"Well, now we know why that was following us." Nika glanced at the raven, half-tempted to skewer it. "Go back to camp, gentlemen. Your services are not required."

"I beg to differ," Seth said. "You look like you could use all the help you can get. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Mission Impossible Greek style," Nika said dryly. "We've got it covered."

"No offense, Dawn, but you need all the help you can get," Jason replied.

"I left you in charge of the cabin," Dawn said. "You were supposed to keep an eye on our brothers."

"Ben and Steve are just as capable," Jason replied. "Again, you need all the help you can get, especially because you're not a healer even on a good day."

"At the moment, neither are you," Nika said. "I get the feeling you're not going to turn around and go back either."

"Not a chance." Seth grinned.

"Fine," Nika said, rolling her eyes. "You people are way too stubborn for your own good."

Dawn sighed.

"If we live through this, you're on cleaning duty for the rest of the summer," she said to Jason. He just shrugged. There would be other things to worry about if they lived. Going back to the car, he grabbed his own emergency bag.

"I've got supplies in case we need them," he said.

"If anyone dies, I'm dragging your asses right back out of Hades' realm." Nika glared briefly at them all to make sure that made an impression.

"Right, we still need to find where it is." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm pretty sure there's an entrance to Hades' realm here somewhere, but I'm not sure where the Void is."

"Well, this will be interesting," Seth said dryly. "We've only got this entire area to cover."

Jason and Dawn both looked at each other, and then at the raven that was still watching them.

"Should we try?" Jason asked.

"May as well," Dawn replied. "You do it, I'm done with anything to do with him for a while."

Jason gave her an odd look, but looked squarely at the raven.

"Show us where the entrance to the Underworld is," he said firmly. The raven stared at them, and then suddenly took off. Dawn and Jason both looked a bit surprised.

"It worked," Dawn marveled.

Nika blinked before she shrugged and set off after the bird. "Follow that damn bird, then," she said with a smirk.

Seth snorted. "You think you're funny."

"I think I'm adorable." Nika grinned, looking at him over the top of Ares's glasses, and Seth decided not to push her buttons.

"Don't listen to her," Dawn advised Seth. "She's doing that on purpose to freak you out." She didn't know why she gave him the advice, but something about him made her want to help him, even if just a little.

Jason was still surprised that his father's raven listened to him. He would worry about it later, though. For right now, they had a gate to the Underworld to find and the Void to destroy.

Nika rolled her eyes and went back to following the bird, her hands stuck loosely in her pockets as she walked. "Come on, let's go," she called back. "Before it finds another demigod to eat."

Seth shot Dawn a grateful smile, walking next to her. "I guess you two get along okay," he said, nodding to Nika. "Since you haven't killed each other yet."

"We get along well enough," Dawn replied. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She wished she had her lyre, but it wouldn't have worked for her. She instinctively knew how to play it before her powers were taken from her, but without them, she doubted she would be able to even pick out a simple tune.

Jason glanced at his sister, knowing exactly what she was going through. At least, mostly. He didn't know what it was like to have visions like she did, so he didn't miss it, but he missed knowing he could heal people. They were lucky so far, but they couldn't be lucky forever. He glanced at Nika, as well. Something about her just drew his attention.

Seth just walked with her, his hands in his pockets. He was rather nervous, but he wasn't about to show that. Especially not in front of Dawn. So he just stayed quiet, noticing she seemed nervous.

Nika jogged a bit to catch up with the bird as it moved across a bridge and over towards an old naval base, still active. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "We can't go in there. We can't manipulate the Mist that well without our powers."

"This is just getting more and more impossible," Dawn muttered. "How are we supposed to sneak into an active base?"

"Even with the Mist, we would have to wait until dark anyways to even try," Jason pointed out. "We may as well wait and then see what the situation looks like."

Nika hunkered down where she was, already starting to formulate plans, discarding them almost as quickly as she came up with them.

Seth followed Nika's example, moving off the road and into the brush to hide, at least somewhat, and sitting down next to Dawn. "Well, this will certainly be interesting."

Dawn sat down with them and started looking through her arrows, taking stock of what she had. She made sure to be careful around the flash arrows and the explosive ones. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she would even be able to shoot them like she had before. She wasn't sure how much was because of her powers and how much was from training.

Nika waited until sundown before she started moving towards the base, going down around the side through the scrub. She found a hole in the chain-link fence and held up that portion of fencing so everyone else could go through.

Seth went first so he could get a look around, his eyes slightly narrowed. He still didn't like this, but oh well. He'd just have to deal with it.

Dawn and Jason followed them, both keeping their daggers ready. In such close quarters, arrows weren't ideal. They were both ranged fighters, preferring to strike from a distance. Jason made sure to keep his sister in front of him. He didn't like not being able to see her, in case anything happened.

Dawn knew why Jason stayed behind her, and she didn't mind too much. She'd snark at him about it another time. For now, they needed to find where the Void was hiding.

Nika moved to the front of the group so she'd be attacked first if anything came around, keeping one hand on her sword but not unsheathing it yet. She wouldn't do that unless she had to fight something. She stayed out of the lights, watching the normal patrols. But every soldier she saw avoided an area not far from the gate, where a small cliff had formed naturally, and every human gave it a wide berth.

Seth noticed that too and pointed it out to Dawn, raising one eyebrow in question. To go investigate or not to go investigate?

Dawn looked where Seth was pointing, and noticed that nobody was actually going near the area. She nudged her brother and pointed it out to him, as well. Jason looked over and saw it. He nodded. That seemed like a good place to go and investigate. If everyone was ignoring it, then chances were good that it was being hidden by the Mist, at least partially.

Nika headed over there, pausing when she got hit with a strong go-away compulsion. She pushed past it and found herself looking at a gate cleverly hidden into the cliffside.

"Well, I think we found the entrance," she said quietly.

Seth nodded, pushing past the compulsion as well. He looked around before starting to walk towards the gate.

Dawn fought her way through the compulsion. It sent chills down her spine and raised goosebumps on her arms, planting the nagging idea in her mind that those who came near this place never came back. She shook her head to clear the idea.

"That was so bizarre," she murmured. "Creepy as hell."

Jason nodded. He'd felt it, too. He caught up to the others, in front of the gate.

"I don't like the idea of going down there," he said. "Orpheus may have done it, but he also put the Cerberus to sleep with a flute. I don't know about the rest of you, but neither of us can play a lyre right now."

"Singing," Nika immediately said, her eyes fixed on the gate. "Drachmas for the ferryman, and if you see Cerberus start singing. Any music will do. He'll go straight to sleep."

"How do you know?" Seth looked at her.

"Because I do actually read the myths, and I've had a lot more interaction with the gods than any of you. And not just Ares. I've met Hades a few times before. Got rid of an infestation for him a few years back."

"Infestation of what?"

"Think of rabbits, cross them with squirrels, then make them about three feet long each and about two feet high, with really sharp teeth and claws and nasty tempers." Nika smiled humorlessly.

Dawn dug into her bag and pulled out a little pouch. The pouch jingled, and she pulled out a few drachmas.

"Bribe for the ferryman isn't an issue," she said. "I'm still more worried about the giant three-headed dog." She hesitated for a moment. "I would still need something to carry the tune on."

Jason glanced at her for a moment before it dawned on him.

"I see," he said. "That really sucks. You must have really relied on your powers before, then."

"I did," Dawn replied shortly. She didn't like to think about it.

"I can sing," Nika said. "Passably. I'm not completely tone-deaf, at least." She shrugged. "We'll deal with that when we get there. First thing is actually getting in. After that it's not so bad."

"Not so bad," Seth repeated with some disbelief.

"Trust me, be glad you've never been to Tartarus. This is a joyride compared to that." Nika grimaced and marched over to the door, speaking two words in Greek. The gate opened slowly, opening inwards into darkness. "See you on the other side," she said cheerfully, stepping through and vanishing.

"She's mental." Seth shook his head.

"Have you seen the rest of her family?" Jason pointed out. "They're all mental. At least she seems to have a method to her madness."

"Boys, Underworld now, speculation later," Dawn said. She jabbed Jason in the side with her bow and pointed towards the open gate. "Come on. I'd rather not leave her to her own devices. No telling what trouble she might spark." She gave her brother a scathing look. "And for the record, I'm fairly good at holding a tune once I have it. It's finding it that I have issues with."

Seth chuckled and shook his head. "I can't sing for anything," he said cheerfully. "I can pick your pocket without you ever noticing, but I can't hold a tune." He stepped through the gateway.

Before him he saw Nika in a glaring contest with Charon, everything dark around them but for the boat.