Chapter 12:
The war god was waiting for them in the diner parking lot, leaning on his motorcycle. "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."
Percy glared at him. "You knew it was a trap."
Ares cracked a wicked smirk. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."
"Wow, I didn't know you had stage fright. If you were such a pussy you could have told us," Markus taunted, getting Ares to growl slightly.
Percy growled and shoved the shield in Ares' hands. "You're a jerk." Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like 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 kids took one look at the truck and the demigods were able to read it because of the fact that it was in big black and white letters that were reversed. A good combination for people with dyslexia. It said: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
Percy gave Ares a deadpanned look. "You have got to be kidding me."
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 him.
Inside were fresh clothes for all of them, twenty bucks of cash, a pouch full of drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuffed Oreos.
Percy said, "I don't want your lousy – "
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Percy his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."
"Did you wash your hands when you decided to give it to us?" Markus mocked, before Annabeth or Grover could stop him. "Or is hygiene something that doesn't come naturally to you?"
Ares turned his eyeless gaze towards him, the flames in there getting hotter. "I admit you got spunk, kid. I'll give you that. But I think you need to remember that I am a god. So watch yourself."
Thinking back to all the gods he met, excluding Hecate since she was helping him, Markus just replied. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that, from all the gods I've met, you're probably the least impressive."
Ares's glare was so strong and heated that his sunglasses melted off his eyes. Any lesser person would've wilted under the glare, but Markus didn't flinch. "You're very lucky I don't turn you into a rodent and crush you, little brat. Otherwise I'd interfere with your little quest of finding the old man's bolt."
Markus smiled cheekily. "Noted." He mostly blamed his attitude towards Ares's oppressive aura he was giving off. He still didn't know why he was so easily angered. He was usually more in control of his emotions.
The waitress at the diner was looking nervously at Ares, like he was going to hurt them or something.
She even dragged out the fry cook to look. She said something, not that anyone could make out, then the man took out a camera and snapped a photo of the group. Percy was thinking about the new headline that might pop up: TWELVE YEAR OLD OUTLAWS BEAT UP DEFENCELESS BIKER. He could tell his brother was probably thinking the same thing.
"You owe me one more thing," Percy said as he turned back to Ares and trying to keep his voice in check. "You promised me information about my mother."
"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."
The ground seemed to almost spin beneath Percy. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."
"Kept. Why?"
"A hostage," Markus said with a frown. "Trying to convince you of something."
"Brat's right. You take somebody to control somebody else."
"Nobody's controlling me," Percy argued.
He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."
Percy balled his fists up. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."
"Ooh, burn," Markus chuckled.
His now empty sockets were glowing with fire. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. And you too, Markus Henderson. Next time both of you are in a fight, watch your back."
He revved his Harley, then off roared down Delancy Street.
Annabeth said, "That wasn't smart, guys."
"I don't care," Percy argued.
Markus shrugged. "Me neither."
"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god." The blonde stated to them.
"He set us up. At this point, I don't care about pissing him off," Markus stated.
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but…"
He pointed towards the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, the two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.
"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."
They ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.
The first thing that hit them was the smell, which, to Markus, smelt like a collective putrid cloud of animal droppings. Unfortunately, this was a smell that he was quite familiar with from the past.
The trailer was dark inside until Markus flicked on the lighter he had with him, casting a view to a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals you'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing.
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 wanted to get close enough to 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 weren't far behind him, but just then the truck engine came to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.
The group huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in the series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly.
Annabeth was in favour of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Percy pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, he had a feeling they might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.
Markus turned off his lighter, because of where they were the flame wouldn't be sufficient, and used Wavebreaker to change the mismatched food and put it with the right animal. Percy was able to refill the water bowls. The meat was given 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 the horn. Markus used the horn of the Chimera to cut the mane of the zebra and get the gum out. He got a mental response of, Thank you, milord. He was only slightly surprised by this, but later realized that zebras were similar to horses, apparently. That was why he was able to mentally hear him.
They told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them in the morning, then the group settled in for the night.
Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly and handed the other boys one. While eating one also, Percy focused on the fact that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. They could make it in plenty of time.
"Hey," Annabeth said. "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."
"That's okay," the boy told her.
"It's just…" she shuddered. "Spiders."
"Because of the Arachne story," Markus guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mother in a contest, right?"
Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."
"We're a team, remember?" Percy said to Annabeth. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying while Markus went all Aquaman."
"Then would that make you Aqualad?" Markus asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't really see you do anything other than try falling flat on your face."
They thought Grover was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"
They all laughed. Markus smirked, "Yeah, you were, G-man."
Annabeth pulled apart an Oreo, handing Percy half. "In the Iris message… did Luke really say nothing?"
Percy munched on the cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via Iris message seemed to have bothered him. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would be turned into a pine tree."
In the light of Markus's sword, you could see both their sad faces.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told 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, daughter of Zeus." Percy stated.
Markus didn't say anything, already having a good idea as to what happened.
He nodded glumly.
"And the two other half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…" he looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, right?"
Annabeth 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 towards 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 the training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," the goat boy 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 to 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."
"Then screw them," Markus told him sharply. He looked towards Grover directly. "Look, Grover. I may not know Thalia, but from what I've heard, she would never blame you for what happened. So you shouldn't do the same. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save you. I respect her decision. If I was in her place, I would do the exact same for those I care about. Remember, you have more guts than any satyr there is."
Annabeth looked uneasy by his declaration, but Percy nodded, agreeing with his brother. "He's right, G-man. Just because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind? That's not fair."
"They're right," Annabeth said with a shake of her head. "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. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the three most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia, Markus and Percy."
"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet both Percy and Markus are really glad you're here right now."
She kicked both boys in the shins.
"Yeah," Percy said, which he would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found Thalia, Markus, and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."
You could hear a deep, satisfied sigh. Percy waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, they realized he'd fallen asleep.
"How does he do that?" Percy marvelled.
"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was a really nice thing you said to him."
"I meant it."
"You didn't have to kick me, though," Markus grumbled. "Did you not hear the motivating speech I gave him?"
Annabeth chuckled. "Yes, yes. I did hear that."
The trailer went into silence after that, bumping around on the feed snacks. The zebra munched on a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at Percy hopefully.
Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead," Percy said. "Is that from your first year?"
Annabeth looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.
"Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counsellors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress – now that was a weird summer…"
"And the college ring was your father's?"
"That's none of your –" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"You don't have to tell us," Markus offered.
"No… it's okay." She said with a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her… That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"Yeah, well… the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmother was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."
"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"
She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicting pain."
"You shouldn't give up," Percy told her. "You should write a letter or something."
"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."
Markus sighed and reached out, grasping her shoulder. Annabeth turned her grey eyes towards him. "Look, I'm not going to say sorry to you. Not because I'm trying to be mean, but I believe that saying it won't do any good. It won't bring back any good memories with your dad. But what I can tell you is not to dwell on the past too much, and focus on what you have now. I know that's being hypocritical, coming from me. I can't get over Poseidon leaving my mum to die. I could care less about being homeless. But I'm thankful that I'm here now, with you guys. I won't let the past control me too much. You shouldn't too." After saying that, he went back to his original position, leaning against the side of the trailer.
Annabeth gave him a small smile, which he responded back with a nod.
The group passed another few miles in silence.
"So if the gods fight," Percy said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"
The blonde leaned her head against the side of the trailer. "I don't know what my mum will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"Why?" he asked in surprise.
"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Anymore stupid questions?"
Percy couldn't think of an answer. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep, leaning on Markus's shoulder, who was also asleep.
Percy had trouble following her example, with Grover and Markus snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at him, but eventually he closed his eyes.
Markus was having a nightmare once again. He was really getting sick of that.
He was sitting in a classroom, which was strange since he didn't remember even going to school. He was wearing a straightjacket, sitting at the front of the room, listening to a teacher drone on about some useless stuff.
He tried wriggling out of the straightjacket, but he had no luck. He tried anything, even trying to pull in his stomach and pop out, but nothing worked. He gave up, and looked around the room.
There was another person sitting in the classroom, a row behind him.
It was a girl, with short, spikey black hair. She wore a black jacket and black jeans with some kind of band on the shirt. Green Day or something? She was wearing black combat boots, with a cute splash of freckles across her nose. But the thing that stood out the most was her electric blue eyes.
Instinctively, Markus knew who this was. Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Another detail that he forgot about: she was handcuffed, her arms behind her back, her struggle to get out of them ineffective.
After struggling a little, she looked towards Markus and said, "Well, Squid Head? One of us has to get out of here."
Markus agreed with her. He didn't plan to let anything stop him from completing the quest. Especially a weird ass dream.
With strength he didn't know he had, he ripped off the straightjacket, freeing himself. And then the floor gave way beneath him, dragging everything from the classroom.
Markus was falling, deeper and deeper, he fell into darkness.
As he landed on the soundless black ground, the cold and evil voice from the pit before echoed before him. Markus turned and saw Percy. He must've had the same dream he had, or something different.
Percy Jackson and Markus Henderson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see.
They were back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around them. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.
And they suspect nothing? It asked.
Another voice, one they almost recognized, answered at their shoulders. Nothing, my lord. Jackson is as ignorant as the rest. But the other boy, he is more smarter, not easy to fool, eventually he will figure out the truth.
They looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.
Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent. Even if one of them is aware, it will be far too late.
Truly, my lord, said the voice, you are well named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly –
You? the voice said with scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.
But my lord –
Peace, little servant. Our six months have brought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card along with his own secret gamble. Now we shall use them against them. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands… but wait. They are here.
What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned them, my lord?
No. The full force of the evil voice's attention was now pouring over them, freezing both demigods in place. Blast their fathers' blood – they are too changeable, too unpredictable. The children brought themselves hither.
Impossible! The servant cried.
For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled.
Then its cold power turned back on the two children. So… you wish to dream of your quest, young half-bloods? Then I will oblige.
The scene changed.
Markus was in elegant Greek armour, with a flourishing red cape clasped to his shoulders. He sat on a throne of faceless corpses as he gazed down at a destroyed floating city of white and gold. Beneath it, there was another city of the same size, but with blue and white instead. Thousands of corpses littered the ground there, as well as blurred figures both on the floating city and the one beneath it bowing to Markus. They even draped him with a crown of solid gold laurel.
In his hands were a two foot bronze tube and a crown of skulls. The tube was humming with raw unearthly energy at each end, while the crown burned with a heat so cold, it almost froze him, even in dream-form.
The evil voice began to laugh. Hail, the conquering hero!
Markus awoke, gasping awake as Grover was shaking him. He was doing the same to Percy and told both boys to wake up. "The truck's stopped. We think they're coming to check on the animals."
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.
She and Markus had it easy. Annabeth just put on her magic cap and disappeared while Markus willed himself invisible with his jacket.
Grover had to dive behind feed sacks and hoped they looked like turnips.
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.
Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.
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!"
The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked at Percy.
There was no sound, but Percy heard a voice say, Free me, lord. Please.
Percy was too stunned to react.
There was a loud knock, knock, knock, on the side of the trailer.
The trucker inside yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"
A voice outside – it must've been Eddie – shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"
"What are you banging for?"
Knock, knock, knock.
Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"
Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.
There was a sound of something hitting skin, and two thuds.
A second later, both Annabeth and Markus appeared next to them. One of them must have done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer while the other knocked the two guys out. Percy was guessing that Annabeth did the banging while Markus knocked the guys out. Annabeth 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."
That's right, the zebra said in Percy's, and now Markus's, minds.
"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth looked at Percy and Markus, waiting for their lead.
Percy was wondering how he could understand the zebra, until it hit him. He was the son of Poseidon, he created horses. Did that mean that he could understand them? Did a zebra count as a horse?
The zebra said, Open my cage, lords. I'll be fine after that.
Percy uncapped Riptide and slashed the lock off he zebra's cage.
The zebra burst out. It turned to him and Markus and bowed. Thank you, lords.
Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.
The zebra leaped into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. The questers 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 Vegas.
"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said.
"The other animals first," Grover said.
As Percy cut the lock with his sword, Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra. Markus went to the two knocked out guys and made their hands touch each other's crotches. It was a little joke he'd keep to himself.
"Good luck," Percy told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.
Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some sort of stunt by one of the casinos.
"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, Vegas is a desert."
"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 and Markus," Annabeth reasoned.
"Hey!" both boys protested.
"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."
They stumbled into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and the questers must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everyone was too interested in the animals to pay them such attention.
Markus helped the group avoid three squads of policemen who were coming. Thankfully, he had a plan. He went up to the policemen and informed them about the truckers. He may or may not have used the Mist to convince them thoroughly, but no needed to know that. Except him.
"What did you do?" Annabeth asked in bewilderment.
"Told the cops about the two truckers and their 'business.' Even used the Mist to convince them," Markus said.
The group shivered at how casual Markus sounded in using the Mist. They didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. The pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made Percy homesick.
The group didn't really know what to look for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat and cool down with a nice glass of lemonade and a good sandwich, anything really.
They must have taken a wrong turn or something, because they were 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, maybe.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Markus was instantly suspicious, and Percy shared the same sentiment. Anybody might be a monster or god in disguise. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and they could see. But for some reason, Markus was feeling a sense of security from the man, even though he never trusted a person at first sight. This immediately put him on edge. Maybe it was some magic that quickly convinced him easily. Inside, the group took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."
The whole lobby was a giant game room. 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 of the buildings, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There was some 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. There were a few kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.
"Hey!" a bellhop said. 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…"
"Wait," Markus interjected. "This is a mistake…"
The bellhop blinked, as if the idea of a mistake didn't register with him. "Mistake? Oh no, we have your room key and your room ready for you. The bill's been taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go up on the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed them each a green plastic credit card.
Percy knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought they were some millionaire's kids. He took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
His eyebrows knitted 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 TV 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. Percy didn't know how that could be legal, but he thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, but with a room like this, why bother looking?
"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is..."
"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
"Dibs on the shower," Markus stated before anyone else, and dashed to the bathroom.
There were clothes in the closet, and they fit them. Markus found that strange, but quickly forgot about that in favour of taking a shower.
Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trashcan. Wouldn't need that anymore. When they left, he could just charge a new now at the hotel store.
Markus walked out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and was using another one to wipe his hair with one hand, while holding a bag of crisps in the other. Annabeth turned away, looking embarrassed.
He then looked in the closet and found a simple black T-shirt and some grey shorts to wear. Markus went into the changing room and came back a few minutes later in the new clothes, now drinking a can of Coke now.
Percy took a shower too, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. He changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than ever.
In the back of his mind, some small problem kept nagging at him. He'd a dream or something with Markus… they should talk about it. Nah, it could wait.
Percy came out of the bedroom and found that Grover and Annabeth also showered and changed their clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. Markus was arguing with her to change it to something interesting.
"All those stations," Percy told the blonde, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"
"It's interesting," the girl countered.
"It's boring," Markus said.
"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."
Without his 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, Percy and Markus looked at each other and grinned. They held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time," both Markus and Percy declared.
Percy bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter.
Grover was going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing – where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks.
Annabeth played trivia games and other smart stuff. They had this huge 3-D simulator game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board.
Markus was walking around, going from game to game, while also reading a comic book. Well, not a comic book. Something called manga. Apparently it was a Japanese comic book with subtitles. Markus saw a couple lying on a desk near a game console, and decided to read some out of curiosity. Needless to say, he was hooked.
Now he was reading one called 'One Piece'. It was about a pirate who has rubber powers, and he goes on all sorts of adventures with his friends in pursuit of the One Piece, the greatest treasure in the world. Markus really enjoyed reading it.
He was reading ahead, looking at the part where some guy called 'Whitebeard' fought some guys at some place called 'Marineford'. Markus particularly found Whitebeard to be badass. Especially his power to cause earthquakes. That got him thinking to himself.
He would've pondered more on the thought but he felt someone bump into him, causing him to drop his manga. "Ow." Was the only thing that the person who ran into him could say.
When he looked up at the person who bumped into him, he saw it was a little boy, a few years younger than him. He had dark hair and black eyes with an olive tone. He wore a pair of black shorts and a grey T-shirt. He was currently on his bum, rubbing his head.
Markus reached his hand out, helping the boy up. "Uh, sorry about that," Markus apologized. "I didn't look where I was going. You okay?"
The small boy nodded. "Yeah. It's okay. I was running around and not looking where I was going. Sorry."
While Markus was annoyed at being interrupted reading his manga, he didn't want to take it out on the kid. So, he ruffled his hair, getting him to grumble a bit at that. "S'okay, man. I don't blame you. So, what were you running for?"
"I was trying to find my sister, Bianca," the boy said. Then he paled, contrasting with his skin tone. "Oh, man. If she finds me, I'm –"
"Nico di Angelo!"
The shout came from behind the little boy, now named Nico, who jumped a little in fright. He shakily turned to behind him, Markus doing so also. Stomping towards them was a girl about his height, with black eyes and long silky dark hair with a splash of freckles, like he'd seen with Thalia in his dream. Her features were very like Nico, confirming that she was his sister. She wore a black turtleneck, a pair of jeans and a floppy green hat.
Right now, however, she had an angry expression as she stamped towards her brother, who was cowering slightly. Markus couldn't blame him. His sister seemed slightly scary.
"Watch where you're going." She scolded before turning to him. "I am so sorry, my brother, he's really energetic."
"It's okay," Markus waved off. "It's my fault also. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Nevertheless, I'm so sorry." Then he turned to her brother. "Nico, apologize."
"But I did," Nico whined. But he still wilted under her glare.
Deciding to save the kid, Markus interjected. "No, he did, really."
"Oh, okay then," Bianca said, now smiling. Markus was baffled. Is she bipolar or something? He wondered.
Deciding to introduce himself, Markus held out his hand. "I'm Markus, by the way." He bent down to pick up his manga, and noticed some cards that were dropped. "Uh, are those yours?" he asked, picking some of them up. He saw some Greek gods printed on them.
"Mythomagic," Nico explained excitedly. His eyes shone with childish excitement. "It's only the best game out there. It's about all the Greek gods and monsters and stuff."
"Nico," Bianca groaned. "No one cares about your stupid card game."
"Actually, I'm kind of interested," Markus said, amused. The irony of it all. The Greek gods were alive, as well as all the monsters, and this kid had a card game based on it all? Now he had to see it. "I've got some Greek roots myself."
"Really?" he asked, excited.
"Yep!"
"That's so cool! I've got Zeus, who does six hundred damage points with his lightning bolt. He comes in every starter pack. Now Hades, man, that thing is impossible to find." The boy pouted.
"You mind explaining to me about all this stuff?" Markus asked.
"Sure!" he seemed excited at the prospect. Then he began his tirade on each card, like Apollo, or Hermes, and so on.
While he was chattering, Bianca now talked to Markus, Nico being distracted. "Thanks for humouring him," she said, relieved. "I love him, but he's just so…"
"I see," Markus said, amused. "Don't worry though, I actually was serious about being Greek. Just wanted to see what he was so hyped about. Besides, he seems okay."
"I guess." From Bianca's tone, she seemed to disagree.
Markus raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"
Bianca shook her head. "No, no, no. I love Nico to death, honestly. It's just… since we've been together for so long, I've been the one to take care of him. I love doing it. But…"
"You're tired of the responsibility?" Markus guessed. He didn't ask about a mum or dad. He knew a touchy subject when he saw one.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I'm just so tired of it all. It's such a pain dealing with a younger brother."
"Tell me about it," Markus said, thinking of Percy. While not knowing him as long as Bianca would Nico, he still considered Percy his baby brother, despite him saying otherwise.
Here she looked interested. "You have a brother, too?" she asked.
"Half-brother," Markus corrected. "Same dad, different mum. Just found out about him recently. Still, I love him to bits. Got to look out for my baby brother, right?"
"Right," Bianca said, giggling.
A waitress came over to drop off some food. It was pizza and some drinks. Markus instantly took the pizza and munched on it.
Nico was done talking about his game, but he was still bouncing up and down, full of restless energy.
Bianca sighed, answering his unanswered question. "Fine, you can play some games. But stay in sight." She warned.
He nodded, and zipped off to one of the game consoles.
Markus chuckled. "Well, I see you can control him. That's good."
"Yeah." Bianca nodded. Then she sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "To be honest, I feel like I just want to be on my own." She didn't know why she was confessing this, but she felt like she could trust him. "I've been taking care of him so long that I…"
"Just want to be you?" Markus finished, with her nodding.
He didn't know how she felt, but he could sympathise with her. Being your own person and knowing who you are was important in life.
"Hopefully you can find yourself someday," he assured, which got her smiling.
They chatted a bit more until Nico came back to them. Markus showed him the collection of manga that he picked up. Bianca was somewhat interested, but Nico ignored it, stating that Mythomagic was better. Looks like he had to change that. He would probably need to buy more when he left.
When he left… and instantly, memories started coming back to him, memories of the quest, of a possible WWIII, Percy's mum, the Underworld, everything.
At the last thought, a voice called out, "Markus!"
He turned and saw Percy there. "Percy!" he called back. "This place – WWIII – the glow stick –"
"Yeah, I know," Percy said. "We need to leave. Now."
"Yeah, okay." Remembering the two kids with him, he realized that he needed to say something to them. "Give me a second."
He then turned to them. "Uh, listen guys. This is my half-brother, Percy. My 'baby brother' if you will." Here Markus grinned cheekily while Percy scowled. "We have some… family business to take care of. It just came up now. Sorry for cutting it short, but hopefully we'll see you guys soon. Bye!" After that, both boys ran, following the exit of the Lotus Casino.
The siblings were quiet were quiet after the explanation, until Nico said, "I like him. He seems cool."
"Yeah," Bianca agreed, laughing a bit. She hoped to see Markus again. It was nice having people to talk with sometimes.
While running, Percy explained that people check in, but never leave since people from the 1970s were in here. That made Markus wonder how long the di Angelo siblings were stuck here.
They met up with Grover and Annabeth as they headed to the exit.
The Lotus bellhop hurried up to meet them. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"
He held out the cards, and the kids wanted one. But if they did, they might never leave.
Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No thanks."
Markus walked up to the bellhop, pissed. The man held out the card with a smile, but his face twisted into shock and pain as Markus jumped, and pimp-slapped him, knocking him down and scattering the cards. (A.N. – think of the slap Deadpool gave Colossus in 'Deadpool' 2016… only Markus didn't break his wrist doing it).
Markus breathed out in anger. "That was for trapping us in a casino for gods know how long."
With that, he strutted out of the Lotus Casino, joining the others in leaving.
They burst the doors of the casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same day they'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with lightning flashing out on the desert.
Ares's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder, which was odd, because he was sure he'd thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but now he had other problems to worry about.
Percy ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in. Then he noticed the date: June twentieth.
They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.
They had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete the quest to stop WWIII from happening.
Markus looked back at the casino. "You know, I think the casino was put there to speed up the plot and make it more dramatic for some reason."
Then he blinked, wondering why he said that. It was the same thing that happened in Medusa's lair. But that didn't matter right now. He had other things to worry about now.
Hello, hello, hello! It's nice to see (or hear from you) again! I hope you enjoyed the introduction of little Nicky and Bianca! I know it's clichéd at this point, but I felt like doing it.
Also, hope you liked the mention of the One Piece manga. I did this specifically to show a part that will appear in the battle against Ares. I did it because I loved Whitebeard from the anime, and I simply had to put it in here.
Again, thanks to all those who read, reviewed, favourited and followed this story! Love you guys!
I know I should put a disclaimer at the top of each chapter, but you already know I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Only my OC and my own elements. No need to say it every time. I know it's a little late, but whatever.
Bye!