As the group stood before the ancient stone pillars, the weight of their quest began to settle in. Annabeth's deciphering of the clue had sent a chill down everyone's spine—the mention of the doors of Tartarus was something no one could take lightly.
"We need to contact Olympus," Luke said, his voice urgent. "If the doors of Tartarus are involved, the gods have to know."
Annabeth nodded, already pulling out a drachma from her pocket. She held it up to the sunlight, casting a rainbow in the mist. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering."
The mist shifted, shimmering in front of them as it formed an image of Olympus. Annabeth adjusted the drachma in her hand, angling the rainbow to capture the throne room of the gods. Slowly, the scene came into focus, and the group saw the familiar, towering forms of Zeus, Hera, and several other Olympians sitting around the grand table. Apollo stood near the back, his gaze distant until the connection snapped his attention to them.
"Annabeth? Luke? Grover? What's happened?" Zeus asked, his powerful voice filling the space around them.
Annabeth took a deep breath and quickly explained the second clue they had discovered—the riddle about the children of Hades and the keys to the doors of Tartarus.
The moment the words left her lips, a loud gasp echoed from the far end of the throne room. Persephone, seated beside Hades, paled, her hands trembling as they flew to her mouth. "The children of Hades?" she whispered, her voice quivering. Her large, expressive eyes darted between the gods, then back to Hades. "No..."
Before anyone could react, Persephone fainted, her body slumping in her throne. Hades was quick to catch her, his dark expression clouding with deep concern as he cradled her in his arms. "Persephone, stay with me," he murmured, his voice tight with both worry and anger.
The rest of the gods exchanged worried glances, their faces growing grim. Cordelia watched in stunned silence, feeling the urgency of their quest grow even stronger. If Persephone was reacting this way, it meant that something terrible had happened in the past—something she had been forced to relive in this very moment.
As Hades gently shook Persephone awake, her eyes fluttered open, and she seemed dazed, lost in a world of painful memories. "The children... our children..." she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.
Hades frowned, his grip tightening around her. "Persephone, what do you mean? What's happening?"
Persephone stared up at him with tear-filled eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you not remember? Do you not recall the day we lost them?"
Flashback
The Underworld was always a place of darkness and cold, but the day Persephone heard the news, it felt as if her world had been shattered into a million pieces. She was standing in the fields of Asphodel, her golden hair catching the dim light as she arranged flowers, her usual calm demeanor shattered by the haunting words of one of the Furies.
"My queen," the Fury rasped, bowing low. "The children... they're gone. We can't find them anywhere."
Persephone had dropped the bouquet of flowers she was holding, her eyes wide with shock. "Gone?" Her voice was a mere whisper. "What do you mean... gone?"
The Fury's face twisted in sorrow. "Your children with Hades... they've vanished. There is no trace of them, my queen. We've searched everywhere in the Underworld."
Persephone felt her knees buckle as the weight of the news sank in. Her children—her precious children—were missing. And no one knew where they were or how they had disappeared. Hades had been away at that time, and even when he returned, he had no answers. No one did. It was as if they had simply vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but heartache and unanswered questions in their wake.
For months, Persephone had scoured the Underworld, searching for any sign of her children. She had sent every creature and spirit she could find to hunt for them, but it was all in vain. They were simply... gone.
And she had never truly recovered from the loss.
Present
Persephone's eyes were filled with the same pain she had felt back then as she looked at Hades, her voice shaking. "I thought we had lost them forever. But if there's a clue... if there's even the smallest chance they are still out there..."
Hades, still holding her close, clenched his jaw tightly. "If the doors of Tartarus are involved, this is far worse than we imagined." He turned to Zeus, his expression dark and brooding. "We need to find them before anything else happens. The weapons can wait. My children cannot."
Zeus nodded solemnly. "Agreed. I will send word to all the gods. We'll focus on both the weapons and the children."
Cordelia felt the weight of their gaze as Apollo, from the back of the room, finally stepped forward. His eyes locked onto hers, his expression unreadable but intense.
"We won't let you face this alone," Apollo said softly, his voice reaching across the room like a warm breeze. "Cordelia, you're not just a part of this prophecy. You're the key to it."
Her heart pounded in her chest as she met his gaze, realizing that their quest had taken on an even greater significance. Not only were they searching for the missing weapons, but now they had to find Hades' lost children—and possibly prevent a disaster that could shake the very foundations of Olympus.
"We'll find them," Cordelia said firmly, her hand tightening around her trident. "We'll bring them back."
Zeus nodded approvingly. "Then go. Time is of the essence. May the gods guide you on this journey."
The mist faded, and the connection to Olympus was severed. The group stood in silence, the weight of their mission pressing down on them more heavily than ever.
"We can't waste any time," Luke said, his voice determined. "We have to move faster."
Cordelia glanced at her friends, feeling the resolve within them growing stronger. "Let's get going."
With their mission clear and their determination renewed, they set off once again, the urgency of their quest driving them forward. They had no time to lose—not with the fate of Hades' children and the potential threat of Tartarus looming over them like a dark shadow.