σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Go Shopping for Water Beds

Grover: Why, thank you.

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

Grover shook his head, clearly mystified.

Annabeth was looking at Percy as if she knew his next question.

Theo: You know what's in that pit, don't you?

Annabeth: Theo...let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades...No. It has to be Hades.

Wasteland rolled by. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES.

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

She tried to boost our morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but my heart wasn't in it. There were just too many unknown factors. It was like cramming for a test without knowing the subject. And believe me, I'd done that enough times.

Timeskip
Los Angeles, California

At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L.A. beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.

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

Annabeth: What now?

Percy started walking towards the water.

Annabeth: Percy, what are you doing?

Percy kept walking until the water reached his chest.

Theo: You do realize how polluted the water is, right? I mean, the amount of trash and toxic shit floating around—

Percy's head went under, leaving Annabeth, Grover, and I standing on the surf.

Theo: If he comes back with an extra leg, don't blame me.

I looked over at Annabeth, who looked worried.

Theo: Drachma for your thoughts?

Annabeth: U-Um...

Grover and I looked at her expectedly, but she just shook her head.

Annabeth: It's probably nothing. What about you?

Theo: Nothing.

After a few minutes, Percy came out of the water, somehow completely dry, and walked back to us. He told us about his conversation with a Neriad, apparently the same one he met in the Mississippi River, and he showed out the four white pearls she gave him.

Annabeth: No gift comes without a price.

Percy: They were free.

Annabeth: (shakes her head) No. "'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.

And on that note, we turned around and walked away from the ocean.

With some spare change from Ares's backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. Percy showed the driver the Underworld address slip he'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

Driver: You remind me of somebody I saw on TV. You a child actor or something?

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