Chapter 18

As the group sat in the cab, they silently chatted to one another since they didn't want the cab driver too over hear, despite the fact that he might not believe a word that they said. Percy had tried to tell them about a dream he had, but due to being in the Lotus Casino. he found that trying to remember the dream was becoming difficult and sketchy. Although he did tell them that he heard a deep sounding voice and could hear a servant saying 'my lord'. Though Percy was not sure.

"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested. "The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."

But Percy shook his head. "That wasn't it either."

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

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

"I don't like where this is going." Naruto said as the other looked around at Naruto who had a frown on his face.

"What do you mean? You think your might know what it is?" Annabeth asked getting a small nod from Naruto.

"I have a vivid idea buts it's nothing concrete. You said it didn't sound like a god?"

Percy nodded. "I can't really explain it but after being in the presence of Mr D and Ares, although they are both strong in their own right and their voices sounded strong and had this aura of confidence in it, the other voice just sounded evil. So evil and bitter, it even sounded older if that makes any sense."

"That's what I was afraid of." Naruto whispered but Annabeth heard him.

"What do you mean? Afraid of what?"

"You said you found yourself staring above a pit, a pit that covered in nothing but darkness right?" he asked, getting another nod from Percy.

"Think Annabeth. Percy just said it sounded older then a god. What is one of the very few things in the world that is older than a god?"

Annabeth looked at him and Naruto could see her mind working in overdrive as she thought about it. There were very few things that could be older then a god, and none of those things were good things. After a bit more time Annabeth's eyes widened to size of dinner plates and let out a small gasp.

"You don't mean him do you?" she whispered as Grover to managed to catch her meaning while Percy seemed a little oblivious.

"It's possible since there is only one but like that, that I can think off."

I guess it could make sense Annabeth said. I mean entities like the gods can't die. They can fade but they can't die.

"I hope I am wrong, I really do. And there is a good chance I am wrong and it could just be Hades since we have not met him yet. But then again we all know that they are still alive. Imprisoned but still alive. It's a strong possibility unfortunately."

Annabeth and Grover nodded not wanting to talk more about it. Right now the lord of the dead was looking pretty good right about now

"Wait who is the he you're talking about?" Percy asked but no one answered. Everyone knew that you did not want o say his name out loud. If you did then you must be either very brave of very stupid. Even Naruto who was the strongest of the group knew better than to say it. Even the man's nicknames caused shivers to run down his spine.

"The Crooked One Percy. Your dear old grandfather" he said getting shivers run down his spine as did Annabeth and Grover.

"Percy ... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades ... No. It has to be Hades" Grover said before all fell silent.

Percy too fell silent and did not say much for the rest of the way to L.A. His mind was trying to comprehend everything that had happened thus far and what the others were discussing.

After a few more hours passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.

Naruto felt himself tense up a little s they neared their destination. Once they got there, the next stop was the underworld. Naruto knew as soon as they got into the underworld things were going to be far from easy and he dreaded to think about what kind of creatures they were going to run into. That and the God of the Underworld.

The gods were powerful in their own right, but Hades was one of the big three and therefore he knew Hades was on a whole other level compared to the other gods and could probably make someone like Ares run home to mommy. Though Naruto liked to think his mom could give Hades a good beating. Feminine fury was all powerful after all.

However all through the trip Naruto felt like there was a piece of the puzzle that was missing. Something that he was not seeing and that was beginning to bug the hell out of him. There was something else going on, something even more dangerous. And he and the others needed to figure it out soon.

By the looks on the others face, Naruto knew they were all thinking the same since being so close to the Underworld obviously got them all thinking. Though looking at Grover he was not sure if he was thinking or trying to pass gas.

"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured everyone going back to the conversation form earlier.

"You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."

Let's hope your right the other all thought as they drove towards L.A.

They passed through Death Valley that just looked like a giant uninhabited dry desert. Naruto knew people lived out here but wondered how since he could not see a speck of life anywhere. It looked like not even any plants grew here. "Guess this place really is Death Valley" he thought.

He also wondered if this was what was waiting for them in the Underworld but he put that thought to the side since he knew he would get that answered very soon.

By sunset the cab stopped at the beach in Santa Monica as the group remembered that Percy had been summoned by Poseidon and they knew better then to ignore an audience with a god.

The beach looked like a typical California beach but there was a foul smell in the air. Everyone seemed to pick it up the smell since they were wrinkling their noses. There was a carnival further down at the pier that had quite a lot of people attending but there was hardly anyone on the beach except for those walking their dogs and the few surfers that were left trying to get the last big waves of the day.

"So what now?" Annabeth said as they all walked onto the beach with their shoes and socks being carried in their hands and letting the feel of sand go through their toes.

"Well since it was Percy that was asked for, it should be him to go." Naruto said as Percy took a few steps in front of them.

"In the water." Percy mumbled as he looked at the ocean in front of him and felt a sense of relief hit him. Almost as if he felt at home looking at the ocean in front of him. He turned around and looked at his friends. "I'll try to make the meeting quick since we have a pretty short deadline. I'll be back soon" he said before he took off into the water.

As he walked in Naruto and the others watched him as he walked through the ocean before eventually Percy was completely submerged and disappeared from the sight.

"Now we wait" Naruto said as he sat down and made himself comfortable on the sand. Annabeth and Grover all did the same as Annabeth dug her feet into the warm sand getting a calm happy look appear on her face.

"So what do you think Lord Poseidon summoned Percy for?" Grover asked them as he tried to make himself comfortable. No doubt he was struggling since he still had to wear his fake legs.

Both blondes shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe its something to help him along with this quest. Although now that we only have until tomorrow, let's hope it really can help us."

"I guess" Annabeth said not looking all sure that whatever Poseidon was planning on giving Percy was really going to help them. Naruto just figured it had something to do with the whole Athena-Poseidon thing.

"Like mother, like daughter." Naruto thought as he kept his eye on the ocean in front of them for any signs of Percy.

After ten minutes there was still nothing so Naruto stood up alerting the others. "I'm going to get something to eat. I think I saw a Starbucks, a few minutes walk from here. I'll be back in about ten minutes." he said getting a nod from the others.

"Don't take too long." they said, as Naruto put his shoes back on walk away from the beach. He made a shadow clone to stay with them so he could be alerted if something happened.

Once he was off the beach he headed towards the Starbucks, that he could see just a little ways off in the distance.

It only took him a few minutes to get there, but saw it was a little busy so he got in line and waited like the others.

He stood there for about five minutes before he noticed that the line was not making any attempt to move at all. He poked his head just out of the line to see what was happening and what was taking so long but frowned a little when he did.

Standing at the front of the line was a woman in a grey work suit with a mobile pressed against her ear. She had sandy blonde hair that was tied into a bun and had brown eyes. The employee in front of her had a look on annoyance as he tried to talk to her but she kept putting her hand up in front of him stopping the employee form speaking. It was very rude and very disrespectful.

"Miss could you please just-"

"Wait one more moment" she said causing everyone in the line to grumble and continue with her conversation on the phone. "Yes sir I understand." she muttered as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Jane just make an order so we can go already. Dads waiting at the carnival for us and I won't miss my time with him." an annoyed voice called out that got Naruto's attention.

He stuck his head out to the other side of the line and saw a young girl about ten or eleven wearing faded blue jeans with a purple top with a light beige jacket over the top. Naruto had to admit she was a very pretty girl for her age.

She had a dark skin tone that may native Americans had and had brown hair that was a little choppy and uneven on each side but had thin braids that decorated the side of her face. It was a very odd hair style but Naruto liked it. It was very unique and original in his opinion. However it was her eyes that caught his attention. Her eyes varied from colour. Her eyes started at green, then to blue, then to brown. It was like a Kaleidoscope.

"Yes yes in a moment." the woman known as Jane said, which caused the girl to grumble at the older woman.

"Okay that is enough." Naruto thought, having enough of the woman's blatant disrespect to everyone around her. He respects women greatly but even he knew there were boundaries, and this woman was working on his and everyone else's last nerve.

"Hey Lady." he said getting the woman's attention along with everyone else. When she turned around, he grabbed her phone in his own hand, pressed the cancel call button and flipped it shut.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Give me my phone back little boy." she said angrily but stopped when she saw the dark look Naruto was giving her and took a little step back along with everyone else.

"Stop being rude and disrespectful and just make your damn order. There are a lot of people in here who I have no doubt just want to get their drink and leave and you are holding them up. You will get this back when you collect whatever you came here for."

Jane looked like she was about to argue back but she looked around and saw the other customers glaring at her while the young girl had a smug look on her face. No doubt she liked seeing this woman being put in her place.

Jane turned around and faced the employee who had a smirk on his face as she gave him her order.

Naruto took his place back in line where other customers gave him a small pat on the back. She was getting on everyone's nerves.

"That was awesome." a voice said to his right. He looked over to see the girl who was with Jane appearing next to him with a big smile on her face.

"Hehe thanks. She was getting on people nerves so I thought I would hurry her up a little."

"Well I have waited for a long time to see someone put in her place. You just made my day." she said causing Naruto to chuckle.

"In that case you're welcome. My names Naruto by the way" he said putting his hand out. The girl eagerly shook it.

"I'm Piper." she said getting a nod from Naruto.

"Cool name." he said while Piper grinned.

"Yours too. It sounds Japanese."

"That's because it is."

"But you don't look Japanese." she said looking him over making him shrug.

"I'm not but I guess my parents just liked the name. Had a thing for Japan I guess" he lied to her as she nodded in acceptance.

"So I take it she is not your mom" he said making Piper get a horrified look appear on her face.

"Hell no, she isn't my mom. She's just my dads assistant but I get stuck with her enough times. I don't have a mom." she said a little bitterly getting a raised eyebrow form Naruto. "I never met her. She took off when I was born and left my dad to raise me."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto said but couldn't help but think "Is she a half blood." He quickly shook his head. Just because she only had one parent didn't necessarily mean she was half blood.

"I overheard you saying your dad was waiting for you at the carnival?" He said as a big smile appeared on Pipers face. No doubt she thought the girl was a bit of a daddy's girl if it was any indication.

"Yeah hes there right now and I would be too, if miss annoying over there would hurry up," she said looking over at Jane and scowling. "I don't see him a lot so time with him is pretty precious."

"Ahh I see. He works away a lot I'm guessing." Piper nodded her head.

"He works in the movie business so he is away a lot of the time and I don't see him as much as I would like. When I do I try to make the most of it."

"Well I guess I'm kind of the same then" he said reassuring the younger girl. "I never really knew my dad so I only have my mom. But she is away a lot and I rarely ever see her. Though when I do I like to make the most of it."

He knew it was not true since he had not really met his mom but he felt like that would be what it was going to be like since the gods did have their duties. That and they were not really allowed to see their children which in Naruto's opinion was a stupid rule as did many of the other half bloods.

Piper looked like she was about to speak before Jane appeared in front of them with her drink in her hand. She extended her hand out wanting her phone back.

"Here you go." Naruto said placing it in her hand. "Next time be a bit more considerate to others." he said causing Jane to scowl as she headed towards the door.

"Come on Piper. We don't want to keep your father waiting." she said causing Piper to go red faced.

"We wouldn't have to of kept him waiting if you would have just hurried up." she said racing after the older woman before she turned around and faced Naruto.

"It was nice to meet you Naruto." she said giving a small wave before he ran out the door and disappeared.

Naruto smiled as he stood in line hoping this would not take much longer.

After another ten minutes he walked out of the shop with his drink in hand as he made his way back to the beach.

As he walked down the path he got the memories of the shadow clones that just popped. Percy had finally returned form the ocean with some sort of gift from his father.

After a few more minutes he arrived back at the beach where the others were waiting for him as they sat on a bench just next to the sand. When they saw him they got up and headed over.

"What took so long?" Annabeth asked with an annoyed look on her face.

"Some lady who would not get off her phone, and kept the line waiting."

"Hate it when that happens" Grover said as he and Percy nodded simultaneously as Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Boys." she murmured before Naruto looked over at Percy.

"So what did your dad give you?" he asked as Percy dug into his pocket and held out four pearls.

"My dad was not there, just a messenger. She said these will come in handy later on in the quest and that eventually everything returns to the sea. What that meant."

"Bit cryptic but at least he helped" Naruto suggested as a small smile appeared on Percy's face.

"There will be a price. Just you wait" Annabeth said interrupting getting a look form the others.

"Well aren't you cheery today." Naruto said getting a huff from the blonde girl.

"So where to next." Grover asked as Percy dug into his pocket again and brought out an old return slip.

"I swiped this from Medusa's lair." he said handing it to Annabeth so they could get a good look at it. "It says D.O.A Recording studios and that the gorgons have been doing business with Hades. I figured it would come in handy."

They all looked at him, all with one thing on their mind. "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" they asked causing Percy to blush red a little.

"I kind of forgot." he said rubbing the back of the neck as the others groaned a little and Annabeth rolled her eyes. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

The group didn't stay their long before they managed to locate a bus and left the Santa Monica pier behind them. They showed the address to the driver before they were on their way.

The bus driver looked at Naruto and Percy a little suspiciously claiming he remembers them from somewhere. Luckily Percy told him they were both stunt doubles. The cab driver seemed to have bought it and didn't bother them again.

Soon enough they found their stop before they began to walk the rest of the way. They had to duck in alleyways so that none of the cop cars recognised Percy or Naruto. They didn't know whether word about the two apparently kidnapping Sally has gotten around to L.A yet but they dared not find out.

However as they passed an appliance store they had to stop and stare when they saw Gabe on the TV being interviewed. He had fake tars going down his cheek telling the reporters how much he wanted his dear wife back and for Naruto and Percy to get the help they needed.

He even went as far as saying Naruto was an orphan and therefore was not raised properly.

Oh yeah Naruto would definantly be paying Gabe a visit once the quest was over.

"I am so kicking his ass when we get back to New York." Naruto muttered and Percy nodded.

"Get in line."

"I wonder if mom would like to turn him into a jackelope?" he thought with a creepy grin on his face. It was times like this that he was kind of happy his mom was a man hater.

They left the store window just as the sun began to set. When it did they all noticed the more shady characters of L.A were beginning to appear.

They walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at them like they were trying to figure if they were worth the trouble of mugging.

As they hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you." A gang of kids had circled around the group who tensed at the site. Well almost everyone except Naruto who was lazily looking at a poster on the wall.

There were six of them in all—white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. Like the kids at Yancy Academy; rich brats playing at being bad boys.

"You know this is our area. If you want to pas you have to pay a toll." the leader of the group before he noticed Naruto was not paying attention to him. "Hey Blondie, look at me when I am talking to you."

A couple of second passed before Naruto turned his head to look at him with a confused look on his face.

"Huh? You say something?" he asked as the kids looked at him in disbelief as the the leader looked angry and went red in the face.

"Come on we don't have time for this." Annabeth said as she grabbed a hold of Percy and Grover and legged it down the street and bolted into the nearest open store. They didn't want to run but they did not have the time to deal with six idiots. Well everyone except Naruto.

The leader who charged at Naruto was about to punch Naruto square in the face before he found Naruto's fist planted in his gut and then Naruto lazily lifted his knee up and wacked him in the face knocking him out cold. Naruto then picked up his body and threw him into a nearby dumpster.

He then turned around and looked at the other five lazily who all looked like they had seen a ghost. "Anyone else want a go?" He asked before they all scrambled around before they ran off down the street.

"Like Shikamaru use to say, that was troublesome. But there was no way I was going to let those fools try to intimidate me. I better go find the others." he said to himself before he followed the scent of the others.

It didn't take him long, only a few minutes before he found the store where their scents stopped. But he was immediately on guard. The place smelt a little off. He lloked up at the sign and saw it said CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE. He squinted and eventually made it out as CRUSTYS WATER BED PALACE.

"I have a bad feeling about this." he thought as he opened the door and went inside. As soon as he did he found himself staring at one of the most peculiar scenes he had ever witnessed.

There was Percy standing next to some guy wearing a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall and had no hair what so ever on his head. He had a very creepy looking smile on his face and very think lidded eyes. He saw Percy look at him and gave him a look that said stay out of this and give me a moment.

While Percy chatted away to the man he saw Annabeth and Grover had been tied to two separate beds and were looking at the man a hatefully while their arms and legs were being stretched. "What the hell have I just walked in to." he thought feeling a little uncomfortable.

"I'll be with you in a moment young man" the guy said before he looked over to Naruto's right. "Stop wiggling you two. I will be with you in a minute."

Naruto looked over and saw two new people that had also been tied down onto the water beds. They were both girls and both looked to be about fourteen years old and they were both wearing silver jackets and dark pants. They both had their hair tied in a long braid and were both glaring hatefully at the man.

"You Bastard, I will kick your ass you stupid man."

"When I get out of here you will be sorry." the other shouted but the man just ignored them.

"Urm are you both okay?" Naruto asked walking up to them. Both girls turned their heads and had a look of anger on both of them until they saw Naruto. Their faces went from anger to disbelief.

"I-It's you. W-What are you doing here?" the first girl said stuttering a little bit. The other just stared at Naruto.

"Urm I m here on a quest with Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I'm sorry but have we met. I apologise if I don't remember the two of you."

Before the two girls could say anything a cry ran out through the store. Naruto looked over and saw the big man was now tied down on the bed as Annabeth and Grover was now untied and walked over with Percy towards Naruto.

The two girls also found their restraints had come off before they quickly got of the bed and stood next to each other.

"You guys okay?" Naruto asked getting a nod from them the three before Annabeth punched his arm.

"Where were you?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Ah sorry. That one guy attacked me so I thought I would defend myself. He is currently lying in a dumpster just round the corner. The others ran off like scared little mice." he said as the others nodded. "Who is he anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Thats Procrustes or "The Stretcher" in other terms. He was the giant who'd tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens." she said as Naruto nodded before pointing to the two girls.

"Who are they?" Naruto motioned over to the two girls who were talking to each other in hushed tones.

"Naruto" Annabeth said getting the boy to look at her. "Those two are hunters of Artemis. They are two of your mom's hunters" she said getting a surprised look form Naruto before he whirled around and looked at the two girls.

"You both know my mom?" He asked getting a surprised look from the two girls that eventually became a bit of a frown. No doubt they were not use to a boy calling Artemis their Mom.

"Of course we know her. She is our mistress and Lady. We happily serve her." one girl said before she walked up to Naruto and began sizing him up. "So you are our ladies son. You don't exactly look like much." she said smirking a little.

"Coming from the girl who got herself caught by Mr Stretchy over there, you're not really one to talk." he said causing the girl to look at him a little angrily.

"Come on Phoebe that's enough" the other girl said putting a hand on her should. "Sorry she is just a little angsty since we were kind of surprised to meet you. You have been the talk of the entire hunt ever since you were claimed. I'm Elizabeth by the way."

"It's nice to meet you. Ahh I guess the hunters were a little surprised."

"Just a little." she said with a snort. "Many were talking about having your head since it is a little unbelievable that our lady would have a child who was a boy." she said spitting out the word boy a little harshly making Naruto wince.

"Yeah um sorry about that" he said surprising both girls who looked at him a little oddly.

"Why are you apologizing?" they both asked not fully understanding why he was apologizing to them since he technically didn't do anything wrong.

"Well it's just I'm sure my arrival caused a bit of a stir with the hunters and have made you feel a little uneasy." he said getting a nod from the two girls. "Well I know you hunters don't really have much of an opinion of boys, but I would kind of like to get to know all you girls since you are a big part of my mom's life. Anything that is important to my mom is important to me."

Both girls just looked at him as if trying to figure out if there was any hidden agenda to what he was saying but saw there was not one. They could tell by his eyes that he was being very sincere and genuinely meant what he said. Perhaps what their lady had told them was true. Perhaps he was one of the few if only good hearted boys in the world.

"We will have to see." Elizabeth said while Phoebe stayed quiet but both girls inwardly were smiling a little. They would have to tell their sisters in the hunt that their lady's son really did seem okay.

"So what are you both doing here anyway?" he asked since others wanted to know that too.

"Our lady sent us to take care of Procrustes. He has been acting up lately and we were sent to deal with him. However we foolishly fell for one of his tricks and ended up tied down to those beds for the last two days."

"Ouch that sucks" he said getting nods from the two. I don't suppose my mom is around here, is she?" he asked getting weary glances from the two before they shook their heads.

"Your mother is somewhere in the Colorado Rockies at the moment with the other hunters."

"Oh never mind" he said a little sadly before the two groups fell into a bit of an awkward silence.

"Well we should get going" Annabeth said. "We still need to get to the underworld."

"And we need to dispose of Procrustes" Elizabeth said getting a grin from Phoebe as she unsheathed a pair of daggers.

"Come on its time for us to go." Annabeth said as she began leading Percy and Grover out with Naruto slowly falling behind home. He took one last look to the two hunters who were walking towards Procrustes.

"Tell my mom I look forward to seeing her. And tell the other hunters I look forward to getting to know my sisters."

The two hunters turned around to look at him but found he had already disappeared. Both had a surprised look on their faces when they heard him say sister. Neither was expecting it since they had only just met him and had been a tad rude towards him. They both stood their silently for a moment, even Phoebe who had been a little harsh towards him, felt this odd sense of warmth when he had called them his sisters. Both girls looked at each other letting a small smile grace their faces.

"Perhaps our ladie's son would make a fine brother" they both whispered before they turned their attention to Procrustes who was trying to get out of the binding knowing full well the two hunters girls were going to make mince meat out of him.

With Team Demi God

After the group left with Naruto thought so n the two hunters he had just met the group made their way through L.A, avoiding any gang or groups since they were on a bit of tight schedule before they found themselves at their destination.

They looked up at the building in front of them and saw gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.

Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors were the words: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

"How cheery." the all thought before they walked inside.

It was almost midnight when they arrived and the sun had set hours ago. The lobby was full of people who were both queuing up and who were standing by the walls to the sides looking very miserable. Then again they would be since they were dead.

"Well here we are" Percy said. "You guys ready to whoop some Underworld butt?" he said getting a nod from Naruto who had a small grin on his face. While Annabeth and Grover looked a little uneasy but nodded anyway.

As they walked forward Naruto got a good look at the place. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator.

No one spoke and the only sound that could be heard was the lobby music and the sound of their walking.

When they got to the security guard desk, there was a tall elegant looking man with chocolate coloured skin and with bleached blonde hair that was shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.

"Your name is Chiron" Percy said that immediately caused the others to sigh in annoyance while the man looked at Percy a little annoyed. Naruto wondered whether Percy actually knew anything about Greek mythology. Percy was very quickly becoming the most clueless demi god around.

"Do I look like a centaur to you?" he asked Percy who quickly shook his head. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H-A-R-O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."

"Um sorry" Percy said avoiding the mans stare.

"I hate being confused with that old horse." he grumbled.

"We need to go to the underworld." Annabeth said speaking up making Charon roll his eyes.

"Well that's new." he said sarcastically. "I doubt your here for a holiday."

"I can think of a hundred other places to go holiday then the Underworld." Naruto thought.

"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. 'No There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.' "He looked them over."How did you die, then?"

Percy nudged Grover.

"Oh," he said. "Um ... drowned ... in the bathtub."

"All of you?" he asked skeptically.

"Well they did, but now I was a different story." Naruto said thinking of having a little fun with this. "You see I was on a nice little walk when a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way home. On my walk I saw an old lady who needed help with her bags. so being gentlemen I thought I would help. Once that was done I ran to a young girl and we started to dance for ten minutes. After that I got so lost on the path of life, so I didn't see the bus coming towards me." he said finishing the story.

All four just looked at him in amazement. Even Charon was a little awestruck.

"Kid I don't know whether that was a lie or not, but wow just wow."

"Now that's a lie" the others thought as Naruto prided himself.

"Thank you Kakashi Sensei." Naruto thought. Somewhere in Konoha a man with earth defying hair sneezed and fist pumped the air.

Charon eyed them curiously before sighing. "Do you have payment?" he asked as Percy dug into the back pack and got out a small bag full of golden drachmas.

"Well now it's been a while since I have seen real drachmas" Charon said, while greedily eyeing the bag before he smelled the air around them

"Hey wait a minute. You guys are alive. Get out or get in line." he said about to grab the bag of drachma's before Naruto quickly snatched it away.

"If you get us to the underworld the bag is all your. Along with interest." Percy said getting a nod from Naruto who juggling the bag in his hands.

"Do you think I can be bought, godlings? Eh ... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"

"A lot," Percy said. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."

"We could mention a pay raise while we are talking to Hades" Naruto said getting a glint in his eye that would have made Hermes proud.

Charon sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."

He stood and took the money from Naruto's hand along with some added drachma's Percy handed to him, and said, "Come along."

The group pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things they couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."

They all stood inside an elevator as they felt themselves going down.

Then they all felt al little dizzy and before long felt themselves going forward instead of down. They all noticed that Charon's clothes had now changed to long black robes

"I think I'm getting seasick" Grover mumbled s he held his hand in front of his mouth.

They all blinked and then found that the elevator they were in was now a wooden barge and they were sailing in some kind of oily looking river.

"This is the-"

"River Styx." Annabeth said looking over the side.

"It looks so polluted" Percy whispered

Charon looked at them and let a creepy smile from on his face at the others looked at his completed black and lifeless looking eyes.

"Well children here we are, welcome to the Underworld."

Chapter 18 Completed

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