Hi everyone! Sorry for that taking so long. Both of us were having internet issues, my friend especially. Usually we work daily, but our internet was being irritating for a few days.

I finally got a chance to reread Heroes of Olympus, it was awesome, feels like it gets better every single time i read it lol. Rick Riordan is one evil person for making Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus haha.

Thanks for all the reviews! my inbox was sorta glitching this week, just like the internet as I said, so I might not have gotten all the reviews. Sorry.

MidnightBunnyy: Haha yes! You're right, laughed so hard at that lol :)

BlackholesA: I completely agree with you lol. this is totally canon.

a person: because i like cliffhangers lol. (not when they are done to me..hehe) Yeah, and this was a different person, it wasn't the same one. hope that clears the confusion.

merendinoemiliano: thanks! I figured Frank is the only one who would have that type of dream haha!

jonath9870: Thanks so much! I am trying to ignore it actually. Jason huh? you'll have to see hehe! :)

Mr Demigod: Glad you liked it! Yeah I've read lots of incomplete fanfics they annoy me too! We definetely plan on finishing this, thats a promise.

JiJi: Thank you! Frank's dream was a pretty small detail, im glad you noticed it lol.

okie happy reading!

Chapter 15: A trip to the Underworld

Percy's P.O.V

Percy remembered the place rather vividly.

He, along with the rest of friends, were standing right below Valencia Boulevard.

DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. The letters gleamed in gold, carved into the black marble above the glass doors. On the glass doors, the sign read exactly what Percy had remembered.

NO SOLCI-TORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

Leo whistled, breaking a silence that had come upon them. "No living? Well, we're in luck!"

Annabeth sighed. "Tell me about it. Do you remember what we did last time we were in the Underworld? Well, not that last time, I meant like the time when we had to find the lightning bolt-"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Percy assured her. "I think we met a security guard, his name was Cha-Cho-"

"Charon!" Annabeth exclaimed, recalling her memories. "His name was Charon."

"He was kind of a dope," Percy remembered. "He only agreed to let us through if we got Hades to offer him a pay raise."

"We did..I doubt Hades ever did though," Annabeth guessed.

"If that's true, then I doubt he'll listen to us," said Clarisse. "Plus, we're clearly living.."

"That was kind of the main problem last time..if we were dead people we wouldn't have had to convince him, he would have let us through."

Percy opened the door just a crack. The lobby was brightly lit and packed with people. Percy peeked behind a particularly tall man to get a closer look behind the security desk.

A familiar man was sitting at the desk, looking rather bored, his eyes covered with sunglasses that looked like they were from the 70's, and some headphones that were slung behind his shoulders. He was wearing a black leather Italian suit, and was quite handsome with his military shaved style blond hair and a silver name tag gleaming on his chest.

Piper tried to open the door, but Percy caught her hand just in time.

"He's going to recognize me and Annabeth, we can't buy our way in again. Plus, he's probably not going to be so happy to see us."

"I think I can fix that," said Nico. "You could have died from the last time you came to him and now, so all you need to do is look dead and he'll believe you."

"How are we supposed to look dead?" Frank asked.

"You're saying that to a child of Hades," Nico said, waiting for someone to get the general idea.

"Wait, you're going to make us look like we're dead?" Piper said, kind of freaking out.

Clarisse rolled her eyes and growled, "So you won't be pretty for an hour ! Big deal! You got a problem with it?"

Piper narrowed her eyes. "Not at all."

Nico nodded. "You know even if you hadn't agreed, I still would have done it. Have a look at yourselves."

"Wait, what?" Hazel looked down at herself and yelped, and everyone else did the same.

Percy ran a hand through his other hand, but he couldn't feel anything. They were literally corpses. With no bodies. It reminded Percy of the time they had turned into similar things when he and Annabeth had been in Tartarus..No, don't think about that, Percy! He shook his head to put the memory away when he heard Jason's voice.

"Bro, look at this!" Jason laughed, calling to Percy. He slapped himself on the head, but his hand just passed through like it was gas. Percy laughed and did the same thing. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Umm, can't you see we're busy now?" Piper asked skeptically. Percy and Jason stopped what they were doing and gave her sheepish smiles. "Right..Sorry."

They cautiously stepped inside the lobby.

"Don't worry, I disguised us well," promised Nico, being the first to walk inside. "He won't be able to tell a thing."

Percy trusted Nico. He walked in, avoiding all the dead bodies, because those just brought a bad vibe.

They looked up at the security guard, who was sitting behind a raised podium, clearly not noticing them. The nametag on his chest gleaned silver and read, Charon.

Percy exchanged nervous glanes with his friends before clearing his throat and saying loudly, "Hey! Charon, man! Long time no see! Remember me?"

Charon looked up, bored and dazed. "Huh?"

"Do you remember me?" Percy asked again. "It's me, Percy. Percy Jackson."

"Oh, you're the ungrateful demigod who made me take you to the Underworld and almost got me killed by Hades," Charon recalled.

Percy bit his lip. That was the worst way of putting it, and if he didn't do something fast, this wouldn't work.

"Wait, but aren't you already dead-" Leo stopped at the glare Percy gave him. Percy cleared his throat and responded,

"Umm, yes, that's me..But this time-"

"This time, we're actually dead," Annabeth finished.

Charon's eyes trailed away from Percy and to Annabeth. "Ah! You're the little girl who calmed the Ceberus."

"Yes, that's right," she said calmly. "And we do have lot to offer."

Charon's eyes had a hungry gleam in them, a greedy expression now etching upon his face. "You think you can just bribe me with money? Not a chance! Er..um, just asking, how much do you have?"

Percy smiled. Just as money-thirsty as he'd remembered. "Oh, lots! But if you can't help us, such a pity..all those drachmas you could have gotten.."

Annabeth covered her smile. She took out a bad filled to the tip with golden drahcmas, just as planned. She poured some coins out and laced them through her fingers, one hand to another. Charon's eyes trailed down to the drachmas, greed in his eyes. Annabeth held one of the drachmas 1 inch from Charon's nose and waved the bag around. His hand moved forward but she pulled hers back, putting it back in the bag and letting out a sigh. "I guess this full bag is going to be wasted. No payment, for Charon, eh guys?"

Everyone nodded. Piper cleared her throat. "Well, if that's the case..let's head back!"

"Head back with our bag full of drachmas just waiting to get spent," Leo added wickedly.

They didn't even have time to turn before Charon shouted, "WAIT!"

They turned around and asked in unison, "Yes?"

He scratched his head. "Well, er..Since you are dead..and I mean..err-It's not like-like you don't have anything to offer..so erm.."

He cleared his throat. "Alright, I suppose it's fine for you to go to the Underworld..But I want my payment!" he added quickly at the end. The group exchnged smiles.

Annabeth took out the bag and slammed the whole thing on his desk. "There you go, take the whole thing! Now how about our service?"

"Yeah, about that..Hades won't be happy to see you two again," Charon gestured to Percy and Annabeth. "So how about I just take these," he scooted the drachmas closer to himself. "And you walk outta here and forget this ever happened? Sounds pretty fair to me!"

Frank scowled. "Doesn't sound fair to me!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Annabeth snatched her money back and calmly started to walk away. "Well, no service, no payment!"

"Agreed," Percy huffed. Charon had gotten even worse than the last time.

Charon let out an exasperated sigh. "FINE! Just give those to me!"

"You promise you'll actually take us to the Underworld?" Annabeth pressed on.

"Yes, yes," he said hurriedly. "Now give me those!"

Annabeth handed him the bag and tapped her foot as he stared inside in awe, taking each coin out. "Well? Are you going to take us or not?!"

Charon let out a raspy laugh. "My my, how impatient! Come along now, kids.."

He stood up and began leading them to an elevator, shooing away any spirits near the area.

The elevator brough bad vibes. Percy shuddered as a cold feeling swept across him. They were getting closer and closer to the Underworld.

Nobody said a word as they descended. At first, it was just a normal elevator. Then the strange things started happening.

Suddenly, the air started to turn misty and spirits started growing larger. It was getting colder, making them dizzier. The elevator didn't seem to be moving down anymore, but forwards. Percy felt a lurch in his stomach.

Frank's P.O.V

Frank yelped as he looked to his side. The guard, what was his name again..? Oh right, Charon. His eyes had turned into empty sockets, just two holes leading into darkness. His clothes changed from the black leather suit to a long, torn robe. He looked nothing like himself anymore.

"What?"

Frank then realized that Charon had said that to him. His empty eyes looked like they were staring into nothing, but Frank could tell they were looking at him.

"N-nothing."

"Sir," he added.

"Sir," said Frank quickly. He did not want to anger this guy.

Before he could blink, the elevator had been turned into some wooden barge, and Charon was rowing them across a dark, oily river, the water littered with bones, dead animals, spirits, and all sorts of things.

Frank inhaled a sharp breath. The River Styx. Frank vividly remembered what he had been taught about this river, but it looked different that what he had imagined it to be.

He could hear Hazel say next to him in barely a whisper, "Woah."

"I know right," he said in awe. "It's so.."

"Polluted," Charon grumbled. "Curtesy of you humans."

Frank could see a shore, bordered with a misty greenish light. They had reached the shoreline of the Underworld.

Annabeth's P.O.V

She remembered when she and Percy had been here, but it was different. The area seemed more..more deserted. Last time she remembered many dead people walking across the shoreline, but this time it was empty.

Charon nodded. "I should go now. Good luck, even though there is no luck down here, like I told you last time. And if you don't mind, mention a pay raise while you're at it."

He hopped back into the boat and started ferrying away.

"Ok, we made it this far. Let's hope the Ceberus isn't in a bad mood today. Or Hades for that matter," Annabeth added, trying to look more nervous than she felt.

The entrance to the Underworld looked like the border of a train station, many black polls lining the outer edges, a sign fleming on the gate.

Their path split into three lanes. Each one was filled with a que of many dead people.

"That must be leading to the fields of Apshodel," Piper realized.

"People in the cue waiting to be judged by the court," Annabeth informed.

"Court?" Frank asked, mystified.

"For dead people," said Percy. "Hey, that's what I asked you when we were here a few years ago!"

"How do you remember things like that?" asked Annabeth, smiling.

"I don't know, really-Wait! Guys, shh!" Percy whispered.

"What's wrong?" Hazel asked. "Percy, what-"

"Look!" he hissed under his breath.

Clarisse's P.O.V

At the intersection of the three paths, there was a huge, three headed beast sitting there, it's body transparent enough that they could see quite a distance looking through it. Everything except it's eyes and baring fangs looked like nothing but mist.

Clarisse really didn't know what to think. Percy and Annabeth had described the Ceberus well. She just didn't think it would look so..so peaceful.

Annabeth's jaw was hanging open. "Well..at least it's asleep!"

"Come on, it's not nearly as scary as you described it," Clarisse said, rolling her eyes.

"Umm, maybe that's because the last time we saw him, he wasn't sleeping, and tried to actually kill us!" Percy defended. "Woah. It actually doesn't look like a humongous murderous beast when it's sleeping.."

"Great!" Leo let out a sigh of relief. "Now we just need to get to that gate"-he pointed towards a black gate with a sign that read, EZ DEATH- "And we're in the Underworld, ready to go through the palace."

"The alarms," Annabeth remembered. "Percy, when you and Grover ran through that gate, there were loud alarms and security was alerted immediately. Lots of chaos, as far as I remember."

"Should we use a distraction?" Nico asked, eyeing the Cerberus carefully, as if it would wake up any second and try to bite all their heads off. Clarisse definitely thought it was a possibility.

She cautiously watched the Cerberus as it let out a loud snore, breathing in and out, it's huge chest rising up and down. It's mouth hung slightly open, and some snot was dripping off the edge of one of it's noses, dripping onto the floor. It made her gag.

"A distraction?" Frank repeated. "Actually, I have an idea."

"What?" Hazel turned to him.

"I can turn into any animal I want," said Frank thoughtfully. "So a flying creature could get us across, right?"

That seemed pretty reasonable to Clarisse, so she nodded, along with the rest of the group, except for one person.

Nico shook his head. "My father would never make it that easy to get into the Underworld. There are still security measures, even considering that we could fly over the gate. No god would make our life so easy."

Leo snorted. "Nicely said, dude."

"He's right, we'll just have to make a run for it," Jason shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

"I hate to admit it, but I think you're right," Annabeth said anxiously. "Let's hope there aren't too many security members around."

"Plus, we won't look as suspicious," Percy added. "Now that we look like dead people and all."

Clarisse had almost forgotten. Turns out being a spirit wasn't as hectic as she'd imagined it to be.

"We won't even have to hide this time," Percy continued with a smile. "We'll blend in with the rest of the people here, no one will be able to tell."

"Umm, but maybe we should make sure no one sees us rush through the gate," Nico said. "They won't know who the 'trespasser' is."

"Okay then, on the count of 3!" said Percy.

"No, on my count of 3!" Annabeth snapped. When everyone looked at her, surprised, she added quickly, "No, I can get the timing right with physics, and Seaweed brain here doesn't know physics-"

"Yeah, I know," Percy laughed. "You said the same thing when we were on the Thrill Ride of love a few years ago, and you were right, so I'll let you take the lead from here."

"Okay..three.." she scrunched her eyebrows.

"Two…"

"ONE!"

They all burst open the gate, just as loud alarms started blaring everywhere, and passing by spirits turned around in shock to see what all the commotion was about. Security rushed around the area, checking each log and tree trunk.

With the alarms still blaring in the distance, they made a run for it. They sprinted out of the area as fast as they could, using broken logs for cover when someone came their way. They had a particularly close shave with one of the guards but they managed to escape just in time.

In no time, they had reached the Fields of Asphodel.

It was packed with people to the left and to the right, you could almost say it was overflowing. Scratch that. It was overflowing. It was so tightly packed that you couldn't see anything in the distance or even a few feet away for that matter. But for such a crowded place, there was barely any sound. No noises, loud conversations, music, or anything. It looked like all the electricity had been drained out of each person, replaced by a eerie silence, a few muffled whispers, and thousands of people swarming the area, the energy sucked out of every single soul.

A warm, dry wind blew across the Fields of Asphodel, blowing dead leaves across the path and into some swamp filled with random muck, dead fish, and plastic bottles that Clarisse figured were litter.

She swatted some flies away from her face.

She cautiously looked both ways from time to time, being on the lookout for any security ghouls that could recognize them.

Occasionally, as they strolled through the area, spirits would come up to them, mutter random gibberish and chatter some words that no one could understand, and when they realized that they weren't focusing, they would drift away and out of sight. It was like their own language that only the dead could understand. She had thought that being dead meant that they would actually be 'dead' considering all things, but she soon realized that their group stood out as much as possible as they consciously walked through the fields, keeping a fair distance from the other dead surrounding the place.

Not that she would ever admit that anything ever made her scared, but this place was simply so bizarre. She didn't know why, but there was some eerie sensation that just gave her a bad vibe, not knowing what. Or who. All she knew was that she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Not letting anyone see, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, avoiding eye contacts with the ghosts and spirits surrounding them.

They crept along the same line, following the path that had started at the gate. They could finally see the end of the path, and Clarisse squinted in the distance to make out a torn banner that draped across a deserted black pavillon. The letters were written in greek, and the sign read, "Judgements for Elysium and Eternal Damnation," when translated.

There, the path split into two ways.

Leo's P.O.V

Leo was usually the type of guy who was chill about things and found a way to laugh off any little thing, but..this was an exception. Calling the Underworld scary was an understatement. The entire place-the oily lakes, the warm, dry breeze that smelled like swamp water, the eerie silence, the faint and dim red glow, the spirits and ghouls that just made you shiver-it sent chills up his spine like never before.

He was definitely not a fan of this place. All he wanted to do was go talk to Hades (who knows how creepy that would be), persuade him to give back a waffle, and get the heck out of here and enjoy the rest of his life like some people got to do.

When he imagined it like that, it sounded easy. But oh no no no, this was far from easy. The opposite of easy. Who knew finding a waffle could be so hard? Or in this case, who knew finding the Holy Waffle could be so hard?

Leo sure did, for a fact. This really wasn't supposed to be as complicated as it was, going on a quest for a WAFFLE. But, here he was.

In the middle of the Underworld. About to go accuse Zeus's brother of being a heinous criminal-heck, what was he saying? Even if someone had stolen that thing, (which he doubted was even a thing, but hey, who was he to say that?) ,Zeus didn't have to treat it like-like some crime!

It was just a waffle! A waffle! Not a lightning bolt! Not his throne! Nothing but a waffle!

Leo gave off an odd shudder as they reached the place where the path split.

The one to their right was a path leading straight into Elysium. Leo could hear happy laughter, the sound of joy, and basically people having the type of afterlife Leo wished he could have right now in his actual life. The place seemed to throw off a brighter era than the rest of the Underworld, more glow and the flowers surrounding the area were actually colorful, blossoming, and not dead. Pillars and trees lined Elysium, and some of the neighborhoods and streets were visible just behind the wall. The tops of mansions and castles lined the edge of the wall too. Leo inhaled the smell of fresh barbecue before his eyes trailed to the left path. Which he really regretted.

The left path led straight to eternal torture and disturbing afterlives and painful screams-or in other words, Fields of Punishment. The place was smoking, visible fires in the distance, rugged mountains, fields, and thick string or wire drawing a line between all the different areas where people were getting tortured. When Leo imagined fire, he imagined marshmallows being roasted in them, but what he saw was people being roasted in them. He winced and forced himself to look away, but he couldn't draw his eyes from the place.

He could see one person with a rock-that had to be at least 600 pounds-weighed on his back, walking up the tall mountain he'd seen, howling to the wind so loudly that Leo could hear his cries from over here. Sometimes, Leo wished the world wasn't so cruel and unfair. That everyone could just have a peaceful life and live it out the way he wanted.

Keep dreaming, he told himself bitterly.

There were people being chased by animals, some being harassed at a dark pit which he (THANKFULLY) could not fully make out. Unlike the happy shouts and laughter in Elysium, all Leo could hear from the Fields of Punishment were tortured cries and screams. The screams that kinda made you feel bad for ever complaining about any pain you'd endured.

He turned to his friends, who looked quite disturbed as well. No one had really said anything for a long time, so Leo figured it was his job to break the silence. Annabeth was staring right into the Elysium path, a longing sort of look in her eyes. What was that all about?

"Well," he said, barely audible. "Umm, the Underworld is certainly..interesting."

"Yeah," Annabeth said in a small voice.

Annabeth's P.O.V

She knew not to be thinking about the past at a time like this, but when she saw Elysium, her heart did a small leap.

Because that's where..where Luke was, right at this moment itself. It was a while ago that all that had happened, but she couldn't help but think of him sometimes. Wishing he was still there. Still there with her. After not making that terrible mistake. Sometimes, she felt like she would do anything to see Luke again.

Knowing that he could be less than a few miles from her made her her stomach queasy, and she had to resist the urge to scream his name.

She didn't think about him much after that war with Kronos, but it just sorta hit her when she saw the place.

She managed a smile and thought, He was a hero at the end. I hope he'd enjoying his afterlife in Elysium. She glanced back at the place. It sure looked like a place she hoped to go after she died.

The Fields of punishment was probably the most disturbing thing she'd ever seen.

As they walked deeper into the Fields of Apshodel, it seemed to be getting darker and quieter, much to her displeasure.

She wasn't too eager to go talk to Hades, but she couldn't just back out now. Especially when it had been her idea to come down here..and she'd convinced all her friends too.

She realized that if any of them died down here, it would be her fault. She could never live with the guilt.

Annabeth shook her head to clear away those thoughts. No, Annabeth! Don't think like that. No one is going to die down here. You'll all come back in one piece.

She sounded like she was trying to convince herself. She gripped Percy's hand tightly as they trudged along the winding path.

They came across a garden, filled with all sorts of strange plants, statues, and a humongous pomegranate tree.

"The Garden of Persephone," Piper whispered. "I've always wanted to see it in person..It's pretty nice, more colorful than the rest of this place."

Leo's P.O.V

Leo inhaled the smell of fresh, ripe pomegranate, and he absentmindedly walked towards the tree to pick a big, juicy one, but Annabeth swatted his hand away and glared at him. Leo gulped. Couldn't a guy enjoy a pomegranate?

"Leo!" she scolded. "Do you remember what happened to Persephone?"

Leo frowned, confused. "Yeah, she was kidnapped by Hades and he took her to the underworld-"

Annabeth waved her hand impatiently. "No, no! Not that. Do you remember why she had to stay in the Underworld?"

"Yeah, cause she ate a pomegranate," Leo said, still not getting it.

"Which is.." Annabeth pressed on.

"Underworld food," Leo replied. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh!"

"You want to stay here forever, then grab that fruit," Annabeth hissed in a low volume, making sure spirits around them couldn't hear.

Leo took one longing look at the tree before continuing to walk on. Because who wanted to stay in the Underworld..just for a pomegranate.

Leo was so deep in thought as he was walking that he wasn't watching where he was going.

He walked straight into the pillar-well, if he wasn't made out of mist he would have bumped into it but instead he went straight through it. Leo thought that this was one of the advantages of being dead. You'd never bump into things. Passing through something barely hurt at all, in fact, he didn't even realize that he had walked through a pillar until he'd done it and looked behind him.

Wait, what was a pillar doing in the middle of the Underworld..

He looked up and had to crane his neck to get the full view. Above him was a grand, towering building that gave off such a strong era that it made Leo shiver.

They had reached the Hades's palace.

Percy's P.O.V

Hades had certainly done some home improvement. The last time he was here was when he was with Nico about two years ago, and the palace had basically been the building of doom. The banners and cloth draping across places were torn and the pillars and doors were rugged, some broken or on the floor, faded and gloomy.

Not that it still wasn't gloomy, but he could make out most of the greek letters written on the cloth pieces, and it looked like Hades had actually made an effort to make sure they weren't half ripped apart. Each side was lined with doors and poles, and the place had certainly been repainted.

Percy gestured to the staircase and turned to his friends. "Come on, we're almost there."

Leo's eyes traveled up the long staircase. "Oh come on, how much are we going to have to walk.."

"A lot," Annabeth assured him, stepping on the first step. "Its a kinda long walk, but it's the only way. You guys coming or not?"

Everyone still seemed to be looking up at the towering palace.

"I sure thought it would look different," Jason admitted.

"Yeah, same here," agreed Hazel.

As they walked up the staris, they passed many doorways, black columns, and skeleton guards in military gear guarding each passage and doorway inside the palace.

None of them attacked the group, but it felt like the empty sockets in their eyes were boring into theirs, a suspicious looked etched upon their faces.

When they finally reached the throne room, he saw that there were two guards at the doorway. They were the same U.S marine skeletons that he'd seen last time.

"Okay," he said, in barely a whisper. "What should we.."

His voice trailed off as he moved closer to the door and raised his fist. He looked around at his friends and they all nodded.

"Knock," Annabeth whispered. Percy raised his trembling fist and knocked on the door three times. He immediately moved back, deciding not to take the risk of any traps set in the doorway.

"Is anything supposed to happen-"

Before Hazel could finish her sentence, the doors flew open with such force that they were all knocked off their feet, dust filling their mouths and the air.

Percy coughed some dust out of his mouth and managed to stand. He squinted to make out what was behind the door, and it looked like his friends were trying to do the same.

When the dust cleared, the guards stepped aside to let them walk in.

But they didn't need to walk closer to get the effect of the full blown glare Hades was shooting at them.

He was sitting on his throne, his eyes narrowed at the demigods.

Hades was almost twenty feet tall, and Percy had to look up to see his entire body. His crown was embroidered with gold and his thin, shoulder length, jet black hair swept across his forehead, which looked quite gresy, even from the distance. He had pale skin, but his face turned darker and a shadow etched on his face when he saw everyone standing in his doorway.

What really surprised Percy-and his fellow demigods too, by the look on their faces-was what Hades was wearing.

Percy had been expecting long black robes-heck, even a PINK robe would have been less weird.

But nooo, not this. Not something that made him look like a hippy. His robes were covered in waffles. Not just waffles, it was also Zeus! Zeus eating waffles, ducks wearing cowboy hats eating waffles, maple syrup waffles, more waffles, more waffles, and you name it!

Percy hastily coughed to cover his snicker.

Hades didn't really look like he approved of the wardrobe choice, but hey, when your snobby younger brother is the lord of the universe, this is what happens.

Hades's lips twitched and curved into an expression of pure fury. "Well, well well, look who it is. Demigods, here in the Underworld. And not just demigods. The demigods I would love to kill most."

sorry i cant make this very long, I have to go eat lunch! Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. Thanks for reading! :)