Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: And this chapter concludes the Sword of Hades short story! I know I said this before in a comment reply, but this honestly surprised me. I remembered the Sword of Hades being longer than it was lol.

Anyways, as always, I hope you enjoy. Until next time,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 113: The Piercer Gets A Surprise~

You'd think after a while I would stop getting freaked out by the appearance of Greek ghoulies, but Melinoë caught me by surprise. Her right half was a pale chalky white, like she'd been drained of blood. Her left half was pitch black and hardened like mummy skin. Her loosely-curled hair was black on the white side, white on the black side. She wore a golden dress and a golden shawl. Her eyes were empty black voids, and when I looked into them, I felt like I was about to see my own death.

"Where are your ghosts?" she demanded in irritation.

"My...I don't know. I don't have any."

She snarled. "Everyone has ghosts – death you regret. Guilt. Fear. Why can I not see yours?"

Thalia and Bianca were still entranced, staring at the goddess as if she was their long-lost mother. I thought about the other friends I'd had who'd died – Zoë Nightshade, Lee Fletcher, Castor Boivin, the other demigods who had lost their lives in the Battle of Camp Half-Blood, even Sam Pollock.

I regretted their deaths. I felt like their blood was on my hands. I still wished that I could've gone back in time to undo Lee's death, at least, because he hadn't deserved to go out the way he had.

But...

"I don't know, I guess I've made peace with them," I said. "They're gone, and I miss them, but they're not ghosts. Now, let my friends go!"

I slashed at Melinoë with my sword. She backed up quickly, growling in frustration. The fog dissipated around my friends. They stood blinking at the goddess as if they were now seeing just how hideous she was.

"What is that?" Thalia said. "Where – "

"It was a trick," Bianca said. "She fooled us."

"You are too late, demigods," Melinoë said. "The deal has been struck."

"What deal?" I demanded.

Melinoë made a hissing sound, and I realized it was her way of laughing. "So many ghosts, my young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I shall be free to walk among mortals during both night and day, sowing terror as they deserve."

"Where's the sword of Hades?" I said. "Where are Mia and Athana?"

"Close," Melinoë promised. "I will not stop you. I will not need to. Soon, Percy Jackson, you will have many ghosts. And you will remember me."

Thalia notched an arrow and aimed it at the goddess. "If you open a path to the surface world, do you really think Kronos will reward you? He'll cast you into Tartarus along with the rest of Hades' servants!"

Melinoë bared her teeth. "Your mother was right, Thalia. You are an angry girl. Good at running away. Not much else."

The arrow flew, but as it touched Melinoë she dissolved into fog, leaving nothing but the hiss of laughter. Thalia's arrow hit the rock and shattered harmlessly.

"Stupid ghost," she muttered.

I could tell she was really shaken up. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Her hands trembled. Bianca looked just as stunned, like someone had smacked her between the eyes.

"Mia and Athana," she managed. "Probably in the cave. We have to stop them before – "

Just then, the feeling caused by the compass curse intensified in all of us. It was like somebody had kicked us in the stomachs. We all almost fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Too...late," I groaned.

A man's laughter echoed down the mountain.

"You're right about that," a voice boomed. At the mouth of the cave stood three people – Mia, Athana, and a sixteen-foot-tall man in a tattered prison jumpsuit. In Athana's gloved hands was an unfinished sword – a sword that I recognized was supposed to become the finished product that Persephone had shown us. The double-edged blade of black Stygian iron with skeletal designs etched in silver was missing its hilt, but set in the base of the blade was a golden key. And the key was glowing, as if Athana had already invoked its power.

The giant man next to her and Mia had eyes of pure silver. His face was covered with a scraggly beard and his grey hair stuck out wildly. He looked thin and haggard in his ripped prison clothes, as though he'd spent the last few thousand years at the bottom of a pit. But even in this weakened state, he looked plenty scary. He held out his hand and a giant spear appeared. I remembered what Thalia had said about Iapetus: "His name means Piercer because that's what he likes to do to his enemies."

The Titan smiled cruelly. "And now, I will destroy you."

"Master," Mia said, although her eyes were only for me, and they looked like they were about to fall out of her head. She and Athana were wearing combat fatigues, and a backpack was slung over the daughter of Hermes' shoulder. Both of their faces were smeared with soot and sweat. "We have the sword. We should – "

I knew what she was trying to do: she was trying to protect me, as had been her promise to Luke.

I appreciated it.

But the Titan did not. "Yes, yes," he said impatiently. "You've done well, Argent, Tedros." I was surprised he'd gotten their names right. "I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you two. But for now, we have killing to attend to."

"Milord," Mia persisted. "You are not at full power. We should ascend and summon your brothers from the upper world. Our orders were to flee."

The Titan whirled on her and Athana. "'FLEE?' Did you say 'FLEE?'"

The ground rumbled. Mia and Athana fell onto their butts and scrambled backwards. The unfinished sword of Hades clattered to the rocks. "Master," Athana gasped out. "She does not mean to offend. We just have our orders. Please – "

"IAPETUS DOES NOT FLEE!" he roared. "I have been waiting for eons to be summoned from the Pit! I want revenge, and I will start by killing these weaklings!"

He leveled his spear at me and charged.

If he'd been at full strength, I have no doubt that he would've pierced me right through the middle. Even weakened and just out of Tartarus, this guy was fast. He moved like a tornado, slashing so quickly that I barely had time to dodge the strike before his spear impaled the rock where I'd been standing.

I was so dizzy, between my shoulder and the pain in my stomach, though the latter was beginning to fade away, I could barely hold my sword. Iapetus yanked the spear out of the rock, but as he turned to face me, Thalia shot his flank full of arrows from his shoulder to his knee. He roared and turned on her, looking more angry than hurt. Mia looked at me worriedly, her hand twitching towards her own sword.

Bianca misunderstood what she was debating about doing, and yelled, "I don't think so!"

The ground erupted in front of Mia and Athana. Six armored skeletons climbed out and engaged them, pushing them back. The sword of Hades was still laying on the rocks. If only I could get to it...

Iapetus slashed his spear and Thalia leaped out of the way. She dropped her bow so she could draw her knives, but she wouldn't last long in combat.

Bianca left Mia and Athana to the skeletons and charged Iapetus. I was already ahead of her. It felt like my shoulder was going to explode, but I launched myself at the Titan and stabbed downwards with Riptide, impaling the blade in the Titan's calf.

"AHHHH!" Golden ichor gushed from the wound. Iapetus whirled around and the shaft of his spear slammed into me, sending me flying.

I crashed into the rocks, right next to the River Lethe.

"YOU DIE FIRST!" Iapetus bellowed as he hobbled towards me. Thalia tried to get his attention by zapping him with an arc of electricity from her knives, but she might as well have been a mosquito. Bianca stabbed at him with her sword, but Iapetus knocked her aside without even looking. "I will kill you all! Then I will cast your souls into the eternal darkness of Tartarus!"

My eyes were full of spots. I could barely move. Another few inches and I would fall into the river headfirst.

Wait.

The river.

I swallowed, hoping my voice still worked. "You're – you're even uglier than your son," I taunted the Titan. "I can see where Atlas gets his stupidity from."

Iapetus snarled. He limped forwards, raising his spear.

I didn't know if I had the strength, but I had to try. Iapetus brought the spear down and I lurched sideways. The shaft impaled the ground right next to me. I jumped up and grabbed his shirt collar, counting on the fact that he was off balance as well as hurt. He tried to regain his footing, and gods, was it hard with him being almost three times my size, but I pulled him forwards with all of my body weight. He stumbled and fell, grabbing my arms in a panic, and together we pitched into the Lethe.

FLOOOOOOM! I was immersed in black water.

I prayed to Poseidon that my protection would hold and, as I sank to the bottom, I realized I was still dry. I knew my own name. And I still had the Titan by the shirt collar.

The current should've ripped him out of my hands, but somehow the river was channelling itself around me, leaving us alone. I could feel the goddess Lethe in my mind again – she was happy, now. Happy that I had given her such a powerful, immortal mind whose memories she could feast on. It wasn't often that she got such a delicacy.

If I could've, I would've shuddered right then.

As it was, with my last bit of strength, I climbed out of the river, dragging Iapetus with my good arm. We collapsed on the riverbank – me perfectly dry, the Titan dripping wet. His pure silver eyes were as large as moons.

Thalia and Bianca stood over me in amazement. Up by the cave, Mia and Athana were just cutting down the last of the skeletons. They turn and froze when they saw their Titan ally laying on the ground, spread-eagle.

"Mi – milord?" Athana called.

Iapetus sat up and stared at her. Then he looked at me and smiled.

"Hello," he said. "Who am I?"

"You're my friend," I blurted out. "You're...Bob."

I cringed as soon as I said the name. Real creative, I was there. Giving him the same name as my pet mini-saber-toothed cat.

Still, it seemed to please him greatly. "I am your friend Bob!"

It became apparent to Mia and Athana that things were not going to go how they originally planned. Athana glanced at the sword of Hades laying in the dirt, but before she could lunge for it, a silver arrow sprouted in the ground at her and Mia's feet.

"Not today," Thalia warned. "One more step and I'll pin your feet to the rocks."

"Percy," Mia called, "are you okay?"

Thalia glared at her, like she wanted to ask, "Just how is it any of your business if he's alright or not?"

I hobbled over to the daughter of Zeus, putting my hand on her shoulder to let her know that it was alright. "I'm fine, Mia," I said. "But you guys need to go."

"What?" Thalia exploded. "But, Percy – "

Mia and Athana didn't need to be told twice. With one last look at me, they both fled – straight into the cave of Melinoë. I felt sorry for them. I was sure they were going to be in a lot of trouble when they reported back to Kronos.

Bianca picked up the sword of Hades reverently. "We did it," she breathed. "We actually did it."

"We did?" Iapetus asked. "Did I help?"

I managed a weak smile. "Yeah, Bob. You were great."

We got an express ride back to the palace of Hades. Bianca sent word ahead, thanks to some ghost she'd summoned out of the ground, and within a few minutes the Three Furies themselves arrived to ferry us back. They weren't thrilled about lugging Bob the Titan, too, but I didn't have the heart to leave him behind, especially after he noticed my shoulder and said, "Owie," before he healed it with a touch.

Anyways, by the time we arrived in the throne room of Hades, I was feeling great. The Lord of the Dead sat on his black marble throne lined with gold; his face was impassive as he stroked at his black beard, like he was trying to figure out what to do with us. Persephone sat on her black marble throne lined with emerald green next to him, not saying a word, as Bianca told them about our adventure.

Before we gave back the sword, Thalia insisted that Hades take an oath not to use it against the gods. His eyes flared like he wanted to incinerate her, but finally he made the promise through clenched teeth.

Bianca laid the sword at her father's feet and bowed, waiting for a reaction.

Hades looked at his wife, my half-sister. "You defied my direct orders."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Persephone didn't react, even under his piercing gaze.

Hades turned back to Bianca. His gaze softened, and he actually reminded me of my dad just then. He really did love Bianca and Nico, with all of his heart and soul – as the saying goes. I'm not actually sure if the gods have souls or not. Probably not a good question to ask them about, either.

"You will speak nothing of this," Hades said. "To no one."

"Yes, Father," Bianca agreed.

"I will not get in the way of your oaths to my sister or mother," Hades told me. "But if you speak of this to anyone else, Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, I will not hesitate to cut your tongues out. Do you understand?"

Thalia flinched back, but I wasn't deterred in the same way. "Yes, Lord Hades," I said. "You're welcome."

Hades ignored my cheek. He stared at the sword. His eyes were full of anger, and something else – something like hunger. He snapped his fingers. The Furies fluttered down from the top of his throne.

"Return the blade back to the forges," he said. "Stay with the smiths until it is finished, and then return it to me."

The Furies swirled into the air with the weapon, and I wondered how soon my friends and I might end up regretting this day. Like I said, I didn't necessarily not trust Hades, but nor did I trust him, and there were ways around oaths. I imagined Hades might end up looking for one.

"You are wise, my lord," Persephone said.

"If I were wise," he growled. "I would lock you in your chambers. If you ever disobey me again – " He let the threat hang in the air. "Now, I must go attend to the matter of our younger daughter."

Then he snapped his fingers and vanished into darkness.

Persephone looked even paler than she had before. She took a moment to smooth her dress, then looked down at us. "You have done well, demigods." She waved her hand.

The affects of the compass curse had already mostly faded, even though we'd let Mia and Athana go. Now, though, it disappeared entirely, at the same time that three red roses appeared at our feet.

"Crush these, and they will return you to the land of the living," she instructed. "You have my lord's thanks."

"I could tell," Thalia muttered.

"Making the sword was your idea," I realized. "That's why Hades wasn't there when you gave us the mission. Hades didn't know the sword was missing. He didn't even know it existed."

"Nonsense," the goddess said.

Bianca clenched her fists. "Percy's right. You wanted to make my father a sword. He told you 'no.' He knew it was too dangerous. The other gods would never trust him. It would undo the balance of power."

"Then it got stolen," Thalia said. "You shut down the Underworld, not Hades. You couldn't tell him what had happened. And you needed us to get the sword back before Hades found out. You used us."

Persephone moistened her lips. "The important thing is that Hades has now accepted the sword. He will have it finished, and my husband will become as powerful as Zeus or Poseidon. Our realm will be protected against Kronos...or any others who try to threaten us."

"And we're responsible," I said miserably.

"As I said before, I will take responsibility, if I must," she said. Before I could ask her about how dire things would have to be for her to do that, she continued, "You have been very helpful. Perhaps a reward for your silence – "

"You'd better go," Thalia said, "before I carry you down to the Lethe and throw you in. Bob will help me. Won't you, Bob?"

"Are you Percy's friend, too?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then Bob will help you!" Iapetus agreed cheerfully. "Bob will always help his friend Percy and Percy's friends!"

Persephone's eyes widened, and she disappeared in a shower of daisies.

Bianca, Thalia, and I said our goodbyes on a balcony looking over the Fields of Asphodel. Bob the Titan sat inside, building a toy house out of bones and laughing every time it collapsed.

"I'll watch him for now," Bianca said. "It may mean I might have to miss Christmas at your place, Percy, but...he's been rendered relatively harmless. Maybe...I don't know. Maybe we can retrain him to do something good."

"'We?'" I quoted.

"Me and Nico," she said. "Maybe Zagreus, too. He, Plutus, and Makaria aren't that bad, but Makaria tends to stick to the Isles of the Blest and Plutus isn't actually that much of an Underworld deity. He's the God of Wealth, he tends to stay in the upper world." She bit her lip, looking out at the horizon.

I had a feeling of what she was thinking about. "Melinoë wasn't right, you know. About you not having the right. You are Nico's older sister; you don't have to feel bad about looking out for him."

"Maybe," Bianca allowed. "But she did have a point. I have been...babying him a little too much. Yes, I've let up some, because war is war. But he's a teenager now, as much as we can figure, 'cause you know our aging is weird."

I nodded. I hadn't mentioned this before, but technically, if you were to go by the calendar, since Nico had been ten when we'd rescued him and Bianca from the Lotus Hotel & Casino, he should be turning thirteen next month. But Bianca had said before, as best as she could figure, since the memories were hazy, she and Nico (they were three years and three days apart, as she'd been born on the 25th of January, him on the 28th) had been put in there when they were closer to their birthdays than not. So during their last birthdays, they'd added an extra year to their ages just for the heck of it. Thus, she would be turning seventeen, although she was still technically a bit younger than Callie, and he would be turning fourteen.

"He can take care of himself, somewhat," Bianca pressed on with a slight smile. "I need to be giving him more of a chance."

"Persephone won't make your life too miserable while you're down here, will she?" Thalia asked.

Bianca shrugged. "If she does, she does. It's whatever. My dad needs a better advisor, too. That's something else I have to think about."

"Well, if you need anything – " I said.

"I'll call," she promised. She shook hands with Thalia and me. And then, right as she turned to leave, the moment I had been dreading came. She looked at me one more time. "Percy, you haven't forgotten what you and I talked about last October?"

A shiver went down my spine. "I'm...still thinking about it."

Again, she wasn't happy about it, but she didn't press the issue. "Well, whenever you're ready."

"What offer?" Thalia asked after she was gone.

"Something she told me about," I answered evasively. "A possible way to fight Kronos. It's dangerous. And I've had enough of danger for one day." As Thalia nodded, I socked her lightly in the arm. "Hey, wanna help me raid the fridge when we get back to my place? I'm starving."

She laughed. "Won't your parents mind?"

I grinned. "They'll understand."

With that, we crushed the roses that would return us to the surface world.

Word Count: 3,469

Next Chapter Title: To Make The Season Bright