[4] Phoenix | Descendants 3

TWENTY-ONE: The World Below

Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Ben, Uma, Harry and Celia all stood near the Enchanted Lake, unsure of what to do. They had all expected to be going their separate ways after Mal dropped the big bombshell on them about the Juvenile Reunification Program and her stance on her ordeal. But apparently, the Lord of the Dead himself had other plans for them and sent his Furies to bring them all to the lake.

"So now what do we do?" asked Harry.

"Uh," spoke Celia, pointing across the lake in the distance. "Who is that?"

The others turned their heads. A cloud of smoke covered the lake, which seemed to come out of nowhere. Everyone was quiet as they watched someone rowing towards where they stood on the Enchanted Lake. Docked at the edge of the lake was a gondola with a cloud of mist surrounding the boat, the gondolier in a thick gray robe with a hood over his head.

"Charon?" asked Carlos incredulously, surprised to see the ferryman here.

Celia was still confused. "Who?"

"He's the Spirit of Boundaries and Territories," answered Mal. "He takes Helena, Pain and Panic to and from the Underworld."

"And he transports spirits of the recently departed to the Underworld too. That's his main job," added Harry, the others staring at him in disbelief. "What? I know stuff, too."

"Okay, but what's he doing here?" asked Celia lowly, confused as to why the reaper of souls was in front of them.

"I think he's our ride," answered Jay, clearly unsure.

"Helena is Hades' daughter; Pain and Panic work for him, but what about us? How are we supposed to get to the Underworld when we're not dead?"

That question seemed to get the ferryman's attention, who lifted his head and faced the group for the first time. "The living are not permitted in the Land of the Dead ..."

"See?" exclaimed the young witch doctor, only to pout when shushed by Evie.

"However, in light of these extenuating circumstances, Lord Hades has commanded that you all attend to His Majesty immediately in his palace. And he has personally commanded me to bring you all safely to his domain."

Jay smiled, proud of his deduction. "See? He is our ride."

The son of Jafar shrugged and moved to go on the boat, only for an oar to block his path. "I guess not," muttered Celia, Jay nervously moving back onto safe land.

"You have to pay him first, genius," muttered Carlos, the spirit nodding in confirmation.

"Don't worry, I got this, guys," the king told him as he stepped forward, pulling out his wallet in his process. Charon outstretched his hand as the son of Adam and Belle placed bill upon bill in the spirit's hand, each of high denominations.

A wide-eyed Celia watched the amount of money Ben was giving away. "He was walking around with all of that this entire time?"

"We should've taken a cut for ourselves," Harry quipped, Uma humming in agreement.

"Okay," said Ben proudly, backing away and putting his wallet back in his pocket. "I don't know the travel rates for transportation to the Underworld by an immortal spirit, but that should be enough. Right?"