The Rule of Succession

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Three years passed on the surface. Felt like an eternity down in the Underworld. Percy remembered Annabeth telling him that time worked differently in mythological places. The Lotus Hotel, The Sea of Monsters, Tartarus. They all had a weird time distortion. But most of them made time pass slower inside than outside, so that a day in one place, would be two or more normally. But now, it seemed like he spent two days for every one that passed on the surface.

It was hard to tell when a day passed, since the Underworld didn't have access to the sun. he asked Hades about that and he said that since a shade had used an iris-message to contact Percy, he had banned them since he didn't need shades contacting the living and freaking them out.

So, his days were boring. He had been given free reign to go wherever he wanted, as long as he didn't disturb the dead. Most of the time, he would wander down to the River Styx, and play with Ceberus. Over his time down there, he grew close to the hound.

Sometimes, Nico would drop by. He had explained that he was allowed to come down whenever, as his father's son. He would hang around a few days, explaining what was happening on the surface, telling him what day it was, before leaving again.

Percy kept up with his training as well. He had told Hades he wanted to get back into training, since it seemed like he was pulled back into the Myth World. Hades had pulled Achilles to train him, mostly to get Percy out of his office so he could continue doing the large stack of paperwork on his desk.

LINE BREAK

Percy walked out of his room and down the stairs. His mom was in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Estelle was in her high chair, eating a toastable waffle. Nico had brought some last time he visited as a treat.

"Hi, honey." His mom said. "Any plans for today?"

Percy shrugged as he walked over to the pantry. He opened the door and pulled out a box of cereal. He poured himself a bowl. "Probably just gonna play with Ceberus again. Just like yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that."

Sally frowned. "I know it's boring down here, but at least we're safe."

"Yeah." Percy sighed.

As he finished his cereal, Paul walked out of his room and greeted them, kissing Sally before making himself breakfast.

"I'll see y'all tonight." Percy said as he opened the front door and walked out of the house. Before he closed the door, he turned around. "What's the plan for dinner?" He asked.

"I'm gonna try grilling burgers." Paul said.

Percy grinned. "I'll be sure to come home to try them." And with that, he closed the door and walked down the street towards the gates of the Underworld. Their house was situated near the border, as not to disturb the natural order of the Underworld.

He found a stick on the ground, a branch that had fallen from one of Persephone's birch trees. He had only seen the goddess a few times in the three years he had been in the Underworld, and it hadn't been anything more than a passing glance.

He reached the gate, where he saw cerberus, or, more like the tail end of him. He whistled to get the dog's attention. Cerberus instantly perked up and turned around. He instantly noticed the stick in Percy's hand.

Percy threw the stick, lobbing it towards the walls of Erebus in the distance. A giant gust of wind blew him back as a massive ball of black fur raced past him. Ceberus ran towards the stick. The three headed dog picked the stick up with his middle head, his other two fighting for this stick as he trotted back with it. Cerberus dropped the stick on the floor, the branch more chewed than it had been when Percy had thrown it.