The Sea Tyrant's Obsession (PJO x ROR) *18+* WTM/WTS Book 1

*We Take A Zebra To Vegas

Note: Yay! I didn't need to post this tomorrow! I'm early!

"Gods, I hate my counterpart for making the girl go through all of that for his stupid shield! Ares muttered, his fists clenched in anger. "If I ever get my hands on him, I swear—" He paused, grinding his teeth. "I'm going to make sure he regrets it."

"Maybe Chaos will let you have the chance," Hephaestus said encouragingly.

A new title appears:

We Take A Zebra To Vegas

"..................." (Everyone)

"Why would they need to take a zebra to Vegas?" Zeus asked with a confused expression.

Loki grinned, leaning back in his seat. "Oh, simple," he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "They need the zebra to blend in with the neon lights, of course. You can't have a successful heist in Vegas without a striped accomplice."

Everyone stared blankly at the trickster god.

Odin, Frigg, Thor, Muninn, and Huginn sighed tiredly and shook their heads.

The scene starts.

The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.

"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."

"You knew it was a trap," I said.

Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

Poseidon gave a fierce glare at the screen. "Percilla is far from stupid," he growled angrily.

Hephaestus clenched his fists, a scowl darkening his usually calm face. "So, this other version of me is being mocked as 'the crippled blacksmith'?" he said coldly, feeling the insult hit close to home, as he, too, bore the same condition.

Ares narrowed his eyes. "That pathetic excuse for a god sharing my name is a disgrace." He scoffed. "I really want to put him in his place."

Hephaestus's gaze hardened. "It's one thing to be his rival, but it's another to disrespect his own kin."

I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."

Anthony and Grover caught their breath.

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 straight 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: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

Artemis felt the sign couldn't be trusted and narrowed her eyes at it.

I said, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

"That's... unexpectedly kind of him," Artemis murmured, raising an eyebrow. "For a god with such arrogance, I didn't expect him to be so considerate." She glanced at the screen skeptically. "But Percy shouldn't let her guard down just yet."