Annabeth's Pov

-So we're free..??

Percy asked, he still couldn't believe that we had successfully convinced Poiseden to let us go.

-Yeah..looks like it..

Grover said, he was still panting.

-You're great, man!

Percy laughed and said, I wanted to compliment Grover on something nice too..

-Haha, it's nothing.. It's all thanks to you two.

Grover said and then he laughed softly. Grover had a problem with his self-confidence, I hope he can be more proud of himself.

-Don't be so modest! I never thought of making a deal with Poiseden!

Percy said.

-Nothing..I just think that helping would be more helpful than threatening and would reduce the chance of backstabbing.

Grover said. That's right, Poiseden can't protect that person directly. Otherwise the punishment would only be worse. Sometimes Kindness is a weapon, right?

-Where are we going now?

Percy asked, well it's getting dark, I guess it's 3-4pm now. Percy, Grover can't carry me forever, I'm getting weaker. We have nothing to eat, and there's only a week left until the summer retreat and all we know is that we're in Arizona. Not to mention we have no weapons or maps, or food or water.

-I think we should stop and get something to eat?

Percy suggested. It made perfect sense. With Percy's fire powers (which were all we had for defense right now, by the way) it shouldn't be hard to hunt and roast something.

-No, we should keep going...

Grover said, looking ahead. I couldn't see anything in particular with my tired vision other than too much green.

-Huh? You sense something that way?

Percy asked, looking up in the same direction.

-Yeah, that's right. We can try... never mind, let's just lie on the ground tonight.

Grover said, smiling nervously, he immediately dismissed the thought of going somewhere strange after the Medusa incident...I could understand.

-What are you talking about? Of course we have to look for a chance to live, right? Chance isn't some servant or anything that will immediately come to you if you just sit still. If we're going to die anyway, why not try? You don't smell anything too bad, do you?

Percy said. I kind of agreed with him. You won't know what's on the road ahead if you don't dare to go through it. But it's still too risky.

-And I don't think sleeping on the ground and eating wild animals and picking weeds will help us survive for days, to be honest.

Percy said. Well the worst case scenario is that we get attacked by wild animals while we're sleeping or in the rain, then it's a very painful death. Or worse, Monsters, you take all the bad things caused by animals and multiply it by 10 and yeah, it's about 80% of the level of monsters.

- It's not that bad but... Okay, we can try.

Grover sighed.

- Why are you being so philosophical today?

I was tired but still had enough energy to say something. I guess I just haven't known him long enough to know how he usually acts.

- It's nothing, my mom always says that.

Percy said. He and Grover carried me towards the place that Grover had a strange feeling about. I guess his mom was probably a firefighter. Such a thought fit perfectly with my fantasy of being a firefighter. But it would be funny if his mother was actually a firefighter. However,I also wanted to avoid the topic of Percy's mother because he had clearly mentioned something wrong with his mother, I couldn't pry into such a sensitive matter.

The longer we walked, the more tired I felt. My head was spinning. Cold sweat was pouring from my head. My vision was getting blurry by the minute. My limbs were shaking slightly. I was really exhausted, I didn't know how long I could stay awake.

After walking for a while, we saw a small house in the middle of the forest made of wood. It looked like a farmhouse you might see in a 1970s movie. I hoped that was a sign that we were getting closer to the main road.

Percy walked to the door and knocked twice. Then the door opened. I saw an old woman with white hair, a stern look on her face, she wore a pair of glasses that could not hide her jet black pupils. She was wearing a red sweater and jeans. Wearing sweaters in the middle of summer? Is this a strange fashion trend for old people? I guess I will know in about 50-60 years (if I live to that age, of course).

-What do you want?

She said. Her voice was deep and warm, but also had a mature and stern tone. Surely this is the type of old person who would leave the city to live in the woods?

-Excuse me, may we ask what part of Arizona we are in?

Percy asked, he was the one who came up with this idea but he himself did not know what to say. Well, it was just 3 children who appeared near dusk in front of a house in the middle of the woods, nothing much.

-Huh, are you guys lost?

The old lady asked. It seemed like she was used to people getting lost in the forest.

Suddenly I felt like I was being pushed back. Then a terrible headache came. My head hurt like it was being hit by a hammer. My mind was dizzy. My vision was getting blurry by the second. My hands and feet were shaking, I felt my face turning pale. My head felt like it was having a disco party, I couldn't concentrate and think clearly anymore.

-uhm

I let out a trembling cry. My eyes were getting closer and closer to closing. Cold sweat poured down my body.

-Chase!?

I couldn't recognize whose voice it was anymore because my ears couldn't hear anything clearly anymore.

I had passed out in front of someone else's house.

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-It's been a long time since I've visited you.

A woman's voice rang out, her voice was cold and sophisticated, perfect for interrogating criminals.

-That's right, it's been 500 years, right?

Another man's voice was cold and gave off a feeling of coming from hell. I recognized the voice.

I opened my eyes and found myself in the banquet hall of Hades Castle. Although this room was never used, it looked really majestic and splendid as well as gave off a rather creepy feeling because it was all dark. It was cleaned quite often even though it was never used, partly because Persephone liked to torture me by making me clean with the ghost servants, partly because there were thousands of ghost servants, so why not make the most of it?

In the middle of the room was a large black table but with a white tablecloth, this made it stand out in the middle of the room. At the two ends of the table were two chairs that were also black (What other color could you expect, really?).

On the two chairs were two people, a man and a woman.

The man had long black hair, his bangs covering his high forehead. His face was thin and thorny, his pupils were the black color of death, his eyes always looked like he was going to a funeral. He had a very special appearance. Who else could it be, it was my godly father.

The woman had long black hair that was loose but looked very neat. Her face was stern and as if she was judging others. Her eyes were grey like lightning in a storm and it also gave her a look as if she was planning to devour the opponent no matter what the circumstances, this was something her children also inherited, not really sure if it was an advantage or not. I have never met Athena before but I am sure this woman is Athena.

-So what do you think about this deal? Surely you did not invite me down here just to get a "no" in return?

Athena said. What deal?? I am sure I am in a demigod dream and demigod dreams are never meaningless, although sometimes they are detrimental and not good for the mental health of demigods.

When did this meeting take place? Persephone would not miss a meeting like this so it must have been in the first half of the year when Persephone was with Demeter. Was it in the past or was it happening right now?

-Hmm, why didn't you help Zeus? You know you would be in big trouble if Zeus found out about this?

Hades asked. Athena is not on Zeus' side?? What is this??

-You know that a strategy used too many times and for too long will never succeed in the end, right? Besides, isn't it better to experience something new for "wisdom"?

Athena said, placing her hand on her chin. What does "something new" mean? What does Athena mean? Is it a new ruler?

-Come on, if this succeeds, you'll get everything you've ever had, and if it fails, no one will care.

Athena said. Even though I don't understand anything, it really sounds like a good deal.

-Then how can I make sure this goes the right way? You know that if it's too new, it's harder to control and more likely to fail, right?

Hades asked.

-In front of you is the goddess of strategy, war for wisdom. I will try to make sure it goes in the right direction. I also know that something completely new is too risky, so my proposal is not a completely new way, don't you think?

Athena said. I don't understand what the agreement between the two of them is.

Hades nodded slightly, meaning that he had agreed to Athena's proposal. I didn't understand anything. What proposal? Was Athena planning to betray Zeus and was asking Hades for help? Athena had tried it once before, it was the first time.Was Athena the one behind the theft? No way, if they were allies, why would Athena steal Hades's helmet? Wouldn't it be so that Zeus wouldn't suspect anything? But if it was fake, why did Hades come back looking so urgent and angry? If fate had shown me this dream, would they want me to listen or oppose this alliance?

Shouldnt Hades have said something to me? But it's also highly likely that Persephone doesn't know about this either. What is Athena plotting?

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I opened my eyes from the dream and looked up at the wooden ceiling. I sat up. I could feel my muscles aching but it was much better since I had been unconscious.

I looked around. This must be the guest bedroom in the old lady's house. This was a guest bedroom so it was quite small, also simply designed with only a table, a wardrobe and the bed I was lying on.

I sat up, looking for my bag and sword out of habit but then remembered that Dynemene had thrown them all into the river. I sighed. I didn't have any Drachma left to call Hades for a new bag or sword. Maybe when I got to California if it was convenient I could stop by Hades' castle and get a new sword. Otherwise I would have to rely on the power that my father gave me. I didn't like that very much.

I was on the first floor, if I remember correctly, the old lady's house had two floors. If it were me, I wouldn't have put the guest bedroom on the first floor. But two generations, of course they would be different.

I walked towards the wooden door, and was about to open it when I heard voices talking. It was Grover and the Old Lady.

-You shouldn't lie to me, I'm very experienced in reading people's emotions.

The old lady said. What are they talking about?

- No.. It's nothing big, it's just that... I just found out that my long-lost uncle is dead..

Grover said, his voice was gloomy. Huh? What..?? No one has ever told me this.

-It's not that I didn't think about it, in fact I've always been prepared for such a situation..but when it came, it just...I couldn't help but feel so sad..

Grover said. I woke up and accidentally overheard a conversation that wasn't very pleasant..

-You're really strange. You confided this to me, a complete stranger, but didn't tell your two companions even a word about how you really felt?

The old woman said. So Percy wasn't with them? Where did he go?

-Yes..Because they...well Percy just lost his mother and Annabeth...that's Annabeth. I don't mean any harm, don't get me wrong! They are mentally worn out and going through a tough time in their lives even though they are only 11-12 years old.. I shouldn't make them worry more just because of my trivial matter..

Grover said. I felt bad, very bad. He was calling his own feelings a trivial "matter"? No way! I should go out and comfort him but just going out would be bad.

-How long are you going to eavesdrop? Come out and see

The old lady's question startled me. My heart stopped. Did she know I was eavesdropping? Oh my god..

I walked out the door. I saw the old lady and Grover, who was just as surprised as me, sitting on the couch in the living room.

The living room was quite normal, like the living room design in American sitcoms from the 1980s. But there was a spear displayed right on the wall, did she have a hobby of collecting old things? Or is that a pattern?

I walked forward awkwardly, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping and not knowing what to say.

Grover was smiling just as awkwardly as I was.

I figured this awkwardness would last a long time..