MY DREAM • percy jackson

chapter 14

ALORA THOUGHT SHE KNEW WHAT CRAZY LOOKED LIKE, that was until she walked into the wheelz diner and saw ares laughing at his phone. He was laughing like a maniac.

"Guess this is the right place." Percy said and the four of them walked over to the table.

"Gimme a second, i'm just starting a fight on twitter here." the man said when he noticed their presence. The four of them squeezed into the side of the booth facing him, alora tightly in between Percy and annabeth. "Nothing makes me happier than a good old fashioned, burn it down fight. Ah okay, done."

He set his phone down and it clattered on the table that held two plates. One with a mountain of fries, the other a stack of burgers.

Damn, he and grover would get along, alora thought.

"so your quest," the god sighed, "is going to fail. Ask me how I know."

"It isn't gonna fail," percy said in defense. Ares was really laying it down lightly.

"Sure it is," Ares laughed, "For starters.."

Ares turned his phone around to the group and showed a video of a man with a long moustache and a suit.

"Percy was always troubled, but i never thought he was capable of something like this." The man on the phone said as Percy leaned forward to look at it in disbelief.

"Who is that?" Grover asked, turning to Percy.

"Is that the fat christmas man?" Alora gasped, grabbing percys arm.

"No that's my stepdad," Percy shook his head and turned to the phone again. "What's he doing?"

"Wait for it." Ares said in excitement.

"You believe he may also had something to do with your wife's disappearance?" the reporter asked gabe.

"A kid that messed up?" he asked rhetorically. "what wouldn't he do?"

"What?" Percy asked in disbelief, not believing what he was hearing as Alora glared daggers at the man through the screen as if it would damage him in real life.

"Wild, right?" Ares chuckled. "The FBI is already spreading your picture around."

They looked from a way too happy Ares to the phone screen again.

"It's a Camaro." Gabe choked back tears on screen. "I really- We really loved that car. So much. Cut!"

"I'm gonna kill him." Percy shook his head furiously. Alora still glared daggers at the phone the man was once on although his video was no longer there.

"I knew i was gonna like you." Ares nodded in approval. "But safe to say, the chances of you three idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A. without getting arrested are slim to none."

"Why are you sitting here then?" Annabeth tilted her head while asking. "If you're supposed to be looking for the master bolt too, shouldn't you be out there looking for it?"

"Hm.There's no fear in you, is there?" Annabeth shook her head at this. "Doesn't matter. Whether the bolt's retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon."

"No," Percy shook his head in disagreement. "The oracle said if we return the bolt, there wouldn't be a war."

"Is that what she said?" Ares asked condescendingly. "Or is that what chiron said she meant?"

"That's what i said she meant actually." Alora retorted, giving the man a fake smile. "And I trust my own judgment."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do." Ares looked at her before taking a deep breath and turning to percy. "You're new to the family, young one, so let me fill you in on how we work. See years before I was born, my grandpa kronos ate my aunts and uncles. Then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into a million pieces and chucked 'em into a bottomless pit, so that kind of set the tone right outta the gate."

"Someone's hangry." Alora mumbled at the heated man.

"Olympians fight." He ignored her. "We betray. We backstab. We will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead. And that's why I love my family so much. My dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases. He knows there's a war coming. And in reality, I think he's okay with that. I think he feels it's just time for a war, so we're gonna have a war."

Ares looked as if he was close to tears and inhaled deeply. "Isn't that great?"

Alora thought that he needed to be sent to a loony bin. A boogaloo bungalow. A cooky hut. Wherever the crazy ones went.

"We're completing this quest." Percy said in determination. "We're stopping this war. You said you can help. Can you?"

"Okay, so here it is." Ares spoke cautiously. "There's an amusement park up the road. I left my shield there. You get me my shield back, and i'll get you to the underworld by lunch tomorrow with a plan to invade Hades palace."

"What's an amusement park?" Alora whispered to her three friends, only to be left hanging once again.

"You left your shield?" Annabeth asked, not believing the innocence of the man. "Like, forgot it on the merry-go-round?"

"Okay." Ares leaned forward on the table towards annabeth. "The chirping was funny to me for a minute, but it is getting old."

"Don't talk to her like that." Alora said confidently, turning the mans attention to her.

"What did you say to me?" He looked at her in shock and she didn't back down like he had hoped.

"I said don't talk to her like that." She repeated and the man chuckled under his breath.

"Just like your father." He said and Alora went to open her mouth but Ares cut her off. "So do we have a deal, or am I killing all three of you so i can eat in peace?"

"Or i could wipe your memory and you can stuff your face all you want without thinking about us at all." Alora shrugged with a cheeky smile that made Ares look like he was going to strangle her over the table.

"We have a deal." Percy said, not wanting the man to kill Alora.

"Great." Ares said happily and leaned back into his seat. He changed his mood very quickly. "One catch. I really do need that shield back, so I'm going to keep the satyr here as collateral so you don't run off."

"What? No."

"Okay." Grover agreed, making the other three look at him in disbelief.

"And Athenas kid."

"No way." Alora shook her head. She wasn't sure her and Percy could do this alone.

"We don't split up again." Percy stated, looking between the group.

"It's okay." Grover insisted while Annabeth looked angry. "If he wanted to kill us, we'd be dead by now."

Ares smirked at them and Alora didn't like the look, scowling at him.

"We're walking them to the door." Annabeth stated, rather than asking. They all stood up and walked to the door, leaving Ares to eat.

"Don't engage with him." Alora immediately said to Annabeth, knowing she would end up blowing the mans short temper. "Don't let her engage with him. He'll try to get her riled up and you can't let him."

"It's okay." Grover reassured them. "Really. We know what we're doing. Go. Get the shield. We'll be here when you get back."

"Promise." Annabeth said when she noticed the skeptical look on Aloras face.

Alora and Percy shared a look of unwillingness before leaving the diner.

Alora didn't have a good feeling about this.

Authors note:
perlora my precious babys going alone!!!!
ares was casted perfectly like he is exactly as i imagined. also im so sorry for any slow updates im just really burnt out with school atm but they will come!!