We Take A Zebra To Vegas
The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.
- Well, well, - he said. - You didn't get yourself killed.
"How sweet of you to hear that from your soulmate," Hermes says sarcastically, while jealously watching Ariel with her soulmates.
"Shut up! They already told us we didn't know we were soulmates!" Ares says angrily but feels guilty because he knows Hermes is right.
Poseidon glares at Ares, grumbling; Ares has a lot to prove if he wants to be accepted as a match for his daughter after this.
"Boys, can't we just stop this childish bickering?" Hestia asks with a sigh.
Ares and Hermes immediately nod at Hestia's words, then turn back to the screen.
- You knew it was a trap. - I said.
Ares give me a wicked grin. - Bet that crippled blacksmith was suprised when he netted a couple stupid kids. You looked good on Tv.
"I'm still mad at you because of this. Do you think I'm just some stupid kid?" Ariel asks Ares seriously, trying to hold back her laughter.
"What? I don't think that at all..." Ares shakes his head in protest. "I think you're a great warrior, mature, and..."
"You do know she's just messing with you, right?" Apollo interrupts playfully. Hearing this, Ares raises an eyebrow and looks at Ariel, who just smiles back at him.
"You'll pay for this, you little witch," Ares whispers into Ariel's ear, causing her to shiver at his words.
Apollo watches Ariel and Ares with amusement, thinking that maybe it's not so bad that Ares is also Ariel's soulmate.
Hephaestus glares at Ares with an angry expression.
- I shoved his shield at him. - You're a jerk.
Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.
Everyone in the room, just like Annabeth and Grover in the movie, is left breathless.
The silence is suddenly broken by Clarisse's laughter, and then she speaks up. "I can't believe you actually said that to him."
"I can't believe you said that to me either," Ares sulks as he looks at Ariel.
"Oh, not that you haven't said worse things to me," Ariel replies, rolling her eyes.
"Fair point," Ares says, grimacing as he recalls the things he's said to his soulmate.
"Please tell me you don't talk to every god like this," Poseidon pleads.
"I don't, Daddy," Ariel says with a sweet smile, causing Ares to stiffen at the mention of "Daddy."
Poseidon sighs in disappointment, thinking that this girl truly is his karma.
Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.
- See that truck over there? - He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. - That's your ride. Take you staright to L.A., with one stop in Vegas.
- The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KIDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
