Mist Wolves, Ghost Bears, and One Three-Headed Puppy
They all followed the nearby elevator. Charon kicked several spirits that tried to sneak inside and then pressed a button without even looking. The elevator dropped suddenly, with such brutal speed that the three demigods had to cling to the metal bars. Then it braked softly, as if nothing had happened, and began moving forward with a strange sway, rocking as if the elevator had gone straight into the water.
And in fact, that was exactly what had happened.
A dense mist began spreading inside. The modern clothes of the spirits transformed into dark hooded togas, as if wrapped by a magic that erased time. The elevator changed as well. Its metal structure rumbled, stretched, and creaked. By the time the mist dissipated, they were no longer inside an elevator but on top of a huge blackened wooden boat, covered in rusty chains and ancient moisture.
Charon's clothes changed too. That expensive suit he adored disappeared, replaced by a gigantic black cloak. His glasses vanished, and with them, his eyes. Now he had empty sockets, dark and hollow, filled with night, death, and despair.
"I think I'm getting seasick," Grover muttered as the floor swayed beneath his feet, moving over soft but unsettling waves.
The water surrounding them was thick, dark, and oily. Floating inside were human bones, dead snakes, wilted flowers… and even stranger things: plastic dolls, diplomas, torn letters, ruined photographs. Objects that shouldn't be there, yet somehow felt like a natural part of the scenery.
"The River Styx is so…" Annabeth said while watching the disgusting mixture drifting beside the boat.
"Polluted," Charon finished with a tired tone. "They're the things humans throw away when they cross it. Hopes, dreams, desires they never fulfilled." He said it with absolute calm, as if that explanation were the recipe for a soup.
Around them, the mist rose and shifted slowly, lit by greenish stalactites that glowed as if filled with poison. Only that dim light allowed them to see the magnitude of the place.
The three finally understood where they were. They were surrounded by ghosts crossing the river of the Underworld: thousands of silent souls with no direction, floating like loose shadows.
Annabeth took Percy's hand, squeezing it instinctively. She too had realized the magnitude of the place and needed to confirm that someone alive was next to her. In any other situation Percy would have been bright red, but now he only felt relieved by the warm contact.
Grover, on the other hand, muttered prayers with his eyes closed, clutching his pendant.
A few meters away, the shore came into view: black volcanic sand, jagged rocks, and a gigantic wall stretching infinitely in both directions. It was so massive that neither Percy nor Annabeth could imagine where it ended.
A deep roar erupted in the distance, loud enough to make the nearest ghosts vibrate.
Only one creature could make a roar like that.
And Charon knew it.
"Old three-faces is hungry. Tough luck, little godling," he said with a mocking smile directed at Percy as the boat touched land and all the spirits began to disembark.
Charon watched them get off with the others, not bothering to follow. His job ended there. "I'd wish you luck, but you won't find any down here," he said in an almost friendly tone before pushing the boat back and starting his return trip.
Percy ignored the comment and walked forward with the others, observing the place. There was a huge arch of black stone and, beneath it, three different entrances. Above the arch, enormous letters read:
"You are entering Erebus."
Percy frowned at what came next: each entrance had a metal detector, security cameras above, and customs booths where ghosts dressed like Charon checked nonexistent documents. It was like an airport… but infernal.
The roar echoed again. Louder. Closer.
The ghosts formed three lines. Two had signs that read "In Service," though they barely moved; they seemed stuck for eternity. The third line moved quickly. Above it, a glowing sign read "Fast Death."
Annabeth spoke with certainty.
"The fast line. It must go straight to the Asphodel Fields. They don't want to risk facing the judges."
"Mm…" Percy murmured. He knew too. The Judges of the Underworld were three spirits who in life had been heroes, kings, or sages. They decided the fate of each soul: whether they went to the Fields of Punishment, Asphodel, or the Elysian Fields.
The three moved toward the gates as the howls grew so loud that the ground vibrated under their feet.
Suddenly, the screams stopped. A huge wet sniff sniff echoed through the tunnel.
The dark ground, so dark it looked like compacted shadows, began to rise. But it wasn't ground. It never had been.
It was a back.
A gigantic back.
What emerged was a colossal bedding where a titanic three-headed dog rested, each head enormous and filled with fangs as big as swords. It was twice as large as any mammoth in a museum.
One head stared directly at Percy.
Another locked onto Grover.
The third on Annabeth.
All three froze immediately.
Percy whispered, very slowly, "I always thought he'd be a mastiff. But… it's a giant rottweiler."
"The plan… the plan," Grover stammered. "What was the plan?" he asked, trembling.
Cerberus opened all three mouths at once and barked with such force that the walls and pillars shook as if they were paper.
"Grover, can you understand him?" Percy asked without moving a single muscle for fear of provoking an immediate charge.
"Y-yes," Grover said. "He says we have ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice and then… well… he's really hungry."
"Forget the plan, run!" Percy shouted, spinning on his heels.
Annabeth and Grover followed immediately.
Cerberus did keep his word. He waited the full ten seconds, staying still like a living statue.
On the tenth exact second, the dog charged at them.
To say he was running was an understatement. Each step was so large he covered several meters. He only took three steps before he was already on top of the group.
One of the heads opened its mouth directly toward Annabeth.
Percy saw it and jumped toward her, pushing her at the last second. The jaws snapped shut just centimeters away, almost swallowing her whole.
While Percy and Annabeth rolled across the ground trying to regain their balance, another one of the heads lunged toward Grover. The satyr, desperate, had pulled out his flute and was blowing with all his strength, producing a high, vibrating note. That only seemed to irritate Cerberus even more.
But it had an unexpected effect. From the flute emerged a huge wolf made of mist. It wasn't as big as Cerberus, but it was almost Grover's size. And without showing the slightest fear toward the three-headed monstrosity, the wolf charged straight at him and bit one of the Underworld guardian's cheeks with its spectral fangs.
Cerberus shook his head, startled by the pain. A pain he had probably never felt… ever.
The central head reacted with fury. It lunged at the wolf and chomped down in a single movement, making its form burst into a cloud of vapor. But Grover was already blowing another note, determined. This time, what emerged was a gigantic bear, even larger than the wolf.
The bear roared and charged at Cerberus while Percy and Annabeth watched wide-eyed. Grover was no less surprised; he kept blowing as if his life depended on it.
The bear was slower than the wolf, but stronger. It struck one of the heads with its claws. Cerberus tried to devour it just like he had done with the wolf, but the bear resisted a few extra seconds before exploding into mist as well.
Grover kept playing. Another wolf emerged, reconstructed as if reborn from the melody itself, attacking with more fury.
But Cerberus was far too powerful. The two creatures turned back into mist in a matter of seconds. Grover felt his energy leaving him, as if each summoning drained something more than physical strength. When he tried blowing again, the flute produced only a weak, incomplete sound.
Annabeth ran toward him, wearing her tiara. Without hesitation, she took the flute from his hands and blew it herself.
This time, two wolves and two bears appeared at once. But they weren't like Grover's. Perhaps thanks to the intelligence boost from the tiara, these summons seemed more… clever. Instead of attacking directly, they began circling Cerberus, distracting him, forcing him to spin from side to side. When the dog tried to catch them, they dodged and kept running around him.
There was a moment when something strange happened. Cerberus stopped attacking… and started wagging his tail.
"What… is happening?" Percy asked, confused. Minutes ago they had been in a life-or-death battle; now the ghostly animals seemed to be playing with him.
Annabeth didn't respond. Instead, she pulled out a red rubber ball with the word Aqualand printed on it. She lifted it over her head as if it were a divine offering.
"Attention!" she shouted.
The spectral wolves stopped instantly. The bears too. And Cerberus, with all three heads perfectly aligned, stared at the ball as if it were the most precious treasure in all existence.
"Sit!" Annabeth ordered.
The summons obeyed immediately, because they were connected to her. And Cerberus… looked at his playmates… then at Annabeth… and finally sat as well, causing a small earthquake.
Annabeth threw the red ball toward Cerberus. The monster caught it in a jump, delighted. The other two heads tried to steal it, but it was so small it barely fit between his enormous teeth.
"Now drop it," Annabeth said seriously.
All three heads let out a sad whine but obeyed. The ball fell in total ruin, covered in slobber and crushed flat.
"Go now. Through the fast-death line," Annabeth said as she returned the flute to Grover.
Grover, though slightly annoyed that Annabeth played his own flute—Percy's master's gift—better than he could, was also surprisingly proud and relieved.
"But…" Percy said, looking at the giant dog as the summons faded away. Even without the animals, Cerberus remained seated, watching them, as if waiting for something. "What'll happen to you?"
"I'm fine. I know what I'm doing. Now move," Annabeth said with complete certainty.
Percy and Grover obeyed, walking slowly along one of the sides to avoid the monster. Cerberus growled loudly when they got close, but Annabeth spoke immediately.
"If you want another ball, you stay still."
The dog, who had clearly understood, stopped growling. Though all three of his heads continued staring at Grover as if he were a giant dog treat. Probably because he had been the one responsible for the summons that bit him earlier.
Grover regretted that deeply and, in that moment, decided he should use the summoning flute more wisely in the future.
When Annabeth saw that Percy and Grover were close to the metal detector, she looked at Cerberus thoughtfully. Then she said:
"Good job. Here."
She tossed the destroyed ball toward the left head. That one caught it, but the central head jumped onto the left to steal it, and the right head—unable to reach—screeched desperately. The chaos was absolute.
Annabeth didn't waste the moment and ran to Percy and Grover, joining them.
"How did you do that?" Percy asked.
"Dog-training school," Annabeth replied. "When dogs are around other dogs, they're easier to teach. Sometimes they learn by imitation. If one dog sees another sit, give the paw, or come when called, it thinks: 'Oh, this works. I'll do it too'."
"That doesn't matter right now," Grover interrupted, stopping the explanation before it got too long. "Let's go."
But Annabeth paused for a moment when she heard Cerberus whining, crying as if he missed the red ball.
"Good doggy," she said softly. "I'll bring you another ball soon."
Cerberus let out a deep but gentle howl… almost as if accepting the promise.
Annabeth smiled, then ran after the other two.