CHAPTER 24: GAME, SET, MATCH

The bluish lights along the ceiling moved from right to left, almost like an arrow pointing in the right direction. The ragtag group of students followed the lights all the way to the gigantic door leading to the Underworld. When they got close enough, the door opened on its own. A cold breeze wafted from within, and Jill couldn't help but picture a hungry mouth that would swallow her up forever.

She forced her feet to move along, sandwiched between her friends, and finally entered the ominous Underworld. It was just as dark and dreary as she envisioned—despite being a goth, she didn't like this atmosphere.

The door closed as soon as everyone was inside, and a holographic version of Ortho appeared from one of the monitors on the walls.

"Hey, guys! Glad you could make it!" he said. His cheerful tone was back, but it still seemed off. "You'll have to hurry, though, because Idia's already making lots of progress on opening Tartarus! The Titans will be loose any minute, and then you'll really have a boss battle on your hands!"

"Oh yeah? Bring it on!" Deuce slammed his fist into his other hand. "We're not scared of any Titan!"

"And when we get down there, you and your precious brother are gonna get sanded," Leona warned.

"Ooh, I'm scared! Reach us if you can!" Ortho chuckled. "Oh yeah, and I disabled all the Chariots and elevators, so you'll have to go on foot. That's what a dungeon crawler is all about!"

"Making us climb down all these stairs… you're evil, Ortho," Jill grumbled.

"I don't suppose you'll be telling us where Grim is, either?" Riddle guessed.

"Well, he's definitely down here somewhere," Ortho said innocently. "You'll have to find him though. Consider it a side-mission."

"Consider it done," Jamil said, matching Ortho's tone.

"Great! Well, good luck, players! See you at the bottom!" And then Ortho's hologram dissolved.

"I don't remember Ortho being this much of a jerk," Ace commented. "He's always been so friendly before."

"We'll deal with Ortho and Idia soon enough," Vil said. "Now then… there are three hangars downstairs, with the three pieces of the Thunder Spear inside." He nodded to three gigantic towers around the area, marked 1, 2, and 3, each with their own daunting staircase next to a powerless elevator.

"So we'll have to split into three groups," Rook verified. "Let's make sure to disperse ourselves evenly."

"I'll take Riddle," Azul decided. "He and I have captured Grim before. If we encounter him again, it would be a cinch."

"Odd reasoning… then again, we have worked well together before," Riddle acknowledged. "Very well. How about Tower 3?"

"Let's see…" Leona pointed to Jamil. "You seem pretty capable. Come with me to Tower 1."

"Thanks," Jamil said dryly, but he nodded and stepped up to Leona's side.

"I'll take Epel and Rook," Vil said. "We're already the perfect trio."

"Oui, I agree!" Rook said.

"Perfect trio, huh? I like it," Epel said happily.

"That leaves me, Jill, and Deuce…" Ace looked around awkwardly. "There's ten of us total, but that will make the groups uneven."

"We don't have time to argue about it. Each team will pick one of you," Leona said. "Deuce, Jack tells me that you're pretty fast. And you did knock out those Charons with your cauldron. So come on over to our team."

"Huh?" Deuce spared a glance at Ace, Jill, and Riddle. Riddle nodded and gestured to Leona with a smile, giving his blessing. Deuce nodded tersely, shoulders squared, and joined Leona and Jamil.

"Ace, you're with me and Azul," Riddle announced.

Ace and Jill gave each other a worried look, then Jill smiled and nodded. Go, she mouthed. Ace smiled faintly and joined his housewarden.

"Well, look at me! Picked last from every team!" Jill sighed to herself. "Some things never change."

"Don't sell yourself short, Jill! We want you on our team!" Epel said. He grabbed her by the shoulder, and with a surprising strength, herded Jill over to the Pomefiores.

"Since the teams are set… let's do a quick team huddle!" Deuce announced.

"Alright, a team huddle! Just like in Spelldrive!" Epel seconded.

"A what now?" Jill asked, completely clueless in all things sports-related. But she was once again pulled forward, this time in a circle to face everyone else. Some teammates were excited, others were confused like her.

"Jill, will you do the honors?" Ace asked.

"Honors? What do I do, exactly?" Jill wondered. With everyone's heads bowed, her first instinct was to deliver a group prayer, but this wasn't what the others were asking for.

"Just give some quick pep talk," Deuce said. "Something that will give us the fire we need!"

"I, ahhh… let's march down there and beat up all the bad guys! Go team, go!" Jill shouted.

"Short and sweet, good," Leona said, pulling away. "See you guys at the finish line."

"Same to you," Azul said with a smirk. "But please don't get jealous if we already get there first."

"You took the words out of my mouth," Vil declared. "It's a race then."

With a swift goodbye and good luck, the three groups departed down the different sets of stairs. Jill gave a quick mental prayer to keep everyone safe, even Grim.

She knew that the Greek Underworld wasn't the same as Hell, but something told her this Underworld was going to feel that way.

Author's Note: Oh goody, we're entering THAT part of Book 6. Those two super-long, super-hard chapters that had me pulling my hair out when I had to go through them. Jill's comparison to Hell is not exaggerated. :p