A/N: I apologize for it being so long! I was having a little writer's block (I rewrote this 4 times), but I hope it gives you a little hope. :)
I was in a lobby, waiting in line to speak with a man at a podium. I couldn't remember what I had been doing before I came to this place. My memories were like ghosts. I reached for one, remembering what it looked like, only to find that it was no longer there. There were random things that I could remember- faces, words, places- but there was nothing concrete.
I remember a face, one both handsome and lovely. There was sadness in his amber eyes, and I loved the gentle way he touched me. I could still feel the relief of seeing him, the way I felt complete when he held me. I remembered the way he smelled and the last words he had said. He was important, and I missed him already. It felt like I had let him down somehow, that I had hurt him in an unfathomable way. I could still see the tear that ran down his cheek. He looked so sad, and I wanted to tell him that it was okay, to not worry.
But I couldn't remember his name.
"Next!"
The man in front of me took my gold coin, looking at me in interest.
"Are you visiting Hades? Euadne, you know I hate it when you come this way," he admonished me.
"Do I know you?"
He actually looked at me then, his eyebrows rising slightly in surprise. He looked me up and down, consulting a sheet of paper in front of him. I was trying to remember who he was. I wondered where I was.
"Are you dead?" he asked me in surprise. I looked at my arms, and they seemed solid enough. I felt normal, but I was having trouble remembering what normal was. I tried to remember what I was doing before I was here, but all I got was the boy's face and the words that kept pounding through my head.
Find a way back to me.
Did I die? There was no flash of memories, no white light that I could remember. I just opened my eyes, no idea how I had gotten to this place. I felt empty, like I was floating, but I seemed solid at the same time. I put my hand to my chest, trying to feel my heart beating.
There was nothing there.
"I think I am," I whispered. If I was dead, then this was the underworld. That was Charon, the ferryman of the dead. How did he know me?
"Huh. Things must be bad up there if you're here, and I really didn't want to deal with VIP deaths today," he groaned. "Come on."
I shuffled into the elevators with a bunch of others, but I couldn't hear them. My mind was too busy trying to process what was happening. A boy came to stand beside me, and he looked familiar. We looked the same, and I knew I had known him before this. He glanced at me, a curious expression on his face.
"I know you," I whispered.
He nodded his head solemnly. He opened his mouth to speak to me, but no words came out. He reached for me, to touch my face, and his hand passed right through me. It felt strange and fuzzy, like the touch of a feather. He pulled back, a look of true regret on his face. I realized I could see through him. It sent me on edge, and I looked at the others around me. I was surrounded by ghosts.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
The ache in my head grew worse, and the elevator doors opened to show a dock. I was moved with the crowd, and the panic finally broke to the surface. I could not shake the feeling that I wasn't meant to be here, that I wasn't supposed to be dead. The boat left the dock, and the feeling only got worse.
The legends on death were simple. Charon took your drachma, and you sailed on the Styx to the gates of the Underworld. Once there, you would undergo judgment to see if you got into Elysium, The Fields of Asphodel, or the Fields of Punishment. I had a really bad feeling that I was going to end up in the last one for some reason. I walked to the edge of the boat, looking down that the Styx. There were all kinds of things floating in it, things like lost dreams and memories of the dead that came here. I looked down at my wrist, seeing a gold bracelet on it. I got a warm, hopeful feeling. The bracelet meant something to me, something very important. I struggled to remember, and I hit the edge of the boat in frustration.
The pain in my head was reaching a point where tears sprang to my eyes. If I was dead, why was I in so much pain? Why couldn't I remember anything? I walked up to Charon, who was manning the oar on the boat.
"Charon, what's going on? Why am I here?"
He ignored me, and I grabbed on to him, pulling him to face me. He looked at me in astonishment, his eyes widening slightly.
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You touched me," he explained. He shook it off, narrowing his eyes at me. "It's probably because you just haven't crossed over fully yet. Euadne, you are here because you died. You're just in denial. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be."
"Something's not right. I've got to go back," I whispered desperately. Charon rolled his eyes but had a sympathetic look on his face.
"They all say that."
He didn't understand. I had this overwhelming urge, this notion that I had to go. I couldn't remember why or when. I just knew that I was in the wrong place.
"Pull the boat over," I told him firmly. He ignored me, a sad smile on his face.
"Pull. The. Damned. Boat. Over," I ground out through my teeth. The pressure in my head was unbearable, and my patience was starting to wane.
"There's nothing you can do, Euadne. You have nowhere to go except to the judges."
I looked around me. The Styx surrounded the boat, about fifty or so feet of water on either side. I could see the bank, the jagged black obsidian rock and the souls wandering around in the Asphodel fields in the distance. He was right about me having nowhere to go. The Styx burned anything that didn't have an anchor to the mortal world into oblivion, to less than nothing.
It would be madness to jump into the Styx.
So I suppose I was crazy.
I heard Charon shout in protest, but it was too late. I hit the water, and it felt like I was dropped in acid. It was cold, making me shiver and gasp for breath, but at the same time it felt oily and hot. I screamed, the polluted water entering my lungs. I was sinking in the turbulence, getting thrown around in the rapids. I was burning from the inside out, in an oblivion of pain. Why did I do that? Why was I fighting so hard? I should have just accepted that I was dead, but something told me that I couldn't.
Fight for me.
His voice….Apollo's voice.
The memories came flooding back. I saw his face, Percy's, the others. I remembered everything- every moment of pain and suffering, every moment of happiness. I remembered my brother, and every moment I had been alive. Gaia had sacrificed me, and I had to stop her.
He told me to come back, to fight for him.
So I did.
I broke the surface, swimming as hard as I could to the shore. I was so tired, and the icy burn was wearing me down. A rock loomed over me, but the water was too deep. I reached up, fighting the current to grab on. My hand slipped, and the water pulled me down, determined to keep me from grabbing the edge. I reached up again, and something grasped my hand, yanking me out of the river.
I sat on the rock, coughing furiously, trying to clear the burning water from my chest. I felt tired and raw, but I felt like I was here. I felt solid again. I was soaked to the bone, and the hand that pulled me up rubbed my back gently. I looked up into a pair of blue-grey eyes, eyes that I knew by heart. I reached up, placing my hands on his face. I couldn't believe he was here.
"Bear?" I whispered.
He nodded his head, a smile creeping up on his face. He had the kindest smile, one that always made me feel safe.
"Always the center of trouble, aren't you?"
I flung my arms around him, hugging him to me. I would always love him. He held a part of my heart, a part of my soul, and I would never forget that. His own wrapped around me, and I felt him. It wasn't a dream this time. He was here. He was real and holding me.
"I made you a promise, Addie," he whispered into my hair. "I'd always come if you needed help."
I pulled away, a weak chuckle leaving me. He offered his hand and pulled me up. He felt more solid than Orion had, but I had a feeling that I was the one who had changed. I felt strangely rejuvenated and strong. I felt alive. Tiberius never would feel that again. There were so many things I had wanted to say to him, but as I opened my mouth, he laid his fingers on it.
"Time to talk later. What do we have to do?"
I nodded my head, feeling my resolve strengthen. That was the Tiberius I had known and loved, the one that always did the right thing and worried about his personal issues last.
"I need to find Thanatos."
Tiberius led me through the underworld, but we avoided Hades' palace. We skirted along the edges and into a cave. While we walked, I filled him in on what had been happening. He seemed pretty well-informed for a ghost, but he was always well-informed.
"I don't know if he'll be here, but he stays just to the west of the palace," he huffed as we climbed up a rock. We came back out onto the top of a hill. "I'm sure the alert has already been put out for you. Charon would have to notify Thanatos once the ship docked. Ever since Gaia started resurrecting people from the dead, Hades has been in an awful temper. There's no way to get out of the underworld now besides the doors and the front entrance; he even closed off the entrance that Orpheus took. Now that the doors are closed, they are intent on keeping what has passed on down here."
"Well, we'll just have to convince Thanatos to let me go, won't we?"
Tiberius got a sneaky grin on his face, the same one he got when he knew I was going to do something dangerous and crazy.
"Breaking in?"
"That's what I was thinking."
We walked down the hill, spotting the old style house. It was made of black marble, and braziers were lit up around it. We made our way to the building, stepping in between the columns. Hades had guards all around the palace, and I had assumed that Thanatos would as well. No one was there to stop us or challenge us. Bear stopped suddenly, holding up his hand. I paused, listening intently.
"If you find her, you bring her to me alive. She's not the kind to come easily, so I'd expect a fight."
We peered around the column, and Thanatos was standing at a desk. Thanatos was talking to a dead soldier from the Revolutionary War by the looks of him.
"Yes, my Lord."
The soldier walked away, and I looked at Tiberius. He raised his eyebrows, asking what the plan of action was. Really, I had no idea what I could do. I didn't have any weapons. He was a god, and even if I had powers, I was in his realm. I would get my ass kicked before I could even scream.
"The guard," I mouthed. Bear nodded his head, and we moved in the shadows towards the soldier. All of a sudden, I was frozen. I looked up at Bear, only to see the same fear in his eyes.
"Well, that's interesting."
Thanatos walked around, and I finally met the god of death. He had dark skin and piercing gold eyes, a lot like Hazel, actually. His hair was pulled back out of his face, and he looked regal and frightening all at the same time. He wore a crisp black suit with a gold tie, facing us with his hands behind his back. I was told he had wings, but he had them hidden.
"The Thýella and her former lover, here in my home. I heard you were rash, child, but I thought you knew better than that."
"Lord Thanatos. I heard you were looking for me, so I'd thought I'd just save you the trouble," I replied.
"What were you planning on doing? Tricking me into letting you back into the living world?"
He released us, indicating we should follow him into the light. This was a show of power, and I was going to let him have it if it got me what I wanted.
"I thought I'd ask nicely first."
Thanatos laughed, a harsh booming echo that was hearty and terrifying.
"That so? Tell me, Thýella, why should I let you leave my domain? Your heart is no longer beating."
I saw something in his eyes then, a flash of intuition and doubt. The tiny thought that had been curling in my mind turned into a spark.
"You didn't say dead though."
"You know a single touch from me will end any life? Whatever feeble hold you seem to have to the undead can be quickly broken, Euadne Maximus. Fate is not something that should be tampered with."
Fate….Maybe it had been tampered with enough, and I had to make a choice.
"Touch me then," I said boldly.
"Addie!" Tiberius warned. I held up my hand, not removing my gaze from Thanatos.
"Make a deal with me. Touch me, and we will leave it in fate's hands. Because I have to go back, and that's what I want, what I was ordered to do. I had to meet death for the seven to succeed, and I have orders to return. I will not rest until I achieve that."
Thanatos looked thoughtful, stepping closer to me.
"And what if I kill you?"
"Then I will be stuck here forever. You can do to me whatever you will."
"I want a favor if you succeed. I'll open the doors for you myself, and Hades will not come after you if this works, I swear on the Styx. I require the same of you."
Tiberius looked at me, and he smiled. It was that smile that said he had every faith in me. He used to be the only one who looked at me like that besides my brother. Now, I had others, and I had to get back to them. I had to get back to him.
"I swear on the Styx."
Boom! It won't be nearly as long for the next update!
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