Hello, readers, and welcome to the next chapter! There is not much to say here, just read on! Annabeth (holder of POV) might seem slightly OOC in this chapter, but I did that for good effect. Enjoy!

At first I didn't give the stray moo a thought. Why did it matter? How wrong I was.

I looked and saw… a cow. A cow with a serpent tail. The Ophiotaurus! I probably would have fainted right then and there, but the Ophiotaurus splashed my face. That shook me slightly. I was still stunned.

"Oh. My. Gods. " I murmured to myself. This wasn't possible…was it? Maybe the stress was causing madness. I felt the water on my face. Apparently not.

Before I could think, a foreign word leapt from my mouth. "Драхма!" I cried. My empty hand shimmered, and a golden drachma appeared. Instantly, I felt like a knife had been plunged through my chest. My energy was fading.

I fell to my knees, panting. I thought I would have died, if it were not for Percy's presence. It wrapped around me like a blanket, spreading warmth through my entire body. I felt like I had taken a good draught of nectar. I threw the drachma through the sea spray, yelling, "Lord Hades!"

The mist shimmered, and there appeared Hades, sitting in his throne and muttering to himself. Something about midgets. He then noticed me.

He started to say something, but I cut him off. He looked displeased, but the thought of Percy coming back held me in place. "Lord Hades," I began. "The Ophiotaurus is here."

He got out of his throne. "What? Impossible!"

I pointed at an angle that he could see, at the Ophiotaurus. "Right there, Lord Hades."

"But-but," he said. "How?"

"You are Lord of the Dead," I said, quoting my mother. "You should know about this."

He gnashed his teeth. Maybe that wasn't such a smart thing to say. "Think about it," I said, using the same tone I used on Cerberus.

He actually listened to me! Maybe my mom had taught him a lesson.

He opened his eyes and said, "The Ophiotaurus wasn't destroyed by a truly malevolent force. That is probably why it has resurrected now."

I nodded. Now, to the point. "So…" I said, trying to sound casual. "Can you bring Percy back?"

His calm demeanor immediately changed. "Why you impudent little…" he started. He stopped as if someone else was watching him. "Yes, of course. But I want something in return."

"Anything," I said. That was the truth.

A spirit of the dead walked up to Hades' throne and whispered something to him. I focused on it. The face was difficult to recognize, but I saw it. Percy!

Hades grinned. I mean, he actually grinned. That would probably never happen again. Percy must have suggested something good for him and me. Right?

The words came out of my mouth before the thought was even fully formed in my head. "What is it?"

Hades gave me an evil smirk. That looked more normal. "Your friend will be arriving shortly. You'll find out. It is not what is given to me, but what is done to you as a price. He won't stay asleep for long. " With that, he cut the connection.

The air shimmered in front of me, and Percy appeared in my arms. He opened his eyes, while mine filled with tears. I had never expected to see those eyes again…

"Is there something special about my eyes?" he asked mildly.

How did he know that?

He twisted his expression slightly and said in a falsetto voice, "How did he know that?" He laughed. "I won't tell you, Annabeth."

My first reaction was being slightly miffed, but then I was surprised. How did he know that? And why wouldn't he tell me?

"I won't tell you, Annabeth, because then the readers will not know. The Author has given me a little job: don't tell you."

Hmm. A difficult case. Well, there was a way to crack any lock, and I knew the key to this one. I practically tackled him with a kiss and knocked him into the water. "Please?" I begged. I know, I wasn't being myself. It was just one of those things I just felt like I needed to know.

He hesitated. I caressed his cheek and whispered, "Please?"

I felt like Aphrodite or one of her kids, trying to charm him into telling me. A flicker of doubt entered my mind. This was not I. Maybe something else would work.

I grabbed his shoulders and, in my silkiest and most dangerous voice, inherited from my mother, asked, "Are you going to tell me?"

He hesitated again. "I…I guess…"

"What is it?" I asked in my dangerous voice.

"I can read minds." He said simply. "Hades meant it as a sort of trial for you. It's reading emotions and minds."

He was lying. He had to be lying.

"No, I am not lying," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

I looked up at the sky and screamed for all it was worth, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

This, readers, was the original end of the story. There is one thing, one thing that I could possibly do. If I gain at least five reviews begging for the next chapter, I'll write it. It will feature…what would've happened at the Battle of Olympus if Percy weren't there (an alternate unhappy ending) ! BTW, I'm sorry if you don't consider this a happy-ish ending, but I do. So I kept my promise.