A/N: I'm REALLY sorry about not updating last week. Mine and my mom's computers crashed and I didn't get Internet going till just yesterday. Things with the computers have been hectic for the past two weeks…making me go insane the whole time. But things are okay now. And to reward you guys for your good patience, next week I'll update again. And sorry if this chapter is a bit boring and rushed. I still have a bit of writer's block, but it is finally going away. With that said, please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

Chapter 21 Underworld Hostage

Theo gave a shout as he was suddenly dropped out of the hands of the skeleton men carrying him, Sam, and Tucker. Being a demigod, Theo had some control over his body because most of the poison had worn off. Sam and Tucker were a different story. All they managed were moans of pain as they limply hit the cold marble floor. They were unable to show fear or pain as they were forced to stay in awkward positions they couldn't move out of.

The room they were in wasn't like the rough terrain of the cave and its tunnels. It had smooth walls and floor. Black intricately carved columns lined close to the walls. Each column held a torch, the only thing bright in the room. But those torches brought no comfort to the three captives.

"I'm guessing that 'gentle' isn't in your vocabulary," Theo muttered to the skeleton monsters standing behind him. Looking up, Theo's countenance faltered when seeing who he had been taken to.

The cold eyes of Hades glared down at the boy laid out before him. The man was sitting ram rod straight in his onyx carved throne that glittered softly from the room's torches. The god's face was a pallor color from centuries of avoiding the sun. He looked young, maybe in his yearly 30's, with jet-black hair and hard brown eyes that seemed to pierce anything they looked at. Instead of the normal toga, the man wore a long black robe to match his depressing throne, room, and pretty much his life.

Theo opened his mouth to say something, but Hades cut him off by raising a hand for silence. Frowning, Theo watched in submission as Hades steeple his fingers together and kept staring down at the demigod. There was a stern, bitter look in those eyes that made a shiver go down the half sphinx's spine.

It didn't take long for the whole room to come back to life as Danny and Rhodes were forcefully shoved through the large and cumbersome stone door by some more skeleton men. They had Rhodes with her hands behind her back with a rope binding her wrists. They were trying to do the same to Danny but with no luck. Rhodes was protesting this action as well as Danny.

"I can walk by myself!" Danny shouted at one of the skeleton guys. He spun around to get his first look of the room and stumbled as his eyes took awhile to take it all in. Both he and Rhodes stopped in their tracks as they spotted their frozen friends there on the floor.

Rhodes became passive the moment she looked up at Hades staring straight at her. She had never liked the presence the gods and goddesses had on her. Being a spirit, it was easy for her to feel different spiritual pressures anything magical or supernatural had. Gods and goddesses had a pressure that was intense. They always seemed to take the breath right out of her when she made eye contact with them. Fear usually accompanied these interactions too. What she didn't understand was that Danny had that same presence, but she had never felt afraid to be around him.

Danny was forced to his knees just as a wisp of cold air escaped his lips. He was silent, but the deadly stare he shot at Hades was a voice in all of its own. The king of the Underworld gave the teen a nonchalant look as he leisurely watched Danny get his wrists bound.

"You know I can get out of these ropes in a second, right?" Danny pointed out with a harsh undertone to his voice. Hades only turned his stare into a colder one, but never answered the question. Danny was annoyed with this god's silence, so he shouted in his frustration, "Why did you capture my friends and me? Why did you bring us here instead of just killing us?"

The room was left in silence. The teen and Hades kept up their battle of stares until the boy gave up by turning his head away and glaring into a corner, the angered look still on his face.

Looking back up at the god, Danny dropped his hostile attitude with a sigh. "I have you're symbol," he said, his voice calm. "Please, just let my friends and I leave. We didn't mean to disturb you…or your monster dog. I just wanted to give you you're symbol back."

There was a pause in the room as no one said anything. The only noise was the faint crackle of the torches on the columns. A moment later, Hades stood up from his throne, placed his hands behind his back, and slowly walked over to Danny so that he was standing right in front of the kneeling boy who boldly stared up at him. The teen stole a quick glance at the set of keys dangling from the god's belt. For a second he questioned the motives for a god to have such a random object.

"I do not permit the living to ever come down into my quarters," Hades finally said. His voice was deep but entirely unemotional, as well as his eyes that bore right down onto the teen. Danny opened his mouth to say something to defend himself, but Hades held up a hand for silence. It was strange how one tiny gesture could hold so much command.

His footsteps echoed as Hades slowly began to circle the kneeling teen. "First you come in uninvited," Hades said, his voice more stern. Danny swirled his head around to keep a close eye on the god, his face masking his fear. "Second, you pay my ferryman even though you are not dead and clearly of the living. You cross my rivers. You almost kill my watch dog. And you dare to come into my inner chamber! How can you possibly believe that you are fit to leave just as you came?"

Hades stopped in front of Danny again. This time his face was one of stone cold anger, and the eyes seemed to burn a hole the ghost boy's forehead. Danny could only look hopelessly back up at the god, his blue eyes tired and beaten.

"I should have suspected this stupidity and ignorance," Hades said with a cruel sneer. He turned his back on Danny and walked up to his throne, but he did not sit. Instead he cast his cold eyes over the teens while saying, "You are merely children. Stupid, pathetic children."

Rhodes looked down at the floor, agreeing with the god. She had been foolish to blindly follow these teens into the Underworld. Everything had gone downhill ever since she escaped. Maybe she should have just accepted her role in life and stayed there.

Unlike the girl, Danny and Theo were outraged to hear such an insult. They had gone through so much to get to his point. They weren't brainless kids doing this as a joke or for fun. They had stared death in the face countless times on this dangerous journey. To say that they were pathetic and incapable to doing the job right made both their blood boil. They were determined to finish the quest…no matter what. And the god of the Underworld wasn't going to stop them.

"You think we are doing this for fun?" Theo barked right at the god, his eyes narrowed to show his annoyance. Hades focused his attention on the boy. His harsh eyes were just daring the demigod to go on. "We almost got killed just to give you back your precious symbol. We came because you expected us. Now, we expect at least a chance to leave. Let us go!"

"No," Hades said simply. "You came in here; the rule is that you don't return. Those are the rules!"

"Rules?" Danny asked, confused and outraged. "We don't know of any rules."

"You children are all ignorant," Hades said simply. "I can not rewrite the rules because of your clueless ness."

Theo suddenly leapt out of his paralyzed position on the floor. He had picked the perfect time to act. Hades had thought that he was still numb and didn't expect the teen to move so quickly. The feline boy landed next to the god, grabbed the ring of keys off his belt, and flung them straight at Danny with a quick, "Catch!"

Instantly turning ghost, Danny phased through his binds and grab the keys with one hand. He wasted no time in throwing some well aimed ectoplasm balls at some skeleton men coming in for him.

As the ghost boy was taking out his own enemies, Theo dealt with avoiding the god of the Underworld. As Hades tried to grab the defiant demigod, Theo spun around the throne. Hades was quick to follow. Letting his feline genes do what they were meant to do, Theo sprung high into the air. Using one hand to hold onto the back of the onyx throne, Theo flipped right over the throne and landed on the other side.

"Keys!" Theo shouted at Danny, his hand outstretched and ready to catch.

"I'd love to hear your side of this plan!" Danny yelled back, whipping the keys back at Theo.

Theo caught the jingling ring and spun back around to Hades. With one hand Theo held the keys; the other hand was consumed with flames. "Stop!" Theo shouted at the god. Hades was quick to obey, seeing the serious situation before him. The metal keys were being threatened to melt from Theo's fiery ability.

"You are only digging your grave deeper, Theo," Hades said, his face grave. "I command you to give the keys back."

Theo's eyes shifted around the room with uncertainty in his motives. All eyes, excepted for the paralyzed Sam and Tucker, were pinned solely on him. They were all watching and waiting for his next move. It was all up to him. The poor boy looked like a cornered cat.

"You'll get your keys back," Theo said with his voice shaky. He made eye contact with Danny. The ghost boy nodded, giving his friend the go-ahead. Theo continued. "First, let's make a deal."

"The crafty messenger god, Hermes, might make deals with the lowly mortals," Hades said, "but I do not shake the hand unless it is fair."

"Good," Theo said, that wry smile returning to his face. "Here are the rules. You let us go. We give you your symbol and keys back."

"No," Hades replied calmly. "The rules say you stay."

"Really?" Theo said, raising his flaming hand closer to the dangling keys. Hades returned with a hard glare. "You're not in a good position to negotiate right about now," Theo said. "Now, to make this more interesting, let's say I don't give your keys back. If I do, feel free to send your Furies after us."

"You want to make this interesting?" Hades said, an evil smile crossing his lips. "Fine. I will only give you an hour to get out exactly how you came in. I will not accept any other offer."

Theo averted his gaze over to Danny and Rhodes. Danny shrugged. He was just thankful that they were given a chance to get out of there. Rhodes was more in shock. She couldn't believe that Theo was making a deal with a god. When she and Theo made eye contact, though, her fears seemed to vanish. She flashed the demigod a sly smile, one she knew to pick up his webbing confidence.

"Okay, you got yourself a deal," Theo said. "Danny, give the god his symbol. We'll give the keys back at the end of the hour."

As Danny opened his magical sack and rummaged through it for the symbol, Hades watched with critical eyes. He took his scepter from Danny while saying, "You unwise mortals do not know who you are dealing with."

"If I did, I wouldn't be even returning the gods' symbols," Danny said with a thin smile.

"Danny, let's move!" Theo shouted over to his friend from where he was kneeling next to Tucker's motionless body. "Get Sam," he commanded as Danny flew over. "I'll grab Tuck."

"I can easily just grab all of you guys and phase us through the earth," Danny said.

"You have to come out exactly how you came in," Hades repeated, his wicked smile returning. "That means no taking your friends and flying them out of here the easy way."

"That's ridiculous!" Danny hissed under his breath at Theo. "It took us forever to get down here by walking."

"Then we better start running," Rhodes said to the boys.

Danny and Theo looked up at her and were silent for a brief moment. Then reality sunk in and the boys scrambled into action. They both got a paralyzed body on their back and started running with Rhodes in the lead. They sprinted out of the throne room and back into the dim, moist cave.

It didn't take long for the boys to realize that they didn't know which direction to take. There were many other pathways in the tunnel now. They hadn't memorized which way they had gone when being captured by those skeleton men.

"Stop!" Theo shouted at one point. He and Danny quickly halted to greedily gasp for air. The two on their backs had enough feeling to faintly move their heads and make grim faces. Rhodes skidded to a stop in front of the boys, spinning around on a heel to see what was going on.

"I have no idea where we are going," Theo said in between intakes of air.

"Yeah," Danny seconded. "I don't remember much of the course those skeleton goons took us through."

"You guys can't smell it?" Rhodes asked in confusion.

"Smell what?" the boys asked in union.

"The water," Rhodes answered. She sniffed the air like a predator searching for its prey. "I can smell the river," she said.

"Dude," Danny said, slightly freaked out. "You can smell that? What are you? A dog?"

Theo was silent. He looked back and forth between Rhodes and Danny, unsure of what to say or do at this point. The teen respected Rhodes's right to speak for herself. She had the right to keep who she was a secret…even if she was pretty selfish about it.

When Rhodes was out of words to say to respond to Danny's comment, Theo butted in with, "We don't have time for pointless talk!" He shoved Danny ahead saying, "Let's move, people!" Before Rhodes got a chance to run to the front again, Theo gave her a hard look. She owed him one. Her small smile told him that she knew it too.

They soon found themselves stopping at the dark bank of the river. For a moment they stared out into the foreboding obscurity before them. Rhodes had led them this far. She was clueless as to what to do next. Theo's mind was furiously going to work, but he was at a loss as well. How were they going to get back to the other bank without a boat?

"Stand back," Danny ordered the two before sitting Sam down on the ground. Theo and Rhodes watched in surprise and wonder as Danny worked his magic. Moving his hands back and forth, the ghost kid tapped into his cold ice abilities.

"He's just full of surprises," Rhodes muttered to Theo with a grin. Theo found himself smiling back.

The moment didn't last long, though. Danny hastily made the makeshift ice boat in only a few seconds. He wasted no time shoving it off the bank and into the cool, black waters. He held the boat steady as Theo picked up Sam and Tucker and placed them in. It was just big enough for all five of them.

Shoving off, Danny forgot about some kind of stick to steer the boat with. He frowned in frustration as he tired a swipe with his hand for the edge of the wooden dock and missed. He guessed that the current would at some point get them to the other shore.

"Jeez! This boat is freezing my butt off!" Tucker complained suddenly.

"Sorry I didn't come with tree growing abilities, Tuck," Danny said with a smile that couldn't be seen in the complete darkness. As if noticing this, Theo let a hand burst into flame for their only source of light.

"What is that sound?" Rhodes asked.

"I hear it too," Theo said uneasily. His ears were twisting to pick up more of the sound.

"You have good hearing too?" Danny asked Rhodes with a teasing grin. "What other secrets are you hiding from us?"

"Cut it out," Theo snapped at Danny, saving Rhode's butt once again. "This is serious. The sound we are hearing is rushing water." Danny was slow on the intake. He just stared back at Theo with misunderstanding in his blue eyes.

"Don't tell me," Sam muttered from her still position beside Tucker, "We're heading right toward a waterfall. There is always a waterfall!"

"Waterfall seems about right," Theo said dully. He and Danny had jumped through so many hoops; he really should have expected this one.

"Is ordering everyone to hang on cliché at this point?" Danny asked the team, his sarcastic smile looking more sinister in the dim light than comical.

It didn't take long for the others to hear the rush and roaring over the river as they closed in on the waterfall. They couldn't see a thing in the narrow tunnel their boat had slipped into. Theo's little light was just bright enough to see the grim expressions on all five of the friends' faces. Apprehension was the only word to describe the mood.

And suddenly they were upon the drop. The ice cold sides of the boat were clutched as for a second the boat tipped unsteadily on the edge of the black pit. There was that second where it was just like the very top of a rollercoaster. Gravity hasn't caught up to you just yet. The world seems paused for that one frightening moment where you really can't believe you got on that seat and volunteered for the crazy ride.

Then there is the plunge.

A/N: There is always a waterfall. Where there is water there is always a waterfall. As a reminder, I'll be updating next week…hopefully. I'll do my best. And just because I feel random, I had a dream last night where I was Danny Phantom. Yeah, strange because I was a girl in a cartoon character's guy body, but it was awesome. I flew around and beat up bad ghosts. It's odd. I've never been able to remember a dream as vivid as that one. Oh well. My rant for tonight is done. If you ever had a Danny Phantom type dream, tell me about it in a review if you like. See you awesomely awesome readers next week!