I 012. I

𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔

❝ i don't know ❞

     ARIADNE DECIDED IT WAS BEST IF SHE STEER AWAY FROM PERCY. His quick thinking had saved them so she wasn't mad, more or less, she was squirming around him because of the anger radiating off of him.

Yes, she was angry, dangerously angry even for her, but the girl didn't want to blow a defuse and hurt him. The last time that had happened, well, a lot of people had the scars to prove when her anger got to much.

She had suffered from what was called an I.E.D disorder, also known as Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Only a few people like her father, mother, Chiron, her brothers, Annabeth, Luke and Grover knew about it.

Her medicine had been in her bag that was blown up by Zeus, which was not good. So without it, she was a walking time bomb.

And the rage she was feeling was equivalent to nothing she had ever felt before, and if Percy didn't rip Ares apart, she surely would.

Percy's eyes were hurricanes now, ready to be let out and drown the god in its murky water. His fists clenched the whole way back as his three friends walked behind him, Annabeth holding Ariadne's hand so she didn't explode.

Grover was watching his friend wearily, knowing her condition. He had wrapped her hand up in whatever bandages he could find back in the souvenir shop, it was an expert wrap but it would do for now.

They spotted Ares leaning against his bike at the curb in front of the diner, "Well, well. You didn't get yourself killed."

Percy narrowed his eyes at the god, "You knew it was a trap."

Ares gave him a cruel smirk, "Bet that crippled blacksmith surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

Annabeth kept her grip tight on the girl who clenched her eyes shut, head throbbing from the need to lash out.

"You're a jerk," Percy told him while shoving his shield into the god's chest.

He threw it in the air while it spun, transforming into a bulletproof vest which he put on, pointing over towards a semi parked across the street. "See that truck over there? That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The truck sign read: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIBE ANIMALS.

"You're kidding," Percy told jinx

Ares unlatched the back door with a snap of his fingers, "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And there's a little something for doing the job." He slid a blue backpack off of his bike's handlebars, Percy catching it once it was tossed.

There was fresh clothes and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos along with them. Percy gave the god a glare, "I don't want your lousy—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares." Grover told him, "Thank you a lot."

The god grunted while a sneer was present on his lips, Percy threw the bag over his Boulder while he let his glare up.

Ariadne watched as the same waitress who served them dragged a cook from the kitchen pointed out the window, having another witness incase Ares attacked them in any way. The cook held up a camera before snapping a picture of them, she tolled her eyes as Annabeth cursed.

"You owe me one more thing," Percy said. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news? She's not dead."

"W-What do you mean?"

Ares rolled his eyes, "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."

"Kept? Why?"

Ares shifted his sunglasses, "You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me."

"Oh yeah?" The god laughed, "See you around, kid."

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

"We'lol meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

And that's when she snapped.

Before Ares could dive off into the night, Ariadne broke free from Annabeth's hold. She ignored the blonde's worries shouts and Grover's whimpers.

She stepped right up his bike, hands clenched at her side. "Listen here, Lord Ares," she mocked. "I don't care if your the god of war, or that you're a god in general. But I won't hesitate to march to Olympus and throttle you myself, or maybe, I'll do it right now."

Ares's eyes glowed brighter behind his sunglasses, her anger radiating off of her so much that he was ready to sigh, but her eyes glowed as well.

He realized she may be Dionysus's daughter, but her powers were incredible. "So don't attack my friends, if you turn me into a ferret or curse me for the rats of my god forsaken life, fine. But don't threaten my friends or I will smother you in  so many vibes you will never escape."

And with that, he drove away from them as she watched him go. Her body shaking visibly from the rage she felt, and she when she glanced over her shoulder, her friends stepped back a bit.

Percy had never seen her that angry, and it scared him. Her amethyst eyes were glowing brighter than ever before, he thought vines would grow from the ground but he was wrong, his head felt a bit fuzzy as his vision went in and out.

Annabeth held her head while Grover hissed, all of them fading in and out of a purple haze before it cut off. Ariadne letting her fists go while taking a deep breath, Percy took a cautious step forward before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That was not smart, Percy." Annabeth's colder him once the pain in her head subsided.

"I don't care."

Annabeth shook her head, "You don't want a god for your enemy. Especially not that god."

"Hey, guys." Grover called for them, "I hate to interrupt, but..." The last of the customers were two men who wore identical overalls, the logo of the semi pasted across their backs. "If we're taking the zoo express, we need to hurry."

The trailer smelled terrible. Ariadne had to cover her nose once she stepped inside, and she realized this was anything but humane.

Percy and her brought out their swords, using them to create a slight glow inside the dark space. And they spotted the cages that almost made her cry.

Ariadne eyed the dirty straw from animal urine and dung, stuck inside the cages with the sad looking animals. No, not sad; depressed.

An antelope, zebra and albino lion. There was a bag of turnips thrown to the Lion and a plastic tru of hamburger meat was given to the zebra and antelope. A piece of chewing gum was knotted in the zebra's mane, while the antelope had a birthday balloon tied to one of its horns reading: OVER THE HILL!

And the lion hurt her heart. He painted heavily in his cramped and stuffy cage, flies buzzing around his eyes while she could see his ribs poking through his fur.

Grover was easy to march and beat the truckers with his fake feet and Ariadne was right there with him, until the vehicle roared to life and shook the trailer.

Ariadne realized that she could speak with the lion because of her father, so when Percy made the comment about the lion liking them better than the turnips, she focused into hear his reply.

"I wouldn't do that. Especially, with you here daughter of Dionysus."

The girl let a smile crack on her face despite the situation, she refilled their water bowls and placed them in the cages.

Percy used Riptide to drag the right food to the right animals. Meat to the Lion and turnips to the zebra and antelope. Grover kept the antelope calm as Annabeth cut the balloon off its horn, she wanted to get the gun out of the zebra's man but it was too risky.

Ariadne reaches her hand through the lion's cage hesitantly, which caused her friends to go wide eyed and cry out.

The lion let out a small roar while she shots her friends a glare, "Just... let me do this."

And she tried again, with the lion responding well and rubbing his head against her palm. She was ready to cry because of its thoughts and emotions, her fingers ran through his mane while he purred in thanks.

The girl sat besides his cage as he ate, bringing some comfort for the animal even though the rancid smell was causing her eyes to water. She caught Percy staring at the doors while deep in thought, her eyes found Grover curled up on a turnip sack while Annabeth ate an Oreo half-heartedly.

Her fingers ran through the lion's mane as he step peacefully for once, a soft smile making her face how in the dark. She missed home. She missed waking up every morning to her brothers hanging off their beds, she missed her tail sword fights with Luke and pinochle games with Chiron and her father. She missed how Annabeth, Grover and her used to sit in a canoe while the blonde read a book and Grover and the brunette used to watch the fish swim past.

"Hey," Annabeth's voice fluttered throughout the trailer, "I'm sorry for framing out back at the water park, Percy. If I could just hold open the net, perhaps you and Ariadne might have gotten out easier."

Percy reassured her, "It's okay. And besides, I don't think any os us could have held the net open even if we're as strong as Hercules.

"It's just... spiders."

He nodded, "Because of the Arachne story. She got turned into a spider for challenging your motto a weaving contest, right?"

"Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athene ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it will find me I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."

Percy gave her a grin, "We're a team, remember? Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."

The turnip sacks shuffled around, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?" Grover mumbled. They all laughed, and Ariadne watched as Annabeth broke an Oreo with Percy, moving closer to him as they talked.

She suddenly wasn't in the mood to hear what they were talking about, but thankfully, they spoke loud enough so she could hear from the cages. "In the IM... did Luke really say nothing?"

"Luke said you guys and he go way back," Percy spoke as he nibbled on his half of the cookie. "He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."

Grover was saddened by the memory, everyone was. "I should've told you the truth from the beginning." He spoke softly, "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?"

"And two other half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." The demigod boy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"

Annabeth sighed, "No seven year old half-blood would have made it very far alone. Athena guided me towards help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They all had troubled families, both had run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. Luke and Thalia, they were... amazing monster fighters, even without training. They had been on the road without me for a year and a half, and we travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."

Grover sniffled,"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp. Only Thalia. Strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but It 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 my way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..."

"Stop," Annabeth told him, shaking her head. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either. If any us were in your position we'd be the same."

But Grover kept going, "Thalia sacrificed herself to save us. Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elder said so."

And that made Ariadne scoff quietly, that council was nothing but a Grover Underwood hate fan club, always dissing on him when it wasn't his fault for having a good heart.

"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy asked, "That's not fair."

Annabeth looked at the Satyr, "Percy's right. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."

"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."

Ariadne had enough of him hating himself, she scooted forwards as she took his hands in hers. "You are not lame. Do you know how many times you've had more courage than I have, I'll tell you, it's a lot. And I bet, if we asked the Council to go into the Underworld, they wouldn't do it, but you are. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."

She turned her head and shot him a look, he gave her a quick glare before nodding. "Yeah. 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 ends Pan."

Ariadne released his hands before scooting next to Percy, hugging her knees to her chest and only realized the looks Annabeth and him were giving her. "What?"

Percy sighed, "When you were talking to Ares, there were no vines, why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Guess they didn't grow that time."

"No," Annabeth said. "All three of us felt faint afterwards, and I thought I saw a spider run across my feet, how did you do that?"

"Look, I don't know."

The blonde decided it was time for her to sleep, leaning against a turnip sack as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Percy and Ariadne sat in silence for a while, jostling slightly with the trailer.

Percy eyed the girl who watched the lion sleep, "Why did you blow up on Ares like that?"

She glanced over before closing her eyes, "I... I have a condition."

"Condition?"

"Ever heard of the term IED?" Percy shook his head, "Intermittent explosive disorder. It usually occurs in kids, most who have been involved in verbal or physical abuse."

The boy's eyes soften, "And you've had both."

"Bingo," she chuckled. A sad smile crossed her face, "The day I was diagnosed my mom screamed at the psychiatrist about how it wasn't true, and that's when the state started building a case against her to take me away. And that's..."

"When she left you at camp."

The girl nodded, hugging her knees tighter before opening her eyes. "My medicine was in my bag the day the bus exploded, so I've been trying but I guess he made it so much worse. I'm sorry."

Percy moved in front of her, "Don't be. It's not your fault he's a terrible person." They both chuckled at his words, Ariadne let her purple eyes wander through his sea-green.

She yawned and stretched her legs out, leaning her head against the wall before closing her eyes. Her mind was hazy with sleep so she didn't realize what was happening next, but she felt her head lean against a shoulder before darkness took over, and a hand laced in hers.

***

ARIADNE WAS SHOVED AWAKE BY ANNABETH. Her blonde friend was agitated until she opened her eyes, removing her from the land of sleep. "What?" The brunette asked irritably, rubbing her eyes.

"The trucks stopped," Grover told her, "We hung they're coming on to check the animals. Wake Percy up."

She glanced up and saw that his head was laying on hers, drool dribbling down his face as she grimaced. Their hands were laced together, and when she tried pulling hers away, he just held on tighter.

The girl sighed heavily before yelling for him, "Percy." He didn't wake, "Percy!"

He shot awake and looked around with confusion, "The truck drivers are coming to check on the animals, we have to hide."

Annabeth turned to them, Yankee's cap on hand. "Hide!"

Ariadne, Percy and Grover sucked behind sacks of feed, crowded together as Annabeth just disappeared in thin air.

The doors opened to let in sunlight and dry winds, truckers hopping into the trailer. "Man!" One yelled, "I wish I hailed appliances."

And I wish I could beat you guys to a pulp.

"You hot, big boy?" He asked the lion while pouring water into their bowls, he then splashed the rest of the water into the animals face.

Ariadne glared as she heard the lion roar, and she was ready to let the animals maul the man, but Percy held her tightly so she couldn't go anywhere. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." The man said, he threw a bag of McDonalds to the antelope who eyed it with disgust. "How ya doin', Stripes?" He spoke to the zebra, "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!"

Grover was horrified and so was Percy, actually, all of them were horrified. Just as the brunette was going to wrestle against Percy's hold, three knocks sounded from the side of the trailer.

"What do you want, Eddie?"

Another trucker yelled from outside, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

The three knocks sounded again before Eddie shouted back, "What banging?"

Maurice rolled his eyes and jumped from the trailer, storming towards the side where the banging came from.

Annabeth appeared next to Ariadne who almost jumped in fright, she must've been the one doing the banging. "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said, he looked ready to fight someone. But then Ariadne heard what the lion was saying.

"The lion says these guys are animals smugglers!" She said, "We've got to free them!"

But her, Grover and Annabeth looked to Percy for an answer. They had all realized he was suitable to lead them on this quest because he had saved them multiple times.

Ariadne trusted him. She never thought she would trust a child of Poseidon but he had saved her life multiple times and she trusted him completely.

The girl watched as his sea-green eyes focused on the zebra, which she realized it was because the animal was a horse. Maurice and Eddie were shouting at each other from outside, which gave Percy enough time to slash the chain lock off the zebra's cage with Riptide.

Percy stood up as it bowed to him, and she grinned slightly. Grover held his hands up and spoke something to the animal, which she couldn't understand but knew it was a type of blessing.

Maurice looked back into the trailer only for the zebra to jump over his head and run down the street. Cars honked and swerved as many onlookers snapped pictures or videos. They had released a zebra in Las Vegas.

The two truckers ran after it as policeman chased after them, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"

Annabeth looked over at them, "Now would be a good time to leave." The brunette nodded before Grover spoke up.

"The other animals first."

Ariadne pulled out her sword before slashing the lock off the lion's cage while Percy did the same with the antelope. The boy wished both of the animals a 'good luck' before Grove grave them a blessing, the antelope took off quickly but the lion turned to the brunette.

"Thank you, m'lady. Thank you."

She placed her hand on its head, "Your welcome. Live a good life for me." The predator purred gently before licking her face, jumping out the trailer and running off into the city.

The girl watched with sad eyes as it left, that made two animals she had loved leave. Tourists screamed out as the albino creature ran, ducking out of the way but many still videotaping.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy questioned to Grover, "I mean, the desert and all—"

"Don't worry, I placed a Satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

Grover put his hands on his hips, "Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

Percy gave him a look, "Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?"

"It only works on wild animals."

Ariadne took a step forward, "So what your saying, is that it would only work on Percy."

The boy gave her an offended look, raising his arms wide. "Hey!" He protested but the girl just giggled and he pouted.

"Come one," Annabeth told them, "let's go."

Ariadne, Grover, Percy and Annabeth took off down the streets as well. The sun glaring at them while the wind blew dry air into their faces. In five minutes, they were all sweating likes pigs.

She gazed up at the different neon lights of the streets, a small replica of the Statue of Liberty was set on the street which they passed. A small smile crossed her face once they passed the Monte Carlo, knowing how her father told her stories about different parties he had been there.

They only realized they didn't know where to go until they ended up in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. A huge flower glowing brightly with neon colors hung above the entrance, and it looked inviting to all of them.

A red carpet led inside where the glittering doors were opened, the smell of flowers flowing from inside and into their noses. The cool air conditioning almost made her fall over, she was so hot and in need of a shower.

Ariadne noticed a doorman walking towards them, a brilliant smile on his face. "Hey kids, you look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

Her friends looked ready to accept but she wasn't so sure, something about this place wasn't right. But Percy moved forward, followed by Annabeth and Grover. She didn't, only tightening her hold on the bag thrown over her shoulder, gulping at the giant neon flower.

The doorman tried coaxing her in, "Come on, kid. You're friends are inside, don't want to be left behind."

So she had no choice but to follow, walking into the cool air as the doorman walked behind her. The whole lobby was full of activity, a water side snaking around a glass elevator with one big game room. Kids were playing virtual reality games while there were no lines.

"Whoa," Grover breathes out, eyes wide.

Her eyes looked over at her friends who's eyed were also wide and in awe of the sight. She was queasy, and her purple eyes scanned the many people and bright lights. It wasn't inviting her in, more like wanting to push her out the door.

A bellhop approached them, "Hey!" He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a lotus print, along with cargo shorts and flip flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Hotel. Here's your room key."

Annabeth was handed the gold lotus key, her hands shaking.

"Um, but..." Percy stammered.

The bellhop laughed, "No, no. The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go up to the top floor, room 4001z if you need anything, like extra bubbles, or sleet 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."

Ariadne took the plastic green card in her hand, eyeing it with uncertainty, she did not like the feeling of it. Percy asked when the cash would run out but the bellhop ushered them into an elevator.

Their room was a shit weigh four bedrooms, the bar was stocked with as much junk food they could want. A phone held a hotline to room service and fluffy pillows and waterbeds in each room. She looked at the biggest TV she had ever seen, the internet as quick as can be. There was a hot tub on the balcony which overlooked the busy city, and the night sky lit up by neon signs of other casinos.

Ariadne put her suspicions to the side to take a shower, and inside hers lay he favorite shampoo that smelled of grapes and lavender. Which she found odd, because it was a weird combination that the hotel wouldn't have been able to know.

She placed on a leopard print tank top and jean shorts before stuffing her old clothes in her bag, along with the clothes were new white converses that were squeaky clean. Those were placed on her feet before she joined her friends in the main room, where Ares's bag lay in the trash.

The girl sighed with a frustrated look, looking towards her friends who were sitting there. Grover was eating chips while Annabeth was watching National Geographic. Percy wasn't there so she sat on the floor in front of a mirror hanging on the wall.

Grover looked over to her, "Aria," she hummed, "there's Coke here."

She shot her head over and snatched the van from his hand. Coke was her one and only addiction. The days without it had killed her and anytime she tasted water she always wished she had a can of her favorite soda. So chugging it down was no big deal.

Percy raised an eyebrow as she watched her open a second can, walking back into the room. "Slow down, its not going anywhere."

Ariadne sighed, placing it to the side before gather half of her and putting it in a half up half down. The girl laid on the ground while staring at the ceiling while Annabeth walked back in from her shower. Grover took his before he looked at his friend, "I feel good. I love this place."

She huffed, "Don't get too comfortable, we're on a quest, and this place doesn't settle right with me."

"So what now?" Annabeth questioned, ignoring everything the brunette had just said. "Sleep? Eat?"

Percy held up his LotusCash card, "Playtime."

The girl followed her friends back to the game room, where they separated quickly. Annabeth to the 3D table to build whatever she wanted, Grover to the video games and Percy to the bungee jumping area.

Ariadne shook her head before walking around, a can of coke in her hands while non of the games stuck out to her. Only when she reached a table where a kid with black hair sat did she find some real interest, in his hands were the game Mythomagic.

She sat down as he looked up and she saw his giant grin, "Wanna play?"

The girl nodded before taking cards in her hands, placing them face down as she smirked. She laughed as she won one game before losing the next, and soon, she caught up.

A girl approached them, "Neeks, who's this?"

"This is Ariadne! She's awesome at this game, says Dionysus is a lot more powerful than what the game says!"

She gave the young girl a smile while she was being analyzed, "I'm Bianca."

"Nice to meet you," Ariadne said, shaking her hand. "You're brother is amazing, he's beaten me, like, five times."

"Yeah well, he prides himself in beating everyone in this game." She ruffled the boys hair as he swatted her hand away, the brunette laughed at the siblings.

Her eyes landed on a doorman walking towards them. In his hand was a Coke can, he set it in front of her before walking away without a word. She twirled it around as Nick and Bianca talked, but the girl was feeling a bit queasy.

The girl glanced up, "So how long have you all been here?"

Bianca shrugged, "A couple days, maybe?"

She nodded, "Where are you from?"

"Um," she glanced at her brother. "I'm not sure."

Ariadne furrowed her eyebrows before sipping the soda, but it tasted weird. Inside lay a flower. A lotus flower. Her eyes scanned the siblings before widening, "What year is it?"

"1941. Why?"

She stood up, "No reason. I have to, um, meet up with my friends."

Nico jumped up, "Will we see you again?"

The girl bit her lip before hugging them, "Maybe." And with that she ran into the crowd of people, searching for her friend as different workers tried giving her another can of Coke. She almost took them but her purple eyes created a purple hue around them, and she knew they had lotus flowers mixed within.

Ariadne finally found Percy, who was flipping around attached to a bungee cord before calling out, "Percy! We have to go."

The boy laughed as he hung upside down, "Why? This is so fun!"

She grit her teeth, "No. No it's not. This is a trap. I met two kids who said it was 1941."

Percy shook his head, hair hanging down as he was still flipping everywhere. "Come on! Jump with me!"

The girl looked around before finding a glass of water, she grabbed it and turned to the boy whose hung upside down in front of her. She poured it over his face as he let out choking sounds, flipping around before giving her a crazy look.

"What the hell was that for?"

She gripped onto his face, hands pressed against his cheeks before looking him in his eyes. "Wake up, Kelp Head." She whispered.

His eyes widened, placing his hands over hers before shaking his head. And thankfully, listening to her before unhooking himself from the harness.

They ran together, looking for Annabeth and Grover who were most likely paying video games. Percy turned to her, "How long have we been here?"

"I don't know. And I'm scared to find out."

And they found Annabeth at the 3D building game, her city magnificent. She was still working, eyes wide as she leaned over the game and placed down some materials.

"Annabeth," Ariadne spoke, "we have to leave." But no response, "Annabeth."

She looked up annoyed as Percy snapped his fingers in front of her face, "What?" She snapped.

"We need to leave," he told her.

"Leave? What are you talking about! I've just got the towers—"

The brunette sighed, "It's a trap."

"What?"

"Our quest? Getting to the Underworld? The bolt!"

Annabeth shook her head, "Oh come on, guys. Just give me a few more minutes."

"Annabeth," Percy spoke sternly, "there are people here from 1941z kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."

"So? Can you imagine a better place?"

Ariadne glared, pushing the girl away from the game as the blonde yelled at her but no one cared. The brunette messed up the city, as Annabeth slapped her arms. She turned around and held her friends hands, "Spiders!"

Her friend snapped out of it, "Oh my gods. How long...?"

"We don't know," Percy told her. "But we've got to find Grover."

And they looked around, searching for their friend. They found him playing Virtual Deer Hunter.

"Grover!" Percy yelled at him, but he was ignored.

The Satyr shot at the people on the screen, "Die, human! Die, silly-polluting-nasty person!"

"Grover!"

He spun around while clicking the trigger on the plastic gun like he could shoot them. Ariadne grabbed his arms with Percy and Annabeth while dragging him from the game. Wing sprouted from his shoes, flapping around as he tried tugging himself away from them.

"No! I just got to a new level!"

A bellhop walked towards them quickly, "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

Ariadne shook her head, "Thanks—"

"But we're just leaving," Percy finished for her.

The bellhop feigned sadness, "Such a shame. We just added an entire new floor full of game's for platinum card members."

Four cards were held in his hand, Percy urged them to continue as Ariadne could easily ignore them. Her only addiction was with Coke, and they tried to use that against her. Annabeth slapped away Grover's hand as he tried taking the card, "No, thanks."

They headed straight for the doors, but the smells of her favorite food almost made her stop. And she swore, she heard her brother's voices calling her to them. But she realized, they weren't there, they were at camp.

And as Percy, Annabeth and Grover hesitated, she pulled them out the doors of the casino. It was afternoon, and she hoped they were only there for a few hours.

Her eyes widened at the sky. Lightning crackling in the clouds, storms rolling over the city and she knew that wasn't a good sign. She felt her bag over her shoulder all though she left that back in her room.

Percy headed towards a newspaper, and his face went pale. June twentieth. They had been there for five days and she cursed herself for being stupid. A child of Dionysus falling for those tricks ought to be a shame towards their father's legacy, and they had only one day left for their quest.

Ariadne glanced back at the casino before looking back at the newspaper, running with her friends down the street and away from the neon flower. And yet, she wished she had grabbed Nico and Bianca with her, because she wasn't sure she could keep her promise of seeing them ever again.