Chapter 25

FYI, none of this story contains movie plots or elements.

Nico's POV

The girl Percy brought back with us was weird. She had a strong smell of life, which was definitely abnormal. Most people at least had more death to them than the amount the girl carried.

" Percy." I said as the girl went ahead of us once we spotted Thalia and the other dragons. Rachel seemed to be up." That girl has a weird scent."

Percy nodded, which surprised me.

" Yeah, he's part of the Five."

" That's a guy? And he's part of the Five?" My mind became fuzzy again. It's been doing that since I came out of Gaea's cave. My head pounded more and more frequently, I was wondering if something might've been wrong with me, but the pounding doesn't even last one or two seconds, so I never really thought much about it. Excitement lit my heart, and rushes of childish thoughts invaded my mind.

" That's so cool! Why is his hair white then? Why is it so long? Is he crossdressing, because it definitely fooled me! Do you know what his name is? Or how he's immortal? Or-"

" Nico, how am I supposed to know how he can live forever? And his name is Aglovale." Percy grit his teeth.

Percy seemed so funny when he was agitated. But what was more incredible was that all the names of the Five so far are girly.

" Rela, Abigail, and Merope." I thought out loud." How come they all sound so girly even though two of them are boys?"

" Like I said Nico, I'm not some god of wisdom. And it's Ree-gel-a, and Agg-lou-vale."

We reached the clearing where Thalia was talking with Aglovale. Bianca trotted towards me when she saw me.

' Nico!'

She purred.

Her soft white fur tickled the bottom of my neck. I giggled.

" Who is she?" Thalia asked when Percy approached. Rachel sat next to Aglovale, talking as if they've been friends since they were kids.

" That's Aglovale. He's one of the Five," Percy didn't even wait on Thalia's shocked expression." Let's go, we've wasted enough time stalling."

The sky was clear, and Bianca and I rose above the others. Aglovale rode with Thalia and Rachel rode on Luke, who didn't seem to mind her riding him, unlike Percy. He stared in envy. Blackjack nudged him with the corner of his wing as if saying am I not good enough for you? Honestly, riding for six strait hours was boring. Thalia and Percy told me I couldn't talk, which was really unfair.

I had an idea.

" Bianca, can you do some aerial flips?"

' You better hold on tight, I'm not responsible if you fall.'

I held onto her long beautiful fur. The pressure hit me, the rush sent my stomach rolling. I loved it.

" Dive!" I ordered.

Bianca grunted. She dove strait down, wings tucked. Percy was calling be careful, and Thalia, despite saying she wasn't afraid of heights anymore, didn't look down.

I didn't know what I was doing, but I let go of my hands, and tried to stay on Bianca's head with just my legs. Obviously, that didn't work out so I slowly became an independent free falling idiot.

' Nico!'

I wasn't worried, Bianca wouldn't let me fall like that. She turned around so I saw her belly and caught me clumsily with her paws. It's weird. Bianca and I soared back into the air, looming above Percy and Thalia. She's my sister, and even though now she's a dragon, I still feel the love emitting from her. It made me happy. So happy.

My head pounded again. The happy thoughts I had with Bianca died. I reminded myself that she doesn't know who I was to her, and what she was to me. We were merely were bound by the same destiny to destroy this new threat.

' That was reckless. Do you want to do that again?' The ironic humor in her voice made me think she was a kid or something.

" No." I said flatly.

I didn't talk with Bianca for the remainder of the trip to Vegas. Not because I didn't like her or anything. I just didn't find meaning in it.

It was midnight by the time we got to the front door to the Lotus Hotel. The air stank with the smell of alcohol and smoke. And it was just as I had remembered it. Bright. Flashy. Grand. Rich. Not for me. I would never admit it, but my legs were shaking, yet, I was excited. I would finally find out The Who runs this damned Hotel that trapped me in here for 70 years.

The pounding on my head.

" Can we go in now? I missed the awesome games in this Hotel." I said." I was on a winning streak in Bejeweled, no one else got a higher score than me!"

Percy looked at me." You actually want to play these games? Even though you know you'll probably be trapped in here forever?"

" Relax Percy, I'm just joking. However, I really was the Boss at Bejeweled."

" So, do we just go in?" Thalia asked." I mean, it could be just me, but I think the door isn't quite large enough for the dragons to go through."

Oops, I never really did think about that.

" There's a back door." We all swirled around to look at Aglovale.

Aglovale smiled. It melted my soul away.

" Right, you can lead the way." Thalia said.

Sure enough, in the back of the building, there was a larger door that was most likely grander than the front one.

" How come I never noticed this before?" I said, indicating the large glowing letters and bright colors.

" Because it's shrouded behind the mist." Aglovale said.

" You guys couldn't see it before?" Rachel asked." I thought you demigods could see through anything mystical. I was wondering why we didn't go to the back."

" You're talented, Oracle." Aglovale commented.

Rachel blushed.

Percy told Blackjack to go back to Camp Half Blood and tell Chiron and the others we made it to the Casino.

Blackjack snorted and then flew off into the night, blending in with it's darkness.

Aglovale led us into the Casino. It was different than how I remembered it. The floor was marble with golden lining. Pillars rose far beyond my sight, which seemed much bigger than my initial impression on the outside. A grand staircase (the kind where there are two on the side that intertwine to make one in the middle.) with elegant red carpeting was laid on the far edge of the room. Yep, definitely not how I remembered it.

" Wow! This is so fancy!" I cheered, even though someone could be waiting to fire an arrow right into our heads.

' Nico! Something's wrong with me!'

I turned around. Bianca, turned small. She squealed.

" AHH!" Thalia yelled." Beryl, why are you bite sized now?"

That was an overstatement. They weren't puppy small, they were horse small. Before, they could've been about the size of a large truck, now they were the size of a Prius.

" Don't worry, they'll return to normal the moment you step out of this Hotel."

Standing above us on the stairs was a boy around my age. He had dark, dark violet hair and striking golden eyes.

" That's Regele." Percy told us." One of the Five."

" Right, the one who could match Achilles by age thirteen or something." Thalia gulped.

Regele smirked." Is that what Chiron told you? I BEAT Achilles at age thirteen. Matched him when I was eleven."

I stared, stunned. This kid, despite how old he is now, was able to win against someone who had bathed in the River of Styx?

Cool. My head pounded once more. This was not good. If he went rampage like Gaea did, how are we going to beat him? Gaea was confused and angry, which made defeating her much easier than it should've been, but what are we going to do against him.

Aglovale stepped fowards, his face blank. Regele's smirk transformed into a large grin.

" Aglovale!"

I didn't see what happened next, I blinked, and he disappeared, and appeared right next to me. Regele gave Aglovale a huge hug, then kissed him on the cheek.

" Where have you been? I didn't see you since Medieval China." Regle said, his arms still around Aglovale.

I felt like I was intruding on something.

" I found a guy who was really good with elixirs and became his protege." Aglovale said, monotone.

" But you don't need to have anyone teach you anything on healing. You're the best there is!"

Aglovale shrugged." He was pretty good."

" Sure."

Percy cleared his throat." Uh hi, are you the guy that'll give us our third gift?"

Regele turned around, as if just realizing Percy was there.

" Oh hey Percy, what's up." Regele said.

" Prophecy, gifts, the Three, us...you know." Thalia said.

I didn't say anything. If I was going to ask about this hotel, It was going to be in private.

His gaze raked across us, as if peering into our very soul with those entrancing golden eyes.

" Nice pets." He said.

The dragons growled.

' Nico, I don't like him. He's strange.'

I nodded.

" What's going on?" Someone new was on the top of the stairs. She had pale hair and brilliant blue eyes.

" Merope!" Thalia cried.

Right that person. Merope hadn't changed much. She was still beautiful, but now she was wearing a loose white roman cloth that was tied over her shoulder and tied with a thick leather belt. Her eyes were slightly more angular, and her pupils seemed almost slitted. Before, I was okay with Merope's presence, but now, she felt like a completely new person. Dark, mysterious, full of too much life, and...well, like one of the Five.

Merope's smile was almost cat-like." Hello Thalia."

She jumped from her place at the top of the stairs down to us. Landing with the grace of a feline. Regele stood beside her and Aglovale beside him.

" Welcome to the true face of the Lotus Hotel, demigods." Regels said." The Five Cheaters of Death's lair."

Chapter 25 end.

That was a quick update.

Again, please tell me what you think of the story. If you have suggstions then tell me, I'm all ears.