Thank you hogwartsgirl52, for pointing out that to eat Underworld food is to be trapped there. This will be incorporated here. Did I kill you all with that cliffie? Be glad I never take longer than two days to update…

I stared blankly in shock. What? My mind did too.

Thalia spoke first. "Why?" she asked. I could tell, she was hoping for something much less of a price.

"I may want to improve my image, but I don't want to appear…what's the word… sentimental. Soon everyone that knows about me will be coming down here demanding loved ones. I can't let that happen." Hades said. "Choose."

I was torn. I couldn't choose. It just wasn't right. "Lord Hades, I…"

Tyson whispered something into Thalia's ear. Thalia just looked confused, and asked what I understood was, "Are you sure?"

Tyson nodded. Thalia's eyes lit up. So did Grover's. What had they thought up?

"Percy, I am going to try something. Just let me, all right?" Tyson said. I nodded. What could he do to change Hades' mind?

He walked up to Hades. "I'll do it," he said.

"What? No!" I cried, running up to Tyson. "You can't."

"It's the only way, brother." He said confidently. I remember once when he was like this; he come this close to sacrificing himself to save all of us on the C.S.S. Birmingham.

Something occurred to me: Tyson had told Thalia something. And Grover had read her emotions. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yes, there is. Just think about it."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because I need to keep the readers in suspense." Tyson explained matter-of-factly.

"What readers?" I asked. What the heck was he talking about?

"Oh, never mind." Tyson said. "Just trust me."

I had no idea what he was going to do, but Thalia and Grover seemed to approve of it. "Tyson, you don't have to do this," I said.

He leaned closer to me. "It's the only way we'll all get out alive."

What? There was a possible way for us all to get out alive? Why, then, was Tyson going to jump into Tartarus?

"Just trust him," Thalia said.

"I…I can't." I said.

Tyson ignored me. "Let's go, Lord Hades."

"Wait!" I cried. I ran after him. Hades snapped his fingers, and they were gone.

"No…" I had lost another friend.

"Percy," Thalia said. "We'll see him again."

"Why?" I sniffled.

"I can't tell you."

"Why?" I was starting to sound a bit pompous. "Because of those so-called 'readers'?"

"Yes," Thalia said. I was about to ask who the heck these readers were when Hades and Persephone appeared with a loud crack.

"It is done," Hades announced. "Even I keep my promises, mortals. Here she is." He snapped his fingers.

A vision came into my head. The stone tomb that Annabeth was buried in began to glow. The few campers nearby watched, amazed. The glow faded.

I came back to the real world. A glowing outline stood before Hades. The glow began to fade, revealing a motionless Annabeth.

Annabeth! I ran up to her and checked her pulse. Sure enough, a faint beating greeted my fingers. I felt weak with happiness. The only dark stain was that I would never see Tyson again…

"Lord Hades…I don't know how to thank you." I said.

"Okay, okay, let's not get sentimental here," Hades said, annoyed. He was a lot more good-natured when Persephone was there. "She will be in this comatose state for a couple of days, probably.You can leave now."

He waved his hand, but nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing happened. "You didn't happen to eat anything when you were here, did you?" he asked.

I felt a sinking feeling. "Yes," I said. What if we were trapped here?

" Выпустите их облигации!" he said angrily. I understood that to mean, "Release their bonds!" in Mesopotamian. Why that language?

This time, Persephone smiled and waved her hand. The whole world around us fell into blackness. I opened my eyes and found myself in front of DOA Recording Studios, where I had defeated Ares. Annabeth was in my arms, her skin cold and clammy.

I carefully laid Annabeth on the ground, and then turned on Thalia. "What did Tyson tell you?" I asked.

"I can't tell you," Thalia said. She was struggling not to laugh. "I could tell you, but then the readers would find out."

What in Hades was with her and these "readers"? I wasn't going to get a straight answer from her, so I turned to Grover. "Grover…" I growled, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.

"She's telling the truth!" Grover said nervously.

They wouldn't tell me. If Tyson ever came back, I would ask. Not that I thought that was going to happen.

Annabeth stirred. Hades said she'd be asleep for a couple days; maybe she's waking up early! I thought.

She screamed. Her eyes were still shut tightly, but this seemed to be some bizarre symptom of her being taken out of the Underworld. A memory flashed through my head.

There were spiders everywhere, and we were trapped. Grover struggled to break the net blocking our escape, but it kept weaving itself together…

"Percy?" Thalia was shaking me.

I immediately snapped from my reverie. "What?"

"You went, like, rigid. I thought you were having some sort of seizure." Thalia cast a worried look at Annabeth. She must have seen that something was wrong, and associated it with her.

"Oh, yes," A kind voice behind me said. I turned, and saw that it was Persephone. I must have looked surprised, because she said, "Haven't you noticed? Spring is beginning."

She was right. The land around us was tinged with green; trees' leaves were beginning to grow back. Persephone cast a worried look at Annabeth. "From what I can determine, her life is flashing before her. The good, and, unfortunately, the bad. She'll wake up when she gets to the present time." Persephone said.

She snapped, and disappeared.

This is not a cliffie, either. Be glad. By the way, the so-called Mesopotamian translation is actually English translated into Russian. If anyone can guess what Tyson told Grover and Thalia, don't put it on your review. PM me if you think you know what it is.