Hey! Here, I present to you the tenth chapter! (YEA DOUBLE DIGITS)

Thank you for reading that last chapter, even though you didn't make your presence noticed by reviews. I hope you do so now.. :D

Chapter 10

Aria was screwed.

She had only been here for, what? A day? And then they go on a quest- where she would most likely die, or get lost, or something along the lines of that. And here she was before, overestimating the 'double meanings' of prophecies, when one clearly told her how she would die. 'You shall lose a leader' doesn't really have that many meanings.

Okay, but at least the prophecy says that they- or whoever comes out alive- would succeed in saving the gods, for a price. Another price. There is always a catch. That doesn't have anymore meanings... right? She hopes not.

The cabin counselors and the warriors were dead silent, busy comprehending the prophetic riddle. Chiron's horse half shifted about uncomfortably, the top half waiting patiently for anyone to speak up. He felt some kind of power display from above them, but he reckoned it as one of Zeus' or Poseidon's doing, temporarily forgetting about the two sons of Kronos being the reason a quest was going. After waiting for a couple more minutes, he decided to speak up.

"So Aria..," he called out to her quietly, as if afraid to disturb the silence enveloping them. The daughter of Aether looked up at him, mumbling a response uncomprehendingly. "Who do you choose to be your quest companions?"

She stared at him for a few moments, but before she could talk, the war cabin counselor stood up abruptly, her chair making a light scraping sound on the lumber floor. Clarisse narrowed her eyes at Aria menacingly, as if daring her to object; but there was also a hint of anxiousness in her brown eyes. "I'm going," she announced. "I've got a tab to settle with that traitorous punk Prissy."

"Clarisse, are you sure? We might not even see him there..."

"No," the daughter of the war god replied haughtily. "But besides, my dad's there. I could help."

Aria looked reluctant but she nodded her consent. She then turned her gaze to a certain person in the room, who she wanted to come with them. The son of Hephaestus noticed this and backed up slowly and uneasily, as if staying away would make her stop looking at him. Aria furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"Leo," she called, and the fire user flinched. "I would like it if you joined the quest with us, because of your skills and all..."

Leo shook his head. "No way. You won't make me join you."

He probably expected her to argue, because when Aria let out a defeated sigh, he looked at her surprised and something... something other than that that no one could determine. Aria didn't seem to notice it as her gaze traveled to Brian, who looked at her with apprehension. She raised an eyebrow in a silent question. He appeared to think about it, but then someone stopped him, surprising him and Aria.

"Fine. I'll go."

Aria nodded, relief evident on her face. Chiron spoke, "Very well, you must go pack for the quest. You will leave tomorrow at first light."

The quest members nodded and Chiron dismissed the meeting. The counselors left almost immediately, leaving only Aria, Lexter, Clarisse, and Leo, the last member of the quest; and Chiron. The daughter of the war god nodded to Aria in acknowledgement and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at Lexter, before trudging out of the Big House to her cabin.

The three of them glanced at Leo, who was fiddling with his thumbs nervously. As though sensing their eyes off him, he looked up and forced a smile, before taking an interest once again on his feet. A calloused hand rested itself on his shoulder, squeezing it gently for comfort. He looked up to meet two concerned faces.

"I'm.. I'm fine," he stammered, "Just anxious."

"You know, just tell me your problem. You can't come if you're not willing," the daughter of Aether told him soothingly, which visible relaxed the fire user a bit.

Leo shook his head defiantly. "No; I'll come. I will do this for Percy." With that said, he shrugged off Chiron's hand and walked out of the ping-pong room, the low thumping of his footsteps reaching her trained ears as he walked on the lumber floor.

"You must go pack, my dear," Chiron's voice cut through the silence, addressing her. "And rest. You need all the energy you can muster once you leave. This quest is no easy feat." He lightly patted her back reassuringly and rolled his wheelchair out of the recreation room. Aria watched him go before turning to face her partner, who nodded to her, thinking the same thing that she must've been thinking.

"Let's go. I'll call for reinforcements."

Leo woke up to someone shaking him awake. He opened his heavy eyes to see one of his half-brothers staring down at him. He was about to complain when he remembered that he had a quest to do, so he sat up from his bed and thanked his half-brother, who just nodded and told him to hurry up.

He ruffled his own hair slightly and stood up for a quick shower. He dressed his regular clothes when he works in the forges, and slid his duffel bag on his shoulder. He made sure his tool belt was still intact, and with that, he basically crawled out of his cabin in anxiousness of what the ancient abyss may be like, what horrible monsters were shunned there, or if he will ever make it out alive- or better yet, someone else he cared about...

He shook the thoughts out of his head and trekked up Half-Blood Hill, beside Thalia's pine tree. Both of his quest mates were already there, with Lexter talking to Chiron and Argus, the hundred-eyed sentry, was standing patiently to the side. The creation of Hera saw him from an eye at the back of his right shoulder, which widened upon sight of him. He turned to a girl beside him- Aria, Leo reckoned- and made a gesture to his direction.

The daughter of Aether turned and waved, while Clarisse and the other warrior, Lexter who was talking with Chiron just nodded in greeting. He hustled up a bit, and reached the spot on top of the hill beside Clarisse.

"Took you long enough," she noted with contempt.

Leo shrugged nonchalantly. He looked at his teacher. "So Chiron, where's the nearest entrance to that pit of the damned?"

Although he didn't get it, Lexter and Clarisse stifled laughs. Chiron just looked at them in amusement before he said, "The ancient abyss is in Hades' realm, Leo. You would have to ask for the Lord of the Dead's permission before entering."

Leo looked at the two strangely. "Where's the nearest entrance to the Underworld then?"

Chiron caressed his beard in thought. "The place where most souls would go when they die is at the DOA Recording Studios, and that is in Los Angeles. However..."

"I know a closer entrance- albeit a smaller path, and harder to find. The Door of Orpheus," Aria informed them.

"Orpheus," the son of Hephaestus mused. "The dude with the harp?"

"A lyre," Lexter corrected. "The dude with the lyre, genius."

"Uh, yeah, sure," he scratched his head uncomfortably. "Well, let's go! I see light!"

Chiron shifted in his horse half. "Yes, you better go. I will leave the camp van for you to use. Keep it safe." Argus offered the keys to them. Leo reached for it, but Clarisse took it first. She smiled at him wryly, seeing his pouting face.

"We better let Miss Angel do the driving," she remarked with a gleam in her eyes as she tossed the car keys to Aria who caught it expertly and marched down the hill to the road where the camp van was parked, the other two following them. They drove off waving at the three disappearing figures on top of a hill when all of a sudden, she felt something bad- always the bad- is going to happen.

Leo had to keep himself busy with his tool belt. With a hyperactive, ADHD kid like him, he can't stay in one place without moving too much. He needed to do something to avoid getting crazy- if he wasn't already, that is.

He'd sometimes made small machines to annoy Clarisse to no end, and would end up with a spear at his throat, though nothing anymore than that happens. At times he would check on the things that may be useful once they go down to that pit, finding who-knows-what that only Percy and Annabeth have witnessed.

Oh, and count in Nico. Where is that creepy death kid, anyway?

Before he could finish that thought, he accidentally bumped his head on the back of the seat in front of him, with Aria suddenly stepping on the brakes and all. It happened to be a woman who didn't look that old to walk so slow- she looks like a teen, in fact. Leo didn't want to have this story so-o-o long, 'cause it would probably end up boring. That woman was a vampiric she-demon. So of course, the group went out of their way to kill it, not letting a lone monster thwart their quest.

But then it had sent a chain reaction. Somehow, when one of the nasties die, the other nasties would know, so no longer were they avoiding monster attacks as much as possible, because they began to get hunted. All they can do was either run or fight to the death- which would sound very heroic if they get to die after they finish their objectives, not before. Then they have no chance but to do the former, although they can't run forever, it won't hurt to try.

Upon driving away from the monsters in their van, he had also noticed that the first and farthest horde of monsters that they left behind made no move to follow them, simply to chase them away, as if they were guarding something. If it was the door of the dude with the 'lyre' that they were guarding, they would have been helpful. He was about to quip it to Aria but then he noticed that she seemed to know where she was going.

The Fates though, sadly, didn't think that these hordes hunting them down to be killed were enough. They came upon another horde, but this one really paid off. They managed to make the van explode, however way that they did that, Leo did not know. The good news about this was they squeezed out of the van safely before it went ka-boom, but the bad news is that it exploded when they weren't even halfway to their destination, according to Aria. And then Chiron told them to keep the van safe; what will the centaur do to them? Obviously it wasn't in top condition.

Is it just him, or did the monsters really increased their intelligence?

Leo decided not to dwell on that, half-nonchalant about it and half-fearing that theirs might surpass his. And he had no intention on being called stupider than a monster.

Then again, thinking about that made him want to deck the monster and slice its brain in half. But that meant taking out the whole party, and then the chances of splitting more brains into pieces won't be too inspiring anymore. So they just ran for a bit of a distance.

When they finally reached the Central blasted Park, Aria led them to a cluster of boulders just north of the Pond. Leo and Clarisse insisted on blasting it but Aria wouldn't let them. She told them that they need all the rest they could have, considering as they practically ran for half a mile without stopping. And again, luck didn't appear to be on their side.

Monsters emerged from the woods, from the dumbest hellhounds to the most intelligent she-demons. They were ambushed, surrounded. The odds were not so good. They couldn't hold out for too long and finish all the monsters; they were too many. So Aria told them what they should do which was basically holding them off for a while as she sang some tunes to split the rocks open. They can't help but agree that they were perfect for the job, so Leo started it off.

"Hey..," he greeted the monsters who were staring hungrily at them, waiting for them to move so one of them could at least satisfy his not-so-existent stomach. He pulled out a large bronze hammer. Clarisse looked at him weirdly and brandished her spear and shield. "You holding good?"

The question wasn't meant for them- or maybe the answer was not for him, because they growled and roared. Behind them, Aria was already singing some happy tunes- he couldn't recognize it- so they got some music. Leo wanted some sort of fighting background music but- oh well, here goes nothing.

"I don't think so." With that said, he lit his hammer on fire before any monster could react, and bashed the head of a nearby empousa. The stub where it rested was cauterized before the whole body disintegrated to a pile of golden dust.

Dirty.

And so they attacked. He used his hammer and swung, blocked, dodged, and slammed. They would not stand a chance. Clarisse was somewhere near him, impaling and shocking monsters with her spear, Lamer- ahem, Maimer. While Aria sung, they'd kept the monsters at bay. Whenever they killed, however, another refilled its ranks. It was as if the assaulter or whoever controlled or commanded these monsters knew they were coming. So it led him to one conclusion.

Spy at camp.

Truly, he could've expected that with the bunch of new campers popping up after the last battle in the Field of Mars- but hey, demigods could pop up everywhere, even at war! Almost all of them even appeared with no experienced demigod or satyr accompanying them, so accusing all of them may lead to arguments; arguments lead to fights; and fights may lead to something worse. So they just go careful exploiting all the plans and such, because unity is the most needed.

Anyway, after another stanza, the boulders trembled, cracking open to reveal a triangular crevice. Aria ran forward and rushed the two others down the stairs, while she made sure to have no demons of the Underworld follow them. Leo was already descending, his hammer put away, and fire dancing on his fingertips to light up the tunnel. Clarisse shouted for her. The daughter of Aether nodded and held out her hand, and suddenly, a bright flash temporarily blinded the monsters, letting Aria escape down the stairs as the boulders closed again, the sound of growling and hissing faint from the other side.

Leo led the way down the steep, slippery stairs to Hades. It went on forever. The tunnel was narrow so they were forced to go down in a single file. The air had a death feeling to it. Aria lagged behind, staring thoughtfully at the floor as they descended down the stairs. Clarisse broke the silence.

"Hey Valdez." Leo made a hum of acknowledgement. "Why'd you join the quest? At first you chickened out."

He shrugged. "I just thought it was the right thing to do. I still can't believe that Percy caused all this," he said in mild disbelief. "I mean, I'm grateful and all that my dad wasn't on his hit list, but still. He wasn't the Percy I know. He's..."

"Evil?" Clarisse suggested jokingly. "No way. He was just corrupted by whoever those bastard Masters are."

"Maybe. But seriously, what he did was overboard," he reasoned, "He even tortured his own dad!"

"And his apparent brother," she added unhelpfully.

"Do you, like, believe that Percy would do that? You've known him much longer than I do."

"Yeah, he wouldn't do that. He can't possibly," she agreed. "But either way, when I see him, I'm going to make sure he won't leave without a scar. Then I'll knock some sense into his puny brain."

Leo laughed. "Just for Percy."

They reached the bottom of the staircase. To their right were the black waters of the river Styx. To their left were the ramparts of Erebus, the great black walls of Hades' kingdom. But before them, was a huge line of transparent wisps waiting patiently to get in.

Aria took the lead. When they were close enough to the gates, the Cerberus growled at them with its three doggy heads, its three pairs of red eyes glaring at them. A shadow appeared perched on the sign above the Cerberus. Two more shadows appeared and perched on either side of the first one. The Furies.

Alecto sneered at them. "Hello honey."

Before any of them could reply, a familiar voice floated to them, no doubt addressing the old monster hags in front of them.

"Alecto! My father asks for the guests! Where are-"

The voice stopped abruptly when it stepped out of view and saw the three quest members. Out came Nico di Angelo, who was once again in his rumpled black clothes and aviator jacket. When he stepped out, he had an annoyed expression. But when he caught sight of them, almost immediately, his eyes portrayed recognition even for Aria. He smiled- a smile that sent shivers down their spines.

"So, you ask permission to Tartarus? Come," he invited them.

The quest members walked past Cerberus and the Furies, who just glared at them with hungry eyes, while the latter disappeared into shadows after doing so.

Nico led them to the palace gardens. On a balcony were a pair of thrones, planted purposefully for a view of the Fields of Asphodel. Sitting on the thrones were Nico's dad and stepmother: Hades and Persephone, their hands intertwined. Nico knelt before them, while the quest members just bowed. Hades made a motion to stand.

Hades cleared his throat. "Another quest for the gods, huh? This should be interesting."

"Father, I wish for you to grant them passage," Nico implied, while the quest were just standing and watched the scene.

"And what would it benefit me?" Hades countered. "We already have the perfect life, my son. You should be thankful. Your uncles cannot harm you anymore and your stepmother's mother cannot turn you into more wheat plants."

"Husband!" Persephone protested. "As much as I dread to say this, but I agree with your son. I want my mother saved!"

"Yes, grant us passage, please," Aria cut in, and three heads whirled around to face her. "We'll save Demeter, Lady Persephone. And we shall help Hazel if we find her underneath. Right, Leo?"

The fire user nodded vigorously. Persephone looked at her with gratefulness, while Nico glanced at her and nodded, an unreadable glint visible in his eyes. They both turned to Hades, who looked torn.

Finally, he nodded grudgingly. "Fine. I cannot afford for Hazel to get hurt, so I expect her unharmed. Then again, if you only forget that cereal woman..."

"Mother is to be saved. Am I clear, Hades?" Persephone demanded, glaring at her husband.

"Yes, yes, of course," sighing, he turned to the quest. "I, Hades, Lord of the Dead, grant these... half-bloods permission to enter the ancient abyss Tartarus."

After this declaration, Nico brightened and the quest bowed their heads in thanks. With that unreadable glint back, Nico offered to escort them to the pit and give some tips on the way. Leo and Clarisse agreed, while Aria looked on warily.

As they walked to the entrance of Tartarus, Nico talked to them. "Be careful. There are a lot of monsters and they seem to come from everywhere. When I was last there, I barely escaped and I was a son of Hades- the ones who should be the best to go to hell and back," he warned, before his expression turned curious, and another unreadable glint appeared in his eyes. "So Aria.. you're a Warrior of Light, right?"

Aria nodded warily. "Yeah. You've got a question?"

"Many, actually," he admitted. "Do you know what the enemies are like?"

"The Soldiers of the Dark? Yeah, I've met one before," she replied, watching him carefully for a reaction.

Alas, she only received an arched eyebrow. "What's he like?"

"Well, first of all, he doesn't fight back or struggle on his restraints, as if he knew that he deserved it or something. Then he had this glint in his eyes when he talks about dirty and evil stuff- I think they receive that upon joining the Army; I mean, look, the humble Percy Jackson became this ruthless!"

Nico was nodding, pushing her to go on. She did, "Many times so, he used tricks, cunning, and deception to escape that we almost fell for. And you should understand that the Soldiers are not to be trifled with. They are insane fighters and experts, and I highly doubt that your friend could be released of that spell they had once you join the Army," she remarked sadly, looking at her quest mates in the end.

Nico suppressed a grin. Nice description. But then something caught his attention. "What spell?"

"Oh, spell," Aria mused distractedly, "Like what happened to Percy Jackson. The kindest hearts tainted almost permanently with dark corruption."

Nico shrugged. They stopped at the mouth of the pit. Leo peered down and gulped audibly. "Well, here you go. Last minute warning: there are many monsters there. You can also meet some titans, so be careful. Oh, and you might meet these 'Soldiers of the Dark' down there. And another thing," the quest turned their heads to him, who look genuinely indifferent. "Beware. There are no stairs, and no signs to help you on the crossroads."

The three looked at him confused. Leo opened his mouth, "Wha-"

All of a sudden, Nico smirked. "Good luck."

Before they could comprehend his words and sudden change of mood, they felt a rough force push them backwards; and found themselves free-falling and screaming for dear life, left by a horrible shuddering image of an evilly smirking son of death.

Okay, first of all thank you to my loyal readers:

ACOOLGUY - You should definitely update your stories, bro, they were cool
Best B (Guest) - thanks for continuously reading this story! hope you enjoyed this chapter!
DiatomicBromine - I believe I already replied to your review? Thanks for reading last chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one
Shijuuro Seika - to be honest, I forgot about them before you reviewed, but yeah, I guess this answers it*Thalia will join in a moment*

Thank you for reading, REVIEW, good day! ~Smartzyfan