I wasn't sure what to expect the second time in the Styx. Would it hurt more? Less? In truth, it was about the same. But that's still very, very painful. I knew I had to think where to put my mortal point and fast, but it was hard to think while I was dying.

Where would people never dream of targeting? Nowhere. Every inch of my body was a target. I could feel my life eking out of me. I didn't have much time, so I decided on the small of my back again. I thought of what to see that would keep me alive.

I saw Grover, enslaved. I saw my dad, struggling under the weight of the sky. I saw my friends who had fallen in the war. I wanted revenge on Kronos. He was the cause of all this.

Revenge. I thought. Revenge.

But that wasn't working. I was still dissolving. Okay, so revenge on Kronos wouldn't work. Revenge on Annabeth? She had betrayed me, stabbed me in the back, and maybe even broken my heart.

As soon as Annabeth came into my head though, I saw something above the surface of the water. Annabeth. Not the way I'd last seen her–dressed for combat and trying to kill me–but how she used to be, back in the good old days when I still thought she was my friend. She was wearing her camp half-blood T-shirt and a pair of old jeans. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her knife was strapped to her arm.

"I swear Percy," I heard her say with a smile, "if I have to pull you out of here one more time, I will personally kick your butt all the way to Tartarus."

The pain went away. I swam to the surface, hoping the real Annabeth wouldn't still be there.

When I broke the surface, she was gone. I climbed out, feeling more like myself and ready for action. I flexed my arms, testing them. I felt fine. I brought the knife to my arm and tried to cut. It didn't work. Percy Jackson the Invincible was back baby.

I watched Percy fall into the River Styx. Just as he sunk beneath the surface, I involuntarily cried out, "Percy!"

I stood, shocked at myself. Why did I care? My friendship with Percy had just been a way to get information for Luke. At least, that's what I kept telling myself. But the truth was, I really had been friends with Percy. I doubt I would've betrayed Percy if he hadn't gotten so close to killing Luke. I knew it wasn't right. My loyalties lay with Luke and Kronos. End of story.

I looked into the Styx. At first I couldn't see Percy, but then I was sure I saw him. He was sitting at the bottom peacefully, as if he didn't have a care I in the world. He looked up at me and smiled. I heard him say something, just one word, barely a whisper, "Annabeth."

I snapped out of it. I was looking at a black River Styx. I couldn't see Percy. He must have died in the river. Coldly, I walked away toward the exit of the Underworld. I needed to tell Kronos Percy was dead, and tell Luke he had nothing to worry about.

I strode out, heading for the entrance to Tartarus. That was where the gods would be. Most of them anyway. On the way, three spirits ran out in front of me. Following them was a huge Laistrygonian giant with an ice spike club. With one swing he took out two spirits. The third, however, managed to roll out of the way. The giant got ready to swing again, but the spirit stabbed out with a Stygian iron sword.

The giant howled, and dissolved into dust. The spirit looked at me, and removed its helmet. Oh come on! Is my past coming to haunt me?

"Nico?" I called out, excited.

"Percy you son of a bitch!" he said as he hugged me. "I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah," I agreed, "I've been getting that a lot."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Going to save the gods," I responded.

Nico made an annoyed pfft noise. "Good luck, Jackson. Do you have any idea how long we've been trying to get them out?"

"A year," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Uh, right," Nico said embarrassed.

"So, you're with the rebellion?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Me, Thalia, Clarisse, Chris, and a few others made it out alive. We've been fighting ever since. Where have you been?"

"I've uh," I wasn't sure how to tell Nico I'd spent the year recovering and getting fresh with Calypso, "been healing. But now I'm back."

"Well," Nico said skeptically, "good luck with breaking the gods out. But you do know you'll have to get past Kampê, right?"

I swallowed. "I can take her."

Again with the pfft sound from Nico.

"You coming?" I asked.

"Have to get back to Typhon's Prison," Nico said remorsefully. "I came to see how things were in the Underworld, but I've got to get back to Thalia... and everyone else."

Hmm. I decided to ask Nico about that later.

Right now, I had a prison to break into and a demon to kill. I reached the entranced to Tartarus. It still gave me the creeps, but now it didn't feel like something evil and older than the gods was down there. There was no one guarding the entrance that I could see. Cautiously, I edged towards the pit. Then, a rather annoying sound came from behind me.

"MOOOOO!"

I turned around and rolled my eyes.

"You again?" I asked. "How many times do I have to kill you before you stay dead?"

The Minotaur yelled out, "MOO!"

I pulled out my knife. The Minotaur readied his axe. We charged each other. He swung hard, but his blade met open air. I rolled in close and stabbed. To my surprise, the Minotaur managed to dodge my stab. I followed up by back-flipping onto the Minotaur's back. He started bucking like crazy, trying to shake me off. I held on for eight seconds, but then he threw me off.

The Minotaur charged again with his horns angled at my throat. It hit with powerful accuracy, but my throat was impenetrable. I got thrown back a few feet though, and my knife clattered out of my hand. The Minotaur charged again, but I was ready this time. I grabbed him by his horns and tossed him over my shoulder. Whoa. I didn't know I could do that. I scooped up my knife and jumped onto his chest. Before he could react I stabbed him in the chest.

He dissolved into dust once again. I hoped he'd stay dead for a while this time. But I doubt he would. Somehow I knew I'd be fighting him for the rest of my life, and so would my children, and my children's children. That is, if I survived all this.

I stared into the depths of Tartarus. I reminded myself that I was invulnerable, and that nothing would hurt me too much. Thinking of my invulnerability reminded me of what I'd seen in the Styx.

I couldn't believe it. After all this time, after everything that had happened and everything that she'd done to me, Annabeth was still the one thing that made me want to stay mortal. It was still her.

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