𝒞𝒶𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒸 | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ¹

9. Lovers reunite and all is well until they are forced apart again

❈ A familiar voice rang out from behind Helena as she finished screaming.

"Pretty neat light show you got going on here spark. You almost out done me."

Helena straightened and whirled around, relief flooded her system. There stood her father, Ares, god of war.

"What? How?"

Ares looks around the burning room, nodding in approval at the destruction. "There was a stale piece of bread lurking around here that burnt up when you decided to go nuclear."

"Bread...right." Helena said shakily.

Ares looks at her and spreads out his arms. Helena doesn't hesitate and runs into her father's arms. She ran to safety, to protection, to home. Her father has always been home to her.

"Come now spark, the girl is hardly worth your tears."

Helena pulls away and lets her father wipe away her tears. "Did she really leave me here alone?"

"Come, walk with me." Ares turns around and walks away. He pauses by the door and looks back over his shoulder. "You coming spark?"

Helena rushes to his side as soon as she reaches his side he begins walking again.

"That girl, Athena's kid, is exactly like her mother. If she did have you separated from the rest, it was likely with a plan in mind. It better have been, or I might just strike her dead." Ares mumbles the last bit, but Helena hears him and cracks a small smile.

"Did Percy - Did he know?"

Ares stops walking as they enter a room with three different pathways ahead of them. "Hmm. Wanna guess which one we have to go through?"

"You don't know where you're going?"

"How am I supposed to know? Am I the god of Labyrinths? No. Now, choose a way to go." Her fathers eyes twinkled with micheaf.

"You're trying to change the subject." Helena said flatly.

"Maybe." Ares shrugs. "But also, I actually have no idea which way to go so, my favourite girl, choose a hallway."

"I'm not your favourite girl." Helena huffs before walking forward and choosing the left hallway.

"Are you sure you wanna choose that one?" Ares asked. "Also you are my favourite girl."

Helena huffs and throws her hands up. She walks to the middle hallway before turning and raising an eyebrow at her father, who laughs at her frustration. "Go on."

Immediately, the room shifts, and they end up at the entrance of what seemed to be a large cavern. Helena's eyebrows furrow.

"Where are we?"

"One of Dite's husbands forges."

"Homewrecker." Helena coughs under her breath.

"Hey, let your old man live. The rest of your group is on their way, so you'll be seeing them soon."

Helena stiffens at that. She was going to kill Annabeth if she saw her. Ares glances at his favourite girl and sighs. He was already on bad terms with his father, killing one of Athena's kids wasn't going to do anyone any good. 

He also didn't want to hear Athena nagging. Ares, you should have thought it through. Ares that wasn't very wise of you. Ares, can't you at least try and strategize before going into battle? Honestly, you are a god of war. Pfft, what a joke. Ares rolls his eyes. Only idiots strategise the chaos that is war.