despair.)

Hades' mood actually lightened when the book started describing some of the aspects of his home. Even if it was just Charon's eyes.

"Is that eye thing a conscious choice?" Connor asked, curious.

Mr. D could do it when he wanted to, mostly to scare campers into obeying when he felt like they were getting too mouthy for his liking, Ares seemed to keep it up all the time (he had his shades on even now), and now Charon's eyes were like that.

"Yes." All the gods and goddesses said at once.

(He saw me looking...

"Nothing." I managed.)

"What did you want to say?" Apollo asked, curious.

"Nothing, actually. I was just more embarrassed to be caught staring." Percy shrugged.

"It's not polite to stare." Sally scolded lightly, but everyone could tell she was trying really hard to actually look stern, and not start grinning.

(I thought he was... to his skull.)

"Creepy." Was the consensus among the demigods. Percy just shrugged.

"How can you be so calm, I couldn't sleep for weeks after this." Grover shuddered.

"I managed." Percy said simply, although he had trouble sleeping too for a while.

"That is pretty nightmare inducing." Sally shuddered, and Paul nodded in agreement.

(The floor kept... getting seasick.")

"Can Satyr's even get seasick?" Clarisse asked quietly.

"Yes." Hermes and both Grovers said at once. And Grover got seasick a lot, going into the Sea of Monsters had been a nightmare and a half for him.

"Which is a shame." Poseidon sighed. But he supposed that it was a side-effect of being descendants of another god with a completely different domain. It wasn't unusual for children of one god to get sick because of or be terrified of some aspect of another gods domain.

(When I blinked... elevator anymore.)

"You need to stop blinking." Luke helpfully informed Percy, who scowled at him.

(We were standing... with gilt edges.)

Poseidon listened with anger, while everyone else was confused. "Perhaps, brother, if you would let me come down once in a while." He said mildly. It may be Charon's job to keep the Styx clean, but that didn't mean Poseidon couldn't help.

It may be in the Underworld, but it was still a body of water, and Styx wouldn't be the first river spirit to ask for help in keeping themselves clean.

Hades sighed. "Yes... perhaps you should come down and clean her up." He muttered, incensed because his brother shouldn't need to come down at all!

"What are those... hopes? Things people regret not doing?" Sally asked quietly, not sure she really wanted to know. Nobody answered her, knowing by now that it was probably answered soon in the book.

The Romans were thinking that this wasn't what they had been imagining so far.

("The River Styx,"... if you ask me.")

"No." Hades growled. "It's your job to make sure they don't throw stuff in the river." And his bad mood was back.

"People in general don't do anything with their lives, anymore. They make all these plans, have all these dreams, and then they just... don't achieve them. Sometimes, it may be because those dreams and plans changed. Other times, they let other things get in the way." Hestia said quietly. She saw it all the time.

(Mist curled off... the color of poison.)

"It's not really poisonous." Hades shrugged when he noticed the alarm on Sally's face, although that was an idea...

Hmm, the boys thoughts might give him some good ideas for increasing the security at the entrances to his domain.

(Panic closed up... hold of my hand.)

Aphrodite squealed quietly. Oh, these two were so perfect for each other, they were already acting like a couple!

(Under normal... alive on this boat.)

Aphrodite didn't let that reasoning stop her, oh no. Those two were the perfect couple, she was going to listen and watch carefully for when they got together, and then she was going to do what she could to get them together sooner.

Of course, what was a good matchmaking without a little turmoil and drama to go with it?

That girl Rachel was a good choice for a little love drama between Percy and Annabeth.

"I think I'd want to know somebody was alive down there, too." Clarisse shuddered. The other demigods nodded their agreement.

(I found myself... come to confront.)

Hades smirked darkly, pleased with the boys thoughts. "That's right, boy. It's foolish to come waltzing into my territory like this." He informed his nephew with glee, oh, the fun he could have with the godling before he escaped...

"You will not touch him." Poseidon warned.

Hades waved him off, "If he's going to come into my territory unannounced and uninvited, then he best be prepared to face the consequences." He informed his brother, knowing that there was nothing Poseidon could do about it if he were to kill the boy, Percy would have brought it on himself. Like Chiron said, the gods were constrained by so many rules and laws... up until the point when the demigods crossed a certain point in their actions, and then all rules were considered null and void.

Poseidon had already done all he could for the boy when he provided him with those pearls, and he knew it.

Like Perseus himself also said, only one god mattered when in the Underworld, and that was him.

(The shoreline of... we could see.)

"That just sounds depressing." Piper muttered.

"It's the Underworld, what do you expect?" Thalia asked, raising an eyebrow. Piper just shrugged.

"She is right... a bit of redecorating, and you could-" Aphrodite started to say, but was cut off by an annoyed Hades.

"My kingdom does not need to be redecorated." He hissed with a glare.

(A sound came... Three-Face is hungry,")

Hades scowled at that description of his dog. "He better be nice to my dog." He grumbled.

Mrs. O'Leary looked up and barked happily at mention of her friend.

Percy laughed softly. "Don't worry, you can go see him again soon." He whispered in her ear while he scratched behind them briefly. She wagged her tail happily.

"Why would he say Cerberus was hungry?" Artemis asked, suspicious.

"If it's really late at night, then it's probably getting close to supper time for him." Hades narrowed his eyes at his little niece, not at all liking that she implied he starved his dog.

"So late?" She demanded.

"Hey!" Nico cut in with a scowl. "Do you have any idea how much Cerberus eats? He gets five or six meals a day, we have to spread them out because otherwise he gets sick with larger meals." He huffed and leaned back with his arms crossed. That was the recommendation of the spirit-veterinarian they had on call just for him, after all. Hades nodded his agreement, and Artemis sat back, mollified.

(Charon said... for you, godlings.")

"Not really." Hades grimaced in disappointment. "Cerberus doesn't like the taste of living humans, he's very picky about his food." He sighed. Honestly, most of Cerberus' effectiveness as a guard came from his ferocity, although he supposed that Cerberus didn't have to eat somebody to stop them from entering the Underworld.

"Thank you for that bit of news." Sally said sarcastically, giving him a strange look, the same look the others were all giving him. He only shrugged.

"You're welcome." He smirked briefly.

(The bottom of our... his gray robe.)

The demigods were quiet, just listening to Jason describe the spirits.

"That's so sad." Reyna said quietly.

"The woman and her daughter... the teenager... They had their whole lives ahead of them still." Chris said quietly.

"Death takes everyone in the end." Hades said. "There is nothing fair or kind about it." He intoned solemnly.

(Charon said, "I'd... my pay raise.")

"You better forget to mention that." Hades growled.

"I said I would." Percy shrugged. Hades' growl deepened.

"Don't worry, he said he would mention it. You don't have to do anything about it." Persephone tried to calm him down again. He grumbled. Oh, he was going to do something about it alright, it just wouldn't be what Charon was expecting at all.

(He counted our... across the river.)

"He actually had a pretty good voice." Percy said with a shrug.

"He joins in sometimes with our musicians, or guest sings at concerts sometimes in Elysium." Persephone said with a slight laugh, even though she knew her husband hated it when he left his post. In fact, Hades hated it when Charon stepped foot on 'their' side of the Styx period.

(We followed the... the Jersey Turnpike.)

Jason paused and quietly read that last line to himself again. "Seriously?" He asked, looking up, blinking in surprise. The rest of the demigods, and even a few of the council looked just as surprised.

Hades shrugged. "We had to do a little remodeling as more and more souls started coming in. We used to have a portcullis, but... larger numbers meant we needed a better way of keeping them all organized, and moving."

"Yeah, where do you think I got the idea for the Jersey turnpike?" Hermes chimed in. As the gods messenger, he was probably the only one that had a (sort of) open invitation to come and go from both the Underworld and Atlantis as needed. Which meant that he was the only one that had any real knowledge of those two kingdom's security measures and layout.

"You designed the New Jersey Turnpike?" Percy asked, surprised.

"Patron of travelers, remember?" Hermes asked, pointing to himself. "It was a project with one of my sons." He shrugged. That son happened to be an engineer who worked for the road departments, he designed most of the highway systems throughout the US.

(There were three... metal detector)

"It's not actually a metal detector." Hades said with a shrug.

"Then what does it detect?" Luke asked, hesitantly.

Hades turned a glare on the three, "I think we'll find out soon enough." Percy smiled innocently at him while the other two looked sheepish.

(with security... ghouls like Charon.)

"That is not what I was expecting." Reyna said, dumbfounded.

Hades shrugged. "It's changed over the years from how it used to be set up, but... it's a pretty efficient system considering the numbers that come through every day."

(The howling of... to be seen.)

"Oh, he's there." Hades smirked lightly, wanting to hear what Perseus had to say about his dog. That boy better be amazed and impressed at the sight of Cerberus.

(The dead queued... marked EZ DEATH.)

"'Ez death?' 'Attendant on duty'?" Sally asked, curious. "What's-?"

Hades cut her off. "The 'ez death' line goes straight to Asphodel, while the attendant line goes to the judgement pavilion. From there, some of the souls go to Asphodel anyway, others to the Fields of Punishment, and a few to Elysium." He explained. "We have two judge panels on duty at any one time, so that the process goes quicker." And finding more judges for that had been a nightmare and a half when he had to double the amount of on-duty judges.

(The EZ DEATH... go against them.")

"It often does, even for those who think they've earned Elysium. Or perhaps especially for those who think they've earned Elysium..." Hades mused. A lot of people tried to argue with the judges decision that they hadn't truly done anything and 'sentenced' them to Asphodel, although those being sent to the Fields of Punishment protested the most.

He honestly found it both perplexing and amusing.

("There's a court for dead people?")

"Of course there is, how do you think it's decided who deserves punishment, and who deserves to be rewarded?" Persephone sniffed. Although, personally she would be happier if some of those judges were fired, but... eh, she supposed that the ones she didn't like balanced out the others on the panel.

"I didn't know this stuff then!" Percy protested. Although, he'd kind of figured that Hades would handle it all personally. He hadn't accounted for the numbers he'd seen that day, and that was only that hour, who knew just how many dead people passed through there.

Hazel shuddered at the mention of the judges.

("Yeah. Three judges... King Minos,)

Nico shuddered at the mention of him, while Persephone glared at her husband.

He was one of the ones she didn't approve of being on the judges panel.

(Thomas Jefferson... decide on punishment.)

"Sometimes, though, a person will take a punishment or give up Elysium to spare a loved one from punishment." Hades said quietly, and his eyes drifted towards Hazel, who was trying not to focus on the reading, trying to stop a Blackout.

"Not all those in the fields of Punishment, or in Asphodel, actually deserve to be there." Persephone agreed.

(But most people...

"And do what?")

"Nothing." Hazel said quietly, sounding far away. "You just stand there and do nothing." She was starting to lose the fight against a Blackout.

Nico looked at her, worried. Suddenly, he stood up and grabbed her hand, before shadowing out of the room with her. Mentally, he chastised himself for not taking her somewhere else before this.

As soon as they were somewhere else, she stopped fighting it and let it come, leaving him to watch over her in worry.

(Grover said, "Imagine... Kansas. Forever.")

"That sounds depressingly boring." Clarisse said. She would rather have enemies to fight.

"Well... most spirits aren't actually aware." Persephone corrected. "Not those in Asphodel, anyway. Punishment or Elysium, those spirits are fully aware, as are a few others that earned special attention, mostly renowned scholars or soldiers who would be good as guards in the palace."

"Only children of the Underworld are fully aware, which should go without saying as they belong there." Hades added with a shrug.

"That still sounds depressingly boring." Clarisse deadpanned. Hopefully she never wound up in Asphodel.

("Harsh," I said... a security desk.)

Hades perked up. Somebody deserving of his personal attention?

(The face of the... plated toilet seats,)

"Seriously?" Most people asked in unison after Jason paused for a moment at those words.

"Remind you of anyone?" He asked Piper and Leo dryly.

"Those two would have loved each other." Piper muttered.

"If Midas didn't try to turn him into gold first." Leo scoffed.

(and an indoor... went off a cliff.)

"I remember him." Grover said. "When was this police chase?"

"Early April."

"Disgusting men, cheating others like that." Artemis growled. "And stealing from children like that!"

"Using children in such a way." Hestia said in disgust. "And then stealing from them!"

"He will get his punishment, believe me." Hades reassured the rest of the council, looking forward to meeting this man.

(I said, "What're... doing to him?")

"Getting him booked and prepped to be brought before me for his punishment." Hades smirked in feral satisfaction.

The younger kids inched away from him slowly.

("Special punishment... torture for him.")

"Oh, no. My ladies will not do anything. Those that earn my personal attention get all of my personal attention." Hades purred, satisfied. Persephone rolled her eyes fondly.

Percy's mind suddenly went back to his initial thought about Hades being like a panther or something.

(The thought of... home territory now.)

"I would be looking over my shoulder every second." Chris cut in with a shudder.

"Oh, I'm sure they were looking forward to his arrival." Rachel said, grinning at Percy, who shuddered himself.

"I already look over my shoulder every second." He muttered.

(Old Mrs. Dodds... a different hell...")

"Who says that he's seeing what's really there?" Hades asked. "Mortals are... interesting that way. They will see what they choose to see, for the most part." It didn't matter to him what the preacher saw, he would be punished either way.

"The Mist is... complicated in that way, as well. And also very handy. It doesn't stop working on a person just because they are dead, after all." Persephone added. "If anything, it is possibly stronger in places like the Underworld."

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other before shuddering. They knew full well that they hadn't seen Tartarus for what it really was while they were down there, there minds had (for the most part) been protected from seeing more than they could handle. The Underworld wasn't the only place the Mist was strongest in.

(Grover shrugged... persistent, that way.")

The council all snorted in unison. "I'll agree with them being stubborn about it." Hermes laughed. It was always amusing for him just how mortals explained things away.

Sally and Paul honestly weren't sure whether or not to take that as a compliment or not, while Rachel just laughed about it.

(We got closer... was coming from.)

"That's never good."

"How are you supposed to fight or avoid something you can't see?"

"Better find him, quick."

"If you hurt my dog..." Hades threatened, just listening to the demigods talk about fighting Cerberus.

"Wasn't planning on it." Percy honestly told him. Fighting their way in was never the plan. Fighting their way out on the other hand, that had always been an option.

(Then, about fifty... shadowy monster.)

Persephone raised an eyebrow at the last word and snuck a look at her husband, who didn't seem to have really registered the word. She knew that if he had, he would be yelling at the boy at the very least.

(I hadn't seen... teeth looked solid.)

"I bet." Piper said faintly. She'd always kind of wanted a dog, now she wasn't so sure.

"Awesome." The Stolls and Leo all breathed. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the boys, who had all been surprisingly quiet up until now.

(And it was staring... "He's a Rottweiler.")

"Really?" Most of the demigods asked, having not actually thought of it before. Percy nodded. They all chose to ignore the very, very random thought of what breed the big, three headed dog that probably wanted to eat him, was.

They were used to it by now. Percy's head was apparently a very strange place to be.

"I was honestly expecting a mastiff or something." Annabeth admitted. That was how he was pictured or described in all the stories.

"Why does everyone always say that?" Hades wondered out loud. Honestly, he looked nothing like a mastiff.

(I'd always imagined... had three heads.)

"Except, of course, for all that." Annabeth said, sarcastically rolling her eyes. She was a little pale, though. She couldn't imagine being here herself, and she didn't want to.

Percy just shrugged again.

(The dead walked right up to him- no fear at all.)

"Of course not, they probably aren't even aware he's there." Thalia muttered. She was kind of glad now that she hadn't gone through the front gate the one time she'd been to the Underworld.

And that she'd actually been summoned, meaning she hadn't had to sneak around.

(The ATTENDANT ON... without even crouching.)

A few whistled in appreciation. "That's big."

"Imagine all that dog food." Paul muttered, thinking of just how much Mrs. O'Leary ate at that picnic in Central Park after the Battle of Manhattan.

("I'm starting to... "Why is that?")

"No particular reason." Hades shrugged. "You're probably just adjusting to being in the Underworld. It can be a bit of an adjustment for the living." It really didn't mean anything else beyond that.

("I think..." Annabeth... to being dead.")

Sally whimpered softly at the thought.

Hades just shook his head. "Not really." He denied.

(The dog's middle... living," I said.)

"Maybe I should replace Charon with Cerberus." Hades grumbled, pleased with the reaction to his dog. "Cerberus would actually do his job, and do it well."

"You can't replace Charon with Cerberus." Persephone rolled her eyes. "How would he collect payment or ferry the barge?" She asked reasonably. Hades shrugged. It was just a thought.

"You guys might want to think about running." Luke advised, although he was always curious how they got past him. He'd never really thought to ask Annabeth before he left.

Percy snorted. "And go where?" He asked.

"Good point." Luke muttered.

("But that's okay,"... have a plan.")

"Are we finally going to find out what this mystery plan is?" Luke asked, honestly looking forward to hearing what Annabeth came up with. It was getting near the end, he would finally learn how everything worked out.

Percy snorted. "It's not as elaborate as you're probably expecting right now." He smirked.

("Right," Annabeth... quite so small.)

"I knew he was big, but I never thought he would be that big." She explained when she noticed the looks she was getting over her reaction to Cerberus.

("A plan."

We moved toward the monster.)

Immediately, Hades' face darkened and he turned his glare on Percy. "What. Did you. Just. Call him?" He asked slowly.

Jason decided not to point out that this was the second time Cerberus had actually been called a monster.

"Ah. Um... well... Sorry?" Percy asked, having no explanation that he knew Hades would accept. Hades merely growled low in his throat when he saw one of the Seven slide into view behind Percy, eyeing him with his hand on his weapon.

If those kids weren't here...

(The middle head... eyeballs rattled.)

"I bet that felt interesting." Chiron cut in, amused.

Percy rubbed at his eyes with a scowl. "You have no idea." He muttered.

"He has very interesting descriptions." Frank whispered to the other Romans. They nodded, although Reyna was hesitant to find out how he would describe them.

("Can you understand it?" I asked Grover.)

"Call my dog an 'it' one more time." Hades warned. Percy gulped, eyeing him warily.

"Um, well..." He started, but couldn't finish. This was before he got a dog of his own that he himself adored. "Sorry?" He finally asked.

Hades glared.

("Oh yeah," he said... translates, exactly.")

"Is that true, or...?" Thalia asked immediately.

"Eh... it's kind of true. I could make a rough translation of what he said, but I'm not going to." Grover shook his head and shuddered. "Your dog has a very foul mouth." He informed Hades, who shrugged.

Percy snorted. "Wait until he hears what Arion has to say." He muttered. Hazel looked at him curiously. She never could get him to completely translate everything her horse had to say.

(I took the big... Deluxe floor model.)

"Did it have to be that one?" Aphrodite complained. "That sounded like a decent model!"

"It had the biggest bedposts. Actually, it was one of the only ones that actually had bedposts." He shrugged, not caring and not really sure why she was complaining. It wasn't like she couldn't go there after this reading and get that model for herself before anything happened to Crusty.

Or even magic one into existence for herself. Her husband might even be able to build her one, he could probably do it better, even.

(I held it up... fire hydrants.)

Everyone who'd ever had a dog snorted. "That's not going to do anything, unless you can suddenly communicate with dogs, too." Hades chuckled. "You really want to get his attention, thoughts of death or playtime."

Percy grimaced. "I know that now. I didn't know anything about dogs at this point. Not until I got Mrs. O'Leary." He admitted.

It was then that Hephaestus finally recognized the Hellhound sitting behind the couches where the demigods were currently sprawled out. How did Percy Jackson come to have Daedalus' dog?

(I tried to smile... with you much.")

"Hey, I play with him whenever I can." Hades defended. It was never nearly as much as he wanted to, though.

"I play with him whenever I can, too." Nico said, frowning at Percy. He'd returned from taking care of Hazel just in time to hear the last comment.

"It was part of the plan, and I don't know what goes on in the Underworld on a daily basis." Percy defended himself.

("GROWWWLLLL!"

"Good boy," I said weakly.)

"Don't show him fear. That will only make you more appetizing." Annabeth sighed. Although, truth be told, she was just as scared as he was. She'd just done a better job of hiding it from the others.

"He won't eat you." Hades dismissed again.

(I waved the stick... the movement.)

"That's always the head that gives me the most trouble." Hades muttered. The middle head was always the one that was the most eager to play, and the most reluctant to listen.

"That's my favorite head, though." Persephone muttered.

(The other two... a good thing.)

"Well... it would let the other two sneak past..." Katie reasoned slowly.

"But then how would Percy get past?" Will asked.

"He's Percy. He'll figure something out." Thalia dismissed.

"I love the faith you people have in me." Percy muttered.

("Fetch!" I... into the gloom,)

"Not one of his favorite games to play. He prefers balls or a rope to tug on." Hades said, smiling in a bit of amusement. He couldn't see this ending well at all.

"How were we supposed to know that?" Percy grumbled while the others laughed.

(a good solid... the River Styx.)

"Hey!" Poseidon protested. "I think she's polluted enough!" He scolded his son lightly. Although, he didn't really see what difference one more stick would do, that didn't mean he had to add to it!

"Sorry, dad." Percy grimaced.

"That was a good throw, though." Triton added, shrugging at the deadpan look his father was currently giving him while everyone else laughed.

(Cerberus glared at... for the plan.)

"No, it could still work if you have something else to tempt him with." Nico denied.

"Hopefully you do." Will said, worried.

"Don't worry, Annabeth was on it." Percy grinned at her. He knew that ever since this moment, she'd carried a small ball and dog treats in her quest bag.

(Cerberus was now... three throats.)

"He's lost all patience he might have had with you three." Hades warned, a little too gleefully for some readers tastes...

("Um," Grover said... well... he's hungry.")

"He won't eat them." Hades felt the need to reassure Sally and Paul again, who had both gasped in horror at the prospect of their son/stepson being eaten by a giant three-headed dog.

"And he's almost always hungry." Persephone sighed. They really did feed him well, though.

("Wait!" Annabeth... her pack.)

"You might want to rifle fast." Rachel advised, worried for her friends despite knowing that they obviously got out somehow.

"It was towards the middle of the bag." She shrugged. She hadn't had to dig much for it.

(Uh-oh, I thought... "Do we run now?")

"That sounds like a good idea."

"No! You don't run! Stay and fight!" Clarisse protested, although she had no idea what they were really going to do against something that big, and then deal with Hades afterward, he was clearly very protective of his dog.

"How?" Percy deadpanned. "Our plan so far already fell through, and he was kind of big, not to mention we were kind of on his turf. As soon as the commotion was heard, Hades and his people would be all over us." He rolled his eyes at Hades' smug look.

"Still." Clarisse grumbled.

(Annabeth produced... of a grapefruit.)

"Bit small, but it will work well enough." Hades grimaced when everyone turned to look at him. Their looks were all silently asking him if the ball would work, or if they should seriously consider running and finding another way in.

And Cerberus was going to love her forever for playing with him. Now all she needed was to be able to handle him right...

(It was labeled... DENVER, CO.)

"Huh. Do you have any other goodies from there?" Thalia asked, because this ball came in handy. "Good thing you picked up that ball." She glanced at Annabeth in question. They'd all said that they picked up a few things off the shelves that were small and easily played with to keep themselves occupied. What use could the ball have had?

"I took the ball with Cerberus in mind, actually. I figured that it might come in handy if we ran into him, I wasn't actually expecting him to be right at the gate. And I still have most of the stuff from there, I use it, too." She shrugged. The rubic cube, deck of cards, and small stress ball in particular saw a lot of use. She even found occasional use for the small umbrella she took from there.

It wasn't like there was anyone around to stop them, or even notice merchandise was missing.

Athena pursed her lips, but said nothing. Even she had to admit that in this instance, it was a good thing Annabeth took those things, even though she did not condone her daughter stealing...

(Before I could... up to Cerberus.)

"Did you lose your mind?" A few people yelped, not understanding why she would be getting closer to the really big three-headed dog that was threatening to eat them. (Whether Hades claimed he really wouldn't or not was another matter entirely.)

"I think all these Greeks are absolutely insane." Reyna muttered to Dakota, who snorted.

"They are an interesting group, though." He pointed out, and she had to agree with that.

"I knew what I was doing." Annabeth defended her, and Jason kept reading.

(She shouted... Cerberus? Sit!")

"Oh." Luke realized. "The chapter title." He announced when he saw the questioning looks he was getting.

"Obedience school..." Katie muttered, and all the demigods were satisfied now that they knew what the chapter title was referring to. They'd noticed that the chapters all had really strange names, but they made perfect sense once you reached a certain point in the chapter itself.

(Cerberus looked... as we were.)

"I honestly thought she'd lost it." Percy admitted, tightening his arms around her in apology. She huffed, but didn't say anything... this time.

"I was not expecting that, at all." Grover chimed in. It had come completely out of nowhere, he'd thought she was dead when she just marched right up to him.

"I don't think anybody would." Will shook his head at the three. It was amazing that they worked together as well as they did, considering their tendencies to do their own thing and leave the others scrambling to keep up, wondering what they were thinking.

"I think Cerberus thought she lost it, too." Persephone let out a small giggle, picturing the confused look on Cerberus' face.

(All three of his... Annabeth called again.)

"Not going to work, wouldn't he be trained to not respond to others?" Thalia asked, wondering when they were going to start running already. Not that she doubted Annabeth's abilities with a dog, but... Cerberus wouldn't really be much of a gatekeeper if just anybody could give him commands.

"He is." Hades sighed. "But she has a ball in her hand." He shook his head. He was going to have to figure out some way of stepping Cerberus' training again. Really, though, he was just a giant puppy sometimes.

"We need to work with him again." Persephone grimaced.

(I was sure that... Milkbone dog biscuit.)

"Gee, thanks." Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Sorry. I had no idea what you were thinking, though." Percy defended himself.

"She was always good with handling the dogs we found on the streets." Thalia cut in. "She'd have them eating out of her hand in no time, no matter how skittish they were. He'll be no problem." She waved off with a proud grin in Annabeth's direction. Annabeth just flushed.

(But instead, Cerberus... out of tires.)

While a few demigods chuckled lightly at the mental image Percy painted, Hades grimaced. "At least their already dead, and wouldn't have felt that." He muttered, to everyone's agreement.

"Just give them a few minutes after he stands up again and they'll be fine." Persephone dismissed.

"The next dog that gets into camp, we're letting you deal with." Luke decided, wondering why they hadn't done that years ago. He sent a small glare towards the Stolls, knowing it was them that brought in the dogs, who always somehow managed to get into every trash bin, hidden cache of snacks, or anything else remotely food related. Annabeth grumbled, but wasn't about to admit she was the one to bring them in after finding them just outside the camp boundaries.

(Annabeth said, "Good... the new toy.)

"Three balls would have been better, one for each head." Hades commented with a frown, but couldn't really fault the girl for not thinking of that.

Annabeth grimaced. "I think a bigger ball would have been better than what I had." She muttered. But, that was all that was left over at Waterland, so...

("Drop it!" Annabeth... piece of gum.)

"You are a very descriptive person." Will nodded once, and Percy shrugged.

"I didn't write these, so..." He shrugged again.

"Maybe not, but these were all based on your thoughts and experiences, so... it's all written how you described it." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Eh. Just nobody get angry if you don't like how you're described." He warned. After all, he never planned on his thoughts being read like this.

(He made a loud... at Annabeth's feet.)

"That's not going to survive another throw." Hades pointed out.

"Whatever your going to have the boys do, you better do it now." Athena commented absently, going over her daughter's strategy in her head and deciding that it was a good one. Of course, there was a huge variable that she couldn't really plan for that the whole plan hinged on (the dog wanting to play in the first place, or even listening to her at all), but otherwise, it was a good plan.

"I know. It was all I had, though." She was getting a little annoyed about the comments towards the size of the ball she was using, and the lack of any more of them.

("Good boy."... spit all over it.)

"I've been covered in worse than dog drool." She said dryly.

"He's not a monster." Hades muttered, glaring again.

(She turned toward...

I said, "But-")

"Why are you protesting, she just gave you an opening." Clarisse rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't going to leave her behind! We had no idea how that dog was going to react once the ball was gone, or how he was going to react to us getting closer!" Percy defended himself, with Grover in full agreement. Although, he'd had a better idea since he could actually understand what the beast was saying.

"Trust in your companions... if they say to do something, do it. They usually know what they're doing or at least have a plan." Chiron advised with a smile.

Nobody noticed Percy's minute flinch at those words, his thoughts had automatically drifted to Bianca, and what happened to her...

("Now!" She ordered... on the dog.)

There were some snickers throughout the room at the comparison, while Annabeth just smirked.

"Haha, very funny." Percy grumbled for a bit.

(Grover and I inched forward warily.)

"We didn't know what Cerberus would do." Percy shrugged at the looks he was getting.

(Cerberus started to... where he was.)

Hades huffed a laugh and shook his head in disbelief. Oh yes, they were definitely upping the dogs training after this.

It should not be so easy to get past his dog, it really shouldn't.

"Don't you four dare." He suddenly snapped, his ears catching the mutters of the four Stoll's as they whispered among themselves.

"What?" Travis asked, pretending they weren't just plotting with how to get into the Underworld and create chaos.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. If you four come anywhere near my domain, you will be in the dungeons for the rest of your lives." He hissed threateningly.

Percy shuddered. "That will be a very short time." He warned. "His dungeon is not designed with the living in mind. Those cells are air-tight."

"... How do you know that?" Poseidon deadpanned after a moment of staring at his son in shock.

"Uh... it will probably be in one of the later books." Percy said uncomfortably, relieved that Nico wasn't here right now, since his guilty expression would probably give away his part in it.

("What about you?"... I'm pretty sure...")

"You know, that's really not reassuring." Luke said simply, tilting his head to the side.

"I knew what I was doing. I just wasn't too sure what I was going to do once the ball was gone and if Cerberus decided to attack afterwards." She admitted.

"He won't. He likes you, now. You've played with him." Hades said with a sigh. He supposed that he was going to have to let her back in on occasion, if only so she could play with Cerberus some more.

Great.

(Grover and I... him to sit again.)

Annabeth glared at Percy while everyone else laughed, who winced. "Seriously? What do you take me for?" She demanded. She knew exactly where they were at, why would she tell Cerberus to sit on top of them?!

Percy winced. "Sorry... I was thinking more on what I saw happen to those spirits he sat on." He said sheepishly while everyone else laughed harder. Even Grover was laughing! He shot Grover a betrayed look, if Grover wasn't thinking something similar, he would eat Mrs. O'Leary!

(We made it... said, "Good dog!")

"Not at the moment, he's not." Hades deadpanned. "He's letting trespassers in when he's supposed to keep them out!"

"He was being a good dog for her, letting them through, and obeying her commands." Thalia braved with a small smirk.

"He's not supposed to obey anybody but us." Hades hissed with a glare, gesturing between himself and his wife, who smirked lightly.

(She held up the... another trick.)

"Won't be needed, you've just made a friend." Hades groused, not happy with his dog for this.

(She threw the ball anyway. The monster's)

Hades growled.

(left mouth immediately... moaned in protest.)

"Oh, poor guy." Sally said, feeling sorry for him. "You really need three balls to play with him, otherwise they fight over it, or one head gets left out."

"A ball that small doesn't really cut it, either." Hades agreed.

Annabeth winced. "I used what I had." She repeated softly. Truthfully, that moan tugged at her heart, and made her sorry for not having two more balls, or at least a bigger one.

(While the monster... asked her, amazed.)

"I'm a girl of many talents." She shrugged with a smile.

"Anybody good with dogs could probably do the same." Artemis smiled slightly at the girl showing herself so capable.

("Obedience school,"... in her eyes.)

"I didn't want to leave him... not after he started whining like that." Annabeth admitted with a frown. She really needed to get back down there to play with him, she'd promised she would, after all.

("When I was... had a Doberman...")

"My stepmom made us get rid of him when she found out she was pregnant with Bobby and Matthew. She said that such a big dog wasn't safe with little kids." She made a face. They'd had that dog since before Annabeth could remember, meaning he was perfectly safe around little kids, since he was around her all the time.

Yet another thing for her to argue with her stepmom over, she supposed.

At least they managed to find him a good home, one that was close enough that she was able to visit occasionally before she ran away. Not that stopped her from going over there and trying to take her dog with her...

("Never mind that,"... "Come on!")

Rachel snorted. "There are some conversations that can just wait 'till later." She said with a glint of amusement. Percy just stuck out his tongue.

(We were about... all three mouths.)

"Aw." Sally cooed, feeling sorry for the poor dog. "Oh, I'm sure I'll go visit him after they leave, calm him down and all that." Hades waved her off, not wanting to admit how disturbed he was by his dogs reaction to the girl.

(Annabeth stopped.)

"Don't stop!"

"What are you doing?! Keep running!"

"Are you nuts? Trying to break into somewhere here!"

"And not being very stealthy about it, either." The Stolls chimed in last, managing to make themselves heard over everybody else clamoring over why Annabeth stopping right there was a bad idea. All of Hermes children had been surprisingly quiet so far on how they were getting into the Underworld.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked them after a moment of silence.

Travis grimaced, as though he couldn't believe she just asked that. "They're walking right in through the front door." He explained slowly.

"A security ghoul probably saw what was going on..."

"... between them and Cerberus, and might have already called it in."

"Or, Charon might have called in that they were there."

"Either way, you're not exactly hiding your presence there."

"Which means you need to keep moving." All four Stolls eyed the trio with a strange intensity, while both Luke's and Chris's agreed with them, along with Leo. Although, they could also all agree that sometimes walking in the front door was the best way to stay under the radar, that was only true when security wasn't already warned that you might be coming and keep an eye out. They didn't know if Security had been warned or not, but still. It was that unknowing that created a huge risk.

"Sorry... but... he sounded so... I couldn't just walk away like that!" Annabeth burst out, glaring at the Stolls, daring them to keep going with everything she'd apparently done wrong in this moment.

(She turned to face... drool at its feet.)

"He wants to keep playing." Paul muttered.

"He's really just a giant puppy, isn't he?" Clarisse asked in wonder, this was supposed to be the feared guard dog of the Underworld?

Percy, both Luke's, and Katie all eyed the Stoll brothers warily, knowing that they would completely ignore Percy and Hades' warnings about not breaking into the Underworld.

("Good boy," Annabeth... and uncertain.)

At everyone's looks, she sighed. "He sounded exactly like our Doberman did when my dad and I left him at his new home. Like he was trying to figure out what was going on. Why we were leaving without him..." She trailed off, and Percy slipped an arm around her shoulders in comfort.

(The monster's... worried about her.)

"Animals are largely empathic... it's why they can make such good therapy 'aids'. He was probably wondering why she was sad." Grover reasoned, and most of the animal lovers in the room agreed, especially Apollo and Will, as the resident Healers, even if Will hadn't really started getting much into Psychology and all that yet.

"Oh yes, he has claimed you as one of his, alright." Hades muttered under his breath. He could imagine the look Cerberus must have been giving her right then, too. Cerberus had given it to him often enough over the centuries.

("I'll bring you... you like that?")

"Yes, he would. Just make it bigger or bring more than one." Hades instructed the girl, already making plans to invite her down and make some way for her to be able to come and go... as long as he knew she was there, of course.

(The monster... waiting for the ball.)

"Actually, he was wondering where she was going, and wasn't she going to play with him some more." Grover corrected with a grimace. "Although, yeah... he was also waiting for the ball to be thrown again in the beginning."

Annabeth flinched while the others looked at her sympathetically. It seemed she'd made a friend... and it didn't appear that she'd been back since.

("Good dog... I- I promise.")

Everyone immediately turned to Annabeth. "Have you been back since?" Thalia asked, concerned. She didn't remember hearing about Annabeth ever being down there...

She bit her lip and shook her head. "No. Everything just seemed to- keep happening. I had school, and then I was going to ask Chiron if he could call Lord Hades or something and make arrangements the next summer, but then everything with your tree and that quest happened, and then back to school, and then I was kidnapped, and... Everything just seemed to be happening all at once." Annabeth said, kind of helplessly. "By the time I thought about him again, we were in the middle of a war." She whispered. And then after the way, she was caught up with designing new cabins for camp, and making the new designs for

Hades sighed. "Come see me later and we can discuss arrangements." He muttered, clearly not happy about it, but if it provided another much needed play-mate for his dog... he couldn't play with him nearly as much as he would like after all.

Annabeth lit up. "Really? Thank you!" She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but quirk a small smile back.

(Annabeth turned to... flashing red lights.)

Nearly everybody flinched. "Well... if they didn't know you were there before, they certainly do now." Leo grimaced. He hated that... those scanner things in stores were the bane of his existence when he lived on the 'd be trying to take off with something he needed to survive, like a piece of warm clothing, and those stupid things would go off, drawing attention!

"Yeah... which is not a good thing for them." Jason grimaced before he continued reading.

("Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!")

Hades groaned. Just that right there would generate so much paperwork that he had to deal with... the ghouls would write up an incident report, handed in to their direct superiors, who would then write up their own reports on the matter and recommendations on how to keep it from happening again... and then he would have to go through those reports and others to see if there was anything to be done to beef up security at the gate...

"They're magic detectors?" Katie asked, surprised. "But... isn't it just spirits who normally go through there?" She looked at Hades, who shrugged.

"I do get other visitors. Not often, but I do get them. Those visitors are usually supposed to be there, though." He glared slightly at Percy, who had the gall to grin at him!

(Cerberus started to... the Underworld.)

Hades groaned again, well... at least he was mostly caught up on his paperwork now... and he had still more time here to get a little ahead of it all, actually! So... that was something. And, hopefully by the time these books were over, the boy would not need to come bursting into his domain like this, anyway.

Persephone patted him on the back with a grimace.

(A few minutes later... immense black tree)

A few people nodded in approval of their hiding spot, and the fact that they hadn't just kept running.

(as security ghouls... from the Furies.)

"You better keep an eye out... if they catch you, Alecto might not bother bringing you in alive." Persephone warned, smiling at her husbands disgruntled scoff. He didn't really care one way or the other at the moment, they were invading his territory.

"They won't be happy with being called in as 'backup' either." His mood brightened slightly at the thought of it. "Especially since at this time of night, she's most likely in the Fields of Punishment, doing her duties there. She doesn't like being pulled away from her toys." He smirked at everyone else's expressions.

"I didn't want to deal with them on their own turf." Percy scowled. "Dealing with them on the bus had been bad enough, at least there they couldn't really move around properly." He grumbled a bit about it.

(Grover murmured... balls over sticks?")

"He actually does like sticks. That one was just so small, it probably didn't even register as something he could play with." Hades shrugged. "The ball on the other hand... while it was small, it was still the same basic shape as his, and it was even red, just like his." That would have helped immensely, despite it's small size. Of course, the way Annabeth spoke to him probably helped too.

("No," Grover told... really bite!")

Grover was pelted with a boos and a barrage of pillows or other soft objects from the demigods, while the gods shook their heads at the really bad joke.

"Hey!" Grover protested while his younger self quietly sulked, he thought it was good...

"It was actually a good plan... it just wasn't executed correctly at first." Athena grudgingly admitted, not happy to be complimenting the sea spawn in anyway.

(I wasn't sure about... once in a while.)

Hades hummed in agreement. Everybody seemed to forget that they were living beings too, despite being in the Underworld.

Everybody else stared at Percy in amazement.

"Since when did you get so deep?" Clarisse demanded, a teasing glint in her eye.

"Hey! I will have you know that I am a very deep person." Percy defended himself with a ghost of a smile on his face. Annabeth just rolled her eyes at the by-play between the two of them.

(I thought about... his new friend.)

"Thanks." Annabeth whispered to Percy, squeezing his hand. Thanks for not making a big deal out of it, thanks for just being there...

Hades scowled unhappily, and Persephone hid a smile. Yeah... he was going to have to let the Athena girl back into the Underworld to spend time with Cerberus. It was clear that the dog already liked her, and she only threw a ball for him twice.

"You better hope that dad didn't hear Cerberus whining from up in the palace. He'll be in a really bad mood, then." Nico warned, suddenly appeared next to everybody along with Hazel. The Romans immediately closed ranks around the younger girl, who smiled gratefully, but she wouldn't tell them what was wrong or why Nico and her left so suddenly. She didn't want to talk about it...

"I'll be in a bad enough mood just from the break in." Hades corrected his son with a scowl. But, no... hearing his dog keen like that would not help anything at all.

There was silence for a few moments before Jason held the book up. "Who wants to read next?" He asked the room in general.

"I will." Chris volunteered, surprising everyone. So far, all the younger kids had been quiet, mostly letting the older ones speak.

"Here you go." Jason manipulated the wind a little to 'float' the book towards him, and he took a moment to find the right page again.

Chapter nineteen: We Find out the Truth, Sort of