Riptide by Annabeth Chase

Chapter Fifteen: Hades

(The Lightning Thief pg 307-318 and a couple of changes from the show: Hades is more chill, the pearls return them to New York and they did get four pearls but they lost one while working their way to Hades Palace)

Hades' Palace made me feel extremely tiny, especially since there were only three of us walking through it. Our footsteps echoed and weird shadows flitted along the walls. The gods always liked to make their homes as large as possible to try and remind us that we weren't on the same level as them. The courtyards and hallways were surprisingly beautiful. The dark rock walls were lit with crystal fixtures that seemed to glow from within and there were piles of gemstones mixed with all sorts of flowers that were thriving in the dark cavern.

When we finally reached the throne room the doors opened on their own and we saw that Hades was sitting on his throne waiting for us.

"Don't be shy," he said, "You've come all this way, don't back out now."

We walked forwards slowly, and the echoes made every step feel almost painful. As we approached the dais Hades extended his hand, and a ball of light grew and shattered on the floor in front of us. As the gold dissipated, a woman stood frozen as a golden statue that gave off light and made the space feel almost warm.

While I had never met her, Percy's mother was unmistakable. Physically Percy had many features that he shared with his father, but the look in his eyes, the bravery and determination that he showed no matter what we were facing was clearly evident in her face as well.

Percy looked like he wanted to collapse, "mom?" he said in a shaky voice reaching towards her ever so slightly.

"Now here we are," Hades said as we took in the scene. "You give me what I want, and I'll allow you to leave with her."

After a moment Percy stepped forward slightly and said, "Lord Hades, look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."

"Really bad," Grover said, which was probably not as helpful as he had hoped.

"Please do the right thing, tell us where Zeus' master bolt is so we can retrieve it. Please sir, let me carry it to Olympus," Percy said.

Hades scoffed at us and said, "The bolt is my brothers' drama, I don't want any part of it."

Percy looked at Grover and I for answers we didn't have and then turned back to Hades and asked, "What?"

"Do you think I want a war?" Hades asked with annoyance.

Percy responded with only a slight tremor to his voice, "you are the Lord of the Dead. A war would expand your kingdom, right?"

But while it had sounded like a good argument before ... Well, after seeing the sprawl of the Underworld first-hand, I realized that was unlikely to be something Hades worried about. War wasn't needed to expand Hades' kingdom. Everyone died eventually, what immortal being would decide they needed to speed things along.

"A typical thing for my brothers to say," Hades waved his hand dismissively. "Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields? Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open? More security ghouls, traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"

"Charon wants a pay raise," Percy blurted out. I thought about tackling him and apologizing but Hades didn't seem to even notice it was Percy who had said that.

"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades continued his rant. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suites! Problems everywhere and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I do not want a war."