Reincarnation in the PJO verse: Volume 1

『The Lotus Casino』

Reaching Las Vegas hadn't been much of a problem because he had the money and the food he needed for a comfortable journey.

Diedre would like to think it would have been a relaxing ride if he hadn't picked up the newspaper.

He was just flipping through the pages when he read, 'Teenage boy blows up a National Monument' and promptly spits out the water he had in his mouth.

Fucking seriously. After all he did to make sure that their journey would be smoother, they go and fuck up all his efforts. Really grateful people.

Well, he didn't need to worry a lot about that now. All he needs to do is take a rest so that he can properly do what he needs to do.

♬♬♬

The book never told about how shiny the Lotus Casino was.

He was enthusiastically ushered into the lobby by a perky ginger bellhop in a Hawaiian t-shirt, and LotusCash cards were eagerly pressed into his hands once again despite the fact that he probably didn't look too far off from homeless people.

As he was escorted through the mind-boggling huge lobby at whirlwind speed, Diedre struggled to keep his mind from wandering off in the direction of the shiny water slide, virtual reality suits, lovely clean clothes, or the food that smelled criminally good. Thankfully, there weren't that many kids—or adults, for that matter—in the lobby, making it all the easier to try and find Bianca and Nico.

Diedre hoped.

". . .so if you need anything, call the front desk, and we'll hook you up. If you like, you can ask for me. Name's Joe, and I, along with everyone else here, hope you enjoy your stay at the Lotus Casino!" Joe the bellhop finished brightly, clearly expecting plenty of questions as he practically buzzed with energy, his red curls bouncing over his forehead.

With a last wary glance at the oblivious bellhop—something didn't seem right with him, but Diedre couldn't quite name it—so he let the bellhop drag him to a room.

His room was enormous, with a sauna in the middle, a proper functioning bathroom, a tea/coffee making set at one side and a proper functioning bathroom.

He carelessly dropped the backpack on the couch and dug his increasingly full notebook—anything useful from the book's memories was added in the few spare seconds he had

Before succumbing to the siren call of a real shower and real food, he quickly ripped out a page and used a paper weight to leave a note on the coffee table in the connecting lounge for himself first.

IT'S A TRAP—REMEMBER TIME. FIND THEM.

It turned out to be rather redundant, though, as Diedre could hardly focus on anything else in the shower — water already primed to his preferred temperature — and afterward downing two coffees and inhaling a suspiciously grease-free burger. He traded out his grimy clothes for a new pair of jeans and hoodie, gleefully incinerating his old clothes before going to stalk the bellhop who had initially welcomed them.

After hunting his way through several retro-style arcade games—including one that looked like it was being played by Disco Darren, if Diedre wasn't mistaken—and arguing his way through a bunch of really sensitive sharpshooter fanatics, he found Joe arbitrating a debate.

The two groups in question, if Diedre didn't know better, looked just like regular D&D fans from one of his high schools, if they'd had a Hollywood film budget for costuming.

Diedre ducked a wild swing from someone wielding what looked like an actual metal javelin right as Joe seemed to be diffusing the tension.

"Now, if we can just all calm down, I know the perfect solution. Our platinum floor just opened up, and what d'y'know, we have—"