~Val's P.O.V~
I sat with my back against the cave wall, the cool stones making my spine cold. I sighed and bounced the rubber-band ball back off the floor. Oulixes hadn't returned to the cave since we arrived and I had finished unloading my bags. I bounced the ball harder than I expected and it rolled away from me. I groan and get up and follow it and came across a cage with a three headed dog behind it. The name on the cage said Cerberus I smile.
"Hey puppy." I say in a small non threatening voice. It perked its ears up and looked at me with slight hostility in his eyes. I slowly stand up and he comes to the gate and sniffs my hand. After a few reassuring sniffs it gently licked my hand. I laugh slightly and reach my hand into the cage and pet its middle head. It calms down and the other two heads lean into my hand as well.
"Who's a good boy!? Yes you are! Oh yes you are!" I murmur to him, and his giant tail wags.
"What do you think you're doing?" a voice behind me growls. I flinch as the footsteps approach me.
"I'm sorry Lex. I lost my rubber-band ball and I chased after it and found Cerberus." I stammer looking at my feet. He grabs my arm tightly causing me to squeak slightly in pain I hear Cerberus growl from behind me.
"Shut up you stupid mutt," Oulixes spat, pulling me by the arm back to the cave roughly. "I told you not to touch anything." I keep my eyes on the ground and don't say anything as I wait for one more blow. He lets go of my arm but slaps my cheek before turning and leaving me in tears on Benoni's old bed.
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~Phoenix's P.O.V~
We had finally arrived at the river of souls and were awaiting Charon to come take us to Hades. We did not have to wait long. Through the mist, a slouched figure appeared and slowed to a stop at the murky waters edge. All four of us stepped into the boat and waited. The boat didn't move. I looked back to Charon, but the hunched skeletal man was simply holding out a hand, wait for something.
"He wants payment," Benoni said. "It's a coin per person. Doesn't matter what kind." I dug my hands into one of the side pockets in my knapsack but could only come up with a couple of quarters.
"I only have enough for two people…" I said slowly. "Does anyone else have any loose change?" Nobody spoke. Eros dug around in his knapsack and pulled out a few dimes.
"I've got four dimes...Will that be enough Ben?" Eros asks looking at Hades' ex son.
"Yeah, yeah. Just one coin each. Don't pay him more than you need to though; it's not like he actually needs the money for anything. He just has this weird fascination with shiny round things." I shrug, because it's not like I'm going to miss two quarters, and hand them over to the skeletal ferryman. Eros pays two dimes and we're good to go.
The first time I rode in this particular row-boat, I had no idea what the future held, and my biggest worry was the growing flock of Freshmen that would follow me around. Oh how the tides have changed. Now I'm here again, this time of my own free will, with a God of love, a son of Hades, and… Caiden.
I snuck a glance at the dark haired boy sitting next to me. My… soulmate according to Eros. Honestly, dating had never been my area of expertise; I let Val and Sera deal with all of that dramatic onslaught. Sure, I had complained a lot to Valentina about never being taken seriously as a capable, mature young woman, but I hadn't actually cared all that much. Now, it was all I could think of— other than saving my sister of course.
Stupid Eros and his stupid arrows.
Before I knew it, the row boat had come to a grinding halt. I looked around and saw that we had come all the way up onto a rocky shore of barren landscape.
"This is as far as he can take us," Ben said. I nodded, grabbed my knapsack, and got out of the boat, followed quickly by the boys. Charon didn't stick around for long. as soon as we were all out, he backed out back into the misty background of the lake, and disappeared.
"He doesn't talk much, does he?" I asked. Ben shrugged.
"Not once since I've been alive."
We looked around at the cavernous area. It was not the same place Val, Sera, Gaia and I had come to just a month ago. It was just a small rocky shore of about 10 by 10 ft. leading up to a shear cliff that stretched upward until it met the cavern's roof. In the cliff side was a series of tunnels. None of which I remember seeing on the map.
I pulled out the map and searched for any possible location I could identify. There wasn't one.
"This isn't on the map," I said. They guys turned to me with mixed expressions of disbelief and confusion.
"What do you mean it's not on the map?" Eros asked. "It has to be on the map. The Underworld can't just change because it wants to… can it?" His last question was directed at Benoni who looked more than a little sheepish.
"Well, this whole dimension belongs to Hades, it being the Underworld and all. It only makes sense that he can change it if he wants to. Although I can't remember him ever doing it before. He probably did it right after I left which means… he knows we're coming for him."
We all groaned at the knowledge that our advantage of surprise had been lost, and we had no idea where we were— or, more importantly, where Val was.
"Well, I guess this means we're gonna have to split up then," I said, dropping my knapsack and pulling out my (formerly) forbidden spell book. Val, Sera, and I each had our own, only pertaining to our own powers and abilities. It was forbidden to us simply because Gaia didn't think it would be a good idea for us to start learning before we reached full maturity and strength of power, unless in extreme emergencies. This was an emergency if I ever saw one.
I hastily flipped through the pages and found the "spell" I was looking for.
"Here it is," I muttered, then stood up to faces the guys. "Gíne to fo̱s pou mas kathodi̱geí mazí," I said in Greek, translating roughly to "Be the light that guides us together". Four little balls of fire sprang to life in front of us and hovered in mid air.
"Whoa," Caiden uttered under his breath. "So cool…" I blushed and tried to pretend like I hadn't heard him.
"These are Fire Fixzes," I said. "They will follow us as we split up, and if one of us runs into trouble or finds the way to Hades or Valentina, then tell your Fire Fixze and it will record your message and report to the others. Got it?" They all nodded and thank the Gods they didn't argue against splitting up. I chose the tunnel farthest to the left, and started the long trek down it, personal Fire Fixze floating lazily behind me.
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Third Person Perspective
Phoenix traced her fingers along the ancient Greek hieroglyphs along the wall of the cavern wall and studied them with avid attention.
"Interesting..." She murmured. Suddenly her attention was averted when she felt the ground tremble and heard shouts and screams of alarm from the boys. Her Fire Fixze brightened in alarm and started shouting the mixed alarmed messages of all three of the boys. She turned towards the ruckus in time to see all three of them turn the corner, stumbling over themselves to get away from... something.
"What now?!?" She shouted at them.
"Run!" Caiden shouted at her as they rushed past her, almost taking her out as they passed her in a flurry of flailing limbs and uncontrolled elbows. They didn't slow to see if she was following, assuming she would instantly trust their judgment. Instead she peered down the tunnel they had just come from. There was a giant three-headed dog with hug flashing canines, and red glowing eyes. It was Cerberus, guard dog of the Underworld. It's eyes widened at the sight of her and she instantly knew she had become the new target for this enormous beast. Instead of tearing off down the same way the boys had gone, she stood her ground and held out her hand. The familiar heating, tingling sensation started at the tips of her fingers and engulfed her whole arm. Cerberus skidded to a halt and stared down at her flaming appendage in bewildered wonder. It was then that her three companions noticed neither the dog nor the demi-goddess was following them.
"Sit," she ordered calmly. All three of his heads tilted in confusion and the middle one snapped his mouth shut with an audible 'click'. "Sit," she repeated sternly. This time he did listen. Phoenix grinned and extinguished the flame in her hand before running up to the giant mutt and scratching each chin in turn.
"Good boy!" she cooed. "You are such a good boy!"
Caiden, Eros, and Benoni all stared at the two, and their jaws dropped as they watched the man eating beast grin and roll over to get its belly scratched.
"Did those mean boys wake you up from your nap?" she asked. One of the heads whimpered and Benoni immediately took offense, but thought it better to keep his mouth shut. His father's dog had never taken much of a liking to him. Or his brother for that matter...
"You must get so tired, guarding the entrance to the Underworld all the time." She continued scratching his belly and soon a huge foot was thumping thunderous on the stone floor of the cave. "But you're such a tough boy! You never ever get to take a break. Do you want a treat sweet baby?"
This time Benoni did make a sound of protest, as the only treat she could possibly be talking about was his supply of Cheetos in her knapsack. He was quickly silenced by a jab of Caiden's elbow. And so he was forced to watch his favorite snack being fed to one of his least favorite beings in the known realms of this dimension.
"How did you do that?" Caiden asked, referring to Phoenix's three-headed dog training.
"My sisters and I all have a knack with animals," she explained. "And Cerberus is a dog formed from the element of fire. Waving a warm flame at him is like throwing cat-nip at an alley cat."
"How come I never thought of that?" Ben asked in irritation. "I've been dealing with that mutt for two centuries and all I had to do to get him to like me was throw a flaming stick for him? Unbelievable!"
Phoenix grinned at him before turning back to the now completely domesticated Cerberus.
"I bet you know all about the Underworld, don't you smart boy?" The "Smart Boy" gave a thunderous bark that could probably be heard throughout the entire Underworld. "You see boy, someone very special to me is lost down here and needs to be saved. She is my sister, and her name is Valentina. Do you know where she is?" He wagged his tail and gave her another earth shaking "RRRRRROOOOOAAAF!" of confirmation. Phoenix smiled and scratched under two of its chins. "Could you take us to her boy?" It panted happily and layed down on it's belly.
"Well boys," Phoenix called. "Pick a head and get on!" She herself climbed aboard the middle head, Eros chose the one on her left, Caiden on her right, and poor Benoni clinging onto the enormous beast's hunched shoulders.
"Alright boy, mush!" The Dog gave one last booming bark, and charged down the tunnel.