Chapter 176: Leaving the Lotus Casino

[Third Person's PoV] 

*Punch* 

"Ahhh!" Percy cried out as Clarisse's fist connected with his other eye. His face scrunched in pain as he stumbled back, clutching his face. "What the hell was that for? I understood the first time, but why the second one!?"

"No one told you to kiss me, you gross bastard!" Clarisse spat to the side and scrubbed furiously at her lips as if trying to erase the memory.

"OH, BUT IT'S OKAY WHEN YOU SUDDENLY GRAB ME AND KISS ME, BUT WHEN I DO IT, I'M GROSS!?" Percy's face was a mix of indignation and disbelief.

"YES! ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!"

"HEY!" Lucian shouted, raising his voice above the chaos and slapping his hands over Nico's ears. "THERE ARE CHILDREN PRESENT, SO NO CURSING WILL BE TOLERATED!"

Everyone fell silent, their eyes wide as they turned toward Lucian in shock. They had never seen him lose his composure like this. Nico, looking lost, blinked around at everyone with Lucian's hands still clamped protectively over his ears.

Thalia scoffed, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Lucian, you're the one who curses the most out of all of us…"

Lucian shot her a deadpan look. "Fine. I'll tone it down. For now."

Ignoring them, Nico pointed at Percy and snickered, "You look like a panda!"

The group stifled their laughter, their eyes fixed on Percy's two blackened eyes. Percy sighed, his expression a mixture of irritation and acceptance, before he turned to Lucian. "Who's he?"

Lucian straightened with a proud grin, gesturing to the two figures standing beside him. "These two are the reasons for my quest. Meet my siblings!"

Percy and Clarisse's expressions shifted to one of surprise, but before they could comment, Annabeth cleared her throat. "Alright, now that we're all introduced, we need to get moving," she said, her tone sharp and urgent.

"Introduced?" Bianca raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "I only know Lucian's name, and he's supposedly our brother."

"Not 'supposedly.' I am your brother," Lucian replied, his gaze steady.

Bianca raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Saying Hades is our father and showing off your shadow powers doesn't exactly prove anything."

Without a word, Lucian pulled out his phone, scrolling until he found a photo he'd secretly taken of Hades. He held it up to her. Bianca leaned in, scrutinizing the image. She looked at Lucian as if he were an overenthusiastic child. "Have you forgotten? We don't have memories of our parents."

Lucian clenched his fist and let out a frustrated grunt, then held his phone next to Nico's face. "See? Nico is practically an exact replica of our father."

Bianca sighed, giving a small nod. "Yeah, I see it. And even though I don't remember him… there's this strange sadness when I look at that picture."

Annabeth, eager to keep them on track, interrupted, "Like I said, we're out of time. Bianca, Nico, this is Thalia, Grover, Percy, Clarisse, and me—Annabeth. Now that introductions are done, let's move."

"What's the rush?" Percy asked, his brow furrowed as he glanced at Annabeth.

She turned to him, her face tense. "Time passes differently here. While it feels like we've only been here a short while, days have already passed. If we don't get back soon, we risk missing our chance to complete the quest, which could trigger a war among the three gods."

"What!?" Clarisse, Percy, and Bianca shouted simultaneously.

"What do you mean time passes differently here?" Bianca's voice was tinged with shock.

Annabeth looked from Bianca to Nico, her expression softening. "You might think it's still 1942… but it's actually 2006."

Both Bianca and Nico paled, Bianca instinctively pulling her brother close.

"Come on, Nico," she said hurriedly. "We need to leave right now."

"Huh? What?" Nico asked, bewildered.

"We need to pack. Immediately."

"I'll help them. Meet us outside," Lucian said as he quickly followed Bianca and Nico back inside.

…

Outside, Percy looked over his shoulder, feeling an odd sense of confusion. He noticed that Ares' blue backpack, which he was sure he'd discarded earlier, was once again strapped securely on his shoulder. Before he could question it, the door opened, and Lucian appeared with Bianca and Nico in tow. The two siblings gazed around as if seeing the world anew.

Lucian tapped his phone, and the date on the screen changed to read June 19. "We have two days until the summer solstice."

"Two days? We've wasted so much time!" Percy's voice was panicked, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Annabeth, make a card to suppress our scent. With five kids from the Big Three, we'll be a magnet for every monster out there," Lucian ordered, striding over to their car.

"On it." Annabeth reached into her pouch, pulling out a Phoenix feather and a small card. With quick, graceful strokes, she wrote, Field of Suppressing Scent. The card glowed briefly before she tucked it into her pocket.

Lucian climbed into the car, and with a wave of his hand, the car's shape morphed into a large SUV.

"Did… did no one else just see him change the car?" Nico asked, looking around in confusion.

"Monsters?" Bianca repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, eyes wide.

Lucian rolled down the window. "Everyone, get in."

Annabeth ushered them forward. "We'll explain everything on the way. Just follow us."

They all piled into the SUV, buckling up as Annabeth took a headcount. "Is everyone ready?"

"WOO-HOO! Let's go fight some monsters!" Nico shouted, his excitement bubbling over.

Everyone slowly turned, their expressions a mix of amusement and disbelief, causing Nico to shrink in his seat, his cheeks flushing. "What?"

Bianca sighed, shaking her head. "So… where exactly are we going?"

"Santa Monica Beach," Lucian answered, starting the engine. "Percy's father wants him to go there."

"His father?" Nico's eyes sparkled with fascination as he glanced around at everyone. "Wait, does that mean everyone here is a child of one of the Twelve Olympian gods?"

Thalia, deciding to play the role of teacher, leaned forward. "Yep, but just a heads-up—be careful about mentioning the gods by name. Names have power, and angering a god can backfire."

She went on, introducing each of them as she was his daughter she was the one with the least likely to anger a god "I'm the daughter of Zeus, Percy here is the son of Poseidon, Lucian is the son of Hades, Annabeth is Athena's daughter, Clarisse is the daughter of Ares, and Grover here is a satyr."

"This is the greatest day of my life…" Nico murmured, a look of pure joy on his face.

"I see… So you must be the strongest here since you're the daughter of the ruler of Olympus, right?" Bianca asked Thalia cautiously, as if already instinctively fearing Zeus's wrath.

Thalia sighed, a hint of frustration in her expression. "You'd think so, right? But… not exactly."

"Seriously?" Nico's eyes widened in surprise. "Then who's the strongest?"

Annabeth's gaze shifted to Lucian, her voice carrying a mix of admiration and respect. "You two are lucky. In this generation, there's no demigod stronger than Lucian. He's practically our generation's Hercules."

********************************************

+10 advance Chapters on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3