"Father, no!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. The front line of Roman zombies lowered their spears and advanced.

Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce. Maybe that's what set me off. I might not be the real Percy Jackson but I didn't want them hurting Mrs. O’Leary. Plus, I was tired of Hades being a big bully. If I was going to die, I might as well die fighting. Like an actual warrior. Which I technically wasn’t. Oh well.

I yelled, like Percy did in the books, and the River Styx exploded. It felt weird controlling it, so unnatural. It was resisting me. Like I had no right controlling it. But still I forced it to do what I wanted.

A black tidal wave smashed into the legionnaires. Spears and shields flew everywhere. Roman zombies began to dissolve, smoke coming off their bronze helmets.

The redcoats lowered their bayonets, but I didn't wait for them. I just charged.

It was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I had not fought anyone before, like the real Percy did. Well, I mean I had karate training for a few years when I was younger, but I wasn’t that good at it. But it didn’t seem to matter that I didn’t have the same experience that the old Percy had. I guess bathing in the River Styx helped your fighting abilities. Or maybe it was just muscle memory.

A hundred muskets fired at me, point blank. All of them missed. I crashed into their line and started hacking with Riptide.

Bayonets jabbed. Swords slashed. Guns reloaded and fired. Nothing touched me. It was awesome. I had never felt so… free.

I whirled through the ranks, slashing redcoats to dust, one after the other. My mind went on autopilot: stab, dodge, cut, deflect, roll . Riptide was no longer a sword. It was an arc of pure destruction. As I cut through the zombies, I laughed, a sound full of pure glee. It cut through the midst of the battle, confusing some of the zombies. It only helped to make fighting them easier.

Soon I broke through the enemy line and leaped into the black chariot. Hades raised his staff. A bolt of dark energy shot toward me, but I raised my sword and deflected it off the blade, then slammed into him. The god and I both tumbled out of the chariot.

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The next thing I knew, my knee was planted on Hades's chest. I was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of my sword was poised right over his face.

Silence. The army did nothing to defend their master. I glanced back and realized why. There was nothing left of them but weapons in the sand and piles of smoking, empty uniforms. I had destroyed them all. I smiled. It felt good to actually do something.

Hades swallowed. "Now, Jackson, listen here. . . ."

He was immortal. There was no way I could kill him, but gods can be wounded. I knew that firsthand, and I figured a sword in the face wouldn't feel too good.

I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t risk messing up the future… yet. Because I was definitely going to cause a whole lot of chaos later. So I said it, only for the sake of preserving my identity, or at least the identity people thought was me.

"Just because I'm a nice person," I snarled, "I'll let you go. But first, tell me about that trap!"

He melted into shadows, leaving me holding empty robes. I looked at them disgustedly. Then I got up, breathing heavily, and still holding the robes.

Now that the danger was over, I realized how tired I was.

Every muscle in my body ached. I looked down at my clothes. They were slashed to pieces and full of bullet holes, but I was fine. Not a mark on me. Cool.

Nico's mouth hung open. "You just . . . with a sword . . . you just—"

"I kinda think the river thing worked," I smirked.

"Oh gee," he said sarcastically. "You think?"

Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and wagged her tail. She bounded around, sniffing empty uniforms and hunting for bones. I lifted Hades's robe. I could still see the tormented faces shimmering in the fabric. I had to say, it was kinda amusing watching them. Damn, since when have I been this sadistic?

As much as I wanted to keep them there in the robes, I walked to the edge of the river. "Be free."

I dropped the robe in the water and watched as it swirled away, dissolving in the current.

"Go back to your father," I turned toward Nico. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go.” Though really he escaped on his own. “Find out what's going to happen to Mount Olympus and convince him to help."

Nico stared at me. "I . . . I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean . . . even more."

"You have to," I said. "You owe me too." Even though technically he owes Percy not me. Technically If it hadn’t been for Nico, I wouldn’t be here. But I wasn’t going to say that out loud. And right now I was Percy.

His ears turned red. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please . . . let me come with you. I want to fight."

"You'll be more help down here." And I didn’t want him getting hurt.

"You mean you don't trust me anymore," he said miserably.

I didn't answer. I didn't know what I meant. I was too stunned by what I'd just done in battle to think clearly. I shouldn't have even been able to do that!

"Just go back to your father," I said, trying not to sound too harsh. It didn’t really work. "Work on him. You're the only person who might be able to get him to listen."

"That's a depressing thought." Nico sighed. "All right. I'll do my best. Besides, he's still hiding something from me about my mom. Maybe I can find out what."

I nodded. I knew what it was, but I couldn’t tell him. "Good luck. Now Mrs. O'Leary and I have to go."

"Where?" Nico said.

I looked at the cave entrance and thought about the long climb back to the world of the living. "To get this war started. It's time I found Luke."

Yes, I was going to find Luke. But things were different now. I was no longer the Olympians pawn. I was Alexander Aldane. I smiled. Watch out Olympians. You have no idea what’s coming for you. And when you find out, you’re not going to like it.