First off, no, I am not dead. Nor have I moved to a foreign country where there is no technology available. Things have just been super hectic here. And yes, I know that's no excuse to leave you all hanging, but I was busy with all the end of the year events, family issues, teenage drama, a trip to London, a death in the family, summer activities, and I just started high school. So I wasn't exactly sitting here eating cereal and staring at my wall for the past… 5 or so months. And though it may come as a surprise for you all, angry PMs and reviews did not exactly motivate me to write. Those who don't write for FF may not understand how much time and effort these stories take. Yes, I could quickly rush my chapters and post them on here for you all weekly, but those chapters would, quite frankly, suck. My life doesn't revolve around this story, and I'm hoping that you will all understand that.

But, I am really sorry.

Disclaimer: My name isn't Rick Riordan. Enough said.

Within the few seconds I stood gaping at the direction of the approaching army, the skeletons went from 'decently far away' to 'close enough that if you don't get a move on things you will most likely be killed'. And so, as a smart little demigod should, I got a move on things.

Grabbing the set of old keys hanging on the wall, I desperately tried shoving key after key into the cell lock, but they all stubbornly refused to slide into the hole. Trying to stay calm wasn't easy when there were three teenagers panicking and shouting at me to let them out. They had no idea what was going on, but they were panicking nonetheless.

The lock had rejected the entrance of about a dozen keys, and when only one remained I let out a sigh of relief and tried to shove it into the lock, only to come across one small problem: it didn't fit.

"What!" screamed out Jill. "Get us out of here, Nico!" she impatiently tried slamming her body against the barred cell, but to no avail. I regretted taking a glance at the skeleton army, since seeing just how close they were only made me want to scream and run away rather than staying and helping my friends. But unfortunately, if there's one thing I learned at Camp Half-Blood (besides the fact that if you leave your cabin unattended with money, food, or soda in it, children of Hermes will steal it) it's that you should never, under any circumstances, abandon your friends.

Throwing the ring of keys to the ground, I grabbed my sword from my backpack. With a few very manly grunts, I slashed at the lock, breaking it and releasing the cell's captives.

Hurriedly, they rushed out and instinctively took a mad dash away from the army that was very visible from down the hallway. Along with the clack clack clack of the bones colliding with stone floor as they ran, you could also hear the battle cries of the skeletons.

"Go! Go! Go!" commanded Jill as she ushered Hailey and Riley in front of her. Remembering running wasn't exactly Hailey's strong spot, as well as the fact that being surrounded by darkness usually weakened children of Apollo, I wondered how that was going to turn out. Not to mention the fact that there was a young girl on crutches with a recently broken leg as well. Since Hailey and Riley were already sprinting down the hallway, I felt obliged to be the one to carry Izzy instead of Jill. The older sister stayed with me until I safely had her sister in my arms, and then we both ran off after Hailey and Riley, turning our backs to the skeletons.

We ran through the labyrinth of hallways and passages that made up the Underworld's dungeon, hoping that we would soon break through to the outside. After all of the neat little tricks I had done that day, in addition to have been attacked the day before, and carrying somebody the whole time, it was no surprise that I was exhausted seconds after my adrenaline rush had passed by. Besides a slight change in my pace, I showed no signs of my weariness. Though, the fact that Isabella was clinging to me for her life and practically strangling me in the process definitely wasn't helping.

"HEY! THERE'S AN EXIT OVER HERE!" shouted out a voice from in front of us. Kicking up her pace, Jill ran forward and I did my best to keep up with her (and failed miserably). Finally arriving at said exit, I saw the three demigods pounding against a large, metal door that looked as if it hadn't been open since white powdered wigs were actually considered fashionable. Hailey and Jill were both body slamming the door, hoping to get it to budge, but it was no surprise that two 110 pound girls weren't exactly breaking down the door.

We had temporarily confused the skeletons earlier by making lots of twists and turns in the corridors, but they had relocated us and were furiously charging down the hallway as we struggled to open the door. I considered shadow traveling to get out of there, but I was exhausted and scared that I wouldn't be able to go completely through the wall; and the absolute last thing we needed was to be stuck in the middle of a door (considering I had done it more than once in my early shadow traveling days, I knew from experience that it wasn't a very pleasant feeling).

"Come on!" shouted Riley as he yanked at the door handle, though it didn't seem to be very productive.

Turning towards Isabella, I apologized quickly, and then yanked a crutch out from under her arm. "HEY!" she yelled.

Grabbing the crutch, I took a step back and then swung it at the door.

THWACK!

I repeatedly slammed the metal crutch against the door. Unfortunately for me, I might as well have been hitting it with a soggy pool noodle. After the crutch was bent and deformed, I threw it to the side and joined Riley in desperately clawing at the old door. Meanwhile, Hailey had resorted to shouting out commands for the door to open.

"OPEN!" she cried out, "Uh… Abra cadabra! Open sesame! Hocus pocus! Criss-cross applesauce!"

"Shut up, Hailey!" yelled Jill. "Just shut up and help open the door!" The blonde grabbed her sister's remaining crutch and started hitting the rust-coated hinges.

A loud cry from down the hall showed us that the skeletons were closer than we had thought. Another dose of panic set in as we all frantically tried to claw our way out of the hallway.

Suddenly, thick, green vines shot through cracks in the door and quickly wrapped themselves around it. Looking as though a dozen thick snakes were trying to squeeze the life out of the door, the vines tightened and the door began to let out horrible grunts and groans. Years of built up dust was released into the air as the door shifted and moved. As it pulled away from the frame, it began to leave a small crack that continued to grow as seconds passed.

Seizing the opportunity, we quickly learned that the crack was just wide enough for a few teenagers to squeeze through with their guts sucked in. One by one, Hailey, Riley, Jill, and I managed to slip through, and then we pulled the younger girl out after us.

Once we were all out, the vines formed a thick braid and squirmed to fill in the crack completely. What seemed like seconds later, the angry cries of the skeletons were heard as they reached the door and tried to break it down. Luckily for us, the door didn't budge and we remained safe. Ignoring our fight or flight reflexes, we had collapsed seconds after escaping, and were trying to catch our breath.

"Riley, that was amazing!" gushed Hailey. I hadn't even realized that the vines were the works of Riley until his girlfriend had mentioned it.

"Yeah, she's right. Nice job." I agreed, patting him on the back.

Riley, who looked as though being praised was a foreign experience to him, just blushed and muttered a "thanks". Hailey looked awfully pleased with herself, probably thinking of how she could now brag that her boyfriend was some kind of Greek hero that saved the whole quest and helped them escape from a dungeon and army of the undead.

I must say, it was pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, the overprotective sister was currently examining Isabella for any harm that might have come to her under the care of yours truly. "Are you alright? No scratches, bruises, or more broken bones?" she asked as she scanned the cast.

"No, I'm fine." Izzy assured her sister, "Besides the fact that you two totally destroyed my crutches!" She shot me a glare before returning her gaze to her sister.

"Sorry…" we both muttered guiltily.

Hailey continued to practically worship her boyfriend, and the two sisters squabbled on. I realized that I could still hear the shouts of the skeletons, and nervously glanced around. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't really want to be lingering around if the skeletons find another way out." I said. They seemed to just realize the fact that we were still in potential danger, and quickly stood up and began to move away from the wall. All but Izzy, who was stuck in her place unless she wanted to crawl or hop on one leg. Not willing to let herself become forgotten, she loudly announced her presence.

"Hellooo? Defenseless young girl over here!" she flailed her arms angrily.

"Nico, you carry her." commanded Jill as she combed her fingers through her hair, working out a tangle.

"What? Why me? I've been carrying her all day!" I complained.

"Exactly. You've had practice." she responded, witty as always.

I put my hands up, not letting her convince me to lug around her sister for the rest of the trip. "No way. You carry her. She is your sister, afterall."

"Okay."

"…Wait, what?"

"I said okay. I totally understand that you're just not strong enough to carry her. No worries! If I get tired I'll just pass her on to Riley." she shrugged nonchalantly.

"What? I'm totally strong enough!" I argued.

"Yeah?" she asked doubtfully. "Prove it."

"Fine!" I grabbed her sister from her arms, walked in a wide circle, and victoriously grinned. "Ha!"

She smiled and crossed her arms. "Yup, you showed me!" said the blonde a little too sarcastically for my comfort.

I realized her trick a moment too late as she was prancing off and I was stuck carrying the girl. I muttered a particularly foul word and in return received a slap from the lovely Isabella, who insisted I was being "a butt".

"You're really not too clever, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah; I know."

Grudgingly, I continued to travel carrying the girl.

(Hello. My name is Klark Nancy Humphry Lineus. But my friends call me Klark Nancy Humphry Lineus.)

We found ourselves at a gate.

It wasn't a particularly tall gate, nor was attractive or even special in any way. But behind the gate was a scene that was, for lack of a better word, pretty awesome. Never-ending flowers of all shapes and sizes were dotted among the bushes and vines, with colors too vibrant and mesmerizing to exist anywhere else but a godly place. A long, winding pathway split the area into two symmetric gardens. While there was no wind, the flowers and plants twisted and danced in a way that could only be described as hypnotizing. They captured your eye, and then summoned you inside. The enchanting feel of the garden seemed to pull you closer, and subconsciously we were all drawn in until we had our faces pressed against the cold metal gate.

At first, I didn't notice the one thing out of place in the garden. But soon my eyes came across a figure behind the gate. Hidden in the garden, a woman kneeled on the pathway and tended to the flowers. A large, floppy hat protected her head from the nonexistent sun, and she was dressed in a green sundress that completely covered her legs and ankles. She hummed as she worked; a quiet, pretty song that was more eerie than anything else. Untamed, dark curls ran down her back, complimenting her porcelain skin.

I wasn't expecting her to be there. She shouldn't have been there.

She was beautiful.

She was slightly evil.

She was my stepmother, and she had just noticed the band of teenagers standing at the gate.