Damn... It's upload day already, time sure does fly...
Oh Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends. Welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter.
Hope your going to enjoy and now on to the review.
RedHood001: Of course Matt's going to survive, he's immoral You mean immortal? Yeah that too.
Now story time.
When the evening set in, the RV was parked at the side of the road. Matt needed a few winks before he was able to drive again.
Matt was emptying his bladder in the bathroom when he realized they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth, the solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. Giving them plenty of time to spare.
Washing his hands in the kitchen sink, Matt was drying his hands with a towel when Annabeth came up to him.
"Hey." Annabeth said.
"Sup?" Matt said.
"I'm sorry." she said, "For freaking out back at the water park."
"It's alright." he said casually, "Don't worry about it."
"It's just..." she shuddered, "Spiders."
"Don't you mean, spiders! Spiders, spiders, spiders, spiiiiiiiiiders!" Matt said with a grin, "Does your arachnophobia have anything to do with the story of Arachne?"
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."
"Forget it." Matt said waving it off, "We're cool."
Walking out of the RV, the two joined Percy and Grover outside by the burning camp fire as a few folding chairs where placed around it.
"In the Iris message..." she said as they at down, "Did Luke really say nothing?"
"Nothing very interesting. But he said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time." Matt said as created a white flame from his finger tips, his hair and eyes glowing as he did, "Nobody would turn into a pine tree."
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." he said with a tremble to his voice, "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, before turning to Annabeth, "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp... That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
"Athena guided me toward help as a seven years old wouldn't have gotten very far." Annabeth told them, "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 traveled 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." Grover 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 with 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, no one blames you." Annabeth said, "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."
"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy said, "That's not fair."
"I agree with Percy on that one." Matt said as the flame disappeared from his thumb, "From what I've seen, you've been plenty of helpful."
They sat in silence for a half an hour before they started to turn in, Grover being the first who went into the RV to find his bed, followed by Percy leaving Matt and Annabeth behind.
As they just sat there, Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead." Matt said, "From your first summer?"
She hadn't realized what she was doing, "Yeah, every August, the counselors 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..."
"Sounds like a story worth hearing." Matt said with a laugh, "So the college ring, that one is your dad's?"
"That's none of your..." she snapped at him.
"It's okay." Matt said, holding up his hands, "Don't bite my head off."
"No... It's..." 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 apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."
"Okay, okay." Matt said, "Though I'm feeling there is a but coming up. There is always a but."
"The problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever." Annabeth said, "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."
"That's rough, Annabeth." Matt said, "You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"
She wouldn't meet his eyes, "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."
"Really? I couldn't tell. Seeing as you keep arguing with me." Matt said with a smile, "But for real, Annabeth, maybe you should write him 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."
They passed some time as they sat in silence again.
"I've been meaning to ask... About the time the gods where forced to make a deal." Matt said, "What is the story behind that?"
"It was a very long time ago. A Son of Zeus, Kratos, an exceedingly strong half-blood, declared war against Olympus intended to kill Zeus after feeling betrayed. He used the Loom of Fate to bring the Titans to him and help him stage a full-on invasion of Olympus. No matter what they did, Kratos could use the Loom to alter fate. With no options left they made a bargain with the being, one outside of fates reach, to not only put a stop to Kratos powered by the Loom, but also the Titans."
"Olympus very own Sauron." Matt said with a nod, "The one that shall not be named... I know the other one sounds more appropriate but that's a bit on the nose."
"The very same. He managed to put a stop to Kratos and send the Titans back to their own time to be defeated. But the gods where betrayed, Ares was send to deliver a message to him but... you already know how that turned out."
"Ayup, Ares crying on the floor." Matt said, "I'm surprised he allowed that to get out."
"Hard to keep it a secret when he was dropped back on Olympus when he was still crying and in a near catatonic state." Annabeth said, "The being then went on his own war against Olympus. Zeus in his arrogance tried to strike him down but not even the combined might of all the Olympians was enough to stop him, they barely slowed him down."
"All the Olympians versus this one dude?" Matt said, "Who is he? The Fratziano from GCU?"
"Who?"
"I sometimes forget how long you've lived at Camp." Matt said, "The Fratziano is a superhero from the Guardians Cinematic Universe based on the comic's written by Skyguy626. In his first movie, he stopped the third World War in a single day."
"Don't read a lot of comic books." Annabeth said annoyed, "Especially if it's written by Skyguy626."
"Yeah... He's not a very good writer." Matt said with a nod, "Anyways, how does the story end?"
"Olympus was brought to its knees that day, and it only still exists to this day because of his mercy. And the price for that mercy? The entire pantheon was now and forever in his eternal debt." Annabeth said, "Though rumors go that he rarely makes use of that fact."
The two sat there for a few more moments before Annabeth told him to get some rest, as she will be taking the first guard duty.
"Just one more thing." Matt said as he stood up, "If we somehow feck up and the gods go to war, and we get a real sequel to World War two... Will history repeat and we get another round of Athena versus Poseidon?"
She put her head against the back of her chair, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"You will?" Matt said surprised, "Why?"
"Because I know for a fact you will be fighting on Percy's side and I rather not have you as an enemy. And because..." she said, seemingly having difficulty getting the words out, "Well because you're my friend, Cow Eyes! Any more stupid questions?"
"No, not at the moment." Matt said with a smile, "Your my friend as well, Storm Cloud."
The moment Matt's head hit his pillow, he fell asleep and entered his dream.
In his dream, Matt found himself back standing upon a ocean of swirling mass of royal blue water-like substance. The skies above bright white filled with a constant aurora as a massive blue sun was shining its light down on the ocean.
Usually he would see something, or someone related to things to come. But he looked along the endless ocean, the never ending white sky, but found no sign of live in any direction in the endless blue ocean.
But when he turned around for the second time, his eyes widen when he saw it.
In the far distance, he spotted a massive storm of black cloud approaching. As if reacting to his presence, it suddenly picked up speed and headed towards his location. Slightly panicking, the young man began to try and outrun the approaching storm but it felt that how harder he forced his feet to move, the slower they went while the storm only picked up speed.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a shapeless figure inside the storm an arm reached out to him.
But before they could meet, Matt woke up back in the RV.
In the desert afternoon, the RV drove down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. They had just arrived in Las Vegas. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, as they drove passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. Passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica.
Matt must have driven them to a wrong turn, because they came to a stop 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 to be exact.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Matt was immediately suspicious, because anybody might be a monster or a god. One just couldn't tell these days.
He followed the others inside, they 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 building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were 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 had it.
There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the 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."
"What?" Matt said confused, "But we didn't..."
"No, no, the bill's taken care of." he said laughing, "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 Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed them each a green plastic credit card.
"How much is on here?" Percy said.
His eyebrows knit 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."
Taking the elevator upstairs and checked out their 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 television 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. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing.
"Oh, goodness." Annabeth said, "This place is..."
"Sweet." Grover said, "Absolutely sweet."
Matt ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, but in the back of his mind, some small problem kept nagging him.
Walking out of the bedroom he found that Percy, Annabeth and Grover had showered and changed clothes. Percy and Grover was eating potato chips to their heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.
"Of all the stations you can chose from." Matt said hands in his pockets, "And you chose National Geographic."
"It's interesting." Annabeth said.
"If you say so." he said with a shrug, "I'll take your word for it."
"I feel good." Grover said. "I love this place!"
"So what now?" Annabeth asked.
Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time." Percy said.
Matt's time in the casino was great. So many games to play like snowboarding the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. Though something was nagging him, and he got his confirmation when he was dominating at a Street Fighter arcade.
The guy next to him was about his age, give or take a few years, but his clothes were several decades out of fashion. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night.
Just as Matt was about to pick his character he overheard him saying, "Groovy, man. Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."
"Okay, nobody under the age of sixty would say that unironically." Matt noted, "Yo dude. What year is it?"
"Like in the game?"
"No, in real life."
He had to think about it. "1977."
"Okay..." Matt said as he slowly backed away.
He had known something was off, he could feel it in his jellies, as his dad would say.
Doing some detective work around the casino, which was difficult when everyone else was glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever.
But when he managed, the things they said concerned him. One guy told him it was 1985. Another one told him it was 1993. But they all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and or seemed to really care.
Then it occurred to him, how long had he been there?
Focusing on what he was doing before coming here but it was hazy. He was going to Los Angeles to start World War III...
No, that wasn't correct.
He was going to Los Angeles to find the entrance to the Underworld to start World War III...
No, that wasn't right either.
He was traveling with Percy, Annabeth and Grover to Los Angeles, find the Underworld to find Zeus Lightning Bolt to start World War III...
"Okay, find the others, get out of here, go to Los Angeles and start World War III..." Matt said to himself, "The feck is wrong with me!"
"Hey, you okay?"
He turned around to see it was a boy a few years younger than him with dark silky hair which looked like he just got out of bed and olive skin, wearing all black clothing.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Matt said, shaking his head, "Just need some fresh air." before he went to look for his friends.
Scouring the game room, he found Annabeth still building her city.
"Come on." Matt told her laying a hand on her shoulder, "We got to go."
She looked up annoyed, "What? Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers..."
"This place is a trap. The Underworld. We need to start World War III! Our quest!"
"Oh, come on, Matt. Just a few more minutes."
"Oh, feck it." Matt said, taking control of the game using a command to have a band appear and play rock music loud enough to reduce the city to rubble.
"Matt! You destroyed my city!" Annabeth shouted in anger, "You destroyed my city with rock and roll!"
"I know." Matt said, now having her attention he gripped both sides of her face and force her to look into his eyes, "Spiders! Large creatures with eight legs and too many eyes!"
That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods." she said, "How long have we..."
"Good question." Matt said letting go of her, "We got to find Percy and Grover."
They went searching, and found Percy dragging Grover away from the Virtual Deer Hunter. At once Annabeth walked over and helped Percy by taking Grover's other arm and they dragged him away as they followed Matt.
Grover's flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"
"I know the pain, buddy." Matt mumbled as the Lotus bellhop hurried up to them.
"Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?" he said.
"Nope." Matt said cups his hands, "Hadoken!" and then thrust forward to shoot out a blast of white fire.
With the bellhop distracted by the sudden blast of fire, they made a break for it, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting.
Then they burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day they'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.
Ares's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder.
Running to the RV, which was still there waiting for them. Matt started the engine as the digital clock and calendar came up. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in.
"Oh, feck." Matt said when he noticed the date: June twentieth.
They had been in the Lotus Casino for six days. They had only one day left until summer solstice. One day to complete the quest.
"Okay, strap in." Matt said as he moved the engine into drive, "We're going to hit the road before I hit one of those fools in front of us!"
There you go, hope you enjoyed.
Before anyone ask, yes the boy who asked if Matt was okay is Nico.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
Take care of yourself, drink plenty of water and I will see you people next time.