Chapter 7

As we got closer and closer to DOA Recording Studios (AKA: The Underworld), I started thinking that maybe, just maybe we wouldn't have to fight any more monsters. I mean, we were already so close. I kept thinking that the only challenge left on our quest would be to go into the center of the Earth, find out which Titan messed with the process of making me a god, let the gods handle them, and have me and Annabeth be made immortal. As most of you probably know by now, wishes are very risky things for demigods to make.

The rest of the car trip took several days, but Argus didn't stop driving the whole time, except for bathroom breaks. He had the ability to rest some eyes while the others stayed alert, making him an excellent security guard.

We stepped out of the car (except Argus) when we reached the entrance to the Underworld, but it was blocked by a mysterious hooded figure.

"Wh-wh-who are you?" I asked, stuttering over my words.

The hooded figure chuckled. "Your worst nightmare."

Grover sighed, despite all of his fear. "Great. First we get Darth Vader, now we get evil Batman. Perfect," he muttered.

The figure lowered his hood, and my breath caught in my throat. His face was as white as a sheet, and one leg looked like a donkey's, another was bronze. And his eyes were bright red, wild with thirst.

"I'm Kiel," he said, "Kelli's brother."

We all exchanged looks. Nobody said anything, but it was clear to anyone what we were all thinking: Uh, oh.

Kiel cackled, then transformed into Luke. "Annabeth, sweetie, how about a kiss," he purred.

Annabeth was frozen. I could tell that she still hadn't gotten over Luke's death. She wasn't in love with him, but she saw him as a brother, and his death was still very hard on her.

I was getting really angry at Kiel, playing with her emotions like that. "Luke was a hero," I said. "You don't deserve to morph into him."

Quick as lightning (and trust me, I've seen how fast that could be), he grabbed Grover, Tyson, and Annabeth. "So," he said, "You're the one with the smart mouth? Well, it's time someone taught you respect."

I could tell that I needed to distract him soon; otherwise he would hurt one of my friends. Of course, I naturally opened my mouth and said one of my trademark stupid sayings. "So, are you team Edward or team Jacob?" I asked in my girly-est voice.

Kiel smirked. "Nice try, 'hero', you can't get me to monologue. But I am in desperate need of entertainment, so show me what you got."

I tried a bunch of Twilight references, but none of them worked. I could tell that he was starting to get bored with me, so I asked, desperately, "Is it true that you sparkle in the sun? Are you, like, a fairy?"

He roared with fury. "Uggggh, I hate Stephanie Meyer! I mean, come on! Sparkle? We're supposed to be vicious! What kind of idiot creates a bunch of good vampires?" He snapped back into reality. "Hey, wait a min-"

But I had already sliced Riptide through his neck, and he dissolved, leaving behind his head and a whole lot of dust. That was one stupid monster.

We entered the lobby. Charon recognized us immediately. "Oh, hello Percy, Annabeth, Grover." He frowned when he saw Tyson. "And what's that?"

I stepped forward. "That is Tyson, my half brother."

Charon looked flustered. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm terribly sorry. You see, many of his kind are . . . unfriendly towards me, to say the least. It's just-"

I was about to say something, but Tyson stopped me. "It's okay, brother," he said.

Charon looked relieved. "Well, I'll inform Hades of your arrival."

Hades appeared, and several of the spirits in the lobby gasped. He ignored them. "I can hear you, Charon," he said. He turned to us. "You're here. Let's go." The lobby seemed to dissolve right in front of my eyes.

We appeared in the throne room, and Hades led us to a strange, car-sized machine. It had a giant drill at the front; it was made of very shiny metal (it almost hurt to look at it, even in the dim light of the room); and it had extremely large wheels (about 10 feet in diameter).

Hades pushed a button on a set of car keys, and the doors opened up and a ladder swung down from the entrance. There were 4 seats, something that looked like a GPS, and a huge trunk that could be accessed from the inside.

"The trunk is stocked with everything you will need for, say, a week," he said. "It should only take you about a day to reach the center of the Earth. There are also five emergency suits, which will block out the heat, in case the machine . . . malfunctions. The GPS will tell you how much farther you have to go.

"You will dig through the crust, and then you will reach the mantle, which is liquid. You will fall through the mantle and enter a pocket of air surrounding the inner core."

Annabeth interrupted him. "Wait, I thought the outer core was liquid."

Hades looked like he wanted to strangle her for interrupting him, but he didn't. Apparently, he realized that strangling one of the people who might be his chance of survival was not a good idea. "No, the inner core is made of air. Air that you can breathe."

Well, it wasn't the first time that science had been proven wrong.

Hades continued. "As I was saying, you will reach air that surrounds the inner core, and you will crash-land. The machine will absorb the impact of the landing. Once you reach the inner core, it is safe to get out. The temperature will be fine.

"In case the machine malfunctions, put on the emergency suits, step outside, and eat these. They will take you back to the underworld, and I will have someone fix the machine." He handed us four sphere-shaped items. Then, seeing Ramsey, he handed us another one. "Once you reach the inner core, look for the person who messed with the transformation. Once you find them, eat the pearls and return to the underworld. We will take care of them."

We all nodded our heads. "Okay, let's go," I said.

So we all went inside and turned on the machine, heading into the deep, dark unknown.

A/N: So, I was reading the reviews, and ShadowPenguin2010 made a good point: ". . . why did Percy pick his friends if one of them is supposed to die?"

Answer: He's trying to increase the odds of them completing the quest. It's kind of like when Annabeth chose that same group to go into the Labyrinth, even though the prophecy said that she would "lose a loved one to worse than death." If they don't complete the quest, none of them will survive. Even though it's hard for Percy to send one of his friends off to their certain death, he has to look at the big picture. Plus, it would hurt Percy if anyone died. Although, I suppose it would hurt him more if one of them died. Especially Annabeth. *wink, wink*