A/N: This chapter runs roughly parallel to chapter 13-14 of CoL (time is still difficult in Tartarus!) Rated PG-13/T because Death hangs out in a sleazy location.

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INTERLUDE III: TANGLING WITH THANATOS

FRANK

Once, Frank had lured hundreds of poison-breath monster cows on a crazy-high-speed chase through the canals of Venice. Compared to that, driving a sleek, black limo through downtown Cleveland—even what appeared to be the seediest section of the city—should have been a cinch.

All the same, Frank's insides felt the way they did whenever he drank milk, which for his lactose-intolerant stomach was a distinctly uneasy experience. He didn't like driving past the disreputable neon signs that marked out this area as a red-light district. Nor did he like the speculative looks its inhabitants—milling on the streets even at three in the morning—cast at their passing limo. He could almost hear Grandmother's commentary: What are you doing in a place like this, Fai Zhang? Respectable men don't frequent such places.

Why did Death have to hang out in such a sleazy place?

'Must be the crime rate,' Jason said. Frank realised he must have spoken aloud. 'Cleveland's one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S., isn't it? High murder rate equals lots for Thanatos to do.'

'Take the next left, Frank!' Piper called from the back of the limo. Hazel had let the GPS expand back to full screen for the ride and it was now laid out on the bar table, where all four demigods who hadn't drawn shotgun were currently following their progress.

'That's not going to work,' Reyna said. 'Look how narrow the alley is. The limo will never fit.'

'We'll have to park and get out, then,' said Jason.

'Are you serious?' Frank waved one hand towards the hostile-looking people on the street. They looked ready for a car-jacking if presented the opportunity. 'You want us to park a limo here?'

'It's not like we have a choice,' Jason pointed out.

Frank knew Jason was right. That didn't mean he liked it. He just knew they were going to lose the limo. He wasn't looking forward to discovering the penalty for losing legion property.

A police car went screaming by, sirens wailing, just as they pulled to a stop. They heard the screech of brakes as the cops veered round the corner and down the alley they'd intended to take. Warned off by the presence of the police, the street had emptied for now. It probably wouldn't last.

'Usually I'd say avoid the fuzz,' Leo said. 'But in this case, I have a feeling that's exactly where we wanna be.'

'Hurry, then.' Hazel shrank the flat-screen back down to handheld mode. Piper flung open the passenger doors. Jason leapt out of the front seat and immediately started running after the sirens. The girls followed suit.

Frank hesitated, wondering if they'd ever see the limo again if they all left it. Much as they were in a hurry to track down Thanatos, it'd be more problematic if, having found him, they lost their transportation and had to secure another vehicle to get to their next destination, wherever that would be.

'Don't worry,' said Leo. He flicked a couple of latches on his Festus-suitcase and within seconds, the enormous bronze dragon was perched on the roof of the limo. 'Festus'll stand guard, won't you, buddy?'

Festus gave an enthusiastic snort of flames.

'Great idea!' Frank said, relieved. He and Leo chased after Jason and the others.

They caught up to Jason and the girls after two turns down more narrow side streets. The police sirens sounded like they were just a few blocks away. Hazel held the portable GPS in front of her so that they could all see it. Leo had added in a red cross for their own location and judging by the display, they were nearly on top of Thanatos.

'There!' Piper pointed at a hooded figure just before it disappeared into yet another alleyway (just how many did Cleveland have?) Now that they'd almost found him, Frank felt a shiver of trepidation. His last encounter with Thanatos was still fresh in his memory, even though it had been nearly three years ago. The god had promised they would meet again in less favourable circumstances (not that nearly burning up his own lifeline to free Thanatos and then taking down a power-hungry giant had been what Frank would really describe as favourable). Frank had always been under the impression that their next encounter would mean his time was up.

It still might. He was banking on Thanatos honouring a life debt (or should that be a death debt?) for releasing him, but gods weren't precisely what you would call honourable. For all Frank knew, Thanatos might charge more fire-of-life for his services.

True, he was prepared to sacrifice it for Percy, but it still gave him chills to think about it.

They found Thanatos leaning over a bloody heap. The god of Death looked up at the approach of the six demigods and frowned. He raised the long scythe in his hand. Smoke crept up from the hem of his robe.

'No—stop him, he's about to disappear!' Frank yelled.

'Thanatos, wait!' Hazel pleaded.

Something gave a fierce roar and jumped out of the sky, knocking the scythe from Thanatos's hand. A seven-foot-tall giant flattened the god beneath him.

Piper screamed. Hazel dropped the GPS. Reyna and Jason drew their swords.

The next moment, a head with a pair of long, curly horns appeared at the top of the wall bordering the alley. The faun it belonged to—no, satyr, judging from the sharp, intelligent eyes—struggled over the top and landed next to the giant. Hanging off one of his horns was a colourful rasta cap with two holes poked through it. In his hand was a set of pan-pipes.

'Grover!' Jason said in relief. 'What are you doing here?'

'Is that Tyson?' asked Frank.

Percy's Cyclops half-brother looked up and grinned.

'Bad god is bothering you?' he said, indicating Thanatos, who was now sprawled flat on his stomach with Tyson's bulk pinning him down.

'No, we were just looking for him,' Frank said. 'We need him for—'

'How did you guys find him?' Leo demanded.

'Find him?' Grover said, puzzled. 'We were looking for you.' He patted his pipes. 'I played a tracking song. You know, woodland magic. I know Percy's in trouble. We wanted to help, too.'

'Um, guys,' Piper said, 'we should take this elsewhere. We seriously don't want to get caught in an alleyway with a dead body. Just saying.'

The sirens did indeed sound closer now.

'Let's go, then,' Reyna said. 'Don't let go of Death, Tyson—we don't want him running off.'

Tyson hauled Thanatos to his feet. Frank picked up his scythe. It was a lot heavier than he expected, though why he thought an instrument meant for reaping souls should be light, he had no idea. Together, they dragged Thanatos off to a different alley, this one devoid of murdered corpses.

'Is this another kidnapping, then?' growled Thanatos. 'Going to chain me up so that poor sod back there can't die?'

'No, we don't even know him,' said Frank. 'We just want—'

'Whoa!' Jason said suddenly. Tyson had just pulled Thanatos under a streetlight, illuminating his handsome face. 'Wait, you're not Thanatos!'

'Of course I am!' Thanatos said irritably.

'But—you're…Eros—'

Thanatos rolled his eyes. 'I assure you, I am not the god of love. And if that's who you wish to kidnap, you're in the wrong state. I believe Eros is in Hawaii at the moment.'

'Hawaii?' mouthed Leo.

'I think they just legalised same-sex marriage there,' Reyna said thoughtfully.

'Nobody's kidnapping anybody,' Piper said soothingly. Frank thought he sensed a smidge of Charmspeak in her tone. 'We were just gonna ask nicely.'

'Er, no,' Jason said. 'I mean, not no to asking nicely, but no, we're not looking for Eros.'

'Well, I take it you are not another agent of a primordial goddess come to hold me hostage to claim the Doors of me, either. If you would release me, young Cyclops, perhaps we can have this conversation in a civilised manner.'

Tyson gave Thanatos a suspicious look. 'You won't run away?'

'It's okay, Tyson,' Piper said. 'You won't disappear on us, will you, Mr Thanatos?'

Tyson let go. Thanatos shook himself and smoothed down his robes. He held out his hand to Reyna for his scythe, but she frowned back. His lips quirked.

'I suppose I could listen to what you say. I must admit it's not every day I get ambushed by a group of demigods. It is perhaps refreshing to be sought out, for a change.' He looked more closely at each of them. 'Well, well, well,' he said, as his eyes lit on Frank, Hazel, and Leo. 'It's even more rare to run into old friends. Surely you appreciate the danger of tangling with me more than once?'

'We're demigods,' said Leo with a shrug. 'Tangling with Death is an occupational hazard.'

Frank stepped forward. 'Look, Thanatos, we're sorry to bother you, but we really need your help.'

'What service could I possibly provide? I don't do assassinations, you know. That's Ares's department. I'm just the delivery man, you might say.'

'It's about the Doors of Death.'

There was a pause. 'Those are very much still under my control, Frank Zhang. I do not think you have to worry about them being misused again.'

'Yes, I know, that's why we're here—we need to send them to Tartarus.'

'Now why would I do that?'

'Because our friends are trapped down there,' Piper said. She launched into the tale, wrapping each word with so much earnest conviction that if Frank had been Thanatos, he would have lowered his doors to Tartarus with a snap of his fingers.

But either Thanatos had some natural resistance to Charmspeak or the god of Death was just far too used to ignoring impassioned pleas and sob stories, because he just rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking like he might take Piper's words into consideration.

Frank pulled the little fire-proof pouch he always carried from his breast pocket. He let the tip of the firewood inside peek out just enough for Thanatos to see.

'Three of us released you once, Thanatos. Hazel, me—and Percy. I think maybe you owe us a favour.'

He held his breath, afraid that Thanatos might remind him, as he once had, that death wasn't fair, that just because you did something good for someone didn't mean you deserved to have it repaid.

Thanatos rubbed his wrists as though remembering Gaia's chains around them. Finally, he said, 'You will have to find an appropriate anchoring location. The Doors of Me cannot reach to Tartarus from just anywhere in the mortal world.'

Frank grinned in relief. 'Thanks, Thanatos. Where would you suggest we anchor, then?'

'It has to be deep in the earth. Epirus, for instance.'

'We can't go to Epirus,' Hazel said. 'It's too far away. It'd take weeks! We have less than twenty-four hours to get to them.'

'Hawaii,' Jason said suddenly. Everyone stared at him.

'Um, we're not looking for Eros, remember?' Leo said.

Jason ignored him. 'Remember when we went surfing there with your dad, Piper? The volcanic caves—those go really deep.'

'Ah.' Thanatos inclined his head. 'Yes. That might work.'

Again, he held out his hand for his scythe. This time Reyna handed it over. It shrank the moment it touched Thanatos's hand, becoming a stylus. Thanatos pulled out an iPad mini and swiped the scythe-stylus across its screen. He double-tapped a globe icon and brought up an app that looked strikingly like the GPS map Leo had hacked, complete with glowing dots, although these were all red. Frank wondered if it located dead people.

Thanatos zoomed in on Hawaii. 'I presume you will need time to get to this location.'

'Can't you, I dunno, transport us there?' Grover said hopefully.

'No.' Thanatos sent his iPad to lockscreen. Frank was momentarily stunned by the wallpaper—Death's own Mythomagic card, complete with three stars for his attack points (3,000 in normal circumstances, 3,500 if your opponent attacked first). He held his thin, skeletal hand out to Hazel. 'May I?'

Hazel nearly fumbled the handheld GPS as she handed it over. Thanatos pressed his thumb to the screen as if passing the gadget's security lock. Did gods have fingerprint recognition? When he lifted his thumb, an icon appeared below it, labelled 'iDeath.'

'When you are ready for me, use that to let me know. I will meet you at your location.' Thanatos returned the gadget to Hazel. 'I have work to do in the meantime.' He nodded to Frank, returned his stylus to scythe mode, and tapped it on the ground. As soon as it touched the concrete, Thanatos vanished, leaving a cloud of black smoke.

'Whoa,' said Leo.

'We have a problem,' Piper said. 'Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific. How are we gonna get there in the limo?'

'The limo?' said Grover.

'Maybe we should get back to it first?' Reyna suggested. 'We can figure it out from there.'

Frank led the way back to their parking spot, hoping Festus had indeed managed to ward off any potential limo-thieves. When they arrived, it turned out that not only had the dragon safeguarded their ride, he'd done it in a pretty unorthodox way.

Where there had previously been an elegant Roman limousine, there was now a shiny bronze double-decker coach with a long tail in place of the trunk. Festus's head arched proudly from the hood. The ground in front bore scorch marks in the sidewalk.

'I think that solves our problem,' Leo said, even though Frank couldn't see how merging their limousine with a dragon automaton solved anything. 'Good thing I brought Festus. Hop in, everyone.'

'How is that getting us to Hawaii?' Piper demanded.

As if in response, Festus spread his wings. Grover gulped. 'Are you sure that's safe?'

'I'll tune him up as we go along,' Leo promised. 'Make a few adjustments, fiddle with the engine. Just give me a couple of hours.' He turned to Tyson with a gleam in his eyes. 'And maybe some Cyclops workmanship, big guy?'

Tyson grinned. 'I can help!'

'We don't have a lot of time, Leo,' Piper warned.

'I got this, Pipes. I'll get us there in time, and I'll get us there in style.'

Hoping Leo did indeed have it well in hand, Frank boarded the Festus-bus. Or was it a Festus-limo?

At least they no longer needed to drive for this leg of the journey. Maybe he'd even get some sleep en route to Hawaii. It had been a long day.

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A/N: The next chapter is going to be the roughest one yet! It will again deal with potentially triggering material, so check the warning at the top of the chapter. If you want to avoid it, again a toned-down version will be posted on the Curse of Lethe (alternate chapters) fic.

Soooo. Another interlude chapter. (And yes, Cleveland was a nod to the SoM movie, if anyone's seen that. :P) Sorry to draw out the tension for the main crew ... I'll try and post a bit quicker once NaNo is over! But that's been going real well and I realised I'm going to miss writing a ton everyday. And then I thought-why stop? Only thing is, I definitely need to step away from my NaNo fic for a bit so I can come back and look at it with fresh eyes when it comes to editing. So here's what I'm thinking. The holiday season's coming, why not give a little something to all my wonderful readers? This is what I'm planning: giftfics! Basically shoot me characters and a prompt and I'll write you a little ficlet as a Christmas gift. (Or whatever holiday you celebrate, or if you don't, then just hello, random gift!) I'll make a formal announcement on how it will go (I have to think a bit on that) but here's a heads up so you can start thinking of what you want for your gift (if you want one; no pressure if you don't).

Anyhoo ...

MasterBubble: Welcome, and glad the update schedule is pleasing you! :) Thanks for the review!

CupcakeQueen816: You are, as ever, my eagle-eyed canon fact-checker! I'm going to fudge this as hey, they're in Tartarus so the magic sort of makes it understandable? (Since Percy / Luke understand Kampê when he has that dream of her asking to join the strike force and Luke giving her Ariadne's string, and he says this time he can understand even when she's still speaking the old language.) Or I'll go with okay, it's a one-liner and Annabeth is terrified so doesn't realise her brain is interpreting the magic language. Or fine. I screwed up :( You'd think I'd be more alert since I'm writing BotL at the moment ...

I get that way with some fic as well, when it blends into canon so seamlessly that I just start thinking of it as it is canon, so I am so, so honoured that you've said that for my fic! (Seriously, that's like the dream for a fic writer.) And oh man, I struggle so bad over coming up with insults, so it's real encouragement to know I got some right!

strawberrygirl2000: Aw, you are too kind and I absolutely adore Bob and Damasen and could not resist giving them some screen time. (Plus, you do realise they are all going to need to get OUT of Tartarus at some point, right? Or are they ... hmmmm ... How evil am I exactly?) And yes, I know you thought I was winding up, but I am so not done torturing them.