Hey! Thanks to all of those who have reviewed so far! I'm glad most of you like the story! As always, Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs to Rick Riordan, but the story line and OC are mine. Hope you like it! Please don't forget to review!
The next morning, we continued our way into the Underworld. Luckily, we didn't encounter any monsters, but I felt uneasy the whole time. Once, we finally reached the doors to Hades' realm, I took out my knife. Nico gave me a dirty look, and I put it away. He knocked three times on the enormous iron doors, and they swung back, revealing a dark entryway bathed in an ominous, red light. I shivered. This was exactly what I imagined it to look like.
" Lord Hades?" Percy called nervously, his voice echoing in the empty hallway. There was a swoosh, and the King of the Underworld materialized in front of us in a mist of black.
"What brings you here?" He growled, looking us over. His eyes narrowed when he looked at me. Percy cleared is throat, bringing the attention away from me.
"Um..." Percy glanced at me, his lower lip trembling. This time, Nico spoke.
"Christian's notebook was stolen, her cabin destroyed, her boyfriend taken, and Annabeth is gone." He listed everything, counting on his fingers. He looked up at his dad, whose lip curl menacingly.
"And you think I am responsible for these unfortunate events?" Hades hissed at Nico. I spoke up, not wanting Hades to take it all out on Nico.
"Of course not, Lord Hades. We don't know who is responsible for it, and we want to find out. We came here, because we hoped you might have an idea, since you were there." His eyes narrowed even more, his eyes growing even darker at the mention of that one night in the mess hall.
"No." Hades spat in my face, turning away. "Nico, how dare you bring her here! You knew I specifically told you not to!" He roared, turning on Nico, shoving him up against the iron doors with an echoey boom. Nico cried out, his eyes watering and his teeth clenched against the pain. Hades gripped his throat, and Nico struggled to breath. Not thinking, I grabbed Hades' arm, and shoved him away with all my strength, aware that I just pushed one of the most powerful Gods there are. I drew a breath as Hades' head snapped towards me.
"Don't you dare touch Nico like that!" I shouted, my heart racing. I was lucky I wasn't a smoking pile of ash already. My actions would probably rin my chance of getting into Elysium.
"What are you going to do, little girl? Sing me a lullaby?" Hades snarled, grabbing my arms. His hands burned into my flesh, and I quirmed, whimpering in pain. Closing my eyes, I focused, shutting out all the pain and fear. I slowly felt the burns fade, and my whimpers were replaced with Hades' screams. I opened my eyes, seeing Hades clutching his burned hands. I looked down at mine, and my whole body was glowing. I had activated "defense mode", or whatever you call it. Hades' eyes were wide, and he was staring at me with fear in his eyes. I almost laughed. What God was scared of a child of a minor God? Especially a child of the God of healing and music? I spread my arms wide, light and heat radiating from my outstretched body. Hades stumbled back, shielding his eyes from the light, angry red burns forming on his arms and face. Nico and Percy had already retreated to another room, so I knew they were safe.
"Please." Hades whimpered, backing up further. "Please." I focused on the energy I was putting into the light an heat, pulling it back. The light dimmed, the heat reducing to a comfortable warmth. I stood tall, gazing down at the whimpering Lord of the Underworld. I reached towards him, but he jerked away, his eyes wide with fear. Percy and Nico peered around the corner, Nico running towards me, Percy right behind him.
"What did you do?!" Nico screamed, grabbing me. Percy shoved him off, looking uncertain.
"He'll be fine. Just give me a sec." I tried to explain, reaching towards Hades again, while Percy held Nico back. I placed my hands on his arms, closing my eyes. I focused all my energy towards my hands, warmth shooting through them. When I opened my eyes, Hades stood tall in front of me, towering over my small frame. His burns were gone, and fear no longer in his eyes. He nodded at me.
"You did well, daughter of Apollo." I looked at him quizzically and he laughed. "It was a test to see if you were indeed trying to save your friends, not bring shame to me and my realm. I see now that you were using what you had to protect the people you love."
"So will you help us?" I asked, cracking my knuckles.
"We'll see." Hades replied, starting to pace. Then, he turned. "What price would you pay to have Damon and Annabeth back?"
"Anything." I replied, and he laughed.
"I will help you, Christian, daughter of Apollo.