I think I've been kidnapped... again.
Everything unraveled too fast for me to process.
One minute I was reuniting with my brother—who, just for the record, I'd been convinced was a terrorist for the past couple weeks—and the next, Sugar turned into... well, not Sugar.
The Annabeth girl was already moving, a bronze dagger glinting in the casino light. Grover spun the golden bough in his hand as if it were a mighty weapon and not a shiny stick. And Percy—of course—pulled out a pen.
"Uh, Percy?" I raised a brow, hand still twitching from adrenaline. "Unless this quest of yours turned you into John Wick, I don't think a pen's gonna cut it."
I was trying to sound chill, but my voice cracked halfway through. My hands weren't shaking out of fear—okay, maybe a little fear—but mostly because everything felt so absurd.
I could hear the smug grin in Percy's voice. "You'd be surprised."
He clicked the pen. It morphed into a full bronze sword with a shimmer of light and a little shing sound like a movie effect.
"Of course it's a magic pen," I mumbled. "Of course it is."
I sighed and reached into my pants pocket, pulling out the only thing I had—a small, beat-up pocketknife I'd swiped from Gabe a couple days ago. It wasn't pretty, but it should work.
What? You think I survived that man without carrying a weapon?
Sugar—who, I guess, wasn't Sugar anymore—glanced at the knife and raised an eyebrow.
"Hold up." She stepped forward, eyeing me. "You had that the whole time?"
I hesitated. "Uh... yes?"
She stared at me, then pinched the bridge of her nose like she was physically pained. "Unbelievable," she muttered. "You kids are going to give me a stroke."
Was... was that admiration? No. Definitely judgment. Maybe slight admiration?
Before I could figure it out, she waved her hand—and suddenly, a wall of water shot from nowhere, slamming into Annabeth and Grover. They hit the floor hard, their weapons flying from their hands.
The golden bough rolled across the marble and stopped at Sugar's feet.
She knelt and picked it up, whispering something under her breath. It sounded ancient. Greek, maybe?
When she stood, she held it like a scepter, eyes sweeping across us like we were toddlers with scissors.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice surprisingly gentle. "But I can't let you kids do this."
"Why not?" Annabeth coughed, still recovering from her impromptu waterboarding. "If we fail this quest, the gods go to war. The world ends. That seem worth stopping to you?"
Sugar's eyes glimmered—not with malice, but with something else. Something I didn't understand. Her sharp features softened just enough to make me pause.
"Because you're wasting time," she said quietly, like a parent explaining a painful truth. "You've already been here for three hours."
My brain hiccupped. "That's... impossible. I just got here. Five minutes, maybe. The exit's right—"
I turned to point behind me.
Except the entrance wasn't there.
The casino stretched endlessly, glimmering and twisting with music and lights. The doorway we came through was nowhere in sight.
"What the heck...?"
"The Lotus Hotel and Casino doesn't care about time," Sugar said, watching me closely. "It's not just a tourist trap. It's a trap, period. You think five minutes have passed, but outside, hours are ticking by. Days, even. You stay long enough, and you won't remember why you came at all."
I blinked, stunned. My skin itched like I'd just stepped into freezing water. That fruity-sweet scent I hadn't noticed until now—it was everywhere. Was that what was messing with time?
"But we have to find Hermes," Percy said, stepping forward. His voice was different now—urgent, focused. Familiar. "We need the master bolt. If we don't find it, Olympus falls."
Sugar's eyes narrowed at his name. "Hermes is here," she admitted. "But if you try to reach him, you'll be trapped. You'll search and search, and the hours will bleed away. Days. Weeks. You'll forget yourselves. You'll forget why you came."
Annabeth's brow furrowed, eyes sharp. "So you are trying to stop us."
Sugar exhaled. It wasn't annoyed. It was... tired. "I'm trying to protect you," she said softly. "You don't understand what you're heading toward. The Underworld—it's not just another step in your quest. It's bigger than that. Bigger than the bolt. There are forces moving none of you can comprehend."
Grover stepped forward nervously. "So what do we do? There's no other way down there. Not fast enough."
For a moment, Sugar didn't answer. She looked at me. Really looked at me. Her expression shifted into something strange—tender, almost.
"Fine," she said at last. "I'll take you to the Underworld."
"What?" I asked, still confused.
"Why you?" Annabeth asked cautiously. "What do you gain from this?"
"Because," she said, smiling faintly. "It's the only way I can keep that one out of trouble and stop him from joining you three on their quest. You are your Father's child, after all. Though he'd probably wait till it's too late."
My brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Annabeth, eyes narrowing, tilted her head. "So... he is a child of Poseidon?"
The moment that name left her lips, Sugar froze. Her expression curdled. She turned toward Annabeth slowly, like something ancient had just been stirred from the depths.
"Poseidon?" she repeated, voice low and venomous. "You think I would willingly spend weeks in the filth of Gave Ugliano's presence... endure Gabe and his —eugh— smell... just to help another one of that rotting kelp heads bastards?"
There was a beat of stunned silence.
"Hey," I snapped, heat rising in my chest. "That's still my brother, lady."
Sugar blinked—actually blinked—and then looked a little sheepish. "Sorry. Didn't mean to offend. He is technically my Husband's bastard though."
I mean... okay. Fair. He wasn't heir to the throne or anything. But I'm the only one allowed to say he's fatherless.
Percy tilted his head, brow furrowed. "Wait. You said your husband. Who even are you?"
Sugar grinned. Not a friendly grin. A knowing grin. The kind that makes your stomach twist.
"You really haven't figured it out?" she teased. "The gills? The crab horns? The fact I walked in here with a cloud of sea air? Honestly, I've been very obvious."
Percy opened his mouth, then closed it. Annabeth looked unsure.
With a sigh, Sugar snapped her fingers.
Her mortal clothes shimmered away, replaced by a flowing sea-green peplos that glimmered like sunlit water. A coral crown of crab claws materialized atop her head. Her black hair unraveled in glossy waves down her back. Her gills flared gently as she breathed, and the very air around her seemed to ripple with oceanic power.
Even the lights of the casino dimmed for her.
Annabeth took a step back, eyes wide.
"...Amphitrite," she whispered.
And I just stood there, slack-jawed and dumbfounded.
Sugar—Amphitrite—looked at me.
"Surprise, kid."
"... what the fuck?!"
Amphrite turned away, trying to hide her amusement at my utter confusion.
I think I actually short-circuited. Like, brain static. Full system error. A week ago, I was worried about flunking geometry and rationing blue cookies in the dorm pantry. Now?
Now I was staring at a sea goddess in her true form, who'd definitely seen me cry over gas station donuts and listened to me ramble about my mom.
So yeah. I was spiraling.
"You cannot be real," I muttered, backing up a step. "You're telling me—you're telling me the Queen of the Freaking Sea has been gaslighting me in my stepdad's stuffy car for a week? I helped you unclog your travel mug. You yelled at me for eating Pop-Tarts!"
Amphitrite raised a brow. "You ate four in a row without water. I was concerned. Plus they were cinnamon and untoasted... who eats cinnamon?"
"That's not the point!" My voice cracked. "You made me do breathing exercises!"
"And yet, here you are. Still breathing."
Percy coughed into his hand. "Uh, yeah, not to derail the existential crisis or anything, but how are we getting to L.A. exactly? The deadline's soon... I think— I still need to stop in Santa Monica. A Nereid told me my dad wants to speak to me."
Annabeth whipped around. "You didn't mention that."
"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy getting chased by monsters, nearly dying, and—oh right trying to find a God's super weapon."
Amphitrite—still resplendent in her ocean queen glow—tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Santa Monica."
Percy nodded, arms crossed tight. "Yeah. He said to go there. Or, well—she said he said. Whatever. I have to go."
Something flickered in her expression then—brief, unreadable. Something... complicated.
"Very well," she said. "But we don't have time for a taxi or Hermes's car. We'll just steal Gabriel's... it was my car anyway."
"The Herald was your car?!" I shouted.
Amphitrite shrugged, "yeah?"
"But it looks awful."
"You try keeping it in pristine condition while you're trying to keep yourself in good graces with that... thing."
I paused, thinking for a second.
Percy did it as well before we both bowed to her.
If there's one thing a Goddess deserves to be worshipped for, it's for having the resolve to willingly stay with Gabe Ugliano for more than half an hour.
Annabeth's voice cut through our shared moment of reverence like a knife—sharp, practical, and completely unimpressed.
"Okay, this is nice, but we should really go."
She side-eyed Percy and me like we were two toddlers marveling at shiny things while the world burned behind us.
I straightened, my face heating. "Right. Sorry. Just... y'know, honoring the noble sacrifice of staying with Gabe."
Percy snorted. "Yeah, it deserves a whole temple."
"Preferably far, far away from his laundry hamper," I added.
Amphitrite looked like she was fighting a smile, but she waved her hand instead. "Alright, mortals. Come along."
I trudged after her, still trying to reboot my brain like a lagging old computer. Every few seconds, I glanced sideways at Amphitrite like she might evaporate into seafoam, or maybe explode into another dramatic reveal. She didn't. She just walked like she owned the floor, regal and annoyed, with the energy of a CEO who had to attend a middle school field trip.
A veil of steam faintly shimmered around her, her appearance flickering between what she revealed to be herself and the blonde bombshell I had believed to be Sugar.
We pushed through the sliding glass doors of the Lotus Hotel & Casino and into the Nevada evening. The sudden silence hit like a punch. No hypnotic music. No slot machine sirens. Not even the normal Las Vegas noises you'd come to expect. Just the fading light and the hum of traffic.
Gabe's car was exactly where I hoped it wasn't: double-parked in front of a "NO PARKING" sign, next to a fire hydrant, hood slightly smoking like it had tried to make a break for it and failed.
"What the Hades did he do to it in three hours?" I heard Amphitrite say under her breath.
A sudden loud yelp made me jump. It was Gabe.
I spun around trying to find where it had come from, my eyes landing on a strip club where at the front door Gabe was being dragged out by Security.
"I can guess a few things..." I said, noticing the group of women and a man dressed in gaudy purple standing in an alleyway.
"I can't believe this thing still runs," Annabeth said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"I can," Amphitrite replied breezily. "I blessed it myself. Can't have my noble disguise breaking down on the side of the road with that thing breathing on me."
"Gabe," Percy and I said in unison, wincing.
Amphitrite approached the car, then paused. She turned to Grover, tilting her head like she'd just remembered something.
"You. Satyr. Up front."
Grover blinked. "Me?"
"Yes. You're the least threatening of the bunch. If we get pulled over, you're the emotional support goat."
"Hey!"
"I mean that affectionately." Her tone was bone-dry.
Percy climbed in behind the driver's seat without asking, and I quickly slid in beside him before Annabeth could try to lay claim to the spot. Annabeth grumbled before sliding in after me.
The car started and we began driving in a random direction.
"Hey, Y/N." Percy spoke up. "Where did you get a knife?"
I stopped rummaging through my backpack, taking out a cinnamon Pop Tart.
I took a bite of the Pop-Tart, letting the cinnamon filling melt on my tongue before casually saying, "Oh, I stole it from Gabe."
Percy looked ove. "He just left it lying around?"
I shrugged. "Yeah. He's not exactly the type to notice when stuff goes missing. Probably thinks he ate it or something."
Up front, Amphitrite snickered under her breath. "That's for sure," she said, her voice like water lapping against rocks. It was the first real laugh I'd heard from her that didn't sound like she was faking it. It made her seem almost human.
The car settled into silence for a while after that. The windows hummed from the wind, the road stretching ahead of us like a ribbon unspooling into something unknown.
Eventually, I leaned forward a little and asked, "So, you've told me your names—and obviously, Grover's half goat—" I nodded toward the front passenger seat, "but what exactly are you three doing on this quest?"
Percy shifted, looking between Annabeth and Grover like they were passing around an unspoken signal. "Well," he said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, "we're looking for something called Zeus's master bolt. Someone stole it, and the gods are about to start World War III over it. Most of them think my dad—Poseidon—did it. But we believe it was someone else."
"Right," I said, thinking back. "That Clarisse girl you mentioned."
"Yeah," Annabeth said with a grim expression, "we've had to fight off monsters, dodge Ares's manipulation, and basically survive on scraps and luck. It's been a nightmare."
"Feels like more than just bad luck," Grover added, glancing back at me. His eyes were serious now, heavy with something unspoken. "There's something wrong. Monsters out more than ever. They're bolder, faster. This isn't just one missing weapon. It's something bigger."
I let their words settle in. "And you're just supposed to find the bolt and return it? Fix the gods?"
"It's part of a prophecy," Annabeth said, like that explained everything. "And yes. We're running out of time."
I chewed the edge of my Pop-Tart, trying to ignore the taste of dread forming in the back of my throat. "So what about you two?" I asked, nodding between her and Grover. "You don't exactly seem like the usual questing party."
Grover gave me a sheepish smile. "I'm a satyr. I swore to protect Percy. It's part of what I do, but... this one's different."
The car went quiet.
"...After Mom died?" I said, finally pushing the words out. The ones I hadn't said aloud since I got the call.
Silence. Even the hum of the tires felt too loud.
"She's not dead," Percy said suddenly, like he'd been waiting for the right second to break the dam. "Not exactly."
I turned sharply. "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"
"She's in the Underworld," Grover said, his voice gentle. "Hades took her before Pasiphaë's son could get to her."
My mind stalled. Pasiphaë? Wait—wasn't she—
"You mean the woman Poseidon made fall in love with a bull?" I asked, my face wrinkling with revulsion. "That Pasiphaë?"
Percy's jaw dropped. "He what?! Mom told me she just fell in love with the bull—she never said Poseidon made her!"
I blinked. "She probably didn't want you to know the truth. Makes sense, now. She always got quiet whenever his name came up."
From the front, Amphitrite let out a sound that was more like a sigh than a laugh. "Yeah..." she muttered. "My husband had... a certain history in his younger years."
We all turned toward her, blinking in disbelief.
"Sug—Amphitrite," I said, correcting myself, "he would've been over two thousand years old."
I caught her reflection in the rearview mirror. Her sea-green eyes were far away, like she was watching waves crash against some memory she couldn't hold back anymore.
"I know," she said quietly.
The car fell into another silence. A heavier one.
Then, she snapped her fingers.
I barely had time to react. One moment, we were driving down the street—the next, sea air exploded through the windows. The car lurched, then suddenly stopped. The landscape outside shimmered, blurred like water rippling over glass.
I stumbled out, blinking.
We were on a pier. Wooden planks beneath our feet, the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocks on either side. Sea gulls shrieked overhead. We weren't in Las Vegas anymore.
"What—how—?" Percy stammered, stepping out beside me. "We were just in the desert! How did we get to Santa Monica?"
"Shortcut," Amphitrite said, stepping out of the car with practiced grace. The sea breeze played with her hair, making it shimmer like liquid obsidian. She looked every bit a queen. Regal. Unreachable.
But tired. So tired.
She turned to the others—Percy, Annabeth, Grover—but her eyes landed on me last. "You three," she said softly, "have a quest to finish. You need to talk with your father and reach the Underworld."
Percy immediately frowned. "Wait. You're not coming? We could use your help."
"No," she said, not unkindly. "Entering Hades' Domain unannounced would cause the war to quick fire. As for my husband, he doesn't need to know about my disguise." Her gaze turned to me. "So I'm going to stay here, with him. He's not going to the Underworld. Not yet. Not until he's been trained like the other demi— you and the other demigods."
Percy looked like he was going to argue—but then he looked at me. At the scaly patches on my skin, the way my black and white hair shifted in the wind, and the exhaustion I hadn't bothered to hide anymore.
I wanted to help him but I knew I'd be more of a hindrance. I'm trained in medicine and modern weaponry. I don't have a fancy sword or anything to fight the god of the Underworld.
Percy nodded.
Amphitrite laid a hand on my shoulder. "There are things I need to explain," she said gently. "And things you deserve to hear—truths no one ever bothered to tell you."
I didn't know what to say.
But for once, since I'd learned of Percy not being a terrorist. I felt something solid under my feet.
Not just a dock. But a decision.
*
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DGW: Hello everyone, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed— and if you have any complaints feel free to share.
Word Count: 3186