"Are we sure this is it?" Frank wrinkled his nose.

Percy nodded. "Lily was very precise with her instructions. We just have to find the specific landmarks."

"Yay..." Frank said sarcastically, looking around them.

The house was not pretty.

It was fairly clear that there had once been people living there, but definitely people down on their luck. It might have even been a home used by squatters.

Either way, it was disgusting.

"Dude if I puke it's on you," Frank grumbled.

"Just don't actually puke on me," Percy retorted, pushing a muddy pile of cloth out of the way with the tip of his sword. "It doesn't wash out of my armor easily."

"We might die in this gross sinkhole and you're worried about your armor?"

"Always."

Frank rolled his eyes and Percy grinned at him. "C'mon, Lily said we've got to get into the basement."

"Lovely."

It took them twenty minutes to find the stairs to the basement.

"Gods, this is gross."

Percy turned to look at his partner. "You've said that at least twenty times. I know."

"Vocalizing it is the only way I can deal with it." Frank shrugged. "Talking about it distracts from actually smelling it."

"Does it now?"

"A little bit."

Percy nodded and brought his flashlight up, looking around the room. "It's... cleaner in here. That's interesting."

Frank muttered something about it being sketchy.

"Yeah, I know." Percy sighed and walked over to the wall. "See anything interesting? Ancient Greek, anything like that?"

Frank grunted.

"Wait..." the son of Poseidon noticed a small trail on the wall. He ran his fingertip over it and grinned. "You got a knife?"

"Yeah."

Frank walked over and slipped a small dagger into Percy's hand. He wedged it in the crack of the wall and felt along. "There's gotta be some sort of pressure point. It's concrete, you can't just push it apart...."

"You got your water on you?" Frank suggested. "It would probably be easier to move it."

"Good point." Percy backed up a few feet and unscrewed the caps of three water bottles on his side. He pulled the liquid out and let it seep slowly into the crack. "You might want to back up."

Frank did as he was told.

The wall made a horrifying grating sound as it pushed itself apart. Percy noted with satisfaction that it at least did so in a way that was manmade, or... something not natural. That was good.

Soon a gaping hole stood in front of them.

"Now what?" Frank whispered.

Percy handed back the blade. "Now, we go find this god."

He pulled out the sword that Lily had given him. The blade glowed silver in the twilight.

"That's convenient." Frank nodded.

"Yeah... I guess it means I go first, too."

"Better you than me." The son of Mars quipped. "I'll be the trick up the sleeve."

"Right." Percy grunted and began to move forward.

They kept quiet in the tunnels. No use in helping the light let other people know they were there. Percy checked corners when he could, and Frank would stop to check behind them every once in a while.

Finally the son of Poseidon stopped, peering around a corner. He flattened himself against the wall and motioned for Frank to come near. A watery light lit up the corridor around the corner from them, and leaked weakly into the little area of shadows they stood in.

"There's a room at the end of the hall," Percy whispered. "It looks like it's underwater... maybe in the Sound? I'll figure it out. I can't see anything inside of it except for a white table."

"I don't like it." Frank frowned, shifting his grip on his bow. "This is really sketchy."

"I know." Percy gritted his teeth. "We have to, Frank."

They paused again.

"I hear a voice." Percy tilted his head. "Do you recognize it?"

The other boy made a half-sure motion. "Do you?"

"Vaguely. I think this is our guy... stay in the hallway."

"Why?" Frank asked, confused.

"Backup." Percy shrugged. "Gives us a bit of an edge. Just listen and you should be able to hear when it goes south."

Frank nodded.

Percy took a deep breath and slipped around the corner. As he neared the room, the voice was joined by a few others. They were talking quietly, but he could start to make out tones.

"Wait..." Percy sheathed the sword and took a deep breath before stepping into the room.

He hadn't been able to see the cages from the hallway. They lined the sides of the room, separated from each other by small stone walls.

"Percy?" Jason scrambled to his feet.

Percy was almost surprised, but then remembered he wasn't wearing his mask.

His school friends all looked up, startled by Jason's raised voice. But Percy was more interested in two empty cages that were at the end of the row.

"Hazel and Frank..."

"Bingo, my boy."

Percy whirled, his hand going to the sword.

The man from the dream stood in front of him, holding Frank by the neck.

"Ready to play a game?"