Author's Note: I have a friend I met on here who's going through some medical stuff right now. She needs some prayers. Even though I am not religious, I still think saying prayers for someone helps send positive vibes and energy their way. Thanks everyone. I know she'll appreciate it.

Chapter 42: Charon

"Are we ready?" Mike asked as the four of them gathered at the entrance of a graveyard waiting for Piper.

"This is really creepy," Davy said peering carefully into the graveyard. It sent chills up Mike's spine too and the thought of walking through it made him shiver a little.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Peter asked a little higher pitched than normal.

"Unfortunately," Micky answered staring into the cemetery. "I don't like it either, but we have to do this."

"We have to get this over with," Mike agreed taking a deep breath. Piper joined them a minute later and handed each of them a coin. On one side of the coin there was what appeared to be an image of the head of Medusa and on the other side was a weird looking anchor.

"How did you guys sleep?" Piper asked as she handed the coins out to each of them.

"Fitfully," Micky answered.

"To be expected," Piper answered offering him a comforting smile. "You're all under a lot of stress right now."

"These look weird," Davy said eyeing the coin he was given.

"These are the coins to give to Charon," Piper said. "Don't lose these. If you don't give him one, he won't take you anywhere and I only have 5."

"Got it," Micky said shoving his in his pocket. "Are you sure you want to come?"

"Positive," Piper answered grabbing his hand. Mike pulled the weapons out of his car and they each carried a small backpack with basic first aid supplies and the potions they had made in preparation. Piper carried a slightly larger backpack that Mike guessed had other potions and ingredients to make more if needed. "Shall we?" Peter groaned a little and Davy whimpered. Mike knew both were scared and felt a pang of guilt hit him. This had been his idea and it was motivated by anger and revenge, but now he knew it was also an important necessity.

"Let's get this over with," Mike said. It was early enough in the morning where it was still slightly dark and no one would see them if they moved carefully. They didn't want to be drawing any attention; and luckily for them, no one was here this early in the morning. They walked through the cemetery staying very close to each other and made their way to a spot Piper had picked out earlier. It was next to a very large crypt and when they arrived, Piper immediately took candles out of her bag and arranged them in a circle.

"Ok, I found a spell to summon Charon," Piper said as she started lighting them. "It's in Latin, but basically it just asks him to come here and take us to Hades. Which is the same thing as the Underworld. I have to chant it three times."

"What does it say?" Micky asked looking at the piece of paper Piper had placed in front of her. Mike couldn't really see the words from his vantage point, but couldn't understand Latin anyway even if he could see it.

"I summon thee, Ferryman, come to my aid now, transport me into the depths, take me into Hades," Piper answered.

"So he'll take us right to the Devil and then we fight?" Davy asked.

"Not exactly," Piper answered. "All he can do is take us to the Underworld. Witches aren't even really allowed to be there, let alone you guys. We'll have to traverse through to find him. Charon might be able to bring us close, but we shouldn't plan on that. Charon is a neutral being. He is neither good nor bad so I really don't know if he'll help us or not."

"Ok, so since we may be down there for a while, we should get started," Mike said trying to ease the fear in his friends at least a little.

"Agreed," Piper said standing up. "Stay outside the circle and don't touch the candles." The boys nodded and backed away from the candles to let Piper perform the spell. She closed her eyes and started saying the spell in fluent Latin. "Ego vocare te, navita; Intende in adjutorium meum; Adhortantesque me profunda; Accipe me in infernum." She said this three times and suddenly the graveyard got really cold and a strong wind kicked up. Mike feared that the wind would blow out the candles, but soon realized this was supposed to happen. A fog circled around them and Mike started to shiver from the cold. He could see not only his breath mixing with the fog, but everyone else's too.

"Does it have to be this cold?" Peter mumbled trying to wrap his arms around himself to warm up. Mike was about to tell Peter to stay quiet when a man appeared in the fog. He looked ancient; his skin was barely hanging on to his bones and he appeared to have almost no muscle anymore.

"Charon?" Piper asked.

"You aren't dead," Charon said simply.

"No, we aren't," Piper answered stepping out of the circle of candles. "But we do need passage into the Underworld. We are seeking a demon."

"That is a mighty dangerous thing, young lady," Charon said almost paternally.

"I understand that," Piper said. "But I would not be able to summon you if I could not handle myself against demons."

"This is true," Charon said. "Not that it matters to me what fate befalls you. Which demon do you seek?"

"The demon known to mortals as the Devil," she answered.

"I see," Charon said. "And all 5 of you wish to make this trip?"

"Yes," Mike answered confidently gripping the sword now attached to his waist hoping that it showed they meant business.

"Well, I do not make the trip for free," Charon answered.

"We know," Micky said pulling the coin out of his pocket and handing it to Charon. Charon took it with a slow and shaky movement that reminded Mike of a very, very old man. Davy, Peter, Mike and Piper all handed their own coins to Charon carefully as though one wrong movement and the man would fall apart. It looked to Mike like if he even so much as stepped the wrong way, his bones would disintegrate.

"Watch your step," Charon said waving his arm to move the fog and reveal a small boat. "It is only designed for a few dead passengers, so the ride might be a little tight."

"We'll manage," Micky said as the five of them walked toward the boat. The boat was indeed very cramped when all five of them had taken a seat inside it, but Mike hoped the ride wouldn't take very long. Piper sat next to Micky and gripped his hand comfortingly and lovingly. The boat moved once they were all seated and it seemed to float as if it were truly on water. The fog around them grew thicker and thicker until they could no longer see anything around the boat. Peter shivered next to him as they felt the air get wet with the heightened fog added to the cold.

"I can take you as close to him as I can," Charon explained after a while. "But he is currently seeking out another demon as well."

"How do you know that?" Davy asked.

"Because I can see whoever I wish to see at any given time in the Underworld to decide where to take the dead," Charon answered.

"What demon is he seeking out?" Piper asked.

"All I know is that he is in the oldest part of the Underworld," Charon answered. "Only the worthy may pass through to it. You will have to face a series of tests in order to prove your worth in order to be granted access to him."

"Tests?" Peter asked. "What kind of tests?"

"I forgot my pencil," Micky joked.

"They are tests to prove your worth," Charon answered very unhelpfully. "That is all I can say."

"Prove our worth," Mike echoed trying to figure out what this mean. "So like strength and endurance tests?"

"I cannot tell you any more than what I already have," Charon said.

"What happens if we fail?" Davy asked.

"I will be coming back for you," Charon answered simply.

"So we die if we fail?" Peter asked rather scared.

"Are we still sure we want to do this?" Micky asked getting a little pale himself.

"Yes," Mike answered. "If he's already seeking out another demon, who knows what he's planning. We can't wait on this. We have to strike him down now before he has a chance to strike against us."

"Mike has a point," Piper said. "Especially if he's in the oldest part of the Underworld. The demons that live there are some of the nastiest demons alive. They've been alive for hundreds of thousands of years. If not longer. There's a reason they've been alive so long and since they have been alive for so long, they are much wiser and more powerful than others. I can't imagine what he may be thinking about doing to you all. We need to strike him down now before he gains a more powerful ally."

"What kinds of demons are we talking about here?" Micky asked.

"I honestly don't know," Piper said. "They don't usually even come to the surface. I've never come across them."

"Charon?" Mike asked hoping the man could be at least a little helpful. "Do you know what kinds of demons live there?"

"Of course I do," Charon answered. "They are as old as me. Some even older."

"That's helpful," Davy muttered.

"Let's just hope we don't have to find out," Piper said. "I don't think we'd be able to win against one of them."

"What happens if we come across one while looking for the Devil?" Peter asked.

"That's when I use my magic to get us out," Piper said. "But I doubt that they would even attack us."

"I don't understand," Davy started. "How come your magic can get us how but not into the Underworld?"

"It's complicated," Piper said. "It's like getting in and out of a locked room. You can't get in unless you have the key. But once you're inside, you don't need the key to get out. Charon is our key."

"You're sure you can get us out?" Mike asked.

"Yes," Piper answered firmly.

"Then we have to do this," Mike said. "We just need to have faith that we can pass these tests. I have no doubt that we will all be fine because we are stronger than he gives us credit for. That's why he wants to turn Micky into a demon. He knows we can beat him. He knows we can do this. We've won all his little games so far, why should now be any different? We are prepared and we are a team. Together we are always stronger than we are separate."

"Right," Micky, Davy, and Peter all said at the same time. The boat came to a stop and Charon stepped of motioning for the five of them to do so as well.

"Good luck," Charon said with a slight smile. Mike couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or if he was really wishing them luck, but he preferred not to think about it too much. They needed positive thoughts more than anything else right now. As soon as they got off the boat, the fog lifted and Charon disappeared. They were standing in a field of dead grass and dirt surrounded by a river. When he looked, however, he didn't see any water in the river. He couldn't tell what it was, but it flowed like water and rippled like water, but it looked like just dense fog.

"Don't touch that," Piper cautioned. "You touch it and you die in a second." Mike quickly backed away valuing his life more than his curiosity. He didn't want to take the chance of falling in or anything else.

"Guess there's only one direction to go," Micky said looking ahead of them.

"Then let's go," Davy said leading the way. Mike, Micky, Peter and Piper all followed him through the field. They couldn't see where it ended or if it led anywhere, but it was truly the only direction they could go; so they walked through it, each of them ready for anything that might appear from nowhere and attack them.