Chapter 60 – Finally Arrived in the Underworld
The chaos inside the Lotus Casino had reached its peak, with lights flashing wildly, music pounding through the halls, and the sweet, intoxicating scent of lotus flowers hanging heavy in the air. Dante sprinted through the corridors, dodging laughing patrons and spinning roulette wheels, his heart racing—not from fear of the security guards chasing him, but from the very real terror of Annabeth behind him, golden sword in hand and eyes blazing with fury.
While Dante ran from Annabeth, Percy was at a slot machine in a quieter corner, mind foggy from the lotus haze, when he suddenly heard a faint, insistent voice cutting through the noise: "Wake up, Percy. Wake up."
Percy blinked, startled, and muttered: "Who is it?" He looked around confused, scanning the crowds of gamblers and dancers, but saw no one speaking to him.
The voice returned, clearer now, urgent: "It's the flowers. They make you not want to leave this place."
Percy got even more confused, turning in circles, and tried to call the voice again: "Hey? Hello?" But he heard nothing more—just the endless chime of machines and laughter.
At that moment, a waitress glided over with a tray, smiling sweetly: "More lotus flower, dear? It's our specialty."
Percy shook his head firmly, the voice's warning echoing in his mind: "For me, that's enough. Thanks." And he bolted from the area, pushing through the crowd, heart pounding as he fought the pull to stay and play just one more game.
The voice appeared again, right in his ear this time, soft but commanding: "Concentrate, Percy. Concentrate."
He stumbled forward and nearly bumped into a blond guy in a flashy suit who was staring at a wall of screens. Percy, still dazed, blurted out: "Operation France, huh? The blond guy is you. I've seen it. I think I saw it on DVD."
The blond guy turned, confused: "What is DVD?"
Percy stared at him incredulous: "Are you serious?"
The guy shrugged: "Anyway, I think it's the best movie of the year."
Percy pressed: "What? Wait of this year?"
The guy looked puzzled: "It's from this year, 1978."
Percy froze, staring at him in shock as the realization hit—the time distortion, the lost days.
The voice returned, louder now: "Percy, wake up. You need to wake up."
At that exact moment, Dante came sprinting around the corner, breathing hard, eyes wide.
Dante skidded to a stop in front of Percy and said: "Bro, sorry, but I fucked up bad. You know that flower we were eating? Apparently it leaves us kind of high."
Percy said: "What do you mean kind of high?"
Dante explained quickly: "The thing is it leaves our happy sense here and makes us not want to leave this place ever until death."
Percy said horrified: "What the hell. But if we've been here so long, we would know, right? It feels like hours."
Dante shook his head: "No, because it affects our perception makes it seem like little time has passed, when in reality we must have been here for many days."
Percy said: "So you're telling me we're super behind on the mission?"
Dante nodded grimly: "Basically that."
Percy said urgently: "And now?"
Dante thought for a second: "Well, now it's find the pearl and get the hell out of here."
At that moment, Annabeth appeared behind him, furious, sword raised: "So you want to run away, huh?" She pointed the golden sword straight at him.
Percy said startled: "Wait, that's my sword!"
Annabeth said sharply: "Don't be stingy. I'll give it back after I finish killing this perverted dragon."
Dante raised his hands: "Calm down, calm down. Think about it. Killing me won't do you any good."
Annabeth said through gritted teeth: "No, but it'll make me very happy."
Percy said completely lost: "Now why are you guys fighting?"
Dante said embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck: "It's that she discovered some little things about dragons that she didn't like very much."
Annabeth said venomously: "Some things? You call your vampire girlfriends 'some little things'?"
Dante said defensively: "Her body isn't very big, so it's some little things."
Annabeth smiled dangerously: "Good to know I can tell her that."
Dante gave a tired smile: "They're already teaming up against me."
Percy said trying to refocus: "Guys, we have to solve the mission. Forgot? After you solve your couple fight. Speaking of mission, where's Grover?"
Dante thought a bit with his hand on his chin: "I haven't seen him since we separated."
Annabeth, who had calmed slightly, said: "I haven't seen him either."
Percy said: "It's better we find him soon because we don't have much time after this little joke."
Dante then thought and said: "Just go where there are women and you'll find goat-man. He can't resist that."
At that moment, Percy pointed excitedly: "Look, it's the pearl we were looking for!"
Annabeth said: "The problem is how we're going to get it with so many people in the place without drawing attention."
Dante gave a smile: "Now it's just brute force because there's no more time."
Percy said: "But how?"
Dante said: "First we have to find a goat-man because something tells me they won't be very happy when we steal that pearl."
Annabeth then pulled Dante's hand: "So let's find Grover and get out of here now."
Percy said: "That's the best idea I've heard since we arrived in this casino."
They then ran out looking for Grover. They found him in the area full of women, lounging on a couch, drinking champagne and laughing.
Percy said urgently: "Come on, man. We have to get out of here now. Come on."
Grover said dreamily: "Don't bother my . We're going to the chapel. We're getting married."
Dante laughed and said: "The mistake was letting you go get married."
Annabeth looked at him with a deadly glare and said: "Why don't you want to get married? If you don't want to, I accept a funeral too can."
Dante I was talking about marriage with strippers. Of course I want to marry you, dear he said while hugging her tightly.
Percy said: "It's not time for that. Dante, we have to get out of this place soon or you're going to have to carry us flying."
Annabeth said: "Well, that would be a good punishment for him."
Percy then looked at Grover: "And you? Let's go. We have the mission to complete."
Grover said lazily: "Calm down, man. Eat a flower and you'll be fine again."
Dante, seeing that, ignored Grover, grabbed him with one arm and threw him over his shoulder: "Let's go. We don't have more time for conversation with him."
Percy nodded: "Yes, let's go."
They then ran toward where the pearl was.
Annabeth asked: "So what's the plan?"
Dante said smiling: "No plan. It's grab it and run out."
Grover, who finally woke up from the haze, shouted: "Everyone, look! They're behind us!"
Percy said: "Shit. We have to get out of here soon, saints!"
They ran faster, knocking over tables, plates, and people in the way.
Percy then jumped on the betting table where the pearl was, grabbed it and said: "I got it! Let's go!"
Dante then swung Grover like a baseball bat at the security guards who were running after them and said: "To the car!"
They then ran toward the car while Annabeth and Percy pushed the guards who appeared in their way.
Arriving at the car, Dante said: "Go, Grover, go!"
Grover said: "Okay. I got the key. Hold on, we're going now."
He then accelerated the car, breaking everything in the way, leaving the casino behind in a cloud of dust and debris.
Grover said grinning: "That's how you should leave a casino. That's how you drive!"
Annabeth said: "Of course. Now everything makes sense. It was the lair of the lotus eaters. They attract people to these traps since ancient times. Only how did they affect you, huh, Dante?"
Dante scratched his head embarrassed: "Well, it's that I lowered my defenses to be able to get drunk once in my life, since human drinks are like water to me and I don't feel anything."
Percy said: "Man, we're on a rescue. You couldn't have chosen a better time for that, could you?"
Dante said: "Sorry. I was weak."
Grover said: "Everyone, look at the morning. It's June 21."
Percy said: "No, it can't be. Today is the 15th."
Annabeth said: "Right. The morning is the 21st. We stayed in there for 5 days."
Grover said: "It feels like hours."
He looked at Dante and asked: "You didn't feel anything with your power, did you?"
Dante smiled and asked: "Seriously you're asking an immortal dragon if he felt the passage of two days? I can only feel that because I have you as my temporal compass. Because by my dragon instincts, I would stay there for years without feeling anything about time."
Percy said: "So we're with so little time."
Grover said: "Okay, so where is the underworld? Tell me so I can accelerate the car there."
Percy then took the map and said: "It's at the Hollywood sign."
Grover said: "Easy. We'll get there in 4 hours, maybe three."
He then accelerated the car.
Dante, seeing that, said: "Just be careful, otherwise you'll die and arrive in the underworld another way."
After some time driving, the car radio started saying the news: "And now the latest news from Fox KTW radio: an unprecedented storm cloud grew and covered most of North America. Authorities in several states are ordering evacuation due to extreme weather conditions."
Dante said smiling: "It's just baby Zeus throwing a tantrum."
Dante then looked at the sky with a serious face and said: "But he is really a bastard, scaring lots of children, animals, and elderly people for something so futile and senseless like showing power. If he wanted to really fight, he would have started a long time ago."
Annabeth said: "Dante, don't say that. It can cause trouble for us."
Dante said: "He's not crazy enough to touch you or I'll want to know if he's claw-proof from a dragon."
Grover said: "Everyone, we arrived at the location."
They then stopped the car, got out, and ran to the Hollywood sign.
Percy then managed to see a phrase written there: "From you, depraved souls," making a passage open.
Dante said: "Even being super powerful, I really feel like a sinner from my story as a horror movie fan entering a passage straight to the underworld."
Annabeth pulled his hand and said: "Let's go."
They then entered the passage and inside they found the boatman who carries the souls of the dead.
Grover said: "What a sinister hooded figure."
Percy said: "Let's find out who he is."
He tried to pull his sword. He then realized it was still with Annabeth.
Annabeth, seeing Percy embarrassed, returned his sword, which he took and approached the boatman with the others.
The boatman said: "Who are you?"
Percy said: "We need to talk to Hades."
The boatman said: "The living are not allowed here. Die and come back."
Dante said: "Can I kill you, friend, if I devour you whole until the soul? Will anything be left for you to be arrogant sending me to die? Are you crazy or am I crazy for hearing you say that and you're still breathing or not in the state you're in, right?"
The boatman stared at Dante's golden eyes, looking at him and trembling.
Annabeth pulled Dante's hand and said: "Your power isn't to intimidate people who are just doing their job."
Dante returned to normal and said: "I was applying pressure like Batman. I wasn't going to kill the guy for real, but now you ruined everything."
Annabeth said: "Well, sorry. I just don't want you guys to start using your power to attack people over the smallest disagreement. That reminds me..."
Dante smiled and said: "Sorry for reminding them. It wasn't my intention."
Percy, seeing that, looked at the boatman and said: "What do you want?"
The boatman then extended his hand.
Grover said: "I already got it." And gave him a hundred-dollar bill, which he burned.
Grover said: "What the hell, man? It was a hundred dollars."
Percy, seeing that, remembered the drachmas from Medusa's house. They then took them and gave them to the boatman.
He counted and said: "Only enough for tree people."
Dante said: "Take them. I can follow on my own."
Annabeth was going to say something, but seeing Dante waving for them to go, they climbed on the boat.
The boat then started sailing, flying outward.
Annabeth said looking at the underworld below: "I can't believe he didn't come along."
She heard a voice above her saying didn't come. She looked up and saw Dante with his giant black dragon wings flying smoothly above them.
Dante said: "You guys are really forgetful. I can fly."
Percy said: "Well, we totally forgot about that."
Dante then looked at the distant castle and thought: Hades, I'm here. I want an explanation about my mom and about your attack on her.
He thought while flying above the boat.