Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to Rick Riordan, Greco-Roman mythology, and/or their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: If you read the old version of this, I highly suggest not just skimming this chapter, especially the part before the break. It's going to be very important later, and if you skim it now, you're probably not going to be able to fully appreciate what happens down the line. :)

Hope y'all enjoy, and until next week,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

Πότνια – Mistress, lady (but like, a really important one, not just a regular one)


~The Finding Home Saga~

~Finding Home~

~Chapter 17: The Lotus Hotel & Casino Pt. 1~


My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before, over and over again: I was being forced to take a standardized test – the horror! No, really, that shit's terrifying – while wearing a straight-jacket.All of the other kids had been dismissed to lunch, but I was stuck sitting there, and the teacher kept on saying, "Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up the pencil."

Then the dream strayed from the usual.

I looked over at the two desks to my left and saw two teenagers about my age, if not a little older, sitting there, both of them also wearing straight-jackets. The first was a girl with black, punk-style hair that was short and spiky, stormy green eyes with dark eyeliner around them, and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. The second was a guy with styled and wavy black hair, kaleidoscope eyes, and a few moles on the left side of his face. Somehow, without even thinking about it, I knew who they were. The girl was Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus who had gotten turned into a pine tree, and the guy was Alan Bolloré, the son of Aphrodite and Silena's dead half-brother.

Strangely enough, neither of them were struggling against their straight-jackets like I was. Instead, they were staring at me with somber expressions, their eyes shining and mournful.

"Can you make him happy?" Thalia asked me sadly.

I blinked. "What are you talking about?"

She just shook her head.

"Please," Alan said, a distinctive French lilt to his voice. "Make him happy again, like he was with Thalia and me. Please make him happy, Percy. Make him happy."

I opened my mouth to reply to them, but I wasn't able to say anything. Or do anything else, really, except watch them helplessly as the straight-jacket melted off of me, causing me to fall through the classroom floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm. "Percy Jackson," the voice said. "So we meet again."

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling as spirits of the dead drifted all around me. I didn't know how I knew that was what they were, but I did. "What do you want with me? And what did you do to Luke?"

"The son of Hermes got what he deserved for disobeying my orders," the voice replied cryptically. "But he will have no lasting harm from it, I assure you. As to what I want to do with you...no, it is more of what I want to do for you."

"F – for me?"

"Yes," the voice intoned. "I have been watching you for some time now, Percy Jackson, ever since the symbols of power of Hades and Zeus were stolen. I've watched as the two of them, along with several of the other Olympians, have senselessly blamed you and your father for a crime that neither of you have committed. I have watched as your father has let them toy with you needlessly, letting his elder brother take your mother and his younger brother almost take your life. And although I did agree to let Luke Castellan to convince you to come to my side by August, I am far too impatient to let you suffer underneath the burdens the gods have given you for much longer."

"What do you mean 'suffer underneath their burdens?'" I questioned, while inside I couldn't help but marvel at how...poetic the voice was. How tempting, kind of like the ghost of Hamlet's father. As even though I didn't really believe his words – or so I was telling myself, anyways – I couldn't help but want to hear more of what he was talking about.

"Did you ever wonder about the real reason why Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decided to stop having children, Percy Jackson?" the voice replied. "Because they would not stop having children because of a measly mortal war, I assure you. They do not care about the mortals. If they did, then they would have interfered in the World Wars long before they made the pact, and they wouldn't have stolen your mother."

At his words, my mouth went dry – which was weird, because I was pretty sure that this was a dream, and I'd never experienced something like a dry mouth in a dream before. "So what if they don't?" I retorted, practically shouting. "You think I should just roll over and die? Or that I should let them start World War III? Do you know how many mortals would die if I did that?"

The voice laughed. "Foolish boy, so naïve. No, I do not think that you should let them start another World War, but nor do I think that you should fight for them without knowing all that they keeping from you. So, remember this, Percy Jackson: when you go into the Underworld, do not immediately rush to Hades' palace once you get off of Lord Charon's boat. Instead, stay at the banks of the River Styx and ask for the Lady, ἡ Πότνια, of the river. She will tell you everything there is to know about yourself, and why the eldest gods stopped having children."

With that, the voice laughed again, except this time its laughter echoed from the chasm and off of the walls of the dark cavern I was in. It roared in my ears, to the point that I anxiously put my hands over them and squeezed my eyes shut tight. So tight, in fact, that in the next moment –


– I woke up with a start.

"Percy, are you alright?" Katie asked me.

"Yeah," I winced, grimacing as I brought a hand to my head. It hurt something awful and so did my stomach, which was churning at the memories in my mind of my dream. When Katie gave me a weird look, I told her as much. "Bad dream."

"Oh," she said. "Well, I think you needed the sleep. Silena said you fell asleep about halfway through Utah, and you haven't woken up until now. Not once."

"Utah?" I looked past her and out through the semi-truck's windshield. Sure enough, we weren't in that state anymore. "We're in Las Vegas already?"

"Yep," she confirmed. "Silena and I already took care of the animals in the back. Called up one of the local animal controls; they'll be here soon, so it's probably best if we leave the truck before then."

"'Leave the truck?'" I repeated. "What? Why?"

The sound of the driver's door opening made us both look at it. Silena, dressed in one of the outfits that had been in the bag Ares had given me, took one look at me as she got into the seat before turning to Katie. "Did you tell him about the truck?"

"I was just about to," Katie replied dryly.

"What's wrong with the truck?"

"Apparently, Ares wasn't exactly truthful about the fact that this ride would get us to Los Angeles," Silena informed me. "Because, well, it stopped here and it won't start up again."

"'Here?' Where exactly is 'here?'"

I found my answer soon enough. Outside, there was this huge building a little bit away from the truck. THE LOTUS HOTEL & CASINO was displayed in bright green letters at the top of the building, and there was a huge neon flower underneath it which apparently also served as the entrance of the building, its petals constantly lighting up and blinking. I couldn't see anyone going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors inside the flower were open, spilling out air-conditioning that, even from where we were in the truck with the windows rolled down, I could tell smelled like flowers.

Out of the blue, a nagging, itchy feeling suddenly showed up in my brain. I wasn't sure why it was there – maybe to serve as a warning of sorts? I frowned at the thought. "Why would the truck stop here?"

Silena shrugged. "Maybe because Ares wanted to give us a break?" she suggested. "I mean, he did say that the truck only had one stop here – and, let me tell you, I am sick and tired of driving, Percy. I need a break. Besides, we still got what, seven days left until the solstice? That leaves plenty of time for us to take a break, even if it's only just for a day and night."

I really wanted to say no. I mean, the truck stopping at a hotel was one thing, actually staying at the hotel? That was another. And I wasn't getting good vibes about this place, and the last time that had happened, the three of us had almost gotten killed by Medusa. Still, both Katie and Silena looked absolutely knackered, and I couldn't help but feel guilty about that. I'd gotten plenty of sleep on the ride here, even if it hadn't been all that restful, but they apparently hadn't.

So, with a sigh, I said, "Alright. But just for today and tonight, okay?"

"Oh, thank you!" Silena shrieked.

Katie grinned. "Thanks, Percy."

The three of us exited the truck and made our way over to the hotel. When we went through the entrance, we were greeted by a doorman with strange, lilac-pink eyes. "Hey there, kids," he said. "You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

"Uh, yeah," I said uncomfortably. "Of course. Thank you."

Inside, we took a look around, causing Katie, Silena, and I to all exclaim "Whoa," at once. Because inside, the whole lobby was a giant game room – and I'm not talking about the cheesy, old Pac-Man games or slot machines, either. More like the kind of stuff that you would see at deluxe, older-kid game places. There was also an indoor waterslide snaking around a glass elevator, which went straight up for at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on one side of the building, an indoor bungee-jumping bridge, and pretty much everything else you could ever imagine and more.

There were a few other kids playing, but not many. There was no waiting in line for any of the games. And there were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you could ever want: cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and what looked to be some sort of fried octopus or calamari.

"Hey!" a bellhop shouted at us – or, at least, I guessed he was a bellhop. The white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops he wore made it a little hard to say for certain. He had the same lilac-pink eyes as the doorman, a thought which made me shift my feet.

Just today and tonight, I told myself. It's just for today and tonight.

"Has anyone helped you guys yet?"

Katie, Silena, and I all shared a look.

"No," I said.

The bellhop grinned. "Well, then let me be the first person to welcome you the Lotus Hotel & Casino!" he told us. "Here's your room keys."

He handed each of us a green plastic credit card, and before any of us could say anything, continued with, "And before you ask: your bill has already been taken care of. No extra charges, tips, or anything like that required. Just go on up to the top floor and find 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 and they'll supply you with whatever you need. Oh, and before I forget: your room keys also double as LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides. Any questions?"

That...was a lot. Too much, the itch in my brain supplied helpfully. Ares didn't seem like the kind of person – or god, whatever – to hitch us up in a place as grand as this and then pay for all of our expenses at all, let alone one night. This all seemed too good to be true.

That's because it is.

"How much is on here?" I asked the bellhop, gesturing to the LotusCash card.

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

"I mean, when do these cards run out of cash?"

The bellhop laughed. Hard. "Oh," he said, once his laughter had subsided. "You're making a joke. That's cool. Enjoy your stay!"

And then he left.

Katie and Silena led the way to the elevator, which we took to the top floor so we could check out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, soda, and chips. There was a hotline to room service, a jacuzzi in each of the bedrooms' en-suite bathrooms, and fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. Oh, and none of this was even mentioning the big, flat-screen television with satellite and high-speed internet, or the balcony that had its own hot tub and skeet-shooting machine and shotgun, so that you could launch clay pigeons right over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but it was pretty cool, especially with the amazing view the balcony had of the Strip and the desert skyline.

"Oh, goodness," Katie said, looking absolutely gobsmacked.

"Amazing," Silena purred. "Absolutely amazing."

"It is pretty cool," I agreed hesitantly.

Each of us claimed one of the three bedrooms – Silena taking the one with lavender-colored bedding, Katie the one with forest green bedding, and me the one that had the light blue. In my bedroom, there were clothes in the closet, and they all looked like they would fit me. I noticed this with a frown, thinking it was strange, but the thought didn't stay in my head for long – a side effect of my ADHD, I was sure.

I threw Ares' backpack in the trash can in the main room. We wouldn't need that anymore. In fact, when we left, I figured I could just charge a new one at the hotel store and be done with it.

I took a nice, long bath in the jacuzzi, but only after taking a shower first, so that I could wash off all of the grime that came with days of unhygienic travel. Then, I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling much better than I had in a long time.

In the main room, I found Silena and Katie had showered and changed clothes as well. Both of them were watching an Amanda Bynes movie I hadn't seen before, but then again the only Amanda Bynes move that I had seen was What A Girl Wants. But that shit was pretty good, I have to admit, so I was willing to bet that this movie would be, too. Especially since it seemed to be based off of a Shakespeare play.

"So, what are we going to do?" I asked the two of them as I plopped down on the couch.

Katie shrugged. "There's just so much to do here, I don't even know where to begin."

Silena nodded. "Agreed. But we don't have to see all of it right now. We could...I don't know, watch the rest of this movie and get room service?"

She said the last part with a giant grin.

"Yeah, okay," I said. "That sounds reasonable."


Around two hours later, the movie was over and we were all stuffed with food. My full stomach made me a little sleepy, but then I remembered the game room in the lobby and all of my drowsiness disappeared. With a grin, I fished my room key/LotusCash card out of my pocket and turned to Silena and Katie. "Alright, are you two ready to have some fun?"

Their smiles were all the answer that I needed.

I don't know how much time I spent in the lobby, but it didn't really matter, because I honestly didn't remember the last time that I'd had so much fun. I mean, due to my mom's poor income and the combined expenses for my boarding school and Gabe's poker games, we'd never really had the chance to splurge out on anything – and when we did, it was usually on a night out at Burger King and renting a video, never on a five-star Vegas hotel.

I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded down the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw both Katie and Silena a few times, going from game to game, playing stuff that piqued their interests, but I didn't really talk to them, because I was having so much fun on my own.

...Up until the itch, having never really left my brain, was brought back to the forefront of my mind, and I realized that something was seriously wrong.

It all started when I decided to go check out this cool, mythology virtual card game...called Mythomagic Online! or something like that. No one else was really playing it, save for this kid who looked like he couldn't be more than eleven, if that. His hair was this messy, inky black – so basically, a lot like mine – and he had wide, dark brown eyes, a smattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks like Thalia Grace's in my dream from earlier, and an olive skin tone. But none of that was what surprised me about him.

No, what surprised me was the fact that he was wearing these old, posh clothes that made him look like he was straight out of a World War III flick, and the fact that he was alone. Don't get me wrong, all of the kids here seemed to be on their own, but like I said the kid was only eleven, if that. No way he should have been left alone without adult supervision, absolutely no way.

"Hey, kid," I greeted him as I sat down on the seat next to him.

The kid was pretty engrossed in his game, but he did pause to turn to look at me with a wide, friendly smile. "Hi!" he exclaimed. He had a distinctive accent; it was Italian, but not like the Italian from Rome. It sounded more...northern? "My name is Nico. Do you like Mythomagic?"

"My name's Percy," I replied. "I've never actually played Mythomagic before, but it looks interesting."

Nico's already-wide eyes widened even more, becoming practically the size of dinner plates. "What! You've never played Mythomagic before? But – but, it's like the coolest game. Ever. Or, at least, I think so. My sister disagrees. She doesn't like it."

"You have a sister?"

He nodded, his face scrunching up. "Yeah, her name is Bianca. She's around here somewhere. She doesn't really like the games, I don't think...which is so weird, because everyone else likes the games here! Speaking of which, do you want me to show you how to play Mythomagic, since you've never played it before?"

I blinked. Μὰ θεούς, did this kid talk fast. Like, I could barely keep up with what he was saying. Still, I smiled at his question and said, "Yeah, sure. I'm always open to learning new things."

The kid grinned. "Sweet! Hold on, just let me start up a new game..."

As Nico launched into an explanation about the various rules and strategies of Mythomagic, I looked around the room, trying to find his sister. I didn't have much luck, but I did wind up seeing various people dressed in outfits that didn't really...fit in 2006, much like Nico's clothing. One kid looked like an Elvis impersonator's son, another like an '80s supermodel, and yet another like a kid straight out of the show Saved By The Bell.

Seeing all of these people sent shivers down my spine. They looked like they were from different time periods – different lifetimes, even – and yet they were only my age, if not a little older or little younger. Something wasn't right here. Something seriously wasn't right.

I turned back to look at Nico. He was still talking about the Mythomagic game, but when he noticed the expression on my face, he frowned. "Percy?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"What year is it?" I questioned back.

He stared at me for a moment, before laughing. "What, are you trying to be dingy or something? It's 1938, duh! What else would the year be?"


Word Count: 3,447

Next Chapter Title: The Lotus Hotel & Casino Pt. 2