Percy speaking
Percy's thoughts
Adamos speaking
Adamos thoughts
Characters are owned by Rick
(Except Adamos he's mine)
Chapter 14
What Happens in Vegas
I was not in the best of moods. The three of us had just left the water park with the shield strapped to my arm. The sun had set behind the mountains, casting the city of Denver in a massive shadow. I was walking ahead of the group with Annabeth and Grover behind me. Grover was trying his best to talk to Annabeth but whatever he was doing wasn't working in the slightest as I swear, I could feel the girl trying to burn a hole through my head with her gaze. I finally had enough with her attitude. I turn on my heel suddenly facing the offending blonde.
"Alright what is you deal." I demand.
"Excuse me?" Annabeth narrows her eyes.
"You heard me. What. Is. Your. Problem" I emphasize each word by stepping forward.
Annabeth though didn't back down. "I don't HAVE a problem."
"Than what have you been doing these past few days other than giving me looks every time you don't think I'm watching."
Annabeth turned to look away, but I had a feeling it was less about feeling guilty and more about being caught.
"Guys I don't think that you—" Grover started.
"No!" I cut him off. "I'm doing this now. You've been giving me dirty looks and even back at the water park with the scarf. You could have gotten us killed."
"You want to know what my problem is? My problem is you." She says pointedly. "I don't trust you."
"How am I the problem?" I say in disbelief.
"You've only been at camp for a week and have barely any training and your given a quest. And some how you manage to kill four monsters already. That doesn't just happen."
"So what." I say dismissively.
"Those aren't just some monsters." Annabeth says heatedly. "The furies, Medusa, the Chimera and Echidna are some of the most dangerous monsters out there. And some how you were able to kill them."
Yes because me fighting for my life is so unbelievable." I say sarcastically.
"No it's the fact that you walked away alive. Many people have died trying to fight those monsters and you managed to kill them. No one is that good when they start. And all this stuff you seem to have. It doesn't make sense."
"It's just a backpack."
A magic backpack that was given to you by a goddess. The gods don't interfere with these things. You even know magic. No one else at camp knows magic so there's know way they could have taught you. Even Chiron doesn't teach magic. Everything about you is just unnatural."
"Where do you get off accusing me." I glare at her. "I have done nothing but try to get through this stupid quest as best I can. I'm good because I practice when everyone else goes to sleep, the backpack is something I got from Hestia because I asked her for help. She even taught me the one spell because she thought it would help me find my mother."
"The mom that Hades is keeping prisoner." Annabeth says.
"Yes. She's there because of me. Because I wasn't strong enough. And I'll do whatever it takes to get her back." My voice started to get smaller at the thought before filling with conviction. Grover looked away ashamedly as I brought up the event.
"Your better off just forgetting her." Annabeth said.
"What?"
"Hades has her. There's no point in trying to get her back, Hades is cruel and manipulative and won't give her back just because you asked. Besides it might just be best to move on." Annabeth spoke with venom in her voice when talking about the lord of the dead.
I felt anger bubbling up, anger that I would have felt in the presence of Ares. "Where do you get off! You don't know about her. Just because you hate your family doesn't mean that my mom deserves to be held against her will. She is the best person I know and deserves the best this world has to offer." I was almost shouting in anger.
Annabeth's face contorts to one of fury. "Can't you just get it through your thick seaweed brained head. You can't make a deal with Hades and you can't get your mom back. More often than not mortal parents are just a complete let down. There's no point in being around them because they would only get rid of you as soon as they can."
"How would you know what they feel. Maybe your dad is worried about you right now. Maybe he thinks he's made a mistake. How would you know if you just easily gave up?" Annabeth and I were now shouting at each other in the street. Luckily the streets were vacant except for us.
"ENOUGH!" Grover shouted. It drew both of our attentions to him. "You two arguing is giving me a migraine, and satyrs can't get migraines. Can't you two just work together?" His voice almost sounded like pleading.
Annabeth just huffed and walked past me with out a word, her face still looking very angry. I, myself let out a breath of exasperation.
"Lets just return this shield." I say as I begin to walk off in the same direction, Grover following me after a second of him massaging his temples.
"Well that was a thing." Adamos speaks up.
"I don't want to deal with you right now." I mentally say.
"Geez man what crawled up your ass?"
"You know whats wrong." I say heatedly.
"I do know. And in my expert opinion I think you need to do something to get this group back together."
"Why should I. She obviously doesn't want to have anything to do with this."
"Of course not. Children of Athena have always had problems with… self-importance. They can never admit that they are wrong in something even if it's obvious."
"So, I have to apologize to her?" I didn't like the idea. I personally though that she was being unreasonable.
"No. You are going to have to be the bigger person."
"So just apologize now?"
"Oh shit no." Adamos says. "Wait a while. Right now, you trying to apologize will just set her off. And as funny as that might be, I don't need anymore obstacles in this quest."
I continue walking away and trying to think of how I was going to make this possible in my head. It was honestly a lot harder than I thought it would be.
After about fifteen minutes we finally made it back to the diner. Ares was waiting in the parking lot, leaning against his massive bike.
I felt an uncomfortable feeling go up my body.
"What's up?" I ask
"I…I don't know. I feel something but I can't put my finger on it, but somethings up with his bike."
"Maybe you'll figure it out." I mentally say as I walk closer to Ares.
"Well, well." Ares said with a sow clap. "You didn't get yourselves killed."
"You knew it was a trap." I said as we walked up to him.
Ares gave us a wicked grin. "Yeah. Gotta say that you put on quite a show. Bet ole Hephy wasn't expecting to nab you kids in his trap."
I took the shield off my arm and shove it at the god of war. "You're an ass."
Annabeth and Grover suck in a tense breath.
Ares though just chuckles and grabs the shield and spins it. The shield turns into a bulletproof vest (bullet resistant according to Adamos) and straps it to his back. "All right punks, and as promised I got you your ride."
"Where is it?" Annabeth asks as we look around.
Ares snaps his fingers and suddenly the back doors of an eighteen wheeler open up. "You ride west, Straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas.
"You have to be kidding me." Grover mutters, and I was sharing his feelings. The truck wasn't the best looking one in the lot. The sign on the side of the vehicle was written in big bold letters: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT.
"Free ride west goat, so quit your complaining." He then turned to me. "And here's a little something extra for the job."
Ares grabbed a blue backpack off his bike and threw it at me, the bag had enough force that it slightly winded me when I caught it. My senses were telling me that the bag was magical somehow. I knew Adamos could feel it as well but he wasn't saying anything so it must not need my immediate attention. I opened the bag and inside was fresh clothes, some cash, a pouch of golden drachmas, and a bag of double stuffed Oreos.
"Thanks, I guess." I say and hold the bag at my side. I didn't want anything from the god, but we were running low on funds already and I might have a love for those Oreos. "And what about the info on my mom." I asked.
"Huh?" Ares said as he hopped onto his bike. "Oh right, guess I did say that. All right your moms not dead."
A few moments of silence passed by with Grover and for some reason Annabeth were looking at me tensely.
"Anything else?" I asked.
Ares raised an eyebrow. "What? No response. I'm telling you that your moms not dead."
"I know. Its not exactly news if I already knew about it." I said.
Ares shrugs. "Guess I don't have anything for ya. See ya around punk." He then rides out of the parking lot on his motorcycle.
After he let the three of us climbed into the back of the truck and closed the doors behind us. I didn't like it but we didn't really have much in the way of transport otherwise.
The first thing that hit me once we closed the door was the smell. The inside of the trailer smelled like rank kitty litter. The sight though was a sad scene. Three of the saddest looking animals sat in filthy cages along the wall. There was a zebra, an albino lion, and a weird animal that looked a lot like an antelope, which Adamos told me was a springbok
In front of the lion was a sack of turnips that it had no interest in eating, and the zebra and springbok were trays of hamburger meat. The Zebra and lion's manes were matted and unkempt, like some one had spit on them. On the horn of the springbok was a party balloon.
The animals were pacing around soiled blankets with flies buzzing around them. I could actually see their bones through their fur.
"This will not stand." Adamos growled at the sight. He then started muttering in the back of my mind about mergers, laws and lawsuits. I couldn't really follow what he was saying so I just looked for a place to sit.
A slight crashing sound echoed from behind me. I saw that Annabeth was waving her hands out in front of her while Grover was kneeling on the ground next to a tipped over box.
"You guys okay?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, just fine. Except for the fact that we can fricken see!" Annabeth whispered harshly. Grover managed to get himself upright again but almost tripped on the same box he knocked over. It took me a moment to realize that they couldn't see in the dark like me. I had gotten used to being able to see in the dark so I forgot that others couldn't do it.
"Hold on." I said and then pulled out Riptide. I uncapped the pen and it turned into a sword. The blade glowed and filled the trailer with a soft glow that was enough for them to see clearly.
Grover took one look around at the animals in the trailer. "This is kindness." He yelled. "Humane zoo transport?" He looked like he was ready to go out there and attack somebody with his reed pipes. Then the truck roared to life and jerked forward. We all sat down in the truck so that we didn't fall over. We each sat away from each other with Grover in-between us. He was talking to the animals in bleats but they just kept giving him sad looks. I used Riptide to drag the turnips out of the lion cage and changed it with the meat, but the lion still didn't touch it. I even found a jug of water and refilled their bowls but that didn't work either. I then sat down on the floor.
"Something is seriously off about this bag." Adamos said.
"What bag?"
"The one that Ares gave us. Its got a heavy amount of mist over it."
"I guess. It does feel a bit weird. Like its got a weird weight to it, if that makes sense." I think.
"Give me a sec." Adamos says and I feel something stir in me. "I'll move the mist around so we can see what its hiding."
I looked around and saw Grover and Annabeth. Both had somehow managed to fall asleep even thought the trailer was jostling us around like a roller-coaster. Grover was even spooning the bag of turnips that I took from out of the lion's cage. It took about a minute before Adamos was finished.
"Holy crap this thing was hiding a lot of power." Adamos said
"What do you mean?" I ask. I move the backpack around. It didn't look any different to me.
"Whatever is being concealed in the bag just oozes massive amounts of energy."
I open up the backpack and start digging through the stuff inside. I dug through it multiple times and was about to give up when I noticed something. Along the bottom of the bag was stitching. It was so well done that it seemed to blend in with the bag. I grab a slightly loose thread and began to pull it loose. The hidden compartment slowly comes undone and a faint glow seeps out. I pull the patch back to get a good look at what its hiding.
My eyes nearly bug out at the sight. "Holy—"
"—shit," Adamos finishes. "He did it! That stupid jackass had it!" Adamos rants in my head. I was barely paying attention to him as I stared at the glowing object in the bag. It was a glowing rod that arced with electricity.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep, Percy Jackson, behold the master bolt. The mighty symbol of Zeus and yadda yadda."
I immediately close the bag and look around to see if Grover or Annabeth had seen the light coming from the bag.
"That's what was off. The masterbolt was with Ares. I knew that something was off, but with the heavy magic coating it and Ares's presence… God dammit I can't believe that I missed that."
"Woah, woah," I say before Adamos can go off on another rant. "We have the bolt now. We can give it to Zeus and then he can get my mom back. Everything will be ok." I think. For the first time since this quest began I had hope.
Adamos gives a humorless laugh "Hah, Zeus isn't gonna help you get you mom back." My hope takes a left turn and jumps out a window. "Only way to get your mom back is if we talk to Hades. Besides he still thinks that you stole something from him." Adamos lets out a frustrated sigh. "Get some sleep Percy. I'll figure out what we'll do next."
"Great." I mumble. Then a feeling of tiredness washes over me, and I slowly close my eyes. At least a major part of the quest was solved I thought before I drifted to sleep.
Once again, I had another nightmare, this one was just like countless others that I had before. I was strapped down in a straight jacket with a test in front of me. I could hear the sound of other kids playing outside as I sat in the desk. The voices of teachers echoed in my head, they were saying 'Come on Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil.'
I looked over to the desk next to me and saw a girl sitting there. She was dressed up in punk clothing, with wild punk black hair. She had intense electric blue eyes and freckles across her nose.
The name Thalia was floating around in my head when I saw her.
She was struggling in her own straight jacket, before look straight at me.
"Well kelp head? One of us has to get out of here." She said before going back to struggling.
I just stared for a bit at her as she struggled. In my head I couldn't help but think that she was kind of attractive. I shake my head to get the thoughts away and try to escape from the straitjacket. I couldn't stay here. My mother needed me.
The straitjacket then melted off my body and I fell through the floor. The voices of the teachers went away until there was only one left. It changed and distorted until it sounded cold and metallic.
"Percy Jackson," It said. "The exchange went well it seems."
I looked around to try and find the voice, but it was nowhere. I did get a good look and saw that I was back in the cavern with the pit and the spirits of the dead wandering about. The unseen voice was speaking but this time it wasn't to me, but rather to someone else.
Another voice spoke out, I almost recognized it, but it was slightly distorted. "Yes, my lord. He seems as ignorant as the rest." I tried to find this one, but he was also invisible.
"Deception upon deception," The pit mused. "Excellent."
"Truly my lord," The familiar voice said. "You are deserving of the name Crooked One." My breathe hitched in my throat at the name. Adamos had spoke that name with Hestia and it was enough to scare her.
"But was it really necessary? I could have brought what I stole directly—"
"You?" The pit cuts him off. "You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely if I had not intervened."
"But my lord—"
"Peace my little servant. Zeus's anger has grown and forced Poseidon to play his final card and we shall play it against him. However, you must be wary of the boy."
"My lord?"
"His mind is protected by something. Something that I do not know… But wait. He's here."
"What?" The familiar voice sounded tense. "You summoned him, my lord?"
"No," The pit said, and it felt like it was now focusing on me. It felt like a wave of power was washing over me but something was keeping it at bay. "What protects you boy?" The pit said, frustration was seeping into it. "What lets you come here yourself?"
"But that's impossible. He can't bring himself here!" The familiar voice cried.
"For a weakling like you perhaps," The pit snarled. Then it turned back to me and tried to flood me with more of its power. "What secrets do you keep boy!" It growled. Then everything around me flared in gold.
"Gragh!" The pit roared in pain as the power stopped trying to attack me. I then was violently pulled out of the dream. The voice roared at me "You shall not escape me Jackson!"
I then woke with a start.
Grover was shaking my shoulder. Annabeth wasn't even looking at me. I could tell she was still angry at me, but it seemed to have withered considerably.
"The trucks stopped." Grover said. "We think that they are coming to check on the animals."
I then heard two faint voices outside of the truck getting closer to the doors
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed, she then disappeared as she put on her hat.
Grover and I had to dive behind a bag of turnips and hope for the best. Then the doors to the trailer opened a bit. Sunlight and heat poured into the metal container.
"Man!" One of the truck drivers said as he waved a hand in front of his nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He then climbed inside and poured water into the bowls of the animals. "To hot for your big boy?" He asked the lion, as he splashed a bucket of water on it. The lion roared in indignation.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," The man said. The trucker then tossed a happy meal container at the springbok. He then smirked as he stepped in front of the zebra. "How ya doin Stripes?" The trucker said. "At least you'll be getting off this stop. You like magic shows? Your gonna love this. They're gonna saw you in half."
The zebra went wide eyed with fear and turned to me. "Please free me my lord." The voice sounded out in my head much like Adamos, but it was some how different and less whole, but I understood it all the same.
I was about to respond when a loud banging sounded off from the side of the trailer. The trucker inside yelled "What do you want Eddie?"
A voice outside shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"
"What are ya bangin for?"
The banging continued and the trucker, Maurice, walked outside.
A second later Annabeth materialized next to us. "This can't be legal. We need to rescue these animals."
"No kidding," Grover exclaimed, he then froze for a minute like he was listening to something. "The lion says these guys are smugglers."
"That's right." The zebra says in my head.
"We need to save these animals Percy. I guess a zebra is close enough to a horse that it's still one of dad's subjects so that makes it our duty to save it." Adamos says in my head. I was hoping that my head wouldn't become crowded. "This truck alone is violating at least six different laws other than smuggling. We can't leave them to whatever fates await them."
"So, what do I just let them loose in wherever we are?"
"I'm guessing the goat will do something to the animals to protect them otherwise I'll do it myself."
"And no one is going to get mauled by a lion?"
"No."
At that I grabbed Riptide and slashed at the locks of the zebra's cage. The lock breaks apart and the zebra bursts out of the cage and turns and bows to me. "Thank you, lord."
Grover then held up his hands and said something in bleats and brays.
The zebra then turned and burst out of the doors, knocking the truckers on their asses as they were about to open the doors. We watched as it ran down a street that was lined with flashing neon signs and casinos. We apparently just let a zebra lose in Vegas.
The two truckers finally got to their feet and ran after the zebra. At the same time a few police officers were chasing after them, yelling about permits and such. The civilians were just using their phones to record this.
I then cut the other two cages open and the lion and springbok came out of their cages. Grover once again did his goat ritual and the two animals bounded down the strip together.
We took this opportunity to haul ass away from the truck. We didn't need any more attention on us.
We quick walked as fast as we could away. As we did, we passed casinos, the MGM, the Vegas Eiffel tower and statue of liberty, and other attractions. I myself was eyeing the pirate ship mostly. We weren't really sure of where we were going, but we did agree that it needed to be out of this heat.
After a few minutes of walking we must have made a wrong turn because we were at a dead end. The only thing around was a single hotel and casino. The place had a large neon lotus above its doors and sweet-smelling air seemed to flow out of there. Then everything seemed to feel okay. Like all my cares were melting away. I looked over at Grover and Annabeth, and they both had smiles on their faces like me. It wouldn't hurt to stay awhile right?
As we were walking closer, I could swear that I was hearing a faint whisper in the back of my mind, but I just ignored it.
We walked over to the casino and the doorman that stood outside broke out into a bright smile. "You three look like you've been through a lot. Would you like to rest inside for a while?" The doorman asked. His voice sounded so sincere and with a simple glance I could tell this guy was mortal. We didn't even hesitate in nodding and walked right into the hotel. The whispers in the back of my mind grew a bit louder but I just pushed it away. It just felt nice for someone to actually worry about us after all of the monster run ins.
The inside of the hotel was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. Grover seemed to agree with me as the only thing that he could say was "Whoa."
The whole lobby was filled with different kinds of games from old school arcade games to VR suits with laser guns. A water slide was wrapped around a glass elevator that went up I don't know how may stories. A bridge crossed in the middle floor and people were even bungee jumping from it. There were snack bars and waiters everywhere. This place was a paradise.
"Hello!" A voice said from right next to us. We turned at standing there was a man in a nice suit with the hotel's logo on the left breast pocket. "Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Here's your room key."
"Room key?" I asked. The whispers once again increase in volume, but I ignore them.
"Yes sir." He said jovially. "Room 4001. And don't worry bout the bill its already been taken care of. And if you need anything don't hesitate to contact the front desk. And here are your Lotus cards. You use them to pay for any meals, games, or rides in the hotel."
"What if they run out of money?" I ask.
The man just laughs like I just told him a joke and walks away, leaving us each with a room key and a plastic green card.
I turn to Grover and Annabeth and hold up the green cards. "You both thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask. Grover nods enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah." Annabeth says with a smile. We then turn and are about to take off when a searing pain hits my mind. I collapse to my knees and hold my head, trying to make it go away. My vision turns cloudy, before I collapse completely and slowly succumb to unconsciousness.
LINE BREAK
"Sorry Perce but it had to be done. These guys really upped their brew." I mentally say. Yeah that's right I'm in control of this part of the chapter. Don't expect this to be a regular thing, this just happens to be an extensive circumstance that requires my point of view. Anyways back to the story.
I slowly pull myself off the floor of the casino. People were still walking around me, not even bothering to look up from whatever has their attention.
I let out a brief sigh. "They really upped the dosage for their drugs." I think.
"All right Annabeth, Goat boy. I think we should get out of—and they're gone." I say as I look around the lobby area I was in, only to find that Percy's quest mate and the vermin to be gone. They didn't even stop when Percy collapsed and just pushed further into the hotel.
I look back to the front doors and begin to contemplate on ditching the two. On one hand it would make things so much easier to accomplish without the skeptical glances or the satyr screwing things up, but on the other hand Percy is probably going to throw a fit if I leave them. The kid is too loyal for his own good. I'm probably going to have to whittle that trait down a bit.
I pinch the bridge of Percy's nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm gonna have to go looking for those two." I mentally curse.
I pick up the key card and the Lotus card off the floor and look at them. "Maybe I could get something out of this place?" I mentally think.
I make my way to the elevator and press the button for one of the top floors, I was alone in the elevator as it went up. Room 4001 was there, and it seemed to be the best place to start when looking for them. I watch the floor and other people shrink as I ascend to the top of the hotel. I draw on some of my powers and try to expand my senses, but it doesn't go very far.
"How do mortals deal with this?" I mutter. "Chaos, I feel so blind right now." The elevator ding, signaling that I was at my floor. I step out and make my way down the halls.
I trace my hand along the wall as I walk down the halls. I closed my eyes and draw on my domains to see for me. I feel the air currents flowing, the vibrations through out the building and even the moisture in the air to make a highly detailed map in my head. I then use my domain of life and make a sweep of the building and mark every living being on the map. I mentally groan at the amount of people in the building. I couldn't help but think that if I was in my regular body, I could easily find those two with any of those abilities but since I'm in a mortal vessel the effectiveness of them have been greatly reduced. I mean I can't even differentiate between different life forces unless I was within ten meters of someone. "Maybe it will improve when Percy's body matures more or if it adjusts more."
I stop my internal ranting and turn to a door that was to my right. The plate next to it read 4001. I inserted the room key and enter the room.
Already the room was messy. The beds were all disheveled, the snacks in the mini fridge were mostly eaten and someone had left the national geographic channel on the T.V. Their stuff was strewn across the room like they just threw it I didn't sense anyone else in the room. I mentally curse.
I place both backpacks that I was carrying onto the bed and start to empty the bag that Ares gave us into the infinibag. Which I really need to thank Hestia for.
Once I put everything in the infinibag (including the master bolt) I toss Ares's bag away. Only for it to fly right back at my face a moment later.
"Of course, its enchanted." I face palm. The thing was so heavily covered in mist and power from the bolt that I didn't notice the enchantment. I then stuffed that pack into the infinibag as well.
I then walk over to the window and look out over the strip. The mortals were starting to come out as the sun started to set.
My eyes narrowed. It wasn't supposed to be sunset for another hour or so. I begin to run through hundreds of possible scenarios in my head. I dismiss many of them, but one sends me into a slight panic.
I grab a pen and paper off one of the nightstand in the room and quickly draw a flawless and intricate magic circle in less than ten seconds. (Yeah I'm that good) I pour a bit of magical power into the spell and it begins to glow in an array of colors. A bunch of waves form in the air above the spell and shift with the colors. It takes a second before the waves settle in a certain way and remain a solid golden color.
"Shit!" I curse. I then pull on my magical abilities and expand my magic sense through out the hotel. I could feel it in the air around me and the amount of magic flowing in the walls themselves. It was a unique form of magic, but this effect seemed so weak compared to others I had felt. But it was without a doubt in my mind. The entire hotel was affected with time dilation magic. No doubt to slow the aging of those trapped inside and to make sure that they stay longer than they realize.
It was the only way to explain how my sense of time was a bit skewed even with a mortal body. I began running through scenarios in my head on what to do. I needed to find those other two and get out of here, but the hotel was so large, and the time dilation wouldn't work in my favor. Then a bit of inspiration hit me, and an idea was formed. I couldn't help but grin, this could solve my problems in one fell swoop, and maybe I could take a few things from the hotel.
Line break
Through out the hotel the employees of the Lotus hotel felt a chill go down their spines. They just shrugged it off and went back to work keeping the people in the hotel.
Line break
I walked out of the room with the infinibag on my back. I had taken the liberty of changing Percy's clothes with the ones I had found in the closet of the room, since his old clothes reeked of sweat and animals. Currently I was wearing dark blue jeans and a green v neck shirt. Over that was a black leather jacket that fit really well over Percy's body and a pair of dark combat boots that I though complemented the look but didn't restrain movement. I took the liberty of grabbing more clothes out of the closet that I thought would look good on Percy as well, I mean seriously the kid has little to any style. Just another thing I'm gonna have to help him with.
I walked through the hall and drew power to Percy's eyes. I blinked once and my view shifted. All through out the walls lines like the circuits were spread. Magic was being pumped throughout the hotel and I watched as it flowed back towards the lobby and gathered in a lower floor. No doubt a basement level.
I followed the magic down the hall and occasionally updated the map that I made in my head with my domains. After all, one of the most important rules in warfare is to know thy enemy and the more you know about your opponent the greater chance of success.
I walked over and was about to call the elevator up to my floor when my hand froze. The sound of rushing water fills my ears and I notice it out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head and see it. The entrance to the water slide that spirals around the elevator was empty.
"Come on you don't have time for games. You're on a schedule." I mentally berate myself and motion to push the button for the elevator, only to find myself frozen once again. "But then again it could take some time for the elevator to get to me." I eye the water slide. "No! Get a grip man! Focus!" I slap both of my cheeks and press the button for the elevator.
~a few minutes later~
"WAAAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO!" I cheer as I make it to the bottom of the forty-story water slide and splash into the exit pool. I walk out, the water offering no resistance to Percy's body and the clothes remaining dry through the entire experience.
I walk out and stand in the center of the lobby. My eyes still watching the magic flow from some basement level beneath the hotel and being closer to it I see that the amount of magic is much greater than I had though it was. "What ever is down there releasing a lot of power."
I close my eyes and once look at the map I had made and plot a way to the source. If I could make my way to the power source, I could most likely disable the time dilation and not risk running the clock down finding those two idiots.
Drawing on my domain of night I cloak myself in darkness. While its not able to turn me invisible it does make me much harder to notice especially, now I just have to remain out of close direct line of sights from the employees.
It doesn't even take me a minute to make my way to an employee's only door. It was locked but that wasn't much of a problem as it was a regular mortal lock, and a simple rune was more than enough to get me inside.
The hallway inside was pure white from the walls to the floor and ceiling. Simple metal doors lined the walls and their purplish pink color was a stark contrast that definitely made the color pop aesthetically. I made my way down the hallway and eyed the simple plates that were next to the doors like room indicators in a hospital. The rooms were labeled: Laundry, Janitorial supplies, Wi-Fi, potion brewing, and it just got weirder with each passing door.
The hall led to an intersection that went either left or right. I checked my map and felt for any forms of life. In the left hall I could feel around twelve life signs spread out in various rooms with two standing near the door to go lower. The right hallway had life signs as well but just went to a dead end.
I let out a small sigh. It seemed to much like wishful thinking to go without any confrontation, but nothing ever was that easy. "It shouldn't be to hard to get past two people." I contemplated. "The real problem is getting past them quietly." I mentally run through hundreds of scenarios and finally decide on one and a couple of contingency plans, I mean not all plans go smoothly so its best to be prepared.
I retrace my steps until I'm near the doors I came through, and I'm standing in front of the laundry room. I use another rune and unlock the door and peek inside. Like I thought, there was no one inside the laundry area, but many of the machines were running. Carts of clothes were everywhere and filled to the brim with blankets, towels, and clothes of various kinds.
Along a wall was a row of sinks. I walked over to the nearest one and turned it on, letting the water run. I drew on my domains of the sea and the water snaked towards me and disappeared up my sleeve and out of view. I then exited the room and made my way back to the intersection. I peeked around and could see two guys standing by the stairway entrance chatting.
"Okay," I mentally psyche myself up. "time to do your best satyr impression." I hunch over and try to make my posture as small as possible. I even fake trembling as an added effect. Using short choppy steps, I walk from out of my cover and make my way down the hall. I intentionally drag my feet so that the shoes would squeak on the floor. It was enough to draw the attention of the two men.
"Hey kiddo, I don't think that your supposed to be back here." One of them said, he was bald. "Yeah this place is off limits to guests." Said the other man, he had a bushy beard and a full head of hair.
"I-I lost s-something important." I mad my voice quiver to sound unthreatening. "One of t-the employees said they w-would help m-me find it, but t-they had to leave, and I d-don't know the way back."
"Don't you worry kiddo," The bald man said. "I can take you back." He left his associate and made his way over to me. He was standing directly in front of me, providing a lack of visual between myself and the bearded man.
"All right lets ge—" Was all he managed to get out before I thrust my hand and willed the water in my sleeve to shoot out and freeze, piercing his heart. He looked down in shock before collapsing. I moved to the side and feigned fear as he almost fell on me.
"John!" The bearded man said in worry as he rushed to his coworker's aid. He picked 'John' up and frantically looked him over. He didn't even notice that I was now behind him, nor the frozen dagger passing through his ribs and into his heart.
He collapsed on his friends body, both of their bodies no longer holding the spark of life that I could see before. It was a necessary action. War was on the horizon for Olympus and these people were as close to monsters that a human could get without succumbing. I dug around in their clothes for anything useful. The bearded guy had an important looking electronic key and a Beretta m9 with an extra mag, and I found an identical fire arm and mag in the bald guys clothes.
I tuck the mags into my waist band and carefully carve an enchantment onto the gun with the water. The enchantment was a magical silencer so that it wouldn't give me away if I fired. Once I was done I checked the bullet count in the mag and inspect the gun. It was a well-maintained weapon but the aim was of by a centimeter to the left. I would have to compensate.
I swipe the key across the key pad and a beep sounds out and the door unlocks. I step through but stop. I turn and look at the two bodies piled onto the floor. "Can't leave that." I think and cast a spell. The two bodies ignite in a furious flame before there is nothing left but a small pill of ash.
Now that that was down I make my way down the stairs going past the next two basement floors. They were of no importance to me. From the vibrations in the earth they seemed to be nothing more than a bunch of living quarters and associated rooms, all of which were filled with life signs. The real objective was the bottom basement floor. There two three massive rooms, and only one was the source of the magical power. And I'm not gonna lie, I was interested in what those other two rooms had.
I entered the bottom floor and walked into a square white room. On each wall was a massive vault door.
"One foot of steel plating, a dual electronic and manual locking system, twenty-four bolt locks." I mutter as I eye the vaults. "A standard Maratelli class III vault. Standard break in time is two hours, not counting all of these enchantments and wards they've placed." I let out a sigh. "Don't have time for this. Ene Mene Mini Mo."
I walk over to one of the vaults in the room. It wasn't the one where all the magic was but I could get to that in a second. I press my hand to the vault door. I pull on my domain of destruction. Glowing orange cracks spread from my hand and spread through the door like an infection. The vault door groans and creaks before completely falling apart. A sharp burning pain flows up Percy's arm.
"Gah!" I hiss in pain. I look at the hand to see that the skin has taken a furious red color and the veins in his arm having a slight golden glow. Steam was rolling of the skin. It only takes a second before I summon white flames and the injury heals, the skin going back to the tan shade.
"Going to have to lock that ability from Percy, don't want him to accidentally lose an arm or something." I think. This power was far to dangerous for both himself and those around him.
I shake Percy's hand as if to shake the pain off, and step over the pieces of scrap metal that were littered over the floor. I look inside and my breath hitched. I felt like a kid in a candy store looking inside.
It was a massive weapons vault. There were all kinds of weapons: firearms, swords, spears, grenades, rocket launchers, daggers, bows, and many others lined the walls and floors like a Macy's clothing store. If anyone were to have seen me they would have sworn they saw me being in four different spaces at the same time.
"EEEEEEEEEEE!" I squealed like a school girl as I looked at each weapon. Now don't give me that weird look, I'm the god of battle and weapons skills, and I greatly appreciate the artistic work that comes with these things.
"A bastard sword, a compound bow, a Scar-H with a stub grip and reflex sight, a Mossberg Maverick pump action shotgun," I list off with glee and start shoving the weapons into the infinibag with reckless abandon. I even shoved some grenades boxes in there. As I was shoving a set of celestial bronze swords into the bag something catches my eye.
It was beautiful, it was elegant, it was the most beautiful hand cannon I had ever seen. It was a six-count revolver with an extended barrel and a built-in laser point under the barrel. The metal was a pitch black with highlighted lines of gold as well as gold plating as accents that ran like circuitry across the massive barrel.
I delicately hold the work of art in my hands. It was a work of art that was worthy of Hephaestus himself. It even came with celestial bronze bullets and regular mortal ammunition.
"I'm keeping this. I don't give a shit what anyone says I'm taking this." I say with a massive grin as I load mortal rounds into the cylinder and give it a spin. As I stand, I fell vibrations resonating from above me. I close my eyes and search the building to see what happening. My view expands and I see that there are a massive amount of life signs gathering on the second basement floor.
"Must have tripped the silent alarm." I smirk as I walk out of the vault. "Good. Now I don't need to look for some one important. But I can't have them coming in just yet." I muse. A massive multilayered spell circle appears over the exit door to the stairway. A deadlock spell that should keep out the lotus eaters for as long as I need.
Not wanting to waste any more time I walk over to the center vault. The amount of magic pouring out from there is massive, almost tangible even.
"All right Cathy, let's see what's behind door number two." Just like the vault before I place my hand on the vault and it falls to pieces. I heal the injury and walk into the vault.
What I saw was not exactly what I was expecting. The room was all white like the room outside, scrawled all on the floor was a massive spell circle that nearly reached the edges of the room. At the center of the spell circle was a massive cage tied to the walls with chains.
The magic power flowing out of the cage and the magic circle was something else entirely. It felt warm, like a dying fire that was raging until its very end. I gaze at the magic circle and can only look in embarrassment. "By the gods this circle is atrocious. There are so many unneeded elements and useless parts. You don't even need this entire section here. What third rate mage deemed this as workable."
"Squawk!"
I blink at the sudden noise and look up. Sitting at the top of the cage on a hanging bar was a large majestic red bird. Its colors a bright red, and a golden plumage sprouted from its head and made up the tail feathers. The bird was at least three feet tall, its wingspan was seven feet. In the light the feathers glistened like a rainbow. "Is that… a phoenix?"
"Squawk!"
"What the Hades did you call me?"
"Squawk!"
"You take that back before I roast you and eat you with barbecue sauce!"
"Cacaw!"
I narrow my eyes at the bastard bird. I take a good look at it, half wondering how to best cook the bird in front of me and half figuring it out. Then it hit me.
"You're not supposed to be here." I mutter. The bird just tilts its head to the side to show confusion. I feel frustration boil inside me. "You're not supposed to be here." I growl at the bird. My godly power surfaces and Percy's eyes pulse with power. The phoenix shrinks itself under my gaze as I stare at it.
I pull out Riptide and uncap the sword. With a quick succession of slashes at the cage in barely a second, I recap the sword and the bars of the cage clatter to the ground, a large hole now presents in the steel.
"You get down here NOW!" I growl out. The bird hesitates but a flux of my own power is enough to convince it that I wasn't going to take no for an answer.
The phoenix shifts on its feet as I let my power overwhelm its own. Any mortal, demigod, or even a weaker minor god (cough, Triton, cough) would feel suffocated in my presence, even as limited as Percy's mortal body can allow.
"What are you doing here?" I ask in a icily.
"C-Caw."
"Bull shit. Now tell me the truth."
"Squawk!" The phoenix flaps its wings in a manor to appease me.
"I can tell you're here illegally. There's no gate mark on you meaning you came here illegally."
The phoenix turns to look away at the accusation.
"This is a violation of the accords. It was agreed that the Greco/Roman pantheon would be sole physical presence on Earth."
"Coo."
"I don't care if you wanted to come here for a stupid—what the Hades did you call it?"
"Skraw caw."
I let out a sigh. "Huh, yes. Your 'mortal cultural food tour' is not a valid excuse for you to illegally cross over to the mortal realm. Now tell me where you're from, my best guess is from the Japanese pantheon."
"Squawk." The bird nods its head at the question.
"Guess I can send you over to Susan. He'll know what to do with you." I mutter, a tone of irritation present. "Anyways what's your name?"
"Caw. Squawk."
"Toriyama?"
"Caw."
"I mean I'm not apposed to seeing your dragon."
"Squawk."
"Wait he can do what with a ball! Wait, don't try to distract me feather head!" I growl. A loud banging echoes through the room. The phoenix and I both look out of the vault and see the exit door shaking under the force on the opposite side. "I guess they finally got together." I mused. I turned to the phoenix. "I can get you back to the heavenly realm, but you have to swear not to return unless through proper channels."
"Squawk squawk!"
"I don't care if its expensive. You either come with me and face charges from the Shinto, OR I can leave you here with the Lotus eaters, where you can spend the rest of your demi immortal existence as a battery. So, what will it be?" I say with a sickly-sweet tone and smile on my face.
Toriyama looks at the pounding on the door and then back to me. It then bows its head in a defeated way.
"Oh, and I'm taking these as payment." I say as I pluck out a bunch of feathers of his wings. Toriyama gives in indignant squawk and looks at his wings in a sorrowful way. "Hey this is compensation." I say and I remove the band on Percy's arm. It reverts to its true form and I'm holding my spear. I feel the levels of power rise and feel it coursing through my body, the familiar mass of power made me feel comfortable inside. I tap the butt of the spear onto the floor and the already existing magic circle glows and rearranges itself until a far more intricate pattern is imprinted beneath our feet. I speak in an ancient language, my voice becoming multilayered like multiple people all speaking different things at the same time. The chant barely lasts twenty seconds before the spell circle glows brightly and Toriyama begins to fade away.
"The destination is the Japanese godly realm's transfer gate bureau. I've already sent them a message about what's happened. They should give you an easier time considering you were stupid enough to get captured." I say. "And I don't want to see you on Earth any time soon got it."
Toriyama nods in understanding and finally fades away into light. Once he is gone the magic circle also fades into nonexistence, a feature that I put into the spell so that no one could use it to go to the Japanese pantheon. The banging on the door get louder and the locking spell on the door begins to flare slightly.
"Well better get this over with." I say and turn my way to the exit. I snap my fingers and a few simple yet powerful spells activate: A mid-tier shielding spell, an illusion spell to mask Percy's face, and an array spell for offense. I pull the majestic hand cannon out from the waist line of my pants and readjust the infinibag on my back. I scan the magic around me just to make sure that I disabled the time dilation and seeing that I did do it I set up for the confrontation.
I snap my fingers and the locking spell vanishes. Immediately the door is bashed off of its hinges and a large group dressed in full tactical swat gear floods into the room. Two mages even stand in the back near the door, their arms glowing with a dark blue magical aura. The room remains completely silent as all of their weapons were trained on me.
"This seems like over ki—"
BANG!
A shot fires off, interrupting what I was saying. The bullet doesn't even reach me as it bounces off the barrier I set up. It wasn't the strongest barrier I could make but I doubted that they would use explosive weaponry in such an enclosed place.
"That was rude." I mutter and activate my attack array and a simple magic bolt fires like an arrow from a bow and pierces through the bullet proof vest, killing the man. A simple yet effective lower end mid class spell that would never work on a god, demigods could probably survive a direct hit so long as it isn't a vital area, but against mortals and mortal made body armor, they might as well have fought in a t-shirt.
The other men look stunned at their fallen comrade. One of the mages managed to regain their senses just enough that he ordered them to fire at will. The bullets pelted the barrier but did nothing. The magic bolts however were slowly whittling away at the barrier, not that I was worried as I put a second barrier layer beneath the first, the mages were clearly limiting themselves. "Idiots," I think. "So, focused on offense. If they split defense and attack, they could eliminate the risk of friendly fire from higher class spells." I shake my head at their idiocy.
I activate the spell array and one by one the assault team is wiped away. They scream bloody murder only to be silenced as another bolt strikes a vital area killing them instantly. I fire the hand cannon every now and then and she works like a dream as the bullets pack enough of a punch to blast them off their feet. The entire ordeal barely lasts ten seconds until only one of the mages remains. His face is filled with fear as he trembles on the floor, his robes stained red with the blood of his associates, tears streaking down his face.
I raise my hand and the mage immediately tries to crawl out the only exit, but multiple ethereal chains appear out of a low-class magic circle and bind and drag him back to me. He cries out in terror as he desperately tries to crawl away from me.
I bring him straight up to my face, his own stained with tears as he looks into my eyes.
"P-Please d-don't kill me." He begs.
"Don't worry." I say, Percy's voice is hollow and distorted as it further terrifies the crying man in front of me. "I need you alive so that you can get whoever's in charge of this place. But don't be gone to long or else I'll hunt you down like a wild dog." I say. The illusion masking Percy's face shifts so that a sharp toothed grin appears on the false mask.
I release him and with a quick boot to the ass he's already taking off out of the room. I stand there for a moment and look around at the piles of bodies and blood staining the walls and floor.
"Well this won't do." I think and I incinerate their bodies, leaving nothing behind like those first two men on the ground floor. I leave the blood on the walls as a form of psychological warfare.
I count seven minutes and sixteen seconds until another swat group, although smaller in number, storms in with heavier weapons and takes aim at me. Then two people walk in, one a man in an immaculate suit that seemed tailor fitted to his body, and the other was a dark-haired woman with a similar business attire and a pencil skirt. They carried themselves with an air of pride and the man had an amused smile on his face, as if he were in complete control of the situation. It honestly peeved me to no end, as I've seen hundreds of people like that who simply thought that their positions would protect them. Their body language just screamed that they weren't even taking me seriously.
I resisted the urge to scoff at their behavior and just remained in a passive stance, the mask covering Percy's face not revealing anything.
"Hello there young man, how are you today." The finely dressed man asks with what had to be the smarmiest sincere smile on his face. I stay completely silent as he continues to stare. I wasn't going to play whatever word game he was wanting.
The man coughs into his hand before speaking again. "Well my name is Thomas Marlowe and I am the manager of this fine hotel and casino."
I barley pay him any attention and my gaze locks onto his associate. The dark haired woman's eyes meet mine for only a brief moment before she looks away and keeps an impassive face. "A weakness. She's probably still new to her position or not as used to confrontation in the hotel. I can work with this." I contemplate.
The manager Thomas seems to notice my gaze on the woman and tries to start up another conversation. "Ah how rude of me, this is my assistant manager Jenny. She and I truly wish to settle this…error that has occurred. If there was anything that you didn't find enjoyable in the hotel you merely needed to contact the front desk. I say we head there now, and you can play a few games while we sort things out."
I pay him no mind as I shove past him and stare directly at the assistant manager. Her eyes looking anywhere but my own. I feel the heavily armed soldiers reposition around the room, their weapons still trained on me. There was a total of eight set up in a semicircle and positioned with a clear line of site at me.
"I have a few demands that you are going to follow to the letter and I expect them to be the hotels top priority Miss manager." I say, my voice still distorted. Jenny though looked like she was about to break down into a panic but was barely holding on.
From behind me Thomas speaks up. "Uh sir I believe that you might be confused. I am the manager of the hotel." He chuckles. "I think that you might be tired so I think you should return to you room and we can continue this talk another time." He says with a fake concerned underlying tone in his cheery voice. He tries to put his hand on my shoulder to steer me away, but I grab his hand by the wrist.
All around me I hear safeties being released. I don't even bother paying attention to them as I take my first glance at Thomas. The smile still adorned his face despite the position he was in. He tries to pull his hand away, but I keep it rapped in a vice grip. I then pull on my powers before releasing his hand all together.
"That's quite a grip you have there sir." Thomas comments as he rubs his hand. It wasn't till he looked down that he saw the glowing orange handprint that was pulsing on his arm. He tries to wipe it off to no avail, and even rolls up his coat sleeve, but it was imbedded into his skin. A spark of fear could be seen in his eyes.
Then it begins. Cracks begin to crawl up his arm at a terrifying pace. Thomas clutches his arm and screams in agony as it spreads. His body then gives, and he drops to his knees as he continues to scream. Everyone in the room watches with a sickening fascination at the sight before them, unable to take their eyes away as Thomas convulses and spasms in pain. His skin blackening at the edges of the cracks before flaking away like ash. I don't even bother to watch it happen as it was no longer worth my attention.
One minute. The entire process only lasted one minute, but to the nine other people in the room it seemed like it lasted for hours before Thomas was reduced to nothing but ash and the sounds of his screams die out.
They were all speechless and unmoving until one of the armored soldiers, one wearing a star badge on his bullet proof vest symbolizing he was the leader, snapped out of his stupor.
"Open fi—" was all he said before an earthen spike pierced his stomach, along with his men.
Jenny frantically looks around at the mass of bodies impaled to the ceiling. The blood draining from their bodies staining the spires red.
"So, Miss manager," I say, making her jump at the sound of my voice. "I think that it would be best if you cooperate." I then level the hand cannon directly at her head, so she's staring down the barrel of a gun an inch from her face.
"O-Of course s-sir." Her voice trembles and her knees shake as she struggles to stand. Her entire posture and demeanor collapsing.
"First you are going to call in transportation for me and two others. And second, the people in room 4001, you are going to find them and bring them to me." She vigorously nods.
I walk past her as she stands frozen in the same spot. "I expect this to be done in fifteen minutes, I'll be waiting in the lobby." I say over my shoulder. "And if I have to wait longer…" I let the threat hang in the air as I leave.
LINE BREAK
It has been thirteen minutes since I threatened the newly appointed manager of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The apparent threat of immediate death was a massive motivator as I watched the Lotus eaters running throughout the hotel looking for Annabeth and the goat. At around the fourteen-and-a-half-minute mark was when Jenny and two buff looking guys walked up to where I was sitting in the lobby. Annabeth and the furball were slung over their shoulders like sacks of potatoes.
"T-They w-were quite difficult t-to remove t-them from the games." She stutters out, still refusing to meet my eyes. "W-We had t-to incap-paciatate them. I'm so sorry we had to!" She rushes out.
"Its fine," I wave her off. "Is the transportation ready?"
"Uh, y-yes sir." She says. "We have a limo outside waiting to take you where you need to go."
I nod in acknowledgment. "Load them into the back and tell the driver were heading to L.A."
Jenny signals for the two men to go ahead, and they both leave with Annabeth and the goat over their shoulders.
"I-Is there a-anything else I c-can do for you." She says with a forced smile.
I rub my chin and think. "Give me some of those Lotus cash cards and that guitar in the window. After that I'll leave."
"O-Of course sir." She says as she pulls out a small stack of silver cards and hands them to me. She then calls an employee over and they bring the guitar. With the cash cards, the guitar, phoenix feathers, and the arsenal to out fit a small army I was feeling real good about everything as I walked out of the hotel and into the blazing hot Vegas strip.
I slide into the limo; Annabeth and the satyr were passed out on the lengthy seats. I myself slide over to the window that connected to the driver. I roll down the window.
"Are you ready to go sir?" The driver asks.
"Yeah. I think we should set off now." I say as I drop the illusion mask as I was sitting with my back to the driver. "Oh and would you mind telling me something?" I ask as I finger the strings on my new guitar.
"What would you like to know?" He asks.
"How long were we in there?"
"Four days sir." The driver simply said as we pulled onto the road.
I mentally curse. We were stuck in there for longer than I thought. At least we still had two days to complete the quest so it made me feel better, and with the nonstop limo ride we would be in L.A. a few hours. I close the window to the driver and start plucking the guitar strings into the tune of Yesterday by the Beatles.
Just two days and there was still so much to do.
A/N: Hey yall. This is captain Momentei here. Ok so I know that this is a seriously long chapter. I wanted to make up for the fact that I missed two weeks of writing because I was sick and drifting in and out of consciousness far to often to even attempt at writing a sentence. Any ways onto the story. I wanted to do two chapters but just made it into one-chapter total. One in Percy's P.O.V and the other in Adamos's P.O.V. I think the Adamos chapter show just how different he is from Percy and how he handles things. The willingness to use such extreme measures versus heroic naivety. I do hope that you enjoy the chapter and remember to leave a review on anything I can work on. I want to be a better writer for you insatiably sexy beasts. Any ways thanks for reading and your support.
Momentei out.