Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 29: Waking Up in Vegas
Percy's POV
I hope my plan works. I walked downstairs to the casino, a waitress handed me some chips so I walked over to the roulette wheel to check out the action. I smiled broadly and acted like I didn't have a care in the world. I passed a certain lord of wild who was surrounded by three women. They clung to him as if they were glued to his side. I wonder what Juniper would do if she saw Grover like this? It's probably better if I didn't know.
"Ladies, excuse me, but I need to speak to my friend here, I'll make sure that he comes back as soon as he can." I said. I lied about that last part.
"Who are you?" Grover said. He doesn't even know who I am. I've got an idea.
"I'm from Hollywood, I think you've got a great deal of talent, can we talk?" I said, man I'm lying a lot tonight.
"You are? That's great sure let's talk, ladies I'll be back soon." Grover said. The ladies gave us both sad faces, but they bought the whole situation.
"Hurry back lover." One of the ladies said, while the others laughed. Man, if Juniper ever found out he was so dead. I moved Grover to a private part of the casino away from prying eyes.
"So tell me, are you a producer or talent scout?" Grover asked anxiously.
I didn't know exactly what I was doing, but it felt right. "Neither!" I said as I grabbed both of Grover's shoulders and before he could protest I stared into his eyes and concentrated my mind on his mind. For a moment nothing happened, but before Grover could protest I felt the real Grover in his mind trapped behind the false facade created by the Lotus. I forcibly removed the barrier caused by the Lotus using my mind, I wasn't sure how I did it, but I did. I saw Grover's eyes grow big.
"Percy, what happened?" Grover said worriedly. A large smile crept across my face.
"You were under the control of the Lotus, but I freed you." I said happily.
"How is that possible?" Grover asked.
" I have no clue, but we need to find Nico and Annabeth." I said excitedly.
"Annabeth is under the control of the Lotus?" Grover asked. I was afraid of the answer, but I suspected that she was.
"I think so." I said with concern in my voice. Grover looked at me with a worried expression, but then I could see the determination in his eyes.
"We need to act like we are under the Lotus's control, we'll find them." Grover stated confidently. The real Grover was back.
"Agreed, let's go find them." I said. We left our secluded location and searched for Nico and Annabeth. Nico and his band just finished a show about ten minutes ago, so we walked back stage, but we were careful to act like fans and not concerned friends. We found Nico's dressing room. We stopped in front of it and we could hear Nico talking to a woman in his dressing room. The voice sounded oddly familiar, but I put that feeling aside and listened to their conversation.
"Oh, Nic it so good to be able to talk to you. Your band is incredible. I love your voice, its so dreamy." The unknown woman said.
"Thank you darling, I'm always happy to talk to a fan. You know, you have the most beautiful eyes and I just love blondes." Nico or Nic said. I was almost sick how these two were flirting. It sure didn't sound like the Nico that I knew.
"Your really think so?" The unknown woman asked seductively.
"Yes, I would love to kiss you darling." Nico said. He sure doesn't beat around the bush does he?
"I thought you would never ask." The woman said. Well this woman was a slut, that's for sure.
"Perc we can't wait, we have to get him now." Grover said. I nodded, well this is going to be a short make out session I thought. I kicked open the door and the scene I saw before me shook me to my core. Nico was dressed in just a black robe and he was kissing a blonde who was wearing a very revealing red evening gown, but that wasn't the part that impacted me. The woman Nico was kissing was Annabeth.
"Annabeth, what are you doing?"I yelled as we stormed into the dressing room. I could see the shock on Grover's face. At first I could tell that Annabeth had know idea who we were and then realization dawned on her. I saw her eyes widen when she realized who we were and what we caught her doing.
"Percy, I.." Annabeth said. I could tell that she was completely freaked out. Nico on the other hand just looked mad.
"Man, I don't know who you are, but you can't just barge into my dressing room." Nico yelled. He came forward as if he was going to kick us out, but I had enough of this. The sight of Annabeth kissing Nico drove me over the edge. I lost control of my emotions and I attacked. I punched Nico square in the face and he hit the floor hard. He was unconscious, I tried to calm myself, but I was only barely able to do it.
"Percy, calm down, he's out cold." Grover said. I knew Grover could tell that I was having trouble controlling my anger.
"Percy, I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was ..." Annabeth tried to say, but I cur her off.
"I don't care." I said, lying of course. "I won't you and Grover to get Nico out of here now. I'll make sure the guards leave you alone."
"Percy, let me help you?" Annabeth asked. I looked at her and all I could visualize was her kissing Nico.
"Dammit, do what I say." I said as I ran out of the dressing room toward the casino.
My armor instantly covered my body and my helmet covered my head as I entered the casino. All of the guards charged me. A few of the guests in the casino ran toward the exits in a panic, but most just continued what they were doing. Clearly they were under the control of the Lotus. I allowed my anger to fuel my strength and my speed, but I tried to control it as best I could. It was like riding a huge wave on a surf board. Two guards ran at me with night sticks. The first guard hit my arm with the stick, but it broke in half as it hit my armor. I grabbed the first guard like a rag doll and threw him into the second guard. I heard their heads collide and then they both were lying unconscious on the floor. Two more guards came forward, one was the guard with the gun who forced me to eat the Lotus. He had a gun in his hand, I extended my shield and all of the bullets bounced off harmlessly. I charged the large guard and hit him hard in the chest with my shield. I heard several of his ribs crack with the impact. Another guard ran toward me with a stun gun, but before he could touch me I grabbed a roulette wheel from a table and threw it at him like a discuss. The wheel hit him directly in the mid-section and knocked the wind out of him. I saw Grover and Annabeth carrying Nico out of the casino. When they both saw me they almost froze, until I pointed toward the exit. They ran out the door after that. I followed behind them. Another guard ran toward me and by then my armor had already retracted back into the gauntlet and my shield had turned back into my bracelet. The guard barely grazed me with a stun gun, I felt the electricity, but I was so fueled with anger and adrenaline that I was able to punch the guard. I watched as he hit the wall behind him with a satisfying crash. I ran out of the casino. I saw our black Toyota Highlander pull in front of the casino with Annabeth driving. I opened the back door and jumped in next to the unconscious Nico. As soon as I closed the door all I could feel was exhaustion and the stun gun hit.
Before I completely passed out into blackness. I heard Grover yelling if I was alright. My last thought was that lingering image of Annabeth kissing Nico, then blackness.
AN: Annabeth kissing Nico! I wonder what will happen when Percy wakes up. Well, that will have to wait till another chapter. Thalia and the gangs 'work' is next.
