Chapter 20

The demigods' jaws hung open. They watched as the dead walked up to the monster with no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching. As they looked higher up his body they saw a huge…

"He's a Rottweiler." Percy managed.

Naruto shook himself out of shock, "What did you expect, a Chihuahua?"

Percy shook his head. "I was expecting a black mastiff, but that's not the point. Why can we see him better?"

"I think…" Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead."

Cereberus' head craned towards the demigods. He sniffed the air and growled. 'Hmmm, meat'

Naruto and Grover perked up understanding what the three-headed dog said.

"It can smell the living," Percy said.

"But that's okay right?" Grover said, trembling next to Percy. "Because we have a plan."

"Right, a plan…" said Annabeth in the smallest voice her friends had ever heard from her.

They moved towards the monster.

The middle head snarled at them, then barked so loud that the demigods felt their eyeballs rattle.

"Damn boy," Naruto winced. "You don't have to be that rude."

"What? Why? What did it say?" Percy asked.

"I don't think there's a direct translation for that." It was Grover who answered.

Percy took the big stick out of his backpack which was just a bedpost he had broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model, and then he held it up.

"Hey, Big Fella," he called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."

Cerberus didn't look impressed. Instead, he just growled even louder.

"Good boy," Percy said weekly.

He began to wave the stick in the air. The middle head followed its movements while the other two heads were trained on the demigod holding the stick.

"Fetch!" Percy threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. There was a loud ker-sploosh in the River Styx.

Cerberus glared at him, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold.

This time, Cerberus made a different kind of growl. It was deeper down his three throats. 'Ten seconds, demigod. Choose the god to pray to. After that, get in my belly.'

"We're dead." Grover winced.

"Oh no, Percy is about to be dog chow." Naruto said.

"Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack.

"Five seconds." Grover said. "Do we run now?"

"No, Annabeth has something up her sleeve." Naruto said.

Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It still had the label: WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. She raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus. . Percy and Grover hid their eyes, fearing what would happen, while Naruto stood his ground.

She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"

Hearing this, Percy and Grover opened their eyes only to have their mouths hang open. Even the giant Rottweiler in front of them was as shocked as they were. For the only shinobi in the group, well, he was grinning at her actions.

All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.

"Sit!" Annabeth called again.

What happened next shocked Percy and Grover even more. Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat, immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.

"Good boy," Annabeth said, and then she threw Cerberus the ball.

Cerberus caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.

"Drop it.'" Annabeth ordered.

Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of his teeth like a tiny piece of gum. He made a loud, scary whimper, and then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Annabeth's feet.

"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the slobber all over it.

She turned to her friends. "Go now. EZ DEATH line, it's faster."

"But–" Percy tried to protest.

"No time for that, Percy." Naruto dragged his friends towards the line.

They inched slowly moved forward.

The giant dog seemed to notice this and growled.

"You got this." Naruto encouraged Annabeth as they passed.

She smiled, then nodded.

"Stay!" Annabeth ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"

Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was.

Because of the daughter of Athena's efforts, the three boys managed to get through scott free.

"Good boy," She said again.

She held up the big red ball again. Although, this time she wasn't sure if she should throw reward him with it.

She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest.

While Cerberus was busy with his new toy, Annabeth ran to her friends who were waiting at the metal detector.

"How did you know the ball would work, but not the stick?" Percy asked.

"Honestly Percy, he found the stick insulting." Grover said.

"But how was that different from the ball?" Percy asked again confused.

"From obedience school," Annabeth explained, with tears falling down her eyes. "When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman..."

"Shhh… It's okay. We all have our pasts." Naruto said wiping her tears.

"Thanks…" She managed a smile.

"Are we done with all the sugar?" Grover said. "Come on!"

The three boys ran through the EZ death line, when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three lines. This made Annabeth stop.

She turned to look at the Rottweiler, who was now turned 180 degrees and looking at them.

Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.

"Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain.

The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her.

Naruto saw this and went back to her. He placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

"You don't want to leave him alone, huh?" Naruto said. "Here."

Naruto raised his hands into a hand sign. In a puff of smoke, another Naruto appeared beside the original. With a half ram seal, the other Naruto transformed into a perfect copy of Annabeth.

Annabeth's expression brightened up, and hugged Naruto. "Thanks."

"Come on! Let's go!"

Grover and Percy pushed through the metal detector, followed closely by Naruto and Annabeth. The metal detector screamed and set off flashing red lights. "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"

Cerberus started to bark, but was still focused on his new playmate.

They burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld.

A few minutes later, they were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past them, yelling for backup from the Furies.

"So, what have we learned today?" Grover asked in jest.

"To wing it?" Naruto tried.

"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?" Percy tried as well.

"No," Grover shook his head at both answers. "We've learned that Percy's plans really, really bite!"

"But, Annabeth and I had the same idea!" Percy protested

"Well, it would work for other dogs, I guess." Naruto offered.

"Hey! I thought you were on my side!" Percy said.

As the three boys were joking around, Annabeth was smiling as the joyful barks of Cerberus playing with his new friend.


FIELDS OF ASPHODEL

"It's like a giant football field." Percy commented.

"More like a concert." Annabeth corrected him.

"Yeah, but someone died backstage or something." Naruto added.

Those were the ways our group of demigods described this place. The black grass they were walking on had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees Grover said were poplars grew in clumps here and there.

The demigods were now walking among the crowds of spirits trying to blend in, while keeping an eye out for security ghouls looking for them. All the spirits they passed by all look angry or confused. Some tried to talk to them, the voice that came out was chattering, something like bats twittering. When they realize you can't understand them, they frown and walk away. They concluded that ghosts weren't scary at all, they were just sad.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder if the dead of the Elemental Nations came to this same place. It was unlikely, but he still held hope that he would see his parents somewhere here. He kept his eyes open just in case.

They crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black tented pavilion with a banner that read:

JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION

Welcome, Newly Deceased!

Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.

The left line, which was flanked by security ghouls, led to the Fields of Punishment. It glowed and smoked in the distance. The fields were a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from afar, you could see the different forms of torture the spirits were forced to endure for eternity.

The right line was by far much better. This one led to towards a small valley surrounded by walls, a gated community. This seemed, no It IS the only happy place in the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighbourhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colours. From where the demigods were standing, they could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking. It was Elysium.

In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium.

"That's what it's all about," Annabeth said. "That's the place for heroes."

Naruto nodded. "That's what we're all gunning for."

"You can say that again." Percy said.

Grover just remained silent.

After that, the demigods left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Fields of Asphodel. It got darker. The colours faded from their clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.

As Naruto was looking at more of the spirits, one in particular caught his attention. This spirit was a girl who looked like she was of African-American descent. She had curly brown hair hidden under her cloak. Unlike the other spirits, this one didn't look angry or confused, just sad. The two looked at each other in the eye, but the girl didn't pay Naruto any attention. Naruto, though, got curious and turned back for another look.

After a few miles of walking, the familiar screech could be heard in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark bat-like creatures: the Furies, who seemed to be waiting for them.

"I guess it's too late to turn back now, huh?" Grover said.

"We'll be okay." Percy tried say with confidence.

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance ..."

"I doubt we will find the lightning bolt in Elysium, Grover." Naruto said. "I don't think it's in the palace either. I'm sure though that we would get answers there."

"Yeah goat boy." Annabeth said grabbing his arm. "We're not going back after coming this far."

Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth.

He landed flat on his back in the grass.

"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."

"But I didn't-"

He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from his friends.

"Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"

Percy got over being stunned and was about to act, but was too late. Naruto with his amazing reflexes was able to jump and grab onto Grover, but was dragged like a bobsled.

Percy and Annabeth just ran after them.

Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"

Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.

The two were on his tail trying to keep up with Naruto and Grover.

They all thought Grover would fly straight into Hades' palace, but he did the unthinkable. He veered for a sharp right turn and dragged both boys in the opposite direction.

The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed, pulling Naruto with him. Annabeth and Percy had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side. There was no more black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above.

"Grover!" Percy yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"

"What?!" he yelled back.

"I can't hold on anymore! Oof–" Naruto's face got scratched by the small rocks which, adding to his already tired arms, made him release his grip. "Ow…"

Grover was trying to grab at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down.

The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on the demigods' arms bristled. It made them think of dark and evil thoughts.

The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.

The demigods saw this and stopped dead in their tracks.

"That's–" Percy stuttered.

"Yeah, the place in your dreams." Annabeth replied.

Grover's yelling broke the two out of his stupor. He was already in the chasm. The two ran towards him.

Luckily, his hooves saved him. He managed to hug a huge rock and use it as an anchor. The shoes kept tugging themselves free from his hooves and flew into the chasm. The problem is Grover was already slipping, and his friends were too far to reach him. Before they even got to him, the satyrs arms gave in and fell into the chasm.

"No!" The two demigods shouted.

"Help!" Grover shouted to his friends.

From out of nowhere, Naruto came running in and jumped into the chase with a bunch of poofs on his trail. The original Naruto was able to grab onto Grovers ankles with a bunch of clones grabbing one another's ankles.

"I got you." Naruto said.

"Way to go Naruto!" Percy and Annabeth shouted from up top.

"Get me up! Get me up!" Grover panicked.

"Guys!" Naruto shouted to his clones.

"Yes sir!" All clones shouted and shot them, sling shot style, back up to their friends.

Everyone collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. Their limbs felt like lead. Percy didn't notice this, but his backpack felt heavier all of a sudden.

Grover and Naruto were scratched up pretty bad from the ride the winged shoes gave them. Grover's eyes had gone slit-pupiled due to his fear.

"I don't know how ..." the satyr panted. "I didn't..."

"Wait," Percy could hear a deep whisper in the darkness. "Listen."

Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place-"

"What are you–" Naruto whispered.

"Shh." I stood.

The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below. It was coming from the pit.

Grover sat up. "Wh-what's that noise?"

Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "This is the entrance to–"

"Tartarus," Naruto agreed. "This made the quest a whole lot more complicated."

Percy uncapped Anaklusmos. The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant.

Percy could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if it was…

"Magic," Percy said.

"We have to get out of here. "Annabeth said.

Naruto helped Grover up, and slung his arm over his shoulder to help him walk.

"Come on, Grover." He said.

Percy was lagging behind the group. It seemed like his backpack weighed a ton. That all changed when the voice behind them got louder and angrier. That made the group break into a run to get out of the hall faster. Naruto even carried the satyr on his shoulders to move faster.

Just then, a cold wind pulled at their backs as if the pit behind them was inhaling. For a terrifying moment, the demigods were losing their footing on the gravel. Fortunately, due to Naruto's quick thinking, two clones scooped up Percy and Annabeth, and the three Naruto's sprinted out of the hall with chakra boosted steps.

When they finally reached the top of the tunnel where the cavern widened out to the Fields of Asphodel, the wind died, and a wail of outrage echoed from the tunnel they came from. Apparently, something or someone wasn't happy that they got away.

"That was close." Naruto panted as he lay collapsed on the ground with his friends.

"What was that?" Grover asked. "One of Hades' pets?"

"I doubt that." The older blonde answered.

"You don't mean…" Annabeth said.

The very idea of who was in the pit terrified the group. Even Naruto who had encountered terrifying shinobi back in the Elemental Nations was scared to bits. This was definitely on a whole other level that anything he faced before. They decided not to talk about it anymore, especially, not now that they are one room across the pit of Tartarus. Hades palace seemingly was the better place to be in right now, unless you wanted to walk around the Fields of Asphodel for eternity.

Percy capped his sword, put the pen away. "Let's keep going." He told his friend, and then turned to Grover to ask. "Can you walk?"

The satyr tried to swallow some saliva, though his mouth was dry. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."

"Well then, let's go." Naruto said getting nods from his friends.


HADES' PALACE

The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.

Engraved on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times, an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls-but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago.

"I wonder if these already happened." Naruto wondered aloud.

"Maybe they're prophecies," Percy added.

"Who knows." Grover said.

They headed inside the courtyard. It contained the strangest garden the demigods had ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues- petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs-all smiling grotesquely.

In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark.

"The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."

"So, she's a fan of Medusa's works." Naruto said. "Too bad we took her out."

"She'll reform eventually." Annabeth said.

"GROVER! NO!" Percy pulled Grover away. The satyr was about to eat some of the pomegranates from the tree. The tart smell from the fruit was overwhelming him.

"But I'm hungry…" The satyr complained.

"You can't Grover." Naruto explained. "Unless you want to live here."

"Yeah, Grover," Percy said. "Come on."

The group walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the Hades' residence. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above.

Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of the skeletons bothered them, but the hollow eye sockets followed them as they walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end.

Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at them; rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.

"You know, I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen." Grover joked.

"Or solicitors," Naruto added.

"Or preachers," Percy added.

Percy's backpack weighed a ton now, but he remained quiet and decided to ignore it. He was psyching himself up to face the God of the Underworld.

"You ready, Percy?" Naruto asked.

"Will you take 'no' for an answer?" Percy said earning a round of half-hearted laughter from his friends.

"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should…uh…knock?"

A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.

"I guess that means entrez-vous," Annabeth said.

The demigods entered the giant hall. At the end of the hall were two big thrones. One of which was empty. The empty throne was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold, Persephone's throne. The other was made up of fused human bones. Sitting on it was Hades, himself.

He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.

"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."

"Probably, more foolish. It's Percy we're talking about." Naruto thought. He would have said it aloud, but it wasn't the time to joke.

Numbness crept up to Percy's legs, but he fought the feeling and said, "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."

Hades raised an eyebrow. He sat forward in his throne. Shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out.

"I wonder how bad you should be to end up in Hades' underwear." The ADD part of Percy and Naruto thought.

"Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."

Percy didn't know what to say.

Annabeth cleared her throat. She prodded her finger on the Son of Poseidon's back.

"Lord Hades," Percy said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad."

"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.

"Return Zeus's master bolt to me," Percy added/ "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."

Hades' eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"

Percy glanced back to his friends. The look of bewilderment was evident on their faces. They too were hearing this for the first time.

"Um ... Uncle," Percy said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"

There was a strong tremor that could have been felt all the way up in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.

-TO BE CONTINUED-


A/N: I guess I'm on a roll. Hopefully, next week I post again on Monday.

Read and Review. If you have suggestions, place them as a review.

Ja ne!