A Flower In Las Vegas
Ares was there waiting for them in the diner parking lot when they made it back.
"Well, well." He said. "You didn't get yourselves killed."
"Your attempt to embarrass us to all of Olympus failed. I made sure of that." Lykos frowned, making Ares sneer at him.
"You really ruin all the fun, just like your mother."
"You're a jerk." Percy said as he shoved his shield at him.
Both Annabeth and Grover caught their breaths.
Ares grabbed his shield and spun it like pizza dough and it changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest before slinging it across his back.
"See that truck over there?" He pointed over to an eighteen wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."
The eighteen wheeler had a sign on the back, which they could read because it was reverse painted white on black, which proved good for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
"You're kidding." Percy said, though Lykos wasn't that bothered by it, since he can talk with animals.
Ares snapped his fingers and the back of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."
He slung a blue nylon backpack off his bike and tossed it to Percy.
Inside it was fresh clothes for all four of them, twenty dollars in cash, a pouch of gold drachmas, though they already had plenty thanks to Lykos, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos.
"I don't want your lousy -"
"Thank you, Lord Ares." Grover cut Percy off, giving him a warning look. "Thanks a lot."
Reluctantly, Percy slung the backpack over his shoulder.
Lykos looked over at the diner, seeing that there were only a few customers in there. The waitress who served them dinner was watching them nervously out the window, as though she was afraid that Ares would hurt them. She even dragged the fry cook from the kitchen to see. She then said something to him and he nodded, holding up a disposable camera and snapped a picture of them.
This may add fuel to the fire of Percy being a fugitive.
"You owe me one more thing." Percy said to Ares, sounding like he's trying to keep his voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."
"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares asked as he kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."
This surprised Lykos just as much as it did for Percy.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."
"As a hostage?" Lykos guessed, not saying that it would be Hades doing this.
"You know war, I see, punk. Indeed. You do that to control somebody else."
"Nobody's controlling me." Percy said.
Ares laughed "Oh yeah? See you two around." He seemed to begrudgingly respect Lykos.
Percy balled up his fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."
Behind those sunglasses, fire glowed. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."
He then revved his Harley and roared off down Delancey Street.
"That was not smart, Percy." Annabeth said, surprised that Lykos was able to control himself.
"I don't care." Percy spat.
"She's right, Percy. Making enemies with the God of War of all the Olympians isn't the best idea." Lykos agreed with Annabeth.
"Hey, guys." Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but…."
He pointed over to the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, men who wore identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.
"If we're taking the zoo express, we need to hurry." Grover pointed out.
With that, the four ran across the street and climbed into the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.
Instantly, the first thing that hit Lykos was the smell. It was as though they entered the world's largest tray of kitty litter.
Then he turned around and with his heightened eyesight, he was horrified to see a row of filthy metal cages that contained the three saddest and most pathetic zoo animals he had ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion and an antelope.
Percy uncapped his sword which emitted a faint gold light for him to see, just as horrified at what he's seeing.
Someone threw the lion a sack of turnips, which he didn't want to eat, being a carnivore. Both the zebra and antelope each had a styrofoam tray of hamburger meat.
The zebra's mane was actually matted with chewing gum, as though someone spit on it in their spare time without a care in the world. And the antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!
The lion was what made Lykos horrified. The poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets in a space that was just too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He also had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He and Lykos would've gone back outside to beat the truckers up to a pulp, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking and forced the four to sit down or fall down.
They all huddled over in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying their best to ignore the smell, heat and flies.
With Lykos being able to understand and communicate with animals, he heard them talk:
Food. Please, get this gum off me. The zebra said, moaning in agony.
Water. The antelope begged them all.
Family. The lion said in a deep voice, making Lykos' heart break for the animal. Lions are family animals and aren't meant to be on their own.
Lykos decided to help them.
He first grabbed the water jug and fill the bowls for each of the animals before he changed their foods.
Thank you so much. The zebra told him before he started munching on a turnip.
I am eternally grateful to you. The antelope said, bowing his head before drinking the water.
I thank you, young one. It has been so long since I had any meat. Any longer, I might not have survived. The lion said after he ate some of the meat.
"If I open these cages, will you leave me, my friends and the other two animals alone?" Lykos asked the lion, making the other three question his sanity.
Do not worry, I swear to not even harm any one of you. I am not even strong enough to attack. The lion replied, bowing his head.
And so Lykos opened up the cages and he took the silver balloon off the antelope's horn and cut the gum off the zebra's mane with his knife, the two nuzzling him in thanks.
After promising that he and his friends will help them more in the morning, he joined the others.
Grover curled up on a turnip rack while Annabeth opened up the bag of Double Stuff Oreos and nibbled one half heartedly.
Lykos took one himself and ate it in one bite.
"Hey." Annabeth said to Percy. "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."
"It's okay." Percy shrugged.
"It's just…." She shuddered. "Spiders."
"Because of the Arachne story." Percy guessed correctly. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"
Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."
"We're a team, remember?" Percy replied. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying and Lykos had his archery and quick thinking."
"Thanks." Lykos said with a smile.
"I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?" Grover then mumbled from the corner, making the other three laugh.
Annabeth pulled apart another Oreo, handing Percy one half as Lykos grabbed another. "In the Iris message… did Luke say nothing?"
Lykos frowned, remembering that Luke hinted at Grover failing to get Thalia to Camp Half-Blood.
"Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."
In the dim gold light of the sword, Percy couldn't see everyones pained expressions. Grover also let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." He said, his voice trembling. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." Percy said, finally realising the truth, which Grover nodded glumly in response.
"And the two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…." Percy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
Annabeth put her Oreo down, which was uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven year old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were… amazing monster fighters, even without training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters. During which, we met Lykos and his dad."
Percy looked over at Lykos, stunned. "You met them before?"
Lykos nodded, his lips quivering. "I was eight. They came across me and dad while we were on a hunting trip. We gave them food and shelter for three days. They trusted us easily, especially Thalia. We got on so well. When I last saw her, she promised that we'd see each other again."
Lykos couldn't contain himself and actually cried, shocking everyone as they never saw him cry before, especially Annabeth, who only ever saw him depressed beforehand. Lykos quickly wiped his tears away.
"A week after that, Grover found us." Annabeth moved on from Lykos' part of the story.
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp." Said satyr sniffled. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought… I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up to us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker…."
"Stop it." Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us." He said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."
"Well, screw the Council." Lykos said harshly.
"Yeah, you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind. That's not fair." Percy agreed with him.
"They're right, Grover." Annabeth nodded. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the Council says."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."
"Hey, you're not lame." Lykos told him.
"Exactly." Annabeth said. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy and Lykos are really glad you're here right now."
She then looked at Lykos and kicked Percy in the shin.
"Yeah. It's no mistake that you find two children of the Big Three. No other living satyr today can say that." Lykos told him.
"And you've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan." Percy added.
They heard a deep, satisfied sigh. They waited for him to say something, but his breathing only got heavier before it turned into snoring, meaning he fell asleep.
"How does he do that?" Percy marvelled.
"Who knows." Lykos replied.
"That was a really nice thing you told him." Annabeth said to Percy.
"I meant it."
They continued on in comfortable silence for the next few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched on another turnip and the lion finished off the last of the hamburger meat before nuzzling Lykos as a thank you and laid next to him, allowing him to stroke his mane and body.
He and Percy noticed Annabeth rubbing her necklace, looking like she was deep in thought.
"That pine tree bead. Is that from your first year?" Percy asked her.
She looked, having not realised what she was doing.
"Yeah. Every August, the counsellors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress - now that was a weird summer…."
Lykos remembered Annabeth telling about that summer and found the story to be incredibly funny.
"And the college ring is your father's?"
"That's none of your -" Annabeth stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"You don't have to tell me."
"No… it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her…. That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologised for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."
"That doesn't sound so bad." Percy said.
"Yeah, well… the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through the winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."
"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?" Percy asked. Lykos actually thought that she should try as well. No matter what, she should try and connect with her family as much as possible.
She wouldn't meet Percy's eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."
"You can't give up, Annabeth." Lykos said. "You should at least write him a letter."
"Not you, too." She said coldly. "My father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."
They passed another few miles of silence, but this silence was tense.
"So if the gods fight…" Percy said. "...will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena vs Poseidon? And what about Artemis?"
Annabeth put her head against the backpack Ares gave them and closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep. Lykos did the same with his backpack.
"I don't know what either of our moms will do, but I know that I'll fight next to you." Lykos said as he closed his eyes.
"Same here." Annabeth agreed with him.
"Why?"
"Because you're our friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?" Annabeth said.
And soon after, Lykos found himself asleep.
This new dream started off normally.
Lykos found himself standing on Half-Blood Hill, facing directly at Thalia's pine tree.
He walked up to it, but each step he took, the tree physically shook and when he was ten feet away from it, he saw what looked like an eagle make its way out of the tree and once it was fully free, it flew right at Lykos.
He expected it to attack him, yet it actually wrapped its wings around him, like it was hugging him, which baffled him. Then the eagle looked at him directly and it had electric blue eyes.
They seemed very familiar and just as he was about to say something, Lykos heard a female voice, coming from the eagle, say Go, Wolfy. Go to Percy. and then found himself falling through the ground and he now found himself in some dark cavern with spirits of the dead drifting around him and was standing in front of a pit.
He was even more shocked to see Percy there with him, the two being wide eyed upon seeing the other. They even tried talking, but silence came out of their mouths.
Percy Jackson. Yes, the exchange went well, I see. That ancient and evil voice Lykos heard in his first dream said from within the pit. Yet it wasn't addressing either him or Percy. It was directed elsewhere.
And he suspects nothing? The voice asked.
Another voice replied, one that sounded very familiar to Lykos.
Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest.
The two looked behind them to where the voice came from and yet there was nothing there, meaning the speaker was invisible.
Deception upon deception. The voice in the pit mused aloud. Excellent.
Truly, my lord… The voice behind them said. …you are well named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly -
You? The ancient voice said in scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.
But, my lord -
Peace, little servant. Over six months have bought us much. Zeus' anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands… but wait. He and the son of Artemis are here.
What? The invisible servant now sounded tense. You summoned them, my lord?
No. The full force of this ancient being's attention now poured over the two demigods, freezing them in place. Blast their parents' blood - they are too changeable, too unpredictable. Percy Jackson brought himself hither and Lykos was summoned.
Impossible! The servant cried.
For a weakling such as you, perhaps. The voice snarled before its cold power turned back to Percy and Lykos. So… you wish to dream of your quest, young half-bloods? Then I will oblige.
The scene changed.
The two found themselves in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. And the empty, dreadful throne was actually made from human bones that were fused together.
Standing at the foot of the dais was Percy's mother, completely frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.
Suddenly, however, Lykos felt a jolt and found himself away, back in the truck, seeing that he was the only one awake.
He found himself thinking a lot about that dream.
Firstly, he knew that the eagle represented Zeus, yet its eyes looked exactly like Thalia's, he'd never forget such eyes. As to what it meant, he had no clue.
Secondly, what he heard in the cavern and pit was very revealing. Hearing the name 'Crooked One', Lykos knew immediately who that was: Kronos. Just thinking about him made his insides cold. But this also means that the pit must be the entrance to Tartarus.
With the servant, remembering what they and Kronos were saying, Lykos frowned with anger as he knew that it had to be Ares as he mentioned an exchange and Percy's name, and with this mention of him stealing, it means that he did indeed help steal the master bolt. But with Kronos mentioning 'both items', then it means that Hades' Helm of Darkness was also stolen, considering what the Furies said on the bus.
Of course, for Lykos, this confirms that Hades is innocent. But the only piece of the puzzle is who was the actual thief, since Ares couldn't be it, as the gods can't actually steal their symbols of power.
However, he couldn't continue thinking as he sensed that the truck was about to stop.
He looked over at the animals, seeing that they were back in their cages, seeing that he was awake.
"I'm sorry you three, but for now, I'll have to lock these cages so that the drivers don't suspect anything until we do something." He said.
They all understood and allowed him to lock the cages and then he proceeded to wake the others up just as the truck stopped.
Grover then proceeded to wake Percy.
"The truck's stopped." He said, shaking Percy's shoulder.
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed and all four hid. Annabeth did it easily because of her invisibility cap whereas the other three had to dive behind feed sacks.
The trailer doors then creaked open and sunlight and heat poured in.
"Man!" One of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly face. "I wish I hauled appliances."
He climbed inside and poured water from a jug into the animals' dishes.
"You hot, big boy?" He then asked the lion before splashing the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.
I swear, if I was strong and healthy, I would eat you right here, right now. The lion roared in indignation.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The man shrugged.
Lykos was beyond furious as this is nothing but animal abuse. And he didn't need to look at him to know that Grover was murderous.
The trucker then threw the antelope a squashed looking Happy Meal bag.
He then smirked at the zebra "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"
The zebra, now wild eyed with fear, looked right at Percy.
Free me lord. Please. He said. Lykos looked over at Percy, who had an expression of shock on his face, which meant he could hear the zebra. It must be because of how the zebra is related to the horse, which is connected to Poseidon.
Then there was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.
The trucker inside with them yelled "What do you want, Eddie?"
A voice outside shouted back "Maurice? What'd ya say?"
"What are you banging for?"
Knock, knock, knock.
"What banging?" Eddie yelled outside.
Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.
A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Percy, clearly having done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer.
"This transport business can't be legal." She then said.
"No kidding." Grover said.
That's because they're animal smugglers. The lion told Lykos.
"Those scumbags are animal smugglers!" He snarled and clenched his fists, wishing so much to give them a fitting punishment.
That's right. The zebra said, clear to both him and Percy.
"We've got to free them!" Grover said and everyone agreed.
Outside, Eddie and Maurice were yelling at each other still. As they did, both Lykos and Percy opened up the cages and the animals bowed to them.
Grover then held up his hands and gave them a satyr's sanctuary so that they can reach the wild safely.
Just as Maurice poked his head back in to check the noise, the animals all leaped over him and into the street, which caused yelling, screaming and cars honking.
The four rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the animals all making their way down a wide boulevard lined with hotels, casinos and neon signs, having released a zebra, lion and antelope in Las Vegas.
Both Maurice and Eddie ran after them with a few policemen running after them, saying "Hey! You need a permit for that!"
"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all -"
"Don't worry. I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."
"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked.
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy." Annabeth joked.
"Hey!" Percy protested, making Lykos snort.
"She's just joking, Percy. Anyway, let's get the hell out of this filthy truck." Lykos said.
They all stumbled out into the afternoon desert. It had to a hundred and ten degrees, which was incredibly brutal, making Lykos lessen his opinion on Apollo, and they all had to look like deep fried vagrants to everyone else, but they were entirely interested in the wild animals.
They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM among pyramids, a pirate ship and the smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty.
They didn't really know what to look for, other than find a place to get out of the heat, have food and drink and make a new plan to continue westward.
They then thought they took a wrong turn because they were at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.
The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking.
No one went in or out, yet the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air conditioning which smelled like flowers - lotus blossom.
Lykos was worried as he suspected what this was, being very familiar with The Odyssey.
However, before he could warn the others, the doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Lykos was weary because despite the doorman looking so normal, he could still be a monster. However, Percy nodded to the doorman, saying they'd love to come inside before Lykos could say something.
Having no choice, he followed them inside and upon looking around, Grover said "Whoa."
That was because the whole lobby was one giant game room. And not the cheesy old arcade and slot machine games. There was a whole indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went up to at least forty floors. There was also a climbing wall on the side of one building and an indoor bungee jumping bridge.
There were even virtual reality suits with working laser guns. And there were hundreds of video games, each the size of widescreen TVs.
Whatever you name, this place has it. No waiting for any games. There were also waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every food you can imagine.
"Hey!" Someone said to them. Lykos assumed they were a bellhop, despite them wearing a white and yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts and flip flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
"Actually, we're -"
"No, no." The bellhop laughed, cutting Lykos off. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, 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. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He then handed all four of them a green plastic credit card each.
"How much is on here?" Percy asked.
"What do you mean?" The bellhop asked, his eyebrows knit together.
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
The bellhop then laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."
They took the elevator upstairs and checked out the room they were given.
It was a suite with four separate bedrooms as well as having a bar stocked with candy, sodas and chips. There was a hotline to room service, fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows, a big screen TV with satellite and high speed internet.
The balcony had its own hot tub and there was indeed a skeet shooting machine and a shotgun, therefore you could launch clay pigeons right over the Las Vegas skyline and shoot them with the shotgun.
And the view over the Strip and the desert was amazing.
"Oh, goodness." Annabeth gasped. "This place is…."
"Sweet." Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
Lykos had to admit, this place is incredible. Plus, it would be harmful if they rested for at least a few days.
"Dibs on the shower!" He then shouted, desperately needing one, making the other three groan,
As he took his shower, Percy checked the closet to find that there were clothes that fit him, which he found odd.
He then threw Ares' backpack in the trash can.
After Lykos completely refreshed himself in the shower, he changed out of his clothes and put them in his backpack before changing into a grey t-shirt and a green flannel button up shirt.
He then joined the others, each taking turns in the shower and ate some candy and had a few cans of Coke, feeling much better than he had in a whole week. But he felt something nagging at him in the back of his mind. About a dream and of a truth he learned. He needed to explain this to the others. But he was sure he could tell them later.
Once everyone changed clothes and took a shower, they all joined up in front of the TV. Grover ate some potato chips to his heart's content and Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.
"All those stations and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?" Percy questioned her.
"It's interesting." She replied.
"I feel good." Grover said. "I love this place."
Without even realising it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.
"So what now?" Annabeth then asked the three boys. "Sleep?"
They looked at each other and grinned, holding up their green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time." Percy said.
The four never had this much fun in their lives and they just couldn't stop.
Percy bungee jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope and played the virtual reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter.
Grover went from game to game, ultimately liking the reverse hunter game - where the deer go and shoot the rednecks.
Annabeth played trivia games and other things a brainiac would like. There was this huge 3-D sim game where you can build your own city and it can all be seen on a display board. Annabeth looked like she was in architectural heaven.
And when he wasn't watching movies or eating medium rare steaks with fries, Lykos would play virtual reality hunting games and go through obstacle courses.
The whole time in the hotel and casino, Lykos still had that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, yet he'd just ignore it, promising that he'd think about it later, yet he wouldn't.
However, things went ahead after he left the obstacle course the third time.
Lykos was making his way back to the suite he and the others stayed in when he felt someone bump into him from behind.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The person said, sounding like a young boy.
Lykos turned and saw that it was a ten year old boy with messy and silky black hair, dark brown eyes and olive skin. And he oddly wore clothes that seemed like they were from the mid twentieth century.
"It's okay, accidents happen." Lykos reassured the boy.
"I see you left the obstacle course. I wanted to go in, but my sister says I'm too young." The boy said sadly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get in someday." Lykos said, patting his shoulder.
"Thanks. By the way, my name's Nico di Angelo." The boy said, holding his hand out.
"Lykos Alexander." He shook the boy's hand.
"Do you want to see my Mythomagic cards?" Nico then said suddenly, looking excited.
"Sure." Lykos shrugged and Nico pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.
"So what is Mythomgaic?" Lykos asked curiously as Nico then pulled out some figurines.
"It's a card and figurine game based on Greek mythology." Nico explained showing the cards off, which had cartoonish artwork of various gods and monsters from mythology, along with attack and defence points.
"You have quite the collection." He noted.
"Thanks. Of course, my collection isn't complete. I've yet to find a Hades figurine for example. But I'll find it. My sister promised she would help."
"Where is your sister, by the way?" Lykos asked, looking around.
"Well…." Nico looked a bit fearful.
"Nico di Angelo!" A girl's voice shouted sternly behind Nico.
Lykos looked and saw a girl who had to be twelve years old and had long brown and silky hair, brown eyes, olive skin and a splash of freckles across her nose. She also wore a floppy green cap that seemed to be constantly getting in her face.
"Nico, what have I told you about wandering off on your own? I've been looking for you for the past hour." She told a now sorry looking Nico.
She then realised they weren't alone and noticed Lykos, who was taller than her and she blushed.
"Uh… hi. I'm Bianca, Nico's older sister." She introduced herself.
"I'm Lykos."
"I'm sorry if my brother's been bothering you." She apologised.
"Oh, no, it's alright. We were just talking and Nico was showing his Mythomagic cards, which I think is nice." Lykos shrugged his shoulders. He then took note of Bianca's clothes, which also looked like they were from the mid twentieth century. It made him wonder.
"Say, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been here?" He asked them.
"We've been here for a month now. At least we don't have to endure the war while we're here." Bianca replied, making Lykos frown.
"The war?" He asked in confusion.
"You know, World War II. Anyway, I gotta take Nico back to our room. Bye." She then said before she waved and took Nico with her, who waved back at Lykos.
"Bye." Lykos said.
Hearing that the siblings still think that World War II is still happening, he starts going around asking other people what year they think it is. A guy told him it was 1986, a girl said it was 1979 and a couple said that it's 1969. They all say that they've been here for a few days or weeks, though they didn't seem to know or care about anything.
That's when it hit him: They're in the lair of the lotus eaters, who were in The Odyssey. How much time has passed since he, Percy, Grover and Annabeth entered?
He was able to remember that they were on a quest to Los Angeles to the Underworld and find the master bolt. And he remembered that his mother was Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt and Wilderness and of the Moon. And that he realised that Kronos and Ares are part of scheme involving the theft of the master bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness.
"Oh, gods." He gasped in horror before he started running his way through the hotel and casino.
It didn't take him long to find one of them as he ran right into Percy.
"Lykos, this place -"
"I know. It's the lair of the lotus eaters. They're in The Odyssey." Lykos said.
"We need to find Annabeth and Grover and get the hell out of here." Percy replied.
"You get Annabeth, I'll get Grover. We meet back up at the " Lykos said and they parted ways.
He was able to find Grover quickly as he was playing Virtual Deer Hunter.
"Grover!" He shouted to get the satyr's attention, who turned the plastic gun in his hands on the son of Artemis and started clicking, like Lykos was just another image from the screen.
Lykos rolled his eyes before he took Grover by the arms and dragged him away.
His flying shoes sprung to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted "No! I just got to a new level! No!"
"Snap out of it!" Lykos shouted, ultimately slapping Grover across the face.
Grover froze, blinked a few times and then his eyes widened.
"Oh, no. How long have we been here?" He asked Lykos.
"I don't know and I fear for how long. Let's go." He told Grover and they made their way back to the lobby, where they met up with Percy and Annabeth.
The Lotus bellhop then hurried up to them. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"
"We're leaving." Percy told him.
"Such a shame." The bellhop said, and it seemed like he meant it, but Lykos thought otherwise. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum card members."
He held out the cards and despite the four wanting them so badly, they couldn't. They had to continue on with their quest, because if they didn't leave, they would forget everything and just play games forever.
"No, thanks." Lykos said and they walked towards the door.
As they did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games became increasingly inviting but they were able to resist and burst through the doors of the Lotus Hotel and Casino before they ran down the sidewalk.
It seemed like afternoon, the same time of day they'd entered the casino, yet something was wrong.
The weather was completely different as it was now stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.
Lykos then realised that his backpack was slung over his shoulder, same with Ares' backpack on Percy's shoulder.
Now wasn't the time to think about this, however, as Lykos ran to the nearest newspaper stand and saw that they were still in the same year, but was stunned and horrified to see that today was June twentieth.
They were stuck in the casino for five days and now only had one day left to complete their quest on the summer solstice.
I just had to have Bianca and Nico di Angelo pop up. Their meeting with Lykos would have some impact when they meet again in the future.
And the first half of that dream is a set up for what's to come post The Lightning Thief.