Chapter 56 Hey guys

They walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at them like they were trying to figure if the group was worth the trouble of mugging... but seeing a severed head on Jakob's hip, they had second thoughts, wondering whether or not the head was real.

As the questers hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."

Andromeda stopped.

Before they knew it, the group was surrounded. A gang of kids had circled them. Six of them in all – white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces.

Instinctively, Andromeda uncapped Riptide.

When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at Andromeda with a switchblade.

Then Andromeda made the mistake of swinging.

The kid yelped. Well, he was 100% mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest.

He looked down. "What the–"

"Alright, we'll do this the other way." Jakob said with a nod before he looked at his friends. "Run!" He tackled the leader into two others, causing a distraction long enough for Andromeda, Annabeth and Grover to run for it.

Jakob fought off the gang of kids easily, uncaring if he hurt them badly. One kid tried punching him but Jakob caught his fist and squeezed, causing the kid to yell in pain before Jakob drove his forehead into his face, busting his nose open, then got an elbow to the face which knocked him out cold.

Soon enough, the gang of kids laid at Jakob's feet, groaning in pain with either bleeding lips, busted noses, or even a busted open forehead. Some clutched their arms or legs in pain but Jakob didn't care as he walked over their groaning forms and jigged off to find his friends.

He caught them coming out of some store and frowned. Andromeda looked fine, but Annabeth and Grover were wincing and stretching. They suddenly looked a little taller now, for some reason.

"Hey guys." Jakob said as he stopped near them. "What happened to you?"

Andromeda gave a brief explanation on what happened.

After she was done, Jakob said, "So Annie and Grover got some bondage treatment from Procrustes the Stretcher?"

After he said that, both Grover and Annabeth turned red, while Andromeda struggled not to laugh at that. "I hate you," Annabeth said, face cherry red. "So much."

"No, you don't." Jakob smirked.

"Come on, guys," Andromeda said. "The Underworld is only a block away." She waved her hands in the direction ahead.

"To the Realm of the Dead, we go." Mimir said with false cheerfulness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.

Underneath, stencilled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece. All he needed was a donut.

Andromeda turned to the group. "Okay. You remember the plan."

"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah, I love the plan."

"What happens if the plan doesn't work?" Annabeth asked, worry in her tone.

"Don't think negative," Andromeda suggested.

"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."

Andromeda took the pearls out of her pocket.

Annabeth put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Andie. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."

She gave Grover a nudge.

"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mum. No problem."

"It's only the Greek Underworld, it's not like you're going into Helheim." Mimir piped in.

"That doesn't really help, but I see what you're trying to do." Jakob nodded and looked at the others. "Trust me, if it was Hel you were going too... it would be worse. But don't worry, we've got this. I have no intention of dying and having my soul trapped in this Realm of the Dead."

"Not sure Hades would be able to do that... but I'm not going to challenge him in that regard." Mimir said quickly.

Andromeda smiled at all of them, her friends. Who have had her back since the start of the quest. They have been through a lot since they left Camp Half-Blood. The Furies, Medusa, Echidna, Lamia, Ares, the Lotus Hotel, Annabeth and Grover nearly ended up stretched to death, and now they were going to confront Hades himself.

She put the pearls back into her pocket. "Let's do this."

They walked inside the DOA lobby.

Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and the walls were steel grey. 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. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything.

"Ah, the souls of the dead waiting to enter the Underworld." Mimir said grimly. "Helheim has something similar."

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so they had to look up at him.

He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-coloured skin and bleached-blonde hair 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.

Jakob stepped forward. "So you're Charon, Ferryman of the Dead."

Charon glanced up from whatever he was reading and raised an eyebrow at Jakob. "What's it to you, kid?"

"We want to enter the Underworld." Jakob said bluntly.

Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's a new one."

"It is?" Annabeth asked.

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

"Hit by a bus." Jakob shrugged.

Charon nodded, as if he'd experienced the situation before. "Yeah, there are a lot of cases for you guys. 'Don't get run over,' I said. 'Why can't you die a decent death, ya know?' Honestly, you people won't shut up about it all."

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