Santa Monica Beach and the Arrival at the City of Angels

It was Annabeth's idea, she loaded them into the back of a random Vegas taxi as if they actually had enough money, and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."

The driver chewed his cigar and sized them up with a skeptical and suspicious look. "That's three hundred miles. It's gonna be pricey. For that, you gotta pay upfront, kids. "

"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked with a hopeful look.

The man shrugged in the driver's seat, eyeing the girl with only mild suspicions now. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards too. I gotta swipe 'em through first though. It won't be a problem, right?"

Annabeth gingerly handed him her green LotusCash card without any trouble or concern. The guy looked at it skeptically, unfamiliar with the design. No shit, he would hopefully never have to see the Lotus logo again, Albert thought.

"Swipe it, sir" Annabeth invited.

 The guy finally did. His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed a couple of times and finally a symbol appeared instead of a normal number, the symbol of infinity appeared next to the dollar sign. The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth as he gawked at it, and looked at them with mild fear and a lot of respect.

The driver, with his eyes wide awkwardly cleared his throat, "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highnesses?"

Albert snorted out loud at that and Percy rolled his eyes.

"The Santa Monica Pier," Annabeth sat up a little straighter. It was clear to tell she enjoyed the 'Your Highness' thing a lot. "Get us there as fast as possible, and you can keep the change."

She shouldn't have told him that, the boys immediately thought, she had no idea how much mortals liked money. The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert. 

On the road, they had plenty of time to talk and catch up. Percy told them about his latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more he tried to talk. The Lotus Casino seemed to have affected his memory more than he realized, it was the same for the other two who got caught up by the Casino's spell. He said he couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though he was sure it was somebody he knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than "my lord" ...some special name or title.... he said.

"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested with a try. "Maybe The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."

 "Maybe..." Percy said, uncertain, he didn't look at all like these were the right ones.

"That throne room sounds like Hades's I think," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described I mean."

Percy shook my head. "No...Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit... I don't know. It was weird. I heard my father's when we did that ritual... It just didn't feel like a god's voice."

Annabeth's eyes widened at those words. Her brain was storming with new possibilities, that clearly displeased her deeply.

"What?" Percy asked noticing her change.

"Oh... it's nothing. I was just—No, it has to be Hades," She firmly said while shaking her head. "Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—!"

Albert finally interjected, "Really, like what? Do you have a guess?"

"No. I—I don't know," Annabeth said frowning. "But if he stole Zeus's symbol of power from Olympus, and the other gods were hunting him... I mean, a lot of things could go wrong, right? So this thief had to hide the bolt, or he lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right, Percy? The guy failed. That would explain what the Furies were searching for when they came after us on the bus. Maybe they thought we had retrieved the bolt somehow."

"That's not good enough, Blondie," Albert sharply commented. "It's a bad guess, you know it too. The thief couldn't have possibly been so incompetent when he managed to steal the master bolt out of everything from Olympus... just to what? Accidentally lose it? No. It makes no sense."

Annabeth looked pale, glaring at him, but not with anger, just annoyed that he touched where it hurt, she knew he was right. The girl snapped back, "Do you have a better guess then?"

"Matter of fact I do," Albert said with a sigh, "It's safe to say that telling you guys about it won't help, not when all I have is words and no evidence, so for now, I will just shut up."

"If I'd already retrieved the bolt, hypothetically," Percy said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"

"To threaten Hades?" Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back? There are like... lots of motives, dude."

Percy whistled looking at Grover with narrowed eyes, "You have pretty evil thoughts for a goat."

"Why, thank you," Grover replied rolling his eyes at Percy.

"But the thing in the pit thing said it was waiting for two items," Percy said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"

Grover shook his head, clearly mystified.

Annabeth was looking at me as if she knew my next question and was silently willing Percy not to ask it. She exchanged a weird look with Albert who replied with an almost daring one, willing her to speak her mind.

"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" Percy asked Albert suddenly, "I mean if it isn't Hades?"

"Something nobody wants to think," The boy replied cryptically. "Right, Annabeth?'

The girl looked visibly troubled, but she was stubborn by nature, unwilling to even consider the now glaring possibility of a bigger conspiracy, "Percy... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades... No. It has to be Hades."

"Martin Luther King Jr once said that: Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity," Albert said while looking absentmindedly towards the world outside the car window, "I don't think he was right about saying nothing is more dangerous, but he was right about it being dangerous though. It's a luxury and indulgence, to be honest, guys. I am not criticizing you by the way. I am like that too sometimes... most of the time. I am a bit of a hypocrite too, I admit that. Scared to face all the possibilities, afraid to think the worst. Still, we gotta stop doing this... at least not when the fate of so many rests on our shoulders." 

Albert could feel the others looking at him, their gaze almost felt like they could burn his skin off. He knew very well that Annabeth had already considered the true mind behind this conspiracy, but she was terrified of the possibility of not being the obvious suspect, Hades. Grover was comfortable not having to force his own mind to wander very much, he was shielded by Annabeth and Albert taking this role most of the time. Percy, this would be just the start of a long long life full of dangers, he must realize now how willful he has been. 

Albert was no saint, he wasn't a good person. He knew that the Lotus Casino had been a wild gamble, he could have never allowed the others to step into that trap, but he did it anyway because he had been greedy and overconfident. He was prideful then and reckless. Still, he got that book and met someone he otherwise would have never met, if he hadn't interfered at that moment, Damon Blackwood, the Roman demigod, might have spent more time stuck there, maybe forever.

Still, he could see his arrogance reflected in his actions, the gods had separated the two Camps for a good reason, and he did what he did anyway... Albert could only hope he did something for the better in the end. Still, he had freed the boy and now he was out of his reach.

Wasteland rolled by, and soon they passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES. It had been a rather quiet travel, they got to nap for a while and enjoy some radio music. The driver was dead silent, only driving like the best professional ever. All for good money.

"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured them. "You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing, we have to be."

She tried to boost the morale of the team by suggesting some clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but little did she know their hearts weren't in it. There were just too many unknown factors and silent anxieties.

The cab sped west. Every gust of wind through Death Valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. Every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded Albert of Echidna's reptilian voice and the fear he had when she held him by the neck and taunted him like he was no better than an insect. It was truly a terrible feeling to feel.

 At sunset, the taxi dropped them at the beach in Santa Monica. 

The place looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the Hollywood movies, only it smelled worse. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave. Couples taking pictures with their smartphones. Children having ice cream. Elders walking on the sidewalk with wise looks and even a loud Karen complaining about something not so far from them.

Grover, Annabeth, Percy, and Albert walked down to the edge of the surf.

"What now?" Annabeth asked.

The Pacific Ocean was turning gold in the setting sun. Percy thought about how long it had been since he'd first stood on the beach at Montauk with his mom, on the opposite side of the country, looking out at a different sea.

Albert just missed his grandparents and seeing the beach from their home, shiny like sapphire jewels, under the morning sky. He knew Percy was thinking about the vastness of the oceans, and how his father allegedly rules over it, but he didn't know Poseidon was far from omnipotent. He was powerful, extraordinarily so even for a god. Still, there are the lands beyond the gods and the Sea of Monsters too. He held no power in those places.

Percy stepped into the water.

"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"

"He is gonna go meet his father" Albert explained. "Don't worry, he needs to go."

The boy, only thirteen years old, looked so small and frail in contrast to the colossal sea as kept walking. The water soon reached up to his waist, then to his chest. Then he disappeared under the waves.

 ...

Percy held his breath at first. It's difficult to intentionally inhale water. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. He gasped for air. Sure enough, he could breathe. Just like when he first did it in the murky waters of the Mississippi River in Denver.

Percy felt refreshed, recharged, and comfortable as walked down into the shoals. He shouldn't have been able to see through the murk, but somehow he could tell where everything was. He could sense the rolling texture of the bottom. He could make out sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars. He could even see the currents, warm and cold streams swirling together, like patterns on a tapestry.

 Suddenly, the boy felt something rub against his leg. He looked down and almost shot out of the water like a ballistic missile. Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark. He felt his soul leaving his body.

 For some reason, the thing wasn't attacking. It was nuzzling at his legs and heeling like a dog. Tentatively, Percy touched its dorsal fin. It bucked a little as if inviting him to hold tighter. The boy decided to grab it with both hands. The shark quickly took off, pulling him along. The oversized fish carried him down into the darkness at the bottom of the sea. It deposited him at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand bank dropped off into a huge chasm like he was standing just a few steps from the abyss. It was like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at midnight, not being able to see much, but knowing the void was right there.

It was ominous and creepy. He didn't like it.

The surface shimmered maybe a hundred and fifty feet above. He knew that he should've been crushed by the pressure, like normal human beings, but then again, he shouldn't have been able to breathe either. Probably if Annabeth had tried, she would just drown. He wondered if there was a limit to how deep he could go or if he could sink straight to the bottom of the Pacific. He remembered that some whales can't go very deep, and most of the known marine life couldn't. The things that lived at the bottom were so different that they would probably be the closest things humans could imagine ugly aliens looking like.

Suddenly, he could see something glimmering in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward him.

A woman's voice, like my mother's, called: 'Percy Jackson.'

 As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, and a dress made that reminded him of green silk. Light itself flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful he hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding. The ghostly lady dismounted and the sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag near them.

She smiled at him. 'You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done.'

Percy wasn't quite sure what to do, so he bowed, she looked regal, like a princess or a queen. He then tentatively spoke, "You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River."

'Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea.' She explained, with the same warm smile on her face, 'It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater relatives, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon even though they do not serve in his court.'

Percy didn't know what to make of that statement, he knew his father was a king among the Olympians and rules over the seas, but still, hearing something like that was a bit daunting, "And... you serve in Poseidon's court?"

She nodded. 'It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest, Percy Jackson.'

Suddenly, like something had finally clicked, he remembered faces in the waves off Montauk Beach when he was a just little boy, reflections of smiling women waving at him happily. Like so many of the weird things in my life before, I'd never given it much thought. Back then he was scared he was going crazy, it would hurt his mom if he said he was seeing strange things. Now, Percy knew better.

"If my fath-If Poseidon, is so interested in me," He said, correcting himself "Why isn't he here then? Why doesn't he speak to me in person? Am I what...unworthy of that or something?"

A cold current rose out of the depths.

'Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly, child...' the Nereid told him with a distant expression, 'He now stands at the brink of an unwanted war against the Sky. He has much to occupy his time. Besides... he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism.'

"Even to their own children?" Percy asked.

'Oh, especially to them... The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I came here to give you a warning and a gift.'

She held out her hand. Four white shimmering pearls flashed in her palm.

'It was only three of them before, but the Nymphs told us of three companions not two, we know your journey to Hades's realm,' she stated. 'Very few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great musical skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus... or so they say. Do you have these talents?'

"Um... no, ma'am. I don't."

'No, but... you have something else, Percy. You have gifts you have only begun to know. The oracles have foretold a great and terrible future for you, child, should you survive to manhood... No, Poseidon would not have you die before your time. Therefore take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet.'

"What will happen if I do that?"

The ghostly lady smiled crypticly, 'Depends on the need. But remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.'

"What about the warning then?"

Her eyes flickered with green light, for a moment he remembered when Albert's eyes glowed too. It was different. Hers only flickered for a second, his light up like pink flashlights whenever he used too much power.

'Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment. Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson.'

She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void at a scary speed.

"Wait!" He called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts. What gifts?!'

'Goodbye, young hero,' she called back, her voice fading into the depths. 'You must listen to your heart.'

She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone. Percy wanted to follow her down into the darkness. I wanted to see the court of Poseidon. But he looked up at the sunset was almost over judging by the darkening on the surface. His friends were waiting. They had so little time...

 Percy steeled his heart and kicked upward toward the shore.

When he finally reached the beach, his clothes and hair were drenched in salt water. He told Grover, Annabeth, and Albert what had happened and showed them the pearls.

"Four?" Albert asked in intrigue. 

"We shouldn't get excited," Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."

"They were free," Percy argued with her, annoyed by his drenched clothes clinging to his skin.

 "No, trust me. It's never free with the gods," She shook her head stubbornly. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait. We wait."

On that happy and optimistic thought, they turned their backs on the Pacific Ocean. With some spare change from Ares, they got to take a bus going into West Hollywood. Percy showed the driver the Underworld address slip he'd taken from Medusa's Lair, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," The driver told him. "You a child actor or something?"

 "Uh... I'm a stunt double... for a lot of child actors."

"Oh! That explains it." The guy said laughing in a carefree manner.

They thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop. Percy was sweating while looking at the bus driving off in resentment.

"You're a bad liar, Jackson," Albert commented with an annoyingly pretty smug smile.

Percy didn't know if he liked or disliked Albert's smiles at him most of the time. He felt a bit inadequate ever since they started traveling together on this quest. The other boy was unlike him which got him confused. He was richer than most of the rich kids Percy got to know during his time at many schools back in New York but wasn't a snob. He acted weird and distant sometimes, but other times he was very intense about making his point. He was fiercely protective of him at times too, which came as a surprise because he still never called him friend. 

He wondered if Albert ever thought about how he makes others feel, if he even cared, would he care about him too?

"Let's go, guys, we have to go walking now," Annabeth called out. 

Percy wisely followed her, glancing back he saw Albert looking out at the world, his pale eyes were serene and happy, Grover poked him and whispered something in his ear. Percy felt slightly annoyed and turned away. He should focus on getting his mom back, just that.