An Extra long chapter has arrived!

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When the four demigods returned to the diner with Ares's shield in hand, the god himself awaited them just around the corner from the entrance. Surrounding buildings shrouded this area in shadows, making the five blend in with the approaching night; it was the kind of place crimes were committed.

Somehow, that didn't make Leo feel any better.

"Well, well," he drawled. "You didn't get yourselves killed."

"You knew it was a trap," Percy growled.

Ares gave them a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled black-smith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids, one of which was his very own son, the one that's supposed to be in a foster home. I suppose I can't blame you from running from it; some of the things that family did to you turns my stomach," Ares confessed before plastering his smirk back in place, returning to the topic at hand. "You looked good on TV."

Percy shoved the shield, which Leo had given him to carry while he nursed a pretty bad cut on his arm, at him.

"You're a jerk," the son of Poseidon stated, simply.

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.

Leo just rolled his eyes; Percy had gotten into worse situations, and if his future self was any indication, he'd obviously escaped this quest alive. Fate wouldn't allow the savior of Olympus to die before he actually saved Olympus.

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner.

"That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which Leo (he did have dyslexia; it just wasn't half as bad as Percy's) could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTER-NATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

Percy said, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of them, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Oreos.

When Leo looked up from the bag (which gave him a very bad feeling), Ares looked at Percy and stated, "Good luck, punk. Something tells me you're going to make a lot of enemies."

With that delightful message, Ares promptly disappeared, leaving the four of them with a long journey ahead of them and leaving Leo with a lot to think about.

"We should hurry," Leo stated before anyone could say a word about Ares's warning. "Time to hitch a ride."

The four demigods ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.

The first thing that hit Leo was the smell. One of his previous foster parents owned a lot of pets, including three dogs, five cats, two hamsters, seven fish, a rabbit, and a ferret. The smell reminded him of that house, especially since one of his chores was to clean up after all the animals.

He tried to forget that the kids did all the work and the adults did nada. The police called it a case of modern day slavery.

Two kids had died there. Leo had almost been the third.

Bad thoughts, Leo, he chastised himself. Bad thoughts.

The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped Riptide. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals a person could've ever seen: a zebra, a male albino lion, and an antelope.

Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!

Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.

"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"

He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and the others would've helped him, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.

They huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Leo pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving.

Percy found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used his sword to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.

Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but they decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. They told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them more in the morning, then they settled in for night.

Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuff Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly. Percy sat next to her, fiddling with the pen that was Riptide. Leo just sat in the corner, toying with some objects he pulled out of his pockets- wires and the like- and he tried to forget about Ares's warning to Percy and the comment about his last foster home (or fourth foster home; time travel made everything complicated).

Of course, the universe didn't let him forget.

"Hey, Leo?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah?"

"What did Lord Ares mean about your last foster home?"

Leo shrugged, opting to keep it short. "The foster dad was an abusive jerk. Foster mom tolerated me, but she walked out about a month after I arrived. That's when things got really bad, and I had to leave."

"Have you run away before?" Grover questioned.

Leo nodded. "This was my fourth foster home. I ran away three times from the first and got caught twice. The Family wasn't bad, but it was right after my mom died, so... yeah," Leo finished, awkwardly. "Ran away twice from the second, and I got caught the first time. The family was nice, but the kids at school weren't. I attempted to run away twice from the third and succeeded on the third try. Abusive father, neglectful mother, but my foster siblings were great people. One of our neighbors helped me escape from this one, so it was easier than in the past to just slip out the door."

"Wow," Annabeth muttered. "I ran away from my dad when I was seven."

"I wanted to run away from my step dad, but I stayed for my mom," Percy added.

"My parents died a few years ago," Grover chipped in.

"Our lives suck" Percy stated.

Leo laughed. "It could be worse. We could've come back from the dead or been stuck in time for fifty years or been raised by wolves. Or worse... we could be lactose intolerant."

The demigods chuckled.

"Where do you come up with that stuff?" Annabeth snorted.

"Friends."

"One of your friends has come back from the dead?" Grover demanded.

"The doctors shocked her back to life," Leo lied.

"Stuck in time?"

"I'd rather not discuss that story. I may scar you for life."

"Raised by wolves?"

"I met some of them, too. It was a frightening meeting."

"You have some weird friends," Percy told him.

Leo nodded. "I really do."

Or at least... I did.

Leo hastily pushed that thought away. The friends he knew may be dead, but he'd meet them in a few short years.

That was a weird thought, and to anyone else, that would've made no sense whatsoever.

Annabeth pulled apart an Oreo and handed half to Percy. "In the Iris message ... did Luke really say nothing?"

Leo and Percy were quiet, trying to think of a way to word this. Leo was worried that he'd give away too much information if he wasn't careful, and Percy was obsessing over Luke's weird mention of the pine tree.

"Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."

In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.

Grover let out a mournful bray.

"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus," Percy realized.

He nodded glumly.

"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." Percy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"

She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were ... amazing monster fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."

Leo tried not to be jealous of how he'd been running since he was eight- running from monsters, mortals, enemy demigods, enemies in general- and his dad never sent him any help. He was on his own.

Well, there was Julia...

No, don't think about her. Just don't.

And Madison...

Don't think about her either.

Alexis and Brandon...

You know what. Just stop thinking all together and listen to the weird Thalia-turning-into-a-pine-tree story you've heard a hundred times and still don't entirely understand. If only you could get past the transforming into a tree part, maybe you would get the rest of the story.

"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," the satyr said, sniffling. "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 Annabeth by themselves. 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," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

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

Leo rolled his eyes. "And you're blaming yourself for this? Think about it, we're on a quest to prevent World War 3, and we all know Annabeth is the brains of this operation. What would've happened if you'd left her? We probably wouldn't be on this quest. What if you'd gotten Thalia to safety? How do you know something similar wouldn't have happened? You don't. That's how Fate works. Fate works in mysterious ways, and it has a certain design. If something messes up that design, they're going to find a way to fix it. Because Fate is fate, and changing it can result in very bad things."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Annabeth asked.

Leo didn't meet their eyes. "Trust me, I've had more than a few meetings with fate, not to mention gods that understand it more than I do."

"But Leo's right," Percy said "you got in trouble because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind? That's not fair."

"Percy and Leo are right," Annabeth said. "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 Percy."

"You're not lame," Leo interrupted. "I mean, compare yourself to Nancy Throw-A-Fit. Does that make you feel any better?"

Grover laughed. "I guess it does."

"Who's Nancy Throw-A-Fit?" Annabeth asked in amusement.

Percy launched into the story of Nancy Bobofit and all the pranks Grover and he had pulled on her, and by the end, they were trying to keep their laughs as quiet as possible and even the animals seemed to be listening attentively.

And for the time being, they were able to forget about the quest and the danger and Ares's warning and the very angsty conversation they'd just had.

Gods knew they needed to forget, if only for a little while.

Leo was a bit surprised by the dream, but he was not at all ungrateful for the change of scenery.

Usually, he found himself kneeling over the bodies of one of his dead friends or siblings or even his mother at times. But today, he found himself standing on the edge of Tartarus, staring down into inky blackness.

"He is a threat, My Lord," a voice was saying, and Leo recognized it as Luke's.

"I realize this. How are we going to capture him?"

"I have the necklace ready. All we need is the perfect opportunity to ambush him," Luke responded. "What is your plan, My Lord?"

"Allow the son of Poseidon to return the bolt to my wretched son. We shall begin another plan."

"And what is that?"

"You will kill Percy Jackson, and you will bring Leo Valdez to me after they return from their quest. Power like that... it could be useful."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Oh, and Leo Valdez?"

The voice spoke directly to him.

"Watch your back, hero. You can be useful to me if we should be allies, but if we are enemies, you won't see your thirteenth birthday."

Leo woke to someone shaking him.

"Come on, the truck has stopped," Annabeth was saying. "Did you and Percy both have a nightmare?"

"What can I say? Demigods have nightmares all the time, but hey, they keep us alive most of the time," Leo shrugged. "What now?"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded too close to the truck, and Annabeth hissed one word:

"Hide!"

She had it easy. She put on her invisibility cap and vanished while her three companions dove behind food sacks and hoped they looked like turnips and not three stow aways.

The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances."

He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.

"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.

The lion roared in indignation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.

Leo noticed the water in the dishes slosh of their own accord; Grover growled, quietly; Percy jumped and leaned away from Leo as the fire user's body temperature spiked.

The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.

The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"

A voice outside-it must've been Eddie's-shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"

The guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.

"Annabeth," Leo snickered.

"How do you know it's Annabeth?" Grover asked.

"What other person could knock on the side of a trailer without being seen?"

"Good point."

A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Percy. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at Percy, waiting for him to take the lead.

Leo just stared at the locks on the cages. He wondered...

Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but the four of them knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute.

Leo stood and walked calmly over to the cage, heating up his hand until it melted the lock on the zebra's cage.

Annabeth's jaw dropped.

"You're a fire user?" Grover gaped.

"Don't tell," Leo said. "Save your strengths until you need them."

The zebra burst out. It turned to Leo and bowed, as though saying thank you, sir.

Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.

Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. They rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs.

They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"

"We need to do this at camp sometime," Leo laughed. "It'd be the perfect prank."

"We're not using animals to do your bidding!" Grover admonished.

"I didn't say it had to be a real zebra. I could make a automation," Leo told them. "Now, come on. The other animals."

Percy sliced through the lock on the cage of the antelope with Riptide, and Leo melted the lock on the lion's.

Grover did his blessing thing again, and the lion turned to Leo, saying something he didn't understand before bounding off.

"What'd he say?" Leo asked.

"He said good luck, lion. You're gonna need it," Grover said in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"Well, Leo is the lion constellation, but I don't know what the rest means," Leo told him.

Annabeth shrugged. "It sounds like a warning."

"We've gotten more than enough warnings in the past week," Leo muttered.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all-"

"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked.

"It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.

"Hey!" The sea prince protested.

"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

They stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and they must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay the four demigods much attention.

They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty.

None of them knew what they were looking for, but they were hoping for a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find something to eat and drink, and make a new plan for getting west.

They must have taken a wrong turn, because they found themselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers-lotus blossom.

Leo was reminded of Nico and Bianca being trapped in there for seventy years, and he swallowed. They were still there.

He tried not to think of Nico. Out of all the deaths he'd seen, Nico's had been the hardest to deal with, right along with Harley's. Nico and him were friends before he died, and they understood each other.

He died alongside Will Solace, who may have been his chance at a happy ending in another life. They'd kissed right before the pair went to meet Nico's father.

The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

Percy nodded and said they'd love to come in. Inside, the four of them took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."

The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.

But Leo wasn't focused on that. He was focused on two of the youngest kids in the game room. One was playing a card game at a table with a girl sitting across from him.

The girl met his eyes, and Leo's head snapped away.

Nice going, Leo. People love it when you stare at them.

But he couldn't help it because this was Nico. And the girl must be his sister, Bianca.

"Hey!" a bellhop interrupted Leo's thoughts. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy stammered, "Um, but..."

"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or what-ever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."

He handed each of them a green plastic credit card.

Percy said, "How much is on here?"

His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

They took the elevator upstairs and checked out the room. It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun.

"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..."

"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."

There were clothes in the closet, and they fit Leo, who knew why, although the others looked skeptical.

Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Leo grabbed it and hid it under his bed, knowing the Master Bolt would eventually appear inside.

Leo took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. He changed clothes, ate a sandwich, and drank three Cokes and two water bottles.

Now, it was time for business.

Leo came out of the bedroom and found that his companions had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.

"All those stations," Percy told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

"It's interesting."

"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."

Leo chuckled. "It is nice..."

When it's not trapping you for decades, obviously.

Without Grover even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.

"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"

Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.

"Play time," Percy said.

The three headed out the door before Percy looked back at Leo.

"You coming?"

"I'll be down in a second," Leo called over his shoulder, and Percy shrugged as he shut the door.

Then, Leo set to work.

After running away so many times, Leo knew how to pack to survive. He stuffed bags of chips, pouches of small cookies, and candy bars into his own backpack, followed by water bottles. Leo packed three spare changes of clothes for each of them, and when he picked it up, it was still light.

Packing was a second nature to him. He knew how to pack a lot of items in a small bag and still make it light. He'd never seen so grateful for his packing skills as he was right now.

Leo slung the bag over his shoulder and checked his watch. They'd been here for six hours.

Before he could formulate a plan, he had some people to get acquainted with.

Leo showed up at the right time.

He found Nico scrambling to pick up his cards from the floor as a snarling man loomed over him.

"Watch where you're going, kid," he growled, kicking Nico in the ribs.

Leo stormed over, shoving the man away from the son of Hades.

"Hey! How would I like it if I kicked you?" Leo stabbed a finger into the man's shoulder. "Back off, dude."

"You back off," the man barked, shoving Leo back. "The little brat ran into me anyway."

Leo grabbed the man's forearm and shoved him so hard, he fell to the ground. The man gazed at his arm, where a burn in the shape of a handprint glared up at Leo; he scrambled to his feet and sprinted away.

Leo sighed. He didn't like using his powers like that, but no one messed with his friends and got away with it. That guy was just lucky he hadn't messed with Harley...

He would've woken up in the Underworld.

"You okay, kid?" Leo asked, reaching out a hand to help Nico stand.

Nico nodded as he accepted. "Thanks. How did you do that with the burn?"

Leo shrugged. "It's hereditary. Dear old dad passed it down to me. What's your name, kid?"

"Nico. Nico Di Angelo."

"I'm Leo, Leo Valdez."

"Nico!" Bianca's voice suddenly called and she ran over. "I thought I told you to wait by the bathroom for me."

Nico shrugged, blushing. "Sorry?"

"Did anything happen?" She asked.

Nico nodded. "Old Mr. Cranky got mad because I ran into him, but Leo helped me."

Bianca smiled at Leo. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," Leo stated, glancing at his watch. Almost an entire day had gone by.

Man, time really did fly in here.

"Leo! Do you know how to play Mythomagic?" Nico asked.

"Nope. Wanna show me?"

"Sure!"

Bianca smiled, probably grateful that Nico had a friend other than her.

Leo waited for three days to pass before he put his plan into action.

"Bianca, Nico," he said when he arrived at breakfast on the fourth morning. "I'm afraid I have to leave."

Bianca's eyes widened. "Why?"

"My friends and I have traveled many miles to see one of our relatives. We believe he may have some information on a very important family heirloom that was stolen. It's very dangerous, and it's vital that we find it soon."

"But, Leo, I don't want you to go," Nico whimpered, his eyes watering.

Leo smiled. "Well, guess what? We're going to be together again someday. I don't know how and I don't know when, but someday, we will meet again."

He faced Bianca. "I've made a device that will enable me to find you. You can only use it three times, so only use it in extreme emergencies. All you have to do is press the button."

He handed her a simple remote smaller than her plam with a red button in the center.

"Over the years, if you really need help, press the button, and I'll be there."

Nico threw his arms around Leo's neck, burying his face in Leo's shoulder.

"I'll miss you, Leo."

"I'll miss you, too, little buddy. Stay safe."

After Leo finished saying goodbye to the Di Angelos, he rushed to his room, grabbed both of the backpacks- Ares's and his own- before dashing through the game room in search of his friends.

He found Percy easily enough. He was playing sharpshooters with a hippy guy that was undoubtedly from the seventies.

"Percy!" He called, yanking on the boy's shirt sleeve. "We have to go."

"Why?" Percy demanded, not looking away from the game.

"Percy, this place traps people. There are people here from the 1800s."

"No way," he grunted, still not looking away.

"You don't believe me? I'll prove it."

Leo grabbed Percy's shoulder and spun him around to face the hippy guy.

"What year is it?" Leo asked the older man.

"1971," the man stated, simply, not so much as glancing at who was asking.

"And how long have you been here?"

"Umm... 4 hours. Maybe? I don't know. Now, can I get back to my game?"

Leo nodded before turning to face a confused Percy.

"See? I just met two kids from the 1940s who think they've been here for two weeks. This place traps people, and we're going to become four of them if we don't find Annabeth and Grover and get out of here."

Percy nodded. "All right. Where are they?"

"I saw Annabeth at an architecture game just a little bit away, and I heard Grover yelling somwhere. Come on. We have to hurry. "

Percy nodded, slowly, still coming down from the high the casino gives you.

Leo dragged him through rows of games, bringing him to where Annabeth was playing a game about architecture (no surprise there).

The son of Hephaestus had heard the story, and he knew how to break her out of the trance without beating around the bush.

"Spiders, Annabeth. Big, hairy spiders," Leo stated, skittling his fingers on her shoulder like a spider's legs for good measure.

Annabeth smacked her shoulder and spun around, practically leaping into Percy's arms.

"What? Where?"

"Sorry, there are no spiders. I had to get your attention."

Leo and Percy explained about the kids of from the 40s and the guy from the 70s and the weird woman from the 1800s Leo had met. Annabeth's eyes grew wide.

"So you mean... we could've been here for decades and wouldn't even know it," Annabeth said. "How do we know what the date is?"

"We don't. We have to find Grover and leave," Percy replied.

They found Grover screaming at a hunting game where the animal hunts the human. Leo didn't even bother. He grabbed Grover's collar and yanked him kicking and wailing towards the door while Percy and Annabeth watched in amusement.

"Come on, Grover! We have a quest to finish!" Leo told him as he dragged him out of the doors, ignoring the employees telling him to stay and offering this and that.

Percy and Annabeth followed him, laughing, and Leo was relieved when Grover saw the sun and blinked, coming out of the trance.

"What the-"

Percy raced over to the newspaper stand, where he read the date on the newspaper.

"We were in there for three days," he told them.

"Not as bad as it could've been," Leo summed up, "but we still need to hurry."

Leo stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled; a taxi pulled up to the curb, and the four hopped in.

The son of Hephaestus tossed the blue backpack into Percy's lap, who stared at it, puzzled, but before Percy could ask, Leo handed his Lotus card to the driver.

"Do you take casino cards?"

"Some of them," the driver responded as he put it in the slot.

His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.

"Where to?" The man blinked, the cigar tumbling from his mouth.

"Los Angeles, please. Santa Monica Pier," Leo told him as if he hadn't just about stopped the man's heart. "As fast as you can."

The car jolted forward and raced through the streets.

"At least it's not the Grey sisters cab," Leo laughed. "That's quite the ride."

His companions just stared at him in bewilderment before finally accepting that they would never truly understand Leo Valdez.

Honestly, no one would.

What did you think? I know the casino scene was shorter than you probably would've liked, especially when I brought the Di Angelos in, but I didn't want to focus too much on the Lotus Hotel and Casino when they have to be in the Underworld.

Trivia:

How did Luke try to kill Percy at the end of The Lightning Thief?