The next afternoon, June 14, which meant that we only had seven days before the solstice, our train arrived and pulled into Denver.
We had eaten food the night before in the dining car somewhere in Kansas, and this was the last stop as the rails ahead were having work done to them.
As we got off the train, I could not help but think that something was watching us as Annabeth turned to us, "We're going to have to call Chiron," She told us as Alumi put a hand on her hip.
"And how in the Great Spirit are we going to do that as if you demi-gods so much as go to a phone booth you would attract monsters," She said to her before I felt eyes on me as I turned around and saw the train pull out along with a man on it.
"Someone does not want us to succeed," I said as I pointed to the train.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alumi turn the train before I saw that she narrowed her eyes, "Was that," She asked as I nodded.
"Sid," I growled as I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Grover looking at me.
"What is it," He asked me.
"Sid is a lesser demon that lives in this realm but makes nothing but chaos for everyone," I sighed.
We made our way from the train station and stopped Annabeth from taking us to a car wash, as Alumi told her it would draw attention to four kids using a car wash and headed to a small stream I could use.
"You know you have to make a rainbow, right?" Annabeth said, and I nodded.
"Yeah, that's why I'm going to make an arch of water that makes a small rainbow for us to use," I told her as we found one, and I made the water form a slight arch.
When the sunlight hit the water, a rainbow formed above it, and Alumi pulled out a Drakam and flipped it in. "Oh, Isis, goddess of the rainbow, expect my offering, and show me Chiron at Camp Half-blood," she said as the coin disappeared through the rainbow.
The rainbow started to shift, and the visage of the activities director of Camp Half-Blood and he seemed to be stopping an argument between a member of the Ares and Athena cabins.
"Yeah, well, Athena is wrong," Clarisse's voice said as she was face to face with an Athena cabin member.
"Chiron," Annabeth called out as everyone we were watching turned to us, "Is this a bad time," She asked him, but he shook his head at her.
"No, my dear girl," Chiron said as he turned to us, "What news do you bring us," He asked us.
"When we got on the greyhound, the kind ones were after something that they thought Percy had, and we can confirm now that it was the Healm of Darkness," Grover said to him as everyone's eyes shot wide.
"So you were right, Percy, with a second symbol of power being taken," Chiron said as I nodded.
"Yes, and my Aunt, the Queen of the Underworld, appeared one night, and even she has told my uncle that I do not have the helm, and I think that I had no part in it," I told him as he started to stroke his beard, "But someone is not liking that I'm doing this quest and that I have at least three gods on my side fighting for my innocence," I added.
"Indeed," Chrion muttered as his eyes swept over the camp, "Where are you now," He asked us.
"Denver," Alumi told him. " Even now, I have a feeling someone is watching us," she said as she looked over her shoulder.
"I see; have you fought anything other than the kindly ones," Chiron asked us as I nodded, "Who or what," He asked us.
"I cut the head of the snake bitch that drugged my father, and Alumi banished the mother of monsters," I told him as Chiron looked at me with a raised brow before turning his eyes to Alumi.
"Where did you banisher to," He asked the female shaman next to me.
"I returned her to the home of monsters," She told him as Chiron nodded.
"Good. We did not need her adding more trouble to this matter," Chiron said before looking back at me and asking, "What have your dreams been like lately," I nodded.
"Yes, it was of the pit," I told him as he looked disturbed.
"I see, and if the problem is not Hades, and if you are seeing the pit," Chrion said as the people around him were starting to look fidgeted by what I was telling Chiron.
"You four continue on your journey and take a train west," Chiron told us as we shook our heads, "Why not," He asked us.
"For some reason, when we were on the train to Denver, the train conductor said that this was the last stop, but when we got off, the train pulled off," Alumi told him as the campers started to whisper to one another.
"I see, then. Try and get a bus or a cab to the nearest city and then go from there," Chiron said as we nodded. "Good luck, heroes. " He wiped his hand over the Iris message, and the connection was cut.
After a few minutes, we wandered around until the sounds of our stomachs reached our ears and found a dinner.
We walked in and sat down; all around us were families eating burgers and drinking milkshakes.
After we found a place to sit and wait, a waitress walked over to our table, "Well," She asked us.
"Can we have three burgers and fries, along with a salad and another portion of fries," Alumi said to her, and she raised a brow at us.
"Do you kids have money to pay for all that," she asked as I pulled out my wallet.
"How much," I asked her.
She shrugged and started to write down our order, "Anything to drink," She asked us.
"Four milkshakes," I said as she nodded, and I paid her before she walked away.
After a few minutes, the waitress returned with our food, and a rumbling shook the building.
We turned to see a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pulling up.
The motorcycle's headlight was red, and the gas tank had flames painted on them.
Either side of the saddle of the motorcycle had shotguns in holsters, and the saddle seat of the bike looked to be the skin of a Caucasian human.
The biker drew my attention the most as something about him did not sit right with me.
He looked fresh from the army, with his hair cut short.
He wore a red muscle shirt, a black leather jacket, and red-tinted sunglasses.
The man then looked at us through the window, and I could tell something was not right with him as I looked at him.
"We need to be careful," I said as my eyes followed the man as he entered the dinner and joined us by sitting next to Grover.
"Hello godlings, Shaman, satyr," He said to us as we looked at him before smiling at us with the cockiest smile I've ever seen, "So your old seaweed's kid," The bicker said as I narrowed my eyes as I felt the blue flames under my skin wanting to come out.
My eyes caught Alumi's eyes, and I saw that anger was sipping into her eyes just by this man being here, and a blueish light was forming on her skin.
"Then you must know that it's a bad idea to aggravate both me and Alumi," I told him as I felt my skin start to heat up, "I mean, war can not fight the blue flames or the sea," I said as the man's smile grew.
"So you know who I am," He asked me as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Yes, I do, and I had fun banishing you, son," I told him as his smile dropped, "So what do you need, Lord Ares," I asked him.
"I need a favour from you four," he told me as I looked at him. "I am needed elsewhere, so I am asking you to retrieve my shield; In return, I shall grant you transport," Ares said as I looked at the others, with Annabeth grimacing.
"Where did you leave your shield," Alumi asked him as she wanted to be out of his presence as fast as possible.
"It is at the old water park, Waterland," Ares told us, his cocky smile returning once more.
Before we could ask more questions, he turned to flames, not blue flames, sadly, and seemingly teleported away.
Alumi, Annabeth, and I shared a look as we knew we had to follow along.
But Ares did not sit right with me for some reason, as I could feel something off about him.
We soon finished our food and made our way out to find this Waterland that Ares told us about.
The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found Waterland.
But the sign was now missing some letters as it was WAT_R_A_D.
"Well, this is the place," Alumi said as she looked up at the sign.
"Yep," I said as I looked down at the gate to find it padlocked and topped with barbed wire.
Inside were huge dry water slides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading into empty pools.
Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the tarmac.
With the night creeping in, the water park started to look creepy as hell.
"So this is the place where the god of war takes the goddess of lust," I said as I started to look for a way in.
"You mean the goddess of love, right," Annabeth asked me as she walked up to the fence with me.
"No, she is nothing but shallow; I know gods cheat on each other; I mean, we demi-gods are proof of that," I told her before turning to her, "But there are some who only do so with their partners' permission like my father and uncle who lives below," I added as she looked shocked.
"How do you know that," She asked me as Alumi walked up on my other side.
"What fish face means is that a naiad sent by his godly stepmother told Percy everything and how she agreed with his dad that Sally would have become goddess and queen of the rivers while she would be goddess and queen of the sea," Alumi told her.
I did not need to see Annabeth's face to know that she was shocked.
"So, how do we get in," I said as the three of us looked for a way in.
"Maia," Grover called out as his shoes gained wings, and he flew over the fence.
As Grover made it over and landed, he tumbled, and as the wings folded back into his shoes as he dusted off his pants and tried to play it off as he meant to.
"You coming," He asked us.
"Silver Wing," Alumi called out as Wing appeared beside her.
"Hedwig," I said as my owl spirit next to me.
And yes, I am a fan of Harry Potter.
"Spirit Ball," We called out as one as Silver Wing, and the owl spirit turned into their spirit balls.
Hedwig turns into a snow-white ball with tiny owl wings.
"Spirit Integration," We said once more as she pushed the balls into our chests.
Alumi flew over the fence as I turned to Annabeth, "Do you want a lift," I asked her as she looked at me with a blush covering her face but nodded as I picked her up in a princess carry and flew over the fence.
As soon as we started to walk through the water park as, the shadows stretched out, making the water park even more creepy, but I could still see the blush covering her face.
We looked over the park's attractions, and to say they looked rubbish was putting it lightly.
I mean Ankle Biter Islan, Head Over Wedgie and Where Is My Swimsuit.
What the actual hell.
I looked at Grover, who shook his head and said that no monsters were around us, so that was good.
On our way around, we passed the souvenir shop.
Annabeth bolted inside and took some things from the top shelf and some smaller items around the shop before turning to look back at us, "What," She asked us as she rested a hand on her hip.
I shook my head as he started looking again until we found the Tunnel of Love.
As I got closer, I could feel the whole park hold its breath for some reason.
We peered in, and we found what we were sent for.
It was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding.
It was at least fifty metres across and shaped like a bowl.
Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid, yet another child of Ares that, pissed me off in the passed.
The Cupid statues stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire.
On the opposite side of us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full.
The sign above it read: Thrill Ride O' Love: This Is Not Your Parents' Tunnel Of Love.
And as we looked inside the bowl, Grover pointed down.
"There it is," he told us, as we all looked at it: on a side seat of a boat in the empty pool.
I pulled some leaves from my pocket, summoning some Kooni to fly down and look around for traps.
"This is way too easy," Alumi said as she looked down into the pool at the marooned boat.
"Any monsters," I asked Grover, who sniffed the air before shaking his head at me.
I saw Annabeth run a finger along the base of the nearest Cupid statue, "There's a Greek letter here," She said as I turned to her.
"What does it say," I asked her as I looked at the letter.
"And where is it," Alumi added.
"Right she," Annabeth pointed, and we saw something carved into it, "Eta; I wander," She muttered.
We waited for the Kooni to return while Annabeth considered the letter, and when it did, it moved toward my ear and spoke into it.
Well, not spoke.
They have no mouth.
But they sent me feelings and expressions that I could turn into words.
And when the Kooni dispersed, I turned to the others, "It seems that the shield is boobytrapped," I told them as they looked annoyed.
"By what," Grover asked me.
"They don't know, but from what I can gather, it's boobytrapped," I told them as Annabeth slapped her hand onto her head.
"Eta is the symbol of Hephaestus," Annabeth said as I sucked in a breath from behind my teeth.
"So that means that he's the one that boobytrapped the shield," Alumi said as I nodded before I looked down at the shield and sighed.
"I'll go down and get the shield," I said as I turned to Grover, "Can you go and find the controls to see if you could release some water for me to use," I asked my half-goat friend, who nodded and went off to try and find the controls for the Tunnel Of Love.
Alumni turned to me with a slight smile at me taking charge, "What do you need us to do, Fish Face," She asked me as I looked back at the pool before I turned to the girls.
"Alumi, I'll need you above us to be an eye in the sky while Annabeth and I go down there to get that ass of my cousin's shield," I said as Annabeth's head turned to me with shock along with a bright red face.
"What, you want me to go into the Tunnel Of Love with you," She asked me, her voice slightly squeaky.
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, if I go in alone with just Undine, I will not be able to get out that fast," I told her, and she looked confused.
"But with you making a plan of escape," I told her, and she nodded.
Her face was still bright red thu.
"You make the plan," I said as I got ready to go down.
"You get us out," Annabeth said as we started to make our way through the Tunnel of Love.
Alumi integrated with Wing as Annabeth and I made it to the boat, and we saw the shield propped on one of the seats next to a lady's silk scarf.
I picked up the scarf, and I saw Annabeth reach for it.
Still, I set it on fire with the blue flames turning it to ash as she looked at me in shock, "I hate both her and Ares, so I did not want to be anywhere near anything from her, and we were told to get his shield," I said with Annabeth nodded but did have a look on her face, "What," I asked her.
"I get why you hate Ares, but why do you hate Aphrodite," she asked as I glanced at one of the Cupid statues.
"Their son has tried to mess with Alumi and me in the past, and when we told him that we did not want his help, he tried to make us fall in love with each other.
When he found out that our flames burned away at his power, he ran to his mother and asked her to aid him, and well," I told Annabeth as the ground breatheth us started to shake.
I took in a breath to calm down, "I hate when someone tries to control me, and the sea does not and can not be controlled," I told her as she nodded and looked over the shield.
I looked around the shield as Undine formed next to me and pointed at something, and Annabeth looked at it before nodding, "There should be a wire or something," She told me as I integrated with Undine and formed small balls of water around us.
"Stand behind me unless you want to get soaked," I said in my dual-layered voice.
When she did, I burst each of the balls and made a mist around the boat before narrowing my eyes, "There is a trip wire on the shield that connects the boat and then to another place," I told Annabeth, who nodded.
"The consoles are dead," I heard Grover yell down at us as I looked at Alumi, who nodded.
I looked at Annabeth, who looked to be forming a plan.
"You got something," I asked her as she looked around before looking back at me with a nod, "Alright then," I said as I took the shield as both Annabeth and I ran with Annabeth in the front, leading me around.
We did not look up as we heard something fire.
But if it was my guess, it was the Cupid statues.
We were halfway up the ramp when I saw that had happened.
The Cupid statues had shot arrows at each other and formed a net of some kind.
Grover and Alumi held a section open for the two of us to get through.
The Cupids' heads popped open.
Out came video cameras.
Oh, just what I need, being on TV.
Spotlights rose up all around the pool, illuminating us, and a loudspeaker voice boomed, "Live to Olympus in one minute...Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight..." It coundered down as we ran.
"It's just what we need- to be watched on Olympus for something so stupid," Annabeth said as we almost made it to the rim.
But the mirrors above us opened up like hatches, and thousands of tiny metallic objects poured out.
Annabeth screamed as I took a good look at the metallic things.
They look like spiders.
Tiny bronze robot spiders.
And it freaked me out as I hadn't seen her like this when we were back at camp.
She froze and almost fell over if I missed her and got her on a boat.
I formed a giant ball of water around the boat and ensured the spiders could not get through, but here's the thing about water.
It's see thou.
So Annabeth could still see the spider robots.
I closed my eyes as I reached out my will to find water.
And so when I did, with was below us.
So I called it.
"Five, four."
The pipes above us started to shake with the power I was calling as the ground beneath me was doing the same.
"Two, one, zero."
Before long, the pipes burst open as water rushed into the pool, washing away the spiders, and as I let the ball of water down, the wave I called from the pipes hit our boat, shocking Annabeth back to her normal self.
I moved the boat around the pool as it filled with water.
"Percy," Annabeth asked me as I moved my hand in a direction, and the boat seemed to move the same way, "Can we go that way," She asked me as she pointed at the tunnel part of the Tunnel of Love.
"No, it's blocked by a broken boat," I said as I then looked up at the net, "How much preacher would I need for my water to cut the net," I asked her as she looked up at the net before she went over number-sin her head.
"You need between twenty thousand and fifty-five thousand psi to cut thou," She told me.
I nodded as I called on the water to both pull us and cut the net.
Our boat was pulled along on the current, and the water moved around us and started cutting the net.
Before we knew it, Annabeth and I flew through the hole I had cut in the net with our boat and slid out of the pool.
The Cupids swivelled to follow us as I turned to the cameras and did my best gameshow voice, "Thank you, everyone, for watching this episode of 'God love to fuck with Quests', but do not worry folks, I do not blame lord Hephaestus for this, no the blame goes to the pussy that could not come here himself, lord Ares and the slut of Olympus, Aphrodite," I said as I ignored the looks of both fear from Annabeth and Grover as well as the face of pride form Alumi, "So thank you for being a beautiful audience and goodnight," I said as the cameras stopped rolling.
Everything became as it was when we turned up.
Dead.
No one around.
"Percy, do you know what you just did?" Grover asked me, looking slightly shaken, but I smiled at him.
"Yes, and Ares should have known that we could not have gone on this side quest as we need to talk with my uncle below and get the two others to remember," I said as Annabeth nodded before sighing.
"You're right," she told me as I nodded, and we returned to the diner to meet with Ares to give him back his shield.
We found him waiting in the diner's parking lot, sitting on his bike and staring off into the distance before he turned to us.
"So I see you're not dead," Ares said as I shoved his shield into his chest.
"Get us that ride, then fuck off," I told him as I felt my skin heat up.
"Testy, testy little boy," he said as he placed his shield on his back with a twirl, turning it into a bulletproof vest.
"But a deal is a deal; here you go," he told us as he snapped his fingers, and three duffle bags appeared at our feet.
"You see that truck over there," Ares said as I glanced out the corner of my eye at a sizeable six-wheeler truck parked nearby.
"That will take you to Vegas, so good luck, little sea rat," He laughed before getting on his bike and riding away.
"I hate that guy," I said as I picked up one of the duffle bags and approached the truck with the others behind me.
The side of the truck read Kindness International, and as we snuck aboard the trailer, I felt uneasy.
And as soon as we were on, we could hear the diver and his partner's voices as they walked past and into the cab.
The smell was like the world's most giant pan of kitty litter and like something had died.
While the inside was dark, something told me not to form my blue flames, so I uncapped Riptide as it sent out a faint bronze light that showed me a sad scene that made me want to release my anger on something.
The trailer was full of dirty cages with mucky stains all over the floor, and the cage doors were rusted to Hades and back.
In this mess were three Zoo animals that had seen better days.
The first was a zebra, who looked to be starved.
Then, this antelope-looking thing was in the same condition as the zebra.
But the one that drew my attention the most was the Albino Lion.
It looked at me, and as I scanned it over with my eyes, I felt like collapsing to my knees just by the sight of it.
It was a male by seeing the mane that it had around its neck, but it should not be matted and filthy, and I could see its ribs through its fur.
It was barely walking around its cage, if you can call it that, with flies around its eyes.
"This is kindness," Grover asked as he looked around.
"It would make you think, doesn't it, Alumi," I said as I walked over to the caged lion.
She said nothing as she went and got the food that the lion should have.
"What do you mean," Annabeth asked as I looked at her.
"If Haō had not changed, then these people would not be here," Alumi said as she brought over what looked to be hamburger meat.
"Shaman have been looking after the world for years, but with the people who can not see or interact that world have more power over the current world while we work in the shadows but," I was saying before I shook my head and took the hay that was in the lion cage and gave it to the zebra and the antelope-looking thing.
Annabeth said nothing to that.
And I felt her eyes on me as I set down the hay and some turnips.
I started cleaning the water the animals were drinking as Alumi approached the zebra and removed the gum from its mane.
I saw Annabeth walk over to the antelope and help Grover remove a balloon from one of its horns.
Grover then told the animals that we would help them when we reached somewhere that could help them.
We settled down for the night with Grover nestling down on a stack of turnips while Alumi, Annabeth and I resed our backs to the trailer walls, with me sitting the closest to the lion box.
Annabeth opened one of the duffle bags, pulled out a bag of Double Stuf Oreos and started to nibble on one half.
Grover was out like a light, and we three were quiet as the lion lay down in the cage next to me, "I'm sorry you saw me like that at the park," Annabeth said to us as we looked at her.
"It's fine," I said with Alumi nodding with me, "We all have our fears," I told her.
"I'm going to guess Arachne getting her revenge," Alumi said as Annabeth nodded.
"Me and my siblings from her are all afraid of spiders, as Arachne's children always come after us," she explained before she looked up at me. "What's your fear, if you don't mind me asking," Annabeth asked me as I looked up at her with a sad smile on my face.
"Myself," I told her as she looked shocked.
"What," She asked me.
"I have control over the strongest flames in existence, I have complete control over water, can call a sea storm, make an earthquake," I listed as I felt sadder and sadder with each word I said, "I'm also a Shaman who have the powers of the spirit world along with each spirit that I have with me," I told her as she nodded.
Annabeth said nothing to that. She looked at me before Alumi sighed, "I'm afraid that that tribe will find a way to force me back," She said as Annabeth nodded.
I shook my head, "Now let's get our minds off that and let's work once more as a team," I said as the girls nodded at me.
"So if we think back to your dreams of the pit, then the only thing that could be called to you is well," Annabeth said before Alumi looked at me.
"There are only two things that could be calling you from that pit, and one of them is the pit itself or your grandfather," She told me, but I could not say anything.
"Why is it always like this," I heard Grover mutter as I turned to him.
"What do you mean," I asked him as Grover turned to me.
"When I was with the other person, we always found trouble when we were out of camp, but when we were at camp, we were fine," Grover said, and Annabeth flinched.
"Grover, what happened with Thalia is not your fault," She told him as Grover looked over at her.
"But she's dead," Grover said with tears in his eyes.
"She's not dead," Alumi said as Grover and Annabeth turned to her.
"What," They both asked her as I looked at them with a slight smile.
"Chipmunk Cheeks told us that your friend is slowly healing from her tree form thanks to the magic of the camp," I told them, and they both smiled.
"So Thalia is going to be alright," Annabeth asked me as I nodded.
"Yeah, but it could take years for her to be able to walk around once more," I told them as they nodded.
Grover fell asleep with a smile without saying anything. "Even after sleeping in a room with him for most of a year, I still have zero idea how he does that," I said as the girls giggled at me.
Then, I looked over at Annabeth to see her playing with her beaded necklace.
Her face looked to be in deep concentration with a far-off look in her eyes, and it looked like she was forming a plain in her mind.
"So what do you think our first bead is going to be," Alumi asked me as Annabeth turned to her.
"And when do we get them," I could not help but ask.
"Well, at the end of each August, the counsellors pick the most important thing that has happened at the camp," She told us as we looked at her, "One that has been picked, then they paint the beads and give them out to the campers," Annabeth added as we nodded.
"So it could be for either indicating for a big three child arriving at the camp or could be around the stupid bolt and its theft," Alumi said as Annabeth nodded.
"What do you have," I asked her as I looked at her necklace beads.
"The first is a pine tree that is for Thalia when she was turned into a tree, the Centaur in a prom dress was when one of my brothers was going to prom, and he asked Chiron how to dance and well, then a Greek trireme on fire was for when a Hermes child found a flaming Greek trireme sailing," Annabeth said as she pointed at the beads on her necklace with both Alumi and me laughing at the story that she told us, "This red one is for when the Hunters of Artemis set the camp on fire after a fight with both the Athena and Ares cabins and this one is the last one is the last quest that was given to us by the gods before this quest, it was Luke getting something for his father," Annabeth said before she landed on her ring.
"Who's ring is that," Alumi asked her softly.
"It's my father's ring, and he sent it to me two summers ago," Annabeth told her as I looked at her.
"If it's too much, you don't have to tell us," I told her, but Annabeth shook her head.
"We a team, and we need to work together; I can't hold anything back; we need to trust each other," She told me as she looked at me, "You see, I left for camp when I was seven with my mother watching over me with one of her owls to make sure I was safe, then after two weeks on the streets I met with Luke, Thalia and Grover and we started to make our way to camp slowly," Annabeth said as she started to tell us how she joined camp.
She then brought her knees to her chest, saying, "After what happened with Thalia, I stayed at camp as an all-rounder for a year before I got a letter from my dad saying that he wanted a second chance, and I believed him. "
Still, I could hear the hurt that she must have felt from this, "When I went back, my stepmother was there, and she hated that I was bringing monsters to the house and one of them almost hurt one of my brothers, didn't even make it through the winter break and so I started to stay camp and as I said two summers ago my father sent me his collage ring and asked for another chance," She finished going quiet as Alumi, and I took in what she told us.
"Did you send a replay to him," I asked her, but she shook her head. "You should've given up on him," I told her as she looked at me confused.
Alumi looked at me as well, confused.
Well, it's time to come clean.
"One day at school, a member of the patch came to talk with me about if you would return to them, and I told them about what you would do, and they realised that they could not force you back, so they asked to tell you that they are sorry for what they did and are both cancelling the marriage between you and the Asakura and saying that they would like for you to have something," I said as I pulled out a ring.
"Wait, are you saying that the marriage has been changed to you and me," Alumi asked me as I nodded.
Her face was hateful and confused about what to do before I turned to Annabeth.
"Now, I'm saying this because Alumi and the Path are not on equal terms at the moment, and you know what would have happened if one of them came to talk with her," I said to Annabeth, who nodded.
"Yeah, she said that she would kill the one they send and then interact with the soul that pops out so she can banish herself," Annabeth said before Alumi winced.
"But she doesn't want to do that," I told her as Annabeth looked at me confused, "She wants to continue being a member of the pack so that she can continue her father's legacy as a member of clan Silva," I explained.
Alumi nodded at what I said.
"He's right, and it hurts that I always have to think that my freedom is not mine, but now," She whispered. As Annabeth said nothing, a hush filled the area around us, and we slowly drifted off to sleep.
My dream started out like any other person's dream before it shifted to me inside a school.
I was forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket.
All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, "Come on, Percy; you're not stupid; pick up your pencil."
But that was when the dream took a turn from being normal to something else.
I was not the only kid in the dream.
There were three other kids in there with me.
Two of them were girls, and the other was a boy.
On my left were two, while I had the other one on my right.
The boy was younger than me, with black hair that always looked like he had just gotten out of bed and olive skin.
Next to him was a very cute girl who was around my age.
She was slightly older, with the same olive skin and black hair, but her hair was straight and silky.
Their eyes were the same as they seemed to be glowing black.
The girl on my right was the other one, also my age, with spiky black hair.
She was extremely beautiful, with slightly pale skin, a spray of freckles across her nose, and glowing blue eyes.
And all three of them were straitjackets.
And in that moment, it came to me: these were my cousins via the gods.
The two with glowing black eyes were from my uncle below, and the one with glowing blue eyes must have Thalia.
Before any of us could speak, the floor melted away, leaving us four at the mouth of the pit once more.
The straitjackets melted off us as we floated above the pit, looking into nothing.
Thalia seemed to be in a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of brands he had never heard of.
While the children of Hades were dressed in clothes like they were from the forties, with the boy having an aviator's jacket with a tan button-up shit and dark brown shorts while the girl wore a dress with a light brown cardigan over it.
The teacher's voice was still with us, but it became muffled as it turned dark and evil before we could hear it again.
"Percy Jackson," The voice said as it echoed around us, "Yes, the exchange went well, I see," The voice talked to itself as the spirits of the dead floated around us.
"And he suspects nothing," it asked.
As soon as another voice joined it, "Nothing, my lord," the other voice said as I saw Thalia stiffen beside me.
"He is ignorant like the rest," they added.
I heard Thalia wiser one word that had my eyes shoot wide, "Luke," She said.
"Deception upon deception excellent," The creature in the pit said.
"Truly, my lord," The voice of Luke said as it echoed around us, "You are well named the Crooked-One, but was it really necessary," He asked the voice as another voice came in.
"Son of Hermes, if our lord did not intervene, you would have lost your life to that god," The new voice said.
My eyes shot wide as the bit of information became stored.
A god found him with the bolt and helm.
And helped him with this thing's help.
"He is right, my little servant, but be at peace as our six months has brought us much," The voice said as the four of us floated there, "Zeus's anger had grown, Posiden has now played his card, and Hades is growing restless with each passing moment," It told its servants.
"We shall use this against them, and then shortly, you both shall have your reward for following me," It told them before I felt eyes on me, "Wait...he is here, along with his cousins," It said as more eyes shifted to us.
"Did you call them my lord," The second voice asked as Luke then asked something.
"Did you say, cousins, my lord," He asked.
"Yes, that daughter of Zeus you knew is still alive, along with two children of Hades," the creature in the pit told them as the four of us seemed to freeze in place.
"It seems that the blood of the sea is strong in him, so much so that he is far too unpredictable, and so he has managed to bring both himself and his three cousins here," it informed its two servants with annoyance in its voice.
"Truly remarkable for someone who is just coming into their power," The second voice said before the underworld spirits started to shield us.
"Thank you both," I nodded to the children of Hades.
They nodded back to me as we became a beacon of light.
I started to glow green, Thalia was glowing blue, and the Hades children were glowing black.
"So you are pooling your powers together to stop me," The voice asked as I felt Luke and the other person talking with the creature in the pit had left, "That will only work for so long, but know this, children of the so-called big three, I will rise and reclaim what was once mine," It told us before the four of us were in another place.
The four of us soon stood on a large body of water with a bright blue sky and millions of stars soaring above us.
"That in god's name was that," The daughter of Hades asked as she looked at Thalia and me.
"And who the hell are you two," She asked us.
"Well, this is awkward; I'm Percy Jackson if you're wondering; I'm the son of Poseidon," I told her as she looked, then looked at Thalia.
"Name's Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Thalia said as she looked over the others, "So you're the children of our uncle," Thalia said as she looked over them.
"Uncle," The girl asked as she looked at Thalia.
"Oh, she means that Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are brothers and if she means we're children of either Hades or Poseidon," The boy said with a face-splitting smile.
"Hades," I told them as they looked at me, "My father, Poseidon, was not allowed to have any other children since the nineteen forty, but here I am," I said to them, but I saw the confusion on the girl's face.
"It's only nineteen forty-two," She told us as I looked shocked.
"It's more like two thousand and five," I told her as her face was filled with shock.
But before we could talk more, I was shaken awake by Alumi.
"The truck stopped," she said, and I felt we were not moving.
"I think they're coming to check the animals," Grover said before the sound of grass being tread on filled my ears.
"Hide," Annabeth said to us.
And she had the easiest job with her hat.
Alumi, Grover, and I had to jump behind the feed stacks and hope we looked like turnips.
Well, me and Grover did.
The trailer doors creaked open as the sunlight, along with the head, poured in.
"Man, this heat," One of the truckers said as he used his hat to fan his ugly face, "I really wish I hauled appliances," He said as he climbed into the trailer.
"He walked over, picked up a jug, and poured some water into the bowls for the zebra and antelope before turning to the lion, "You're already on death's door, so water wouldn't help you," he laughed as the lion roared weakly at him, "Yeah, Yeah," He waved his hand as he slashed the rest on the water on to the lion.
It roared weakly once more as Grover tensed next to me, and I have to say, for a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.
The trucker then pulled out a Happy Meal bag and threw it at the antelope before looking at the zebra, "Well, stipes were nearly at your stop, and if the king over there kicks the bucket, he'll join you at the magic show," He told you stripped horse.
The zebra looked over at me with eyes full of fear, and I heard a voice in my head.
Please free me, my prince.
I was momentarily shocked before I realised that it was the zebra.
Wait for a second; Dad made horses since the zebra is called the striped horse.
Before I could react, a loud knocking filled the trailer.
"Hay, Eddie, what do you want," The trucker called out.
"Maurice, what do you say," Eddie asked.
"What you banging for," Maurice asked out to Eddie as more knocking filled the trailer.
"What banging," Eddie yelled as Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.
A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me, and I think she was doing the knocking, "This transport business can't be legal," She told us as Alumi and I nodded.
"No kidding," Grover said before he started to listen to the lion as the the zebra nodded.
That's right; some people are poachers and illegal smugglers.
The zebra told me, as Grover told Alumi and Annabeth, the same thing that the zebra told me.
The others looked at me to see what I should do, but I grabbed the zebra's cage and started melting it with the heat of the blue flames.
The zebra stepped out and bowed to me.
Thank you, my prince.
Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat. Just as Maurice was done yelling at Eddie and poked his head back in, the zebra jumped over him as he fell to the floor.
Both Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them.
Grover worked on the antelope as I walked over to the lion, and soon, Grover walked over to me.
"Percy, we have to..." he said before he looked at the lion.
And it looked back at us and shook its head before closing its eyes.
Before its spirit left, it was the body, and while it did look healthier, the two of us hung our heads.
"I'm sorry," I told the lion, who let out a gentle roar at me as it walked through the cage and bumped me with its nose.
"Percy," Alumi called me as I turned to her to find that she also had a sad look on her face, "You know what you must do," She told me as I nodded and looked the lion spirit in the eye.
"Is it alright if I take one of your teeth so that I can one day avenge you," I asked the lion, who nodded.
I then walked over to the cage, entered, and carefully removed some of the lion's teeth using Alumi's knife.
"Come on," Grover said as the four of us exited the trailer and made our way to Las Vegas.
As we walked, I told the others about my dream as Annabeth and Grover looked shocked and sad simultaneously.
"Are you sure that Thalia said Luke," Annabeth asked me as I nodded.
"Before he focuses on that, let's get something to eat and drink first," Alumi said as we walked around.
For some reason, we found our way to a hotel.
The Lotus Hotel & Casino, to be exact.
The entrance was a huge meon flower, the petals lightning up and blinding.
No one was going in or out of the building, but the doors were open as they spilled out the scent of flowers.
Lotus blossom, to be exact.
The doorman smiled at us, "Hey, kids, you look hungry; why don't you go into the hall and get something to eat," He told us.
We walked in as we could not sense anything wrong with this guy.
I mean, he felt normal and human.
The four of us then stopped as we looked inside.
"Whoa," Grover said as the whole lobby was a giant game room.
It was filled with tons of games, from old-style arcade games to games that looked like they would not come out for another few years.
A large indoor waterslide snaked around a glass elevator which went up to each floor.
A large climbing wall was on one side, while a bungee jumping bridge was on the other.
And that was only a small amount, as I saw something that I would need. I turned to the others, "Meet back here in ten minutes, then we go," I said as we all nodded and spread out.
After walking around for a while, a man approached me.
He wore a white and yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops.
"Welcome to the Lotus Hotel & Casino; here is your room key and Lotus Platinum Cash Credit Card; your pin is 0003; your room number is on the key, and if you need anything, you simply need to ask for it, and it shall be done," he said before he walked off.
I walked around once more as I looked the card over.
The chip had the green symbol of Omage on it; the card number was weird, but as I started to think about it, the numbers were transferred to letters spelt Poseidon.
The expiration date was ∞/∞ , and it had my name on the bottom, with a symbol of the Lotus Hotel & Casino in the middle.
I put the card into my pocket and walked around before I found a belt being sold with memorial tablets dangling from it, so I walked over, "Hi there, kid; what can I get you," The man at the desk asked me.
"That belt, please," I told him, pointing at the belt with the memorial tablets.
"Sure thing," He turned around and pulled out the belt, handing it to me as I pulled the card out and paid for it.
The spirits with me each entered a memorial tablet as I began to walk around once more before I saw something that caught my eye.
Or, to be accurate.
Some people.
It was the children of Hades.
I walked up to them as the youngest was playing with some cards while his sister was sitting next to him.
Before they looked up at me, their eyes shot wide, and I saw they had brown eyes.
"You the boy," The girl whispered.
"Yep, nice to really meet you; I'm Percy Jackson," I told them as they looked at me.
"I'm Nico Di Angelo, and this is my older sister Bianca," the named Nico said before looking at me, "Are you really the son of Poseidon," He asked me as Bianca rolled her eyes until I lifted my hand up as the of water, that was in a bowl on the table started to float up.
"And where," Bianca asked me as I nodded.
"Yeah, and if you want, I can take you to your dad as I need to talk with him about something," I told them; they nodded, and we started to make our way around until Bianca turned to me.
"What year did you say it was in the dream," She asked me.
"Two thousand and five," I told her as she shook her head.
"We've only been here two days; how can it be two thousand and five," Bianca said as I stopped moving.
"What," I asked her with shock in my face.
"We've only been here two days," Bianca told me.
I started reviewing everything in my head.
"The lotus eaters," I said as I soon realised what had happened as we walked through the floor.
"The who," Bianca asked me, but Nico answered.
"They are people who eat lotus flowers, and that causes them to live in a perpetual state of bliss," he told his sister.
"And when Odysseus and his men were on their original island for a time that lasted maybe months or years," I added as Bianca's eyes shot wide.
"That means," she asked as I nodded, and we started to look for the others.
We first found Alumi.
She was getting a knife from someone.
"Alumi," I called to her as she turned to me.
"Yeah, Fish Face," she asked me as she paid for the knife before she handed it to me. "It's for you," she told me as I shook my head.
"We're in the den of the lotus eaters," I told her as I kept Bianca and Nico nearby.
Alumi's eyes shot wide before she started to look around, "Grover's over there, and Annabeth is over there," She told me as she saw the children of Hades next to me, "And these are," She asked me.
"Bianca and Nico Di Angelo, children of Hades," I told her.
She looked shocked and then nodded.
"I'll get Grover; you get owl head," Alumi told me as I nodded.
Bianca, Nico and I found Annabeth at a large table with a city simulator.
"Why did her skin turn blue for a bit," Nico asked as he looked up at me before he raised his brow, "And why is your skin slightly blue as well," He asked.
"Let's just say that I have something that gives me an edge over this place, and let's leave it at that for now," I said to him as he nodded.
I soon reach the daughter of Athena, "Annabeth we have to go now," I told her.
"Why is that Percy, we still have at least five mineuts," She told me as I looked over at the clock.
I reached for her wrist and she screamed.
But no one looked up at us and Nico and Bicanca was shocked that no one was looking at us.
So I resorted to something that I would not do.
I made her look me dead and said, "There's a large, hairy spider behind you."
Her scream this time was louder, and she jumped into my arms and started to act like Scoobydo jumping into the arms of Shaggy.
Annabeth seemed to come back to normal as her face was bright red, "How long have we been here," She asked me as I set her down.
"I don't know but we have to get out of here now," I said as Alumi was dragging Grover over to us as the meber of the workers walked over to us.
"Are you going to be staying the night," He asked us before looking at Nico, "Oh here you are this is for you," He handed Nico a lagre booster box of some kind of card game and me the same but of Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
"Sorry but we must be off, as we have a job with the gods to do," I told him as he nodded saddly.
"That is fair, and if you do leave your card will still work and they don't run out," He told us as we made our way out.
And as we made our way out I started to look around and ran over to a news paper stand.
And read the date and let out a sigh of releafe and horror as I walked back over to the others.
"Well, good news and bad news," I told them as they looked at me.
"What's the good news," Bianca asked me.
"Well it's still two thusand and five," I said as the five others looked at me and did not like what I was going to say next, "But we were in there for five days and now we only have one day before Zeus decalers war and my dad goes fight him," I told them as they looked shocked.