Hades sat in the back of the royal limo as he rode through Auradon late that night, watching the streets pass by. It amazed how much he enjoyed the simple things now. Walking in the sunlight, riding in a car. But being trapped on the Isle of the Lost for twenty years had changed him. Truth be told, he didn't even feel like a god anymore. Even with the full return of his powers. But he was a god. And a major one at that. Which is why he was taking a limo to Thebes, where the only other Olympian in Auradon resided.

"We're here sir," the driver informed as the limo came to a stop.

The god of the underworld climbed out of the car and walked out into the empty streets, the entire city a mix of ancient and modern architecture. Just like all of Auradon. Hades stopped for a moment as he came to a famous gym, taking a deep breath before he knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door opened, revealing a tall, beautiful woman in with long dark curls and blue eyes.

"Hello Meg," Hades greeted "Long time, no see."

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to your husband, please."

Meg stared at Hades skeptically. "He's out back." Meg led Hades around to the back of the house, where a tall muscular man with curly red hair, blue eyes and a face full of stubble could be seen untying the an ancient Greek longboat from a small pier. Hercules.

"Hello Wonder Boy," Hades greeted.

"Hades," said Hercules, not bothering to look up from his work.

"I heard you closed the gym early today," Hades said after a moment of silence "Where are you going?"

"Fishing," Hercules answered, placing a celestial bronze club into the boat.

"How bad is it?"

"Bad. I killed eighteen monsters last week. That's double the count from last month. Which was already higher than usual."

Hades sighed. They were coming for Mal. Without the barrier, it was only a matter of time before the entire sea could smell her.

Hercules knew it too. "You have to go back, Hades."

"I know."

"It's only a matter of time before,"

"I know," Hades repeated, silencing the younger god "I'll go the day after tomorrow."

"Hades."

"The day after tomorrow," he repeated "I made my child a promise."

Hercules sighed as he glanced into his garage, where his son was practicing with a sword. "I understand."

The god of the Underworld nodded silently and walked away, heading back to the limo for the drive back.

"You look beautiful." Hades smiled as he found his daughter standing in her room in Evie's castle, trying on her wedding dress before the big day.

It was designed by Evie so it was a perfect fit, a beautiful pure white gown with a billowy skirt, a lavender sash and amethyst studs along the sleeves.

Mal smiled. She still couldn't believe that she was marrying Ben tomorrow.

"Are you excited?" Hades asked.

"Excited, terrified. Not really sure I can tell the difference anymore," Mal confessed with a nervous chuckle. "You know, if anybody told me that my dad was going to walk me down the aisle on the day I marry the king of Aruadon when I was a kid, I would've said they were seriously spelled."

"What a difference three months makes."

"Dad?" Mal gave Hades a look as he wiped his eyes "Are you crying?"

"No. No it's just, allergies," he lied, prompting Mal to give him a hug "I can't believe my little girl's getting married tomorrow. If only Nico could see this."

"Who's Nico?"

"Your brother."

Mal's eyes widened as she pulled away from her father to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry I haven't mentioned him before," Hades apologized "I haven't seen him since I was locked on the Isle."

"What happened to him? Can we look for him?" Mal asked quickly, "Dad, I can ask Ben to help look for him.

"No. No, sweetie. There's no need to look for him." Hades felt a lump form in his throat as the image of his son appeared in his mind "He passed away a long time ago."

Nico di Angelo shadow-traveled to Half-Blood hill on a cold winter twilight, where he found a pair of familiar faces waiting for him. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Same as you," Thalia Grace assumed "Summoned by Poseidon. What's all this about, Seaweed Brain?"

"Got me," Percy Jackson said with a shrug, straightening up as Poseidon walked into view with the tide. "Hey Dad."

"Percy. Nico, Thalia. I'm sure you're wondering why I summoned you here," the sea god acknowledged.

"It is a bit unusual lord Poseidon," Thalia confessed. She'd never been in Poseidon's presence without her father before.

"Please tell me it's not another end of the world prophecy," Percy requested "We've had our fill of those."

"It's Hades," Poseidon informed "He's missing."

Nico's stomach jumped up to his throat. "How does a god go missing?"

"As you know Nico, your father can be quite the recluse. It is not uncommon for Hades to be unseen in Olympus for months at a time."

"Months?" Percy repeated "Hades has been missing for months?"

"Six months," Poseidon specified "As the lord of the Underworld, it is the duty of Hades to oversee Tartarus, where monsters are reborn and to keep them in check. I assume you have noticed a rise in the number of attacks these past few months."

"And deaths," Percy added solemnly, having just buried a Hermes demigod who had only been at camp for a week. That was why Thalia was at camp. She and the hunters of Artemis were helping the Roman and Greek camps track all the new monsters and figure how best to kill and or avoid them. "Things are going to get worse if we don't find find Hades, aren't they?"

Poseidon nodded. "Persephone has been doing her best in her husband's absence. But spring is near, and with no queen or king of the Underworld, monsters will return to life minutes after they are killed. Both the Titans and the Giants have attempted to conquer the Olympus in recent years. Without Hades to watch over the Underworld, I fear these dark forces may unite and rise again."

"Styx," Thalia muttered, the thought of facing the Giants and the Titans again draining the color from her face.

"My thoughts exactly," Poseidon agreed, "Hades must be found. Immediately."

"So where is he?" Percy asked.

"Persephone believes he was abducted," said Poseidon "I have another theory. Auradon."

"Aura-what?" Thalia asked.

"It is a kingdom rooted in magic," said Poseidon "hidden deep within the sea of monsters."

"Been there, done that. Don't really want to do it again," Percy admitted "But something tells me we don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"So what makes this Auradon so special?" Nico asked "Why would my father stay there for six months?"

"As I said, I have a theory," Poseidon repeated "But if it is right, I believe it should be told by your father Nico, not I."

Nico didn't like the sound of that.

"So you want me, Thalia and Nico to get a team of demigods, sail through the sea of monsters, heavy on the monsters, and search a magic kingdom until we find Hades," Percy recapped "Before Kronos and Gaia come back and decide to team up."

"No team. Just you three," Poseidon corrected "I was only made aware of my brother's absence because Persephone trusts my discretion. If anyone asks, tell them this is a personal favor for me and me alone."

"Got it. Top secret quest. Tell anyone not at the meeting and die," Percy quipped, causing his father to smile.

"We should live first thing in the morning. I'll go pack my stuff," Nico informed, right before he left for his cabin.

"He seems pretty freaked," Percy observed. Not that he could blame the guy "So how are we supposed to get this Auradon place anyway? It's not like Camp Half-Blood has a fleet of ships we can borrow."

"Let me worry about that, Percy. You just focus on getting to Auradon in one piece," Poseidon advised "Look for Hercules when you get there. If anyone can help you find Hades, it's him."

"Got it."

"And Percy," Poseidon gave his son a nervous look as he warned "Brace yourself. Time flows differently in Auradon. If Hades is there, he may have no idea how long he's been away."

Percy nodded, frowning slightly at the look in his father's eye. "Dad, is there something you want to tell me?"

Poseidon ran a hand through his beard. "Nothing that I know to be true. Yet." And he walked off into the tide.