The chapter is extremely long!

They were wandering the streets of Las Vegas a place Evangeline never wanted to come back to, they were looking for a place to eat and rest away from the heat. Soon they arrived at a place that was the brunette's old home, she didn't want to come back there.

The daughter of Hades stopped in front of the doors. "Maybe we should go somewhere else," she suggested.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"It looks like it has bad...service," Evangeline wasn't sure if that sounded as convincing as she had hoped because the other three didn't listen.

"We're just making a quick stop," Annabeth said. "Just go in, rest, and leave, simple."

"But..." The brunette struggled to come up with the words. "This looks like a cheap place to rest in." she blurted.

Percy looked at her with a strange look. "That's what you're worried about?"

Evangeline glared at him but before she could say anything Annabeth had already dragged her inside.

"Whoa," Grover said. The doorman appeared and smiled at the four. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor water slide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building and an indoor bungee jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns.

And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Everything you could think of was there. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. Not waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food imaginable.

"Hey!" a bellhop said. He was the same bellhop when Evangeline was there she was silently hoping he wouldn't recognize her. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy stammered, "Um, but ..."

"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."

He handed them each a green plastic credit card.

Evangeline was already getting hit by deja vu. Percy was holding the card when he asked, "How much is on here?"

The bellhop's eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

As they were walking the bellhop stopped the brunette and said. "Welcome back, Miss Merlyn."

Evangeline faltered but didn't say anything as she caught up with the other three questers.

They took the elevator upstairs and checked out their room. It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and waterbeds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet.

The balcony had its own hot tub and, sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so they could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with the gun.

"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."

"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."

Evangeline was getting restless waiting for the other three to finish their small vacation.  Grover was eating chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth and Percy fought over the TV remote.

"All those stations," Percy told Annabeth, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

"It's interesting," she insisted.

"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."

Without even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again...

Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards.

"Playtime," the son of Poseidon said.

"Or we could come back another time?" Evangeline suggested. "You know since we have a few days left."

"It's only been like a few minutes relax," Annabeth told her.

The brunette was about to say something but her head started to feel foggy. Evangeline couldn't remember what she wanted to tell them. Suddenly, she thought about what Annabeth said, maybe she should relax. Maybe she should stay there for a while.

They all went down to the lobby, the three disappeared from the brunette's sight and Evangeline ran into a little boy, he had olive skin, shaggy messy raven hair, and dark brown eyes.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," Evangeline turned to him.

"Why are you by yourself?" He asked.

"Why are you talking to me?"

"You looked nice." The boy shrugged. "What's your name? I'm Nico." He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Nico di Angelo."

"I'm Evangeline Merlyn," Nico shook her hand a little wildly before taking it back, looking proud of himself.

"Why are you out here all alone, Nico?" She asked.

"I'm not alone, Bianca is getting me french fries from the cafeteria." He shrugged.

"Bianca?"

"My older sister," he explained.

The brunette nodded and looked at the boy, she noticed the cards in his hand. "What's that in your other hand?" She asked.

When she mentioned the cards, Nico's face lit up. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to a table. He set the cards down. He took a deep breath as he dove into an in-depth explanation of the card game he was obsessed with. Evangeline didn't understand a single thing but she just smiled at Nico as he rambled.

She wondered if he ever ran out of oxygen with how much he was talking without taking a break.

"Do you not need air to talk or what?" She asked as Nico laid out small statues of the gods.

"It's a talent I have," The boy said smugly. "I'm multitalented."

"I can see that," Evangeline agreed. "So is it just you and your sister here?"

Nico nodded. "Yup," he popped the p. "Just me and Bianca. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

The brunette cleared her throat. "No, not really."

"Oh, that sucks," he mumbled. "I can't imagine my life without my sister."

Evangeline slightly smiled. "Your sister sounds like a cool person."

"She's the best, but don't tell her I said that." He told her.

"I won't." She promised.

"Hey! Evangeline!" Percy yelled as he sprinted to the table they were at.

"Look who showed up," She didn't even look at him.

"Can I talk to you?"

Before she could say anything, she heard a girl's voice call for Nico. The di Angelo boy sighed as he collected his cards and figurines. "That's my sister, I have to go."

"Don't cause too much trouble for her," Evangeline said.

Nico nodded and raised his hand for a high five. "Bye Evangeline,"

"Bye, kid." She gave him a high five.

Nico pursed his lips and gave her one last look as he walked away, soon after he disappeared Evangeline turned to the son of Poseidon who was staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," he said. "We have to get out of here, this place it's weird."

Evangeline felt like he was right, she felt like she was forgetting to tell them something but no matter how hard she racked her brain she couldn't remember.

"Come on, princess." Percy blurted. "I think I saw Annabeth near the trampoline section."

He noticed the look she was giving him.  "What?"

"Princess?" She raised a brow.

"Hades is the ruler of the underworld," he explained. "That technically makes you a princess."

Evangeline nodded and the two took off to find their friends.

Soon after they found Annabeth, they began looking for Grover. They managed to find him pretty quickly, playing Virtual Deer Hunter.

"Die, Human, Die, silly polluting nasty person!"

"Grover!" Evangeline yelled at him.

He spun around, pointing the plastic gun at her while he clicked as if she were an image from the screen. Sharing a look with Percy they grabbed Grover by the arms, dragging him from the game. His flying shoes sprung to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted at them.

"No! I just got to a new level! No!"

The bellhop skipped over to them. "Well, now, are you ready for the platinum cards?"

"We're leaving," Percy told him in a stern tone.

"Such a shame." he hung his head. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum card members." He held out the cards. The satyr attempted to reach for one, but Annabeth hit his hand away from reaching the card.

"No thanks." With that, they burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. The weather was now stormy with thunder roaring throughout the desert.

And Percy had Ares's backpack that was slung over his shoulder, something Evangeline had thought he had thrown away.

"Come on," Annabeth guided them to the nearest newspaper stand when Evangeline noticed the date. June twentieth.

They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. They had only one day left until the summer solstice, one day to return Zeus's lightning bolt.

She couldn't believe she had let herself get distracted, Evangeline wanted to curse the hotel for making her forget about its tricks on the mind but then again it was her fault for not being more careful.

Annabeth loaded them into the back of a Vegas taxi as if they actually had money, and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."

The cab driver chewed his cigar and sized the four of them up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay upfront."

"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.

He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through, first."

Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card.

He looked at it skeptically.

"Swipe it," the daughter of wisdom invited.

He did.

His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally, an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.

The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. He looked back at the four, his eyes wide. "Where to in Los Angeles ... uh, Your Highness?"

"The Santa Monica pier." Annabeth sat up a little straighter. "Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."

On the road, the questers had plenty of time to talk. Percy told Annabeth, Grover, and Evangeline about his latest dream, but seemed to forget more and more as he tried to tell. The Lotus Casino had short-circuited all of their memories.

"The servant called the ..." the boy trailed off, not knowing what to name the other person talking. "It was the same voice from the dream with my dad and Zeus on the beach shore. The servants ... I thought I recognized the voice, but I'm not sure anymore. But the servant called him 'my lord', or something like that. I don't remember that well." He shrugged, looking bothered.

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

"Maybe ..." Percy said, but he sounded unsure.

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

The son of Poseidon 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."

Evangeline didn't like where this conversation was heading, things were getting sketchier.

Annabeth's eyes widened. It looked like she had come to a horrible conclusion.

"Now what?" Evangeline asked, letting out a sigh.

"Oh ... nothing. I was just—No, it has to be Hades. Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"

"Like what?" Percy asked.

"I—I don't know," Annabeth said. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt."

"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," Percy said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"

"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."

"You're a dark little satyr sometimes." Evangeline told Grover.

"Why, thank you."

"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," Percy said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"

The satyr shook his head, clearly mystified. Evangeline was looking at Percy, she already knew what his next question was going to be, and she was silently begging him not to ask.

"You have an idea of what might be in the pit, don't you?" Percy asked her. "I mean if it isn't Hades,"

"Percy." she frowned. "drop it." she quickly changed the topic, "Because if it isn't my father, then..."

"No, it has to be Hades." Annabeth interrupted the girl.

Wasteland rolled by. They passed a sign that said: CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES. Evangeline felt like she was going to be swallowed into the Earth, the closer she got to her father the more nervous she became, she started twisting her ring back and forth, and the more she thought about the quest, the more she was sure that confronting her father wasn't the real answer.

Percy noticed Annabeth critically thinking about something, Grover looking out the window, and Evangeline staring at the seat in front of her.

Percy leaned over and whispered, "You're nervous." he said.

She scoffed. "No, I'm not."

He pointed towards her twisting her ring back and forth, which she stopped when he pointed at it. She hated that he was right. "Shut up," she grumbled.

At sunset, the taxi dropped them off at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the movies, only that it smelled horrible. There were carnival rides lining the pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.

The four of them walked down to the edge of the surf.

"What now?" Annabeth asked. She watched as Percy took a step towards the water.

He stepped into the surf.

"Percy?" Annabeth called, her face written with confusion. "What are you doing?"

But the boy kept walking, up to his waist, then his chest.

Annabeth was frowning. "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic—" Annabeth stopped abruptly as Percy's head disappeared under the water.

"We should let him drown," Evangeline said.

"No," The other two spoke at the same time.

Percy came out of the sea when the sunset was almost gone. He told the three waiting what happened while he was under the sea and showed them the pearls that he had gotten from the Nereid.

Annabeth grimaced at the sight of them. "No gift comes without a price."

"They were free," he pointed out.

"No, they weren't." Annabeth still shook her head. "There's a phrase in Ancient Greek that translates pretty well into English: 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' So, there will be a price—eventually."

"I have an idea why don't we offer Percy as payment?" Evangeline offered.

"That's because we need to bring him back alive," Annabeth reminded.

With some spare change from Ares's backpack, they took a bus into West Hollywood. Evangeline showed the driver the Underworld address slip, but the driver had never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

"You remind me of someone I saw on television." The driver told Percy. "You a child actor or something?"

"Uh... I'm a stunt double... for a lot of child actors."

"Oh, that explains it!"

They hurried off at the next stop. The four wandered around for miles on foot, trying to find the 'DOA Recording Studios' but nobody seemed to know where or even what it was. It didn't appear in the phone book. Twice, they had to duck alleyways to avoid the police.

Percy suddenly stopped in front of an appliance store window causing a domino effect as Annabeth bumped into him, then Evangeline bumped into her, and Grover bumped into her. The boy's eyes hardened as he watched one of the television's things play an interview on the shop's screen, she turned her head to look at where he was looking.

A man was being interviewed by a woman named Barbara Walters in the middle of a poker game in an apartment. Besides him, there was a young blonde lady patting his hand, fake tears glistened on his cheeks.

"Honestly, Ms. Walters" he was saying. "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 camero... I-I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it.

Barbara Walters turned towards the camera. "There you have it America. A man torn apart, and an adolescent boy with serious issues. Let me show you again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive taken a week ago in Denver. "

The screen cut to a grainy shot of Percy, Evangeline, Annabeth, and Grover standing outside the Colorado diner, talking to Ares.

"Who are the other children in the photo?" Barbara Walters asked. "Who is the man with them? Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps a brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."

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

As they hurried past the entrance of an alley, a voice called from the darkness, "Hey, you."

Like the moron he is, Percy turned towards the voice. Evangeline to ran a hand down her face at his actions. And she realized that they were surrounded, six of them were all rich white kids with expensive clothes and nonfriendly faces.

Percy uncapped Riptide, once the sword appeared the kids backed off, except the leader. A switchblade slid to his fingers from his sleeves as he stepped forward. The brunette could see the raven-haired boy raising his arm to swing the swords.

"Percy, wait..." Annabeth tried to stop him but it was too late, he had already swung his sword. His blade passed through the rich boy's chest, transparent but it was obvious he felt something as he had let out a loud yelp. "What the..."

"Run!" Percy screamed to the three beside him.

They all broke off into a sprint.

"There!" Annabeth shouted, pointing towards a store on the block that looked open, its windows glaring with neon.

"Crusty's Waterbed Palace?" Grover translated with a frown.

They burst through the doors. Annabeth grabbed Grover and ran behind a water bed, and Evangeline grabbed Percy's arm as they ran and hid behind a different water bed. Not after long the gang of kids ran past outside.

Evangeline smacked Percy in the back of his head. "Seaweed moron." earning a look from the boy as he rubbed where she smacked him. "How can you get dumber by the second?"

"Ow," he grumbled. "Don't act like you've had a better plan."

"I know for a fact that it wouldn't have been as stupid as yours." She shot back.

"I think..." Grover and Annabeth approached the two. "we lost them" the satyr panted.

A voice behind them boomed, "Lost who?"

They all jumped. Standing behind them was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had grey leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold reptilian smile. He moved towards them slowly.

His shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. "I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.

"Yes, you are," Evangeline nodded as Annabeth elbowed in the side.

"Sorry to barge in," Percy told him. "We were just—um—browsing."

"You mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. "They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a waterbed?"

They were about to say no when Crusty stepped behind them and steered the three demigods and the satyr deeper into the showroom.

"This is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored jelly. "Million-hand massage," Crusty told them. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, anyway."

"Million-hand massage!" Grover cried and dived in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."

"Hm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."

"Almost what?" Percy asked.

Crusty looked at the brunette and the blonde. "You two girls do me a favor and try these over here. Might fit."

He grabbed them by the shoulder and dragged them over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned bedspread.

"I don't think so," the brunette tried, but the man didn't give much of a choice before Crusty pushed her down onto the bed. He then said "Ergo!" and snapped his fingers

Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Evangeline holding her to the mattresses. Grover tried to get up, but the ropes sprang from his bed, too, lashing him down.

"Not cool!" the satyr yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "Not cool at all!"

The giant looked down at Annabeth, then Evangeline, his lips turned into a grin. "Almost. Damn, it." Her eyes narrowed as she struggled against the ropes.

Percy took one step away before Crusty grabbed him by the back of the neck. "Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec."

"Let my friends go," Percy ordered but was ignored.

"Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."

"What do you mean?"

"All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit. Can't stand imperfect measurements," Crusty muttered. "Ergo!"

A new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the waterbeds, wrapping around Evangeline's ankles, and then around her hands. The ropes started tightening, pulling her from both ends.  The pain of being stretched alive hurt,  she felt her joints ready to pop out of their sockets and detach from her body.

"Don't worry," Crusty told Percy. "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines. They might even live. Now, why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"

Crusty forced Percy to stay there for a few seconds, to watch his friends get stretched and pushed beyond their limits. This action caused Percy to get angrier as Evangeline gritted her teeth to suppress a painful cry, Crusty pulled Percy away from the beds.

Evangeline tried to think about everything else but the fact that she was being stretched to death.  Finally, a slice of celestial bronze cut through her ropes and freed her body from the bed. She groaned as she sat up, her muscles felt like they'd been ripped apart.

Percy stood next to the bed, watching her carefully.

She stumbled forward once her feet hit the ground. "You look taller," he remarked, giving a small smile.

"You're about to be shorter when I bury you six feet under," Evangeline glared at the boy.

"Your threats are weird."

"Very funny," Annabeth grumbled, wrapping an arm around Grover's shoulder as he did the same. "Be faster next time."

"Come on," the son of Poseidon said. Annabeth scoffed. "Slow down, you didn't just have your spine broken multiple times."

"Give us a minute!" Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death!"

"Then you're ready for the Underworld." He said. "It's only a block from here."

Evangeline walked inside the DOA lobby beside Grover, music playing softly on a hidden speaker. The carpet and walls were steel grey and pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, with every seat being taken. People were sitting on couches, standing up, staring out the windows, or waiting for the elevator. Nobody was moving, talking, or doing anything.

Since the security guard's desk was a raised podium, she had to look up at him. He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-covered skin and bleached blonde hair shaved military style. He was wearing tortoiseshell shades with 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 asked.

"What a precious young lad." He had a British accent, but it was also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur!"

"N-no." Percy stuttered.

"Sir." He added.

"Sir." Percy repeated.

The tall man held onto his name tag. "Can you read this, mate? It says Charon. Say it with me, Cha-ron."

"Charon."

"Amazing. Now Mr. Charon."

"Mr. Charon."

"Well done." Charon sat back in his chair. "I hate being confused with that old horseman. And now how may I help you little dead ones?"

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

"Well, that's refreshing," Charon smirked.

"Is it?" Annabeth asked with shock.

"Straight forward and honest. No screaming. No 'there must be a mistake, Mr. Charon." He looked them over. Soon after Percy lied about them dying in a bathtub Charon figured out that they were half-bloods when Percy handed him golden drachmas. Charon told them to never return but did a double take when he noticed Evangeline.

"Well, well." He said. "If it isn't the daughter of Lord Hades." He leaned forward and watched Evangeline looking her up and down. "What are you waiting for child go on," he told her motioning his hands, towards the crowd of spirits and the elevator at the end. Evangeline stepped forward, but the other three were stopped from following, which caused her to stop as well.

"You three still can't go," Charon told them.

"We have to get to the Underworld." Percy insisted.

"Leave while you can." He said. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you-"

Percy snatched the drachmas before Charon could reach them.

"No service, no tip." Percy snapped.

"It's a shame, too." Annabeth sighed. "We had more to offer." She held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash, taking out a fistful of drachmas and letting the hold spill through her fingers.

Charon's growl changed to more of a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling? 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." He added.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'please don't let me be dead' or 'please let me cross for free.' I haven't had a pay rise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like these come cheap?"

"You deserve better. Percy agreed.  "And a lot more appreciation and respect. More gratitude, too."

With each word, Percy stacked another gold coin on the counter.

Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, kids, you're making some sense now. Just a little."

Percy stacked another few coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades."

Charon sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you four and be off." He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along."

The three pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at their clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things. The spirits didn't dare to try and grab the brunette as  Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."

He escorted them into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with them and pushed them back into the lobby.

"Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"

He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and they started to descend.

"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing," Charon said.

"For how long? Like, forever?"

Charon nodded. "Forever—or until I'm feeling generous."

"Oh," said the daughter of wisdom. "That's ... fair."

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."

"We'll get out alive," Percy said.

Charon snorted at the son of Poseidon's optimism.

Evangeline got a sudden dizzy feeling. They weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. The spirits around her started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into grey hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying.

Evangeline blinked and Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets—like Ares's eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair.

He saw her looking, and said, "Well?"

"Nothing," she muttered. The flesh of his face was becoming transparent, letting her see straight through to his skull.

The floor kept swaying. Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."

When she blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. They were standing in a wooden barge. Charon was poling them across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things—plastic dolls, crushed carnations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges.

"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured, frowning deeply. "It's so ..."

"Polluted," Charon agreed. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."

Mist curled off the filthy water. Above them, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison.

The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones—the howl of a large animal.

"Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."

The bottom of the boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than Evangeline was, shuffling silently along in his grey robe.

Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise." He counted their gold coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river.

There were three seperate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were toll booths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon. The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling.

"What do you figure?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"The fast line must go straight to Asphodel," Annabeth said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."

"There's a court for dead people?"

Evangeline nodded. "There're three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare—people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward—the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Fields of Asphodel."

"And do what?"

"Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever," she explained.

"Harsh."

The four got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at their feet, but Cerberus was nowhere to be seen.

Then, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.

Evangeline had seen him in dreams, but never properly because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at them.

Percy's jaw hung open. "He's a Rottweiler."

The dead walked right up to him—no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching.

"I'm starting to see him better," Percy muttered. "Why is that?"

Annabeth gulped.  "I think it's because we getting closer to being dead.

"Sucks for you guys," Evangeline muttered since she had more of a chance at getting out of the Underworld than the other three.

The dog's middle head craned towards them. It sniffed the air and growled.

"It can smell the living," Percy said.

"Yes." she agreed.

"But that's okay," Grover said, trembling next to the daughter of Hades. "Because we have a plan."

"Right," Annabeth said. "A plan."

They moved towards the monster. The middle head snarled at them, then barked so loud that Evangeline's body rattled.

"Can you understand it?" Percy asked Grover.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."

"What's it saying?"

"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."

Percy took the big stick out of his backpack—a bedpost he'd broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model. He held it up. He tried to smile like he wasn't about to die.

"Hey, Big Fella," he called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."

Cerberus growled loudly.

"Good boy," the son of Poseidon said weakly.

He waved the stick. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on Percy, completely ignoring the spirits. The son of Sally Jackson had Cerberus's undivided attention.

"Fetch!" Percy threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. Evangeline heard it go ker-sploosh in the River Styx.

Cerberus glared at Percy, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold. The three-headed dog was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in his three throats. Evangeline covered her mouth to make sure she didn't laugh.

"Um," Grover said. "Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"I just thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah?"

"Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that ... well ... he's hungry."

"Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack.

The daughter of Athena pulled out a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled: WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. Annabeth handed the ball to Evangeline, who took it and walked up to Cerberus.

Evangeline shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"

Cerberus looked as stunned as the two demigods and satyr behind her were. All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.

"Come on, boy. Sit!" She instructed.

Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat, immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated like the air let out of tires.

"Good boy!" she congratulated.

She threw Cerberus the ball. He caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.

"Drop it!" Evangeline ordered.

Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of his teeth like a tiny piece of gum. He made a loud, scary whimper, then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Evangeline's feet.

"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the monster's spit all over it.

She turned towards the three behind her. "Go now. EZ DEATH line—it's faster."

"But—" Annabeth hesitated

"Now!" Evangeline ordered, in the same tone she was using on the dog.

The other three inched forward warily. Cerberus started to growl.

"Stay!" Evangeline ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"

Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was.

"What about you?" Percy asked Evangeline as they passed her.

"Just go." she muttered.

The two demigods and Saytr made it between the protector's legs without being sat on.

"Good boy Cerberus!" Evangeline complimented him again as she held up the tattered red ball, and threw it. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest. While the monster was distracted she briskly walked underneath its belly and joined the others at the metal detector.

"How did you do that?" Percy asked her, with amazement in his eyes.

"Daughter of Hades, remember?" she gave him a look.

"Forgot." He said.

They were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Evangeline stopped. She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at the four. Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.

"Good boy." She said, her voice low.

The dog's head turned sideways as if worried about her. "I'll bring you another ball soon." The brunette promised. "Would you like that?"

The monster whimpered. Evangeline didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball.

"Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I promise." Evangeline gave the dog a small smile and turned to her friends. "Let's go."

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