Percy and Ashe leapt away from the first pounce of the Chimera, quickly correcting their footing and dashing around it.

"Dude, what do we do?!" Percy screamed drawing Riptide from his pen with Ashe drawing his own sword from his key.

"I have not taken enough of Annabeth's classes to know that, man." Ashe nervously smiled at him, but Percy only gave him a disappointed glare before shouting.

"Dodge!"

The two turned forward to see a searing ball of fire and leapt to opposing sides. With a massive explosion, there was now a whole in the national monument where they had just been standing.

Ashe rolled to his feet and saw Percy rush the Chimera. He leapt up and tried to deliver a slash to its neck, but its rhinestone collar had somehow grown with its size, blocking the blow.

Percy gasped as he heard slithering to his right. Luckily, like many times before, Ashe leapt forward and blocked the jaws of the serpent tail with his foot and sword, keeping it from closing its mouth.

The Echidna grew shocked seeing the strength of the human, "What?! That's... impossible!"

Percy used this opportunity to land and slash at the Chimera's front legs, a sizzling sound echoing through the observation deck. The Chimera roared, bucking its hind legs and slinging Ashe away from the mouth of the serpent.

He flew across the observation deck but corrected himself in mid air to crash into the wall on his shoulder. With a loud pop, his left shoulder was dislocated, but he quickly slammed it back against the wall and popped it back in place.

Percy tried to cut the Chimera's hind legs as well, but its constant thrashing forced him to roll out from under it. He anticipated the serpent would attack and leapt to the side, slashing its eye as it passed.

Unfortunately, the Lion's head was powering up a bellowing stream of fire that no one could defend. Percy realized that and saw Ashe circling around to line up with the hole in the observation deck.

Percy understood what he was trying to do and decided he would do the same. It was the only way he could protect the citizens doomed to the Chimera if he failed.

Running in front of the hole in the wall, Percy held up Riptide with determination, but his hands shook with despair. He glanced at the river below, but knew that his odds of living were slim to none from this height.

The Chimera was about to send the fireball, and the Echidna could only laugh at Percy's supposed defeat. That was until Ashe suddenly grabbed her jaw and slung her into the line of fire.

She had clearly forgot that she was susceptible to being attacked. She wailed in confusion before seeing the fire barreling towards her.

"DODGE!" Percy lunged away hearing Ashe's command, catching a glimpse of the ash the Echidna had become at the hand of its own son.

The Chimera itself seemed to flinch seeing the smoke and soot it turned its mother into, but it was given no time to mourn as Ashe and Percy slashed its hind legs, sending it crashing to ground before the two began tearing at its body.

With a horrifying roar, the Chimera began shooting a stream of fire wildly as it flailed its head and tail around.

"We've gotta push it out!" Percy shouted, seeing that the family of three and park ranger could only hide behind a bench in hopes the fire wouldn't come their way.

"W-Well, I've got no better ideas. Come on!"

Ashe suddenly heard a hiss and turned around, deflecting a snap from the serpent. With a yelp of pain, Ashe and Percy watched the serpent bite its side, where a glop of green venom leaked...

The Chimera seemed to realize its demise, crying out weakly and continuing to thrash around as it slowly began to lose its life.

In the midst of their distraction, the serpent tail attacked one last time and slammed its body into the two boys, sending them and itself flying off the side of the observation deck.

Percy and Ashe began to scream as they plummeted toward the Mississippi River with a trail of dust and sand following behind them as the Chimera perished.

The two's yells of fear and despair grew even louder before a large splash struck the river.

~•~

Percy dragged the wounded Ashe ashore beside the parking lot of a McDonald's. A little girl caught the two and grew confused seeing that their clothes were dry.

Percy felt guilty that his healing was limited to himself. Ashe was human, so even if they had ambrosia, Ashe would die if he consumed it.

How was Percy meant to fix his arm? The crash with the water was softened by his ability, but there was so much he could do in a panic and falling from the height.

His forearm was fractured and Percy felt responsible for it. Percy propped Ashe up against a car, beginning to panic at his inability to help his friend.

However, for some odd reason or another, his eyes drifted to the distortion in his arm. A warm pink glow pulsed from his arm, and Percy scratched his head in confusion.

He heard a soft pop and watched Ashe jump awake with a scream, so Percy clamped his hand around his mouth as to not draw attention of nearby police and reporters on their way to the Gateway Arch.

Percy held up his finger and shushed him, having no time to question the clear divine intervention that healed his arm.

'Why do the gods wanna kill me but help him...?' Percy's exasperation was evident by the scowl on his face. He wasn't too upset about it since Ashe was his friend, and was clearly on the quest to help him.

Percy caught a glimpse of a holographic pair of lips fade away from Ashe's arm, but his attention was pulled away when Grover suddenly pulled him into a bear hug.

Percy looked up and saw he and Annabeth had found them after trailing the river.

"Perrr-cy!" Grover cried in relief. "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"

"We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened up there?!" Annabeth looked annoyed, but the relief in her tone was hard to hide.

Percy wanted to go into detail, but Ashe's condition made him wary of wasting anytime. "Uh, I'll get into it, but we've gotta go. Like, now!"

Grover helped prop the concussed Ashe onto Percy's back so they could make it back to the train. They arrived at the Amtrack station without being spotted by authorities, but due to the witnesses escaping the observation deck, Ashe and Percy were now wanted 'terrorists.'

Percy grimaced seeing the flashing police lights pulse out into the St. Louis skyline behind them. They soon pulled out of the station and head for Denver once more.

~•~

It was the Afternoon the next day and very few words had been spoken between Ashe and the others. He was in and out of consciousness, and even when awake his head hurt far too much to communicate properly.

Percy told them about how he was randomly healed by something, and ever since he seemed to be in a trance or daze.

As they arrived in Denver, Ashe seemed to be recovering from his feverish state. A small glaze over his eyes was present, but none of them had any idea what it could've been.

Needing to be guided along the streets of downtown Denver, Annabeth and Grover cautiously searched for the nearest car-wash.

"So, we have to make a rainbow? How's a car wash gonna help?" Percy wondered.

Annabeth suggested that they contact Chiron to inform him about a Water Spirit that Percy encountered as he saved Ashe, and Ashe's condition after being saved.

To do so, they needed to use Iris Messaging, a method of communication granted by Iris, Goddess of Rainbows. Apparently, it was as simple as making one.

Ashe could barely comprehend what they were worried about, but heard mention of money. Assuming they needed some, he fished out several quarters and two silver drachma from his pocket.

In his daze, he received a pat on the back as someone took the change and put it into a machine.

Before long a window of luminescence turned into a clear picture of Half-Blood Hill's camp from the perspective of the big house's porch. Standing on alert was Luke, holding a bronze sword with a frown on his face.

"Luke!" Percy said with glee.

Luke flinched, but perked up at the familiar voice. "Percy! And Annabeth, too- Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"W-We're fine. W-We thought Chiron, I mean..." She was clearly flustered in his presence.

"He's down at the cabins. There's been some issues at camp. Chiron had to-" he was interrupted by a car pulling into the wash stall next to them. Its stereo was on max volume with bass so loud the pavement seemed to shake. "What's that noise?"

Annabeth smiled seeing her getaway. She grabbed the hose from Grover, "We'll take care of it. Come on, Grover!"

Giving him no room for rebuttal, she handed the dazed Ashe the hose, making the call lopsided. The two left and Luke frowned thinking about what's been happening while they were away.

"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke had to raise his voice over the music. "Things are pretty tense. Word leaked out about the Zues-Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how- probably the scumbag who summoned the Hellhound. The campers are starting to take sides. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."

"But, aside from that, how are you guys?"

Percy explained just about everything that had transpired since they left, but felt compelled not to tell Luke about Ashe's condition. As he finished his story, Annabeth had shouted something and the music's volume decreased drastically...

Ashe began to fall asleep, his eyes fluttering up and down as his body shut down. Ashe tried his hardest to stay awake since he was holding the hose, and focused entirely on standing.

With a light groan, Ashe suddenly opened his eyes wide and staggered on his feet.

He hadn't even realized that Percy and Luke had wrapped up their conversation, and Annabeth and Grover were back.

Panting from the mental exertion, Ashe dropped the silent hose seeing that the water had long stopped running. He groaned louder as Percy held his shoulder, before the glaze over his eyes left.

"Man... that was super annoying."

"Are you okay? You've been sick for two days now." Annabeth lifted his hair and felt his forehead, and his temperature was slowly going back to normal.

"Woah... it's almost like-" Annabeth was cut off by his stomach growling.

"Need food... bad." He mumbled.

Percy and Grover laughed, but pat his back as they all left for the nearest diner.

•

Ashe and Grover sat together and Percy and Annabeth sat across from them.

With the last of their collective money, they bought a burger for everyone but Grover, but made sure to get him a house salad. He clearly preferred the wax paper around their burgers though...

Ashe was trying his hardest to savor his burger as the diner went silent. Grover stopped chewing his wax paper making it fall out of his mouth. This caught Percy and Annabeth's attention as their eyes followed a near 7 foot man walk into the diner.

It seemed everyone was stunned, subconsciously standing up in awe. Ashe stopped mid bite to watch the arrival put his hand up to direct them to sit.

Leather jacket, red muscle shirt, and black jeans. His body put pro-wrestlers to shame, but Ashe was more focused on the hunting knife strapped to his thigh. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of wraparound shades, his skin was littered with old cuts and scars, and his hair was an oily black crewcut.

He began to strut through the diner and the preteens could easily tell he was heading their way.

Ashe ignored this and tried to continued his meal, but the biker stopped directly beside him. He went to take his burger, and Ashe quickly jerked his hand away.

The man chuckled and forced himself into their side of the booth, making Ashe irritated very quickly. The others knew immediately that Ashe would compromise their wellbeing if he wasn't careful with this man.

Tapping his fingers against the table, the biker hummed as he glanced at them.

"So, you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" He lightly pointed at Percy, and then Annabeth, "And the nerd's, right?"

"What's it to you?" Percy asked with clear frustration.

"Percy, this is-"

"S'okay... I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, eh, cousin?" Ares sneered at Percy the same way the kids at Cabin Five did.

"Ares, God of War."

"More like god of testosterone..." Ashe mumbled, making Ares ruffle his hair. Ashe had to bite the inside of his gums as to not swing on the god.

Grover elbowed his side, but Ashe sent him a glare full of indifference. Grover forgot... he was human- he wasn't sure if he even believed in gods or their hierarchy.

"Listen, I'll get straight to the point since our mortal friend here is itching for a fight. I need a favor."

"What favor could I do for a god?" Percy asked with disdain.

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. Not much," Ares rolled his hand with boredom. "I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was out with my girlfriend, we got interrupted, and I left my shield behind. You get what I'm saying."

"Getting kids to do your dirty work cause something scared you off?" Ashe spat. Annabeth kicked his shin, but he remained unfazed.

Ares' smirk dropped as he side-eyed Ashe. The two clearly had enough of each other already, and were ready to step outside.

"Look. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. You do this, I'll hook you up with a ride west- maybe even grab you some info about your mom, eh?"

Percy glared with skepticism but held his tongue. "Ah, that got your attention. Simple. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

Ares stood up and seemingly disappeared with his smug smirk. The only thing that announced his departure was his motorcycle rumbling in the distance.

"Not good, not good at all. Ares himself sought you out, Percy." Grover nervously nibbled on fries as Percy took a deep breath.

Percy was deep in thought, but looked to Ashe, only to see him feeling a similar sense of frustration.

"Can we ignore him?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"We can't," Annabeth replied. "I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious misfortune."

The atmosphere was now heavy and tense. The waitress who tended to them shuffled over awkwardly, and was going to ask if everything was okay, but Ashe placed the estimated total for the food on the table.

"Let's get it over with. It's not like we can't handle it." Ashe got up from the booth making the others follow quickly.

The waitress weakly waved, unable to let out her goodbye.

~•~

Within the hour, the party of four begrudgingly arrived at the abandoned water park. The sun was beginning to set as the dusty sign labeled "WATERLAND!" creaked.

Well, correction. Wear and tear reduced the sign to "WAT R A D!"

The main gate was closed with a padlock and the fence surrounding the property was laced with barb wire.

Percy scoffed as he scoped the perimeter. "If Ares brings his date here, I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy, be more respectful." Annabeth clearly wasn't amused.

"Why? I thought you hated Ares?"

"He's still a god, and his girlfriend doesn't have the best temper." She and Grover looked apprehensive, but Ashe clearly didn't give a damn.

"Yeah, who cares. Whatever he and his girlfriend were up to had to be freaky if it was at this dump. What happened to shame?" Ashe smirked as he summoned his sword from his key.

He was about to slash through the padlock, but suddenly his ankle sprained in an instant, making him yelp and fall over.

"OW! What the hell?!" As soon as he looked at his foot, he felt all the pain disappear.

"Divine intervention." Grover and Annabeth wagged their heads with smug smiles.

"W-Who's his girlfriend?" Percy asked with a bit of fear seeing how quick she struck Ashe.

"Aphrodite." "The Goddess of Love."

"Isn't she married...?" Ashe weakly asked from the ground; fine but embarrassed at his fall.

"To Hephaestus," Annabeth shrugged, "what's your point?"

Percy and Ashe gave each other exasperated looks, before Percy helped him up.

"Maia!" Grover suddenly leapt up with his winged shoes carrying him over the fence into a somersault. He rolled into his landing with a satisfied smile, giving the three a thumbs up.

Impressed, but still not willing to climb the fence, Ashe still cut through the padlock and kicked the gate open. Annabeth sighed and muttered about him being barbaric, but Percy smirked at him for the cool factor.

With that, the four began their search for Ares' shield.