At their stop in Las Vegas, it's best to summarize the experience as wild.

As soon as they reached their stop, they released the wild animals as the employees went to check on them. After that, they made a dash out of the truck and began wandering.

It didn't take long for them to get lost, passing the Monte Carlo and the MGM. Pyramids, pirate ship, the Statue of Liberty- a replica- and then suddenly, something called the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

The entrance was a giant neon flower with the petals blinking every second that caught Percy's eye. He slowed down just a bit, noticing that no one was going in or out of the place.

The open chrome doors spilt out the aroma of cool flowers, and the doorman smiled seeing Percy's curios gaze. Annabeth and Grover stopped seeing him eventually do the same.

"Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?" The doorman gave a sympathetic gaze, but his words sounded encouraging.

Percy glanced at Annabeth and Grover, and both looked hesitant to go in, but there was an underlying hope for rest in this scorching desert.

They were about to nod, but Ashe suddenly wrapped his arm around the three.

"Groom kids elsewhere, pal!" Ashe shouted as he guided them away.

The preteens were stunned at his claim, and even the doorman was stammering in disbelief. He had to reflect on the fact that he had just asked children to enter a casino and began coughing.

Annabeth popped Ashe aside the head, "Don't just shout accusations like that! That's nasty and draws attention."

"You three were about to enter a casino- we're 12! I'm not gonna let us get distracted when we're this close. We grab food, drinks, and then a cab. It's too late to slow down..."

Ashe began looking around for spots as Annabeth contemplated his sudden seriousness. She looked at Percy and Grover, who could only shrug at the thought.

"Maybe he got fed up after Ares." Percy guessed, following after him.

"That's actually kind of fair." Grover chuckled, making Annabeth roll her eyes and smile and jog after them.

•

A yellow taxi rode their break up to the curb. The back doors opened, allowing Grover, Annabeth, and Percy into the back seat.

Annabeth was wary letting Ashe sit in the front, since he had yet to explain how they'd pay for the ride. She squinted her eyes at him seeing the smirk on his face as he sat down.

"Buckle up." She muttered to everyone, and they all followed orders.

Annabeth continued, "Los Angeles, please."

Chewing his cigar and giving the four a skeptical glance over, the cabbie scoffed. "That's three hundred miles. For that, pay's gotta be up front."

Annabeth clicked her tongue and Grover gulped nervously. Percy watched Ashe grab his key ring and nudged Annabeth with wide eyes.

Spinning the ring on his finger, he suddenly summoned his sword and let it lightly rest across the dashboard."We've gotta coupon. What's this cover?"

"Th-The... The whole nine yards... Where to in Los Angeles... uh, sir?"

Success. However, Annabeth was silently fuming at his audacious behavior, but more so that it was directly threatening someone.

"Santa Monica Pier. Fast. No pressure."

The cabbie nodded his head, stammering so much that he dropped his cigar. For the entire ride through the Mojave Desert, his speedometer never dipped below 95.

On the way, Percy told everyone about his latest dream, and how a familiar voice was communicating with a higher being that lacked the presence of a god. Percy expressed that the higher being was talking about retrieving two items.

This clearly made Annabeth apprehensive about who else would want not only the Master Bolt, but another item. Why would Hades search for what he already had, of course.

She didn't want to fathom who else it could be, trying to reassure herself and the others that it had to be Hades. For the greater good...

~•~

As soon as everyone got out of the car, Annabeth jumped on Ashe's back and tackled him into the sand of Santa Monica Pier.

"What in the world were you thinking?! Are you trying to get us arrested?!" She put him a headlock, rendering him unable to speak.

"I mean, we're already both wanted..." Percy mumbled, but shut up and put his hands over his face in defense seeing her switch her glare from Ashe to him.

Grover sighed, "Well, I'm not sure what else we could've done in time."

Annabeth squint her eyes as Ashe tapped out against her arm rapidly. She rolled her eyes and pushed him back into the sand with a groan.

Annabeth was going to consult with Percy and Grover about their next move, but as she stood up, Percy was gone. She turned to Grover and saw him suddenly walk into the sea like a lunatic.

She wanted to call out to him, but remembered that he was the Son of Poseidon.

Ashe stood up and spit out a mouth full of sand, glaring at Annabeth as she placed her hand on her hip. He looked around at the beach and saw a small hermit crab.

Grover was staring at where Percy submerged into the water, but spotted Ashe creeping behind Annabeth with a grin.

Grover leered with disappointment as Ashe held out the hermit crab to the side of Annabeth's face. Seeing the beady eyes of the crab made her shudder and scream.

Ashe was about to start laughing but she suddenly flailed her arm back and elbowed him in the face, sending the hermit crab flying off in the distance.

Grover stepped aside as Annabeth stormed up to Ashe's sprawled-out body.

Percy emerged from the water, eager to tell his friends about what he talked about with the Water Spirit, but only found Annabeth pummeling Ashe as Grover avoided eye contact.

Citizens around the beach were concerned, but more worried about what would happen if they were to intervene.

Percy sighed, wondering what shenanigans they had been up to while he was putting in work.

•

Percy explained that the Water Spirit told him that in Hades' domain, he wouldn't let them leave willingly, and gave him four pearls to escape with when the time was right.

With that, the only task left was to find DOA Recording Studios.

And apparently no one had ever heard of it, so wandering the streets only met them with the cool colored light of the moon.

As the four traveled the streets, hungry and shady characters began to emerge. After what they had been through, the shifty delinquents didn't faze them, but an unlucky few decided they'd stir trouble anyway.

"Hey, you." A voice from the alley they passed called out.

Percy stopped, but clicked his tongue at his curiosity. It didn't take long for six teens to pour out of the alley and surround them.

"Hand over everything you've got." A blonde boy wearing a polo and distressed jeans demanded. They were all white kids with nice clothes wearing mean faces. Wannabes.

"Can we?" Ashe and Percy turned to Annabeth.

Happy that they finally asked for permission to do something stupid, Annabeth grinned with pride. She nodded her head, "Of course, dear servants. Pummel away."

"Wait- what?"

Ashe smirked and rushed forward with Percy tailing behind him. Ashe front-kicked the blonde boy who pressed them. Percy followed him up with a wail with his right fist, hitting the boy straight in the jaw.

The poor soul was knocked out long before he hit the pavement. The other boys flinched, pacing backwards in disbelief.

Ashe was about to lunge at the next closet teen until they all began sprinting away in fear, cursing about how deranged kids were these days.

Annabeth pat their backs as she walked past, with Grover shaking his head at such excessive violence as of late.

Before they could get far, a slithery voice called out to them. "Ah, thank you all so much for taking care of those no-good kids. They hang around every night."

Grover's nose scrunched up, making him tug Percy's sleeve.

"He's a monster..." He revealed.

Ashe and Percy revealed their swords, making whoever the guy was yelp in fright with how fast he was seen through. He tried to dash back into his shop but Ashe plunged his sword into his back as Percy cut the lights.

•

"Man..." Percy sighed as he leant against the store's counter.

"We can't catch a break." Ashe was beside him, holding a water bottle he got from the break room.

Annabeth was looking around for clues, and Grover was lying on a waterbed, contemplating if this quest was worth the potential trauma.

Grover glanced at Ashe, impressed how quickly they were making progress with him along. He had only heard stories of him from Percy and the other satyrs after he rescued him from the Minotaur, but he was gradually proving himself for a human.

Then it clicked.

How was he human?

Beating a Griffen, a Minotaur, the Echidna, and the Chimera. He displayed strength far beyond what should be humanly possible, wasn't affected by Aphrodite's scarf, and could see through the Mist.

Something made Grover skeptical, but he had only been helpful, so he'd worry about it later.

Annabeth had very similar thoughts, but she couldn't complain when he and Percy were putting in so much work to get the job done. However, she could do without his mischievous nature.

Percy only looked up to Ashe. He saw him as the warrior he aspired to be- strong, relentless, and courageous. Ashe didn't back down from anything despite not having the blood of a god. He was admirable in every sense of the word to him.

With everything he learned from camp, he did wonder how he was so powerful in comparison to Demi-gods. Not that he minded though, since he was his second closest friend.

He saved him and Grover, proceeded to follow him on a life or death quest with monsters and gods out to get them, and had his back every step of the way.

Ashe was giggling at the affects of Aphrodite's scarf, his bruises from Annabeth healing with a soothing warm.

He pulled out the amulet under the scarf and decided he'd try to use the magic within it the next chance he got. He didn't want to dishonor Medusa's hospitality, so he'd be sure to abuse it as soon as he figured out how well it worked.

Annabeth finally found a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes souls. On it was, coincidentally enough, the address and a map of its location.

"Here we go. Onward, servants. We make for the Underworld." Annabeth announced, snatching the flier and placing it on the counter.

"We should've never let that get to her head." Percy muttered to Ashe.

•

Standing in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, the four were looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA Recording Studios.

"You guys remember the plan?" Percy asked.

"Y-Yeah. Love the plan." Grover nodded.

"I still have many questions." Annabeth mumbled.

"Not at all, but I'll follow your lead, dude." Ashe was swinging his key ring around with a grin.

"Come on, guys, we've got this. Think positive." Percy slapped his cheeks and nodded his head. His confidence was contagious, making Grover and Annabeth slowly smile as they prepared to approach the building.

Percy led the march into the recording studio, which was filled with black furniture and dark marble. As they approached the security's desk, a raided podium, where a bulky African American man with a blonde-dyed buzz cut stood.

He was tall and elegant, wearing turquoise shell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.

"Evening, Charon," Ashe began.

The plan was simple. Let Ashe do all the talking of Annabeth's script, since she believed that with him leading the front of their lies it'd be more believable if he was human.

"Mr. Charon." The man corrected with a smirk.

"That's what I said- anyway- four tickets to the underworld for us miserable souls."

Annabeth squinted her eyes at him paraphrasing the script.

"Hm. Straightforward and honest. Refreshing. How'd you die then?" The man looked intrigued to see what he'd come up with.

"Suicide," Ashe pointed to himself.

"Drowned." Ashe ironically pointed to Percy.

"Car accident," Ashe chose Grover because of his false limp.

"And heart failure." Ashe jerked his thumb at Annabeth.

Charon hummed, since he couldn't actually validate whether or not this was the truth. Before he could explain the details and ask for payment, Ashe feigned despair as he slipped four golden drachma on the podium.

Charon flinched, shocked at their prior knowledge and prep. At this point, it had to be legit... until he caught a whiff.

Seeing Charon begin to grow frustrated. Ashe simply grabbed their pouch of drachma, and removed another. He flipped a coin onto the counter, making Charon falter.

"We can wrap this up now and I'll put in a good word to Hades," he lightly set the pouch down beside it, smirking at him. Ashe's confidence was even more contagious- he just exuded the air that nothing could go wrong, even if it was arrogance or naivety.

"Eh, may as well. Come along." Charon stood up and began strutting through the crowd of spirits in the lobby, their translucent bodies holding onto green boarding passes in wait for when they'd pass on.

As they passed some spirits tried to latch on to them, but Charon would nudge them away and back to the lobby. They arrived at the elevator full of spirits ready to move on as Charon shoved two spirits away from trying to catch a ride down at the last second.

"Alright, no one get any ideas while I'm gone." Charon announced to the lobby, earning long, low groans.

He shut the doors and placed a keycard into a slot on the panel. The elevator began to descend with a low hum.

Ashe was smirking at Annabeth for his improve skills, so she ruffled his hair and forced him to turn his head away. Percy and Grover snickered before their stomachs began to churn slightly, the elevator no longer descending but somehow moving forward.

The air turned misty and the spirit modern clothes began to morph into hooded grey robes. The floor of the elevator began to sway as Charon's appearance looked exactly like what you would expect of a grim reaper. Black robe and skeleton body.

With the blink of an eye, the elevator was now a wooden barge. Charon was as poling the watercraft across a dark, oily river with swirling bones, dead fish, and a bunch other odd miscellaneous items.

"River Styx..." Annabeth muttered with unease.

Charon's opinion on the matter: "Polluted beyond belief. For thousands of years, humans have been throwing in everything as you come across- hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."

The gloomy atmosphere was clearly getting to her, and even Percy felt his stomach lurch at his surroundings. The place was the embodiment of despair, and the preteens trembled from the pressure.

That was until Ashe wrapped his arm around Grover and Percy, practically giving them all a big hug or huddle.

He was still grinning despite being in hell itself, the warm aura exuded from Aphrodite's scarf washing over the three. They all began to smile, feeling more relaxed and confident in themselves with someone like him at their six.

Percy smirked and faced forward, while Grover smiled and eased into the warmth of the scarf. Annabeth was a bit flustered being so close to three boys, but she calmed down and appreciated the reassurance of her friends.

It didn't take much longer for the barge to slide on to the black sand of the Underworld.

The dead began to disembark, leaving only Charon and the party of four. "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there's none of that down here. Don't forget to mention my raise, kid."

They stepped off onto the shore and watched as the wooden barge began to head back to the surface.

"Thank you, Ashe." Grover turned to him with a smile.

"What do ya' mean?" Ashe asked with a smile.

"You're just so... reliable. I don't know how you do it. Thank you, for having our back." Percy added, feeling where Grover was going. "You helped me with the Minotaur, and you didn't even hesitate to help me restore balance between gods. I really can't imagine doing this without you, man."

Annabeth crossed her arms seeing that everyone was giving thanks. "Well... you are probably the best swordsman I've ever seen... and you're a really smooth talker... so I also appreciate you being so useful on the quest."

"Woah, woah, you guys are gonna make me blush. You might even jinx me since we're down here, come on." Ashe waved them off, simply having fun with his friends.

After spending the last year and a half wandering around killing monsters, he didn't really remember what fun was anymore.

He was happy to just have people to talk with, mess with, cry with, hurt with. He couldn't recall the last time he had anyone.

Continuing to grin, Ashe gestured them to lead the way with a clear blush on his face.

"Aww, you actually are blushing. That's cute." Annabeth pinched his cheek, and scurried ahead before he could slap her hand away, making him scowl in annoyance.

"Me personally, I wouldn't let that slide." Percy muttered with a shrug, walking after her. "Couldn't imagine." Grover added, mimicking Percy and following after him.

"Yeah, whatever..."