Guess who's now fifteen?
It was my birthday on May 1st!

Anyway, review this chapter, it's for my fantabulous B-reader ChildOfWisdom, or Veronica, as you may know her.

ENJOY!

-Silverhand9028

Summer's POV

Now, you're probably very confused, because I'm not dead.

Well, I never was dead in the first place. Tom was screaming my name, assuming I would die on impact, or be destroyed by whatever lurked beneath the black mists of the void. As I fell, I could see black rock, rushing towards me as I neared the bottom of the pit.

But despite what everyone above me thought, I was still intact as I landed on the cold, stony surface…

I sat up, slowly, and peered around in the gloom.

"You must be Summer," a voice from behind me whispered.

I could see a young woman in white, silver and grey, with brown hair tied back, holding a silvery bow. Artemis.
"What's happening?" I asked the tall, slender woman.

"You're one of the six?" she ignored my question.

I nodded.

"Tartarus was talking about dragging you – well, one of you – down here. He took Hades to try and get the helm of shadows, but when it turned out it wasn't his helm, he took me to get to my bow. Eros escaped him, so he turned his attention to you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Tartarus knows the prophecy is predicting a way to defeat him, so he's trying to stop it from happening."

"Where is Tartarus? What is Tartarus?" I asked.

"He is all around us, child," a different voice said.

I turned my head to see a tall, pale man dressed in black. He had something of Bella in his eyes, and the same face as Nico.

"Lord Hades," I awkwardly curtsied before the Lord of the Dead.

"I was wearing my helm, spying on Tartarus – the actual form of the god. The god can take form, you see… yet he's different. He's like Nyx or Chronos or Erebus. Primordial. Primeval. Old: very old. It's more like me and Thanatos. I'm the god of death, its ruler. He is death, personified."

"So, Tartarus…" I murmured.

"…is this pit. He can hear us. He's watching us." Artemis finished.
I wrapped my hands around my shoulders, and glanced around, terrified.

"Don't worry," she glanced at me with witty brown eyes. "He can't touch us."
"But I can." smirked a scarily familiar voice.

A third figure appeared in the gloom of the tunnel. His hair was curly auburn, his eyes grass green. His amused smile and abundant freckles made him look like a harmless kid… but the spear pointed at me gave a different impression.

"Lief?"

The satyr strode towards me. "Hello there, you three. My, aren't we an odd bunch?"

"You!" I cried. "You're the traitor! You enchanted Tom's shoes and, bewitched us in Central Park, and… we chased you in the camp woods, Vea and I! Then you disappeared…"

Lief produced his panpipes. "A bit of woodland magic. Very impressive guesswork, however."

I turned to the two gods either side of me, as if to say: 'Why aren't we vaporizing him now?'

Lief grinned as if he was reading my thoughts. "In case you're wondering, they can't touch me. Tartarus' power protects me."

"You little rat!" I began to grow angry. "You won't get away with this!"
Lief laughed. "Won't I? The demigods are torn, squabbling like vultures. But if they survive, I'm sure they'll come to rescue you, where Tartarus and I will finish them off. If they believe you to be dead, which is most likely, we will leave you as bait, wait for them to charge into our trap, kill you and finish them off. Now, if I'm not mistaken, I must leave. I need to introduce Veronica and Toby to a large angry cow."

"You leave my friends alone!" I went to run towards him but he disappeared in a swirl of dark mist.

I shivered. Lief would kill all my friends, then me – or kill me, then all my friends. I always try to be optimistic, try to see above the situation: but now I could see there was no way.

"What do we do?" I whispered.

Hades strode forwards. "Tartarus!" his voice boomed around the pit. "I am Lord of the Underworld! I am King of the Dead! I reign supreme over shades and spirits of decay, daemons and deities of the afterlife! Cease to be, leave this place!" his eyes flashed red; an aura of black and purple momentarily flickered around him.

"Cover your eyes," hissed Artemis. I did so.

After a flash of light, I was told I could open them again.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A bit of godly trash-talking," grinned Artemis. "Hades rules the Underworld. Tartarus is free and chaotic, but Hades can still have some influence. That kind of thing can completely destroy stuff, but Hades' being down here means it only temporarily knocks Tartarus out. Now, we can do what we need to in peace."
"And what do we do need to do?" I asked.

"Can you fight, child?" Hades asked me again.

I glanced up to see him. He wore a circlet of deep, intense black shadows on his head - although as I looked at it, its form changed; from a crown of bloodstained bones, to a grey dusty hood, to a great black helmet with a purple flames in place of a plume. I knew it must be his famous helm of terror.

"I can aim a bow," I admitted, feeling terribly nervous before this scary god.

He nodded slowly.

"Well, I have been snooping around this pit with my helmet, so that not even the pit itself – Tartarus – could stop me. I have found an exit."

I gasped.

"So," smirked the King of the Underworld, "who wants to go home?"

We ran along the tunnel, to where Hades said we were closest to the earth's surface.

Artemis led the way, with the grace and speed of an athlete, the determination and focus of a huntress. I followed, trying not to fall flat on my face. I was clumsy at the best of times! Behind, I could hear Hades' footsteps. I couldn't imagine him hitching up his robes and sprinting, and was curious about how he kept behind – however, I knew that if I stopped to look I'd lose us what precious little time we had left, before Tartarus regained consciousness.

"This way!" Artemis pointed to a fork in the tunnel, and we scrambled after her.

Left, then right, then right again, my heart was in my mouth.

"Here!" Hades said. We skidded to a halt.

"I'm confused," I admitted. "How is it that here we can escape?"
"This place," Hades told me. "Some demigods – Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase – they were in Tartarus once before. They escaped, and as they did, several rips between the Underworld and earth were formed. This one leads to a beachfront of Long Island. It's the closest one to camp."
I nodded.

"Stop right there!" a sudden voice squawked.

Behind us, grinning happily, was Miss Avia.

"That love god may have got rid of me up there," she snarled, "but Tartarus won't let me fade. I've been yearning for your blood for so long, Summer Song!"

My daughter-of-Apollo mind said 'That rhymes!' but my instincts made me leap and roll to one side. For once, I was thankful for my ADHD.

Artemis fired an arrow, but it bounced off the harpy's skin and snapped in two.

"Tartarus' power protects me!" Miss Avia shrilled insanely.

"Gamoto," murmured Artemis.

I translated that as a very rude Greek word.
A ball of green fire crackled to life in Hades' hand. "Artemis, I will distract the harpy. Take Summer to the surface. Give her your bow."
Artemis nodded.

She thrust her silver bow into my palm. "Magenta and Aston have the helm and arrows."
"What?" I shrieked.

"Don't worry, they're on your side. I'll blast through, then you're on your own."
I nodded. I could hear Miss Avia screaming, Hades yelling.

"Ready?" she asked.
"Ready." I confirmed.

Artemis threw an arrow, then blinding sunlight concealed my view. I felt myself soaring up, up, up…

…then something cold and heavy wrapped itself around my body. I opened my eyes to see a chain snaking around me. I was pressed against a rock on a beach. I screamed loudly as the ground started to shake and the waves rose up in fury.

Lief appeared before me, laughing coldly. "Fell right into the trap, didn't you? Bet you three gold drachmas you're the first to die."
Then he disappeared into the stormy air. The waves soaked me, before I heard a "Huh?' to my left.

There, standing before me, were Tom, Veronica, Toby, Leon, Lilly, Magenta, Jack, Aston, Bella, a hellhound and some adults.

Tom ran towards where I was chained to the rock…

…and then chaos exploded onto the beach.

Ah, how I enjoy cliffhangers!
Thanks for reviewing and recommending to your friends,

From a now 15-YEAR-OLD,

-Silverhand9028