AFTER OVERCOMING THE GIANT,
three-headed dog and, before that, Procrustes, the murderer of travelers, they now wandered through the underworld.
Percy couldn't help but think of the conversation he had had with Hermes, about his father wanting to help him but was powerless to stop his struggle. He thought about the nymph saying that Poseidon did care about his son, but simply had to prepare for the war against his brother.
All his life, Percy had thought his father didn't care one bit about him and his mother, and yet here he was with six pearls he'd gotten from the nymph and Hermes' claim about who is father was.
He also thought about the memory Hermes had shown him.

It was the day his mother took him to the new school. A different school but still just another with groups of children he wouldn't fit in with. Another school that his mother tried to push him into, hoping that they finally have people who could handle her son.
When Hermes showed him the memory, he remembered the feeling of abandonment. The feeling that his mother had tried so hard to get rid of him, even though he knew now that she hadn't meant it that way. He knew now that she only wanted the best for him.

"Percy, I know you do not want to do this but sometimes I have to make choices that you may not understand."

He remembered her words so clearly. And how she stood outside his locked car-door trying to get him out.

"Percy! This is not a negotiation! The only question is how ugly you are gonna make it before we say goodbye!"

He remembered the pain in her voice and immediately felt the guilt washing over him by thinking how hard he made things for his mother sometimes.
He wished he could have told her how sorry he was and he resolved that it would be the first thing he would tell her as soon as he got her back.

They were walking through a forest. Annabeth, Meg and Grover walking ahead, while Percy followed them with Dahlia at his side.

"What did Hermes show you?" He suddenly asked the blonde girl next to him, breaking the silence so suddenly that it made her jump slightly.

"Who?" Dahlia asked, looking at him.

"Hermes. He showed you a memory too. What was it?" He repeated his question and Dahlia was silent for an awful while which caused Percy to consider if she had heard his question.

"My father.. he was a drinker and he got his hands into.. dirty business.." She then finally spoke up, biting her lip.

"I tried to support him. Sometimes when I was a kid.. I even stole alcohol for him cause it made him happy and you know I thought.. anyway it doesn't matter." She sighed shaking her head.

"When I got older, of course, I stopped. I tried to help him get out of it, but no matter how hard I tried to stay close to him, it didn't work. One day I called the police on him. And when he tried to get into the house.. I held the door shut so he couldn't get in. That was the memory Hermes showed me." She nodded.

"I think I never saw him again after that." She finished and Percy gulped.

"My stepdad is a drinker too." He then said and looked up to her.

"I know how you feel." He nodded and the corners of Dahlias lips twitched up slightly.

"I'm sorry Perce." She put an arm around him.

"Hold fast." She whispered to him, nudging him slightly. Percy couldn't help put feel connected to Dahlia somehow. He felt like she was the only person to understand how he feels. Like some big sister that was way too similar to his mother.

They suddenly almost bumped into Annabeth, Grover and Meg in front of them when the three of them suddenly stopped. Dahlia looked ahead and almost screamed when she saw a white face looking at them.

"This must be Asphodel. I read a book about this place!" Annabeth said and walked towards the figure.

"No, no, no, no, what are you-.." Grover said nervously when the girl lifted the dress of the figure, revealing roots.

"Souls here are bound by some kind of regret." Meg then said and Annabeth nodded.

"Haunted by choices they made in life.. or never made." The girl finished, looking back at them.
They then heard the sound of Cerbeus, the three-headed dog again behind them.

"Run!" Dahlia commanded and pushed Percy and Grover forward. They ran through the woods until they realized, Annabeth wasn't behind them anymore.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled and they heard a small 'guys!' From the distance which caused them to run back.
They approached her and saw Annabeth with roots around her feet.

"We have a problem here." She said. Percy immediately knelt down and tried to rip on the roots while Dahlia held on to Annabeth arms, trying to pull her out.

"It's not working! It's too strong!" Annabeth said.

"You must have some kind of regret." Meg said, also holding onto Annabeth while Grover and Percy tried to free her feet.

"But what would you have to regret?" Grover asked and Annabeth didn't answer.

"It doesn't matter, we're running out of time, what do we do?!" Dahlia asked in panic cause she absolutely wasn't ready to let Annabeth turn into a dead-tree-soul.

(Shout outs to Thalia at this point xD - I'm kidding obviously.)

"Go. I'll distract the dog and buy you guys some time! This will work, I'll be okay!" She said, showing the pear that Percy handed out earlier.

"I trust your dad. You can do this!" She said to Percy.

"You sure?" Dahlia asked, worriedly.

"Yes. Now go!" Annabeth said and as they walked away, they saw the light which showed that the pearl was working.

"She made it. Let's go!"

Dahlia got annoyed by her feet sinking into the sand. They walked through something which looked like a desert on their way to Hades palace.

"You okay Meg?" Dahlia said as she and Meg were running ahead of the boys.

"We're running out of time, I can feel it." The girl said, stressed.
Dahlia nodded. She too was growing more and more nervous.

"It's okay, we're gonna get them back." She said optimistically even though she doubted it.

"But what if we won't?" Meg asked.

"We will." Dahlia said stubbornly.
Meg stopped in her tracks and so did Dahlia. The blonde girl then walked towards her sister and put both hands onto her shoulders.

"I can't loose them." Meg said, her eyes filling with tears.

"Me neither." Dahlia shook her head.

"Guys?" They heard Grover's voice and turned their heads back towards the boys. Percy and Grover were looking at Grover's feet with Luke's sneakers. The red shoes had their wings out, transporting Grover forward.

"Grover?" Percy asked alarmed.

"Guys!" The boy yelled.

"Grover what are you-..?!" Dahlia asked also alarmed and tried to hold him when he ran past her. Grover also grabbed her jacket to find hold but instead of finding a hold he just tore her from her feet and dragged her with him.

"PERCY!" Grover yelled.

"GROVER!" Percy yelled back running after them. Meg was already on Dahlias arm, trying to stop them from being pulled down into a big hole. Percy came sliding through the sand towards them and grabbed Grover's hand.
He pulled out his sword and pushed it into the sand until it had a hold in the loose ground.

"Loose the shoes Grover!" Dahlia yelled while holding with Meg onto his other arm. Grover had no time or more no strength to answer them.

"Wait hold him!" Meg said when she let herself slide down a bit towards his shoes, trying to pull them off. In the end the shoes left Grover's hooves and flew down the big hole. They all layed in the sand, looking after the shoes and trying to catch their breath.

"What is this thing?!" Dahlia then asked while still holding a panting Grover in her arms.

"Tartarus." Meg and Percy answered at the same time.

After the shock they had when they found the lightning bolt surprisingly in Percy's bag, they made their way towards Hades palace.

Standing at the entrance, Dahlia felt her heart racing and her hands shaking slightly.
The air was thick with the smell of brimstone, and the palace loomed ahead, an ominous fortress of black stone.
Percy glanced at Grover, who was visibly trembling but stood firm. Beside them, Dahlia and Meg, shared a look of determination.

"Alright, let's do this," Percy said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. He pushed himself forward, walking into the middle of the room and being followed by his friends. The floor underneath them suddenly started to shake and rose into the air. They looked up to see a hole in the ceiling, through which they were lifted.
From that, they got into the upper part of the palace, which was a bit brighter but still not beautiful.
They looked around seeing a throne, when they heard steps and saw a figure approach. When Dahlia had thought about Hades, she had imagined many things but not a small man with short steps, lifting his arms up.

"Hello fellas. Welcome!"
His eyes glinted with a mix of amusement and malevolence as he got nearer.

"Sorry about the.. oh.."
Hades intoned, his voice echoing through the chamber.

"Anyways, it's great to meet you. And oh! You brought friends. How quaint." He said. Dahlia looked beside herself just to find the spot empty.
Meg was gone.

"I know who you are, and you know who I am, so we can just skip right past that part."

"Can I get you anything? Fresh pomegranate juice, a snack?" He asked.

"Actually if-.." Grover started.

"My mother." The goat boy got interrupted by Percy, who looked at Hades sternly. His face tense, like the atmosphere.

"And Helen, Steve and Ian." Dahlia added, stepping forward.

"We know you have them."
Hades chuckled, a low, sinister sound.

"Ah, straight to business, I see. Alright let's get to it." He pointed behind him before he turned around and walked away.

"You've come all this way, don't be shy now!" He called behind him. Grover and Percy started following him when Dahlia stopped them by grabbing Grover's arm

"Where is Meg?" Dahlia asked and Percy looked around.

"Wha-.. wasn't she behind you?" Grover asked.

"Your little friend is over here!" Hades called and they rounded the corner, running.
Meg looked to the ground, guilty while she was gripped by the jacket, by the God.
Dahlia then looked to the table and saw two golden statues.

"Mom." Percy whispered, shocked.

"What did you do to her?" The boy asked, taking a few steps forward.

"Uh.. saved her life? You know, typically, getting crushed by a Minotaur is a terminal diagnosis. I snagged her for ya, just in the 'ta-da' nick of time-.." he talked when Meg interrupted him.

"Where are the other ones?" She asked, when she only saw the statue of Helen.
Hades leaned forward, pressing his lips into a thin line.

"They are no more. Lost forever in the depths of Tartarus. Such a pity." He said, like it was nothing.

Dahlia's face turned pale.
She heard her blood running in her ears, like waves of the ocean. She felt her heart starting to beat harder against her rip cage and her body panicking.

"You're lying." She whispered and Hades pursed his lips.

"I'm the God of Death sweetheart. It's kind of my job." He said mimicking sarcastically while shaking his shoulders.
Dahlia felt the familiar, impulsive anger burst in her stomach and felt herself taking a step forward but was stopped by Percy.
She felt tears burning in her eyes and then looked back at Meg.

The red haired girl stared at the ground, slowly sinking into the sofa, that was standing around the table, a tear running down her cheek. She seemed so devastated, it broke Dahlia's heart even more.

"You can be lucky that I didn't kill her! I thought that she'd have something to do with the thing that I'm missing. The thing that I now know you have." He nodded towards Percy, obviously meaning the bolt.

"You give me what you got and I give you what I got." He said pointing to the statues.

"I.. I can't give it to you." Percy said, his eyes growing sad. His hand, still holding Dahlias, squeezed her hand tighter now, as if seeking some kind of comfort from her.

"You can't keep Helen here. She didn't steal the bolt." Dahlia said, her voice breaking as she was on the verge of tears.

"I know you and Ares tried to trick me into being the thief and it almost worked. But it's wrong and I won't do it!" Percy spoke up, his voice confident.

"So all I can ask you is to let my mother go." He said and Dahlia felt the tension rise, before Hades broke it.

"Huh?" He asked, a stupid expression in his face.

"What?" Percy asked.

"W-who tricked Ares into what?" He asked and Dahlia felt confusion wash over her. She then looked at Meg again who hair her head in her knees.
She decided to walk over to her friend, sitting beside her and pulling her into her arms.

"You're in cahoots with Ares right now to secure the bolt." Grover said.

"I'm not in cahoot with Ares. I seldom cahoot, the bolt is my brothers' drama! I don't have anything to do with it." Hades responded.

"You don't want it?" Percy asked confused.

"No!" Hades said.

"Then what do you want?" Percy asked in an annoyed tone.

"My helm!" Hades voice grew louder.

"Your what?" Percy asked.

"My helm of darkness? It went missing just days before someone used to turn invisible and stole the bolt." Hades asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Dahlia turned towards Meg who was terribly crying, while Percy, Grover and Hades continued arguing.

"It's gonna be okay Meg!" She whispered and the girl shook her head.

"It's not!.. Its not!" She whispered desperately while her shoulders were trembling from sobs.

"Kronos. Something tried to pull me down into Tartarus as soon as the bolt appeared in my bag! It's where I've been hearing a voice from my dreams, telling me it needs my help to take down Olympus. It was Kronos" Dahlia listened to the conversation again.

"I assumed that was you but that voice I heard..that definitely did not sound like you." Percy said walking forward.
Hades closed his eyes and sighed.

"Ask me for security." He then said.

"What?" Percy asked.

"If Kronos is coming back somehow and you're his first call, you're not safe so I'll protect you.. and your mother.. and the goat. I'll throw 'em in all in the house." Hades explained.

"It's a good offer and all it costs you is the bolt." The man then said.

"I thought you didn't want the bolt?" Grover asked annoyed.

"I don't want the bolt, now I need the bolt. If war with Kronos is coming, I'd like to be prepared!" Hades said.

"I'm not messing around her kid. This only goes one way. Give me the bolt and you get your mother plus safety. The only thing is how difficult you make it." The man said and Dahlia stood up.

"What about Helen? You let her go?" She asked and Hades turned to her, like he had forgotten that she was there. He then looked disgusted at Meg.

"Don't get snot on my couch, I'm serious-.." Hades said pointing at her sister. Dahlia clenched her fists.

"Helen! Will. You. Let. Her. Go?" She said sharply, her jaw tensed.

"Hell nah," Hades said

"If my dear sister sends some kids here, talking about having a quest, she may as well give me something to get em back." He said and gods Dahlia hated his attitude.
Percy stepped forward, anger radiating from him.

"This wasn't part of the deal. You can't keep adding conditions."
Hades ignored Percy, his gaze fixed on Dahlia.

"I require something that will ensure my power remains unchallenged." He said.

"There is a kid in the mortal world, a street performer or something. He possesses an ancient amulet, got it from around a few corners but it was originally mine. Bring it to me, and I will release your precious Helen."
He spoke Helen's name mockingly which made Dahlia even more angry but she didn't have time for that cause her mind wandered towards the one person she knew was keeping it.

Ezra Nightshade.

Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You expect them to steal from another person? That's insane!"
Hades shrugged.

"Those are my terms. Take it or leave it."
Dahlia stepped forward, wanting to say something but someone bet her to it.

"I'll do it." Meg appeared next to her, stepping forward.
Her eyes were swollen with dark circles under her eyes, which made her seem like a mad person.

"Just tell us where to find it." She said but Dahlia grabbed her arm.

"No." She said fast my before turning to Hades.

"This is not fair, she did nothing wrong!" She then said, pointing at Helen and looking at Hades stubbornly. He shrugged his shoulders.

"The world is unfair sweetheart! The boy is in New York City as far as I know. The amulet is with him. Take it or leave it!" Hades said.

"I'll do it." Meg said again and Dahlia pulled her arm.

"Meg, no! You don't have to do this!" Dahlia said.

"Yes, I do." Meg said stubbornly, ripping her arm off Dahlia's grip.

"I'll do it." Meg said again and Hades clapped his hands.

"Great!"

Dahlia girl didn't recognize her friend anymore. It was like Meg was driven mad from the idea of getting Helen back.
The blonde girl tried to exchange a look with Meg but the girl was just staring at Hades, who grinned.

"No." Percy spoke up and everyone turned to him. Hades looked at him for a moment before stepping towards him.

"Give me the bag." He said but Percy stepped back, holding up one of the pearls, they got from his father.
Dahlia too pulled out hers.

"I accept your offer. The first one." Percy said.

"We're gonna get your helmet! And when I get back, you're gonna let my mom go. Guys now!" He the demanded and then called to them. Grover and Percy disappeared into the ground.
Dahlia too let her pearl fall and saw a bright hole beneath her.

Dahlia opened her eyes and heard the sound of the ocean. She saw and and a pair of shoes before her.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked and Dahlia looked up to her. She sighed.

"Annabeth!" She whispered relieved and got up from the ground. She pulled the girl into her arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked and pushed the girl away from her body to look at her.
Annabeth nodded.
Dahlia smiled but it immediately washed off her face as she turned around looking for Meg.
She saw the redhead kneeling in the sand, clutching her side.

"Meg." Dahlia sighed, walking towards her.

"You okay Meg?" She asked and Meg looked up to her tiredly. Dahlia then noticed how pale she was.
She looked dead.

"I think I got cursed."

Author's note:
Da-da-daaaanmmm
I seriously hated Hades in the series. Like he's not even serious I'm sorry😭

What do you think of the chapter?

Also I'm finally in summer break so I finally got time to write and update more! I'll try alright?

Love ya!

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