---

---

Unsurprisingly, Janelle completely ignored Ezekiel’s existence. At the moment, he didn’t particularly care, but he was glad that the cat had warmed up to Janelle so quickly. He hoped after this, the cat would stick around.
Ezekiel frowned at Demetri. He had never been good at disguising lies or his true feelings. Zeke opened his mouth to push the apple back onto Demetri when he felt a breeze; turning, he watched his sister walk into the Lotus Hotel. Ezekiel shoved the apple back into his bag, zipped it up, and grabbed Demetri’s hand. ”I know I left, but I’m not leaving now, so stay close.” He tugged Demetri into the Lotus hotel, following his sister in.
Of course, they should all stick together, but how easy would that be? At this moment, Ezekiel was going to try his best to keep the two most important people in his life right now by his side; however, when Ezekiel walked through the door, that went to shit.

A person walked up to them, offering them a full plate of cookies. ”These look amazing! Thanks!” He released Demetri’s hand to pick up two cookies and offered one to Demetri. ”I’m sure this will be much better than that apple,” he stated before taking a bite from a cookie.
As soon as Ezekiel swallowed, the building seemed to shift around him. The lights became brighter, the sounds more apparent, and the air lighter. Ezekiel grinned and kissed Demi’s cheek before he skipped away. ”I’m going to play James Bond pinball. Come find me later!”

---

---

It looked almost exactly the same as the day she had left. There were a few new games and whatnot, but the overall layout was largely the same. Her body trembled in realization. For a brief moment, she wondered if she had never actually left - if the last few years had been a vivid hallucination, an attempt at escape. This place felt like it had a grip on her soul, an intense gravity that she was helpless against. Her heart was screaming at her to run, to get out, to abandon this ridiculous quest and let someone else sort it out. The terrified, frozen indecision was written plainly across her face.

But she had already failed in the most crucial aspect of this quest. A woman had approached, holding a tray of those Lotus cookies. Nancy had been frozen. She didn't act in time. Zeke took one of the cookies and happily ate it, and she could see the way his eyes glazed over, the way the spell consumed him. Tears welled up in her eyes as her entire body trembled. It felt like she was watching it happen all over again. She felt like she was watching herself as a young girl, walking into the jaws of a predator.

"No!" Nancy cried desperately, an intense need and ache in her voice, as if she were begging with the Fates themselves. She could see others reaching for the cookie. "Someone, go stop Zeke!" Nancy shouted. She tried to knock the tray of cookies out of the employee's hand, so she could crush them under her feet, but the woman instead did a pirouette and offered one to Demi. Nancy's heart was beating intensely and her ears felt like they were full of cotton, as she threw her entire body weight into the employee, knocking her down to the ground.

Nancy tried to bash the woman's head against the ground, her fight or flight instinct kicked into overdrive and settling firmly on murder. "Don't eat it, please!" Nancy really meant don't leave me alone in here. The employee though was stronger than she looked, and the two of them were soon locked into a struggle, the tray of cookies abandoned on the floor nearby... "Zeke!!"

---

---

She wasn't entirely sure what to expect when they entered the casino. The sounds hit her really quickly as she walked in petting the cat in her arms. Sunshine seemed like a fitting name even though she couldn't see the cat from what she gathered with the cat. Though she wasn't going to really acknowledge Zeke's presence on that entire thing. Ignoring him made her life a whole lot easier right now, especially since she was focusing on being able to tell what everything around her was like. Though she did instantly hear the voice that asked about if anyone wanted a cookie.

Then there was the sound of Nancy's voice and the sound of two people hitting the ground.

Stop Zeke? Wait did he do something stupid? She wasn't sure, as everyone else hadn't said much, but if Nancy asked for something like that, she wasn't going to stand by and do nothing. "I'm on it," she said instantly as she let Sunshine go down to the ground and pulled out a glasses case, slipping the lenses on. The first thing she noticed was how bright everything was. It took a moment for her to adjust to it, considering the fact that she was used to there just being darkness instead. The noise and sights around her was a bit dizzying and overwhelming, but she had something more important to do.

Janelle didn't even look to see anyone else, since she was likely not going to be able to easily pick out who was who of everyone, plus to them they'd all be able to tell that she seemed to actually be looking around at her surroundings, and she spotted Zeke's retreating back to the rest of the group. "Comb ahn Sunshine, let's go," she said as the cat took off after him, and she took off after the cat. Eventually she was able to catch up to Zeke and put a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face her, and now she was looking at him directly in the eye, the cat nearby still.

"Zeke you just ded sahmethin dat you weren't suppahsed to and Nancy is right now really wahrried about you, so we need to get back to everyahne else alright? Ahr I'll put you to sleep and drag you back," she said directly to him, not sure what caused him to wander off or anything like that.

---

---

Facing giants. Sounded lovely really, and hearing about all of the things that had moved in since the fall of New Rome was totally a big reassurance as to what they were doing. They still didn't have any idea how close to their goal they were, or anything like that. All they knew was that they were almost to their destination, or at least part of it to actually accomplish anything. Things were seeming further and further away, though this did seem to explain why Persephone was there, to at least help somewhat with the giants.

Jason was still staying relatively quiet since Stella was more openly talking with Persephone, and Niah had a few questions of her own. As of right now, he didn't exactly have a lot to say or even questions of his own to ask. She had answered the main one he had, which was why she was there, so right now she didn't have anything else to say. He was starting to wonder just how far from their destination they were, but figured to not ask the age old question of "Are we there yet?".

---

---

Things were going wrong, very very wrong, and this wasn't going to end well. Everyone was getting tired, and they'd only be able to out run them for so long before the monsters would be able to easily catch up to them and then they'd all be dead. Madalyne was lagging behind a little, and the cry of pain caused her to glance back and see her turn it into dust, but what was more concerning was when Madalyne caught up to her and handed her a gem to give to Nancy and Niah if something happened to her.

Which meant to her that Madalyne was going to do something to result in her maybe not making it back.

Mary took if from her but shook her head slightly, "Well, you'll be able to give it to them yourself, but I'll hold onto it for you right now, okay?" she said to her, though she had a feeling not all of them were going to get out of here alive. She lead the way with the map after slipping the gem into her pocket, and they would enter a room with a large bridge across the gap, with steps at the other end that seemed to be the way out, "We're almost there, that looks to be the exit over there," she said, pointing towards the stairs.

---

---

Demi watched as Nancy had made her way past the pair of them. He didn't have to turn and look to know what she was doing, to know that she was about to barge in without so much as a plan or care for anyone else but herself. He closed his eyes, a white-hot tear forming at the corner as he knew what was about to happen next. She would open the door, and Zeke would follow, leaving him behind again as he wondered if he could ever measure up to her. But that wasn't what happened. Demi felt a tight grip against his hand, opening his eyes to see the determination in Zeke's. Not just for his sister, but for him as well. The words felt like sharp arrows piercing his heart, as if Cupid himself aimed two well placed shots at the young demi-god. One in his heart and another right at his throat. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, he only followed behind Zeke, trying his best not to fumble as exhaustion hit him wave after wave.

They finally reached inside, the loud sounds and bright lights almost nauseating in comparison to what camp life had been like. Demi didn't have time to react, to do anything, before their first test had already begun. A southern woman offered them a platter of cookies, Zeke took one instantly and offered it to him but even then Demi didn't have time. Nancy shouted something before assaulting the woman before them, pulling his attention away just long enough to feel the press of Zeke's lips against his cheek. When Demi turned back around Zeke was gone, the waitress was on the floor, and Nancy was begging them to stop him. Janelle ran off and Demetri’s sluggishness was showing. He tried to chase off after him, to go where he said he would be, but as he made it to his boyfriend, as he watched Janelle place her hand on him, all he could manage was to scream out his name. "Zeke!" And then…darkness. The days of not eating and sudden burst of physical activity had gotten to Demi and he passed out right before the pair.

Cassian hadn't realized just how right he was. Time wasn't on their side. As a matter of fact it felt as though it was actively working against them even on the outside steps of the Casino. Nancy came barreling past them like a woman on a mission, charging headfirst into the fray without so much as a word of warning. The rest soon followed after into what could only be described as a land of partying. It was no wonder Nancy was so repulsed by him and Alexios, their lineage was a reminder of all of this, though as flashy and bright as the colors may be, it couldn't hide the darker shadows he now knew plagued this party. He gripped his hand tightly, digging his nails into the skin of his palm when he thought about the repulsive act they were told of. Shooting a glance at Alexios and wondering why neither him nor his father could step in and help the demi-god in need.

Action soon broke out, and Cassian didn't know if it was because of his godly parent, but his appetite didn't seem to crave the Lotus cookies placed before him, even less so after they all had fallen to the ground. Instantly the party was split, two teams of 3 once more which was lucky enough he figured. But no one else could be tempted by these dangerous cookies. So he pulled out his panflute and began to play, trying to combat the music already pumping through the Casinos speakers. At first there was nothing, he needed something stronger to fight against the Lotus Eaters influence. Switching the tune, Cassian began to play Poker Face by Lady Gaga, channeling the magic of his music into the ears of those who served the cookies. Chaos and Madness would soon latch into them, making them want to go off and destroy the treats, whether it was by grinding them to dust under their heel or devouring them all in one go he didn't care, he just needed to cookies out of the way.

---

---

Andy was getting a bit of a stitch in her side. She saw Madalyne give a jewel to Mary and her lip trembled. She still clutched the sword, like it was a life preserver. Mads had erected a shield of sorts, and Mary found a staircase for them to climb. It was going to be hard going, but they had to. Had to keep going.

She started running up the stairs, trying to be careful. Her breathing was labored and the stitch in her side got worse. But they had to escape. Had to get the sword out of there. Her vision dimmed and all she could see was the next step she took. Going as fast as she could. Up and away from the monsters.




Niah nodded at Persephone's answer about why she was joining them. That made sense. And it also was a terrifying prospect. They were in serious trouble if a goddess themself showed up and was ready to fight. She chewed on her lip.

"It's been five years. She was older than me. I don't know if we have the same mother. I think if she is in your husband's domain she is in Elysium." Niah hoped she was. If that's what the vision was she really hoped so. "I saw her with some friends." Niah frowned. She had never had a vision before, but it was strange to have it and then immediately meet basically the perfect person to ask about it. "They were having some sort of feast in a giant hall."

---

---

Location: Atlantis

Skills: Hydrokinsis

---

---

Looking at the paintings she wondered who the boy was, he has such stunning eyes just like their father, she figured it must have been a sibling that had done many accomplishments. Sera was glad that Hercules could stay if he wanted to. At least he had a place to call home if he didn't want to come with her and Kiera. The young demigod took a bite of food then looked at her half-sister and father. "Oh yes, that would be. I think we really should rest before traveling back to the shore." She nodded. "Probably will take a while to get used to being on land again....." It had been such a long time being down so deep in the ocean, so of course she wondered how it'd feel back to be on land. She was enjoying being underwater, even if they did have to go through such a hard battle, it was fun swimming around and seeing so many sea creatures. But she knew that it was important to get back, head to camp, and start training with all the other demigods.

---

---

---

---

San Fransico, Taxi Cab:

As the cab crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge Persephone smiled at Stella and nodded towards her gently ruffling her hair. "Anytime Giants are quiet nasty to deal with after all." Persephone said it was the only time when gods and their children could actually interact and help against unlike the other rule where they can't interfere really in mortal affairs. Persphone started to think a little bit about Niah's description the only thing that did come to mind was Valhalla though she didn't know where it actually was. "A great hall, that sounds like Valhalla actually." Persephone told Niah.

It was a little while longer until they were at the closest location that they could find and drop them off which was the Sierra Trailhead. "Here you go, enjoy your hike." They said as Persephone started to get out and quickly paid for the group's fare. "Shall we get going?" Persephone asked the three of them and smiled.

---

---

---

---

"Of course i'll make arrangements for you two to make your trip back to Camp Half-Blood as soon as possible in the morning." Poseidon said giving his two daughters a smile as he leaned in and started to eat the food that the servants had provided the two of them. Kiera though she didn't feel like eating at all and quietly played with her food while looking back at her half-sister. She still missed Leda just seeing her dead and wished that she could have saved her from dying.

Poseidon looked at his daughter and could understand the feeling of loosing a loved one and wished that there was a way for him to help her but knew that it wouldn't really help. He turned towards Sera and gave her a slight smile. "Tell me about yourself." He said to Sera hoping to get to know his daughter better.

---

---

---

---

Madalyne gave Mary a slight smile she really hoped that it was true, however she knew that she was just going to be slowing them all down and they still had a pack of monsters right behind them. However she didn't say anything as she looked over her shoulder the sounds of the monsters were getting louder and louder now. She turned around and drew out her sword again as the first monster came out and started to attack her. Madalyne managed to take the monster down as it burst into dust, she was fending them off as best she could while Andy, Damon and Mary made it out to safety.

She was attacked again this time she was knocked down, her sword was knocked out of her hand and fell over the ledge and into the abyss below them. "Keep going!" She ordered them when she was hit again, she used her own magic and sent a fireball at the monster which didn't phase it, and swung at her knocking Mads over the edge. She made one more shield to prevent Mary or Andy from coming back to help her as the monster approached her and grabbed her by the neck. They would hear a sickening cracking sound as the monster snapped Madalyne's neck and he threw her dead body over the ledge Mary and Andy would see her body burst into dust shortly after.

---

---

---

---

"I'll go after them." Alexios said to the remaining group and quickly followed shortly behind Janelle and Demi to make sure that they didn't get lost in the chaos that was the Casino. As Cassian continued to play his music, the music in the casino started to get louder which eventually drowned out Cassian's tune making it ineffective now. However the chaos that Cassian had caused all the floor workers had crushed their trays of cookies. But they had snapped out of Cassian's music and went to grab more of those Lotus cookies, and went back about their business by handing more to the customers. The other guests in the hotel weren't even phased by the chaos that was going on around them most likely due to all the lotus cookies that they had consumed over the years.

The waitress that Nancy was tumbling with managed to overpower Nancy and was now on top of her. The woman's hands quickly started to wrap around Nancy's neck as she tried to choke the young demigod out. "Welcome back home little one, we certainly did miss you." The woman said giving Nancy an evil grin as the grip started to get tighter around her neck. Kristin quickly ran over to the dropped tray, she was tempted to pick up the cookies that were on the floor and eat them. But for now she was able to resist the urge to eat them, she quickly ran over and brought the tray down on the woman's head. The grip around Nancy's neck lessened as the woman turned around to face Kristin only to be smacked again harder this time managing to knock the waitress out easily. "Are you okay?" Kristin asked as she reached down and offered a hand for Nancy. There was a rather nasty bruise around Nancy's neck and her voice sounded hoarse if she spoke but she would be fine Joanie landed on the unconsious woman and started to roast the woman alive.

Over where Zeke, Janelle and Demi were Alexios noticed Demi had fallen to the ground and quickly picked him up and gently set him down on a nearby chair and gently shook him awake and snapped his hand as a cup of water appeared in Alexios' hand Demi would wake up again. "Are you okay?" Alexios asked him. Sunshine the cat would rub against Zeke's leg letting out a loud meow to get his attention while looking up at Janelle.

---

---

The lights of the pinball machine were all that Zeke could see. He was engrossed in his game. There had been an arcade near his house when Ezekiel was growing up, and he would often lose hours of time there. The owner had felt bad for him; especially once the bullying got bad.
Ezekiel was on a roll, getting double the points once the second ball was released when Janelle arrived by his side and pulled his attention from the game.
”Oh! Sorry Janelle, did you want to play?” He asked, offering her the machine. He wasn’t upset at all that Janelle had just interrupted his game. Sunshine rubbed against Zeke’s leg, causing the demi-god to look down and grin. Then something snapped in him.
Instead of the lights being welcoming and brilliantly coloured, they were overly bright, and the music was pounding in his ear drums. Ezekiel frowned and covered his ears. He looked at Janelle, registering her words and her intense gaze. She was looking right at him. Ezekiel blushed, feeling suddenly embarrassed and glanced around her. Shit, shit, shit. He left Nancy. He left Demetri. And was that Demetri on the floor? And Nancy on the floor?
”Oh fuck,” he said. Not even five minutes in, he had already done the one thing he wasn’t supposed to. How in Hades are they supposed to survive this?
”Sorry, Janelle, the lotus cookies. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. We should get back to the others.” But first, there was Demetri on the ground before them, being cradled by Alexios.
”Here. Give him this,” Ezekiel handed Alexios the fruit he had kept in his bag along with some ambrosia. Ezekiel looked behind him, guilt sitting heavy in his stomach. He was worried for Demetri but needed to get to Nancy as well. His head pounded with the music, making him feel sick and hungover.
”I’ll be back. I need to get back to Nancy.” He stood, looking at Janelle and Sunshine. ”Um, thanks…for coming to grab me,” he said.
As he started walking back, hopefully with Janelle, they were stopped by another waitress with a tray of cookies. ”Oh, um, thanks, but we're still feeling good,” he said, grinning weakly before sidestepping, pulling Janelle with him, and hurrying to Nancy’s side
Ezekiel knelt on the floor, staring at the bruises on Nancy’s neck. He swallowed, the guilt really sitting heavy, and looked up. Were those flames? Yup. Joanie just lit someone on fire.
”Nancy… I am so sorry, are you okay?”

---

---

---

---

Stella went a bit quiet as Niah spoke, asking more questions about her sister. An older sister that she had lost, and whom should be with Stella's older sister's husband, but it seemed that she wasn't. She was in some other place... Valhalla. She swore she had heard that name before, but she wasn't sure where. Maybe in some of her dad's metal songs? Maybe in a random story she had heard else where? It wasn't Greek, that was for sure. She was glad that Niah was getting some answers it seemed, after having them for so long.

Once the taxi parked at the trailhead, she gently escorted Arbor out and made sure that he was clipped into his leash. She didn't want him to run off and into some monsters, as it seemed that the mountain was doomed to be covered in them. She thanked the taxi driver and watched to make sure hew as paid by one of them before he drove off. "I'm ready if everyone else is. If we need a moment I don't mind waiting until we're all ready."

---

---

If he hadn't seemingly snapped out of it when he did Janelle had been about ready to slap him across the face. Here she was, chasing after him with all of the bright lights and noise around her. Thankfully he seemed to snap out of it which made her life a bit easier now, "If you 'adn't snapped out o' it I would 'ave smacked you ahr sahmethin, and what exactly are those cookies ahr whatever anyway?" she asked as she started following along with the cat again now after him. Of course he was an idiot for wandering off by himself, but whatever.

The bright lights were starting to get to her though, and Janelle pulled the glasses off "It's way too bright in 'ere," she commented not long before they got to the person who was apparently offering them more of the cookies. Before she could say anything, Zeke already was saying they were fine before dragging her along back to where the others were. She really had no idea what fully was seemingly going on around here, so she wasn't sure what to say to anyone else.

---

---

"Wait Valhalla is real too? well dat's interestin to say de least," he couldn't help but say out loud. He wasn't exactly the one to really be interested in mythology, that was Janelle's thing, but he did know what Valhalla was, at least vaguely anyway. This was just proving that all mythologies around the world at this rate were real if it is just mentioned how now one of the areas of the Norse afterlife were real too. He knew that much, but that was about it. He vaguely knew what it was, but not exactly the whole deal with it.

Jason was kind of glad that the trip was seemingly over now, at least when it came to getting to the mountain and all. They still had a bit of a ways to go from here to reach their goal. So here was hoping that this would all hurry up so they could see about getting back to the east coast. He was sort of waiting now for Niah to take the lead a bit more on this, since she knew more about the area then he did, so after everyone was out of the cab, he just was waiting to see where they'd go from here.

---

---

Things were bad, things were very very very bad. She had no idea what to even think about what was going on. Though right now one thing was apparent from what happened right in front of them in general. Madalyne got caught by the monsters, and it didn't end well. Mary had been just about to go and help her when she had yelled at them to keep going and put up a shield to prevent them from going to help. The sound of Madalyne's neck snapping and seeing her body getting tossed off the bridge was not something she was easily going to forget.

Her attention shifted towards Andy though, since she very much was still a kid, and it made her wonder how this sort of thing would likely effect her or something. "Let's go, don't look back okay?" she said to her as they ran for the stairs. Well, they seemed to have left camp with three people, and were returning with three, just not the same three that had left since they now had Damon and were missing Madalyne. This was going so well for them really.

---

---

Moments flashed by inside of Demetris mind. The darkness quickly being overtaken by things that had happened in the past, and moments that he'd only dreamt and wished of. As he lay there unconscious his mind turned to his birthday, that lovely day spent out in their secret garden where Zeke had given him his beanie. The flowers seemed so vibrant and saturated as they danced a mesmerizing dance that seemed to hypnotize him. He could feel his body moving as his eyes flickered open for a brief second, the casino lights mimicking the colors and shapes of the garden before Demi was plunged back into darkness. The colors faded, leaving behind only the dim ceiling light of Zeus Cabin. Sounds of campers could be heard laughing and giggling along to merriment just outside.

Demi took in his bearings, realizing where he was. He was on a couch, his couch, and as he looked towards his reflection on the black screen of the tv he could see he was dressed as a vampire, someone was next to him but barely out of frame. He turned to find Zeke there, a wide grin on his face as his Odysseus dressed boyfriend went on about how amazing the movie was just then. All he could do was scoff and smile as he watched the enjoyment on his boyfriend's face and adored the way he simply lit up in the moment. Demetri leaned in for a kiss, placing his hands to either side of Zeke's waist, but as soon as he planted it it had felt cold and wet. His eyes flickered open again and he wasn't sitting on his couch, he wasn't even back at camp. He was on a bench, with blaring music and lights surrounding him as he drank from a glass of water. "Thanks Zeke, I don't know what-" He stopped. Realizing the man next to him wasn't his boyfriend but his fiancé, apple in hand the same way Zeke held it just moments before. Demi grabbed the red fruit and chucked it as far as he could. It may as well have been poison to him. "If you could make me a sandwich or something substantial but portable that'd be great Alexios…but we need to get moving I've already wasted enough of our time."

Cassian was fighting an uphill battle. His hold on the waitresses was wavering, and the Casino itself was actively fighting back. He didn't know if there was someone up above watching over this, making calls to silence the disturbances happening across the floor, but it felt that way. The music began to pound louder, the sounds drawing him out and breaking the tenuous control he had over them. The Chaos stopped, trays abandoned where they stood as the waitresses simply grabbed more plates of cookies and began anew. Frustration bubbled inside of him as he clipped his panflute to his side again.

"This place is actively fighting against us, how are we supposed to move forward when we can't even stay together for longer than a minute, let alone keep ourselves in check? Did Apollo offer any advice on how we're supposed to make it past this?" Cassian asked Zeke before pausing and realizing he and Janelle had come back but not Demetri. "Hey lover boy, aren't you a Demigod short?"

---

---

Nancy was stuck in her worst nightmare.

She barely registered as someone said they were going off after Zeke - or as the music began to blare at a thunderous volume, drowning out Lady Gaga. Instead, she was locked in a battle of wills (and strength) with a Lotus Hotel and Casino employee. The woman had her pinned, her nails digging into Nancy's neck as she squeezed. Her heart pounded faster and faster as she fought for breath, pulling at the woman's arms in an attempt to dislodge them. Her blood ran ice cold as the woman welcomed her home. A giant shudder overcame her body as she shook involuntarily, disgusted at the idea that this place could be her home - and horrified by how on some level... that statement rang true. She had spent the majority of her life in this place. And the horrific events that happened here continued to shape her to this day.

Then Kristin beat her attacker over the head with a tray.

Nancy gasped for air, her throat bruised to hell and she could already tell that her vocal cords were hoarse. Not ideal, for a demigod with magical singing powers, but she could make it work. She let her head hit the ground for a moment, as Nancy coughed, before she slowly scrambled up to her feet. Janelle had brought back Zeke. Good. "I'm fine," Nancy told Zeke, her voice sounding like a smoker's. "You?" Her panic had subsided, since he was back here and fine, but then - shit, his boyfriend wasn't there. "Where the hell is Demetri?"

---

---

Location: Atlantis

Skills: Hydrokinsis

---

---

"Oh I um well ah...." She felt the spotlight was on her now and didn't really like that a whole lot. Sera took a moment before finally speaking again. "I uh.... Well I like reading. Ah, I can cook a really good cake or like a big pumpkin pie." The girl tried to think of more things but oddly her thoughts left her, trying to fish information out of her brain. "Er.... I know how to do fencing, did a couple years of it actually. It was a fun activity." What else would her father want to know about her? How she hated rats? That she could sew just about anything and fix up things if they got holey? "Sorry, I don't really talk about myself often. I just sorta blend into the background. People call me shy and as quiet as a mouse.... which i dont like rodents much."

She shook her head a few times. "But today during the mission, I sorta felt like being more out in the open. Guess its a thing that Demigods want to do. Be in all the action. Its like a big adrenaline rush all of the sudden! I've felt it before when doing competition for my fencing classes. Wanting to win each match against my opponent. I just thought I got excited like any normal person when they wanted to win by all means. Looks like theres a true reasoning why.... I'm just a kid wanting to be a hero."

---

---

Andy knew this was going to happen. That didn't mean she wasn't horrified by it. She shook a little as the gold dust that was her aunt drifted down. She'd not lie now if asked what that was about. There was no point.

She, however, would not allow the murder of her aunt to go unpunished. She sent lightning at the monster that had killed Madalyne. The lightning hit it, and the monster turned to dust. "Good." She mumbled.

"I'll have to contact Nancy and Niah." She said and turned, she kept going. Kept walking. Moving away from the last place her aunt had been. They had to get this stupid sword back to camp. Arthur was right. This was a miserable existence. She had friends and family, but they were always taken away.




Niah frowned. She didn't know what Valhalla was, but from Jason's reaction, it was some other mythological place. They rode along finally arriving at the trailhead. She did not like this place. She missed this coast. California was her home. More than the Philipines even though she had lived there longer.

"Thank you." She told the Taxi driver and got out. Once he was paid and drove off Niah started to lead the way up the mountain. Her stomach twisted a bit. Here they had encountered the werewolves that had doomed one of her best friends. Was Mads already gone? It had been days...or was her fate still in the future? Her mind darted between worries.

"I do not know anything about Valhalla." Niah confessed as they walked. Her sister, in her vision, did not seem to have aged. It was likely then that Valhalla was an afterlife. At least her sister looked happy.

---

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San Fransico, Sierra Trail:

"Oh yes there are tons of mythologies that exist, Norse and Egyptian gods are very real." Persephone said as she followed behind Niah and up the trail, it was pretty quiet for the most part. There were a few mortals walking along the trail going up and down Mount Tam, then they all could hear what sounded like an eagle. They would see a rather massive eagle flying overhead, as it seemed to circle around them Persephone stopped for a moment to look up at the massive bird flying through the air and circling around above them. Then some more sounds could be heard as she could see several harpies flying around it as well. "We should get to cover." Persephone suggested even though she was a goddess the kids were still mortal after all. It looked like there was a public restroom nearby that they could try and hide in, the group would be able to see Mary, Andy and Damon.

Labyrinth, -> San Fransico, Sierra Trail:

"Hurry up and lets keep going!" Damon yelled as he quickly made his way up the flight of stairs, it eventually would lead to a modern day looking door and quickly opened it. The door would lead them into a supply closet of sorts with another door in front of them and that would lead to an outdoor public restroom that was on a trail. Once Mary and Andy went through the door it would close and disappear behind them, Damon took a moment to look around and turned to Andy and Mary. "Are you two alright?" He asked them both, he gently rested a hand on Andy's shoulder in a way to try and comfort her. Not to far from them Andy and Mary would be able to see Stella, Niah, Jason and Persephone nearby and what sounded like harpies and an Eagle as well to.

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Kiera looked at Sera as she listened to her half sister talking about herself and gave her a slight smile as she decided to finally eat even if she really wasn't hungry at all really. "Well i'm sure that you'll have a lot of fun when you officially get to camp." Poseidon said to Sera, when Kiera decided to speak up as well to. "You'll enjoy Capture the Flag and the Chariot Races as well to they are pretty fun actually." She said giving Sera a slight smile as she finished eating her dinner, she was pretty tired as she looked over at her father.

"I'm pretty tired, do you have any spare rooms?" She asked him as Poseidon turned to look at his daughter and nodded to her, he could understand the two of them did have a pretty big day after all anyway. "Yes I can show you to your rooms once everyone is done eating if you like." He said to her as Kiera nodded, as she waited for Sera to finish.
 

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"Of course love." Alexios said as he started to use his powers and summoned a very basic turkey and cheese sandwich for his love and gave Demi a smile. "Hopefully this will be good enough right?" Alexios asked when a hotel employee came over with drinks and what looked like lotus petals were in as well to. "You two look very thirsty." They said as they handed both of them a glass it looked like water and both Alexios and Demi would have the urge to take a drink from it. The god took a drink from it and his eyes quickly glazed over and turned to look at a nearby slot machine. "Hey how good are you with luck?" Alexios asked Demi as he got up and took Demi's hand and started to lead him over to the slot machines.

"At least you are okay." Kristin said as she dug into her pack and offered Nancy her canteen of nectar if the roman girl decided to take it. Joanie was still busy roasting away at the employee before flying over and landing back on Nancy's shoulder letting out a happy sound while looking at her. "Yeah where is Demi?" Kristin asked when she saw Zeke and Janelle coming back that was really worryingly as Sunshine the cat meowed trying to get Zeke's attention. When the next employee approached them and was holding a tray of drinks with lotus petals in them. "Would you like a drink?" They offered Kristin felt the urge and grabbed one, same with the others except for Nancy and Janelle they were immune once again. The employee would hand them all a glass before heading off to give to other victims.

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"Thanks…" Demetri said with a weak smile as he watched the sandwich form before his very eyes. Alexios could be sweet when he wanted to, but so could Zeke. In the end they were both beautiful assholes capable of being nice when they wished it, and being devastatingly cruel when they didn't. A part of him felt guilty for throwing the apple, for rejecting something that was so obviously given to him by his boyfriend. But it was the fact that he wasn't even there to give it to him that made the pit in his stomach grow. Demi took the sandwich in one hand, taking the drink offered to him in the other. He took a bite out of the pillow-y bread before he realized what was inside the glass handed to him.

Realization grew too late as Alexios drank the poison and Demetri watched his eyes glaze over like Zeke's had moments before. His fiance grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the slot machine, allowing Demi to empty out his glass into a nearby pot as they made their way over. He left the glass to fall on the floor, slipping his hand down to try and get a better grip on Alexios hand. "Alexios, buddy, hey, gotta snap out of it ok?. You're a god, you shouldn't be fallin for these amateur distractions." Demetri said as he snapped his fingers near Alexios to see if it would bring him out of the trance. He finished shoving the sandwich into his mouth, deciding that he needed his hands more than he needed to speak.

Cass could hear the strain in Nancy's voice as she spoke. The waitress clearly did a number on her, and all Cassiam could do was waste his efforts on a futile battle. He knew nothing he could offer her could give her solace, so he remained silent on that part, instead focusing on what the current issue seemed to be. The missing Demetri. Cassian stood on the balls of his feet, trying to see if he could find Demetri amongst the crowd. He searched the general location Zeke had come from, absent-mindedly grabbing the glass of water and taking a sip when it was offered.

One sip left him parched. Two thirsty. By the third time he'd lifted the glass to his lips, he was chugging down the water as if he'd been dehydrated for the past two days. His eyes glazed as he stared off into the distance away from the group before finally speaking. "I think…follow me." He said as he began to make his way through the crowd, weaving between anyone who stood in his way until he arrived at a Skeeball machine. Picking up a ball and begging to play.

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When Stella heard that other mythologies existed, she was about ready to burst to the brim with questions. She had heard her otou-san mention some of the gods from his homeland before, and the spirits from there. Where they real? Did Amaterasu exist? What about creatures like Kappa and tengu? As she was going to open her mouth to ask her curious questions anything she said was cut off by the loud cry of what sounded like an eagle. She had seen them before, and knew some lived in California, but it didn't sound right. Then Persephone said that they should head for cover, and Stella looked up to see Harpies. They were... not pretty like she had seen in books before. They looked like ugly birds with human heads in some cases, and not in a good way.

As they shuffled over to the public restroom to hide, Stella spotted two familiar faces with one very unfamiliar one. "That's Marygold and Andy!" She was rather shocked to see them, as they had been sent into the Laybrinth right? With one of Niah's Roman friends? But where was she? And who was the new face with them? Could they trust them? "Over here! We need to take shelter!" She waved to her other older sister, hoping that she caught her attention.

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Thankfully, Janelle let Ezekiel pull her along back to the main group. He looked over at her once she had taken the glasses off. ”Those glasses are pretty cool, but ya, this place plays on all the senses. I’m sure the sound is more than enough.” As it was, the lotus cookie had worn off, and Zeke felt utterly drained. The sounds, sights, and smells were overwhelming. ”And the cookies are fruit from the Lotus flowers. Did you ever read the Odyssey? Homer wrote about the lotus eaters in there,” he said but didn’t explain further in case Janelle had read the poem. He didn’t want to mansplain if she already knew.
Once they were back, things quickly started to fall apart once more. ”I’m okay…Sorry for running off like that. I didn’t…I had no control,” he admitted. ”Demi is with Alexios.” Zeke said it like he was confident Demetri would be safe with the god. Truthfully, Zeke had no idea if a god reacted to the lotus flowers like demigods or humans did. Sunshine started to paw at Ezekiel’s leg, meowing with agitation. Ezekiel picked up that wasn’t a good sign. Gods, this was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
He was handed a drink, and Ezekiel quickly dumped the thing. He grabbed the glasses from the others and tossed them as well. However, it was too late for Cassian. Ezekiel looked in the distance, seeing Demi with Alexios at the slots and Cassian going in a different direction.
”Dammit dammit dammit,” he cursed. ”I should have asked Dad for some lotus-breaking arrows.” He looked at Nancy. They needed her, but how could he keep asking her to put her trauma aside for the rest of them?
The words of the Odyssey drifted into his mind. He was no Odysseus, and Zeke couldn’t drag everyone out of the hotel and tie them to the mast of a ship - they needed to be here - but he could try to keep them all together.
”We need a rope or something to string everyone together so they stop running off.”

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Nancy shook her head slightly at Kristin's offer of nectar. It wasn't that she didn't trust Kristin, more of that she didn't trust their location. It wasn't rational, but she didn't care. She wasn't here to be rational. She was here to find the stupid Door and complete the quest, and if the Fates allowed, burn the Lotus Hotel and Casino down to the ground. Besides, the hoarseness of her throat matched the way she felt in general. She felt like she was only halfway there, the other half of her burning in some sort of hell dimension.

She was standing up from where she had been on the floor when another waiter came on over, offering the group drinks. Nancy felt like she was going to vomit. She didn't even like Cassian. He was perfect for this place, the child of a mad party god, stuck inside a place that could never be anything more than a mad party. Nancy felt like a ghost, haunting the place, unable to scream and unable to do anything but scream. Zeke destroyed the rest of the glasses though, and Nancy closed her eyes.

Her entire body was trembling and shaking. And it wasn't from the pain of the strangulation. She opened her eyes again, unable to keep her chin from wobbling. She couldn't think straight, she couldn't think clearly, she wasn't able to process that it would be best to keep together. All she could think in that moment was hide. The layout hadn't changed. Without a word, Nancy ran to the nearest place that seemed safe - the janitor's closet by the front desk. She threw the door open and shut it behind her, hyperventilating as tears rushed from her eyes as she collapsed to the ground.

"No no no no no...."

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Location: Atlantis

Skills: Hydrokinsis

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"Im sure that the camp will be fun, those already sound like great activities. Yet probably more...dangerous I bet than usual." Demigods must have turned normal fun game activities into more dangerous stuff. Like a part of training for the real world since they'd have to go against monsters wherever they traveled. That was still something she'd need to get used to if she ever decided to go out on a mission again after this. Who knows if things would get harder or easier for her from here on out. She hoped easier but was doubtful. "Yeah, some sleep would be good right about now.... We both need some rest, even if its not a whole lot." The young girl wasn't sure if she could sleep after what went down. It just felt like a dream, yet she knew everything was all real. Nothing was a fantasy. Sera took the last few bite of her food and got up to follow her father out of the dining room, staying alongside Kiera as they where shown to some rooms that they could rest in for the night.