Answers to reviews:
Guest: Jesus, he hasn't even unlocked his Devil Trigger yet.
blueassassin996: Oh, that's very tempting.
Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1: Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Alexander Redgrave.
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 yourselves killed."
Alex threw the shield at the god. "Enough of your shit, Ares. Tell us what we want to know and get lost."
"Ooh, someone's got his mother's feisty attitude." Ares said with a chuckle, spinning his shield 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 Alex read the sign. It said: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
Percy 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.
Percy glared at Ares. "I don't want your lousy – "
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Percy his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."
"Hope he washed his hands from stroking himself off before he gave us that." Alex 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."
Alex just flipped him off.
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 Alex 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."
"Whatever you say, pal." Alex rolled his eyes. "Now fuck off."
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. Alex was thinking about the new headline that might pop up: TWELVE YEAR OLD OUTLAWS BEAT UP DEFENCELESS BIKER.
"You owe me one more thing," Percy said as he turned back to Ares and trying to keep his 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 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." Ares explained.
"Kept. Why?"
"Hostage?" Alex guessed with a frown.
"Brat's right. You take somebody to control somebody else." Ares nodded.
"Nobody's controlling me," Percy argued.
The God of War laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."
Percy balled his fists up. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."
Alex snorted in amusement.
His now empty sockets were glowing with fire. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. And you too, Alexander Redgrave. Next time both of you are in a fight, watch your back."
He revved his Harley, then off roared down Delancy Street.
"What an asshole." Alex scoffed, hardly impressed with his uncle. He'd be more impressed with Vergil than the God of War.
"That wasn't smart, guys." Annabeth said, shooting them a look.
"I don't care." Percy shook his head.
"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..."
He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, 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 Alex, smelt like a collective putrid cloud of animal droppings.
The trailer was dark inside until Percy 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.
Please, get this gum off me. The zebra pleaded, Alex able to understand it.
So... thirsty. The antelope moaned in desperation, dehydrated.
Family. The lion said in a deep voice, making Alex's heart break for the animal. Lions are family animals and aren't meant to be on their own.
Unwilling to see them suffer any longer, he grabbed the water jug and filled the bowls with a good amount of water before changing the food bowls with clean food. He then placed each in their cases, the animals not harming him, not even the lion.
Thank you so much. The zebra told him before he started munching on a turnip.
Water! Oh beautiful water! Thank you! The antelope dug into the water hungrily, which Alex couldn't blame him if he was so dehydrated.
Thank you, young one. The lion thanked before drinking his water bowl.
"Anytime." Alex nodded, then rejoined his friends and leaned against the wall.
"Hey," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."
"That's okay."
"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."
"Because of the Arachne story," Alex nodded.
"She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?" Percy recollected.
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 said.
"Not gonna lie, Grover and I were laughing and singing the end of 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'." Alex admitted with a small snicker as Annabeth and Percy gave him annoyed looks.
Annabeth pulled apart an Oreo, handing Percy half. "In the Iris message… did Luke really say nothing?"
Percy munched on the cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via Iris message seemed to have bothered him."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 Percy'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." Percy stated.
Alex looked away at the mention of the girl he had such affection for, his heart clenching with pain at being reminded that he'll never be able to let her know, able to see what could come of it.
Grover nodded glumly.
"And the two other half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…" Percy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, right?"
Annabeth put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, 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. During that time, we met Alex and his family."
Percy looked at his friend, stunned. "You met them before?"
Alex nodded, exhaling quietly. "I was eight at the time. Dad and I were coming home one night, and I bumped into Annabeth who was so startled she screamed. Thalia and Luke came to defend her before stopping when they saw dad and I. Dad allowed them to come home with us, offered shelter and food for however long they wanted. They stayed with us for two weeks and I got to know them, trust them, especially Thalia. We got on so well, her and me. It pained me the day they left but I understood and hoped to see them again. and she promised that we would meet again."
Alex swallowed and allowed a couple of tears to fall, surprising the others. Alex quickly wiped his tears away and inhaled deeply, composing himself.
Annabeth moved on, seeing how that part of the story was hurting Alex. "Grover found us not long after we left."
"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."
"Screw them." Alex said firmly.
"it's not fair for them to blame you because you wouldn't leave the others." Percy agreed.
"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 Percy."
"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 Percy and Alex are really glad you're here right now."
She then looked at Alex and kicked Percy in the shin.
"Yeah," Alex agreed with the daughter of Athena. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and Percy, Grover. Did any other satyr manage that? No."
"Yeah. 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 nodded.
You could hear a deep, satisfied sigh. Percy 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?" Percy marvelled.
"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was a really nice thing you said to him."
"I meant it."
The trailer went into silence after that, bumping around on the feed snacks.
Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead," Percy 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," Alex 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." Percy 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?" Percy asked.
Annabeth wouldn't meet his eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicting pain."
"You shouldn't give up," Percy 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."
The group passed another few miles in silence.
"So if the gods fight," Percy said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon? What about Artemis?"
The blonde leaned her head against against Alex's shoulder, using him as a pillow while the son of Artemis used his backpack as his own pillow. "I don't know what my mum will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"Same." Alex nodded and closed his eyes so he can get to sleep.
"Why?" Percy asked in surprise.
"Because you're our friend, Seaweed Brain. Anymore stupid questions?"
Alex drifted off to sleep.
The dream started off normally, albeit differently.
Alex found himself before Thalia's tree at Camp Half-Blood. This was new, because he had never dreamed of this.
the cry of an eagle caught his attention and he looked up in time for an eagle to clutch onto his chest with it's talons it's wings spread across his chest like it was... hugging him. And when it's head looked up, it had blue eyes. The exact same as Thalia's.
And then the eagle spoke with Thalia's voice. C'mon, Wolfy, you gotta save the world with Percy.
"Thalia..." Alex whispered, almost choking up on his emotions at hearing her voice again. "I... I wish I was... I miss you."
The eagle nuzzled it's head against his chin. I know, Wolf Boy, I know. But I'll always be with you. Now go, the world needs you, you big bad wolf.
"Come with me." He begged quietly. Even if this was a dream of his desire, his want for Thalia to be alive again and in his life, he didn't care. He wanted her back.
Sadness entered the eyes of the eagle. You know I can't. But you do me a favour and be the badass you've grown up to be.
Alex couldn't help but let out a watery chuckle. "I'll... I'll do my best. For you."
Atta boy.
"Thalia, I..." He paused. this was a dream, right? Even if he confessed, it wouldn't be real. Just a dream of what he wanted. Screw it, he might as well. "I love you."
The eagle merely nuzzled his cheek. I know.
Then the dream shifted, and Alex found himself before the edge of a dark chasm, the spirits of the dead around him. And he was not alone, Percy was there. Before he could say anything, a voice spoke. It was the evil and ancient voice from before.
Percy Jackson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see.
The voice wasn't addressing them. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.
And he suspects nothing? it asked.
Another voice, one Alex almost recognized, answered. Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest.
Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent.
Truly, my lord, said the other voice, you are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly —
You? the monster 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. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's 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 is here. With the son of Artemis.
What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned them, my lord?
No. The full force of the monsters attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. Blast their parents' blood—they are too changeable, too unpredictable. Percy Jackson brought himself hither and Alex Redgrave was summoned.
Impossible! the servant cried.
For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on Alex and Percy. 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, Alex 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.
The eagle represented Zeus, yet it had Thalia's voice. Was that a play on his desire? On his feelings for her? His want to see her alive again?
And then he thought of the thing in the pit, the title it had been given. The Crooked One. there was only one being with that title; Kronos, the Titan King, and father of the original six Olympians.
His suspicions had been confirmed.
Every thought and possible theory he had been mulling with the more he heard about Percy's dreams had a big lead.
Kronos had to be behind the theft of the Master Bolt, for the person he had been speaking to had to be the lightning thief.
But Kronos also mentioned both items. What else could be stolen...?
'Hades' Helm of Darkness!' Alex realized. That explained what the Furies were looking for. Hades' Helm had been stolen as well, so he sent his minions out looking for it of course. And as Hades was smart, he would've kept the thievery of his symbol of power to himself, not wanting the Olympians, especially Zeus, to see a chance of weakness from him and take advantage.
He thought back to the servant, and Kronos mentioning an exchange. What exchange? The only exchange they had was with... Ares.
'Should've guessed he had a hand in this somehow. He's the bloody God of War after all.' Alex thought, then went over everything that has been confirmed.
Hades is innocent, his symbol has been stolen. Kronos is behind it and rising again, the lightning thief serves him, and Ares is involved in this somehow. Did he help the thief? Gods couldn't steal each other's symbols of power, so it is possible he discovered the thief but let them go to fuel a war, knowing a war between the Gods would make him more powerful.
His thinking came to a stop when he felt the truck slowing down until it stopped.
and the sound of doors opening and closing. Quickly, he woke Grover and Annabeth up, and Grover quickly woke Percy up.
"Hide! Now!" Alex 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. I will eat your flesh!
"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." Alex's voice said behind the trucker, causing him to whirl around in surprise only to be clobbered in the face by the Son of Artemis so hard that several teeth went flying and the trucker was knocked out.
"Maurice?" The trucker's friend called and Alex could heard his footsteps coming around, and just waited. "What's going-"
The trucker stopped when he saw Alex waiting for him. "Hi." The son of the moon 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, Alex. This transport business can't be legal."
"Animal smugglers, no doubt." Alex said, lightly kicking the trucker's friend in the side.
They are. The lion confirmed and Alex mentioned it to the group.
Alex dragged the two smugglers to the side as the others began to unlock the cages of the animals. Alex tied the two up and as the lion exited his cage, he had a hungry look on his face.
"As much as I want to let you, it's best you don't," Alex said. And the lion appeared to shrug... somehow.
I don't eat junk food anyway. The lion said, causing both Alex and Grover to snort with laughter.
"I'm going to place a sanctuary sanctum on them so they can go straight to safety. We don't want them getting recaptured or getting in any more harm's way. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live," Grover said.
"Good thinking," Alex said as he walked up to the lion and patted its head. The lion didn't seem to mind since it already knew that Alex was a friend and being the son of Artemis, the lion naturally felt at ease around him.
Once that was done they pushed the truck doors wide open. As soon as they did the lion, the antelope and the zebra all burst out of the truck and ran off down the streets of Las Vegas.
"Well if a lion running down the street of Vegas does not make the news then who knows what will," Alex said making the others chuckle. They could hear screams and shouts of terror from the people just walking by. They doubted meeting a lion was on the to-do list today.
They stepped out of the truck and put their hands in front of them to stop the sun from blinding them from how bright it was. It was warm as well. So much so that they all took their jackets off.
"We may need to find a new way of getting to LA since we have knocked out our drivers," Percy said.
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.
Alex 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 Alex walked back over.
"Told the cops about the two truckers and their 'business.' The police can deal with them." Alex 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 Percy 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?"
Alex 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, Alex 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."
Percy stammered, "Um, but…"
"Wait," Alex 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 Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed them each a green plastic credit card.
Percy knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought they were some millionaire's kids. He 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... that's surprising. Free hotel." Alex pointed out as the group watched the bellhop walk away.
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. Percy didn't know how that could be legal, but he 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." Alex said, dropping his backpack and weapons on a couch before he went straight for the bathroom.
Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trashcan. Wouldn't need that anymore. When they left, he could just charge anew now at the hotel store.
Several minutes later, a freshly washed and clean Alex walked out of the bathroom, dressed in fresher and clean clothes. He'll need to get his coat cleaned as that was going to become a signature form of attire for him.
Everyone else soon took their showers and changed into clean, fresh clothes, 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.
"All those stations and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?" Percy questioned Annabeth, seeing that was what was on the TV, and Annabeth had the remote.
"It's interesting." The girl countered.
"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, Percy and Alex looked at each other and grinned. They held up their green plastic Lotus Cash cards.
"Play time." Both Alex and Percy declared.
Percy 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.
Alex was walking around, going from game to game, before stopping as his eyes landed on the casino area. Smirking, he walked over and looked for a poker table, finding one in a matter of seconds since there was a lot. He walked over to it and sat down.
"Deal me in." He said with a smirk. Time to put the Devil's Luck to use.
An hour later, Alex had a calm, nearly emotionless look on his face as he stared ahead at the nervous middle-aged man with a bowler cap and a lit cigar in his mouth.
A crowd had formed around the table, due to how high staking the game was getting. Each had multiple coloured chips ranging from thousands upon thousands of dollars. Everyone else had folded and left the game, not wanting to lose any more money while only Alex and the other guy remained.
"Okay gentleman what will it be," the card dealer said as the godfather wannabe smirked and pushed all his chips into the middle.
"I'm all in," he said getting a few gasps from people around him.
Alex raised an eyebrow before he smirked. "Same for me," he said pushing his chips in the middle too.
The other man was sweating a little as Alex somehow managed to keep up his emotionless facade when the card dealer said. "Okay boys. Show your cards."
When he did the other man went first as a grin made its way to his face. He laid his cards out and said "Full house," as three 2's and two 5's found their way to everyone's eyes who clapped a little.
"Maybe next time, brat," he said to Alex as he went to collect all the chips.
"Not so fast," Alex said getting everyone's attention as he laid his cards down on the table showing a ten, jack, queen, king and ace of hearts.
"Royal flush," he said causing everyone to scream with amazement as the other guy had a look of disbelief across his face. "I believe these are mine," He said, as he collected all the chips. He figured that he must have just won at least 2.5 million in cash since all the people he beat looked extremely wealthy and seemed to have endless wallets. he looked at his opponent. "You were good, kid. Real good. But as long as I'm around, you'll always be second best, see?"
A few minutes later, he walked out the casino area, carrying a briefcase containing 2.5 million dollars. He gave the briefcase a kiss and chuckled in victory.
"Oof!" He 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, Alex 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.
Alex 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."
Alex 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, Alex 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. Alex 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 Alex, pausing a little as her cheeks went red. "I am so sorry, my brother, he's really energetic."
"It's okay," Alex 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, Alex 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." Alex 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," Alex 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 Greek roots myself."
"Really?" Nico asked, excited.
"Really." Alex nodded.
"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.
"Nice." Alex whistled, making Nico beam. "So, how long have you guys been here?"
"A month now. It's a good place to be in while the war is going on." Bianca said, causing Alex to frown.
"War? What war?" He asked.
"You know, World War II? Anyway, Nico and I better get back to our room. Bye." Bianca waved at him then took Nico with he, the younger boy waving back at Alex.
"Bye." Alex said, frowning a little as he thought on her words.
He then went around, asking people for the year and got different responses. Some said 1945, others said 1969, or 1970 and so on.
That's when it hit him: They're in the lair of the lotus eaters. How much time has passed since he, Percy, Grover and Annabeth entered?
"Shit!" Alex cursed and ran off to find his friends quickly, soon running into Percy.
"Alex!"
"We need to get out of here, now!" Alex said urgently.
"Yeah, i know!" Andromeda nodded "I've ran into people who think it's the 1970s."
"This is the Lotus Hotel." The son of Artemis 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 here."
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 Alex strode up, and gave the bellhop an uppercut that knocked him out cold causing the others' eyes to widen.
"No." Was all Alex 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 Percy's shoulder, which was odd, because he was sure she had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but now she had other problems to worry about.
Percy 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 he 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.
The others gasped and held their heads in realization "We were in there for five days. That means...," Percy started before Annabeth interrupted him and looked at them gravely.
"Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice. We have one day left. If we don't make it, then the gods will be at war."
Alex took a long deep breath as he went by the side of the road and whistled. When he did a taxi pulled up right in front of them and they got in.
"Los Angeles, please," Annabeth said as she got in.
The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you got to pay up front."
"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked.
He shrugged. "Some of them. Same as credit cards mostly. I have to swipe it through first."
Annabeth handed him her green Lotus Cash card. The man looked at it a little hesitantly before shrugging and swiping it through his machine.
His meter machine started rattling and before long the lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign.
The man whistled before he looked at Annabeth. "Where to, your highness?" He said in a polite tone which caused Annabeth to sit up straight. Alex guessed she liked being called 'your highness.'
"Los Angeles." She said as the cab driver nodded before he began driving.
As soon as they began driving off they took one last look at the Lotus Hotel and Casino.
"I have not had that much fun in so long," Percy said sighing as the others nodded.
"I got to shoot red necks," Grover muttered with a wistful smile. He obviously had a lot of fun too, even if it did cost them five days.
"I built cities," Annabeth said referring to her Sims game she was obsessed with. No doubt that what she wanted to do in the future.
"I won 2.5 million dollars," Alex said nodding his head before he noticed it went quiet. He looked up to see everyone including the cab driver looking at him with gobsmacked looks on their face.
"What?"
And that's it for this chapter, people.