I knew this would be my favorite rescue. I think the only one that will be better will be the next one. But, that will come when it comes. For now, enjoy this new chapter! :D
A lot of you are giving valid points on which ship should be sailing. I'm loving it!
Saspie: 19
Espark: 17
Still no update on that besides the votes. We're still far away from the big choice. HOWEVER, there are a couple choices that must be made in this chapter! :o
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize as canon. Kids/Teens are mine.
XIII
SAMMY LEO
Sammy Leo wasn't one much for gambling. Games, sure! He loved playing around, contrary to the popular belief that he was as stuck up as councilmember Reyna. But gambling was not something he liked, even if he was playing poker with some of his cohort members.
So Las Vegas didn't really excite him as much as it did unnerve him. Yeah, Annabeth had warned the group to stay away from the Lotus Hotel & Casino. Sammy and Jason both had a strong desire to stay away from that prison-like place, knowing of how it trapped Percy, Annabeth, Grover and the di Angelo siblings, and they really hoped Frank wouldn't be in the Casino.
As luck would have it, the key was not pointing in that direction. The group was led past it, but not into it. Sammy looked over his shoulder to see Tulio shivering and sweating. Espie had an arm wrapped around him, gently cooing into his ear.
He fell back, handing Jason the key, and fell into step beside the legacies of Hephaestus.
"You okay, man?" he asked Tulio.
Tulio shook his head. "I don't like crowds. This whole place is buzzing with excitement and shame at the same time. It's making me feel nauseous."
Only a few people knew of Tulio's ability to feel above average emotions; the Valdez family, the rest of the Seven, and Sammy Leo. The other legacies had no idea mostly because Tulio didn't hang out with them as much as he did with Sammy. This power wasn't something Tulio could control, and Frank had suggested that it might be more of a curse to balance out how strong he was. Tulio could be the most powerful legacy of all time, topping even Espie if he wanted, but that would bring on too much attention to him and he would collapse from all the emotions from adoring crowds. So, he stayed modest and solitary—which suited him just fine, he had told Sammy when the legacy of Mars was concerned about him being alone too much.
Sammy mentally kicked himself. Maybe bringing Tulio to one of the most popular and crowded cities in America had been a bad idea.
"Do you want to go back?" he suggested. "We could get Lacy or Bobby to come along." He didn't mention Mark. Anyone but Mark!
Tulio shook his head. "No. You said it yourself; I activated the key, so that must mean I'm needed in some way."
Sammy nodded. "Just say the word and I'll let Jason escort you back."
"Hey," Jason said.
"Sorry," Sammy apologized. He hadn't realized Jason wanted to stay.
"Not that. I meant we've got something."
The trio of legacies looked up and saw that they were in front of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Sammy had to gape at how huge this place was. What was it, like a million miles high? You could land a plane on the roof if you wanted!
Jason coughed. "The key is leading us here. Stick close, kids, I don't want you running off to play games."
The legacies nodded. It was highly improbable that they would run off. Sammy didn't gamble. Tulio was feeling nauseous. Espie was busy cradling Tulio. There was a very little chance that they would get distracted.
Jason led them through the casino. The trio kept close, making sure the security guards knew they were with an adult. Thankfully, no one seemed to question them as they hurriedly walked through the casino.
Jason stopped next to the sign that read, Theatre.
"I suppose Dad's in there?" Sammy Leo asked.
Jason nodded. "The key's pointing here. I've actually been to this theatre. It's really nice."
"You've been here?" Espie asked.
The son of Jupiter nodded. "Yup. Had a quest that led to Vegas. Me and my comrades stayed in this hotel courtesy of Mercury (don't ask). We saw a Cirque du Soleil show in this very theatre. Pretty awesome."
"You think we could stay for a show?" Tulio asked, hopeful. "Play and show audiences are some of the only crowds that don't hit me so hard."
"As long as you're not on stage," Espie joked, grinning.
Sammy looked at the stage sign next to the door.
Next Show: Stage in Flames
One Night Only
One Show Only
Showtime: 9:00 PM
Sammy checked his watch. It was 7:50 right now. If they went in, got Frank, and got out, they would be able to avoid crowds of people coming in. Sammy kinda wanted to see whatever this 'Stage in Flames' show was, but his father needed him, as did the rest of the missing Seven.
He nodded to Jason. The son of Jupiter nodded back and opened the door.
The theatre was huge and gorgeous. The best way to describe what it looked like would be the Phantom of the Opera (movie) theatre, only without all the naked angels decorating the boxes and stairwells. The stage was round, and it looked as if the top was actually a cover.
In the middle of the stage sat a large square cage. Inside it, a huge Bengal tiger slept, its tail flicking every now and again. It was stretched out lazily.
As the group moved closer to the stage, Sammy noticed the tiger was gently wrapped in chains, a giant shackle adorning its neck. There was a fist-shaped lock sticking out of its fur, like it was coming right out of the tiger's body.
Espie nudged Sammy. Sammy tried not to blush at the slight touch from her. "I think that's Frank," she whispered.
Sammy's eyes widened in realization. "D-Dad?!"
He ran right up to the stage, bounding up the steps. However, just as he reached the top step, a light blinded him for a second.
When he blinked away the spots, he froze.
Standing before him was a seven foot tall man in a flashy suit. It was like this guy decided the Elvis style needed a comeback. That wasn't what Sammy was concerned about, though.
The guy had two faces!
"Janus," Jason growled.
The god bowed. "In the flesh," both heads said.
Sammy cursed under his breath. Of course it wouldn't be easy. There's always either a guardian or a test.
"Correct," the right head of Janus said.
"On both counts," said the left head.
"So which will you choose?" they both said.
"What do you mean?" Espie asked.
Both heads smiled.
"Will you choose Guardian?" said Righty.
"Or Test?" finished Lefty.
"Choose," they said together.
Jason sighed. "One of my least favorite gods to meet in person."
"I think everyone feels that way," Tulio said. "I know Percy said this guy was annoying."
Righty huffed, "I'm right here…"
"…you know," Lefty concluded.
"Why must we choose?" Sammy asked.
"There's always a choice," Righty said.
"Always," Lefty said.
Sammy looked back at the others. They all seemed to nod in agreement of one thing. He turned back to the god.
"Then we choose Test," he said, lifting his chin. He remembered the clue. A fight to the death is not required. So Sammy knew they had to choose Test and not Guardian.
Both heads smiled. "I knew…"
"…you would say that."
Janus snapped. Frank's cage teleported to one of the boxes up on the upper levels.
"Then you now must face the consequence of the choice."
Sammy blinked. "Consequence? But we didn't do anything yet!"
Both heads grinned from ear to ear to ear.
"You shall be performing a single song," said Righty.
"Just one," Lefty continued.
"In front of a crowd."
"And you must…"
"…please us…"
"…and the crowd…"
"…to set Frank Zhang free…"
"It's like a reality show!"
"Only, y'know, there's only one round."
Sammy was getting a headache keeping the heads straight. "Just one song?"
"Just one."
Sammy nodded. "Okay." That's easy enough. He turned to Espie. "Then our singer will be Esperanza—"
"No, no, no," both heads yelled.
"We never said…"
"…you got to choose your singer!"
Sammy tried to keep a poker face. He had a bad feeling about this. "Then who do you choose?"
"The chosen person will be singing a solo…"
"…like a karaoke."
"Only with state-of-the-art music backing them up."
"The other three of you will be in the audience."
Sammy snarled, losing his patience, "Who's the chosen singer!?"
Janus smiled evilly. "Tulio Charles Valdez."
Sammy quickly looked at the aforementioned demititan. He had paled, his eyes wild and wide. His jaw was so low Sammy thought it might drop to the floor.
Tulio shook his head furiously. "No, sir! I don't sing! I can't sing!"
Espie stepped forward. "He's right. He can't sing! I'll do it!"
Janus shook his heads. "The chosen one is Tulio Valdez."
He spread his arms. "Another choice for Mr. Valdez alone to make."
"Will you face a crowd of hundreds and sing for Frank Zhang?"
"Or will you leave this place and abandon the quest, dooming Frank and the rest of the missing parents?"
"Choose."
"Choose."
Tulio was shaking violently. Espie placed a hand on his shoulder. Jason ran a hand through his blonde hair, clearly at a loss.
Sammy knew what Tulio's choice would have been had both his parents been rescued by now. He would have walked away. As selfish as that sounded, Sammy knew that's what he would have done. If they had both been rescued, Tulio wouldn't even be here now, facing this catastrophic choice.
Tulio took a deep, shaky breath. "I'll sing."
Janus clapped. "Excellent!" squealed the right head.
"You have one hour to prepare your song," said the left.
"Any song you like."
"Except rap."
"Choreography is highly recommended."
"Special effects, too!"
"Flashier the better!"
"One hour," they repeated. "And then you face the audience."
He disappeared suddenly, leaving behind a silver key, which also disappeared after a few seconds.
Sammy faced Tulio. The Latino was breathing deeply, trying not to hyperventilate. "Are you sure you can do this?" he asked the demititan.
Tulio nodded. "I have to try. I'll probably crash and burn, but I'll try…"
Espie patted him on the shoulder. "We'll do a parody. I got a song in mind. Just give me a few minutes to reword it to fit you. And that sign outside said 'Stage in Flames'. That must have been a hint. I'll add special effects with my fire while I sit in the audience. It should be easy."
Jason nodded. "I can help with a bit of choreography. Nothing too flashy."
"You dance?" Espie asked, her eyebrows raised.
"A little," Jason said. "I can do a bit of not-dorky dancing."
Tulio sighed and ran a hand through his curls. "Whatever. That still doesn't solve my voice problem."
"You can't be that bad," Jason said.
Tulio gave him a withered look. "You've heard my dad sing, right?"
The son of Jupiter nodded, his lip curled in a grimace. "Once," he said. "We were trying to fool some maenads…He sang something that I think was supposed to be the theme song to Psych. It almost made me sick."
Tulio groaned. "I'm way worse."
"How can you be worse than your father?" Jason challenged.
Espie warned, "You didn't just say that…"
Tulio opened his mouth and screeched. Sammy didn't even know what he was singing—if he even was singing! It sounded more like a harpy squawking while simultaneously running her claws on a chalkboard!
"STOP!" Jason yelled, his hands pressing against his ears. "Just stop!"
Tulio stopped and looked down. "I told you. I'm way worse…"
"You're damn right you're way worse than Leo," Jason said, annoyed. "I think my ears are bleeding!"
Espie hugged Tulio. "We'll figure something out. Maybe we can disguise my voice in a recording or something and you can lip-sync it…"
Voice…
Sammy hated the sudden bright idea that had just hit him. Of all people, he really didn't want to involve him! But…his father needed him.
He swallowed his pride and said, "Mr. Grace? You said Piper once brought Festus to life with her charmspeak, right?"
"Of course."
"Well, Mark's charmspeak is just as powerful, right?"
Jason nodded. "He won't admit it, but he could go toe-to-toe with his mother if he tried."
"What are you getting at?" Espie asked.
"I think I know how to solve Tulio's vocal problem," Sammy said. "It's a long-shot, but it might work. Let me go make an IM real fast."
A/N: Janus is hard...he really is. I hope I got him close to how Rick portrayed him.
No Saspie in this chapter, sorry. Mostly centered around Tulio even though it's a Sammy Leo chapter. The next chapter will be featuring everyone's most favorite song (laced with sarcasm). I had written a parody for it mainly for Leo, but then I realized it would still fit for Tulio as well!
Next POV will be...*drumroll*
Leo's! :o
