Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own RA or PJO. All rights go to their respectful owners.

Alyssa's POV

A wave of nausea came over me. I felt like someone had punched me hard in the chest. For a second, my lungs were deprived of oxygen, and I gasped in air greedily. I reluctantly opened my eyes. A small gasp escaped my lips. I looked around in awe. I've only heard myths about the Underworld, but here I was, in flesh and blood. There was really no way to explain what I saw. It was as if the entire world had been corrupted, dark, and bleak; just like I imagined Hell would be.

I turned to see Nico laying on the black gravel, unmoving. I immediately went to his side. Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, shadow-travelling just takes up enormous reserves of energy for him, especially when he's carrying so many people. He probably won't be awake for a few more minutes. We're going to have to carry him," she assured. I nodded and went to slip my arms around his thin waist to hoist him up, but Leo intervened.

"I got him," he said briefly. Leo slid his arms around Nico's waist and slung him over his shoulder easily, as if he were a sack of

potatoes. I heard a groan behind me as Will stood up, stretching his muscles.

"Remind me to never shadow-travel again," Will mumbled, shouldering his bag.

Annabeth wisely chose to ignore that comment. She looked around at the red, desolate land.

"Without Nico, I don't know where Hades' palace is. I'm not even sure where we are now," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Will bit his lip in thought. "Maybe we can stay here until Nico wakes up?" he suggested, gesturing to the boy slung over Leo's shoulder.

Annabeth shook her head. "This place is crawling with evil spirits. It's not safe to stay in one spot for too long; we'll be vulnerable.

Leo shrugged, although it was an awkward move with Nico over his shoulder. "We'll be vulnerable either way, Annabeth. If we start wandering blindly, we'll just be putting ourselves in more danger," he pointed out.

Annabeth sighed softly. "Alright. We'll just set up a small camp here. But everyone be on their guard."

Leo set the son of Hades down, and sat down, panting heavily. "Holy Hephaestus! You'd think Nico would be lighter than this," Leo exclaimed.

Will set down his bag and rifled through it. He pulled out a small plastic bag of ambrosia squares. He knelt down next to Nico and placed a small bit of the ambrosia into his mouth, and Nico automatically swallowed.

"That should help him wake up faster," Will said, replacing the bag of ambrosia back into his backpack.

"So, what's our plan to get Percy back? I mean, we can't just march right up to Hades and ask him for Percy," I said, sitting down beside Leo.

Annabeth thought for a moment, then replied, "Well, we'll have to do whatever we can. We don't even know where Percy is being kept, or if he's in the Underworld at all."

I was about to comment on how Percy could be dead already, but caught my tongue at the last minute. The last thing I wanted was to be pessimistic about our chances.

"Maybe we could make a deal of some sort with Hades?" Will suggested, his eyebrows knitting together in thought.

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Hades is no fool. If he is holding Percy hostage, he captured him for a reason. He's not going to give him up without a fight," she countered.

Leo gave a dramatic sigh and pressed his fingers to his temples. "All this thinking is making my brain hurt," he groaned.

Annabeth smirked. "That's not the first time, Repair Boy."

I heard a moan from Nico's direction. Nico sat up groggily. "I forgot how tiring it was to carry so much people," he grumbled.

Will gripped Nico's arm and helped him stand. He took a few staggering paces.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Just a little tired is all."

"Do you want to take a few moments to rest?" Will asked, concern lining his face. As a son of the god of medicine, he was naturally inclined to worry about people's health.

Nico shook Will off. "Nah, I'm fine. Besides, we need to find Percy before it's too late," he replied with a new edge of confidence.

"Speaking of Percy, do you know where he might be held?" Annabeth asked Nico.

Nico took a moment to think. "If he's still alive, I would say he's in my father's prison. It's reserved for the living only. We're going to have to approach my father to get there though. He's the only way that we can get in," Nico replied.

Will's eyes narrowed. "As Annabeth said, he's not going to just let Percy go. We have to find another way," he protested.

Nico sighed. "That's what's going to be so hard about it. I'm his son, maybe I can work something out with him. Anyways, we should get going if we want to save Percy before it's too late. Follow me,"

Without another word, Nico walked casually through the desolate plains, as if walking through the Land of the Dead was perfectly normal. The rest of the group followed uneasily. A few apparitions here and there floated among the darkness. They looked sad, tortured, afraid even. But none of them came close to us.

Igripped the hilt of my saxe nervously as we walked. I glanced sidelong at Will, but his face was grim. It was silent for a long time, save for the crunching of the gravel underneath our boots. Finally, Annabeth broke it.

"Sorry for bringing you guys into this. I'm practically leading you all to your possible doom. I should have just gone myself," she said guiltily.

Will shook his head and put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "No, it wasn't your fault. We all care about Percy, too. Besides, do you think we would just let you saunter in here by yourself?" he added with a lopsided grin.

Annabeth smiled slightly, but before she could reply, Nico interrupted.

"We're here."

In front of us, loomed a large, castle-like structure. It was completely black, and it had an air of eeriness to it. It looked like the moment you were to walk into it, it would engulf you into darkness.

Leo looked at me, nervousness glinting in his eyes. "You ready?"

I gulped down the lump in my throat and slid my saxe knife out of its scabbard with a hiss. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

This was mostly a filler chapter, so sorry that there's nothing interesting :( My school system is getting totally revamped, which means that I'm getting a lot more homework than usual. I'm SO sorry I haven't been updating for almost two weeks...Things should settle down in the next few weeks, so I can go back to my normal schedule.

Thanks for all your support!