Act II Chapter XI: "What are the rules?"
Percy felt like he was in the middle of a wild west standoff. On one end, he stood with Luke and Will on his flank. At the other end, well more like five feet away, stood Dionysus. The god stood in front of one of the Pac-Man machines and looked completely unimpressed.
"First to die loses," Percy said as he placed both hands to the game. He stopped and looked at Dionysus. "In the game of course."
"We can arrange for out of the game as well," Dionysus muttered under his breath. Percy looked around at the crowd that had gathered. All of them were waiting to see Dio defend his title against the kid who had just shown up and started kicking Pac-Man's ass.
"What are the rules?" Percy asked. Dionysus looked at him and scowled. The god had a hand lazily resting on the joystick. The other held a half-full wine bottle. No one seemed to care that he had wine on him. Or they couldn't see it.
"What do you mean 'rules'?" Dionysus demanded. "There are no rules. Just play until one of us gets caught by the ghosts. Whoever gets caught first loses."
"Kick his butt, Dio!"
"Beat him, newbie!"
"I hope you both lose!"
Percy should have felt nervous about the task in front of him. They relied on trickery to beat Dionysus in the first task. Would tricking the god work again? Percy really hoped so. He cleared his throat and then looked at his friends.
"You can do it," Will whispered. Luke just gave him a nod. Percy took a deep breath. All he had to do was win this next contest, and Dionysus would be back at Camp Half-Blood. Not only would they have a god at the camp, but he was also an Olympian. That would be one down and eleven more to go.
Easy.
Percy gripped the joysticks as the game started. It was the single second that his Pac-Man started moving that his heart rate increased. The nerves crashed down on him all at once, and he ground his teeth. If he failed to win this game, Will would have a dancing contest with Dionysus.
And Percy was pretty sure that Dionysus would just disintegrate them on the spot instead of having to dance. Maybe, they could count that as a forfeit, and the god would go back to Camp Half-Blood anyway?
Percy shook his head and put his full focus on the game in front of him. The beginning levels were easy and it felt like he was picking right back up where he left off before Dionysus destroyed the machine. Despite the nerves that ran through his body, he didn't let the stress paralyze him.
Behind him, there was cheering from the crowd that was watching. Some cheered for him. Most cheered for Dionysus. All of them were ready to see a competition between two gods of Pac-Man. Granted, Percy didn't think he was that good at the game, but he needed the confidence boost.
"So, what are the rules?" Percy asked suddenly as he cleared the first level. Dionysus had finished a few seconds ahead of him. While Percy practically leaned on the machine and gripped the joystick like it was a lifeline, Dionysus held the joystick in one hand and a wine bottle in the other. He took a large gulp from it as they started the next level, not even looking at the screen.
He probably had every level mesmerized. Every pattern probably ran through the back of his head. Not to mention he was a god, so he probably saw everything in half-speed or knew what would happen before it did. There was no way for him to beat Dionysus in this game by going to the highest level possible.
"Rules?" Dionysus repeated between gulps. "I already told you there are no rules."
"I was just making sure," Percy commented. "So, no rules?"
Dionysus grunted.
"No rules then," Percy guessed. He focused back on the game. They flew through the levels at rapid speed. Dionysus always stayed a few seconds ahead. Percy was sure that the god could be a lot more ahead, but it was like he was playing mind games. But, he would not let himself be intimidated.
As they flew through the levels, Percy only focused on the screen in front of him. Not the crowd. Or how sweaty his hands were. Or even the fact that the fate of the world partially relied on a video game.
The minutes felt like they were dragging on for hours as they played. Percy wasn't sure what level they were on, but he was starting to sweat really badly. His palms almost kept slipping off of the joystick, and it made him more nervous, more erratic.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Will talking to Luke. He nearly got caught by a ghost and immediately had to focus back on the game. His heart jumped into his throat. Focus ahead. Focus.
"Don't worry too much, Percy!" Luke called. "You're going to win."
Dionysus scoffed. Will spoke, "Dionysus doesn't want to win. He wants to go back."
"Nonsense," Dionysus huffed. He chugged his bottle of wine. It emptied, and all he did was shake it to refill it. "Why would I want to go back there?"
"Why else would you accept this challenge?" Will teased. "You're too cocky to admit that you wanna come back, so you're going to accuse us of cheating. That way your ego won't take a hit when you lose."
"You're not trying that hard either!" Luke added. Percy wanted to risk glancing at them but kept his gaze locked on the game. He couldn't lose focus.
"I'm a god. I don't have to try hard!" Dionysus dismissed with a wave of his bottle. "I can do this all day. Nothing will-"
Percy slammed his elbow into Dionyus' hand, jerking the joystick to the side. And hurtling his Pac-Man into the red ghost Blinky. A boo rose up from the crowd along with jeers accusing Percy of being a cheater. Percy just grinned because even though Dionysus had more than one life for his character, they agreed that the first to be caught would lose.
"That's game," Percy exhaled in relief, ignoring the crowd that was not happy about what happened. Dionysus stared at the screen. Purple fire seemed to burn with smouldering rage in his eyes. "I believe that is the second win, so that's best two out of three."
"We can still do the dance contest," Luke offered smugly. Will's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. Luke grinned at him.
"No. You three win," Dionysus relented.
"Thank the gods," Will whispered as he lowered his head. Dionysus raised his hand, and the disgruntled crowd all stepped back at once as if they were hit by a wave. Then, they all started muttering to each other and went their separate ways.
"You cheated," Dionysus intoned his accusation as he looked at Percy.
"No I didn't," Percy retorted. "Cheating implies that I broke a rule, but as you stated earlier, there are no rules."
Dionysus glared, and the purple in his eyes intensified. Percy swallowed painfully and stopped from saying anything else. Luke gently grabbed his forearm and pulled him back. The older boy stepped in front of him. Dionysus sighed, and the fire in his eyes disappeared.
"You demigods always rely on trickery," Dionysus grumbled as he lowered his bottle of wine. Another sighed left him. "I should have known."
"Are you going to honor your word?" Luke asked. Dionysus rolled his eyes, but a small nod left him. "Then, you'll come back to camp with us?"
"Those were the terms," Dionysus stated. "I haven't visited the old centaur in a while. It would be good to make sure he hasn't broken a hip."
Percy felt a sigh of relief leave him. He could not believe that worked. He expected to slam into Dionysus and be swatted away like a gnat. Or hit a brick wall and lose his game as Dionysus didn't even notice him. Instead, it all worked out perfectly.
As Percy made eye contact with Dionysus, he realized that it worked out too perfectly. Maybe, Luke was right. Dionysus did want to go back to the camp, but he couldn't state it out loud because of pride. But why not go back earlier?
A small frown came to Percy's face. Will spoke, "Well, that's one god down. Hopefully, the others are as easy to find."
Dionysus snorted. He finished off his wine bottle and threw it behind him. It disappeared into thin air. Dionysus spoke, "You will not find any other Olympians as easily as you did me. Especially if you are trying to avoid unwanted attention."
"Unwanted attention…" Luke repeated as he glanced down at the ground. He cleared his throat and looked back at them. "Come on, guys. We should get going and show Dionysus to our new camp. And introduce him to New York public transportation."