Hi all, and thanks for all reviews, signed and anonymous. I do not have much detail in the Underworld, because I only faintly remember how Mr. Riordan portrayed it in the Lightning Thief. However, the Elysium Fields is something else…

"WHAT THE FRUITCAKE?!?!?!?" A thunderous voice yelled.

Great. My favorite uncle was rolling out the welcome mat. Thalia looked like she was going to faint.

"What is it with you and fruitcakes?" An equally loud female voice answered. Someone was finally voicing my thoughts. Must've been Persephone.

I heard Hades making excuses. Thalia managed a weak chuckle.

A faint growling was in the distance, easily identified by me as Cerberus. Unfortunately, Thalia didn't know. "What is that?" she asked nervously.

"It's Cerberus." I said grimly. At these words, Thalia did faint. Who knew she was so scared of the Underworld? I gave her a short draught of nectar and she opened her eyes and got up. We strode through a familiar arch indicating Erebus.

We walked, and walked, and walked. Spirits chattered at us impatiently. I was hoping to see Annabeth somewhere, but no luck. The howling was getting louder. Thalia was pale, almost white. Grover had a fearful expression on his face. Tyson was just looking grim.

We stopped at the gate at which I knew Cerberus resided. The dead walked in between his feet, hissing and jabbering to each other. Cerberus barked loudly.

"Um, Percy?" Grover asked nervously.

"Yeah?"

"You really want to know what he said, don't you?"

"Yes,"

"Well, he said…'what the fruitcake? You again?'" Grover shrank away.

I growled. First gods, and now three-headed dogs? What was next?

Cerberus made a keening sound, the same one I had heard from him when I first came to the Underworld. "What'd he say?" I asked Grover.

Grover was pale. "He wants another red rubber ball."

I reached for my pack…and remembered that it wasn't there. "I don't have it!" I yelled to Cerberus, hoping he'd understand.

He probably did, as he growled angrily. Thalia screamed. I backed away slowly.

The right side head came forward and sniffed Grover, then made a strange "pfft" sound. Grover looked insulted.

"What did he say?" I asked him.

Grover sniffed. "He said, 'yuck'."

I raised my eyebrows. "You take that as an insult?"

Grover gave me a look, and I returned to the business at hand. I was doomed, again. How come nothing good ever happened to me?

The middle head lunged for me. I ducked and rolled, running right into Thalia. That jolted her out of her reverie. She pulled out her spear.

I drew Riptide. Cerberus howled, and it felt like the whole Underworld was shaking. The terror diminished slightly on Grover's face.

"I'm guessing what he said has some significance?" I asked Grover.

"He's afraid of the sword, and he's calling for Hades." He said. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Hades came strolling in; arm in arm with a dark-haired woman I assumed was Persephone. "What is the meaning of this?" he screeched. "You dare come here?"

Persephone whispered something into Hades' ear, and he calmed slightly. "Oh, yes," he said arrogantly. "You have come to bargain for her." A burst of gold fire appeared in his palm. I thought he was going to blow me to Tartarus, but apparently not.

The gold fire exploded into the form of a spirit of the dead, one I recognized. Annabeth!

Hades closed his palm and Annabeth disappeared. "I have not yet decided whether or not to give her to you. I have never released a spirit from my kingdom, but my Persephone thinks that it'd improve my reputation."

Persephone winked. "We will speak of this matter, Hades and I. We shall get back to you later. In the meantime, you can explore our kingdom." Hades said something to Cerberus, and he relaxed. They walked off.

That seemed a pretty generous offer, considering that Hades hated my guts. I motioned to my friends. "Where do you want to go first?" I asked.

"Can we go to Elysium? Please?" Grover asked.

"Why not?" Thalia asked. She hadn't spoken since we got to the Underworld, and some of the color was returning to her face.

I beckoned. We had to go under Cerberus in order to get to Elysium. I walked slowly underneath him, and to my surprise, Cerberus made no noise.

We walked some more, carefully watching the ceiling. There were huge stalactites hanging from there, and they didn't look very stable. Soon, we came to an arch labeled Elysium: Isles for The Blest. Thalia relaxed visibly.

We walked through to the green pastures. Elysium was beautiful. Tyson was oohing and Grover was rubbing his stomach. "I wish there was something to eat. I haven't eaten in forever." He said. No sooner had he said that, a pile of tin cans appeared before him, even enough to satiate Grover's enormous appetite.

"Cool! Instant wish granter!" Thalia cried. All visible signs of her discomfort were gone.

"I wish…Luke was good again." Thalia said. I could hear the longing in her voice. Nothing happened. I guess that even Elysium wasn't perfect.

I could smell a barbecue. I was hungry, too. I followed the smell, and before long I was there. Instead of shimmering spirits of the dead, I saw realistic looking people, some of them I recognized.

I picked up some food. It tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before, a mixture of every single food I liked. In other words, perfect.

A half-formed thought leapt unbidden to my lips: "I wish I could see Annabeth here," I said wistfully.

No sooner had I said that, Annabeth appeared. I ran forward and embraced empty air. She was there, but not solid. She mouthed something and put her nonsolid hand to my cheek. I didn't feel anything, but I could see her hand.

My wish came to mind. I wish I could see Annabeth here. Not hear, or touch, but to see. I didn't think Elysium would be so technical about wishes.

I quickly wished for her full presence, but nothing happened. It must have been too major of a wish. Annabeth waved and dissolved into golden dust. I had lost her again…

Thalia came up to me, with Grover and Tyson. All three gave me a sorrowful look. They must have seen Annabeth, too.

Hades came walking up to me, looking somewhat satisfied. Persephone looked grim. My heart sank. They won't let her go, I thought.

"We have decided to let your friend go…at a price." Hades said. I almost jumped for joy. I would do anything to save her.

"The price is…" Persephone looked strained, as if it wasn't her idea, and she didn't like it. "That one of your friends must be thrown to Tartarus."

Another day, another cliffie. Persephone is totally serious about one of Percy's friends being thrown to Tartarus. Go ahead and cry your eyes out. I already know exactly what I'm going to do in the next chapter, I just need some reviews and then I'll write it. By the way, NOTHING, absolutely nothing, you say is going to change my mind about someone being thrown to Tartarus. Just so you know.