Annabeth uses her LotusCash card to hire a taxi from Las Vegas to Santa Monica, and the card appears to hold unlimited money. During the ride, Percy tells Annabeth and Grover about his latest dream. The three of them try to interpret it, but Percy becomes increasingly convinced that something about the quest does not fit the idea that Hades is the true mastermind. Annabeth is visibly uneasy when Percy suggests the force in the pit may be someone other than Hades, but she insists the answer still lies in the Underworld.

At Santa Monica, Percy walks into the Pacific and discovers he can breathe underwater and move safely through the sea. A shark carries Percy into deeper water, where Percy meets a Nereid from Poseidon’s court. The Nereid explains that Poseidon cannot help Percy directly, but gives Percy three magical pearls and warns him to trust his own heart, because Hades will try to trap him through doubt and hopelessness. Percy returns to shore and tells Annabeth and Grover what happened, though Annabeth distrusts any divine gift that seems free.

The trio heads into West Hollywood to find DOA Recording Studios, the supposed entrance to the Underworld, but no one recognizes the address. While searching on foot and avoiding police, Percy sees a television interview in which Smelly Gabe pretends to be a grieving victim and helps turn Percy into a national fugitive story. The false media narrative increases the pressure on Percy, because the group is already running out of time before the solstice.

After dark, a gang of mortal teenagers corners the trio in an alley. Percy’s sword cannot harm them, which confirms they are ordinary humans, so he, Annabeth, and Grover flee into Crusty’s Water Bed Palace. The owner, Crusty, reveals himself as Procrustes, the monster who traps victims in beds and stretches or cuts them to fit. After Procrustes binds Annabeth and Grover, Percy flatters him into demonstrating a bed himself, commands the magic ropes to bind him, and kills him with Riptide.

Once Annabeth and Grover are freed, Percy searches the shop and finds a monster directory and a flyer for DOA Recording Studios. The flyer gives the address and shows that the entrance to the Underworld is only a block away. With Percy now carrying the Nereid’s pearls and a stronger suspicion that Hades may not be the only danger, the trio moves one step closer to the Land of the Dead.