Poseidon's Daughter; A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

The Lotus Hotel and Casino

Y/n's POV

"Well well well. You didn't get yourself killed," Ares noticed when we met him back in the diner's parking lot. 

"You knew it was a trap," Percy said. 

Ares grinned. "I bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV." 

"You're a jerk," Percy seethed and shoved the shield back at the god of war. 

"Eh. I could care less. Now, see that truck over there? That's your ride. It'll take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas," Ares revealed. The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back that read 'Kindness International: Human Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals'.

"Please tell me you're kidding," I plead.

"It's a free ride west," Ares defended. "Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

Ares handed Percy a blue backpack that was filled to the brim with stuff. Fresh clothes, $20 in cash, a pouch of drachmas, and a bag of Oreos. I could tell Percy wanted to say something back. He had a habit of doing that. Thankfully, Grover spoke first.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover chimed in.

"Yeah. Thanks," Percy muttered through gritted teeth. "But you owe me one more thing. You promised me information about my mother." 

"Right. She's not dead. In fact, she's very much alive. She's being kept," Ares clarified and revved the engine on his motorcycle.

Percy frowned. "Kept? Why?"

"You need to study war," Ares lectured. "Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else. See you around, kid." 

"You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues," Percy spit out. 

"We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back," Ares warned and sped off.

"All right, Percy, you and I need to have a chat about etiquette," I claim. "You shouldn't talk back to a god, especially Ares. He's not someone you want to make an enemy with."

"Hey guys," Grover interrupted. "I don't want to intrude, but the truck is about to leave. If we're taking the zoo express, we have to hurry."

The truck was not my preferred mode of transportation, but we had no other choice, so the four of us climbed inside. It stunk like cat litter, and it was way too hot. Inside, there were three cages, each holding a different animal: a zebra with chewing gum in its mane, an albino lion in a cage way too small for it, and an antelope with a balloon tied to one of its horns. We huddled in the corner on some feed sacks, and with me in the corner, I used the wall next to me as a pillow.

"I'm going to get some rest," I tell everyone. "Goodnight."

The next morning, Grover awoke me with the start. The men in the front of the truck were coming to check on the animals. We hid behind the feed sacks, and as soon as they were gone, we made the decision to free the animals. Percy slashed at the lock on the zebra's cage, and it hopped out of the truck with the two men chasing after it. Next we freed the lion and the antelope, and once they were freed, we exited the truck. We wandered through Vegas, looking for nothing in particular, and eventually we reached a dead end where a large building loomed over us. The neon sign read 'The Lotus Hotel and Casino.'

"Hey, kids," the doorman greeted us. "You look tired. You want to come in for a bit?"

I thought this place would be like a normal hotel and casino duo. The hotel lobby would be in the front, and the casino would be in the back. But I was wrong. The whole lobby was a giant game room. A large indoor water slide snaked around the glass elevator in the middle of the room. There was a climbing wall, an indoor bungee jumping bridge, virtual reality suits with laser guns, and hundreds of other video games. There were a few kids inside playing some of the games, and a snack bar serving any food you could imagine. As soon as we stepped inside, a bellhop walked up to us.

"Welcome to the Lotus Casino," the bellhop chirped. "Here's your room key. The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides. Enjoy your stay." 

I thought the lobby was impressive, but our room was just as cool. It had four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, chips, and drinks. A big tv sat in the main room, and there was a balcony with a hot tub. I just stared at everything, not sure what to try first.

"This place is sweet," Grover commented.

The first thing I did was take a shower, and this was probably the fanciest bathroom I'd ever be in. After washing up, I put on some of the clothes that I found in the closet. There was a pair of jeans and a long sleeved white blouse. The bodice was tight, but the sleeves were loose, and I loved it. In the main room, I found that everyone else had showered and changed too. I grabbed a snickers bar and a bottle of lemonade from the bar and sat down next to Annabeth, who was watching the National Geographic Channel on the flatscreen TV.

"So what now? Sleep?" Annabeth suggested.

Percy shook his head and held up the Lotus Cash cards. "Play time."

Back in the game room, the four of us spread out to do whatever we wanted. I ignored the bungee jumping since I was afraid of heights, but the water slide was awesome. And because I was a daughter of Poseidon, I remained dry no matter how many times I went down it. I jumped from game to game, trying out a few sword fighting games, an archery game, and even a cooking simulator. It all reminded me of Camp Half Blood. But the last thing I played was a virtual family game. You got to design a family and then play as yourself in the game. I created myself, and then, for some reason, I designed my mom and older brother. With the VR headset, everything felt so real. The best part was, my mom was actually nice. I don't know how long I was playing for, but the next thing I know, Percy is tugging the headset off of me.

"Hey!" I protest. "Give that back, Percy!"

"Y/n, we have to leave," Percy insisted.

"What are you talking about, Percy? We just got here," I remind him and go to snatch the headset back, only for Percy to hold it out of my reach.

"Something is wrong here," Percy claimed. "So we need to find Grover and Annabeth and get out of here.

"Percy, nothing is-"

Percy gasped and pointed to the floor. "Look! The floor changed. Now it looks like we're 10,000 feet in the air."

On instinct, I jumped into Percy, who didn't catch me. The two of us tumbled to the floor, where we landed in a heap. I groaned and rubbed my hip, which had come in contact with the carpeted floor. After apologizing and helping Percy off the floor, my vision cleared.

"Percy? How long have we been here?" I ask.

"I don't know," Percy answered. "But we need to find Annabeth and Grover."

We found Annabeth first, who was playing an architecture simulator game. She was in the middle of designing some towers when we interrupted her game play. After lying about spiders, which snapped Annabeth out of her trance, we told her everything, to which she agreed that we needed to leave. Grover was playing a game where he was a deer that was shooting hunters. It took a minute, but we managed to convince him that things weren't right here too. On our way out of the hotel, we were stopped by a bellhop.

"We've just added a new floor to members with platinum cards only. Do you want to try it out?" the man questioned. 

"Sorry," I decline. "But we have to go." 

Once outside, I could tell it was still the afternoon. But it wasn't hot and sunny like it was when we entered the hotel. Instead, the sky was dark and stormy, and lightning was flashing out in the desert. Percy and I had our backpacks on, which I thought was weird because we left them in the casino, but I waved the thought off as I grabbed a newspaper from the nearest stand. I let out a breath when I noticed we were still in the same year. But when I noticed the date, I started to panic. It was June 20th. We were in the Lotus Casino for five days. And tomorrow was the summer solstice, meaning we only had one day left to complete our quest.