Crystal: already on Chapter 10...

Amanda: :) we're going fast.

Anna: yeah... (hugging Nihil)

Nihil: (looking really depressed)

Amanda: what's going on?

Monkey: we'll tell you when your older (pats Amanda on the head awkwardly)

Oliver: it's Nixar's death.

Penelope: Oliver!

Oliver: what?

Monkey: um... is this a bad time to mention i got a new member in my household?

Lunar: don't tell me...

Monkey: (calls) you can come in now...

(a girl about eighteen years old with dirty blonde hair walks in)

Nico: Gwen?!

Gwen: hi... (waves shyly)

Oliver: oh hey, you're not wearing black for nixar.

(at once Anna, Lunar, and Penelope covered oliver's mouth)

Gwen: huh?

Monkey: nothing! nothing! Nico, do the disclaimers!

Nico: Monkey and Crystal don't own PJO, they just own their OC's, start reading the chapter!

Gwen: i'm really confused! what's going on?!

Anna: nothing!

Chapter 10: We're Barely Alive

We sped to L.A., going over ninety-five miles per hour, which would've alerted any police on patrol but thankfully no cops were hiding along the roads. It usually takes about five or so hours to get from Las Vegas to L.A., so we had plenty of time to discuss what was going on. I think Percy's dream happened a little before mine since there wasn't an invisible person while talking to the voice in the pit. But then it made me wonder, if I could see the people talking to the voice why can't Percy? When Annabeth offered the other titles of Hades to make sure it might have been him, Percy didn't seem sure.

"That throne room sounds like Hades's." Grover pointed out. "That's the way it's usually described."

"Something's wrong." Percy said, shaking his head. "The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And the voice from the pit… I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."

"It sounded even older." I added and everyone stared at me. "I had a dream too." I told them my dream as well and Annabeth's eyes widened a little.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Oh… nothing. I was just… No, it has to be Hades." Annabeth said, but it seemed like she was trying to reassure herself. "Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong…"

"Like what?" I asked, curious.

"I… I don't know." She said, looking a little worried but only a little. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow." I wanted to ask, how do you lose a lightning bolt, but I kept quiet. "Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."

"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt, why would I be traveling to the Underworld?" Percy asked.

"And what was with the second person? The voiced asked for her loyalty and gave her a dagger."

"I don't know, Amanda." Annabeth said, but she looked like she might have guessed and looked sad at me.

"But you can threaten Hades." Grover said, looking to Percy. "Bribe or blackmail Hades into getting your mom back." Percy whistled, a little impressed.

"You have evil thoughts for a goat."

"Why, thank you." Grover said, with a small smug smile.

"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items." Percy pointed out. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?" Grover shook his head, completely mystified by this. Annabeth still looked worried, even scared, and I wasn't sure why.

"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" Percy asked. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"

"Percy… let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades… No. It has to be." Annabeth said, the last part was more for herself, though since she was beginning to turn white. We soon made it into California and I felt better. I was back in my home state. Santa Monica and L.A. by day I knew well. The only down side was I didn't know where to find the Underworld and when Percy asked me where to find DOA studios, I couldn't answer. Also, I was certain Hades was innocent. The gut clenches were say that as much, but who is the real thief?

We reached Santa Monica and it felt nice to be on my home turf. Sure, the smell of the sea wasn't as good but the carnival on the Pier was still there, the palm trees, the surfers, and even the homeless people sleeping anywhere they like. We stood on the beach, not knowing what to do now. I actually went to a lifeguard and asked the address but even he didn't know a thing.

"What now?" Annabeth asked, looking out on the ocean. I realized how much time we had left. The sun was setting now and that means we have only a few hours before the solstice and World War III begins. I tried to piece things together in my mind but nothing made sense to me when I was little. At the time, I was thinking 'what would Anna do' when I noticed Percy stepping into the waves.

"Percy? What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, but Percy just kept walking deeper into the water. "You know how polluted the water is? There's all kinds of toxic…" Percy went under.

"Didn't that river spirit say for Percy to go into the waters her to talk to her?" I asked Grover, who nodded.

"He couldn't ignore a summons from his dad. Hopefully he'll have something to help us. We're running out of time." Grover said, nervously. After a while, Percy came back completely dry and with four pearls. He told us everything the sea spirit said and Annabeth grimaced.

"No gift comes without a price." Annabeth pointed out and I nodded. I knew this fact all too well being a Destiny Keeper.

"They were free." Percy pointed out but I shook my head.

"Percy, nothing in life is free." I said, seriously as Annabeth nodded.

"'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American." Annabeth said, agreeing with me. "There will be a price. You wait." With that, we walked away from the sea and into town.

We used the remaining change from Ares's backpack and the remaining money Hermes gave me to take a bus into West Hollywood. Again, no one knew where to find DOA Recording Studios so we were left to ourselves. More bad news, the driver seemed to recognize Percy from the news reports so we quickly got out of the bus and looked on foot. Now, growing up in the L.A. area, one thing is put into brain as a child; never walk around at night in the city. I felt nervous as we walked along as it got a little darker, we ducked into alleys to avoid cops and I prayed we wouldn't get a knife to our backs every time.

The worst thing happened when we passed by a store and saw old S.S. talking to a new reporter about how Percy was rotten and stole everything from him. It was hard to believe him while he was playing poker and a pretty woman who didn't look anything like a grief counselor but well, I've come to learn people will stupidly believe anything if it's on the news. Worst thing for us though, was the picture of us at the diner in Denver with Ares. Now the cops knew who to look for and I knew from hearing my dad that L.A. cops are always looking to bust someone.

"C'mon." Grover told Percy. With some effort we pulled Percy away, who looked close to punching a hole through the window and into the TV. Soon, night came and a lot of mean looking people started to come out. Mom and Anna wouldn't really let me out of the car or go alone if we traveled here even at sunset. Now, it felt like monsters were all around us and I wanted to hold out my knife incase but Annabeth stopped me. I kept thinking I'd rather in in the Underworld than here, but if we weren't careful; we may end up there the hard way. We tried to hurry pass an alley when someone in the dark called our and like the idiot Percy is sometimes, he stopped but before I could say, 'keep going' we were surrounded.

Six kids who seemed to jump out of the alley likes rats surrounded us. They looked maybe in high school or something but they wore expensive clothes and really mean faces. Anna used to say that these kids just had nothing better to do and since their parents didn't care to teach them, they probably wouldn't care if they killed anyone. If they did, they'd rat each other out and they'd all end up in jail but the one thing that I remembered Anna saying, 'stay away from them, they always have knives'. I think since we've been used to fighting monsters because Percy uncapped his sword and the guys moved back a little. Well except the leader. He probably thought he could take the sword on or saw something else because of the Mist since he charged at Percy. Percy on the other hand, slashed and the blade passed right through the guy without harming him. Okay, I'm not sure I mentioned this but Celestial Bronze doesn't hurt mortals; it hurts anything mythological including half-bloods and me.

"What the…" The guy asked, completely shocked, confused, and so many other things that couldn't register in the brain that's so used to having money being the best answer.

"Run!" Percy screamed and we pushed our way out of the little circle of goons and we turned the corner."

"Where should we go?!" I yelled, looking over my shoulder at the boys, who were talking to each other but looked ready to chase us.

"There!" Annabeth shouted, pointing to a store that was thankfully open. But when I read the sign, I had to read it again.

"Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover read, and I shrugged.

"Better than staying out here." We burst inside and hid behind a water bed. It took a minute but the gang ran pass the shop, not daring to come inside.

"I think we lost them." Grover panted, a hand on his chest.

"Lost who?" A voice boomed behind us so loudly, all of us jumped. Either that or we were on our usual adrenaline rush but I kind of nearly lost it when I saw the guy behind us.

He was huge, maybe seven feet tall and not a speck of hair on his face. He had leathery gray skin that made me think of someone I saw on some cartoon, and really thick lidded eyes and a smile that made me think of that old Disney song. What was it… oh yeah, 'Never Smile at a Crocodile'. His suit wasn't any better, it looked like the uniforms at the Lotus Casino but it looked like it was made of silk and opened a little to show his bare chest, which wasn't a pretty sight for my young eyes. If you're wondering what a dust bunny would look like if it was cross bred with a crocodile and a human and put into a Hawaiian suit for added humiliation, you got this guy.

"I'm Crusty." He said, with a yellow grin and I looked to the ground to see if his skin was shedding.

"Sorry to barge in." Percy said. "We were just, um, browsing."

"You were hiding from those no-good kids." He grumbled, like they were pests he could live with a bit longer. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?" Before any of us could protest he steered Percy deeper into the showroom of water beds. I remember when I was little and I always asked Mom if I could have a water bed and she said no. Looking at these waterbeds kind of made me feel like sticking to a sleeping bag. They looked a little too fancy for my taste.

"This is my most popular model." Crusty said, spreading his hands over a bed covered in black satin sheets with lava lamps in the headboard. The mattress moves kind of like black Jell-O. "Million-hand massage." Crusty continued. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, anyway."

"No, we…" I started but Grover had other plans.

"Million-hand massage!" Grover cheered and dove right into the bed and the massage turned on. "Oh, you guys! This is cool!" His voice vibrated along with the bed.

"Hmm…" Crusty said, stroking his chin like one of those TV villains. "Almost, almost."

"Almost what?" Percy asked, but Crusty turned to Annabeth.

"Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."

"But what?" Annabeth started but Crusty patted her shoulder and moved her to a Safari themed water bed. Annabeth didn't even sit down, which is when Crusty pushed her onto the bed.

"Hey!" She shouted. Crusty didn't do anything. Instead, he snapped his fingers and shouted.

"Ergo!" Ropes shot out of the sides of the bed and strapped her down. Grover tried to jump out of bed to help but ropes came from his bed too and kept him down.

"Not cool! Not cool at all!" He shouted, again his voice vibrated. Crusty looked down at Annabeth before looking at Percy and me.

"Almost, darn it." Percy grabbed my arm and we tried to move away but Crusty grabbed the back of our necks like cats.

"Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec." Crusty reassured us.

"Let my friends go!" Percy shouted, we wanted to struggle but he had our necks and all.

"Oh, sure I will." Crusty said, calmly. "But I got to make them fit, first."

"What are you talking about?" I whimpered, trying not to cry.

"All the beds are exactly six feet, see? You're friends are too short. Got to make them fit." Crusty said, looking to Annabeth and Grover who were struggling franticly. "Can't stand imperfect measurements. Ergo!" Another set of ropes tied themselves to Annabeth and Grover's ankles and started to stretch them in two directions.

"Guys!" I cried, but Crusty smiled at me.

"Don't worry." He said, cheerfully. "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines. They might even live. You on the other hand, we'll let's see if I have a kids set for you. Now why don't we find a bed you both like, huh?"

"Percy! Amanda!" Grover shouted in pain. I wanted to go in and cut those ropes but my dagger was in my backpack and I couldn't get it without Crusty noticing.

"Your real name isn't Crusty, is it?" Percy asked, looking like the gears in his head were turning.

"Legally, it's Procrustes." Crusty admitted, a little happy to say it.

"The Stretcher." Percy said, and I looked to him confused. "He's the giant who tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens."

"Oh joy…" I moaned. If I ever go back to the real world, I swore I'd tell my mom about death by water bed.

"Yeah." Crusty said, shrugging a little. "But who can pronounce Procrustes? Bad for business. Now 'Crusty,' anybody can say that."

"You're right. It's got a good ring to it." I stared at Percy when he said this but he had a look that clearly said one thing; play along.

"You think so?" The giant guy said, looking really pleased.

"Yeah." I said, looking at a waterbed with a huge fish tank as a head board. "You must've put a lot of work into the Ocean themed bed. I've never seen anything like it." That last part was true and Crusty grinned widely but he didn't let us go.

"I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship." Crusty said, admiring his work. "How many built-in lava lamps headboards have you seen?"

"Not too many." Percy said, truthfully.

"That's right!"

"Percy! Amanda! What are you doing?!" Annabeth shouted from her spot.

"Don't mind her." Percy said, and I had to clutch my shorts to keep them from trembling. "She's impossible."

"All my customers are!" The giant said, laughing. "Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting." With good reason, I thought but the giant was too busy admiring himself.

"What do you do if they're longer than six feet?"

"Oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix." Crusty let us go and walked over to a nearby sales desk, but before I could go and free the others Crusty came with a huge double-blades brass axe; about the size of a terrier. "I just center the subject as best I can and lop off whatever hands over on either end." That was the answer I needed. I knew what to do.

"Ah." Percy said, looking a little sick. "Sensible."

"I'm so glad to come across intelligent customers!" He said, and I went to look at a nearby heart shaped bed. I had to think of something Annabeth and Grover didn't look like they could last long.

"Um, Mr. Crusty?" I asked, and he looked to me. "Does this bed really not cause waves no matter how big the person on it is?"

"Absolutely. Try it out." Crusty said but I shook my head.

"I'm too small. It wouldn't show much change. Can you try it, you're bigger and nearly a perfect fit. I mean, it doesn't have waves right?"

"Guaranteed." Crusty said, nodding and Percy seemed to get my idea.

"No way." He taunted.

"Way."

"Show us." I said, and Crusty went and sat on the bed.

"No, waves. See?" I quickly snapped my fingers.

"Ergo!" I shouted, praying I said it right and it worked. The ropes lashed up and pinned the giant to the bed.

"Hey!" He shouted and Percy grabbed the axe.

"Center him just right." Percy said, and I gave the bed the commands. It was perfect, Crusty's head was poking out of the top and his feet were sticking out the other side.

"No!" He shouted to the bed. "Wait, this is just a demo."

"We're just going to make a few adjustments." I said, but I was surprised when Percy handed me the axe.

"You should do it. You were the one to trick him." Percy said, but I shrugged.

"You probably would've done the same thing."

"Still, you did good. I think you have the right to get this monster." I looked at the axe and shook my head.

"No, Percy. I'm still getting used to this. Even if he is a monster… I… well…." Percy nodded and patted my head.

"It's okay, I'll do it then." Percy said, uncapping his sword and going over to Crusty. The giant kept trying to make deals to set him free but in the end, Percy cut his head off as I freed Annabeth and Grover. They weren't going so well since they were groaning, wincing, and cursing at Percy and me a lot.

"You look taller." Percy teased Annabeth, who glared at him.

"Very funny." Annabeth hissed. "Be faster next time." Percy looked to behind the sales desk Crusty went to earlier and found a monster's phone book with the flyer for DOA Recording Studios and it had a map. It didn't look far away from us, which was good.

"Finally!" I cheered, a little. We're nearly done.

"Come on." Percy said, looking to the others.

"Give us a minute." Grover complained, trying to move his arms more. "We were almost stretched to death!"

"Then you're ready for the Underworld." Percy said. "It's only a block from here."

It didn't take us long to get to Valencia Boulevard and finally find DOA studios. It had a sign in black marble with gold letters that clearly said, 'DOA RECORDING STUDIOS'. On the glass there was one of those signs that said what not to do but there was an added bit that said, 'NO LIVING'. I was surprised no one noticed this place even though it was midnight because the place was still open and it was clear people were inside and there was a security guard at the desk.

"Okay. You remember the plan." Percy said, looking to us.

"The plan." Grover gulped, looking nervous and ready to eat his shirt. "Yeah. I love the plan."

"What happens if the plan doesn't work?" Annabeth asked.

"Don't think negative." Percy said, as I sighed.

"Oh yes, we're going into the Underworld to face down Hades, who could probably crush us." I pointed out. "So no pressure people." Percy looked nervous and looked at the pearls the sea spirit gave him. It was obvious he was nervous too; so many things can go wrong and I tugged his arm. "Sorry, Percy. We're just nervous. I'm sure it'll be fine." I put my hand to my stomach. "I haven't had pains so I think that means we're doing something right." I hope, I added in my mind. Annabeth nodded and nudged Grover in the arm.

"Oh, right!" Grover added, trying to smile. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem." Percy looked at us gratefully and nodded.

"Let's whup some Underworld butt." Percy said, pocketing the pearls.

We walked inside the lobby and there was just weird music (I think Percy called it Muzak) was playing. The carpet was an unflattering steel grey and cacti were growing corners that looked almost like skeletons hands. Even the couches and chairs were made of black leather with everyone in the room either sitting on these or standing by the windows and so on. No one talked, moved, or really anything in general so yeah. I was thinking, looking around at these people, that if I died and ended up waiting in this place I'd get annoyed. The security guard was sitting behind a raised podium and it didn't me since I couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses. He was tall, kind of elegant in his Italian suit but was a little thin and had warm chocolate colored skin that didn't match with the blonde hair with the military cut. There was a black rose on his lapel and under that was a nametag.

"Your name is Chiron?" Percy asked, and I looked at the tag again. No, his name wasn't Chiron. The guard leaned over the desk to look at us and gave this smile that reminded me of a snake.

"What a precious young lad." The guy said in an accent, British? "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"

"N…no." Percy stuttered a little.

"Sir." The guard added, a little smoothly but that didn't help me feel better.

"Sir." Percy followed. I think I remember seeing that name in the Greek books about the gods, and then it hit me.

"Um… is your name Charon then?" I asked, and the guard looked pleased.

"There, finally someone says it. Yes, I'm Charon." The Guard said, looking down at me. "Now: Mr. Charon."

"Mr. Charon." Percy and I said together.

"Well done." Charon said, going to sit back. "I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how many l help you little dead ones?" I flinched at that. I didn't want to think he'd be calling that again in a few minutes and it would be true.

"We want to go to the Underworld." Annabeth said, keeping her cool but Charon's lip twitched almost like he wanted to laugh.

"Well, that's refreshing."

"Is it?" Annabeth asked, as I looked up confused.

"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked over us, with the tiniest of smiles. "How did you die, then?"

"We drowned." I said, simply and Percy nudged Grover."

"Yeah… in the bathtub."

"All four of you?" Charon asked, looking at all of us and we nodded. "Big bathtub." Charon muttered, looking a little impressed at the news. "I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children, alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries." That wasn't good. He knew a thing or two about ghosts and I think out plan would back fire.

"Oh, but we have coins." Before I could stop Percy, he placed four gold drachmas onto the desk. We kind of stole some money from Crusty's, least we could do after his horrible hospitality.

"Well, now." Charon said, looking down at the gold coins with a hungry look in his eyes. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in…" He made to grab the coins but then looked at us with a cold look. "Here now. You couldn't read my name correctly except for this young lady. Are you dyslexic, lad?"

"No." Percy said quickly. "I'm dead."

"You're not dead." Charon said, frowning and going tense. "I should've known. You're a godling. But then…" He looked to me. "What does that make you? You could read my name but you seem to know what a few things."

"Oh, I'm just different." I said, nervously.

"We have to get to the Underworld." Percy insisted, changing the subject thankfully. Charon growled a little and the people in the room got nervous; pacing, lighting cigarettes, anything so that they couldn't look at Charon.

"Leave with you can." Charon said, seriously. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you." He made to grab the money but Percy took it.

"No service, no tip." Percy pointed out, sounding braver than I would've been. Charon growled again and the ghost got really nervous and started to bang on the door to the elevator as if wanted to get away from Charon. "It's a shame, too. We had more to offer." Percy gave a slight sigh and pulled out the baggy of drachmas we took from Crusty's placed and let Charon see the coins fall from Percy's hand which made Charon mad.

"Do you think I can be bought, godling? Eh… just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?" Charon asked, and it was clear he wanted the money.

"A lot." Percy said, and I could tell he was grinning inside. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work." I guess since Percy has been living with S.S. he knew how to tempt people with money.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free'." Charon went on. "I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"

"You deserve better." Percy agreed as I nodded. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay." With every word, Percy taunted Charon by stacking a drachma onto the counter right in front of the guard. Charon looked at his suit, as if imagine himself in something better and brand new before looking at us.

"I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little." Charon said, and we had butter him up just a bit more.

"We could talk to Hades about a pay raise while we're down in the Underworld." I added as Percy nodded, putting the last coin onto the counter. That sold it since Charon sighed.

"The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you four and be off." Charon said, standing up and pocketing the gold coins. "Come along." We walked to the elevator and the people around us became agitated again. They made to grab our clothes and whispered. I couldn't make tell what they were saying but it was clear by their eyes, 'take us with you'. Charon pushed and shoved them away from us and made a path grumbling, "Freeloaders." We got into the elevator, which was already cramped with spirits, each of them holding something green. Two spirits tried to sneak in but Charon grabbed them and threw them out.

"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone." Charon announced to the lobby, which all the spirits looked at him with a pleading look. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?" The spirits made no sign they agreed to what Charon said, but he had already taken out a keycard and put it into the slot for the elevator. With that, we descended and we couldn't go back. I was shaking thinking about the Underworld. I began to wonder what it would be like when I heard Annabeth talking.

"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing." Charon said, simply.

"Yeah, but for how long will they be like that?" I asked.

"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous." Charon said, shrugging and I felt bad.

"Oh… that's… unfair." Annabeth said, looking a little sad.

"Whoever said death was fair, young miss?" Charon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."

"We'll get out alive." Percy said, sounding hopeful but Charon just chuckled.

I was thinking about the movie Troy (something I kind of secretly watched) and I wondered why Achilles put coins on the body of his dead relative. Now it made sense but I noticed something had changed. We were moving forward now, swaying a little and the air was now misty. The spirits themselves changed as well, their clothes changed into long grey hoods and the elevator turned into a huge wooden boat. I was a little scared to look at Charon but when I did, he looked like the classic Grim Reaper, long black cloak, and a skeletal face with empty eyes. All he needed was a scythe and he'd be set.

"Well?" Charon asked, looking to Percy and me since we were staring.

"Nothing." Percy managed, and I looked away.

"I think I'm getting seasick." Grover moaned, and I looked over the edge of the boat. The water had to be the dirtiest thing I've ever see. It was black and oily, with bones, dead fish, and other thing: dolls, a prom crown, some diplomas, and a bride's veil.

"The River Styx." Annabeth murmured as I looked to her. I read about the River Styx back at camp, Charon would take dead souls along here to get to the Underworld but…. well…

"It's really…" I started but Charon continued for me.

"Polluted." Charon stated. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across, hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me." It was so dark and misty it was like we were traveling by night, except for the stalactites on the ceiling. Up ahead, there was a misty green light at made me think of poison or acid but what scared me was the sound. I could hear growling from there and I clung to the closest thing to me, which was Grover who was shaking to his hooves. Percy and Annabeth held each other's hands, trying to reassure themselves that they were still alive.

For the first time, I prayed to Hermes for help and whatever I could think of but I wasn't sure he could help. We were in Hades's kingdom, even if Hermes could enter I doubt he could help us. We made it to the shore, which had black sand; like that one beach in Hawaii but this wasn't a pleasant place. There was a high stone wall in the distance and the green glow was nearby and the growling got louder; I knew whatever was making that sound had to be huge. I remember Cerberus from the Disney movie and the Kingdom Hearts games and I prayed we were lucky.

"Old Three-Face is hungry." Charon said, his toothy smile had turned green thanks to the light. "Back luck for you, godlings." I gulped as the dead got off the boat. I saw people leaving the boat, a mother and daughter holding hands, an old couple arm in arm, but what scared me was a boy that looked about Percy's age leaving into the Underworld. We could be that guy soon and it was a scary thought.

"I'd wish you luck, mate." Charon said, looking to Percy. "But there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise." He went back up the river again, counting his coins and humming a cheerful song.

We followed the spirits and soon, we entered the entrance of the Underworld. I wasn't sure what I was expecting but the Underworld kind of reminded me of Union Station but had security like L.A.X. There were three different entrances under this huge black archway with a sign, 'YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS'. Security cameras were positioned on the top and at the security check points, there were black robed spirits like Charon. The growling of the large dog was so loud now, I had to cover my ears but we didn't see it yet. Anna told me Cerberus guarded the entrance but there was no sign of it. The dead moved into three lines, going to the three areas. Two lines had a sign that said 'ATTENDANT ON DUTY' with the other said 'EZ DEATH'. The EZ DEATH line was moving really fast but the other two were barely moving.

"Um…" I looked to Percy for answers, and he looked to Annabeth.

"What do you figure?" Percy asked, as Annabeth looked at the lines.

"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields." She said, pointing to the middle line. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."

"There's a court for the dead?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I mean, I know from people that either going to Heaven or Hell determines on how good or bad you did but I didn't know you'd have to stand in court when you died to get that.

"Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare, people like that." Annabeth pointed out. "Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs special reward- the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes, they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lied. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Fields of Asphodel."

"And then what?" I asked, a little nervous.

"Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever." Grover said and I stared.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Grover nodded and I hoped I never ended up there.

"Harsh." Percy commented.

"Not as harsh as that." Grover muttered, looking in a different direction. "Look." Some ghouls pulled a male spirit out of a line and began to check him at the security desk. The man looked old but he also looked like a priest. "He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked, looking to Percy who thought for a minute.

"Oh, yeah." Percy said but this time I didn't ask what he was talking about. I was looking at the guy who looked terrified.

"What're they doing?" I asked. Looking to Annabeth and Grover. I kind of felt a little out of place. I mean, I'm the Destiny Keeper and I'm asking for information.

"Special punishment from Hades." Grover shrugged, but it looked like he was guessing. "The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur…"

"Kindly Ones." I hissed, looking around in case the bat ladies came after us.

"Yeah, they'll set up an eternal torture for him."

"But…" Percy said. "If he's a preacher and he believes in a different hell…"

"Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it?" Grover said, shrugging. "Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn… er, persistent, that way." We soon got closer to the gates and I started to see huge eyes and teeth of a giant dog but the scary thing was, it was staring at us. Finally he came into view and Percy, being captain obvious, stated…

"He's a Rottweiler."

Okay, I know I said I'm scared of small dogs, well I love big dogs. The bigger they are, the cuter their eyes are and Cerberus was adorable, that is if he wasn't growling and looked ready to eat us. Also, I wasn't expecting Cerberus to be a Rottweiler since hellhounds are black mastiffs. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines went to either side of Cerberus but the line we were in (the EZ DEATH line) went right under him. The spirits didn't seem to be scared though as they walked right between his front legs, under the belly, and out the other end.

"I'm starting to see him better." Percy muttered, not taking his eyes off the dog. "Why is that?"

"I think…" Annabeth said, moistening her lips a little. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead." I was scared when she said we were close to dead but Cerberus sniffed the air and growled at us.

"It can smell the living…" Percy pointed out.

"But that's okay." Grover said, looking ready to keel over any second. "Because we have a plan."

"Right." Annabeth said in such a small voice, it wasn't like her. "A plan." We moved closer and the middle head growled at us.

"Can you understand it?" Percy asked to Grover, who nodded.

"Oh yeah. I can understand it." He said.

"What's it saying?"

"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly." Grover whimpered. Percy took out a huge stick we took from of Crusty's headboards and held it up for Cerberus. He tried to play fetch with Cerberus but that didn't end well; it just made him mad.

"Um…" Grover whimpered. "Percy?"

"Yeah?" He said.

"I thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah?"

"Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice." Grover said, shuddering. "After that…. well… he's hungry."

"Oh gods…." I was ready to cry and pray to Hermes when Annabeth seemed to get an idea.

"Wait!" Annabeth shouted, digging through her pack.

"Five seconds…" Grover whimpered more, looking ready to bolt. "Do we run now?" I was surprised when she pulled out a red rubber ball with the label from WATERLAND. She walked to Cerberus with the ball raised in her hand.

"See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit! Sit!" Annabeth ordered and I was shocked to see Cerberus actually listening. He sat down and squashed the spirits under him, they were hissing and disappeared away from the huge dog. "Good boy!" She threw the ball to Cerberus and the three heads began to fight for it. "Drop it!" Annabeth ordered, and the heads whimpered but dropped the ball. It was covered in doggy drool and nearly bitten in half.

"Good boy." Annabeth said, picking up the ball. She looked to us, serious. "Go now. EZ DEATH line… it's faster.

"But…" Percy asked, but I nodded. I had a dog too and this was obedience training.

"Okay." I said, but Cerberus began to growl again.

"Stay!" Annabeth ordered, firmly. "If you want the ball, stay!" Cerberus whimpered at this but stood still.

"What about you?" Percy asked, but I pulled on Percy's arm.

"She knows what she's doing. We have to trust her." I said, and Annabeth looked grateful at me. So Percy, Grover, and I walked under Cerberus and finally made it to the other side.

"Good dog!" Annabeth said, and she threw the ball back to Cerberus. As the heads fought for the ball, Annabeth walked under him and joined us.

"That was good thinking." I said, smiling. "You know how to train dogs?" Annabeth nodded but she looked ready to cry.

"When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman…"

"Never mind that." Grover said, tugging us to hurry. "Come on!" I was a sad leaving though because Cerberus whimpered for Annabeth to play with him more.

"Good boy." Annabeth said, but it was clear she was sad. Cerberus seemed to know something was wrong because all three heads tilted to the side. "I'll bring you another ball soon." Annabeth promised. "Would you like that?" Cerberus just whimpered more, clearly wanting another ball. "Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I… I promise." Annabeth said, looking to us as she was fighting back tears. "Let's go." We ran through the metal detectors and they went off with flashing lights.

"Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!" Cerberus barked, ghouls began coming, and we ran for into the Underworld. After a while, we were hiding in the truck of a dead tree as security ghouls ran pass, shouting for the Furies.

"Well, Percy, what have we learned today?" Grover muttered.

"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks? Percy offered, sheepishly.

"No." I said, shaking my head. "You're plans suck."

Really though, coming here and still being alive was a miracle. Barely alive, had a hard time, and battled many different things but alive. Now, we couldn't turn back since if we leave, we're dead, when we see Hades, we'd most likely be dead, I thought. But what else do we have to lose. We got out of the tree and continued for our search for Hades's palace.

Gwen: NOW will you tell me what's going on?

Amanda: ^^;

Anna: it's not good news...

Lunar: do you know Nixar?

Gwen: of course. he's my boyfriend (blush)

Nico: well... we have bad news.

Gwen: what happened? is he okay?

Oliver: he's dead.

Penelope: Oliver! (knocks him out)

Gwen: are... are you joking? this has to be some kind of joke... i just saw him a few days ago...

Anna: (shakes his head) no... he's dead.

Lunar: he died with a smile on his face though... talking about you...

Gwen: he... (starts crying) that idiot! why... why would he...?

Monkey: there was this darkness inside him that just kept coming back. he sacrificed himself to do what was right.

Lunar: (looks down to Nihil guiltily) Nihil...

Nihil: i don't know if i can say it...

Gwen: what...?

(the wall explodes)

Monkey: O.O the hell?!

(standing there, is a gigantic army of plot bunnies, the leader in the front looking like a green version of the Energizer Bunny)

Crystal: crap! Okay, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Join us next time (if we survive) in Chapter 11: Something Bad. See you soon! in the mean time, run!