Percy talking

Percy thoughts

Adamos talking

Adamos thoughts

Characters are owned by Rick

(Except Adamos he's mine

Chapter 15

Flattery Gets You Every Where

Darkness was all around me. I didn't really remember how I got here. The last thing that I did remember was going into someplace. There was laughter, bright lights, and Grover and Annabeth were smiling at me. It felt like I was in a dream, but then all I remembered was pain and then blacking out. I was seriously wishing that Adamos wasn't going to hold it over my head for passing out.

I looked around to see where I was. I knew I was probably in my head, but the tropical island was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't hear the gentle waves or feel the warmth from the fake sun.

"Hello?" I shout out, but my voice was more on the level of a whisper than anything else. "Adamos? Are you there?"

In the midst of the darkness the sound of a piano echoed all around me. It was a beautiful yet simple melody that was quite alluring. I began walking in a random direction and the melody only became louder.

A faint light was in the distance. I walked closer and a figure came into view. The figure became clearer, and it looked like a man in a suit sitting at a piano.

"Ah Percy, I see you're finally here."

"Adamos?"

"In the mental flesh." Adamos says with a cheeky smile.

"So we're in…"

"In your head? Yes, yes we are." He cuts me off.

"Where's the island? Why are we here? What happened to me? What are…" I start spouting out questions.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold it Perce. One question at a time." Adamos said in a calming voice, he still held a smile on his face and never once stopped playing the piano.

"The island is still here, I've just put it away to do this little bit. I brought you here to fill you in on what's happening because I knocked you out. And as for this," Adamos nods at the piano he was playing. "I was feeling a bit classy and decided that I wanted to play piano in a super classy way. Because there's not much classier than a man in a fine suit talking to you while playing a piano."

I didn't really know what to make of this. By now I should be used to his weird ways, but I don't think that I ever will. "Has anyone ever told you that you seem to have way too much time on your hands?" I said.

He lets out a small laugh as he still plays the piano. "When you're living inside a twelve-year old's subconscious for a few months you can judge. Planning lessons for you and making sure that you don't kill yourself is like seventy percent of my day."

"Okaaay," I draw the word out. "So what exactly happened? After you knocked me out?"

"Okay so tell me, what do you know of the Odyssey?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask.

"Just answer the question." Adamos says with an eye roll.

I rattle my brain trying to remember all that I can. "It was… a very long boat trip?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Adamos said with a glint of mirth in his eyes.

I had to take a deep breath not groan in irritation. "I'm telling you." Adamos then gave me a go on motion with his head. "The Odyssey was a long book about Odysseus sailing back to his home. He had to go against a bunch of monsters and Poseidon didn't like him." I summarized.

"Well I guess that's one way to put it. Well you and your little entourage managed to get capture by one of those monsters from the Odyssey."

A wave of panic washed over me, and my eyes widened. I was about to panic but Adamos must have seen the expression on my face because he started talking before me. "You don't need to worry I got you all out of there safely. It was just the Lotus eaters, not really a huge threat for me as they are basically just slow aging mortals." Than a huge grin adorned his face. "I even got a bunch of stuff from them and I didn't have to pay for it as a bonus."

"What do you mean you got stuff?" I asked.

"Oh, I got lots of things," The tempo on the piano picked up as he grew more excited. "I got enough fire arms to outfit a small army, celestial bronze swords, spears, knives, shields, some grenades, some jeep stuff, a sick ass revolver that's a hand cannon, some ingredients from a magical beast, a very nice guitar as well as a limo to take us to Santa Monica."

I was a bit dumbstruck as he started spouting off his list. "And, um, how did you convince them to give you all this stuff?"

"I threatened to kill the rest of them if they didn't comply." He gave a noncommitted shrug.

"You killed people!" I shouted. "Why would you do that!" I began pacing back in forth as Adamos was still playing the stupid piano.

"Geez, you make it sound like I did something wrong." He mutters but it was enough for me to still hear him.

"You can't just kill and threaten people!" I shout at him. Adamos just gives me a bland look that basically says, 'why not'. "Because it's wrong. Chiron even said that we weren't supposed to fight with mortals."

"Technically he said unless it's necessary. I found it necessary. Besides the Lotus eaters are far from regular mortals. They've been extending their own life spans by feeding off of other mortals for millennia. Like vampires, just not as fun to kill."

"Wait, vampires are real?" Curse my ADHD.

"WERE real. Hunted down the last of them myself in the late 19th century. They are now and forever extinct. Although there are quite few monsters that resemble them." He mutters that last part.

"Doesn't matter you can't just do that. Its wrong."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He asks with a raised brow.

I steel myself. I couldn't let him see that I was weak or else he would never listen. "No," I say with as much conviction in my voice that I can muster.

A few moments pass and the only sound in the void is the sound of the piano as the melody slows. Then all together he stops playing. "All right. If that's how you want to do things." Adamos then stands up and walks over to me until he's directly in front of me. He towers over me. Even wearing a full three-piece suit, I can see the toned outlines of muscle under the fabric, making him look all the more imposing. His tri-colored eyes seemed to bore into my very soul as if digging out every weakness and secret I had. It took everything I had not to look away. "This is your quest Percy. If that's how you want to do it than that's fine." Adamos said with a shrug.

I deflate a bit. That was not what I was expecting him to say. I was expecting him to tell me to man up or say something wise. "I—thank you Adamos." I say. A small smile spreads across his face. "I appreciate why you did it but from now on we can't threaten or kill people for things." I say pointedly.

"Fine, but only on one condition."

"And what would that be?" I say with a raised brow.

"We are not returning the stuff I stole from them."

I let out a soft chuckle. "I think that's agreeable." I say, and not admitting that a small part of me wanted to see all of the stuff he took.

"Alright." Adamos claps his hands with a broad smile and the dark void explodes with light and color. I had to shield my eyes as it was like a flashbang had gone off. The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled my ears. I blink a few times and look around. The black void had disappeared, and the island returned.

"Ok now that that's out of the way." Adamos said cheerfully, as if it never happened. "Its time for you to wake up. I'll let you take care of explaining to the blonde and the goat."

"Wait! Wouldn't it be better if you explained it to them?" I exclaim.

"Probably, but this is your quest, so you'll have to deal with it. Also you have two days till the solstice. Bye!"

"How is that fai—" I try to shout but I was cut off as Adamos snapped his fingers and I passed out.

LINEBREAK

"Aahh!" I jolt awake. I immediately look around to see where I am. I really was inside a limo. Smooth black leather seats lined the walls of the car. The windows were tinted, and the roof was lined with dim lights that barely illuminated the interior of the car yet it was enough for a normal person to see. In the middle of the car on the left side was a minifridge along with an assortment of glasses. At the end of the limo, Annabeth and Grover were slumped over. Both were unconscious, with Grover face planting into the window and Annabeth curled into the corner.

"You're a real ass you know that?" I mentally say, but I got no response from Adamos.

A groan draws my attention to the opposite end of the limo. Slowly both Annabeth and Grover wake from their sleep and blink away the wariness from their eyes.

"W-Where are we?" Grover asks as he peels his face off of the window.

"Hey guys." I say awkwardly. Their eyes drift to me and then look around a bit before settling on me once again.

"Alright spill where are we?" Annabeth said with a glare.

"In a limo." I said sheepishly. This however wasn't the answer that she was looking for as her glare only worsened. "We were stuck in the lair of the Lotus Eaters." I said.

"What!" They both shouted at once and being in the confined space didn't help as I almost winced at how loud they were.

"Yeah like I said, we were trapped by the Lotus Eaters but got out." I said.

"How did we get out?" Grover asked as he shifted around to make himself more comfortable.

"I—um, I don't…really…know?" I said as their eyes bore into me by the second. I didn't really have enough time to actually think of a lie to tell them.

"What do you mean you don't know. How could you know we were trapped but not know how we got out and into this limo?" Annabeth once again began firing questions.

"What I mean is," I start off, trying to find a lie that would work. "That I wasn't the one to get us out." I said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Then who did?" Grover asked.

"Uhh… I don't know. I can't really remember his face. But the lotus eater were scared of him." I say. Annabeth had a far away look in her eyes as her brain went a thousand miles a minute.

"You can't remember him, and they took us out of the lair of the Lotus Eaters," She began to spout of. "We might have been helped by a god." She said. Inwardly I was letting out a sigh of relief that she came to that conclusion on her own. "Yes, if the quest for the bolt is so important than one of the gods would want it to succeed and would help us out. What did he look like? What hair color did he have? How did it feel being near him? How—"

"Hold it, hold it." I wave my arms to cut her off. Annabeth stopped talking and gave me an expectant look. "I don't remember what he looked like. Just that he wore a suit," I said pulling from Adamos's attire in my mind. "other than that, I can't really remember his face."

Both of them were looking at me to see if I was lying and after a few moments they both seemed satisfied with my answer.

"Well gods aren't supposed to interfere with quests so it makes sense that they would hide themselves." Grover said, to which Annabeth slowly nodded in agreement. After that we just sat in silence. Annabeth, with her curiosity now sated, no longer wanted to talk to me. Grover was looking back and forth between us as if he was choosing sides. I knew that she wouldn't be the one to apologize first so it was up to me to start.

"Annabeth." She didn't even look at me. I let out a sigh and rub the back of my head. "Annabeth, I'm sorry." The only indication that she heard me was a slight glance that I was barely able to pick up. "This quest is supposed to involve all of us and I've been keeping you and Grover out of it. So, I'm sorry." I say in my most sincere voice.

Annabeth just continues to look away from, either thinking things over or just outright ignoring me, I couldn't tell without seeing her face. Grover however took it upon himself to nudge Annabeth with his elbow. Her head snapped to him and gave him a glare, but I could tell that she wasn't putting her all into the expression. The two began conversing in whispers that I couldn't really hear due to being on opposite ends of the limo, well Grover was whispering but Annabeth's seemed to have a harsher tone.

It was fifteen minutes later when they stopped their discussion. Annabeth still looked a bit angry, but it had lessened by a large margin, Grover on the other hand looked like he was on the verge of having a migraine but seemed content.

"I guess…" Annabeth started off, her eyes didn't meet mine as she spoke. "we both said some things that we shouldn't have." She said. "I… accept your apology."

I let out a small breath and a small smile graced my face. It wasn't exactly the kind of apology that I wanted but it meant that we on the track to be friends again, though I think that we still might need some work.

"So now that we're all good," Grover says suddenly after a few moments of silence. "where are we going and what's going on?"

"We are actually on our way to Santa Monica first so that I can meet my dad and then we are going to the underworld." I explained.

"Do you even know where the underworld is?" Annabeth asked, not sounding mean but rather curious now.

"Yeah actually," I said as I dug into the backpack and reached in until I found what I needed. I pulled out a piece of paper and had to shuffle over to the two and hand it over. "This is something I took when I was scavenging around Medusa's lair. Look at the delivery address." I pointed out on the paper.

"DOA studios in Los Angeles." Grover read out.

"And you didn't think to tell us this?" Annabeth said.

I shrugged in my hunched over position from standing in the limo. "We don't have a map of L.A. and no one to ask so I didn't think it was important yet." I said. After a moment Annabeth nodded at my logic.

After that the ride was mostly spent in silence. The three of us dug into the small snack bar and fridge that was built into the limo. I was eating bags of crackers and drinking a coke, Annabeth was munching on some cookies while Grover was going through his third bag of potato chips.

It was quiet for hours as we sat and ate the food, while watching the mass of desert pass by at a blinding speed. The limo never slowed until we came to Los Angeles and by then we arrived at the Santa Monica Pier as the sun was setting.

The three of us got out of the limo and a few people were pointing at us and whispering, probably thinking that we were the kids of a celebrity or something. I barely even closed the door before the limo sped off down the road, the screech of the tires could still be heard even after it rounded a corner and was lost from our sights.

"Well that was rude." Grover said.

"Yeah. I didn't even get to thank him." I added.

"No point thinking about it now." Annabeth interjected. "We can't keep Lord Poseidon waiting." She then walked off, heading to a nearby entrance to the beach. Now that I had a good look at my surroundings, I can say that this is nothing like the movies portray. The place smelled of sunbaked seaweed and homeless people were sleeping on the dunes, but it wasn't all bad as I did see the carnival rides lining the pier and the beach did have large groups of surfers so some people must enjoy this.

Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the surf. In front of us the sun was setting, turning the ocean a golden shade, while leaving the sky a beautiful purplish blue. All of this was at my father's command and it covered most of the planet. My father is important enough to control all of this and my brother controls the rest of the planet and more.

"I'm related to some of the most powerful beings in the world." Once more I felt a knot stir in my gut at the overwhelming thought. Then I felt the tension flow out of my body. I knew it was Adamos easing my nerves because it felt like someone was reassuring pat on the shoulder. Then a gentle push was all I felt, and I began walking into the tides.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked. "What are you doing?"

I wasn't really listening to her as I continued to walk till the water reached my chest.

"Percy! Get back here we nee—" Was all I heard her call out before I fully submerged under the water.

I felt power flood my body, far more than I had felt in the lake at camp or in the creek. I felt as if I could go another round with Echidna and the Chimera, but I knew that was a stupid idea, but damn did I feel good.

I took a good look around and was astonished. Any normal person would never be able to see through the murky water, but I could see and sense everything. From the texture of the sand bed beneath me, the hot and cold currents flowing in the water, and the fish swimming in the distance.

"Well Perce? What do you think?" Adamos said almost making me jump. He had been silent the entire limo ride over.

"Honestly?" I thought. "This is pretty amazing." Then I felt something nuzzling my leg. I looked down and nearly shot out of the water like before. Because nuzzling my leg was a five-foot-long Mako shark.

"Uh, what's it doing?" I ask as I eye the shark.

Adamos lets out a chuckle. "I think that it likes you."

I couldn't even find it in myself to disagree with him as the shark nuzzled me as it swam around. It reminded me more of dog than a vicious apex predator like how they show in Jaws. I reached down and gave the sea creature a tentative petting and scratch on its dorsal fin. It seemed to enjoy that and nuzzled me more, before stopping and shaking its dorsal fin, as if inviting me to take hold.

With both hands I grabbed the fin and the shark took off, pulling me along. It pulled me deeper and deeper into the ocean, farther than I knew light was supposed to be able to reach. But to me it was the same as during the night. I could see as if the sun itself was shining down here. In fact, everything was glowing so brightly down here I had to blink a bit to get used to the lights.

"We've reached one of my domains. The deepest oceans are laid bare for us to explore. Oh, the shit James Cameron would give to be able to see things like us." Adamos said in a voice full of mirth.

The shark then slowed and came to a stop. I took that as my signal to get off as I saw where we were. We were at the edge of the sandbank, where the land seemed to drop off into a huge chasm. Looking over the edge, where there should have been darkness, I could see the vast ecosystem that made it their home. Countless fish glowed and swam, Coral lined the walls and acted like lamps, emitting light in many different colors that drove away the darkness. It was as if I was looking at a city from above.

"Woah." I whispered in amazement.

"It is quite a scene is it not?" A voice said near me.

I stood up and looked around me until my eyes landed on a beautiful woman. She had flowing black hair and wore a dress of green silk that flowed like a current.

She gave me a warm smile. "You've come a long way Perseus Jackson. I commend you."

I felt awkward just standing—or floating? —there. "You wouldn't happen to be the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River?"

"Yes child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. But the Naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped me to sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, even if they do not serve in his court."

"And you serve in his court?" I asked.

She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the sea has been born. We have been watching you with interest."

This brought a flash of memories to the forefront of my mind. Faces of smiling women in the surf whenever me and my mom visited Montauk when I was little. It never did occur to me all of the weird things that happened in my life when I was younger, now that I think about it.

"Then I'm guessing that he sent you here because the ancient laws won't let him come himself." I said, but I might have said it a bit harshly as the Nereid adopted a look of understanding.

"Indeed, that is one of the reasons, but you cannot judge him to harshly." She spoke. "He stands on the brink of a war that he doesn't want. He must have most of his attention on defending his domain. Even so the laws forbid the gods from helping directly as they cannot show favoritism. Especially to their own children."

"And yet here you are." I pointedly said to Adamos in a joking manner.

"Well I couldn't let you do this alone. You'd probably wander off a cliff without me." He shot back. "Besides I can't lose the only brother I got."

"What about Triton? Isn't he also our brother?"

"Oh yeah. I guess he is." Adamos says nonchalantly and I feel him shrug with indifference. I internally sweat drop at his easy dismissal of his godly brother.

"Perseus?" The Nereid says, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Are you all right? You were staring off young one." She said with a bit of concern.

"Oh, uh yeah?" I said sheepishly. "I, uh, sometimes get lost in thought."

The Nereid gave a small smile and nod. "Well, I was just telling you that your father has given you a gift." She said as she holds three pearls in her hand. "We know that you plan to journey to Hades' realm, and few mortals have ever done this, and fewer have survived."

"And what exactly are these?" I asked as I took the pearls and inspected them.

"A gift to help you in the underworld. Should you ever find yourself in dire need, smash the pearls at your feet." She said.

"And then what will happen?"

"That," She spoke. "depends on the need. But remember: What belongs to the sea will always return to it."

"Thank you." I said. "I'll be sure to put these to good use."

"Keep your faith young hero and good luck." She said as she started to fade away, until she was no more.

I looked at the three pearls in my hand. "Any ideas as to what these do?"

"Just an escape route should things get to dicey." Adamos said. "Its just best to keep them on hand." Once again, he was vague with his answers, but if he said that they would help us I guess that there was nothing wrong with them.

At that I launched myself up a and swam to the shore. As soon as I walked out of the surf my clothes immediately dried themselves. Annabeth and Grover came jogging from a bit away.

"Well? What happened?" Grover asked.

I then told them about what happened and my talk with the Nereid and showed them the pearls.

Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."

"She didn't ask me for anything." I said

Annabeth shook her head. "That's not what I mean. These gifts always have a catch to them."

Then on that note we turned away from the sea and headed back to the city.

We had been walking through L.A. for a while now and somehow, we hadn't found DOA studios. We took a cab from Santa Monica but when we showed the driver the address for DOA studios, he didn't even recognize the address. So instead he just dropped us of in West Hollywood and we had to ask around for directions. But not even the mortals who lived here had heard of it. It didn't even help how chaotic L.A. was laid out. In New York the streets made sense. Everything was set up in a grid and you could easily find where you needed to go by following the numbers and signs. This city however was all street signs and no real system.

"Do you know where this place is?" I asked Adamos. I was starting to get frustrated at how no one knew where this place was or what street it was on.

"Yeah." Adamos simply said.

"Really? Which way is it?" I said a bit excitedly, I was really sick of asking for directions.

"Hold it if I'm gonna tell you, you need to follow my directions when we see Hades." Adamos said.

"Ok?" I said not really knowing what he was getting at.

"All right. You just head straight for two blocks and then take a left. It's a large building so I doubt you'll miss it." Adamos instructed.

Not really giving it to much thought I just started walking in the direction. Annabeth and Grover didn't question the random direction as we had been walking in random directions for a while now.

I froze however when we walked past an appliance store. In the window of the store, a T.V. was broadcasting an interview of someone familiar—my stepdad Gabe. He was talking to Barbara Walters—as if he were some kind of celebrity. They were interviewing him in front of my apartment building, an there was a young blonde lady standing next to him, holding his shoulder. At the bottom of the screen I noticed a post on the screen, indicating that this was a live broadcast. Annabeth and Grover stopped and backtracked once they realized I wasn't with them. Grover's face contorted a bit as if remembering Gabe's smell.

A fake tear glistened on his cheek. He was saying, "Honest Ms. Walters, if it wasn't for Sugar here, my grief counselor, I'd be a wreck. My stepson took everything I cared about. My wife…my Camaro…I—I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it."

"That piece of shit." I growled. Annabeth seemed a bit taken back by my hostility, but Grover was wearing a look of hate like mine, though to a lesser degree.

"You want me to do something about it?" Adamos asked.

"Can you do anything about it?" i asked skeptically.

"I can make him a viral internet sensation."

"How does that make me feel better?" I asked.

"Just watch." Adamos said, and I did.

"There you have it America." Barbra Walters turns to the camera. "A man torn apart. An adolescent with serious iss—"

"CAW!" The sound of a bird cries out, interrupting Barbara Walters. A crow then lands near them, standing on top of a newspaper dispenser that was just in the shot.

"Ehm. As I was saying. An adolescent boy with serious iss—" She starts again.

"CAW! CAW! CAW!" Three more crows settle into the shot. Each of them were watching the people with rapt interest, or rather, they were watching Gabe with rapt attention.

Barbara, Gabe and Sugar began to look a little nervous as they looked around. Probably because even more birds had shown up.

At first I had no idea what was even going on, but then I remembered something. Something that Adamos told me when I first got to camp.

"Crows are one of your sacred animals." I mentally whisper.

I felt Adamos smiling, and I couldn't even restrain myself as I let a small smile grace my face.

Grover seemed to notice this and had a confused look. "Percy. What are you smiling about? Your step dad just made you look like a criminal."

"Just watch." Was all I said.

Back on the T.V. Barbara Walters managed to collect herself. "We will now show you the most recent picture of this troubled, young fugi—"

"CAW! CAW! CAW! CAW!" The crows on the screen began to go wild all at once, startling everyone present and even passersby. Then as if in unison the crows all leapt into the air and began to swarm Gabe.

"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" He shouted as the crows began to claw and beck at him. He flailed his arms wildly, trying to get rid of the birds, but instead hit Barbara and Sugar, knocking them to the ground, and ramming into the camera man in his attempt to escape. The camera man however managed to stay standing and turned to catch Gabe running in circles in the street and sidewalk as the crows swarmed him.

I burst out laughing into hysterics as I watched him run around and even when he began to roll on the ground as if trying to put out a fire. Grover and Annabeth were also laughing at what was happening. We laughed at him until the channel immediately switched back to the news anchors who were also trying to control their laughter. It took us a few good minutes before we collected ourselves.

"Oh my gods! Oh my gods! Th—that was the f—funniest thing ever." I barely manage to get out.

"He totally got what he deserved." Grover wheezed out.

"A—as funny as that was," Annabeth said while wiping a tear from her eye. "Who was that?"

"That was my asshole step father Gabe. He was the worst." I started while we began walking once more. "He would spend all of our money on beer and cigars and gambling." I said and my expression darkened. "He was never good enough for my mom and would always treat her like a slave."

"Percy." Grover spoke softly. "You know why your mom married him."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm ok with it." I said. After that the cheerful mood dropped. Annabeth gave me a look of understanding when I spoke about Gabe.

The rest of the walk was quiet, but it didn't last long until we were in front of a large building on Valencia Boulevard. Looking up at the sign above the door, DOA RECORDING STUDIOS was written in gold on black marble. Underneath it, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

The sun had set quite a while ago, yet inside the lobby was packed with people and fully lit. Through the crowd I could see a tough looking guard behind a desk, wearing sunglasses and an ear piece.

I hand each of them a pearl. "All right any ideas on how to get in?" I ask.

"We could sneak in." Grover offered.

"Grover, that's what we're doing." Annabeth said.

"Yeah but… I mean actually sneak past him." Grover amended.

Annabeth shook her head. "It won't work. Even if we do get past him, we would never be able to cross the river Styx. The only way to get across is through the ferry."

"So maybe we lie to him." I said. I continued to talk when both of their attention was on me. "We could convince him we are dead, and he can take us across."

Grover seemed to agree but Annabeth looked as if she had more reservations. "Its not like we have any other ideas."

Annabeth said. "But what if it goes wrong."

"Don't be so negative." I waved off.

"Right," Annabeth huffed. "We're entering the Underworld and I shouldn't feel negative."

"That's the spirit." I said trying to bring up her spirits, and it seemed to work as a small smile spread across her face. "Now all aboard the Underworld express." I said walked into the DOA lobby with both of them following behind me.

AS we entered, soft music began to play on some hidden speakers. The carpets and walls were a steel gray color and was furnished with modern style black leather furniture. The entire place was filled with people. People were standing up, sitting in the chairs, and waiting by the elevator, yet no one was moving or talking. In fact, if I looked at them closely their bodies seemed to become transparent.

The security guards' desk was raised, so we needed to look up when we came forward. The man behind the desk was tall and had elegant features. His chocolate colored skin contrasted with his bleach blonde hair that was styled into a military cut. He wore tortoiseshell glasses and a pristine silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag that i couldn't read.

"Charon." Adamos said.

"Are you Charon?" I asked.

The man, named Charon, leaned forward. His glasses gave nothing away from his eyes, and only held my refection. His mouth formed a sickly-sweet smile and he smoothly said, "Mr. Charon." His voice was smooth and held some kind of accent that was reminiscent of a British one yet sounded as if English was a second language.

"Mr. Charon." I repeated. This seemed to satisfy him as he leaned back from over his desk.

"Good," Charon said. "Now what can I do for you little dead ones."

"We want to go to the Underworld." Annabeth said.

"Huh, now that's refreshing." Charon said, his mouth twitching upwards.

The three of us looked at each other confused before looking back. "It is?" Annabeth asked.

Charon nodded. "Straight forward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake' or 'I can't be dead'. So how did you die anyways?"

"Um… drowned…in a bath tub."

"All three of you?"

"I was electrocuted." I immediately blurt out. No, I don't know about you but I didn't really want to go to the underworld being known as the son of Poseidon that drowned.

"And what about you?" He asked Annabeth. She discreetly elbowed me in the side for the improvisation.

"I fell out a window." She said blandly.

Charon looked as if he found something humorous. "Pretty impressive. I don't you kids suppose you have coins for passage. Normally with adults I would just charge it to your credit card. Bur alas, children never come prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."

"Oh but we do have coins." I said as I reached into my backpack and pulled out three drachmas and placed them on the counter. We were starting to run low on the godly coins and maybe had a small pouch of them left. But just this much seemed to be good as Charon's hands hovered over the gold currency greedily.

But then Charon looked directly at me. The stare from behind those reflective glasses seemed to pierce me to my very soul. He then leaned forward and took a whiff of each of us.

"None of you are dead. I should have known. Two godlings and a goat." Charon spoke, his voice reminiscent of a growl. Grover bleated at being called a goat, and that certainly didn't help us.

"It doesn't change that we need to go to the Underworld." I said, trying to sound braver than I was actually feeling. All around us the spirits were beginning to become restless and moved around the lobby.

"Leave while you can," Charon said. "I'll just take these and pretend you weren't here." Charon made a move to grab the drachma, but I was faster and grabbed them before he could.

"No service, no pay." I said.

Charon let out a more menacing growl, one that I felt to my bones. In response the spirits became even more restless and started to pound and scratch the walls.

"And its such a shame," I shook my head with a sigh. "We had more to offer."

I then pulled out the pouch and began to sift the coins through my hand and back into the pouch. The sound of the coins seemed to soothe Charon as his growl softened until it resembled a purr.

"Do you think I can be bought godling? Eh… just out of curiosity how much do you have in there?" He asked, tilting his head to get a peek.

"A lot," I said. "And I bet Hades doesn't pay you nearly enough for your hard work."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'please spare me' or 'can I ride for free' I haven't had a pay raise in thousands of years. Do you think these suits are cheap?"

"You clearly deserve better." I spoke. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay." With each word I stacked another coin on his desk. Charon began to eye the money and then his suit, as if imagining something better.

"I gotta say lad, you are starting to make sense."

"I could mention a pay raise to Lord Hades" I said and stacked a few more coins onto the stack.

"Well, I guess I could fit you three on." Charon said and he scooped the money and stood up. "Come on."

We followed after Charon as we shoved our way to the elevator. Charon pushed the down button on the elevator and the doors opened immediately. We then shuffled into the space along with a flood of ghosts. I thought I heard Charon mumble 'freeloaders' as the car filled. He then shut the door and inserted a key into the panel.

All of a sudden, the car jerked forward. The air around us began to turn misty and the spirits morphed. Their modern clothes being replaced with grey cloaks. I looked over to Charon and saw that he had changed to. Gone was his creamy Italian suit and instead he wore a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were missing, but now I could see his eyes, or rather lack of them as his eyes were empty black voids that emanated death and nothingness.

I then turned back forward, and everything had changed when I wasn't paying attention. Gone was the elevator car, in its place was a wooden barge. Over the edge of the barge was an oily dark river that was carrying different kinds of trash in its currents.

"I see you've made it to the start of the underworld. Don't fall over, that's the river Styx." Adamos said, nearly making me jump. With all of the spirits and stuff here it was putting my nerves on edge. "Nice job bribing Charon by the way. Who knew you could be such a smooth operator?"

"Gods don't scare me like that. This place is already freaking me out as it is." I say.

"Aw don't be like that. This place is pretty nice once you get used to it."

"I highly doubt that." I muttered.

A loud howl sounded out and shook the cavern, breaking me away from my internal conversation. I looked to where the sound came from and saw that we were getting closer to the shore. Volcanic rocks and black sand stretched across the edge of the river.

"Old Three Face is hungry," Charon said. He smiled, but it felt far more sinister than anything else.

The boat then lurched forward as it slid to a stop on the black sands. The troves of the dead began to pile off the boat and into the underworld.

"I'd wish you luck mate," Charon spoke. "But there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise." At that Charon then pushed of the black sand and began to row down from whence he came, all the while I could faintly hear him humming some song that was similar to Barry Manilow.

We then turned and followed after the spirits up a beaten path. We were now at the entrance to the Underworld.

A/N: Howdy yall. Its me Momentei. I just want to apologize for taking so long, but finals were a pain in the ass. Anyways there's not much happening in this chapter but were starting to get closer to the end of the first book. I want to thank all of you incorrigible sexy beasts for reading and for following this book. Anyways finals are now over, and winter break is here. That means that I can write more. WOOHHOO. Well leave a review on the story and what you think. Don't be shy it won't bite (much). And I hope you all have sweet dreams as a classy Adamos appears in your dreams and plays a classy piano, lulling you to sleep.

Over and out,

Momentei.