Silver would rather face all the gods in a duel then go through her battle in Tartarus again.

Silver opened her eyes to a dim red glow. Where was she? What had happened.

"James... Jay wake up." she whispered, nudging the boys weakly.

"Wha...What?" muttered Jay, one of his ears flicking.

"Can you wake James?" asked Silver.

"Sure..."

Jay crawled over to his brother and pushed him onto his stomach.

"What?" asked James, moaning.

"Wake up."

"Where are we?"

"Tartarus..." whispered Silver, looking around it. Her eyes were widened in terror. She had figured out where they were.

"What do you see? All I see is blackness." said Jay. But Silver didn't hear him. She was staring at the horror in front of her. Laid out was a land clothed in skin, and in the distance... Blood cells. They were moving around rapidly. This. This was Tartarus. Horrors danced around them, laughing. So scary no words could explain them. Ghosts flowed past them, grinning. Ancient monsters were here, and Silver didn't like it.

Silver fell to her knees, clutching her head. She got up with difficulty, terrorized to fall down onto flesh and blood. But she had no choice. Her legs failed her and darkness closed in on her mind. She curled into a ball, on the floor of Tartarus, shaking and shivering.

"Silver?" whispered Jay and she looked up at him slowly. She could see panic in his eyes, yet she couldn't bring herself to speak. She wanted to assure him everything was okay, but she was just unable to.

"You don't know whats happening?" asked James quietly.

"No..."

"Well--" James got cut off as Silver screamed, finally finding her voice and pointing toward a red cell flowing toward them.

"Curses! Its the arai!" snarled James, unsheathing his sword.

"I heard about these... They inflict curses on anyone who kills them, right?" asked Jay and James nodded, grinning.

"Looks like someone studied."

"How could I not when I'm surrounded by this stuff?"

"Fair enough."

Together the two brothers charged the arai like idiots. Silver watched with her voice unusable, her courage drained. Slowly her trembling fingers picked up a rock, feeling its smooth surface. She looked up at the arai who were crowding her friends.

"Take this monster!" she had thought of it as sounded strong and brave. Instead it sounded like a tiny mouse-like squeak.  Silver chucked the rock as hard she could at an arai that had James to the ground.

With a screech she turned into yellow dust and James coughed, getting up and brushing off the monster dust muttering, "This is always gross..."

A flashing pain blinded Silver and she screamed, clutching her stomach.

That half-blood that I killed in the titan war... I killed her this way. Silver had enough time to think that before an arai jumps her and she punched the monster right in the nose. A shudder ran threw her and a chilling ran right through her. She felt like she was frosting over and she realized this was  one of Lily's frosts. 

4 years ago Lily and I fought a girl name Toxic. I told Lily to freeze her over and together we had defeated a daughter of Hecate. Silver had never realized how much Lily's freezing hurt. She looked up at the boys and with a painful shock realized they had more curses afflicted onto them then she did herself. Jay kept on trying to not flinch, but Silver could see the pain they were in. Their auras were blotched with black.

What do I do? I can barely defend...Wait. Rose. Silver closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to ignore the screeches of death coming from the arai's. 

"Rose, Rose can you hear me? Rose this is Silver!" Silver tried her best to create an image of her friend in her mind and her personality. "Please! I need help!"

"Silver?"  the voice was smoothed, gentle, and covered in worry.

"Rose! Yes! The link worked! Listen, I really, really need you to come help us! There are a ton of arai around us and we can't kill them! Please."

"Can I bring... friends to help?"

"Of course."

"Then its ROSE TO THE RESCUE!" Silver felt Rose's presence leave her and she sighed, grabbing some more rocks. Her ear twitched uneasily, her eyes drifting across the darkness of Tartarus. Wait. She hadn't told Rose that they were in Tartarus. What if she was wandering around the surface world with her friends? What if she died without ever knowing what happened to Silver? What if--

BOOM. 

Blood covered hell hounds rose out of the flesh of Tartarus, kicking away smaller monsters. Most of them were about the size of a rhino. A large, 15 foot hell hound stepped out from the ranks of the others, Rose. But something was different. Her stomach was torn, she had on an eye patch, and her pelt was stained with blood. Why couldn't Silver feel that?

"I broke the connection." snarled Rose as if she could tell what Silver was thinking of, "I joined Gaea's army."

The news slammed into Silver and her face turned even paler. Rose... The friend she's had since she was only 1? Had... Betrayed her?

"No. No. I won't believe it!" screamed, Silver, "THEY BRAINWASHED YOU!"

"No." Rose's voice was now scratchy and sharp, like a pencil with no eraser scraping across paper. "This was my choice and my choice alone."

With that Rose flicked her tail and the hell hounds advanced on the half bloods.

It wasn't much of a contest really. Three half bloods? Of the big three? One of Hades and two of Poseidon? Pfft they could take any army right? Right? Wrong. They were up against arai that could apply curses on them if they killed them. So, killing them. Not really an option. Then there were the rhino sized hell hounds! Yay... Time to party! Someone get Dionysus! 

Ever been run over by a tractor? Now have you ever been hugged by Tyson, Percy's brother and a Cyclops (long story), now think about getting a farm dropped on you, then, combine them. You still wouldn't be close to how much pain fell upon those three. Curses flying everywhere and hell hounds chomping and slashing, crashing and crushing.

Silver raised her sword as Rose came down on her. She let out a scream of pure pain as Rose's paw landed on her left arm--luckily not her sword arm, but it still hurt! A wave of weariness slammed into her, but she refused to be knocked out. At least, not until she bleeds internally. 

"Why... Why do you do this?" she whispered, looking up at her.

"Come on! Turn into a hell hound!" she snapped and Silver's tail flicked.

"No."

"What?"

"No. I. Said. No." with that Silver grabbed her sword and slammed it into Rose's paw. Rose howled in pain and swatted Silver right into another hell hound.

Suddenly a piercing howl split through the cold dark breath of tartarus. It was another hell hound army. But this one was different. It was bigger, stronger. Hell hounds followed a giant 18 foot hell hound.

"Get out of the way!" yelled Silver, pushing Jay and James out of a battle of some arai.

A white hell hound stepped out of the ranks, her jaw locked in a snarl and her eyes narrowed--Frost. That meant Scarlet was awake. 

"Rose!" barked the largest hell hound, stepping forward. His claws were like machetes, eyes crimson red, which did NOT help how scary he looked.

"What, Shadow?" hissed Rose.

"Why fight humans? Fight me instead. We always joked about battling, now that can come true."

"Why should I fight you?"

"What? Scared?"

"No."

Shadow ignored her, "Is it because I'm bigger, badder, and buffer?"

"The big B's? No."

"Then lets go. Winner takes all."

Rose looked Shadow dead in the eyes, but he didn't flinch. His muscled stayed tensed, his eyes narrowed. Finally Rose nodded and snarled, "Deal, only if its... The Ancient Hell Hound Battle."

Gasps shot throughout the battle ranks and Silver screeched, "NO! DON'T DO IT!" she rushed toward them but Jay grabbed her arm. She kept trying to run, nearly dragging Jay with her, but James took his brothers arm and kept them all from sliding out.

"What is an Ancient Hell Hound Battle?" asked Jay and James.

"The most deadliest of battles. The hell hounds from the olden days used it."

"That is...?" asked Jay.

"Its where the hell hounds... Fight with everything they've got. They can teleport their human connections into the battle, turn into humans themselves as long they are close to their companion. And worst of all..."

"What?" asked Jay and James, leaning forward."

"Never mind." 

"But--"

Howls pierced the air, shattering the coldness and warming the Tartarus air and sending a wave of over whelming meat scent over the half bloods.

"Gah! What is that! It sounds like a dog whistle!" groaned Jay, collapsing on the ground.

"So... Weird..." murmured James, fainting on the spot. Silver blinked but stood there, her ears perked. She only had heard the howl of home.

"Those who are not us may not see." whispered a hell hound. "Why are you not unconscious or freaking out, half blood?" the hell hound turned his cold, yellow eyes onto her.

Without flinching Silver narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. She leaned all her weight on her right leg and bending her left, sassy pose. "Because I am not just a half blood. I am a hell hound. You don't like it? TOO BAD!" the last to words came out as a loud fierce howl, Silver's eyes glowing. A rush of adrenaline ran through her and she made her way down as a stadium grew, stairs forming. She stepped on the stairs, sending glares to hell hounds.

"Alright." said the hell hound.

"I'd like you to meet my companion." said Shadow, and Silver grinned. Suddenly she appeared down next to Shadow and Rose's eyes widened.

"HOW!" she snapped.

"Oh, I meant friend. I don't... Really... Have a companion. To risky--For them." barked Shadow, grinning toothily. 

"Well, meet my companion!" snarled Rose. A boy with black hair, crimson eyes, dressed in leather, and... A dented nose appeared.

"Hey! Idiot! Nose!" screamed Silver at Abyss and he nodded, putting it back to normal.

Silver looked surprised, "ABYSS! What are you even DOING with them!" she snarled, stepping forward.

"I have chosen my side Silver!" he snapped, stepping forward.

"I thought you were my friend!" screeched Silver, taking another step.

"I'm closer to my brethren then I am to you! I'm closer to my father!" 

"SHUT UP!"

"SHUT DOWN!"

"SHUT DOWN WHAT?"

"YOUR ATTITUDE GIRL!"

"Excuse moi?"

"You heard me!"

"Well, why don;t you SHATTUP!!!!!!"

"Excuse me no, thats YOUR job."

"Wanna go there?"

"Yeah I wanna go there! How bout I just take you to the dumpster girl! That IS where you belong after all."

"So sorry, but I'm not a hitchhiker!"

"Sure ya aren't."

By now the two were face to face, arms crossed.

"BEGIN!" howled a hell hound and immediately the two lashed out at each other, catching each others sword on the others.

"Ready?" whispered Silver.

"I was born ready."

"No you were born Abyss."

"Fair enough." Abyss grinned and Silver grinned back. Together they masked themselves in shadows, vanishing from sight.

Rose and Shadow were going at it pretty hard. Better if the bloody details are left out.

"Wait!" Yelled Rose, mid claw.

"What?" snapped Shadow.

"Where are the other two?"

"Go!" screamed Abyss in Silver's mind and they both tackled their hell hound friends. Silver turned into a hell hound and Abyss grew to about 10 feet tall.

"WHA--" screamed Shadow, flipping Silver over onto her back. Silver let out a loud howl and Jay and James got up slowly. 

"What..." murmured Jay.

"Silver's gone hell hound."

"What?"

"Seriously? You haven't figured out that she can turn into a hell hound?"

"Um, no."

"Oh well."

The two flung themselves at Rose, but apparently Abyss had it covered. The stadium exploded, sending everyone flying. Silver turned into a human half the flight then slammed into a ledge. Well, this was fun.

"Hey! Its the river Phlegethon!" said Silver, then she blacked out.

~SilverΩ