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chapter eleven ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
011. A Crusty Dusty Height Adjustment

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FOR ONCE, IN CASSIE'S OPINION, ANNABETH HAD A SMART IDEA. She had got them into a Vegas taxi and ordered the driver.

"Los Angeles, please."

The man didn't seem to happy about that. He chewed on his cigar and said. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."

Cassie rolled her eyes and if Percy hadn't grabbed her shoulder she probably would've tackled the guy.

"Yeah, big guy. And what if we don—"

Annabeth covered her mouth.

"You accept casino debit cards?" The blonde offered.

"Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first." The man told.

Annabeth gave him her green LotusCash card and the guy inspected it.

"Go on, swipe it." Cassie stated.

The guy listened, swiping the card. His machine rattled as an infinity symbol appeared.

His mouth fell open in shock, looking back with wide eyes.

"Where to in Los Angeles . . . uh, Your Highness?"

"Don't feed her ego!" Cassie whined in complaint.

"The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth demanded, sitting up straighter and ignoring the brunette. "Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."

Not the best way of wording it. The taxi never went below ninety-five the whole trip across the desert.

There was a lot of time to talk in the car ride. Percy asked about the burning trireme and Cassie brushed it off. Annabeth explained the whole story.

Stories like that were exchange until Percy remembered his dream. He told them about the voice in the pit and the invisible servant. But the dream was getting fuzzier after their stay in the Lotus Casino.

Percy said there was some nickname the servant called the monster. Something special.

"The Silent One? The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades?" Annabeth proposed.

"Maybe . . ." Percy didn't sound too sure.

"That throne room sounds like Hades'. That's the way it's usually described." Grover added.

Percy denied it. "Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And the voice from the pit . . . I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."

That caught the girls' attention. Annabeth more visibly from her widening eyes.

Cassie thought to herself. 'I mean it could be—there's no way! Forget that. It got to be Hades.'

"What?" Percy asked them.

"Oh . . . nothing. I was just—No, it has to be Hades. Maybe he sent this thief, this invisible person, to get the master bolt, and something went wrong—"

"Like what?"

"I—I don't know. But if he stole Zeus' symbol of power from Olympus, and the gods were hunting him, I mean, a lot of things could go wrong. So this thief had to hide the bolt, or lost it somehow. Anyway, he failed to bring it to Hades. That's what the voice said in your dream, right? 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." Annabeth explained.

"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt, why would I be traveling to the Underworld?" Percy questioned.

"To threaten Hades." Grover said.

"Yeah, to bribe or blackmail him into giving you, your mom back." Cassie pointed out.

Percy whistled. "You two have evil thoughts. Especially for a goat."

"Why, thank you." Grover replied.

"I get that all the time." Cassie shrugged.

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

Grover shook his head, not having an answer. Cassie crossed her arms leaning back in thought.

Annabeth was looking at Percy, like a silent warning to not ask what he was thinking.

"You have an idea of what might be in that pit, don't you? You too, Cassie. I mean, if it isn't Hades."

"Ehh, my ideas normally aren't right." Cassie waved him off. That was a lie, she was right most of the time, but didn't want to worry the boy.

"Percy . . . let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades . . . No, it has to be Hades." Annabeth answered.

Percy and Cassie were thinking the same thoughts. There was something off about the quest. Confronting Hades didn't feel right. Something else was happening, but they didn't have time to think.

They were headed towards the Underworld, going at the speed of ninety-five. Hopefully this was right because they didn't have the time to make up for their mistakes if it wasn't.

"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." Annabeth reassured.

Percy couldn't tell if it was really directed at him because the blonde was staring at the brunette whose head was rested on the window, looking outwards.

Annabeth tried to lift their spirits by making plans of how to get in the Underworld, but none seemed into it.

Cassie watched as the desert passed by, thinking about her siblings and friends. She missed her dad, no matter how much of a jerk he had been.

She missed her mom too, but she scolded herself. That woman didn't deserve her pity.

She thought of the know-it-all blonde next to her. Maybe they could be friends, but Cassie still didn't like the idea too much.

Annabeth was growing on her though, in ways she didn't agree with.

Percy was pretty cool too. They were close enough and he'd be like the oblivious brother she never had.

Grover was good when you wanted someone to talk to. He listened and put his own opinion in enough to make you feel heard.

Cassie smiled softly, never once turning away from the setting sun.

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They got to Santa Monica Beach. It looked just like how you'd expect.

It smelled pretty bad, and homeless people were resting in the sand dunes, but other than that it seemed nice.

Carnival rides filled the pier as surfers ran to the beach. Palm trees were abundant along the sidewalks.

Cassie, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover walked to the surf.

"What now?" Annabeth asked.

Percy didn't answer as he started walking in the surf. Cassie laughed, somehow finding it amusing and sat down fiddling with the sand.

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

Percy just kept walking, the water rising higher and higher over his body.

"You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic—"

The son of Poseidon couldn't hear her anymore as his head went under.

"He'll be fine. A little pollution could do him good." Cassie remarked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes as they waited. Cassie got bored and had an idea. A smirk appeared on her face. The one Annabeth had grown to hate.

"Hey, Chase? What's that out there?"

Cassie pointed towards the sea. Annabeth stepped forward to look and splash. Down went the daughter of Athena into the polluted water.

Cassie burst out laughing falling to the ground. Annabeth stood back up, scowl on her face as she was dripping with ocean water.

"What the heck, Carter!"

"W-what? I-I didn't do a-anything? You needed t-to cool dow-wn." Cassie managed through her laughter.

That's when she found herself being dragged into the ocean.

"No! Annabeth! Don't!" The name slipped from her lips, but the blonde didn't notice.

Splash.

There Cassie went into the beach, coming up with soaking wet hair. Annabeth grinned trying to ring out her hair.

"Seriously. Grover, how dare you not help me?" Cassie dramatized, holding a hand to her chest.

The satyr laughed and snapped a photo of the girls with Cassie's polaroid. Grover raised his hands in surrender and Cassie got up to sit on a nearby log.

Her flannel was all wet now, so she took it off and wrapped it around her waist. The cold air blew on her bare shoulders. Maybe a tank top in L.A., at a beach wasn't the best idea.

"Now I remember why I dislike you so much Carter." Annabeth cried out, still watching and waiting for Percy to come back.

"Right back at you, Chase."

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Cassie was still dripping wet from the water when Percy came up.

The son of Poseidon walked out, completely dry and pulled a face when he saw the girls.

"What happened to you?"

Annabeth pointed to Cassie. "Carter happened."

Percy nodded, changing the topic to the nymph he had just talked to. He told them what had happened and showed the four pearls.

Annabeth frowned. "No gifts come without a price."

"They were free."

Cassie laughed, patting Percy's shoulder.

"No. 'There's no such thing as free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait." Annabeth quoted.

"Well, thanks for the optimism, Chase." Cassie quipped as the turned away from the sea.

Using her dad's backpack, they were able to take a bus into West Hollywood.

Percy showed the driver the address from Aunty Em's but the guy had never heard of DOA Recording Studios.

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

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

"Oh! That explains it."

Soon, they got off the bus and went searching for DOA, but no one knew about it.

Twice, Cassie had to pull them into an alley as she watched for cops. She whacked Percy's shoulder when they walked past a store on the news channel.

His stepfather, Smell Gabe was being interviewed. He made up some sob story about Percy taking everything he cared for.

Percy's fist clenched in anger as the rest watched with pity.

The reporter turned to the camera.

"There you have it, America. A man torn apart. An adolescent boy with serious issues. Let me show you, again, the last know photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in Denver."

Cassie watched as the screen showed a blurry photo of them talking to her dad, outside the diner.

"Who are the other children in this photo? Who is the man with them? Some claim one of the girls looks familiar. Like a young child caught many times by officers, Cassandra Carter."

'Ah, shit.' Cassie thought. 'Back to the old days.'

The group looked at her, but she shrugged.

"Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult. Has Cassandra Carter gone back to her old ways of thieving and trickery? When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."

Annabeth made a face at Cassie. "I heard things about you, but never that far."

"What did you want me to do, Chase? Give you my full life story when we met. We weren't really on the best page then. Still aren't now." Cassie muttered.

Grover pulled Percy away before he could punch the TV and Annabeth kept interrogating Cassie. The daughter of Ares just shrugged her off with a 'leave it be, Chase.'

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Soon, darkness fell as it grew hard to know where they were going.

It was so different from New York in Percy's opinion. There everything had a reason for why it was there. In L.A. the building were scattered and hard to walk around.

It reminded Percy of Ares.

For Annabeth it was more like Cassie. Fierce and big (not like her siblings) but felt the need to prove it by be loud, blunt, and difficult to understand.

Annabeth thought that maybe they could be friends. She had messed that up when she first met the girl, but she thought they were getting somewhere.

Cassie acted like they were too, but she got cold and rude whenever real emotions could spill. Annabeth didn't get it.

The daughter of Ares remained silent most of their walk. They passed strange people and avoiding any conversation, not wanting to get robbed.

When they passed an alley someone called out, "Hey, you."

Percy did one of the dumbest things ever and stopped. Then, they were surrounded.

The gang looked like all the pathetic boys who tired to be the cool kids. Another reason Cassie didn't like guys.

Percy uncapped Riptide and most of gang backed off, but the leader kept advancing.

Cassie summoned her sword, ready to electrocute and slice the guy if he came to close.

Percy made the mistake of swinging because the blade didn't even do anything.

It passed through the boy's chest as he stared down in shock.

"Run!" Cassie advised before the leader could come after them.

They shoved a few kids and turned the corner.

"There!" Annabeth pointed.

There was one store open with a glowing sign. It read CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE to all except Grover.

"Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover asked.

No one asked anymore questions as they ran inside and hid behind a bed. The gang kids ran past and Grover let out a sigh of relief.

"I think we lost them."

"Lost who?" A voice called from behind.

Everyone but Cassie jumped. She summoned her sword in fright and it hit Percy on the head.

He glared at her, but he wasn't actually mad. The son of Poseidon rubbed his head where the sword had fallen.

Behind them was a seven foot lizard in a suit. At least he looked like a lizard and he was really tall. He had gray leathery skin, thick eye lids, and a weird smile.

His suit was old and half unbuttoned, showing his hairless chest. Cassie shuddered in disgust.

"I'm Crusty." The man introduced, smiling with his yellow teeth.

Cassie and Percy locked eyes, holding back snickers. They both refrained from saying: Yes, you are.

Instead Percy said, "Sorry to barge in. We were just, um, browsing."

"You mean hiding from those no-good kids. They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?" Crusty offered.

Cassie gazed at Crusty warily. She knew this wasn't smart, but she was mentally tired. Her brain kept drifting to be mom and Ares.

Crusty led Percy over to the bed displays and there were a bunch of beds. Every combination you could imagine.

"This is my most popular model." The man gestured to one of the beds, but Cassie didn't see it as her eyes drooped.

"Million-hand massage. Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, anyway."

Cassie was tempted, but restrained herself.

"I think we're fine, Crusty my budd—"

Annabeth elbowed her to stop with the nickname. Cassie's voice died away and she didn't say anything to Annabeth.

"Million-hand massage!" Grover jumped onto the bed. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."

Cassie didn't catch Crusty stroking his chin muttering, "Hmm. Almost, almost."

"Almost what?" Percy questioned.

"Do me a favor and try this two here, dears. Might fit." Crusty ignored Percy and turned to the girls.

Annabeth started to protest. "But what—"

Crusty patted her shoulder and led the blonde to the Safari Deluxe Model.

He didn't have to help Cassie, because the daughter of Ares had let her body get the better of her and flopped onto the bed next to Annabeth.

Annabeth didn't want to lie down, but Crusty pushed her.

"Hey!" She yelled.

Crusty looked to Cassie, nodding once her saw her in a bed and snapped his fingers.

"Ergo!"

Cassie sat up but found herself pushed down by ropes that had appeared from the side of the bed. She was being held against the mattress.

To her left and right, Annabeth and Grover were in similar situations.

"N-not c-c-cool! N-not c-cool a-at all!" Grover shouted, voice vibrating from the massage.

Cassie got a burst of energy. Maybe it was from laying on the bed, but then she remembered the tiny ropes that were trying to strangle her.

Probably not from the bed. Whatever energized her, allowed the brunette to summon her sword.

Unfortunately, the ropes saw this coming and wrapped around her sword too. She tried again with a dagger, but it was ripped away.

Meanwhile, Percy was busy conversing with Crusty who turned out to be Procrustes.

He was aware that his friends were currently being stretched out, but didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Cassie kept struggling against the binds, because it was starting to hurt pretty bad. At least she'd be taller if she survived this.

Her attention was shifted to Percy as he lured Procrustes onto a bed.

The giant sat down on one of the beds and with a snap of Percy's fingers, he was caught in his own trap.

"Ergo."

"Hey!" Procrustes cried out.

"Center him just right." Percy told the ropes and they did just that.

Procrustes head stuck out and so did his feet.

"No! Wait! This is just a demo."

Percy got out Riptide.

"A few simple adjustments . . ."

Procrustes tried again. "You drive a hard bargain. I'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models."

Percy ignored him. "I think I'll start with the top."

He raise his sword.

"No money down. No interest for six months."

That was Procrustes last offer before his head was sliced off.

Cassie grinned. Many heads were cut off this trip even if it wasn't by her.

Percy moved over to the other beds where the rest of the group was currently tied up. He cut their binds as the three groaned, Cassie cursing him.

"You look taller." Percy cheekily observed.

"Very funny. Be faster next time." Annabeth replied.

Cassie stood tall and measured the difference between her and Annabeth. Now it was only an inch.

She smirked to herself. "Not so much taller now, are you, Chase?"

Annabeth turned to her with a roll of her eyes.

"You're still short, Carter."

"I'm taller than Kelp Head."

"That isn't a great accomplishment."

Cassie frowned. 'I'll beat her one day.'

"Come on." Percy called out.

He had been examining Procrustes sales desk and found DOA's address.

"Give us a minute. We were almost stretched to death." Grover spoke for the three.

"Then you're ready for the Underworld. It's only a block from here." Percy informed.

Cassie smiled, shaking her head. She patted Percy's shoulder.

"Not bad, man. Slicing his head off. You're learning."