They were able to hold a two-block perimeter around the building with a command tent inside and Chiron informed them that they now had roughly five hundred Party Ponies to work with.
He also informed them that in addition to her father, Hephaestus was also out of action in the battle against Typhon. He'd been knocked out of the sky so hard that he created a new lake in West Virginia. And now they had less than a day before he arrived in New York and then they would definitely lose. But they couldn't hold out another day.
Percy had told Annabeth about the fact that Ethan Nakamura seemed to think that Luke was fighting Kronos for control of his body. And as he predicted, she grew hopeful, even after she explained Hestia's vision to him when he told her. She was angry though when Percy told her that Luke was evil long before Kronos came along and all he was going to do was hurt her. She understood that but she still held out hope that he was wrong.
Percy was then left by himself as he stared across the lobby at Cressida who was sitting with her brother as he changed her bandages. Cressida had a bleeding scrape across her cheek, blood leaking from her eyebrow and dozens of other cuts and bruises, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. He also liked the fact that her eyes seemed like they were almost back to normal, back to that same shade of indigo he was obsessed with.
But one second he was standing there staring like he wasn't a stalker at all, and the next he was standing in a dingy bar with black walls, neon signs and a bunch of partying adults. Country music played on the speakers. Big guys in jeans and work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other.
Percy was very confused until a familiar voice said, "Oh, good, you're here. I'll have a Diet Coke."
He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, red running shoes and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly black hair like he was recovering from a concussion.
"Mr D?" Percy blinked.
He sighed, not taking his eyes from the arcade Pac-man game he was playing - it had been one of Cressida's favourites when he took her out for her fifteenth birthday. "Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"
"About as long as it'll take you to figure out my name," he muttered. "Where are we?"
"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Somewhere in lovely rural America."
"I thought Typhon swatted you out of the sky. They said you crash-landed. Cress and Pollux have been worried sick."
He turned at the mention of his children. "My dear children have enough problems to worry about," he said, his eyes on the floor. "And for the record, I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under fifty metres of rubble in an abandoned coal mine. It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But, in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."
"At a bar, playing Pac-Man."
"My children have not slept in the entire time my presence has been summoned here. I cannot appear in their dreams if they do not sleep and they will not sleep until the little party you're having in your safe, little New York bubble -"
"Safe little bubble?"
"– but, believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently, Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."
"So ... I'm not really here?"
"No. In a moment, I'll send you back to your normal insignificant life and it will be as if nothing had happened."
"And why did you bring me here?"
Dionysus snorted. "Oh, I didn't want you particularly. I was hoping for my Jewel or any of you silly heroes would do. That Annie girl –"
"Annabeth," Percy corrected.
"The point is, I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."
"Gee," Percy said sarcastically. "Never would've figured that out. Thanks."
He glared at Percy before turning back to his game just in time to see Pac-Man get eaten by the red ghost. "Erre es korakas, Blinky!" Dionysus cursed. "I will have your soul!"
"Um, he's a video game character."
"That's no excuse! And you're ruining my game, Jorgenson!"
"Jackson."
"Whichever! Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization –" The game played a song and Mr D progressed to level 254. "Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"
"Um, the fabric of civilization?" Percy prompted, definitely seeing where Cressida got her ADHD from.
"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away but, mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings – all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"
"So why aren't the gods rushing back to help us?" Percy asked. "We should combine forces at Olympus. Forget Typhon."
He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."
"Gods, you're annoying," Percy huffed, making sure to not tell Cressida that part when he told her what happened later. He got the attention of a waitress and ordered the stupid soda, putting it on Bobby Earl's tab.
Mr D took a good long drink. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Pierre –"
"Percy."
"– the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves –"
"Like Pan," he realised, "depending on the satyrs to save the wild."
"Yes, quiet. I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise, we would not keep you annoying little brats around."
"I feel so wanted. Thanks."
"Use the training I have given you at camp."
"What training?"
"You know. All those hero techniques my Jewel has taught you– No!" Mr D slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!" He looked at Percy and purple fire flickered in his eyes. Percy never realised it, but Dionysus's fire was lighter than Cressida's, more like lavender or lilac than the deeper indigo shade that Cressida had. "As I recall," Mr D said, snapping Percy from his thoughts. "I once predicted you would turn out to be as selfish as all the other human heroes and lead my daughter to her doom. You haven't thus far, and for once I hope that you don't prove me right."
"Yeah, making you proud is really high on my list right now," Percy sassed and the fire in Dionysus's eyes burned brighter.
"It should be should you hope for a future with my only daughter. You must save Olympus, Pedro! Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our seats of power. It must be done!"
"Great. Nice little chat. Now, if you don't mind, my friends, Cress mainly, will be wondering –"
"There is more," Mr D warned. "Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."
"We kind of guessed that."
"And did you also guess that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king?"
"And that would mean ..."
Dionysus inserted another coin. "You know about the true forms of the gods."
"Yeah. You can't look at them without burning up."
"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And, once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans. They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."
Percy didn't know if he could be any more scared than he was. "Can I go now?" he asked.
"One more thing," Dionysus said as he turned, uncaring about the ghosts that were killing his Pac-Man avatar. "My children, how are they?"
Percy blinked as his expression softened.
"I don't know about Pollux, but he was alive last I saw him. And Cress..."
He'd never seen Dionysus look so desperate or concerned.
"She was injured by a poisoned blade a while ago. She's mostly ok now but she won't sit out of the fight no matter what anyone tells her."
Dionysus's smile was small. "That's my Jewel. She's never done well with others telling her what to do. Miranda was the same way once."
It took Percy a moment to realise that Dionysus was talking about Cressida's mother. And for a second, Percy felt bad for him. He'd never really thought about it from the god's position. What it must've felt like to fall in love with someone, to have a child be born out of that love and then have that child essentially tortured by that someone. He didn't only have to deal with the guilt of what happened to Cress but the loss of someone he loved.
"I know no one, much less you, can talk my daughter out of anything especially something like the final battle," Dionysus began. "Her path is likely already set, but as for Pollux, my son is more easily influenced. I'd appreciate it if you could keep him out of the fray. After losing Castor last year -"
"I remember," Percy interjected and as annoying as Dionysus was, Percy had to admit, he was probably the most caring Olympian parent. And this wasn't the first time he'd seen it. "I'll do my best."
"Your best," Dionysus muttered mockingly. "Well, isn't that reassuring."
"Uh, they're your children. They're just as stubborn as you if not more so," Percy defended but Dionysus waved him off.
"Go now! You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"
"Nasty surprises?"
He waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.