Hello again.

I'm only really using cannon as a very general guide. So, if you have any questions about why particular scenes from the books played out differently here feel free to ask and I'll try to explain my thought process or lack thereof.

Hope you enjoy the story!

When the questing trio made it to Denver, they were fresh out of cash and were coming up blank on how they'd reach the pier Triton wanted them to go to.

They stopped by a car wash to contact camp and update them on their progress while they planned what to do next.

They got Luke on the IM instead of Chiron. Cabin 11's councilor was looking grim and tired, though he tried to give them one of the usual Hermes' patented grins.

Apparently someone had leaked to the rest of camp about the quest and the whole possible war between the gods thing. It was shaping into a war amongst the cabins, and Percy was surprised to hear that Ares Cabin was on his side for once.

Clarisse's dad was siding with Poseidon, so his kids were falling in line, or as she had put it when she walked by them talking at the Big House: "Prissy is too stupid to steal a god's symbol of power successfully."

Percy was left alone with his cabin councilor when Annabeth and Grover went to terrorize the truck in the section next to them who had their music on full blast. From what Percy could hear over the music, the older boy was trying to be reassuring and not quite succeeding. That and a somewhat concerning scream before the truck next door peeled out of the stall and took off.

After the IM they dragged their feet to a local dinner to try and get some food and a better idea of what they should do from there.

Then Ares happened.

Percy wasn't proud of how he'd acted around Ares, but in his defense the god had been actively trying to make him mad. They agreed to go to the theme park and retrieve Ares' shield in exchange for a ride west. Percy figured it would be good practice since the whole point of the quest was to find and retrieve the King of the gods' favorite lightning bolt.

It was too bad the whole thing was a trap. At least they got a free change of clothes and other items from the defunct theme park's souvenir shop. They were now decked out like life size advertisements for Water Land.

Percy was just happy there was a colony of little frogs that were only too happy to help them escape the Love Boat trap by turning the water on for the ride and attempting to eat the little metal spiders even after Percy had specifically told them not to in fear for their health.

Annabeth had elected to stay up by the control tower and had much better luck with the buttons and wiring than either of them probably would have. She had stopped looking so scared of the spiders when she realized that they were only going after him and Grover who had gone down to investigate the ride and tripped the web for the trap when they grabbed the shield.

Grover was still looking a little out of it from exposure to the Love goddess' scarf and had been playing sickly sweet love songs on his reed pipes which had made the metal spiders go crazy and crash into each other. The celestial bronze nets they had been spinning over the ride had formed into big heart shapes, but Percy had made the executive decision to not go out through the webbing. They hadn't managed to get a whole lot of water going for the ride to work, so they had drifted to their final destination. Their boat bumped into the pile up against the closed gates of the ride and they had to climb over the other boats and cut through the gate to get free, but it wasn't too bad.

By the time Percy and Grover escaped the lovey-dovey ride of death and told the cameras that the fun was over, Annabeth was laughing at them and nearly folding over on herself as she confiscated Aphrodite's scarf from Grover, and Percy hoped to never hear another love song rendition on the reed pipes again.

It was disheartening to find out that their ride west was some dumpy truck also being used to move a few animals. Their efforts should have been worth more than the heap of junk they were stowing away in and a backpack.

Percy decided that he really didn't like Ares and silently hoped the god's girlfriend would smack him for not getting her scarf back. It would also make for better entertainment than the footage of him and Grover escaping the love boat trap anyhow.

The truck was truly awful, and the trio unanimously agreed to release the animals at the next stop. It took a while to clean up what they could and make sure the animals had the appropriate foods. They used the glow from the celestial bronze weaponry as a nightlight of sorts as they worked.

He even managed to muddle through a slightly awkward heart-to-heart with the other two.

When they reached Vegas, they let the animals loose and Grover gave them some special satyr blessing that would help them get somewhere safe. They used the distraction to get away from the scene and start looking for new transport.

Then they found the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

"It won't hurt to get off of the street for a second," they said. "We'll just get some food and be on our way," they said. Percy felt sick when they entered the building. Something deep down told him that it was all too good to be true and anything in the middle of a dessert couldn't be trusted. They were given free board and casino cards and were able to freshen up a bit in their room before they decided to explore a bit.

Percy wasn't too sure about the building, but something else whispered to him that he'd be safe and have fun there. It really creeped him out, so while they all went down to the games Percy kept his bag close. He liked the multiplayer games better and stuck with Grover for a few rounds of shoot the hunter before going to see some of the other ones around. Annabeth had ditched them first chance she got for some 3D city building game on the second floor.

By the time he figured out why he felt so bad about the building he was playing a fight game with a girl around his age or maybe a year or so older with long dark hair in a braid while her younger brother cheered her on from the sidelines.

She told him that they had been staying there for a few months and the games changed all the time. He had noticed that a few of the other gamers had been wearing different period clothes and had originally assumed that there was some convention being held there, but when he asked her what time period her outfit was from, she was confused, and he had a sinking feeling he knew why as he remembered where he knew lotus from. When he asked her what year it was, she told him it was 1939. Percy politely excused himself and quickly located Annabeth and Grover.

It took him and Annabeth working together to drag Grover from the building. When one of the greeters came up to them with Platinum cards Percy grabbed one as he knocked the rest from the guy's hands before pushing the stunned man aside and dashing through the doors while half carrying Grover. The backpack Ares gave them appeared on Annabeth's shoulders, which had to be the lamest magic item ever.

Outside they found it was morning and they had two days to find and return the Master Bolt.

They managed to catch a cab to the Santa Monica Pier and Annabeth got confused for royalty by the driver when he rang up her Lotus card. Percy was glad he grabbed a platinum one as they were leaving. It would make travel easier.

Percy felt a little bad for freaking Grover and Annabeth out when he waded out into the ocean and left them standing on the beach. He hitched a ride with a shark, and it made idle chatter as it swam them further out into the depths.

Then he met his Grandmother.

The lady Amphitrite looked similar to her sister that had visited him in the Mississippi and he could see some of their relation in the way her hair curled, and her whole face shifted when she smiled. Little things that his Mom had said he got from his father. She gave him a hug and three odd greenish pearls which she told him would help them escape the Underworld if necessary.

She warned him that what belongs to the sea will return to the sea, which wasn't cryptic at all.

Percy thought that would be it. Gift given he would have to return to the surface where things made so much less sense and try his best to prevent war between the gods. Nope. Before he could even turn to go a faster stream of water grabbed ahold of him and dragged him closer to the sea goddess.

It took Percy longer than it should have to realize he was being hugged and he froze in shock when gentle fingers carded through his mess of hair and her voice like the rustling waters whispered that her and his father and the rest of his immortal family were so very proud of him for all he had accomplished already on his quest. Then, she held him by his shoulders just an arms' length in front of her and made an overdramatic declaration to him that her husband owed him a big favor and that he should think about what he wanted before sending him back toward the surface with a small push and he couldn't help but glance back as the water carried him up to where his friends waiting on the shore.

Fun headcanon: The demigods do in fact use their celestial bronze weapons as nightlights because they keep both the dark and monsters away.

Thoughts on how the love ride played out in this universe?