What's up everybody. So sorry this is a bit late, I caught some kind of horrible cold and didn't feel like writing or really doing anything for a few days. But I'm better now, and I'm really coming back to this story again, like I used to. The passion never left, but I'll admit, it's been stronger at times. However, I'm back in it, so expect some more (hopefully) good chapters!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

8. We Risk It All

Harper

So you'd be smart to not take advice from me. I don't blame you, but listen to me on this one.

Don't, and I repeat don't fall asleep outside in late December. You'll freeze to death.

And I'm surprised I didn't.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I immediately cringed and shivered. I had frost all over me, my back was soaked with dew, and the air was practically killing my nostrils with it's temperature. The sky was gray and misty, thick enough to hide the shape of the city in the distance.

I sat up and wiggled around to get the icy material off me, trying to remember what happened.

To my left, lie a snoozing Talon. Okay, now I remember what happened. We'd talked about some stuff, I played guitar for a bit, and then he fell asleep. I guess I did too along the way, not even thinking about finding some warmth, or laying on the freaking sleeping bags we set out by the fire.

I propped myself up on one hand and stared at him for a minute. He had opened up about some pretty personal stuff last night, and I guess I did too. I somehow retained all of the Nikandreos information, as vague as it may be.

I nudged him on the arm, "Hey, dumbass."

He stirred and groaned, reaching up to push his hat out of his face. "Hmm?"

I shook my head, snickering, "Time to get up. We're taking our trip to hell today, remember?"

He didn't answer for a moment, and just grumbled incoherent nonsense. "Damn, did I drink last night or something?"

I nodded, "A little, yeah."

He glanced over at the empty bottle of whiskey, "A little?"

"Maybe more than a little." I wondered if he remembered exactly what he said, revealing some of the things he did. It brought back a little more of that guilt I felt last night, like I was taking advantage of him or something in his vulnerable state.

"Hey um...do you remember last night? Like anything, or just bits and pieces?"

He sat up, completely unaffected by the cold whatsoever. "Nah, I remember it all."

I was surprised, "All of it? And...you're okay with it?"

He pushed his tongue to the side of his cheek, thinking deeply about it. Finally, he nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine with it. Was a long time coming, anyway."

"You serious?"

"Yeah." He turned and smiled, "You play a good guitar too, gotta admit."

It took me a second to recognize what he just said. I smiled back, about to say something, when Malachi and Sera came up behind us.

"Are you two ready to go?"

I turned around, and yep, there they stood, all ready to go. Malachi looked better than he did last night, less pale, actually able to stand up, and a bit happier, at least in the eyes. They weren't dry and dead like they were last night.

And of course, Sera was radiant. I shook my head at her in disbelief and gestured to my no doubt messy hair. "I don't know how you do it, Sera."

She opened her mouth to respond, but Malachi was the first voice to speak. He looked at Sera sideways, with half-lidded eyes and a smirk. "Her beauty never falters. She is naturally stunning."

Sera's response was instantly cut off, she clamped her lips shut and blushed wildly at his comment. I laughed and Talon groaned, getting up to push past his old friends.

"Alright Barbie and Ken, we ain't got time for flirting." He turned and looked at us expectantly. "Come on, we said we'd rest for one night, and go get Matt as soon as we wake up."

Malachi's sly smile fell, and he nodded. "Right. There's not a moment to waste."

The two of them went ahead and marched to the giant hole Talon fell in yesterday, while Sera stayed behind and offered me a helping hand, her face still red.

I took it and playfully tapped her shoulder, "Malachi's really smitten, huh?"

She shook her head, "I-I was not p-prepared for that."

I just laughed and pulled her to the underworld's entrance.

The four of us stood above the giant hole and stared into it, nothing but darkness, and no sound. From what I heard, this was supposed to be a pretty packed place, with souls, of course.

"Any auras down there?" I asked.

Malachi furrowed his eyebrows, "Just one. That's...odd, when I came here, there were several souls waiting in line. But then again, souls don't have auras, so that could be why."

Talon facepalmed, "That makes no sense, dude."

"Doesn't matter." I said, "let's just go down there."

None of us moved.

I looked around, "Cmon! We literally came all this way, and now we freeze up?"

Talon frowned, "I don't see you jumping down there."

"Just trying to be polite. Why don't you go first, tough guy?"

He took a step back, "No way. Did you not see what happened yesterday? Those ghosts threw my ass out!"

Malachi raised a hand for silence, "Enough. I'll be the adult and go first."

Sera nodded meekly, "A-And I will go last."

We all silently agreed with Malachi's decision. Slowly, he reached down with his leg for something to step on, and eventually found a mound of dirt and grass. He put his weight on it, and when it held, he gave us a thumbs up.

"See? Easy."

Talon peered into the hole, "You sure there ain't no ghosts down there?"

Malachi shook his head, "I do not see any."

The top of his blonde head disappeared in the darkness, and shortly after, a blue light illuminated the entire area, showing us a gray marble floor with several cracks in it.

We all followed him down in the order of; Me, Talon, and Sera. Stepping on the little grass ledges reminded me of playdoh, mushy from the dampness of the morning frost, practically crumbling under my small frame.

I glanced around and took one last look at my surroundings. The surface world. Where we were about to go…was completely different, and a lot bigger. Who knows how long we'll be down there. I opted for no more than a couple of days, but really, it could be a lot longer.

Sera caught my gaze, and poked her head in my view, giving a reassuring smile. "It will not be the last time we see it, Harper. I'm positive."

Her tone was comforting, and for some reason, it was the reason my leg took the final step into the depths. I blacked out in between the moment she said it, and the moment I ended up in the bright blue light of Malachi's hand. I don't know if I even responded. It was like a switch had been flicked, all senses were heightened, goosebumps lined my skin, and the Blade of Eros was very heavy in my hand.

I looked down at it. Was it reacting to the energy? Was I just nervous or something?

I didn't know.

Talon and Sera landed with a reverberating thump on the marble floor. It was very, very quiet in here, which seemed strange. This place was supposed to be packed with souls ready to enter the underworld. At least, that's what I've heard. But now, It only seemed to be us four.

We gathered together in the center, next to the running river. Was that the Styx?

"Hold on." Malachi said, "That aura…it's right there."

"Shine a light on it."

Malachi moved his hand to the right, and we saw a figure in the corner, slack limbed and laying against a wall with several craters and cracks in it.

"Who's there?" Malachi called.

The figure didn't respond, so we stepped closer, all in unison. If we looked back, it would be pretty funny, like one of those scenes in a horror movie where the teens explore an abandoned house. But of course in this case it's the entrance to the underworld. Just a slightly bigger scale.

The light shone clearly on the figure's face, and it turned out to be a man. Or at least…he looked like a man. Brown skin, bleached blonde hair, with a fancy Italian suit, in pretty bad shape though. It was ripped and torn in several places, and he even looked like he was bleeding a thick, golden fluid.

"Is that ichor?"

The man finally woke up, and immediately closed his eyes again, swatting at us with his hand. "Ah, get that damn light away from me!"

"Who the hell's this guy?"

Malachi took a small step back, a frown on his lips. "It's Charon. I remember him from last time."

"That's Charon?!"

Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, in fact did not look like those creepy things we saw outside yesterday. He looked more like a casino gambler than a grim reaper.

He glared up at the Demi-Primordial, "Oh, it's you. What, your daddy not with you this time?"

"What on Earth happened to you?"

Talon's head appeared next to Malachi's, "Did those ghosts attack you too?"

Charon grumbled and pushed us out of his way, shakily pushing himself up and stumbling over to the edge of the marble floor, and the river.

"It's none of you lot's business. Get out of here. No one goes into the Underworld right now."

Our eyebrows all furrowed at the same time, and we shot each other strange looks.

"Why not?"

He sighed, "Well no one who's not dead is allowed inside anyway! But now it's really not happening! Underworld's on lockdown right now, so get the hell out of here!"

We were silent. So if the underworld's basically "closed" then that means Hades is aware of all of this. And maybe he's doing something to fight Tartarus right now…

Sera, surprisingly squared off with Charon, a look of determination on her face. "I am sorry, Mr. Charon, but our friend is trapped. We have to rescue him."

I wanted to smile in sympathy. She was too nice. There's no way Charon gives a shit about Matt, and no amount of words will change his mind. I can already tell this guy is a hard ass.

And he did exactly that, "Does it look like I care? Get out of here! Hades' orders!"

"We're not going anywhere." I said, my voice harsh, "Look, we know about Tartarus. That's why, right? That's why the Underworld's closed?"

Charon's face twitched.

I began to put the pieces together, gesturing around the room at the cracks and dents. "I'm guessing he's causing a lot of chaos in Hades's realm too. That's why those souls got released."

His eyes widened for a second, and I nodded.

"That's right. We're in on it more than you probably think. We're young, but we're not stupid. He kidnapped one of our friends, and we have to get him back."

The god had an inner struggle it seemed, his eyes darted back and forth between all of us. His head went down, and he hissed.

"I get it, I do. But you kids really need to get out of here. Let Hades handle it."

"Nah, partner." Talon said, "See, I know Hades, and I know for damn sure that he ain't gonna do a thing."

"If your friend is lost in the underworld, Hades knows about it," Charon retorted, "Give it time, and go home."

"Not happening."

We all stood firm, and Charon sighed in annoyance.

"Fine, you asked for this, you little shits."

When he snapped his fingers, ten reapers materialized in two lines of five on both sides of him, appearing out of black smoke and holding swords that looked a lot like Nico's stygian iron back at Camp.

All of us took a step back and tensed up. Before, there were three, and while we got rid of them rather handily, there were ten of them now, plus a god. Who knows what other forces are gonna come out of the underworld? The level of seriousness was starting to rise.

"One last chance, brats." Charon announced, "You leave, or I let the Soul Wranglers have a field day with you." He chuckled, as if he was enjoying the thought, "They'll rip you limb from limb if I give the order. So I suggest you head on out."

Malachi's hand crackled with lightning, signaling that he was ready to unleash. But as I looked down at his hand, I caught sight of my sword.

The Blade…

A thought occurred to me, and I put my arm up in front of Malachi. Time to find out what this thing's made of.

"What are you-" He started, but I interrupted.

"We're going into the Underworld, by force if we have to." I raised the sword up and held it firm behind me, ready to swing. It probably looked awkward, because I have about as much experience with a sword as an average mortal, but I knew the gist of it. Swing really hard and aim for something vital.

The Soul Wranglers, as Charon called them, stared at me with sunken, lifeless eyes, waiting for the order. Charon just eyed the blade, snickering under his breath. It's energy must be suppressed, or maybe…it just wasn't' even that powerful. I remembered what Malachi said earlier, that he was unsure if it was really what Aphrodite said it was. Suddenly I began to regret my decision.

But it was too late. Charon laughed loudly, "Kill her!"

The Soul Wranglers jumped into action, all ten of them lunged forward at me, their bony hands reaching out for me, and their swords ready to impale me multiple times over.

But as I gripped the sword tighter, I felt something…really weird happen. It was like it became linked to me, and out of nowhere, I felt this insane, absolutely insane level of adrenaline wash over me. Like an actual liquid had been pumped into my veins. My senses were on fire, my body felt like it could withstand a nuclear bomb, and the amount of force I held behind my fists, it was hard to describe. Like a child holding a cannon, it was so overwhelming.

So I did the first thing that I thought to do. I swung.

The movement was as simple as swinging a baseball bat. The weight of the sword became heavy to weightless as soon as I felt that unbelievable energy enter my body. I shifted my weight and the sword slashed at the air, not even hitting the Soul Wranglers, because I swung too early of course.

But that didn't matter at all. A bright, glowing pink light erupted from the blade's form and became a line of energy in the air, slamming itself into each Wrangler's midsection and sending them flying back faster than they came, like they'd been yanked on by the cord attached to their backs. The strike even hit Charon, who was standing fifteen feet behind them, not even attacking me.

There was a moment of silence, and then a huge explosion of power. A wave of warmth hit all of us, and then passed. I blinked for a single second, and when I opened my eyes, every single wrangler, along with Charon, lay limp on the marble floor. Which was oddly, still perfectly intact.

I breathed out a huge breath I had no idea I had been holding in. It wasn't at all fatigue, it was shock. My eyes grew wide, and I took a long look at the sword in my hand. Just…how and the hell did I do that?!

I shook my head back and forth, "G-Guys, holy shit…"

But when I turned to look at them, I almost didn't find them, they were at the other end of the room, with their arms over their faces, as if they were scared of me or something.

"Guys?"

They slowly uncovered themselves, their eyes were nearly as big as their heads.

"Harper…"

"Goth girl…"

I glanced to the down wranglers and them, "Yeah?"

"What the fuck was that?!"

"What?"

Then they started crowding me, their hands all over the place as they tried to explain what happened.

"Y-Your eyes were glowing pink, a-and you were glowing pink, a-and the sword-"

"That was awesome!"

Even Malachi was dumbfounded, "Your power, my gods Harper, that was-"

"HEY!"

The wranglers were still on the floor, motionless, but Charon was getting up, albeit nearly tripping over himself a few times, but his eyes were dead set on me, and was he…smiling?

"Get away from her, bastards!" He bellowed, and practically threw all three of them away from me. I was just standing there, utterly overwhelmed by everything going on. The Blade's power, my friends' reaction, Charon's craziness, it was all frying my brain.

And then the ferryman decided to grab me by the waist and pull me flush against his chest.

I didn't even react, it was so abrupt and out of nowhere, I could only gawk up at him.

"Wow, you're gorgeous!" He said, "Wanna have dinner in Hades's palace tonight?"

"Wh-What?"

He pulled me in tighter, "Whaddya say?"

"Hell no, creep!" I yanked my hand out of our squeezed bodies and decked him in the jaw with it. I only caught the pink glow around my fist at the last second.

When my knuckles hit his nose, it caved inside of his face, almost comically. Several bones cracked in rhythm, and ichor trailed in front of him as he flew back against the stone wall and destroyed it.

Despite his seriously inappropriate behavior, I gasped in surprise at the sheer result of the punch, from me no less. At most it would've made him let go of me, or even stumble, but to knock him all the way across the room?

I looked at my fist, "Oh crap…" Then back at the downed, bloody Charon. "Sorry about that. You…good?"

Don't know why I'm apologizing. Guy's a god, he'll heal, and he just acted super creepy. The last part was really puzzling, considering he wanted to give us the boot not ten seconds before hand. Was it the sword?

We stood in silence for several seconds, and finally Talon broke it, shedding golden light on the new darkness. When he did, I heard something big crash into the river next to us.

It was a wooden boat, and he was standing in it, gesturing for us to join him.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!"

Sera went over to get in the boat, while I just stared down at Charon, still in disbelief. How could I do something like that? I don't mean hitting him, I definitely was doing that anyway. But I just knocked a god unconscious. A god. Me, and a god. How does that add up? I'm not like these guys. I'm not like Matt or Malachi, I'm not some vessel for infinite potential. I've got a little strength, yeah, but all of that came from busting my ass in training every day.

It had to be the sword. My fist glowed pink, and I've never been able to do anything like that before I got it, so…that's the only way. For some reason, I got the weird feeling that little display was nothing compared to what it can really let me do.

I mean, Aphrodite said Eros's energy was in this thing. And from what I remember, he's a primordial, just like the rest.

My racing thoughts were broken by Malachi's presence next to me. He matched my gaze at Charon and spoke lowly.

"He'll be fine. We need to go."

I nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

"Guess that sword is useful after all."

Again, I was at a loss for words. "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

He and I hopped in the boat. Not wasting another moment, Talon let go of the floor he had been holding onto, keeping the boat still. Once he did, we shot off into a tunnel descending towards the Underworld. The water pretty much did all of the work for us, as it was quite literally, a raging river, with enough force to push our group, and the little dingy boat with ease.

But the whole time we zipped and traversed around, even with Talon's whoops of excitement and Sera's squeaks, I kept thinking about what just happened, why Charon was acting so weird, and the amount of power I'd been given. This is the first time, ever, that I've felt like this. It was both thrilling and…daunting.

Needless to say, it wasn't the only thing on my mind. Charon said the underworld is closed, and those souls yesterday, they had gotten free somehow. If Tartarus was behind that, then Hades is aware too.

"Yo, goth girl!"

My head raised up, "What?"

"I asked what's the plan? You heard me, right?"

I didn't even have time to respond, "Of course she didn't hear me. Well you do now, so what's next? We going straight to Tartarus?"

Sera and Malachi eyed me questioningly, waiting for my word. Me? Again?

"Guys, you don't have to look at me, I'm not-"

"Cut the crap!" Talon barked, "None of this again! It's just like last time, when we went to Scandinavia! Trying to say 'I ain't the leader of this quest' and all that. Well tough, cause you are!"

I was about to get up and argue with him, but Sera reinforced his statement, in a much calmer tone.

"He is right, Harper. Just because we are older than you, doesn't mean we won't follow you." She shrugged, "We did last time, right?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm not the leader. Nobody is."

Three pairs of eyebrows furrowed, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"We're a team, remember? Nobody leads. If we have an idea, we suggest it, and talk about it. This isn't a dictatorship."

"Yes, but isn't it best for someone to make the decisions?" Malachi argued.

"Maybe. I don't know. But if you're asking me, then I'll tell you an idea I had in mind." I sighed, getting ready for the onslaught coming my way, especially from Talon. "Don't freak out, but I was thinking…what if we could somehow convince Hades to come with us?"

Instead of immediate uproar, I was met with stares. Blank stares.

I looked between all of them, not breaking eye contact. Well, that was calmer than I expected, but I still thought they would at least, I don't know, speak.

"What do you think? Too crazy? I only thought of it because of the soul escape yesterday. And what Charon said. If Hades knows Tartarus is the one causing chaos on not only the surface world, but the underworld, then he's gonna want revenge." I threw my hands up, "Worth a shot, right? One of the Big Three on our side would be huge."

Finally, they broke their gaze from me and looked at each other. I could tell they've done it before, when they hear an idea they think is stupid, they want to make sure all of them think it's stupid.

But surprisingly, Malachi nodded. "Okay, we'll go to his palace first then."

"Wait, really?" I straightened up, surprised they'd even consider it, given the god's track record.

"Why not? It never hurts to ask, right?" Sera said.

Talon popped his knuckles against his palm and gave a wicked smile, "Besides, if he gets rowdy, just bust out that sword on him. Should scare him shitless."

I smiled at them gratefully. Maybe this could happen. Maybe we could go down there and do what few demigods have done before, make it back not only in one piece, but with Matt in tow. The odds were still heavy, but now, they're starting to even out a little.

Matt

I sensed Viribus ahead, far in front of me. I was trapped, completely trapped and at the exposure of three, not one or two, but three giants.

I needed to act fast. Viribus was crucial. I can fight without it, but I can't survive without it. Key differences.

I threw my arms forward and used all of my momentum to do a one eighty and change direction. With a flex of my legs, I sprung off the invisible launchpad and created a massive shockwave behind me, it was enough to propel me towards my weapon.

The chasm blurred beside me, and my vision tunneled until all I saw was that wooden club, spinning around like crazy. I couldn't lose it, not now, not ever. I needed Viribus, as much as I needed an arm or a leg. It was an extension of…myself, really. I'd had it for so long at this point, for my entire life it felt like. As strange as that sounds, a warrior and it's weapon are connected. It's almost like it's alive to you. I mean, look at Percy and Riptide.

So when I say I grabbed it, I grabbed it and didn't loosen my grip for a single moment. As soon as I felt it's texture hit my palm, I reached out and linked Gaea's aura with mine, accessing her abilities. My abilities.

I aimed the tip of the club at the left side of the chasm and willed the rocks to explode. As instructed, they combusted and blew out into the lava, giant boulders crashing on top of one another, some melting and some creating a messy pile. Exactly what I wanted it to do.

But it wasn't enough, so I aimed at the opposite side, and found similar results. Enough rock fell in, that eventually, it created a large platform for me to land on. I can resist lava, and survive it, but that doesn't mean it's comfortable. I'd rather fight without the nuisance than with it, if that makes sense.

I willed the air around me to push against me, and I was forced down, where one giant, the first to pull me down here, was standing already, popping his neck and knuckles.

I somersaulted, and braced my legs for impact. With a single rumble, I landed in the center of the platform, only creating a few small cracks, nothing to threaten my foothold.

The other two giants came shortly after, and soon, I was completely surrounded in a triangle by all of them. They glowered down at me, their eyes full of hunger, and hate.

"Meet Polybotes and Mimas." Antaeus said, gesturing to the two larger, more intimidating giants. "Also known as the Anti-Poseidon, and the Anti-Hephaestus."

They circled me slowly, and I kept my eyes on all of them, somehow, tensed up and ready for anything they tried to pull. I didn't give a physical reaction to hearing the name Polybotes, but I knew that was a problem. Percy had mentioned him once before, how he has an ability that allows him to turn water into poison, basically resisting Percy's attacks in their battle. I was wary of that, and the fact that he's meant to fight Poseidon means he isn't lacking in pure strength as well.

"We're going to break you, boy." Anteaus rumbled, "But I get the killing blow. You see, I want you to reunite with your father."

Normally, that would've sent me over the edge, and I would've attacked first. But to my surprise, I found myself not responding, or even flinching at his words. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, or maybe my brain was just fried, but I remained calm. It was weird, but I had this new sense of…awareness. I felt like a rock in a river, letting all of the water flow past me, and remaining firm.

So when I didn't say anything, Antaeus growled in annoyance, and they began the assault.

As soon as all of their fists rose in the air, I immediately threw Viribus above me and thrust my hands out and tapped into their auras with ease. They weren't expecting that kind of attack, and I wasn't even sure of what kind of control they had of their auras in the first place, but I was able to get the jump on them, and I began to siphon out huge chunks of their energy and gather it into my hands.

As quick as it joined me, before they could even get their hands on me, or realize what I'd done to them, I was sending it back at them.

I pushed my hands out again, aggressively this time, and the energy shot at their faces in colorful bursts, hitting them all in the nose and sending them on their butts.

I chose Polybotes first, because he was likely the most powerful. His aura told me he was, and I wanted to take out the most dangerous first.

Viribus came back down at the perfect time and I caught it, jumping up in the air to meet the downed Polybotes at eye level.

He was quick, but still stunned. He swatted at me, and luckily I stepped on his shoulder fast enough to dodge his haymaker. I landed on his neck and brought Viribus down on his forehead, slamming the back of it into the rock platform below.

"ARGHH!" He bellowed, and before I knew it, the next attack was coming.

Mimas, the anti-Hephaestus got up and threw a clump of lava at me, some he has scooped up from the lake of it beside us. I ducked under it and felt the heat graze the hair on my skin, but no harm whatsoever.

I was a moving bullet. I wasn't focusing on anything else other than taking them down as fast as possible. Yuri was taking longer than I expected, so I needed to survive this, hold them off, and wait for her to come.

Lightning danced around Viribus's shaft, and it shot out in two coils, both of them hitting the two in front of me, violently ripping at their skin, their fibers, their being. I let the red glow engulf me and enhance the attack, and it made it so much more powerful. I smelled burning flesh, I heard their roars of pain, and I knew I had them.

I ceased the lightning and aimed at the platform under Antaeus, quickly tapping into Gaea's power, I shifted it's plate and tripped him on his back, leaving his legs flying in the air.

Mimas, now temporarily alone, was all mine. I reached out and for the heck of it, stole another chunk of his energy.

"You guys are making it easy for me, huh?" I taunted, which just came out really. I didn't even mean for it to, I was so focused and in the zone.

His energy came out in waves and joined my hand in a bright ball of light. When I felt it strong enough, and knew I was running out of time, I fired it.

It hit him square in the chest, a miniature cannon, if you will, and sent him shooting back into the chasm wall, ricocheting into the lava with a loud splash, and a hiss of a burn.

They got up quickly though, I'll give them that. The bigger they are, the harder they fall didn't really apply here. As fast as I could knock them down, they were getting back up. Polybotes landed a swift kick to my back, flat footed, and sent me stumbling, almost into the lava myself if I hadn't slammed Viribus in the ground, acting as an anchor.

Both he and Antaeus were up and ready, fists coming down on me hammer style, all of their power behind it. I pushed my Red Aura to it's limit. That's what I would need, I wouldn't need the energy of the bolt, not here. But I wouldn't slip up for a moment, I needed to remain serious.

Both fists were on me in a blink. I blocked Polybotes' with Viribus, and Antaeus' with my fist. The simultaneous force was incredible. Their pure, raw physical strength was absolutely nothing to laugh at, and I would even compare Polybotes punch to Atlas's. I didn't have enough time, or even care, to gauge it, but it was a hard hit, let's just say that.

On top of Antaeus's, my knees were buckling a little, my arms were on fire, and I was doing my best to stay put, not move an inch and hold it, hold for as long as I needed. I was already thinking about my next move. If I can do it, I'll push their fists up and go for a sweep, maybe on Anteaus first, or Polybotes. I wasn't sure, but I needed to get out of this and quickly get out of the way. Or maybe just bring out the bolt and absolutely turn the tables.

But all thought snapped when I saw a blue glint of light come down from above. It flashed once, and then again, closer this time. Finally, it was a mere fifty feet away.

"Polybotes!" Antaeus warned, "Behind you!"

The anti-Poseidon looked behind him too late, whatever it was, had a lot of aura packed into it, and it was coming very fast at him, aimed right for his head. And it would take it clean off too. It had to be…her. Yuri.

But before it could hit Polybotes, another body came flying up out of the water, causing a giant riptide of lava to spill over on the platform.

Mimas, his upper half was above lava, and his arm was high in the air, right in the way of Yuri's attack.

The blue light hit his arm, right where the elbow is, and cleaved it in two. I shouldn't say cleaved; I mean sliced. It sliced it in two, very cleanly, like a hot knife to butter. One second his arm was intact, the next it was flying in the air, separate from his body.

Mimas howled in pain and clutched his massive arm tightly. The blue light crashed into the ground, and I saw that standing upright on the platform, was a blade's hilt.

Her sword.

I sensed Yuri's aura coming faster than the sword had, and then an even brighter blue aura was coming down like a giant, blazing aquamarine comet, her figure enflamed with fury.

She came down on Mimas like a truck to a cardboard box. Her aura slammed into his and his entire body caved in on itself. Her leg was in his chest, and his eyes were popping out of his head, mouth agape with ichor coming out in a huge ball. She was not messing around.

I knew this was the one chance, our opportunity to cut some heads off the hydra here. I slashed Viribus in the air, tapping into Zeus's side of things now, the wind was in my full control, at the front of my arsenal. A layer of it spread out around me and stumbled both Polybotes and Antaeus. It gave me enough time and space to deliver the killing blow.

Yuri kept her hold on Mimas, and I reappeared behind him, incomprehensibly faster than the speed of light, and raised Viribus beside me.

It was over in a flash. I swung with all my might, and it never deterred. I never even felt any resistance. Just like a normal swing, and his head came clean off, flying into the rocky chasm beside us. The giant's head hit it like a tennis ball, and it bounced right back into the lava, sinking below it's surface.

I grabbed Yuri's hand and pulled her onto the platform with me. Polybotes and Anteaus were looking on in shock at what we had done, their auras spiking even higher, becoming more and more enraged.

"That's one," I said, our backs pressing together, facing opposite ways. "Guess the Titan/demigod combo works."

"Two more will quickly follow." I could feel her thick hair against mine as she turned ever so slightly, "You know their tricks right?"

"Yeah. Water to poison for Polybotes, and…I don't know about the uglier one."

Yuri kept it quick, "He's a son of Gaea and Poseidon, so he has the same abilities as your friend, the one you call Percy, and Gaea. He cannot be killed while he is on the ground, he is made of sand."

"On the ground?"

"Get him in the air."

"Got it."

And that was it, no other questions, no arguments, none of my usual babble. We kept it short and remained focused, like a well-oiled machine. It reminded me of the few moments I've had fighting together with Malachi. It felt so right, like we were one person. Our thoughts might as well have been in the same space. We knew exactly what to do.

It was a risk, I knew that. But I took a quick glance up the valley-like abyss to see where she had put Percy and Annabeth. I couldn't see them, which I should be thankful for, if she put them out in the open I'd probably just tell her to go back up there and get them out of the way. I was able to find them with my aura sense, a quick shift of the scope and I knew they were safe, football fields away from our battle. That's probably what took her so long, she wanted to assure that my wish was granted.

Her hand firmly tapped my arm, "Open your mind."

"O-Okay."

I wasn't sure what she was getting at, but I did what she said. If opening your mind is picturing nothing but a white wall, then I guess I "emptied" my mind.

Can you hear me?

It was her voice. Oh, I get it, she's talking to me telepathically. Nice.

Yeah.

Antaeus is next. I get him in the air, you go for the kill.

Okay.

Again, no filler, just to the point. I think we complement each other well. If I have the raw power, she has the experience and the battle intelligence. She creates the pattern, and I play it out.

Yuri's hand was in the air, the lava behind Antaeus quaked, and as it rose from the lake, it instantly morphed into bright, foamy, blue water, meant to sweep the giant off his feet and pull him in the air. I was ready to jump and catch him once he got high enough.

But once it wrapped around his ankles, Polybotes was there, smashing his fist into it's center and breaking the rope Yuri had formed, turning the beautiful water into a sickly, steaming poison. It was a reminder, as good a team that Yuri and I are, these two have been fighting together for longer, and their instinct may be even stronger than I anticipated.

But there's always a contingency. As quickly as one plan fails, we can come up with another one.

Separate them!

On cue, Yuri dove at Antaeus, just like I hoped she would. I was willing to go either way, but I prefer the bigger fish Polybotes. He's a heavy hitter, and a drawn-out fight with him could be very lethal. I needed to take this up a notch, and overwhelm him.

"You want to take me alone?!" He challenged, "You think you have a chance?!"

He has no idea what he's in for. I have the ultimate equalizer…right on my wrist.

My left hand covered the top of the watch, and in that moment, I knew that any doubt, any worry I had about the outcome of this confrontation, was completely pointless. It feels like it's been so long since I felt this kind of power, this kind of warmth and security, and maybe that's why I was worried. But feeling it again, the infinite potential of the bolt, it cleared out any and all hindrances. Everything was fluid. My bones, muscles, mind, aura, all loose and at it's peak in that moment. Months of training, emotional buildup, came out not in a burst of wild anger, but of calm ferocity. As I intended.

I reappeared in front of Polybotes, completely catching him off guard. His mouth was still open, smile still on his face, arms spread out beside him, he hadn't even noticed me.

I could've struck him, and he wouldn't have known what hit him. But no, I want him to know what's coming.

"This is over."

His eyes widened, and the next millisecond, my fist was against his chin. The impact was felt immediately. Polybotes' head rolled back in recoil and his entire body left the ground, flying high above me and not stopping, like a launched cannonball. Sparks of electricity crackled against my hand, the blue aura meshed against the red in perfect unison.

"Yuri, it's up to you down here! I've got him!"

I jumped off the ground, thundering shockwaves following my ascension. I wasn't able to even hear her response, if she gave one. I chased after Polybotes, catching up to him with little effort.

With the power of the bolt, I had no need for Viribus at the moment, so I sheathed it. The necklace was back around my neck, and I was in front of Polybotes in one quick motion. I didn't need the club to control the wind or my mid-air movements, it allowed me to do pretty much whatever I could think of. I felt a surge in confidence, a complete sense of control.

Polybotes snapped up to meet my stare, and grabbed my arms firmly with his massive, calloused hands. His grip was like a playful bite from a puppy, I barely felt it, and wrapped my own hands around his arms and squeezed.

He winced, "Agh, what the hell?!"

Pulling him towards me, I bashed my head into his, and let go of his arms. He flew back, leaving behind a trail of ichor. His body moved in slow motion, everything did now, I was so much faster than before, millions, billions, no, none of those even come close to describing the level. No illion even comes to mind, I just knew that I could walk casually, and still overwhelm the giant with my speed.

I chased after the ground and landed before he'd even gotten halfway into his speeding descent. I stood there, my arms crossed, a smoldering aura mix wisping around my form like fire, and I waited for him to come down.

BOOM!

Polybotes crashed into the rock, diving under it shoulder first and uprooting landfills of debris, some of which met my aura outline and disintegrated at the contact.

I gave it a few moments, and smirked when his hand protruded from the little crater he had formed, wildly reaching around for something to push himself up with.

His other hand quickly joined it, and they started to have a hissy fit, pounding against the rock and slapping it like a kid that got denied what he wanted at the toy store. It was laughable.

"Are you gonna come out of there? Or are you just gonna keep acting like a five-year-old?"

He heard me. At that, his entire body rose out of the ground, landing flat on his feet, Polybotes was now surrounded by a murky, disgusting shade of sea blue, the polluted kind that reflected both my friend's, and Poseidon's darkly. He was glaring down at me, entire body tensed up with pent up rage.

"Nobody. Mocks. Me." He mumbled, and then rose his head so high that his chin was facing the roof. "NOBODY MOCKS ME!" He slapped his face and glared at me, "Especially some upstart half-breed! I don't care if you have that puny lightning bolt! I'll crush you!"

I was unphased by any of his words, or his little display. I just shook my head at him, "No, you won't. As much as you want to believe it, you have no chance of killing me." My eyes became harsh, tiny specks of lightning danced out of them and tickled my cheeks. "You never should've held Percy and Annabeth captive. I might've let you live, but there's no other choice."

He snorted, "Cocky brat! Fire it, then! Fire it at me and see what happens!"

I didn't say anything.

Snarling, he started sprinting at me, his aura trailing behind him, arms bobbing beside him, coming full force.

"Fine."

I raised my arm beside me and willed the bolt to materialize in my palm. It's full three foot length appeared, whirring with energy, and lighting up the entirety of Tartarus. Thousands of miles, every inch of the horizon became a bright blue, chasing the blood red away forever.

I had to sigh and close my eyes for a moment, it's power entered me in one big wave. Limitless destruction, all at my hand, at my control. I had the power to obliterate everything if I wanted, I held pure chaos in my hand, and it was overwhelmingly exciting. I had to fight down the will to just spray and pray with it, just to quench that thrill. I haven't forgotten my limit. Four shots left, and I promised to use them sparingly, and wisely. Maybe I'd regret this looking back, but I wanted to end it as quickly as possible, and this was the way to do it.

Polybotes kept coming, without fear or hesitation. I held the bolt like a spear with one hand, and lifted my other to point at him, lining up the shot. I wanted to make it as accurate as possible, because last time, Atlas had dodged it at the last minute, and instead of it hitting him in the chest, it hit him in the shoulder. I wouldn't let that happen again.

He was completely parallel to my position, every time he stepped, his body would move a bit to the side. However, he was massive, even bigger than Atlas, so that right there made it a bit easier. And this was my second time. I knew the feeling, I knew how to shoot, how to control it. I would not miss.

I widened my stance and readied the countdown. He gets thirty feet away, and he's done.

"ARE YOU JUST GONNA STAND THERE?!"

Three…

Two…

One…

I threw it. I didn't roar, or shout, or even grunt. But I stepped forward and threw the bolt in the air, straight at Polybotes' center. The light around us brightened, and a frame of a blue line shone in the air, going through Polybotes's chest, and coming out on the other side, it's tip connecting with the roof of Tartarus.

His eyes widened for a moment, and that was the last I saw of him. His body exploded in several small chunks of gore and ichor, all charred and burned. They came flying at me, fountain of ichor and all. The aura of the bolt managed to protect me from any mess, and they just bounced right off, and kept going until nothing remained in front of me.

There was silence, and I stood up straight, the bolt returned to my hand and I let myself feel that immense power for another moment, then allowed it to return into the watch. The sound of thunder would be next, so I covered my ears.

It did, and it rattled the entirety of the area, maybe even all of Tartarus. Just as the bright light inhabited every square inch, so did the after effect of the shot. The ground shook all over, and I actually found myself losing balance from the pressure pushing in on my body. Cracks formed all around me, and parts of the ground even fell off into the lava below.

It was a giant boom, and even pierced what my hands were trying to protect, the loudest sound possible. It managed to not destroy my eardrums, so there's that, but I had a lot of ringing in my head. I waited maybe a minute, and felt the rumbling stop. I took a risk and removed my hands from my ears. I didn't hear anything.

So, it was over, in that regard. He was taken care of. Maybe at the cost of an extra shot at Ouranos, but I had a feeling it wasn't a mistake. I wouldn't regret using the bolt, not in a place like this.

"Yuri…" I whispered. I almost forgot about her.

I ran over to the crumbling edge and peered down, trying to see if they were still fighting. It was too far, thousands of feet down, thick fog covered all view, so I used my aura sense. They still aren't down there, they're…underneath me. Underground.

"What the hell?"

I realized the ground had indeed not stopped shaking. Assumed it was the after effect of the bolt's use, but no, Yuri and Antaeus actually seemed to be coming up towards me, digging through the ground like termites.

Behind me, the rocks burst open, and two figures came flying out into the air, Yuri and Antaeus, still locked in combat.

Nobody had been hurt yet, Antaeus of course, because he'd remained on the ground, where his invulnerable ability secured his life. Yuri was fine, not even tired, but she was giving effort in trying to kill him. I could tell it had been a constant exchange, and one on one was not going to do it in this case.

They both landed back on the ground, as soon as they did, Yuri turned her entire body and ducked down low for a sweep, hitting Anteaus right in the shin, and surprisingly knocking him right off his feet, turning his entire body nearly upside down.

For the moment he was suspended, I silently urged her to stab him and finish the job. She thrust her sword as quickly as she could, and it hit him in the gut. Not the most lethal place, but it was something.

However, just as she did, Antaeus, desperate, jabbed his finger at the ground and managed to touch it with the middle one, the longest one. Where Yuri's sword had impaled him, sand came trickling out of the sides, instead of ichor.

He smacked her hand away and struck her square in the face, sending her skidding backwards.

Everything was happening so fast, I almost didn't notice the surging aura from beside me, way beside me.

It rose up without warning, and it made my neck tingle, it was so strong. A bright light came from my peripheral and completely blindsided Antaeus, catching him in his hip.

What happened, we found out not even a second later. The giant's entire, massive, fat upper body came flying off his lower, waist up, completely separated, with sand flying all over the place.

I was unmoved, the bolt's power gone, but the red glow still around me, and I remained completely still. I was shocked, because there could only be one person that could do such a thing, that would be on our side.

Percy.

"P-Percy?"

I was right. There, standing twenty feet away from us, surrounded by brilliant green light, was the son of Poseidon, his energy blazing with incredible power not far off from my own, even with the bolt. I was utterly impressed with that, because it's only been…two months. Only two months, and he's still very close to myself and Malachi, despite being caught up in his wedding plans, he's had some serious time to train. Not to mention just being nearly cooked to death, and he can still do that.

He smirked at me, "What's up, Matt. Hate we had to meet up here of all places."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you and Annabeth are okay." I did a double take, "She is okay, right?"

"Yeah, she's fine." He shifted his gaze to glare down at the split giant. "Ugly here thought he'd killed her, but little did he know it's gonna take way more than that. We've already survived this place before, and from what I remember, I've actually beaten you before, Antaeus."

Antaeus in question just growled and grabbed his legs like nothing had even happened, like he felt no pain whatsoever, which he likely didn't. He had still been attached to the ground when Percy struck him, so it did nothing but startle him. Percy probably knew it, he just wanted to make a cool and powerful entrance.

As he connected his upper and lower halves together, the three of us surrounded him in a triangle, waiting for him to get up. He had no help, no reinforcements. This was ours, if we could just manage to get him off the ground.

"You think you're something, don't you?" Antaeus said, chuckling as he straightened up, towering over us once again. Even Yuri, who I have to look up to, was craning her neck just to keep eye contact with the giant.

"Looks like it's just me," He said, looking around, "No surprise. But your success ends here. I'm going to use something that I haven't used in a long time. You won't be able to withstand it."

We just stared at him, not interested in talking. Whatever he had, we were ready to face it head on.

He noticed our silence, and shook his head in pity. "It's time to bury you all!"

He raised his arms up by his side, and started screaming. The pores all over his body began to expand several inches, and it was rather disturbing to look at, all the little holes popping up over his body. We all stood still and didn't waver though. I had no idea what he was doing. Was he about to transform into something else?

But what happened shouldn't have surprised me, and I felt stupid for just standing there. Out of his pores, came sand. Like I've never seen it before, backed up for years it seemed, it all came rushing out of hundreds of pores in thin, but powerfully concentrated streams.

It was enough to push all three of us back several feet, then another several, until finally Antaeus was growing small in my vision, and I was barely managing to keep my footing. I had raised my forearms to withstand the constant assault. It felt like little pieces of Heavenly Diamond glass were entering my skin, stabbing me time and time again. Even the red aura wasn't helping, it was becoming too much.

And when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I looked down and saw that the rocks had turned to sand too. Thick, deep, grainy sand, already coming up to my ankles, and only rising. He was literally trying to bury us. When I tried to raise my foot, it was heavy, and difficult to do so. Oh, it wasn't sand, it was quicksand.

I just used the bolt, I thought. I know that took a chunk out of my stamina, so if this goes on for too long…could be really bad. Should I use it again?

The answer was an instant no. But I was starting to regret using it on Polybotes and not Antaeus. The distinction between who was more dangerous was becoming thinner.

Past my forearms, all over the air, was nothing but sand, falling like rain. I couldn't even see Percy or Yuri in it all. With no idea where they are, or if they're even in the same space, I was getting a bit worried.

"HA! Think you can beat me again, Jackson?! Son of Heracles?! Filthy Titan?!"

His voice was far away, but I heard it, and hopefully the others could too.

Then it hit me, and I felt stupid. Yuri! I can talk to her in my head!

Yuri?! Yuri!

Matt, I can hear you. Her voice was strained and filled with effort.

Do you see Percy? Is he close?

Not close, but I see him. He is not beaten, not yet.

Okay, that's good.

My head's racing, trying to think of an idea on what to do. Maybe…if we can team up, or no, combine is the better word. If we can combine ourselves and charge forward, maybe we can manage to push through.

Hey, if you can…contact Percy with your telepathy, tell him to come over to me. You do the same.

What are you thinking? I can hardly stand, let alone walk-

Walk sideways, not forwards. I know it's not much easier, but if we can somehow work together, I think we can get to him.

She didn't respond for a few seconds, and I was pushed back again, my legs now on fire.

Yuri?

Okay, I'll do it. She finally said. I trust you.

Satisfied with an objective, I knew all I had to do was hold out until they got here, and then we had a chance. Or at least, I hoped we had a chance. No, we do. I'm sure of it.

It felt like hours, but it might've been maybe…fifteen minutes, or ten. But Percy and Yuri powered through, and managed to reach me. Percy on my left side, and Yuri on my right, both of their hands out in front of them against the attacking sand.

I wasted no time, because I was inches away from being tossed in the air from the pressure.

"Form a straight line! Me in the front! Focus all of your aura into your hands!"

Both of them nodded, and I snapped my left hand away from protecting myself just to ignite the bolt's power once again. Just it's energy, not the bolt itself. It enhanced my strength many, many times, and suddenly the unbearable force of the sand didn't seem so difficult.

Together, with their energy pushing at my back, we forced our way through Antaeus's wall, pushing through the thick coat of sand step by step.

Antaeus noticed, "NO! I won't let you! You're nothing but three puny, pathetic, wannabe gods!"

"I…don't…need…to…be…a…god!" I managed to growl out through gritted teeth. His words were enough for me to give that final push, all of us together, gave one surge of energy and it was enough to clear right through the rest of the wall and reach the giant.

He looked down at us with saucers for eyes, mouth agape.

And I smirked up at him, finishing the sentence I intended. "I don't need to be a god. At least, not to beat you."

Yuri and Percy acted first, as I hoped they would. They ripped water out of the air and wrapped the tendrils around his legs. Like he was weightless, they tossed him in the air with it.

I jumped above him to meet his ascent, my fist reared behind my head, electricity on my fingertips, blue and red aura swirling all over the place.

And I came down on him, unleashing all of the force on the center of his head. It was one attack, and right when we made contact, I closed my eyes. A sticky, slimy, disgusting warmth encompassed me, and the squishing, crunching sound rang out loud enough for all of us to hear. Even with that, when I sensed that his aura was gone, then and only then, did I know it was over.

I landed, and stood among a cloud of ichor. Ten seconds without any oncoming danger, and I let my aura cease.

There was no noise, no more sounds of fighting. The sand was still there, a desert of it, but even that was quiet.

Percy and Yuri were there, standing in front of me, looking at me with a bit of caution. But the most, more on Percy's face, was relief.

Percy raised an eyebrow, "You good, man?"

"Yeah." I breathed, "I think so."

Yuri nodded, "Well done, Matt."

"No, you guys…man, you guys were the MVP's on this one." I held my fist out for a bump, and Yuri was confused by it.

"What is that? Is there something wrong with your hand?"

I snickered. Forgot she doesn't really…know much about modern stuff. "Nah, nothing like that. It's a fist bump. It's something you do to celebrate."

"Oh. Well…what do I do?"

"Put your fist against mine."

She did with furrowed eyebrows, and our knuckles touched for a second, and when I pulled mine back, I made a little explosion noise, to which she looked surprised at. But a good surprised.

Percy was just standing there, completely confused. I didn't want to leave him out, so I walked up and brought him in for a tight embrace.

"It's good to see you, bro."

He returned it, "You too, buddy." We pulled away, and he raised his eyebrows, "We got a lot to talk about. Let's go wake Wise Girl up from her nap."

Harper

We docked the boat against the black sand, right in front of Hades's palace.

What was crazy, to me, was how the river changed as we got closer and closer to the palace. It went from Hudson River level of pollution to Fiji water levels of cleanliness. And the weird thing was, when I was holding onto the sword, I was able to…feel it's power. I don't want to say it's aura sense, because that in of itself is a big deal. But I could feel it's power get stronger and purer as we pushed on.

"Notice it?" Talon said, standing at the bow, his boot propped up on the very tip of the boat. "Not a soul in sight."

He was right. Even the walkways are empty, and last time I was here, they were packed. Like, no walking room whatsoever. Now, it was quiet, almost peaceful down here.

"Hades really has closed up shop." I looked up at everybody from my still sitting position, "You think he's even here?"

Malachi nodded, "He is up there. I feel his aura."

I looked at the palace. Even with the distance, it was daunting, appearing like a Romanian vampire castle. Tall, spiky, and black as Stygian Iron, with fire and steam uprooting behind it.

I looked at the Blade of Eros next to me, and slowly I wrapped my hand around it. Instantly, the same wave as before rushed through me. My senses were opened up on a different level, and that same feeling returned, like I was aware of everything. The heartbeats on this boat, even in the palace, I could hear all of them. Up near the top, was the strongest though, a massive energy with a very intense presence, embedded with stress and anger. I knew it had to be Hades.

"Yeah…he's up there."

Sera was nervous, "D-Do we just walk in? Or…"

"We walk in." Talon said sternly, "No question. Time's running out for Matt, and we ain't got time to be beating around the bush. We tell him what's going on, that we intend on taking the fight to Tartarus, and he should be down with that."

"And if he's not?" Malachi asked, validly. "We force him to go with us?"

"Well, his help would be pretty damn useful. Why wouldn't he? Doesn't he want that bastard to go down too? I mean, he's disrupting the business as far as I can tell."

I stood up, too anxious to keep talking about it. "Let's just see what happens, guys. Come on."

And that was it. We all left the boat and marched up the black sand, which eventually led to the stone walkway right in front of the palace's entrance.

"Looks a lot like my old home…" Sera said, her voice shaky.

"Don't be frightened," Malachi assured. "He will most likely do nothing to harm us. That is if we are respectful." He said that last part looking at Talon.

He looked offended, "What are you looking at me for? I'm always calm."

We expected at least a guard or something to meet us at the door, but surprisingly, it was open wide, without anyone standing underneath. Nobody stopped us.

We found it really weird, but we kept going, walking down a long, straight, massive hallway that led right up to a throne room.

It was dark and gloomy, with green fire lit up on the walls, stygian iron swords, skulls, golden crusted jewelry, and all sorts of riches. It really hit home that Hades wasn't only the god of the underworld, but of gold, and money too.

"Damn…" Talon whispered, "And I thought Nico's cabin was creepy."

"It's his father, Talon." Sera told him, like he was silly.

"Duh."

"Guys, hush."

We full entered the room, cloaked in darkness, with a tall figure standing at the other end, right in front of an even taller, sleek black throne. Hades was pacing, his back always turned to us. It looked like his fists were clenched.

"Mortals aren't allowed here at this time." He said, his voice dangerous. "Leave."

"Lord Hades-" I said, trying to start off respectful, but something told me he was in a much worse mood than we anticipated. This wasn't going to end well. "-We understand that you don't want to see us right now, but we need to tell you something. It's serious."

He turned, and took a step forward, letting the green fire light up his shape. He was covered in a dark, hooded cloak, beneath it, his eyes were glowing a blood red, filled with hatred.

"Leave. Now."

His aura was itching to reach out and attack us, send us away by force. But he was holding himself back from letting loose.

Malachi was the voice of reason. "Lord Hades, we understand that you're going through a difficult time right now. But I assure you, we both have the same goal, and a common enemy. Please, just hear us out, and then make your decision."

That sounded intelligent, and very reasonable. To me, at least. To Hades, that was the very last thing he should've said.

His red eyes went wide, and blazed brighter. His shadow cast across the entire room and overtook us.

"You barge in here, at the worst moment possible, and demand of me?!" The eyes went from side to side, signaling that he's shaking his head. "I will not allow it. Leave, or you will stay here forever, as a soul."

We didn't move, but we didn't say anything either. Not sure of what to even say, because Malachi was pretty good with his words, so what…could we even say to calm him down?

The silence only strengthened his resolve. He nodded, and his aura, or whatever, spiked exponentially.

"Very well. You've made your choice. Prepare to die."

(000)

And there you go. The giants go down, Percy and Annabeth are back, the Harper gang invades the Hades palace. Lots of things happening, and we aren't done yet.

Again, sorry this is a bit later than I thought it would be. Hopefully I can speed it up a bit, because we've still got a lot more story to tell.

Until Next Time.