Disclaimer: I do not own God of War or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Jakob Thorsson.
The God of War was waiting for them in the diner parking lot, leaning on his motorcycle. "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."
Andromeda glared at him. "You knew it was a trap."
Ares cracked a wicked smirk. "Bet that crippled blacksmith wasn't expecting to catch nobody. A shame you had to get the Aesir to handle things like always, you'd have looked good on TV."
Jakob walked forward and tossed the shield at him, applying enough force that Ares grunted a little and raised an eyebrow at him. "Take your shield. Tell us what you know, give us our transportation and get lost." Jakob growled, having enough of Ares for one day.
Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.
"See that truck over there?" he pointed 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 kids took one look at the truck and Jakob read the sign. It said: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
Andromeda gave Ares a deadpanned look. "You have got to be kidding me."
Ares snapped his fingers. The back door 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 handlebars and tossed it to him.
Inside were fresh clothes for all of them, twenty bucks of cash, a pouch full of drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuffed Oreos.
Andromeda glared at Ares. "I don't want your lousy – "
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Andromeda his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."
"Hope he washed his hands from stroking himself off before he gave us that." Jakob said, before Annabeth or Grover could stop him. "I hope you used hand sanitizer."
Ares turned his eyeless gaze towards him, the flames in there getting hotter. "I admit you got spunk, kid. I'll give you that. But I think you need to remember that I am a God. So watch yourself."
Jakob smirked. "You're the least impressive of all the Gods I've known, and that includes Aesir, Vanir and Olympian."
Ares's glare was so strong and heated that his sunglasses melted off his eyes. Any lesser person would've wilted under the glare, but Jakob didn't flinch. "You're very lucky I don't turn you into a rodent and crush you, little brat. Otherwise I'd interfere with your little quest of finding the old man's bolt."
Jakob barely blinked. "Noted. Now fuck off and go back to being on top of Aphrodite or something."
The waitress at the diner was looking nervously at Ares, like he was going to hurt them or something.
She even dragged out the fry cook to look. She said something, not that anyone could make out, then the man took out a camera and snapped a photo of the group. Andromeda was thinking about the new headline that might pop up: TWELVE YEAR OLD OUTLAWS BEAT UP DEFENCELESS BIKER.
"You owe me one more thing," Andromeda said as she turned back to Ares and trying to keep her voice in check. "You promised me information about my mother."
"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."
The ground seemed to almost spin beneath Andromeda. "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." Ares explained.
"Kept. Why?"
"A hostage," Jakob said with a frown. "Trying to convince you of something."
"Brat's right. You take somebody to control somebody else." Ares nodded.
"Nobody's controlling me," Andromeda argued.
The God of War laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."
Andromeda balled his fists up. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."
Jakob snorted in amusement.
His now empty sockets were glowing with fire. "We'll meet again, Andromeda Jackson. And you too, Jakob Thorsson. Next time both of you are in a fight, watch your back."
He revved his Harley, then off roared down Delancy Street.
"I swear, he reminds me so much of Modi and I hate that." Jakob growled with annoyance.
"That wasn't smart." Annabeth warned.
"Like I give a shit." Jakob rolled his eyes and started walking towards the truck. "Let's get moving."
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but…"
He pointed towards the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, the two men in 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," Grover said, "we need to hurry."
They ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.
The first thing that hit them was the smell, which, to Jakob, smelt like a collective putrid cloud of animal droppings.
The trailer was dark inside until Andromeda uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals you'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!
Apparently, nobody wanted to get close enough to lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and the others weren't far behind him, but just then the truck engine came to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.
The group huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in the series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly.
Annabeth was in favour of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Andromeda pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, she had a feeling they might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.
Andromeda found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. She gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.
Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off the horn. Jakob used the horn of the Chimera to cut the mane of the zebra and get the gum out.
They told Grover to promise the animals they'd help them in the morning, then the group settled in for the night.
Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuffed Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly and handed the others one. While eating one also, Andromeda focused on the fact that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. They could make it in plenty of time.
"You alright?" Jakob asked Annabeth, seeing her shivering slightly.
"Yeah, just... saw spiders back at the park." She shivered again.
"Ah, the whole Arachne thing." Jakob nodded.
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 for just going and getting the shield, rather than us having to get trapped on the ride.
"We're a team, remember?" Andromeda said to Annabeth. "Besides, I bet Grover would do the fancy flying while goes all Superman."
"Superman with lightning." Jakob snorted in amusement.
Annabeth pulled apart an Oreo, handing Andromeda half. "In the Iris message… did Luke really say nothing?"
Andromeda munched on the cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via Iris message seemed to have bothered her, plus jakob's words on how he didn't trust Luke. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would be turned into a pine tree."
In the light of Andromeda's sword, you could see both their sad faces.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "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, daughter of Zeus." Andromeda stated.
Jakob didn't say anything, already having a good idea as to what happened.
Grover nodded glumly.
"And the two other half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…" Andromeda looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, right?"
Annabeth put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Andie, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards 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 the training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," the goat boy said, sniffling. "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."
"Then screw them," Jakob told him sharply. He looked towards Grover directly. "Look, Grover. I may not know Thalia, but from what I've heard, she would never blame you for what happened. So you shouldn't do the same. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save you. I respect her decision. If I was in her place, I would do the exact same for those I care about. Remember, you have more guts than any Satyr there is."
Annabeth looked uneasy by his declaration, but Andromeda nodded, agreeing with his brother. "He's right, G-man. Just because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind? That's not fair."
"They're right," Annabeth said with a shake of her head. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."
Grover kept sniffling. "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 Andromeda."
"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet both Andie and Jakob are really glad you're here right now."
She kicked said demigods in the shins.
"Yeah," Andromeda said, glaring at Annabeth for the kick before focusing on Grover. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. 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."
You could hear a deep, satisfied sigh. Andromeda waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, they realized he'd fallen asleep.
"How does he do that?" Andromeda marvelled.
"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was a really nice thing you said to him."
"I meant it."
"You didn't have to kick me, though," Jakob grumbled. "Did you not hear the motivating speech I gave him?"
Annabeth chuckled. "Yes, yes. I did hear that."
The trailer went into silence after that, bumping around on the feed snacks. The zebra munched on a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at Andromeda hopefully.
Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead," Andromeda said. "Is that from your first year?"
Annabeth looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.
"Yeah," she said. "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…"
"And the college ring was your father's?"
"That's none of your –" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"You don't have to tell us," Jakob said with a shake of his head.
"No… it's okay." She said with 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 apologized 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." Andromeda said, not seeing what was wrong.
"Yeah, well… the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmother 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 winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood." Annabeth said with anger.
"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?" Andromeda asked.
Annabeth wouldn't meet her eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicting pain. Just as Jakob wouldn't want to go back to Asgard and face his own father."
"You shouldn't give up," Andromeda told her. "You should write a letter or something."
"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."
Jakob put a hand on her shoulder, causing her grey eyes to lock with his blue ones. "Annabeth, listen to me. We may not have had the best of fathers, but yours can still redeem himself... mine's cannot. I suffered years of physical, mental and emotional neglect and abuse at my father's hands, so there's zero chance at us having the right father/son relationship. But it's not too late for you. Don't dwell on the past, focus on what you have now. Understand?"
Annabeth gave him a small smile, which he responded back with a nod.
The group passed another few miles in silence.
"So if the gods fight," Andromeda said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"
The blonde leaned her head against the side of the trailer. "I don't know what my mum will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"Why?" She asked in surprise.
"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Anymore stupid questions?"
Andromeda couldn't think of an answer. Fortunately, she didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep, leaning on Jakob's shoulder, the Son of Thor having fallen asleep this time.
Andromeda had trouble following their example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at him, but eventually she closed her eyes.
Jakob snapped awake when he felt the truck stop and the sound of doors opening and closing. Quickly, he woke Grover and Annabeth up, and Grover quickly woke Andromeda up.
"Hide! Now!" Jakob hissed, ducking down behind a cage while Annabeth put her cap on, turning invisible.
Grover had to dive behind feed sacks and hoped they looked like turnips.
The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.
"Man!" One of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.
"You hot, big boy?" He asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.
The lion roared in indignation.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.
Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.
The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He 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!"
"Not today." Jakob's voice said behind the trucker, causing him to whirl around in surprise only to be clobbered in the face by the Son of Thor so hard that several teeth went flying and the trucker was knocked out.
"Maurice?" The trucker's friend called and Jakob could heard his footsteps coming around, and just waited. "What's going-"
The trucker stopped when he saw Jakob waiting for him. "Hi." The Aesir said with a smirk before he pounced and clobbered the trucker, knocking him out as well.
Annabeth took her cap off, looking at the two knocked out truckers. "Nice one, Jakob. This transport business can't be legal."
"You do know Midgard has these kind of things, right?" Jakob asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Poachers, smugglers, people that run an animal-fighting ring like dog fights."
"Yeah. the lion says these guys are animal smugglers." Grover said after a pause of listening to the lion. "We've got to free them!"
"Say no more." Jakob grunted and pulled the door off the lion's cage, tossing it out the trailer while Andromeda used Riptide to open the zebra's cage. Then came the antelope.
All three animals burst out the trailer and went off down the streets.
Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some sort of stunt by one of the casinos.
"Will the animals be okay?" Andromeda asked Grover. "I mean, Vegas is a desert."
"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a Satyr's sanctuary on them."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "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?" Andromeda asked, thinking that could be useful.
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Andie and Jakob," Annabeth reasoned.
"hey!" Both demigods cried out, offended.
"Haha!" Mimir laughed, amused. "Well, Jakob, you can be quite an animal when eating-"
"Shut up or I'll toss you into one of these cages and leave you with the smell." Jakob threatened, though he was joking.
"Just having a bit of fun, you big grump." Mimir retorted.
They stumbled into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and the questers must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everyone was too interested in the animals to pay them such attention.
"Ah, Las Vegas... I hear this is most famous for Elvis Presley's performance." Mimir said before he began singing. "Viva Las Vegas-"
"Quiet!" Jakob hissed, seeing they were approaching people and the last thing they needed was to answer why there was a talking head, or why Jakob was carrying a severed head in the first place.
"Doesn't like music either. Got it." Mimir muttered with annoyance.
"No, we're approaching people." Jakob retorted.
Jakob helped the group avoid three squads of policemen who were coming. Thankfully, he had a plan. He went up to the policemen and informed them about the truckers.
"What did you do?" Annabeth asked when Jakob walked back over.
"Told the cops about the two truckers and their 'business.' The police can deal with them." Jakob informed.
They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. The pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made Andromeda homesick.
The group didn't really know what to look for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat and cool down with a nice glass of lemonade and a good sandwich, anything really.
They must have taken a wrong turn or something, 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 was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers – lotus blossom, maybe.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Jakob narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Anybody might be a monster or god in disguise. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and they could see. But for some reason, Jakob was feeling a sense of security from the man. This immediately put him on edge. Inside, the group took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."
The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one of the buildings, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There was some virtual reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place. There were a few kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.
"Hey!" A bellhop said. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
Andromeda stammered, "Um, but…"
"Wait," Jakob interjected. "This is a mistake…"
The bellhop blinked, as if the idea of a mistake didn't register with him. "Mistake? Oh no, we have your room key and your room ready for you. The bill's been taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go up on 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 handed them each a green plastic credit card.
Andromeda knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought they were some millionaire's kids. She took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
His eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."
"Well... free hotel and it's comforts." Mimir pointed out as the group watched the bellhop walk away.
"Be on your guard, nothing in the mortal world is just 'free'." Jakob advised the group and they nodded.
They took the elevator upstairs and checked out the room. It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. 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 sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. Andromeda didn't know how that could be legal, but she thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, but with a room like this, why bother looking?
"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is..."
"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
"Shower's mine." Jakob said, dropping Mimir, his backpack and the Leviathan Axe on a couch before he went straight for the bathroom.
Andromeda threw Ares's backpack in the trashcan. Wouldn't need that anymore. When they left, she could just charge anew now at the hotel store.
Several minutes later, a freshly washed and clean Jakob walked out of the bathroom with a tower wrapped around his waist, another being used to dry his hair. Andromeda and Annabeth's mouths opened as they stared as his body. For a twelve-year old, he was well toned and muscular in all the right places. They quickly looked away, blushing in embarrassment.
Jakob soon got dressed into fresh clothing, consisting of black jeans that fit him perfectly without a belt needed, was wearing his dark reddish-brown steel-toed boots after cleaning them with a wet cloth. wore a new black short-sleeved top and had his black leather bomber jacket on, placing the Leviathan Axe on the hook connected to the back of his jacket.
Andromeda took a shower too, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. She changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than ever.
She came out of the bedroom and found that Grover and Annabeth also showered and changed their clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. Jakob was arguing with her to change it to something interesting.
"All those stations," Andromeda told the blonde, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"
"It's interesting." The girl countered.
"It's boring." Jakob said.
"Hey, nothing wrong with watching some stuff that could make you learn something." Mimir pointed out, but Jakob rolled his eyes.
"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."
Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.
"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"
Grover, Andromeda and Jakob looked at each other and grinned. They held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time." Both Jakob and Andromeda declared.
Andromeda bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter.
Grover was going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing – where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks.
Annabeth played trivia games and other smart stuff. They had this huge 3-D simulator game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board.
Jakob was walking around, going from game to game, while also reading a DC comic book, which just so happens to be a Wonder Woman comic. He hummed and smirked as he couldn't help but eye the image of the beautiful heroine, his eyes maybe straying to her long, lean legs that he was sure the designers focused on the most along with two... assets.
"Seems you're having quite a lot of fun, brother." Mimir remarked, bringing Jakob from his thoughts before he flipped a page.
"Never had the chance to feel like a boy, Mimir, now I do." Jakob said with a smile. "And I'm going to take every advantage of it."
"Finally learning to trust and befriend, I suppose." Mimir chuckled before getting serious. "But I can't help but feel like... something is wrong. And it involves this place."
"You worry too much, there's nothing-oof!" Jakob grunted as something or someone slammed into him making the Son of Thor stumble a step but not fall unlike the person who bumped into him.
When he looked up at the person who bumped into him, Jakob saw it was a little boy, a few years younger than him. He had dark hair and black eyes with an olive tone. He wore a pair of black shorts and a grey T-shirt. He was currently on his bum, rubbing his head.
Jakob reached his hand out, helping the boy up. "Uh, sorry about that," He apologized. "I didn't look where I was going. You okay?"
The small boy nodded. "Yeah. It's okay. I was running around and not looking where I was going. Sorry."
While Jakob was annoyed at being interrupted reading his comic, he didn't want to take it out on the kid. So, he ruffled his hair, getting him to grumble a bit at that. "It's okay, kid. I don't blame you. So, what were you running for?"
"I was trying to find my sister, Bianca," the boy said. Then he paled, contrasting with his skin tone. "Oh, man. If she finds me, I'm–"
"Nico di Angelo!"
The shout came from behind the little boy, now named Nico, who jumped a little in fright. He shakily turned to behind him, Jakob doing so also. Stomping towards them was a girl about his height, with black eyes and long silky dark hair with a splash of freckles. Her features were very like Nico, confirming that she was his sister. She wore a black turtleneck, a pair of jeans and a floppy green hat.
Right now, however, she had an angry expression as she stamped towards her brother, who was cowering slightly. Jakob couldn't blame him. His sister seemed slightly scary. She reminded him of when his own sister would be angry.
"Watch where you're going." She scolded before turning to Jakob. "I am so sorry, my brother, he's really energetic."
"It's okay," Jakob waved off. "It's my fault also. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Nevertheless, I'm so sorry." Then he turned to her brother. "Nico, apologize."
"But I did," Nico whined. But he still wilted under her glare.
Deciding to save the kid, Jakob interjected. "No, he did, really. I'm not offended or anything, nobody was harmed... well, for a little man he sure could take down a grizzly bear."
Nico snorted. "Yeah right."
"Well, you never know, kid." Jakob said with a smirk at him. He looked down and noticed some cards that were dropped. "Uh, are those yours?" he asked, picking some of them up. He saw some Greek Gods printed on them.
"Mythomagic," Nico explained excitedly. His eyes shone with childish excitement. "It's only the best game out there. It's about all the Greek Gods and monsters and stuff."
"Nico," Bianca groaned. "No one cares about your stupid card game."
"Actually, I'm kind of interested," Jakob said, amused. The irony of it all. The Greek Gods were alive, as well as all the monsters, and this kid had a card game based on it all? Now he had to see it. "I've got some friends who have Greek roots."
"Really?" Nico asked, excited.
"Really." Jakob nodded. "And I've got some old Norse roots since my parents named me Thorsson."
"Thor? Like Marvel's Thor?" Nico asked with wide eyes.
Jakob struggled to not have his eye twitch. He hated it when people thought of the more popular and well-known depiction of his father. "Yeah."
"That's so cool! I've got Zeus, who does six hundred damage points with his lightning bolt. He comes in every starter pack. Now Hades, man, that thing is impossible to find." The boy pouted.
"You mind explaining to me about all this stuff?" Jakob asked.
"Sure!" he seemed excited at the prospect. Then he began his tirade on each card, like Apollo, or Hermes, and so on.
While he was chattering, Bianca now talked to Jakob, Nico being distracted. "Thanks for humouring him." She said, relieved. "I love him, but he's just so…"
"I see," Jakob said, amused. "Don't worry though, I actually was serious about being Greek. Just wanted to see what he was so hyped about. Besides, he seems okay."
"I guess." From Bianca's tone, she seemed to disagree.
Jakob raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"
Bianca shook her head. "No, no, no. I love Nico to death, honestly. It's just… since we've been together for so long, I've been the one to take care of him. I love doing it. But…"
"You're tired of the responsibility?" Jakob guessed. He didn't ask about a mum or dad. He knew a touchy subject when he saw one.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I'm just so tired of it all. It's such a pain dealing with a younger brother."
"Well, I wouldn't know how that feels, I've got older siblings." Jakob said with a sigh. "Two brothers and a sister. My sister's the only one I get along well with, my brothers... we don't see eye to eye too well."
"Polar opposites?" Bianca guessed.
"In a way." Jakob nodded.
A waitress came over to drop off some food. It was pizza and some drinks. Jakob took a drink and sipped it.
Nico was done talking about his game, but he was still bouncing up and down, full of restless energy.
Bianca sighed, answering his unanswered question. "Fine, you can play some games. But stay in sight." She warned.
He nodded, and zipped off to one of the game consoles.
"Quite a bundle of energy, your brother." Jakob remarked.
"Yeah." Bianca nodded. Then she sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "To be honest, I feel like I just want to be on my own." She didn't know why she was confessing this, but she felt like she could trust him. "I've been taking care of him so long that I…"
"Just want to be you?" Jakob finished, with her nodding.
He didn't know how she felt, but he could sympathise with her. Being your own person and knowing who you are was important in life. He knew what wanting that was like. He felt the same when it came to being his father's son, wanting to get out of his shadow and be his own person.
One of the reasons he decided to run away from Asgard.
He glanced at Bianca, her words going through his head and he decided to ask. "If someone came along with some offer for you to live your own life, would you take it?"
"Yes, I would." Bianca nodded.
Jakob shook his head. "I'm sorry to say, Bianca, but that's a bad decision. Now, I didn't have the best family growing up, but I know that for others family is very important to them. Most would die for their family, to protect them. And looking at you and your brother, I can see you two have only got each other. Nico would be devastated if something happened to you in which he could never see you again. And I know you would be devastated if you couldn't see him again, because no matter what... you're siblings."
Bianca looked down at her lap, thinking about his words. Jakob put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him.
"Hey, I'm not trying to pressure you and force you into anything, alright? I'm just giving you a piece of advice; don't jump at an offer to live your own life when you don't know everything that offer would entail. Consider my words, alright?" He asked, getting a small smile and a nod from her. Jakob nodded and stood. "Anyway, I better go meet up with my friends."
"Okay." Bianca nodded, a little bit disappointed he was leaving already. "I'll see you around?"
"Maybe." Jakob shrugged. Maybe they'll meet again after he leaves this place.
After he leaves... he stiffened as memories instantly started coming back to him, memories of the quest, of a possible WWIII, Andromeda's mum, the Underworld, everything.
'Shit! This place must have some kind of enchantment!' Jakob thought.
"I better go. See you." Jakob said, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Bianca called, causing him to look at her. "You never told me your name."
"Jakob!" The Son of Thor said before dashing off to find his friends.
"Jakob..." Bianca whispered, a small smile blooming on her face as she found she liked the name.
"I like him." Nico commented. "He seems cool."
"Yeah, he does." Bianca nodded in agreement, hoping that she'll see him again one day.
"Mimir, what is going on?" Jakob demanded of the head as soon as he was away from Bianca and Nico, startling the head.
"Wha-Oh. Oh!" Mimir's eyes widened as he was hit by the same realization. "This must be the Lotus Hotel! I've heard of this place. It was created by the Lotus-eaters with the intention that anyone entering would never want to leave. The hotel lures kids inside with addictive games, food, and other activities, combined with the unlimited money on plastic cards. Guests seem to never age because time is severely dilated, elapsing at a much slower rate than it passes in the outside world."
Jakob's eyes widened. "We could've been in here for months and not even know it!"
"Aye! Find the others and get out of this place. As soon as possible." Mimir said seriously.
As soon as Mimir finished saying that, a voice called out. "Jakob!"
The Son of Thor turned and saw Andromeda running over to him. "Andie! We need tio get out of this place. Now."
"Yeah, i know!" Andromeda nodded "I've ran into people who think it's the 1970s."
"This is the Lotus Hotel." Mimir explained. "A concoction by the Lotus eaters with the intention that anyone entering would never want to leave. You could be in here for an hour or two and a day or more can go by outside without you even knowing it."
"Let's find the others and get out of this place." Jakob said, Andromeda nodding in agreement.
They met up with Grover and Annabeth as they headed to the exit.
The Lotus bellhop hurried up to meet them. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"
He held out the cards but Jakob strode up, grabbed the bellhop and gave him a hard headbutt that knocked the guy out, causing the others' eyes to widen.
"No." Was all Jakob said as he made his way out, the others quickly following him.
They burst the doors of the casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same day they'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with lightning flashing out on the desert.
Ares's backpack was slung over Andromeda's shoulder, which was odd, because she was sure she had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but now she had other problems to worry about.
Andromeda ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in. Then she noticed the date: June twentieth.
They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.
They had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete the quest to stop WWIII from happening...
And that's it for this chapter. I know it's a little cliché for having Bianca and Nico make an earlier appearance than Titan's Curse, but it was needed. Though Jakob may end up meeting them again BEFORE the events of Titan's Curse begins, and he helps in ensuring Bianca doesn't get swayed to join the Hunters of Artemis.
Harem: Silena Beauregard, Thalia Grace, Katie Gardner, Annabeth Chase, Andromeda Jackson (Female Percy), Bianca Di Angelo, Zoe Nightshade, Thrúd, Freya, Artemis, Athena, Hestia, Skadi.