Chapter Text
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stood nervously before a figure seated behind a large, organized desk. He wasn't the menacing, shadowy figure Percy had imagined. Instead, he was a young man with glowing green eyes, silver hair, and a faint, cold aura.
Beside him stood a woman with dark and light hair and a mocking smirk playing on her lips as she looked at the demigods.
Percy, voice trembling slightly, declared, "Uncle! I've come for Master Bolt. Give it back so we can stop the war!"
The young man raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement in his old but young eyes. "Uncle? Thanatos, what's this child talking about?"
The god of death, Thanatos, stepped forward. "My Lord, it seems Olympus is still unaware of the former King Hades' retirement."
The woman beside the young man, Queen Melione, Goddess of Ghost, added, "Yeah, Danny. They have, like, no clue Dad stepped down a hundred years ago. They still think he's running the underworld."
Annabeth, her brow furrowed as she slowly said, "...You're not Lord Hades, King of the Underworld."
"I believe they just clarified that," the young man replied. "Call me Phantom of Danny. And why would I have the Master Bolt? The ozone radiating like a bonfire is coming from you, not me."
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth exchanged stunned glances, then simultaneously looked down at the backpack Ares had given them. "Ares..." they murmured in unison.
Danny gave them a final, assessing look. "Thanatos, escort them out of the Underworld. And send an Iris message to Olympus. Give them proof of Ares' theft of the Bolt as the true thief. Melione and I have paperwork. We're almost finished cleaning up the River Styx."
As Thanatos began to usher them out, Percy turned around and yelled, "Charon wants a raise!"
Danny turned to Melione, a look of bewildered exasperation on his face. "...Didn't we just give him one two weeks ago?"
Melione chuckled. "His Italian suits are expensive."
Outside the Underworld.
Annabeth, still reeling, turned to Percy and Grover. "Wait, if Hades retired, where is the God of the Underworld now?"
A sunny beach in the Maldives.
Far away from his brothers, on a pristine beach in the Maldives,
Hades reclined in a beach chair, a contented sigh escaping his lips. His wife, Persephone, rested her head on his shoulder.
"My foolish brothers," Hades mused, a hint of smugness in his voice. "If they'd just give up their thrones, they'd have such an easy life. Just like me!"
He smiled, thinking of the young halfa he'd mentored. "That boy took to the job like it's the duty of a hero. Him dating Melione helped smooth things over, of course. I really should thank Pandora for introducing them. My idiot brothers must be terrible teachers." He took a sip of his drink. "Now, where were we, my dear?"
"Enjoying the sun before I return to my mother. Thankfully she doesn't know you actually leave the underworld too for the 6 months."