To be fair, I included maybe two or three aspects of the movie. Why? Because it plays a key part in my story. There is a reason they went to Lotus instead of Crusty's, so that I may introduce or include some key details/characters. Believe me, I hated the movie as well. Characters were six years older than their book counterparts, Annabeth was a brunette instead of a blonde, Kronos became that big demon looking dude, and we got ZERO R.E.D., and that ticked me off. So believe me, I will not be including details from the movie. Lotus was in fact in the books but was only mentioned.
Mini-rant over, I apologize. On to a couple review responses.
Charlee56: Thank you for being such an avid follower of this story. Your comments help in keeping me motivated about writing this little ficcy. I'm trying to not include movie details so no Lotus flowers. Kinda fun, but not my cup of tea.
SpartanBoy: I apologize for the confusion. Perhaps I should've included such a detail beforehand. And don't worry, a lot of people are snippety-nit-picky. Also, isn't that such a fun word to say?
Enjoy!
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"Grover? What's with the sniffer?"
Grover and I were in the middle of a game of Aliens II when he just stopped and started sniffing the air, his eyes narrowed and scanning the room.
"I'm… not sure," He answered slowly, still casting his gaze around the cavernous room. "I smell something… odd. Like fire and brimstone."
Klaxons started going off in my head and I instinctively knew something was up. I lowered the plastic rifle controller and started looking around as well. Everything seemed normal… for the most part. Other than the oddly dressed people who looked like they were still in the 1950's, the only thing that seemed out of the ordinary were two kids, a girl who looked about my age, and a boy a couple years younger, who looked to be by themselves. No adults hovered nearby, and the pair looked like they were pretty close. I knew that look. That was the look of two people who were truly alone and had no one else in their life. I was about to skip over them and keep scanning the room when I saw something...radiating from the boy.
I concentrated on Dad's blessing, which allowed me to read auras and focused on the kids. I blinked once, and the world suddenly faded, colors washing out to look like an old, sepia toned photograph. Everything was washed in a muted amber color. All around me I saw shades of translucent white, meshing and twisting together, mixing with the sounds of laughter and chatter. These were the regular people. The humans who didn't have Godly DNA in their blood. I shifted my gaze to Grover and was slightly amused to see his aura was a deep, forest-green with bits of earthen brown mixed in. I turned towards the kids and my eyes bulged with what I saw.
Black.
The two practically radiated darkness.
And Death.
I shivered involuntarily and blinked again, allowing the sepia to fade away and be filled in by the usual bright colors of the casino.
"Hmm, guess it's nothing," Grover muttered and turned back to the game. My eyes were still on the kids. They seemed to be really focused on a couple of pinball machines.
"I'll be right back, G-Man. I saw a pretty sweet pinball game I want to try," I set the gun down and started towards the kids.
"Okay, Perce."
I weaved my way through the crowd, making sure not to seem suspicious and like I was focused purely on them.
"Hey," I greeted the two, sidling up next to them at one of the games.
The girl glanced up at me and eyed me up and down a couple times. My mouth stretched into my signature lopsided grin and the girl blushed, diverting her gaze back to her game quickly.
The boy looked up and smiled shyly. "Hi."
"Sorry to bother you two. I just wanted to ask you how you like this game. I haven't played it yet and I'm curious." I said, feigning ignorance.
The boy grinned and began explaining the game excitedly, showing me how he figured out how to rack up a huge amount of points.
"Man, you sure know a lot about this game," I said with a smile. "I'm Percy, by the way. Percy Jackson."
"Nico Di Angelo," the boy returned the smile. He gestured to the girl beside him. "This is my sister Bianca."
I smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you, Nico," I looked at the girl, who met my eyes, and winked. "Bianca."
She blushed bright red, looking away quickly and mumbling a hello.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed that creepy, bald guy from earlier. He was watching us closely, trying to seem like he wasn't watching us. That bad feeling from earlier sent off a klaxon in my head again.
Something is seriously wrong here.
"Look, it was nice to meet you guys. Maybe we can play a game together later." I had to find Annabeth and Grover and get the hell out of here. Fast.
After a few minutes of searching I found Annabeth at a Virtual Reality Building game. I was really impressed with the building she was designing, and I would have taken a minute to really admire it, but there were more pressing concerns at the moment.
I grabbed her arm to get her attention. "We need to leave. Now."
She looked like she wanted to argue until she saw the deadly calm look in my eyes and the underlying panic it hid. "What is it? Monsters?"
"I don't know," I admitted. My heart pounded when I noticed a lot of the casino employees gathering nearby. "What I do know is something is seriously wrong with this casino and we need to get the hell out of here." Annabeth and nodded and together we started towards where I last saw Grover. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Act natural and don't do anything to make them suspicious. Let's find Grover and go."
It took a while to find him, but eventually we found the satyr standing next to the largest fountain sitting in the middle of the game floor. He was staring up at a large fixture on the top of the fountain.
"Grover, we need to get out of here." I grabbed his shoulder, but he didn't budge.
He pointed to the fixture. "Percy, look."
I glanced up and did a double take. A familiar bluish-green orb was fixed in place in the marble like a gemstone. Glancing around at the casino employees, the number of seemed to have doubled by the way, I made a quick decision. Sure, we had to get out fast, but that pearl was my only guarantee that my friends would make it out of the Underworld without a problem.
"Ah, screw it! All or nothing!" I turned to Annabeth and pointed to the door. "Take Grover and head to the exit. I'll grab the pearl and meet you outside."
"But-"
"Go! I'll be alright," I smiled reassuringly and stepped back into the fountain.
When I saw Annabeth and Grover start for the exit I concentrated on the water and felt a tug in my gut. The water obeyed and began to swirl, lifting me up effortlessly towards the pearl. It took a little jimmying and some elbow grease, but I popped out the pearl and quickly dropped to the ground. The second my feet hit the floor I took off towards the exit.
Security and casino employees swarmed around me and I grinned. My blood was pumping a mile a minute and my adrenaline was flowing. Chaos! I love a good chase!
"Pardon me!" I shouted slipping between people and pushing my way through the crowd. "Pre-teen half-blood with a sword coming through!"
Nearing the doors I saw a half-dozen casino goons blocking the exit. I nearly skid to a halt by the weirdness before me; each goon was wearing a white, expressionless mask, a pair of crisp, white gloves, and wielding dress canes, of all things. They held them like clubs, some rearing back their arms to take a swing at me. To this day I have absolutely no idea why, but the moment I caught sight of the casino goons, the words 'beyond the beef' popped in my head.
I threw out my hand as I continued towards the exit, focusing all my power on the fountains nearest the doors. A strong tug, like a hook latching onto my gut, was the only warning I got before hundreds of gallons of water exploded from the marble fountains and rushed at the six thugs like a miniature tsunami.
As quick as you could say Dean Martin, the six thugs were washed away like sand on a beach, crying out in confusion and shock when they were slammed into a wall, all colliding with one another in a jumbled heap.
"Damned half-blood!" A voice hissed out in rage. I turned my head to find Mr. Creepy charging at me with a massive butchers' knife. "No one leaves The Lotus!"
With hardly a thought I drew Void Breaker and launched myself in the air as he drew closer. I spun once, reached out with my sword to block his blade and planted my shoe in Mr. Creep's temple. The bald man crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut and fell to the floor unconscious. I landed in a crouch a few feet from the doors and almost casually walked towards them with my hands in my pockets.
I laughed to myself and shook my head. "Ain't that a kick in the head?"
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"What the hell?" I said aloud, looking around in confusion. It was daylight outside, around noon if the sun, sitting high in the sky, was any indication.
"Percy, look at this!" I turned to find Grover and Annabeth, the latter holding up a newspaper. Walking over and taking it I quickly read the front page.
My eyes widened in shock and I looked up at my friends in disbelief. "We were in there for two days!?" They both nodded. "How? We just got here like two hours ago!"
Annabeth bit her lower lip and got this far-away look in her eyes, a look I've come to recognize as her 'I'm thinking, don't interrupt for fear of your life' look. "It's probably some kind of time bubble spell. Inside the bubble, time remains stationary, while on the outside everything keeps moving. I didn't realize it until now, but I think that was the lair of the Lotus-Eaters."
I raced along the 'shelves' in my mind to search for something referencing the 'Lotus-Eaters'. Seconds later I found it. Lotus-Eaters: An ancient tribe known for their lust for the fruit of the Lotus Tree. Native to an island off the coast of Libya. Rumored to ensnare their victims with the lotus fruit. Reasons for such are currently unknown.
'Dad, lets add this to the list, eh? Also, we need to look into Bianca and Nico Di Angelo. They're half-bloods trapped in the casino. Judging by their aura's I suspect they're Hade's spawn.' I thought to myself, sending a mental message to my father.
He responded almost immediately. 'Hmm… that is peculiar. I will see to it, my son. These creatures must be incredibly skilled to have eluded me for so long. I never cared for their glutinous behavior towards that narcotic fruit'
I nodded and turned my attention back to my friends. Annabeth had just finished explaining who the Lotus-Eaters are and poor Grover looked like he was going to faint from fear.
"The important thing is we got out of there." I said, walking to the curb. "Right now we need to focus on getting to L.A." I hooked both pinkies in the corners of my mouth and gave a loud, shrill, New York whistle. Half a moment later a taxi pulled up in front of me.
The window rolled down to reveal a grey-haired man with a big beard and kind, ice-blue eyes. "Where ya headed, son?"
"You wouldn't be able to take us to L.A. by any chance, would you?"
"Uh, well… it's a rather long drive - and it'll cost quite a bit to get there." The old man said with a reluctant look.
Quick as a flash, and making sure Grover and Annabeth couldn't see, I pulled out a black credit card and showed it to the driver. "Money isn't an issue. Time is. The faster you get us there, the bigger the tip."
He was clearly wary about hauling three kids across state lines with no sign of an adult in their company, but the black card clearly showed him the light. "Alright, kid. Hop in. I can have you three there in just a few hours."
"Thank you," I smiled gratefully and motioned to Grover and Annabeth to pile in.
With our bags stowed in the trunk and the three of us parked in the back seat, the cab started south-east, black smoke, a clear sign of an engine burning oil, belching out behind us as we started towards the end of our quest.
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Just as the cabbie promised, who's name we quickly learned to be Arthur, less than four hours later we found ourselves cruising down the San Bernardino Freeway into the heart of L.A..
The city was gorgeous. Palm trees lined the streets and stood nearly a story high. The buildings we passed were all rather extravagant and clean. Judging by the looks Annabeth was giving the buildings, she was absolutely enthralled by the architecture of the city.
Grover and I felt like we'd been entranced by sirens when we spotted dozens of bikini-clad women parading up and down the sidewalks. Annabeth thankfully slapped the sides of our heads, waking us from our trance, all while muttering something about 'pervy boys'... whatever that means.
"Where to kids?" Asked Arthur, glancing at us over his shoulder.
"I don't remember the address," I replied, scanning the buildings as we drove. "Would you mind driving around for a bit? I'll probably recognize it if we pass by something familiar."
Arthur grumbled a bit but acquiesced and started making random lefts and rights. Meanwhile I was reaching out with my senses, searching for anything out of the ordinary for everyday L.A.. Sure enough, after about a half hours of side streets, I felt an odd sensation calling to me. I knew where to go. Or, what direction to go anyway.
"This left… that next right… and just down the street on the left." Arthur followed my directions and a few minutes later we found ourselves outside of a two-story building with a grey stone facade and blacked out windows.
We thanked Arthur and piled out of the cab, I paid for the trip, and tipped him rather generously for the trouble, and a few moments later the Vegas taxi had disappeared around the corner.
I turned to the building and looked up at the massive sign above the door. "DOA Recording Studios… DOA… Dead on Arrival? Seriously?" I snorted and shook my head. "The Gods have a really weird sense of humor."
"C'mon," Annabeth started towards the door, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"Right."
The three of us entered into the lobby and froze. In all the chairs and in a line by the elevator were dozens of ghosts, all floating or moaning aimlessly about the room. The temperature in the lobby, compared to outside, was like stepping into a deep freeze. Within moments our teeth were chattering, and goosebumps had risen on our arms. Seeing the elevator as the only other set of doors, we started towards them, coming up on a sort of check-in desk. Behind the desk was a bald man in a black suit, wearing black sunglasses, and his skin was so pale it looked transparent.
It wasn't until we got closer that I realized he was transparent.
"Two demigods and a satyr," the man said in a bored tone. He seemed to sniff the air and stare at us with a slight frown. "Neither of you are dead or dying. What is your purpose here?"
The man's voice was cold and disinterested, and made me shiver. I mustered my courage and approached the desk. "We'd like to visit Hades' Palace. We have… information I'm sure he'd like."
He just stared at me for a moment, his eyebrows raised slightly. Whether in surprise or incredulity, I'm not sure which. "Look, kid, no one living just enters the Underworld. Either take a number or come back when you're dead." He waved his hand dismissively and called for the next ghost in line.
I was starting to get a little pissed. Who was this jackass? My fingers started inching towards my sword and I was so ready to cut this asshole down to size.
'Peace, Perseus.' A soothing voice whispered in my head. 'The man is Charon, he was tasked many eons ago to guide the dead into the underworld for judgement. It is his duty to deter living souls from entering Hades' realm. Offer him gold and he may be swayed.'
'Thanks, Dad.' I reached into my pack and pulled out a small, leather sack. I opened and pulled out a handful of gold drachmas. "How about we make a deal?" I asked Charon, stacking two coins on the desk with each word. "Twelve gold, and we take a little trip downstairs."
Charon's eyes never left the stack of gold on his desk. I could almost see him debating in his head. Eventually he began to slowly nod. "Alright, kid. You got a deal."
"Ah, ah, ah." I grabbed half the stack of coins when he reached for them. "Half now, and half on the way back."
"Percy-" I subtly nudged Grover with my elbow and shook my head, silently telling him to stay quiet.
"Fine. You got a deal," the ferryman grumbled, gathering the coins and slipping them in an inside pocket of his suit jacket. He gestured for us to follow and pressed the call button on the elevator. There was a brief pause and the doors opened, allowing the four of us to pile in. Charon glanced around at us briefly and reached to punch the button for the lowest level. I kind of snorted when I saw what it read: Ground Floor.
The lift began to descend with barely a whisper and music began playing quietly from some hidden speaker. When I realized what was playing I snorted again and shot Charon and incredulous look. "AC/DC? Really?"
Charon shrugged and adjusted his black sunglasses. "The boss man is a fan. He found this song to be rather appropriate."
"That's one way to put it."
The ride down to Hades was actually a lot faster than what I had anticipated, considering the Underworld was supposedly several leagues below the surface. Barely ten minutes later the elevator came to a gentle halt and a soft, feminine voice rang out. "Ground Level. Welcome to Hell."
"Y'know, you people really are reaching with all the Hell puns," I commented dryly.
Charon merely smirked and motioned for us to follow him. "C'mon kiddies, we're taking the detour route. No need to pass Judgement when you aren't even dead."
We followed the ferryman in silence for a good twenty or thirty minutes, and the things we saw as we walked would probably scar the bravest of men. Screams and wails of agonizing pain were a constant on the route we took. Grover and Annabeth were somehow ignoring the sounds of torture and constant agony. I, however, heard everything as if I had a front row seat.
The sounds were bad enough, catching sight of a few of the scenes however… never has the name Hell been so true to its name. I saw men fixed to large 'X' shaped constructs, screaming as large birds swooped down upon them with razor sharp claws and beaks, ripping and shredding their flesh. Blood ran in a constant river and the sickeningly-sweet smell of rotting flesh filled the air. Others were being whipped with strands of fire, wielded by denizens of the underworld.
"Going for the scenic route, eh, ferryman?" I muttered, fighting the urge to vomit.
Charon looked surprised and stared at me behind those blacked out glasses, his eyebrows almost in his… non-existent hairline. "You can see?"
I nodded and stared straight ahead. "Yeah… I can see."
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Little bit of a filler chapter this round. Mostly just trying to get this quest over with so I can get on with the REAL story. So I'm sorry if this chappy was a bit dull, though I tried to spice it with some humor and a little action.
This quest is mainly just the preamble to the full story. I gotta get this bit out of the way before the fun can begin. Mostly for background purposes.
Also, if you're a fan of HP fanfics where Harry is an OP badass with human qualities, I suggest you check out midnightjen's trilogy Blood of The Phoenix. Totally awesome fic that had me sucked in almost immediately.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Thank you, my beautiful readers!