Act I - Storm At Sea

Part VI - There's magic everywhere, and with all this romantic atmosphere, disaster's in the air...

It was almost like a horror ride.

The park had to be abandoned for years by the look of it, and with night falling, the place looked sad and creepy. "If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," said Andy, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Andy," Anthony warned. "More respect."

"What? I thought you hated him."

"He's still a god. One who happens to date the most temperamental goddess ever to walk the face of this planet."

"Echidna?"

"Aphrodite," said Grover, dreamily. "Goddess of love."

A little surprised, Andy tried to recall anything concerning that goddess. "Yeah, isn't she married?"

"Your point?"

"Okay, got it," said Andy. They entered the park and luckily no monsters came to get them. "So Ares and Aphrodite are an item?"

"Three thousand year old gossip," said Anthony, barely interested.

"What about her husband?"

"Well, you know..." he said, now a little uncomfortable. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Hera. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, is she?"

"But... does he know?"

"Everybody knows. Plus, he caught them together once. Like literally caught them, in a net, and invited the others to go laugh at them. He's always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in places like this," he stopped and pointed to an empty pool with bronze statues of Cupid around it. The shield was at the bottom inside a two-seater boat. "Grover, you stay up here with the flying shoes, in case something goes wrong. Andy, come with me—"

"You want to take me to the... Thrill Ride of Love? Aren't you moving a little too fast, Wonder Boy?"

Anthony turned as red as a pepper and told her to shut up. Andy chuckled. He was so touchy! It was so easy to tease him.

They headed down together. The moment Andy took the shield, she knew they were in trouble. "This is a trap," Anthony said, a little too late.

Noise erupted around them of a million gears grinding. Grover called them. Andy and Anthony ran. The Cupids' heads popped open and out came video cameras. Spotlights rose over them.

"Hephaestus," Anthony said. "This is a trap to expose his wife with Ares. All the gods are probably watching."

They kept going and almost made it when tiny metallic spiders came their way. Anthony froze. He stumbled backward in terror and fell.

Men!

Andy had to pull him up and drag him back toward the boat, all the while struggling not to roll her eyes at him. She wasn't sure of what to do next. She shook him, but Anthony wouldn't move. Her desperation was such that water exploded out of the pipes.

Andy tried to concentrate: assuming she could control the boat. Then they were out of the tunnel, the boat barreled toward the exit. But the Gates of Love were chained.

"We're gonna have to jump," Andy told Anthony. He seemed to understand. He got to his feet and, to Andy's surprised, grabbed her hand.

"On my mark!" He hesitated... hesitated... then yelled, "Now!" The boat smashed and they were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt.

The Cupids were still filming. Andy got closer, bowed and turned them off.

The show was over.

The war god was waiting for them in the parking lot. "You looked good on TV," he said.

"You're a jerk." Andy shoved his shield at him. Grover caught his breath and glanced at Anthony who just shrugged.

"See that truck over there?" Ares pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street. "That's your ride to L.A. One stop in Vegas." He snapped his fingers and the back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride, west, punk. And here's a little something for doing what I asked." He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Andy. There was food, money and drachmas inside.

"I don't want your—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted. Andy gritted her teeth.

"You promised me information about my mother," Andy said, trying to keep her voice levelled.

"She's not dead," he said. "She was taken. She's being kept."

"Why?"

"Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else. That's war."

"Nobody's controlling me."

He laughed. "See you around, kid."

"No," Andy said. "I'll be seeing you."

The first thing that hit her was the smell. The truck was a zoo transporter and inside there was a zebra, a male albino lion and an antelope. They huddled in the corner and Grover started to talk to the animals.

"Humans are horrible," he complained. "They've polluted everything. They are terrible to animals. It is not a good time to be a satyr. They clogged up the world so fast... At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."

"Who's that?" Andy asked.

"The great god Pan!" He exclaimed. "What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"

"Again, I have no idea what that is."

"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," Anthony told her. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!'"

Grover nodded. "When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."

"That's what you want to do?"

"Yes. My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand... They knew the risk. But I will succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."

"Uh—the first?!"

"No searcher has ever come back," Anthony said. "Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."

"Not once in two thousand years?" She said. Grover shook his head. "And you still think there's a chance you can do this?"

"I have to believe it, Andy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what the humans have done to the world. I have to believe that Pan can be awakened." Grover curled up on a turnip sack and didn't speak anymore.

"Hey," Anthony said, his voice a little louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry for freaking out at the water park."

Andy glanced at him. "Yeah, what was that about?"

"That was—" He shuddered in a very cute way. "Spiders."

"That's what you're afraid of? Spiders? Not going to the Underworld in this hopeless quest? Why?"

"Arachne," he explained. "She got turned into a spider for challenging Athena to a weaving contest. Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."

Andy was astonished at how easy it was for him admitting his fear. She couldn't even think about the things she was afraid of. Especially the ones that concerned her mother's well-being.

"We're a team, right?" She forced a little smile. Then she remembered something. "Luke said something that's been bothering me. He said that you two go way back. That you are like brothers. He also said that Grover wouldn't fail this time, that no one would turn into a pine tree." Andy felt her friends stiffen.

Grover let out mournful bray. "I should've told you from the beginning," his voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"Don't be stupid," said Anthony. "None of it was your fault."

"I know you've forgiven me—"

"There was nothing to forgive."

Andy understood it then. "You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia. And the other two half-bloods... the ones who got safely to camp... ahh," she stopped herself when she saw how pale Anthony had gotten.

"Athena guided me to them," he whispered. "They'd both ran away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We've traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."

"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffing. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Anthony. I thought... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..."

"Stop it," Anthony cut him, and Andy was surprised at the hoarseness in his voice. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't either."

"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."

"That's not fair," Andy said.

"No, it isn't," Anthony agreed. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the Council says."

Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Andy."

Andy found it weird how Grover could go so fast from the first searcher who would return home alive to the lamest satyr ever.

"You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met," said Anthony. "Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld."

"It's not luck that you found Thalia and me," added Andy. "You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan." There was a deep, satisfied sigh. Then his breathing got heavier and he started to snore. "How does he do that?" Andy turned to Anthony who was staring at her in a funny way. "What?"

"That was really nice." He rubbed his necklace, thinking.

"How does that work?"

Anthony looked; he hadn't realized what he was doing. "Every August, the counselor pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint in on that year's beads."

"And the college ring? Is that your father's?"

"None of your—" he stopped himself. "Yes."

"You don't have to tell me. It's fine."

He took a deep breath. "He sent it to me about two years ago. It was his main keepsake from Athena. He said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for everything and said he loved and missed me. He wanted me to come home."

"Did you?"

"Yes. But my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids in danger. Monsters would attack and we would argue. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to camp."

"You shouldn't give up on him."

"My father made his choice about who he wants to live with."

Andy, who was suddenly missing her mom more than ever, leaned over him and rested her head on his shoulder. "It shouldn't have to be a choice," she whispered before falling asleep.

Vegas was damn hot.

Andy wiped the sweat from her forehead as they passed the casinos, the pyramids, a pirate ship, the Statue of Liberty, until suddenly they reached a dead end and found themselves standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. There was no one going in or out.

The doorman smiled. "Hey, kids. You look tired. Come in and sit down."

They exchanged a look before doing just that. The chances of Medusa being back already were pretty slim, right?

Inside, the whole lobby was a giant game room. A bellboy came forward.

"Hey. Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key. The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 400I. If you need anything, call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides." He handed them the green cards.

Andy knew there must be something wrong, but at the moment she couldn't find any immediate threat. She was tired, sweating, thirsty and homesick. She glanced at her friends and it was decided—it was playtime.

Andy had the time of her life. Grover was playing a reverse hunter game where the deer got out to kill the rednecks. Anthony, of course, was playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They seemed to have fallen in love with their games. But Andy couldn't quite find a game that suited her that well.

After a while she got tired of playing. That's when she started to notice things. Like that guy that kept saying 'groovy'—he told her his name was Darrin, but he wasn't interested in keeping the conversation alive.

"Hey, Darrin?"

"Yeah?"

"What year is it?"

He frowned. "In the game?"

"No, for real."

He had to think. "1977."

Andy didn't like that. But then again, the guy could be just crazy, you know? She moved on. She tried to talk to the others, but it was hard, their faces were glued to the screens. A guy said it was 1985. Another one said 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been there very long.

Then it occurred to Andy: how long had she been there?

She ran and found Anthony building a city. "Anthony, we need to get out of here."

No response. Andy shook him. "Anthony?"

He looked up, annoyed. "What?"

"We need to leave!"

"Leave? What are you talking about?"

"This is a trap." He didn't respond until Andy shook him again.

"What?"

"Our quest! Remember?"

"Just a few more minutes," he said, returning his attention to the game.

"Anthony! People have been here since 1977! Kids who never aged! You check in and stay forever."

"So? Can you imagine a better place?"

Men!

Andy sighed. "I can't believe you'll force me to do this." No response. "Welcome to Neverland." Andy leaned over the screen and kissed him. At first, he tried to get her out of the way, but then his body relaxed and he kissed her back. Andy was enjoying it more than she thought she would, but the kissing was just as distracting as the gaming.

She stepped back. Embarrassed, Anthony cleared his throat. "How long—"

"I don't know, but we need to find Grover," she said. He nodded and they went searching.

Grover was still killing rednecks. Andy called his name; he didn't listen. She wondered if kisses worked on satyrs... She called him again. Grover turned the plastic gun on her and started clicking.

"Die, human!" he shouted. Andy raised an eyebrow then slapped the gun from his hand. Anthony grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away from the game. Grover complained and cried and fought them.

The bellboy hurried up to them. "Are you ready for your platinum cards?"

"We're leaving," Andy told him.

"Such a shame," he said, sounding sincere. "We just added a new floor full of games."

Grover reached out for the platinum card, but Anthony yanked back his arm.

They went outside and the heat hit them like a truck. That felt the same. But the sky was stormy.

Andy ran to the nearest newspaper and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in. Unfortunately, they had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.

They had only one more day until the summer solstice.