Chapter 10: Someone Will Be Proud.

As we climbed back over the fence, which was a lot more painful this go round.

"Well, he's not here… And we are without transportation…" I said, hiking the backpack up onto my shoulders.

"Well, let's just head to LA… He said he'd find us." Beth replied, she began leading the way and turns out she lead us the right direction. Ares was waiting for us down the road, talking to someone that looked extremely familiar.

"Yeah, sure kid!" He was actually laughing. I went to activate my bow, but they turned towards us, I decided to still activate it.

"Ah, there you guys are!" He boomed.

"You tricked us!" Percy exclaimed, Ares smirked wickedly.

"Bet the blacksmith was shocked to see he roped himself a couple of kids instead… By the way, you guys looked great on TV." He said, Percy shoved the shield at him.

"You're a jerk," He said. My eyes grew and I swear I stopped breathing, along with Beth and Grover.

"Look, I don't have to be nice to you." Ares snarled,

"Hey, unc, I think we just need to cool down, ya know?" The familiar looking guy asked, I studied him for a minute.

"Jaxon?" I quizzed, he turned to me and smiled brightly.

"Hey little sister!" He greeted,

"SISTER?!" The other three shouted.

"Well I'm going to let you guys deal with this little family reunion, I've got plans." Ares coughed and hopped onto his bike,

"And Percy, next time you're in a fight, I'd watch your back." And with those threatening words, the God was gone. Jax turned to us.

"Nice way to piss him off." He whistled. Percy just shrugged.

"This is from him by the way," He handed me a backpack and I silently thanked him. There were fresh clothes, 20 bucks, a bag of gold drachmas and double stuffed Oreos? Odd…

"He didn't tell us where to go." Beth piped up,

"That's why I am here dear little fugitives. Follow me, and I will lead the way." Jax spoke. We did as he said, and he had us change in a gas station. I was now in some jeans, a new tank top and a jacket with my converse. Once we were all done, we continued on.

"So, you're related to Joey?" Grover asked, sending me a look that clearly stated I had a lot of explaining to do. I held my hands up, I just found out about him myself, don't get mad at me.

"Yep, probably some of the rarest sets of full sibling demi-gods." Jaxon explained.

"Wow…" Annabeth muttered, as we walked down the streets of LA, people were whispering and staring at Jaxon.

"So, why do people keep staring at you?" I asked,

"Well… I'm sort of a big deal." He chuckled, it was then I noticed there was an advertisement. JANOX EDILI WEN ANLUBM: MIDNGHTI MEMRIOES. Uh….

"New album, Midnight Memories." He clarified.

"Of course…." Annabeth muttered.

"You're famous?" I asked, he nodded.

"Yep, after I finished up at Camp, I came out here to California, I tried to take you guys with me… But, Mom wasn't having it." He said,

"She gave us up anyway… That's stupid." I rolled my eyes.

"Well don't you worry about it, because, you are always welcome to come stay with me during the school year, but I'd also understand wanting to stay at Camp." He said. I looked up at him, gaping slightly.

"So, where are we going?" Percy asked before I could respond. Live with him? I mean, I had been at Camp Half Blood since I was 5…. It was home for Jeremiah and I…

"Be patient, we're almost there." Jax replied. We were silent the rest of the way, which was only a few more blocks. Eventually, we came upon DOA Recording Studios.

"Dead On Arrival?" I asked, he smirked at me.

"Smart too!" He grinned. I shrugged and looked at the others.

"Are you guys ready?" I asked. They all nodded and walked in to the building, I turned to Jaxon.

"Thank you for helping us." I said, he smiled and threw and arm around my shoulder.

"No problem, sis. I wish I could continue on, but I've got other things I need to be doing." He said. I nodded.

"Okay, I'll talk to Jeremiah about living with you." I said,

"Okay, cool. I can't wait to see him again." He gave me a quick hug and I wanted to ask when exactly the last time he saw us was, but he didn't give me a chance.

"Good luck and see you soon." He disappeared into the crowd without another word and I was left confused on the L.A sidewalk.

"JOEY!" Beth exclaimed, I jumped and scurried in after them, DOA recording studios fit the perfect description of what the gates of Hades would look like. Very drab, and dark looking. And a feeling of dread just settled over you as you walked in.

"I don't like it here." I said, people were taking up every available seat in the place, of course, they were all dead, so that fact alone was enough to creep you out.

"Well, consider where we are." Grover muttered and I just shrugged in response.

"Can we just get going? I don't feel well." I asked, they all nodded, and we walked over to the desk. The man behind looked as thrilled to be here as we felt.

"You look like a man in charge." I smile up at him, he looked down at me, unamused.

"Joey!" Beth hissed, pulling me away, I gave her a confused look and she just placed me between her and Grover.

"Your name is Chiron?" Percy asked, and I rolled my eyes. Like that was any better! The man leaned across the desk and smiled sarcastically down at us.

"What a precious young lad… Do I look like a centaur to you?" He sneered in his pompous British accent.

"N-no.." Percy stuttered.

"Sir." He added silky.

"Sir," Percy nodded. I studied the name closer, Charon, ah yes, how could I have forgotten.

"Now, Mr. Charon." Charon coached Percy.

"Mr. Charon." Percy nodded.

"Well done," He sighed, sitting back,

"I absolutely hate being confused with that old horse-man, now, how may I help you little dead ones?" His words sent me for a tailspin. I wasn't dead last time I checked, but you know, the world is a crazy place when you're a demi-god.

"We want to go to the Underworld." Annabeth spoke up, Charon looked at her, mouth twitching slightly.

"How refreshing!" He almost laughed. We exchanged confused looks with one another.

"How so?" I asked, arching an eyebrow up at him.

"Yes! Straightforward and honest, no screaming or crying," He looked us over once.

"And, how exactly did you die?" He asked. Percy nudged Grover,

"Oh, we, uh, drowned in a bathtub." Grover spoke, a little unsure sounding.

"All four of you?" He asked, we nodded. Maybe he didn't believe us…

"Big bathtub…." Charon noted, looking slightly impressed. Well that's rude. But at least he seemed to be believing us.

"Now, I don't suppose you have coins for the passage…" He rambled on about adults being a simple fix, and children not being prepared at all, but I zoned him out. My mind travelled to Jeremiah, it was weird being without him for so long. We had never been apart our entire lives, he must have been freaking out without me there. I hadn't really had the time to think about it, but being here in the Underworld, or near it, I guess, I realized just how much I missed him.

"Just follow me and we will be done here." Charon sprang to his feet and I looked up, clutching my locket.

"What's going on?" I asked, Beth rolled her eyes.

"Your ADHD may need medication!" She grumbled, pushing my shoulders as we followed . We followed behind Charon, through the souls of the dead, who were now much more alive than before, all scurrying around. Interesting…. What the heck happened?! Within moments, and because I don't feel like going into much detail about it, we crossed over into the Underworld.

"Well then…" I shuddered, I could wait a very long time until I felt that way again.

"You doing okay? You're not looking to good…" Beth asked, I shrugged. I felt okay, a little tired, but that was because of the lack of sun.

"Her light is fading," Charon spoke, I looked up at him.

"Excuse me?" I asked,

"Your light godling, you need the sun to survive, but it's been awhile without it, hasn't it?" He asked,

"Maybe.. But what does that mean?" I asked,

"You've been severely injured… That happening more than once can take its toll, even on children of the Gods." He said,

"Are you saying I'm dying?" I asked, fear welling up into my chest. He didn't respond as we had reached where we needed to be, he left us to fend for ourselves and I sighed. We filed into the line of the dead that were heading to judgment. We were about to cross between, when Annabeth held up the ball.

"FETCH!" She shouted, throwing it, the dog sprang to life like a puppy and I smiled slightly as it bounded it after it,

"That is kind of adorable." I said. While Annabeth played obedience coach, my head throbbed, next thing I knew,

I was on a boat, a person had their arm on my shoulder, they were telling me how proud they were of me, that I made the right choice. We were in front of a coffin, what the heck is going on?

"You were right to join me Joanna, you'll see." The familiar male voice spoke, it was too warped for me to really be sure.

"Are you sure?" I asked them, they wouldn't lie would they?

"Of course, why would I lie to you Jo? You're my world." They replied. I just stared at the coffin, it was whispering

"Destroy them, destroy them all!" I was supposed to be scared, but I wasn't… And that scared me,

"Joanna?" He asked, I looked up at them, even right next to them, I couldn't exactly make out their face.

He kept repeating himself, steadily growing louder. All of a sudden, I was face to face with Grover.

"Oh thank Gods!" Beth exclaimed, I'm on the floor.

"You need to stop trying to die!" Grover spoke, leaning back. Now, how did I get on the floor?

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, I looked up at him, he looked worried and confused.

"Why am I on the ground? What happened?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my aching head.

"You just passed out all of a sudden, into a seizure or something." Percy replied, kneeling next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Grover joined him and the two proceeded to lift me up.

"Oh, okay, well sorry for the delay!" I asked as he and Grover steadied me on my feet, I dusted myself off. I didn't want to tell them about my visions of the boat, they would probably think I am crazy anyway.

"Shall we continue?" I asked, looking at them all.

"Yeah, let's get going…" Beth eyed me up and down and we continued on.