▬▬▬ CHAPTER THIRTY THREE ▬▬▬

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yet another person has requested to make a 'reading the books' fic so go check out Reading Aletheia by -chxcolatte!

Also, I made a list of all the 'reading the books' fic for this series in the Church of Essie. I'll update it whenever another book is made.

"I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO the manager," the woman with the cropped blonde hair demanded primly.

Esmerelda withheld the urge to cry before plastering on a smile to address her, "I'm sorry ma'am but the manager isn't here at the moment. Now could you please fall to the back of the line? I believe you cut in front of the man behind you."

But the woman wasn't going to listen to her.

"Look," she began, gesturing to the gunshot wound on the back of her head. "I was murdered by husband."

I can see why.

"That's tragic," Esmerelda said with faux sympathy. "But you still need to go to the back of the line."

"I've been here for a whole week," the woman pressed on, tapping her finger against the counter for added emphasis. "And I saw the other guy who's usually in your place—the guy in the fancy suit. I wanna talk to him."

"As I've said before," her smile wavered. "He isn't here."

"Well where is he then?" She demanded.

Probably sunbathing at the beach, knowing that I'm suffering, Esmerelda thought miserably.

After she died, her soul moved on to DOA Records like all souls went in order to be transferred to the Underworld. The whole building was crowded as usual since Charon was slacking off again and when she saw that there were still a bunch of kids from the 1800s waiting to enter the Underworld, she had (naturally) been horrified and paid for their passage. Since there were a lot of them, she ended up losing all of her drachmas but that was fine, it was worth it anyways. Plus, she was dead. She wouldn't need them anymore.

After that was cleared up, she then offered her help to get things moving which turned out to be a big mistake.

Long story short, Charon agreed to her generous offer, but then abandoned her not even ten minutes later to deal with the mess! She had been stuck behind the counter for a whole month trying to get everything in order and making sure the souls who had been waiting for centuries were finally allowed entryway into the afterlife.

But dear gods, the Karens from current day were going to be the death of her (for a second time)!

They kept cutting in line even though it wasn't their turn! Constantly demanding to speak to the manager! Acting as if their deaths were more important than the deaths of the thousands of other souls! Esmerelda burst into tears at least three times a day because of them!

"HEY! Are you even listening to me? Have you gone, deaf, girl?" The Karen slammed her hand against the counter several times to catch her attention.

Esmerelda nearly jumped, only to panic when she saw all the expectant eyes on her along with Karen's glaring ones.

"U-um, uh—"

"—Oh my lord," the woman groaned. "You weren't listening at all, were you? That's it! Get the manager in here right now!"

She could feel her eyes watering and her lips tremble. "H-he's not here..."

"Then go GET HIM! This is the worst service ever!"

The tears were finally spilling down her eyes. "I'm trying my b-b-best!" She wailed. "W-why are you being so mean...?!"

"Oh no..."

"She's crying again..."

"Someone go get the tissues."

"I don't know where Charon is, okay?!" Esmerelda sobbed out loud. "He left me to deal with everything and—and I don't know when he's coming back!"

"Is that so?" A deep, monotone voice drawled.

The ghosts in the room shrunk while Esmerelda snapped her head up. Through her tears she could see the familiar young form of Hades standing beside the Karen, watching the scene with an expression full of distaste.

Hades locked eyes with her, and with a sigh, snapped his fingers. A box of black Kleenex appeared on the counter before her in a burst of shadows. She took a tissue gratefully and wiped her face with it.

"Have you been here the entire time since you died?" He asked her, though just taking a look at her status was enough to give him the answer. Esmerelda's ghostly form was still wearing her Hogwarts school uniform, which was all covered in her blood. The stab wound on her stomach was shown for everyone to see and he could see several of her cracked wrist bones jutting out from when Clytius broke them.

"Yes," she sniffled.

"And Charon left?"

"Yes," she said in a warbled voice. "I said I'd help him, but then he ran away!"

She was never going to offer him her help ever again! Lesson learned!

"I figured something was wrong when the DOA was running more smoothly in a month than it's ever run in the past thousands of years," Hades droned. "Esmerelda, you're relieved from this position. I'll have someone take over. As for Charon, I'll dock his pay for the next, hmm... five centuries will suffice. Now come."

He stretched a hand out for her to take.

She lowered the tissue and stared at him. "Where are you taking me?"

His expression turned pained, almost grief-stricken for a slight moment. "It's time for your Judgement."

Her face fell. She couldn't help but stare at him, hoping that maybe he would say something along the lines of giving her permission to leave the Underworld and return to the world of the living, but he didn't. Instead, he kept his hand outstretched, waiting for her to take it.

Resigning herself, she took his hand and felt her body melt into the shadows with him.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda had sent plenty of souls to the Judgement Pavilion to get their judgement, but it was weird having the roles reversed for once. She already had a pretty good feeling where she would be going, but standing in the center of the court with all these eyes on her was nerve-wracking.

Over at the stands she could see the familiar faces of Bob, Daedalus, Icarus, and Perdix, who were watching her with encouraging smiles on their faces. She gave them small smiles back, until Hades snapped at Bob to get back to work. The poor Titan's shoulders slumped as he rose to his seat and began sweeping the floors of the courthouse.

She inwardly sighed. Hades had been treating Bob so poorly since he started working here, though it wasn't much of a surprise since Hades (like most gods) detested most Titans other than Hecate.

She turned her attention back to the judges: Minos, Aiakos, and Rhadamanthys. Minos was sneering at her and she withheld the urge to sneer back. His crazy fucking wife was the reason she was killed, and she wanted nothing more than to claw his fucking eyes out.

Calm down, Essie, no need to get murderous, she chided herself. The three judges had the ability to see into your mind and experience every thought, memory, emotion, and action you had ever done. It wouldn't be very nice of her to give them a vivid image of herself attacking Minos.

"Esmerelda Adhafera Black," Minos' lips curled up in a cruel smile. "Welcome back. And as a ghost no less."

She forced a smile back. "Hello, Minos."

"Let the judgement begin," Rhadamanthys announced.

"Ah, a demigod," Aiakos straightened up. "This will be quick, then. Hmm, let's see... oh, a reincarnation of Maria di Angelo, I see. Nice, nice... Oh, and you exterminated some Death Eaters as well, good, very good..."

"She fought bravely in the Second Titan War as well, excellent," Rhadamanthys nodded in approval. "Even in your last moments you were a hero, saving those mortals from peril and choosing your life over Sirius Black's. Good, good..."

Esmerelda stood there waiting for several more minutes as they judged her life, nodding in approval here and there, voicing their thoughts aloud and so forth.

"I see you met my darling wife," Minos didn't bother hiding the disgust in his voice. "Does she still hate me?"

"Oh yes, definitely," she grumbled. "Though I can't really blame her."

"Bah, she should've known better than to succumb to that curse," he sneered. "To bear such a monster is just—"

"—Minos," Hades said in a dark voice. "Focus on your job."

He flinched before trying to bite back a scowl. "Of course, my lord."

"I think we have seen everything," Aiakos said, glancing at his co-judges. "Are we all in agreement of where to send her?"

"I believe so," Rhadamanthys replied while Minos just huffed in displeasure.

Aiakos lifted up the gavel, "Esmerelda Adhafera Black, your soul is worthy of Elysium."

He slammed the gavel down and Esmerelda had to close her eyes as her body was enveloped by a heavenly light. When the light died out, she opened her eyes and realized, with relief, that her bloody and tattered Hogwarts attire had been replaced by an impossibly soft white dress and loose, sheer white cardigan. Her ratty old shoes had also been changed into white, block-heeled Mary Janes. Her hair was even styled into neat curls with a pair of cute bows pinned at the sides with a golden laurel wreath at the back. Even better was that her grievous wounds were nonexistent, making her look more like a guardian angel than an evil spirit.

Oh, how lovely, she felt lighter just looking at herself now. She always enjoyed watching the makeovers the good souls would get after being granted Elysium, it was nice having to experience it herself.

"Additionally," Aiakos began, and she turned her attention back to him. "You are the reincarnation of Maria di Angelo, a previous resident of Elysium. Since this is the second time your soul has been judged good, you are one more reincarnation away from earning a place in the Isles of the Blest. If you chose to be reborn a third time and earn Elysium once more, you will be given a spot in the most blessed of paradises the Underworld has to offer."

The Isles of the Blest... She had completely forgotten about that. Not like it mattered now, because the Isles of the Blest wasn't where she was planning on going...

"Actually, my lords," she spoke up, her voice trembling slightly at the weight of her next words. "I have... I have a request to make."

The judges blinked in surprise, even Minos hadn't been expecting that.

"...Continue," Rhadamanthys said, looking curious.

Esmerelda tried to ignore Hades' heavy stare as she went on.

"My father, Regulus Arcturus Black, is a resident of the Fields of Punishment. I understand that his actions have rightfully sent him to the Fields, but my father has changed before his death. His good deeds just came too late. So because of this, I would..." She swallowed thickly. "I would like to switch spots with him. Grant him a place in Elysium, while I go to the Fields of Punishment."

"Absolutely not!" Hades snarled.

She dropped to her knees, head bowed as her hands shook with nerves.

"Please my lords," she begged them. "My father does not deserve to rot there for the rest of eternity."

"Interesting," Minos murmured, lacing his fingers together. "We haven't had an offer like this since that Levesque girl and her mother."

Esmerelda had no idea who those people were, nor did she really care at the moment. Nervously, she peeked up. The judges wore thoughtful expressions on their faces, save for Minos who was grinning with glee at the prospect of sending one of his least favorite demigods to eternal hell. Off to the side, Hades was glowering at her with barely held back rage.

"No," he seethed. "I object to the request. Now stand, Esmerelda. I will take you to Elysium myself."

She gave him a beseeching look, "Hades, please—"

"—I will not send you to your damnation!" He snapped, affronted, rising to his feet. "I refuse to—"

"—Perhaps I should scold my daughter instead, Hades." A new voice interrupted.

Esmerelda turned to the side, seeing her mother standing right next to her kneeling form. The goddess caught her eyes and she softly murmured, "Stand up, please."

Hesitantly, she got up, looking between her mother and Hades warily. There was a suspicious look on the other god's face whereas her mother looked as cool as ever.

"Hecate," Hades acknowledged. "What are you doing here? I thought you were off torturing those wizards."

"Can I not visit one of the few children I have left?" Hecate's tone was clipped and bitter. "I'd like to have few more words with her before she passes on, and no need to worry, Hades, I will make sure she gets this silly idea of switching places with her father out of her head."

Esmerelda stiffened.

"Fine," Hades sat back down on his throne of bones. "You have my permission."

Hecate looped arms with her unwilling daughter as if they were best friends or something before dragging her out of the courtroom. No wait, she dragged her out of the entire building, actually. Now Esmerelda was beginning to get suspicious.

"Mother what are you scheming?" She asked with a heavy sigh as they unlooped arms. When she turned back to her, she realized that her mother had become younger. Hecate now looked like a teenage girl, one that could put Instagram models to shame.

"I see you still don't trust me," Hecate said, her voice lighter and more silvery, almost eerily like her own. "I'm here to help you, my daughter. But we must make haste, we don't exactly have a lot of time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember back at the war, when I warned you not to confront Hyperion?" Hecate changed the subject.

"Yes," she nodded slowly. "You told me that my path would be shorter... Guess you were right."

"I was," Hecate agreed. "I saw that aiding in the defeat of one of Gaea's sons would anger her. Gaea is particularly hellbent on harming Percy Jackson and Jason Grace as well for what they've done to Hyperion, Krios, and Kronos so at least you're not completely alone in enacting her rage."

"Great."

"But Esmerelda," Hecate's lips turned into a small frown. "Do you know why you died?

"Because Pasi—"

"—No," she cut her off. "They weren't the only factors of your death, dear. Do you know what your fatal flaw is?"

"...Loyalty," she answered with a thick swallow.

Hecate nodded in confirmation. "It is loyalty. You are so loyal to those you love that you will damage yourself for them, and that is what happened that night. You were panicking in the Ministry, worrying for the state of your mortal friends and barely able to concentrate on how to defeat the enemies. All you could think of was them. Had you faced them alone, you would've survived. But you allowed their presence to distract and weaken you. Pasiphaë knew that and exploited it. She also knew that hurting Sirius would be your greatest despair, so she forced you to try and murder him."

"But I fought back..." She trailed off.

"You fought back," Hecate agreed. "But you felt your control slipping, so you did the only thing that you could do to save him, which was to kill yourself. Loyalty could be a tricky thing. Sometimes people are so loyal to their loved ones that they would let the world burn for them, other times people would let themselves burn for them."

And she was the latter.

"Your mind is so heavily poisoned that I do not know if you could ever save yourself from it," Hecate whispered mournfully. "But you must try, Esmerelda. You cannot let your fatal flaw destroy you like this again."

Esmerelda felt shaken by her words. Poisoned? Destroyed? Her mind felt dizzy and overwhelmed that she almost had the urge to throw up.

"I-I will," she promised, but she had no idea how to even start. "But mother, what do you mean again? I... I'm already dead."

"Fortunately, my sight only allowed me to see as far as your death. I hadn't been aware of your position in the Great Prophecy until recently. You are one of the Nine. This gives you an excuse to leave." Hecate stated, smiling softly.

Esmerelda stared at her. "Huh?"

"As you know, the Doors of Death are open," she chimed. "And you are one of the nine demigods of the Great Prophecy. Now is not your time. You are needed in the world of the living."

Hope blossomed in her chest. Her mother was telling her to leave the Underworld and come back to life again.

"But—but what about Hades and Thanatos? They'll just take me back, won't they? It's against the rules for me to be alive."

"Hades understands the importance of defeating Gaea. It is why he has allowed Jason Grace to continue to live, and why he allowed his son to escape with Hazel Levesque, his Roman daughter." Hecate pointed out. She then added, in a more gentle tone: "Unfortunately, Nico was too late to retrieve Bianca. While the Underworld went into lockdown, Bianca went to the River Lethe to have her memory wiped. She is now in the process of being reborn."

"O-oh," it felt like a blow to the heart, but Esmerelda truly felt happy for Bianca's sake. She hoped the young girl would be given a better life, preferably as a mortal with a good family and a good future in her path. "That's good then. I'm happy for her."

Nico must have been crushed though, she thought sadly.

"And," Hecate's voice turned into a whisper. "You can free your father as well. Give him a second chance of living."

Esmerelda's eyes widened, "And what about Hades and Thanatos? Dad's not part of the prophecy."

"I will figure something out," Hecate said with a determined glint in her green eyes. "You were right in what you said back there. Regulus was a horrible, dark man when he was alive, but he was misguided and learned better in the end. He was just too late. Your father deserves another chance. Perhaps he can do good things, earn himself a spot in Elysium."

Esmerelda was never going to admit it, but she almost felt like hugging her right then and there.

"Alright," she decided. "I'm gonna grab dad and bust ourselves out of here."

Hecate beamed at her words, before a serious look took over. "Your lover, Ethan Nakamura, is one of the nine as well. And I can see that he is an important piece to Gaea's plans."

Her heart dropped to her stomach. "An important piece? How?"

"I can't tell," she frowned. "I know that Gaea wants you, Ethan, and one other demigod... I don't know who they are, but the three of you are important. Ethan, more so, but she will settle for any two of you. Now listen carefully: Ethan is currently in London, separated from the rest of the Nine. He is in a very precarious position since he is so close to Ancient Lands."

Esmerelda was about to ask what she meant by Ancient Lands until Hecate continued, "Go to him. I can sense that Gaea has already decided to target him. I have no idea what her plans are, but he is in danger."

She gulped, nodding her head in understanding. First thing she needed to do was head straight to London then. At least she could drop her father off there too before she went saving the world with the rest of the Nine.

"Be careful once you return to the living world," Hecate warned. "You have been dead for a month, your father more so. You might feel weaker once you come back to life, but you'll regain your previous strength after some time. However, time is not on your side."

It never is, she thought despondently.

"Gaea is displeased with Clytius and Pasiphaë—they were never supposed to kill you after all. So she has sent two other giants, Harpolykos and Phoetus to come after you."

"Those are the Banes of Hera*," Esmerelda realized.

"Yes, and you've caught their attention. Ever since you discovered the existence of the Romans, Hera has been busy trying to hide your thoughts and actions from the rest of the gods. Hera's focus on you has earned you their curiosity. They are hunting you down now as we speak."

"Two giants..." her voice wavered at that. She couldn't even handle one giant and an immortal sorceress. How was she supposed to handle two?

Hecate placed a hand over her shoulder. "I will be there when you need me," she promised.

Esmerelda inhaled deeply. "Alright. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yes..." Hecate murmured softly, brows pinched like she was trying to think of something. "About Étienne... watch out for him. His future is hazy to me. I cannot see much of it."

That definitely didn't sound like anything good. She tried to bite back her worry and made a mental note about her mother's warning.

"Do you know anything else about the Nine? Like who they are?" She asked.

"I have most of their identities confirmed, like you, Ethan Nakamura, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, and Leo Valdez. Hazel Levesque, Pluto's daughter, is most likely one of you as well. The other two are unknown to me."

"Um, what about Piper?" Esmerelda said awkwardly. People just kept forgetting the poor girl. "You know, Piper McLean? Daughter of Aphrodite? Hera sent her on the quest to rescue her with Jason and Leo? She's part of the Nine too, isn't she?"

"Hmmm," Hecate looked thoughtful. "I can't really tell. No matter, the answers will come eventually. Now hurry on."

"Right," Esmerelda was about to leave until she remembered something that Hades said. "Hold on, what did Hades mean about you torturing the wizards?"

"Oh," Hecate rolled her eyes, looking so much like a rebellious teenage girl. "He's just overreacting as always. I didn't 'torture' anyone. I was upset that you died, so I took my anger out on the mortals by making the wizards' magic go a little haywire which led to a few deaths here and there. It's not like he's never lashed out on the mortals before."

"Oh my gods," now it was Esmerelda's turn to roll her eyes. "Mother can you not? Just leave the mortals alone."

As annoyed as she was, she also wasn't surprised. Mortals always had it the worst, they were either the playthings for the gods or their punching bags. Sometimes even both if the Fates were bored enough. Or they were collateral damage for gods and demigods alike. 

"Fine," Hecate relented. "But you really must go now. I'll deal with Hades."

Esmerelda nodded before glancing back at her hesitantly. "Thank you for this, mother..."

She didn't wait to see Hecate's reaction. She turned away and dashed for the Fields of Punishment, her heart thrumming with excitement.

This was actually happening. She couldn't believe it. She had always fantasized about her father being alive and them finally becoming a proper family, but now it could actually become a reality.

The idea that this was really happening to her made a giddy smile crawl over her face.

When she reached the faux Grimmauld Place-turned-prison-building, she rushed up the steps (mentally patting herself on the back for putting a cushioning charm on her shoes) before she finally reached her father's cell.

She hadn't seen him in a while. She missed him so much. She wished she could've given him a proper greeting or an 'I miss you!' or something sweet like that. Instead, she slammed open the bars of his cell—nearly scaring him shitless—and greeted him with an almost maniacal looking grin.

"Get up, dad, I'm getting us out of here!" She exclaimed, rushing inside and tugging him up to his feet by the arm.

Regulus stared at her like she was crazy. "What are you talking about?! Where have you been?! What are you even doing here?!"

"I died!" She said happily.

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Exactly what I just said!" She beamed. "I was killed by two psychopaths, like, a month ago! But that doesn't matter right now, dad! The Doors of Death are open and we gotta go!"

Regulus dug his heels on the ground to keep her from dragging him away. "What the bloody hell is going on here? You were killed? Doors of Death? What?"

"Well technically I killed myself—"

"—WHAT?!"

"But yes, yes, I'm dead now, come on, dad, keep up!" She said impatiently. "And Thanatos was kidnapped—which is unfortunate and all—but thanks to that, the Doors of Death have been opened and spirits, including monsters, are able to resurrect themselves! It's been like that for a few months now and the Underworld's been on lockdown since! That's why I haven't been able to visit you until now!"

Regulus stared at her with wide eyes. "You're... you're saying I can live again?"

She nodded, her smile widening. "Yeah!"

"Hades would never allow that."

"Mother said she was going to think of something." She replied. "She also thinks you deserve a second chance too. That's why she encouraged me to come get you."

"I want to do something," Regulus said, looking determined. "Before we leave, I mean. I want to—I want to speak with my parents one last time."

She blinked in surprise, not expecting such a request. "O-oh, okay..."

She was still staring at her father in shock as they exited their cell. They walked down the prison hall carefully, examining each tortured face until he finally spotted his parents.

"Oh, how lovely," he noted. "They've put you both in cells right next to each other."

"I'll unshackle them so you can actually talk," Esmerelda muttered, waving a hand to magically free Orion and Walburga from their torture.

The cuffs around their arms opened, and the two Blacks fell to the floor sobbing. Esmerelda cast silencio around the area so everyone else's screams could be blocked out as well. She watched in the corner of her eye as Regulus stared at his parents in a scarily detached manner.

When their sobbing ceased, he finally spoke up, "Mother, father."

Orion and Walburga looked up, their faces equally sallow and soaked in sweat and tears.

Regulus gave them the most fakest smile she had ever seen. "Glad to you see you both doing well. I wanted to have a few words with you before I go to the world of the living and free myself of this hellhole, so I'll make it quick. First of all, I've always hated you."

Damn, he's not holding back, Esmerelda thought in amusement.

"You both were terrible parents and Kreacher did a better job at raising me," he barreled on. "Also, your precious Dark Lord is nothing but a pathetic little man with internalized racism and too many psychological issues to count. I fought back against him and defected from the Death Eaters."

"Y-y-you what?!" Walburga hacked out, her voice painfully cracked. She stared at her son with wide-eyed horror.

"Muggles are brilliant people not so different from us and they don't deserve the scorn us wizards have been giving them for centuries," he said, which just brought another round of heart attacks for them. "And I realized that in my last moments. Sirius was right about you. All this pureblood mania, this nonsense wizards obsess over, it's all just to feed your overblown egos."

"Regulus..." Orion rasped weakly. "What are you... how could you..."

"And another thing," he continued. "This is my daughter, Esmerelda," he gestured pleasantly to her. "She's half human and half god. Titan. Whatever. Hecate's considered as both so I doubt the specifics really matter. Anyways, you heard me right. I had a daughter out of wedlock, right under your noses. I was worried every time I came home because I thought you would smell the stench of diapers on me, but then I remembered that none of you even bothered to raise me so all was well."

"Hi," Esmerelda waved.

"You..." Walburga's eyes bulged at her similarly to her painting back at Grimmauld Place. "You're a... a half-breed...?!"

"Oh yes," Regulus smiled proudly. "And she is the current heir to the Black family and a far more better witch than any of you could ever be. She's even greater than the pathetic Dark Lord who's arse you like to kiss up to."

"What have you done to this family?!" Walburga shrieked with madness.

Regulus ignored her and turned to Esmerelda. "I think I've said enough. You can lock them back up again."

Esmerelda nodded and snapped her fingers. The shackles clamped themselves around their wrists before yanking them back up to the feet and slamming them against the walls. With the shackles back on, the Cruciatus Curse activated once more. Orion and Walburga thrashed against their confinements, their tortured screams returning.

Regulus gave them both a cheerful smile. "This is goodbye then, mother, father. I'm going to enjoy having to live without you. Let's go, Esmerelda."

"Bye, grandma! Bye grandpa! It was nice meeting you!" She waved at them before following after her father.

"So," Regulus said as they walked down the stairs of the building. "Do you know what we have to do next?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but before I explain, there's a lot of shit I have to tell you—"

"—Language," he cut her off. "It's unbecoming of a lady."

"Sorry! So basically, there's another war coming up—"

He cut her off with a groan this time.

"Yeah, I know. I hate it too. But this time, I'm one of the nine kids in the Great Prophecy so I don't have a choice but to do this," she moped. "That's why I was killed. Sort of. Gaea—you know who that is, right?"

"Of course I do," he scoffed.

"Good. So Gaea is the big bad this time and we gotta find a way to keep her from waking up and taking over the world. She's got a bunch of minions doing most of the work for her and she sent two of them to retrieve me, Pasiphaë and Clytius. Pasiphaë wanted to use Sirius to lure me out, but she got a little lazy in planning and when she found out about Voldemort's plan to trick Harry into going to the Ministry, she realized that Sirius would follow after him, and that I would follow after him. So she used his idea instead."

"And that was when they killed you?" Regulus asked.

"Yeah, but they weren't supposed to. Gaea needed me for a sacrifice or whatever, but she still wanted me to suffer first for killing her son which is why she targeted Sirius in the first place. They tried to control my body to kill him, but I fought back and killed myself instead and then I ended up here," she finally finished.

"Gaea's still after you then?" He asked knowingly.

She nodded. "Yes, and she's sent two of her giants to get me."

He stilled. "I just remembered something. In order to kill a giant you need the combined efforts of a demigod and a god, is that correct?"

"Yes... which is going to make defeating them really hard since Zeus recalled the gods back to Olympus and ordered them not to interfere."

"Let me guess, his pride was hurt after the previous war?"

"Yep."

"So... the giants..."

"Mother said she'd help us," she assured. "I just don't know how. But it doesn't matter. We gotta get to London. Ethan's there, and I'm sure you'd like to see Sirius again."

"I also need my wand," he muttered. "It's... it's back in that cave."

Esmerelda's eyes widened in realization. That was right. Hecate had made him a wand so his magic would be able to affect monsters and demigods. They would definitely need to retrieve that too.

"We'll get it," she told him just as they reached the front door. She pushed it open and the both of them stepped out of the prison building. "But first we need to—whoa!"

The second she saw the torch-bearing nymphs standing outside the door, she quickly shoved her father back into the building and shut the door.

"What? What's wrong?" He hissed.

"Lampades," she hissed back.

"Aren't they Hecate's companions?"

She nodded. "They're Underworld nymphs. But they don't usually go here... I have a feeling these particular nymphs aren't on my mother's side anymore."

This was bad. How did they fall to Gaea's side? She cracked the door open a little and glanced around. There were about ten lampades heading towards them, the fire on their torches growing brighter and illuminating their once beautiful faces.

She shut the door and turned back to her father. "I think Gaea sent them here to keep me restrained. We need to find a way to avoid them."

"Can't you Mist travel?" He asked her.

"It's harder in this ghostly body," she mentally cursed. "I don't exactly have the proper energy now that I'm dead. We're gonna have to find a way around them, or fight...." She glanced down and sighed in disappointment when she couldn't find her trusty charm bracelet or even her brooch on her.

"I heard of the lampades," he murmured. "Is it true that the light in their torches could drive us insane if we looked at it?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful."

"I'll kill them, or distract them, whichever works. It doesn't matter, either option will buy some time anyways. Head west from here, okay? I'll meet you at the entrance of the Fields of Punishment."

"You'll be fine?" He asked to make sure.

She grinned. "Oh yeah, don't worry. Just run at my signal."

He waited behind the door as she rushed out. The lampades were closing in on the building until she appeared and cut their numbers down with her bare hands. Regulus watched as the nymphs would try to flay her with their torches, but she was unfazed, not even growing insane at the sight of their flames. As Esmerelda snapped killed one, she glanced back at the door and locked eyes with him.

That was when he took his chance. As stealthy as a snake, he slipped out of the building and sprinted as far away as he could, heading west. 

Once he was gone, Esmerelda turned her attention back to the lampades, immobilizing them with ease, save for one. 

She grabbed the nymph by the neck, forcing her down on her knees and bending her head back. 

"No need to scream," she simpered, squeezing the neck tightly until the girl gasped for air. "I won't kill you, I know it's useless. But I will make you go through unimaginable pain unless you answer my questions. So what will it be?"

The Underworld nymph nodded. 

Esmerelda loosened her hold. "Do you work for Gaea?"

Another nod. 

"Do you know where Clytius is?" Esmerelda asked in a dangerously low whisper, her eyes glowing menacingly when she spat out his name. 

"Not here," she rasped. "He's—I don't know where he is. We don't know anything about the giants!"

Esmerelda let out a heavy sigh. Of course they didn't. 

"Well, thanks anyways," she muttered before snapping the nymph's neck and killing the others. 

When Esmerelda found her father at the gate, he was breathing heavily from the run, but other than that looked ecstatic at the thought of living. Meanwhile, she was looking perfectly fine as well and with the heavenly glow still strongly radiating from her body, she shot him a knowing grin.

"You ready?" She asked him.

"Of course," he grinned back. "Let's get out of here now, shall we?"

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Okay, so getting out of the Underworld was easier said than done.

The Underworld was huge, like a fucking empire huge (it had to be since it was housing all the dead after all). Naturally, they were bound to get exhausted after all the walking while also hiding from other ghosts or skeletal guards.

The two of them were currently hiding in the Fields of Asphodel, hoping that they could blend in with the empty looking souls that roamed about, but with Esmerelda looking as bright as the holy rays themselves and Regulus looking like an undead drowned rat, they were probably sticking out like a pair of severely sore thumbs.

Regulus' previous joy of having escaping this hellhole was fading away rather quickly and getting replaced by irritation and impatience.

"This is killing me and I'm already dead," he said. "Please tell me we're almost there."

"I think so," she groaned, leaning back against a tree. She wanted to rip her hair out at this point, but she refrained from doing it because the Elysium-induced curls were sooo perfect that she just couldn't bear to destroy them. Plus, the white bows were cute.

"Which exit are we using here?" Regulus asked.

"One of the lesser-guarded ones," she replied. "I didn't want to risk us going to the Doors of Orpheus—it's too far—or Melinoe's exit—it's heavily guarded." Melinoe's exit had been given extra security thanks to Ethan's stunt with the Sword of Hades and bringing back Iapetus (she missed and loved him so so much, but she currently wanted to throttle him for this since that exit was the closest).

"Where is it going to lead us?"

"To Los Angeles. Specifically, the 'H' on the Hollywood sign,**" she replied, though she was pretty sure he had no idea what she was talking about. "We're almost there so don't worry," she reassured him.

"We should get moving now then," Regulus said firmly. "I can't stand it in here a minute longer."

And she could get why. After spending about three decades in the Underworld, it was only natural that he would be eager to get out and become alive again.

"Then let's go," she said, pushing herself off the tree.

Fortunately for them, there wasn't much left for them to walk. In about fifteen minutes they finally reached the exits: a metal tunnel that led to a heavy door.

She pressed her hands against the surface before looking back at her father with an excited grin. "This is it."

"Finally," he said giddily, reaching out to help her push.

Together, they heaved the door open, nearly blinding themselves by the bright light that appeared. They had to squint their eyes as they pushed the door all the way to the side, and slowly, their eyes got used to the brightness.

Esmerelda stepped out first, feeling something shift in her body. She looked down, seeing her body solidify. Above her, the golden wreath around her head faded away, as did the heavenly glow that radiated from her.

She looked back at her father and motioned for him to come on out.

"You next, dad," she smiled encouragingly.

Regulus looked nervous as he stumbled forward, his breath hitching when he looked down. The scratch marks on his skin faded away and the color returned to him, his lips turned back into it's lively color and the water drenching his body disappeared.

He looked down at his trembling hands that were no longer tinted in blue, feeling his eyes water with emotion.

Esmerelda and Regulus Black were alive once more.

— author's note —

* Okay so not much is known about Harpolykos and Phoetus, but there's depictions of them in vase paintings fighting against Hera and that was good enough for me to call them "Hera's Banes". There's veeery little information about them so their future scenes are kinda lackluster

** Yes... I used the Hollywood sign thing from the Peter Johnson movies. It was one of the few things I actually liked from it so I utilized it here 😂

Now... Essie JUST got out of the Underworld yet Ethan's dream said differently... hmmm, I wonder what's going on... 😃

Also, I was always so confused about the resurrection, but I finally figured it out after more research. If their bodies are still uh... not decomposed, the soul would be able to return to it (which was why Jason and Gwen came back in their bodies). Hazel, though, is a different story. She died after the cavern she and her mom were in collapsed and she suffocated from being trapped in oil. Had her soul come back to her body she would've STILL been trapped and also stuck in Alaska. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Hazel's original body's decomposed, so she got a new one. Regulus died years ago too, so his body's decomposed and Esmerelda was basically cremated, which is why their souls didn't return to their bodies since there wasn't much left of it.

AND I ALWAYS GOT SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE DOORS OF DEATH??? Like, I looked at the wiki and it's only in Tartarus or whatever. So I was like "how do the spirits in the Underworld go back to life then??? do they... go to tartarus to find the doors??? what???" According to the wiki, I think it implied that Gwen didn't go through the actual Doors of Death (cuz duh, it's in Tartarus) and instead just used any other exit in the Underworld before coming back to life??? So I guess if ANY spirit leaves the Underworld, they would automatically become alive since the Doors of Death have been chained down in Tartarus??

I... tried so hard researching the Doors of Death but it was just sooo hard to understand it but I think I got it down now... I wanted to ask you guys for help, but that would've given you all HUUUUUGE hints as to what I was planning (tho some of you might have realized it earlier on) 😅

Sirius reacting to Essie's death:

Harry reacting to Essie's death:

Ethan reacting to Essie's death:

Nico reacting to Essie's death:

Regulus reacting to Essie's death:

Essie reacting to her death:

From LotusFruity:

From ellie:

From actuallyjackie:

From M. Nevermind: