Act II Chapter III: "I love this place!"
"Oh my gods, this is a Pac-Man convention," Will affirmed in shock and awe as he stared at the street in front of them. Velvet rope lined the sidewalk, dividing it from the street. A line of people was waiting at the bar, and they were the oddest sort that Will had ever seen. Most of them wore shirts or jackets that had Pac-Man or other Pac-Man characters on them.
"I was hoping there would only be two people," Luke began. Will glanced back at the taxi that had driven them to the convention. The driver was looking at the line of people before his eyes shot back to them, a look of disgust twisting his face. Luke turned back and handed him money. "Thanks for the ride."
The taxi driver peeled out of there much faster than he should have. Percy glanced at Will and gave him a small smile. Will wasn't sure how Percy managed to be so easygoing and relaxed. He told them what had happened on his quest with the other three, and he made it sound so simple. Not as terrifying or life-threatening as it must have been.
"Come on," Luke beckoned. He looked left and right before darting across the street, Percy following right behind. Will hesitated before he started behind them. A horn honked loudly to his left, and his head shot to that side. Someone grabbed his arm and jerked him forward. Will almost stumbled into Percy.
"Sorry," Will sputtered.
"At least Terminus isn't here to yell at us," Percy joked. Will smiled at that. The border god had woken them up at five in the morning, two days in a row. Clarisse had almost smothered him with a pillow, and Drew had complained that she still needed to get her beauty sleep.
Living with Drew and Clarisse had been interesting. They didn't get attacked as much as Chiron feared they would, but they also stayed on the move a lot, following a plan that Chiron had left in place. Will spent most of his time with Chiron; the centaur helped him with his archery, told him stories of the gods and Camp Half-Blood, and taught him about medicine.
Clarisse was busy either patrolling for monsters or sleeping, so she didn't talk to them much. She did threaten Will if an errant arrow hit her. Drew kept to herself as well and had no interest in learning how to fight or other lessons that Lupa or Chiron had.
And Lupa did not take that well.
The wolf goddess scared Will. He wasn't sure if she liked them or not, and it didn't help that her lip curled at everything that Will said. Or did. He kept telling himself that it was a matter of Lupa being a wolf and that a wolf's communication was more physical than verbal.
When the others came back, Will knew he couldn't just sit around. He had to help the others. Even if it was something as simple as going to a Pac-Man convention and looking for a god. If they found Dionysus, it felt like a major step in the right direction.
"There's a lot of people here," Will spoke up as they stood at the back of the long line.
"Not used to a crowd?" Percy asked. Luke stood behind them and looked around with a raised eyebrow. The look on his face was not disgust, more so uncomfortable.
"No," Will admitted. "My mom and I lived in a small town since I was a kid. Then, I started to have the dreams."
"What's your mom like?" Percy asked after a moment.
"Amazing," Will replied. "She's always so kind and sweet. It was just the two of us since I was a kid. She's a song writer. Not really popular, but enough that she toured Texas. I spent a lot of time with her manager as she sang, but she always made time for me.
"Her career started to pick up about a year or two ago. She went from singing in bars and festivals to actual concerts. I'm so proud of her," Will continued
"You're used to camping around then," Luke commented.
"In motels or her tour bus," Will confirmed. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly looked around. "I kind of miss it."
"I miss my mom too," Percy confessed. "She married this jerk just to hide my scent from monsters. I called him Smelly Gabe and he-"
Percy trailed off and clenched his jaw. He cleared his throat and shook his head, "Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for," Will promised. "Your mom sounds wonderful."
"She is," Percy agreed. Will glanced back at Luke.
"I don't talk to my mom," Luke answered as he seemed to read their minds. A shrug left him. "Haven't talked to her since I left home and met with Annabeth. I met her when she ran away from home wearing her pajamas."
"Too bad you don't have a picture," Percy commented cheekily.
"I don't want to find scorpions in my bed," Luke joked. Percy nodded like he was conceding the point.
"Clarisse always bragged that her mom was the best in the world," Will added as they shuffled closer. He peeked past the crowd. "What... is that?"
"A giant Pac-Man," Percy answered with a giant grin on his face. Will stared at the poor person who was stuck in a big yellow ball. Stubby, yellow legs were underneath as the person in the mascot costume waddled toward them. The crowd cheered. "I love this place!"
"I kind of wish the girls were here," Will added with a smile. "Clarisse would probably interrogate the poor guy in that costume. Reyna would hate the crowd more than I do."
"Annabeth would act like she hates it, but she would get weirdly competitive if we made her play," Luke added. The line inched forward again. The giant Pac-Man stopped in front of them, and Will couldn't stop his widening grin.
"Welcome to the convention!" the giant Pac-Man greeted.
"Thanks," Percy returned. The giant Pac-Man nodded to them and waddled further along the line.
"I can't believe a god would have the same interest as mortals," Luke remarked with a sigh. "It's so… human."
"Pac-Man is the great equalizer," Will tried for a joke. Luke scoffed in response.
"It's a little yellow goblin eating balls," Luke argued.
"He's eating dots, Luke. There is a very important distinction," Percy lectured with raised hands and a haughty voice. Luke rolled his eyes but couldn't bring that annoyed look to his face. "Hey, there are some rabid Pac-Man fans in this line... You don't have to worry about monsters when they'll chomp you good."
"I hate that I can't tell if you're joking or not," Luke complained, earning a victorious smirk from Percy. "Alright. When we get inside, we have to make sure that we don't stick out."
"Well," Will began as he looked at the line of people. "We don't have paint on us, so we're already failing in that regard."
"He's got a point," Percy tacked on.
"Well, just try to look excited," Luke suggested as they made it closer to the door. Percy grinned widely as the three made it to the entrance. The workers matched Percy's smile.
"Welcome," the employee greeted. She handed them lanyards. "We also have a few raffles and giveaways. Have fun!"
"Thanks," the demigods retorted at the same time, though Luke's words were a little quiet. The three of them shuffled inside.
"Woah," Will exhaled as his eyes shot around trying to take in their surroundings. To the door's right was a bar with a few bartenders working the counter. Right next to that was a kitchen. And to the left were about a dozen tables with kids all around. There were a ton of arcade machines beyond the tables. Ten of them alone were Pac-Man, and there was a large number of other ones.
"Okay, I know we're on a quest to find Dionysus, but it's twenty dollars for a two hour game pass," Percy began. Luke looked at both of them, and Will just gave him a slight grin.
"One hour," Luke relented after a sigh, and he grabbed money out of his wallet. "But look for Dionysus while you play."
"What am I looking for? A Paul Blart clone?" Percy asked. Luke opened his mouth to answer, but he just sighed. "You know: the mall cop?"
"I wish this damn quest could be easy," Luke muttered. He handed them the money and then walked away. Percy looked at Will.
"Okay. Thirty minutes. Then, we start looking," Percy suggested. Will nodded his agreement. "And if we don't find him, maybe a few more."
"I like that idea," Will agreed with a smile. His gaze looked around at the packed building. "I'm sure we can find a god here. How well can he be hidden?"