CHAPTER TEN
( GOING TO A WATERPARK,
BUT NOT FOR FUN )

THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, THE train arrived in Denver.

Kali woke with a start. The nightmare she had – the same one from before, except this time Percy took Lana's place at the cliff – caused her to wrap her arms right around her pillow... Wait. No, someone's arm. Percy's arm. It was almost embarrassing.

She detached herself from him with a mumbled apology, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then at her sore neck. Gods, that was worst nap she had ever had. It didn't even make her less tired, just more miserable. Her hunger had grown in size, too, since they hadn't eaten since the night before at the dining car back in Kansas. To top it all off, she felt gross – none of them had taken showers since camp, and she was not counting her impromptu swim in the muddy Mississippi River as a bath.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said when they all finally go off the train. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"Nereid," Kali corrected, almost absentmindedly.

Annabeth nodded. "Right. Nereid."

"We can't use phones, right?" asked Percy.

"I'm not talking about phones."

They wandered through downtown for about thirty minutes, and Kali helped Annabeth keep an eye out for a place that would be good for an I-M. Occasionally she would get distracted by the distance skyline of the Rocky Mountains – they were beautiful, and almost looked like a tidal wave of earth and dirt.

Finally they found a do-it-yourself carwash. No cars were using any of the stalls, and they headed over to the one farthest from the street, keeping an eye out of patrol cars. Four kids hanging out at a carwash with no car in sight would no doubt set off an on-duty cop's suspicion.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

"Kali?"

She searched her pockets, and came up with one lonesome penny. "Sorry, Grover."

Percy took out the last bit of change he had. He passed over a quarter to Grover, which Kali saw left him with two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place. Just to be get some sort of reaction from him, Kali placed her penny with his change. He made a face and tossed it back at her, and she sputtered as it hit her face before she was able to catch it.

"Excellent," Grover said, ignoring them. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?"

"I-M'ing," Kali and Grover said at the same time as he fed in the quarters and set the knob to 'fine mist'.

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging," corrected Annabeth. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow." As if on cue, the afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.

Annabeth held out a hand, palm up. "Drachma, please."

Percy handed it over.

She raised it over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering." She threw the drachma into the rainbow, and it vanished in a golden shimmer. "Half-Blood Hill," she requested.

At first, nothing happened. But then they were staring right at the strawberry fields through the mist, with the Long Island Sound in the distance. It looked to be the porch of the Big House. One of the campers had his back to them, wearing an orange tank and shorts. He had sandy blond hair, held a bronze sword, and seemed to be staring intently at something in the meadow.

"Luke!" Percy called.

He turned, eyes wide. The image of him was clear, as if he was actually standing not even three feet from them, except for the fact that she could only see what appeared within the rainbow.

"Percy!" Luke's scarred face broken into a grin. "Is that Annabeth and Kali? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"We're...uh...fine," stammered Annabeth. She was attempting to straighten her shirt and fix her hair. "We thought– Chiron– I mean–."

"He's down at the cabins." His smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover alright? You've been watching out for your little sister, right, Percy?"

Grover held the nozzle out to one size and stepped closer so Luke could see him. "I'm right here."

"I'm not a baby, Luke," Kali said with a bit of attitude. Luke looked at her in surprise. "I can handle myself."

"I know that," he tried to assure her. "I just get worried for you, that's all."

"We've all watched each other's backs," Grover said. Then to keep the conversation on track, asked, "What kind of issues?"

Just then, a large car pulled into the carwash. The stereo was on loudly, hip-hop music quickly filling the quiet afternoon air. As the car eased into the next stall, the bass vibrated so much that it shook the pavement.

"Chiron had to– what's that noise?!"

"I'll take care of it!" Annabeth yelled, looking relieved. "Grover, come on!"

"What? But–."

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.

Percy readjusted the hose so the rainbow didn't disappear.

"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted over the music. "Things are tense here, guys. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how – probably the same scum bag who summoned the hellhounds. Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."

In the next stall, Annabeth and presumably the driver of the car argued loudly. Then the music's volume decreased drastically.

"So what's your status?" Luke asked. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."

They told him pretty much everything. Percy and Kali took turns talking, occasionally butting in when either of them accidentally left out something. Percy even added in the weird dreams he'd been having. It's the first time he spoke about them around her, but she couldn't say that she was surprised. What they were about, though – now that surprised her.

An evil voice from a deep pit. That didn't sound like Hades at all. She wracked through her still limited knowledge of stories about the gods for anything that resembled that in the Underworld. The only thing that made the most sense was Tartarus, where Kronos had been thrown into in bits and pieces. But that didn't... There was no way his dreams were about the Titan. Right?

Kali pressed her lips together as she thought about it. There was just no way...

The timer on the spray machine beeped. It brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked to see that they only had a minute left before the water shut off.

"I wish I could be there," Luke told them. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen...it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."

"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly," said Percy.

"That's true." Luke looked troubled. "Still...Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."

All of them were silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said.

"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."

Kali frowned. These past few minutes had made her more confused than ever about the quest.

In the stall next to them, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and then the car peeled out of the car wash. Kali watched it speed off with raised brows. What in the world did Annabeth and Grover do to make the guy react like that?

"You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."

"Oh...uh, yeah!" Percy lied. "Yeah, they've come in handy."

Well, Kali thought, good thing neither of them included Grover fighting Medusa by using them.

"Really?" The older camper grinned. "They fit and everything?"

The water shut off. The mist began to evaporate.

"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," he said as his voice got fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just–."

But the mist was gone, and Luke's image vanished with it.

The two of looked at one another. Before anything could be said, Annabeth and Grover came around the corner as they laughed, but stopped when they saw the others' expressions. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened? What did Luke say?"

"Not much," Percy lied. "Come on, let's find some dinner."

+++

There was a diner down the street they unanimously agreed to go to, but halfway there Percy grabbed Kali's elbow and they drifted behind Annabeth and Grover. They were talking, laughing once again about whatever they did to the mortal and no longer questioning what Luke said, so they didn't notice. Once Percy believed that they got a good distance away (not too far, not too close), he dropped his hand and placed them in his shorts pockets.

Kali looked at him questioningly.

He got straight to the point, making sure not to talk too loud so their friends wouldn't hear, "There's more to the prophecy than what I said back at the Big House."

"What?" Kali stared in disbelief.

He looked at her guiltily. "I'm sorry for keeping it from you. I just... I got– I got scared, I guess."

She didn't know how to feel. Hurt, maybe? Annoyed? Not angry, not really, but... It wasn't a pleasant feeling. "So, what's the rest?" she asked.

He took in a steadying breath. "One line said–."

"No."

"What?"

"No, don't give me just one line," she said. "We're both being framed for stealing the master bolt, Percy, so I need the entire prophecy."

For a split second, Percy looked ready to argue, but thankfully gave in. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed, and told her.

"You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."

...Oh. "Oh," she said out loud. Yeah, Kali was able to see why he didn't tell anyone what the last two lines said.

He scowled a little. "Yeah."

She chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. "You're only telling me because of what Luke said, aren't you?"

Sure, implying Annabeth to be the one to have stolen the master bolt was an accident, but with her cap it wasn't entirely impossible. Not that Kali believed she would do that. At all. The two girls may not be close, but Kali knew it was out of character for Annabeth to steal from a god.

At Percy's silent nod, she said, "Well, she wouldn't. I mean, do you really think she would intentionally cause a fight between two of the Big Three? And then somehow get the guy in the basement involved?"

"No, I know," he agreed. "That's what is so confusing. Almost nothing is making sense."

"We'll figure it out," she said determinedly after a beat of silence passed between them. "And whatever we fail to save... It'll be okay."

It had to be.

+++

A few minutes later saw the four of them in a booth at a gleaming chrome diner. Families sat all around at different tables and booths as they ate burgers and drank sodas and malts. Kali and the others sat with nothing in front of them.

When the waitress came over, she raised a skeptical eyebrow at them. "Well?"

Percy said, "We, um, want to order dinner."

"You kids have money to pay for it?"

Grover's bottom lip quivered, and Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger. Kali was bordering on becoming hangry, and Percy didn't look much better than any of them as he struggled to think of something to tell the waitress. But then a rumble shook the entire building.

Immediately, Kali casted a glance at the ground beneath the booth. She knew she was getting hangry, but not that hangry – and other than that fight on the Gateway Arch, she had been careful to stay calm. Things made more since when she realized that the rumbling didn't come from her accidentally shaking the earth. Firstly, because her feet didn't even touch the ground. Secondly, because a large motorcycle had pulled up to the curb outside.

All of the conversations in the diner died. The headlights of the motorcycle glared red, the gas tank had flames painted on it, and shotgun holsters were on either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather that uncomfortably looked too much like human skin.

The man on the bike was large – he reminded Kali of a pro wrestler but bigger. He wore a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster. Red wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes, and he had the most wicked, cruel, brutal face she had ever seen; his cheeks were scarred from multiple fights, and his hair was an oily black crew cut.

The most odd thing? Kali recognized his features.

As he walked into the diner, a hot and dry wind blew through the place. All of the people rose as if in a trance, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and everyone sat back down.

The waitress blinked, as if coming back to her senses. She asked again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"

The biker cut in, "It's on me." He pulled up a chair from a nearby table, the legs scraping against the tiled flooring, and sat down in it backwards.

It was then, with the biker so close, why Kali recognized him. He had the same sneer as a certain spear wielder, and the same face shape as one of her best friends. This was Clarisse's and Adelaide's dad, Ares. Great.

The god of war eyed at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and asked, "Are you still here?" He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if forcibly spun around, and marched back toward the kitchen.

Ares looked at Percy, then Kali. She couldn't see behind the red shades, but negative emotions like anger and resentment swarmed within her. It felt like being around Ralph on one of the really bad days again, and she hated it. She stubbornly stared right back and didn't react. As best as she could, she kept a calm outward appearance despite wanting to suddenly deck her friend's godly parent.

He grinned wickedly. "So you're old Seaweed's kids, huh?"

"And Queen Amphitrite," Kali said. It may just be Ares' doing right now, but the fact that no one on the quest so far had mentioned she was also Amphitrite's daughter frustrated her to an alarming degree.

Ares smirked. "Right. How could I forget. But she isn't who is important right now," he said, his smirk when Kali gave in and glared a little. "Like I said: you're Seaweed's kids."

"What's it to you?" Percy snappishly asked.

Annabeth's eyes flashed a warning. "Percy, this is–."

"S'okay," Ares said with a raised hand. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

Realization crept in Percy'a expression. "You're Clarisse's dad. Ares, god of war."

Ares grinned and took off the sunglasses, one arm resting against the top of the back of the chair. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

"She was asking for it."

"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for – I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

The waitress came back with heaping trays of food – cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes. Ares handed over a few gold drachmas. She looked nervously at the coins and started to say, "But these aren't..."

Ares pulled out a huge knife, and began cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.

"You can't do that," Percy protested. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."

Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor could I do for a god?"

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little...date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me.

"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"

The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.

"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward towards Percy, moving his arms to rest on the table rather than the back of the chair. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

Kali couldn't stop the scowl forming on her face, and if it weren't for Annabeth suddenly grabbing her wrist under the table she would have leaned into the god's space. "Hey," she snapped. "You don't talk to him like that."

Ares looked at her again and scoffed, then smirked a little. "Or what? What's a harmless little guppy like you going to do to me?"

"We're not interested," Percy spoke just as Kali went to respond. They made short eye contact, and only leaned back and bit her tongue to keep herself from blurting anything else when Annabeth tugged at her wrist. "We've already got a quest."

"I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful..." He licked his lips, as if the thought of the master bolt made him hungry. "Well...if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."

"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."

"Thanks," Percy grumbled.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."

"We're doing fine on our own."

"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom?"

Percy stilled. "My mom?"

Ares grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delaney. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

"What interrupted your date?" Percy asked. "Something scare you off?"

Ares bared his teeth in a threatening way. There was something off about it though, almost like he was nervous. "You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

After that, Ares must have done something, because the next time she blinked the god was gone. So was his motorcycle. Even her anger had melted away.

"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."

"It's probably some kind of trick. Forget Ares. Let's just go," said Percy.

"We can't," Annabeth objected. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."

"First a dolphin, now a rodent," Kali wryly mused halfheartedly. "You've been downgraded, Percy."

He rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha," he said sarcastically, then looked down at his burger. "Why does he need us?"

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

"But this water park... He acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"

Kali, Annabeth, and Grover all shared nervous glances.

"I'm afraid we'll have to find out."

+++

By the time they found the water park, the sun had started to sink behind the mountains. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but some of the letters were smashed so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry water slides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around on the asphalt l. With night arriving, it looked spooky.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy started as he stared up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy," warned Annabeth. "Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.

"Who is she? Echidna?"

Kali scowled a little at the name. She mentally shook those thoughts about her away, and began looking for a way to get through the gate.

"No, Aphrodite," Grover said dreamily. "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody," Percy said. "Hephaestus."

"She is," Kali said, her voice raised to be heard. She had caught sight of a misshapen part of the fence and jogged over. It was far enough away that she could hear the others but not make out their words.

There was a hole in the fence at the very bottom. It wasn't small but it wasn't big, made from other mortals – most likely troublemaker teens – and just the right size for someone to crawl through. Kali did just that, her shirt only getting caught on the wire once. She stood on her feet just in time to see Grover do an accidental somersault over the fence and stumble the landing.

"Hey!" Kali shouted. They all looked over, and she pointed at the hole. "I found a way in!"

Once they were all officially trespassing, they wandered through the park. The shadows grew long as time passed by, darkening area with each passing minute. It made it only somewhat more difficult to make out the themed names of the attractions – like Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?

No monsters attacked. Nothing made any noise. It added to the spooky factor. She was half expecting something from Ghostbusters to appear.

They soon found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Aged merchandise lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and rocks of fresh clothes. Annabeth was the first one to take action, and Percy tried and failed to stop her. Kali quickly followed her lead. She needed to get out of the dirty clothes she wore as soon as possible.

Soon, all three of them were decked out in stolen clothes. Kali had on yellow shorts with blue seashells patterned all over and a big green Waterland t-shirt, but, unlike Annabeth who also changed shoes, she kept her ratty black converse. She was weirdly emotionally attached to them, okay?

Right before they left, Kali spotted a row of waterproof disposable cameras. She grabbed one on impulse, and got it ready to take a picture with hardly a thought as she followed the others while they continued to look for the Tunnel of Love. After a minute of internal debating, she drifted back far enough to get all three of her friends in frame, and snapped a picture.

The quest might be hell so far, but... Memories were good to have.

+++

They found the Tunnel of Love soon after that.

In front of them sat a large and empty in-ground pool. Around the rim stood a dozen bronze statues of Cupid, seemingly guarding the pool, with spread wings and bows at the ready. On the opposite side of the four kids was a tunnel where the water most likely flowed out of when the place wasn't abandoned. The sign above it read: THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE.

Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."

They did. Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares' shield, a polished circle of bronze.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "So we just walk dow there and get it?"

Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. "There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder..."

"Grover, you smell any monsters?" Percy asked.

He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."

"Nothing – like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna-nothing, or really nothing?"

Kali's brows pinched together. "Dude."

Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry." He took in a deep breath. "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you." Grover sounded far from enthusiastic.

Lucky for him, Percy said, "No. I want you to stay up too with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Kali, do you want to come down?"

Kali glanced at the shield again, then shook her head. "Nah. I'll stay with Grover, help out however I can if something happens." Truthfully, she just didn't want to struggle climbing out of an empty pool.

Percy nodded. "Alright. Come on, Annabeth, you're with me–."

"Are you kidding?" She looked at him as if he were crazy. Her cheeks had turned bright red.

"What's the problem now?" he demanded.

"Me, go with you to the...the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

"Who's going to see you?" He asked, and Kali saw that his face was also red. "Fine. I'll do it myself." Percy started down the side of the pool, only for Annabeth to follow him anyway as she muttered about how boys always messed things up.

At the edge, Kali and Grover shared a look.

Nothing happened for a few minutes. Kali watched as Percy and Annabeth made it to the shield and a shimmery pink scarf, and otherwise waited patiently for them to climb back up. She and Grover had a quick couple of rounds of thumb war. Their fourth round got interrupted by the sounds of a giant machine begin to turn on.

The statues were moving.

Both of them shouted to get Annabeth's and Percy's attention. They noticed how the Cupid statues had started to move, and before anything else could happen they fired. Not at them, surprisingly, but on the rim around the pool. Silky cables formed a huge golden asterisk, and then thinner threads magically weaved between them, making a net.

As Annabeth and Percy ran over, shield in hand, Grover held open part of the net and Kali reached down to help them climb up the slope of the pool. The threads began to wrap around Grocer's hands, and to keep herself from getting stuck in the net Kali had to back away. She unsheathed her dagger and tried cutting at the threads. The only thing that happened was the ear-grating sound of metal against metal.

The heads of the Cupids popped open. Video cameras came out of them. Spotlights rise up around the pool and lit up blindingly. A loudspeaker voice boomed, "Live to Olympus in one minute... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight..."

"Hephaestus!" screamed Annabeth. "I'm so stupid! Eta is 'H'. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"

They had almost made it to the rim when a row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny...things came out. Kali squinted. Were those bugs?

Annabeth screamed. "Spiders! Sp– sp– aaah!"

Right. Children of Athena had arachnophobia. Kali grimaced in sympathy.

While Annabeth and Percy fought off the thousands of tiny metal spiders in the boat they recently climbed into, Kali and Grover did their best to pull at the net. Nothing worked. The threads didn't budge and continuously tried to wrap around their hands. During all of this, the speaker's countdown was hard to ignore.

"...Fifteen, fourteen–"

"Grover!" Percy yelled. "Get to that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"

"But–."

"Do it! And Kali!"

She struggled against a particular pesky thread that didn't want to get off from around her hand and wrist. "Yeah?"

"Check the ride's exit! With our luck, something might have happened to it!"

Kali nodded. "On it!"

"Five, four–"

She finally got her hand free. In her frustration, she whacked ag the net one more time with her dagger before finally sheathing it, and stood.

"Three, two, one, zero!"

She did a quick search for where the exit of the ride would be, then dashed in it's direction just as water exploded from the pipes. She found it faster than she expected, and skidded to a stop, almost tripping over herself. Her arms pinwheeled, but she froze as she caught sight of the gate that lead to the exit pool. It was chained, and two boats (one cracked, one submerged) were piled against it.

Kali didn't need to be a genius to know that Annabeth and Percy were going to crash into the barricade if the water didn't get stopped.

She hurried to get in front of the barricade. She had to do something. Do what, though? ...Stop the water, came the obvious yet insane answer. Calm it down somehow.

The boat spat out of the tunnel in a rush.

Okay. She could do calm.

Kali sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She ignored Percy's and Annabeth's screams for her to get out of the way, and outstretched one hand in hopes that it might help somehow, her eyes squeezed shut. Her focus was put on the water, on how it rushed around her legs and feet, on how gallons of it were approaching with a boat – on stilling it. On calm thoughts of happier days.

The rapid waters quickly shifted into a gentle wading. Something like hard plastic hitting her upper legs had her squinting one eye open. Then both. In front of her were Percy and Annabeth in their both, staring wide eyed at her.

Kali lowered her arm. "Um," she said. "I totally knew that was going to work." Not at all her first time willingly manipulating that much water like that – nope.

Annabeth sent her a dubious look, but said nothing. None of them did. She and Percy got out of the boat with Ares' shield, and all three of them got back on dry land. Grover came hurdling towards them in the flying shoes.

In the distance, the Cupids were still filming. They had swiveled to keep their cameras trained on them, even the spotlights.

"Shows over!" Percy yelled. "Thank you! Goodnight!"

The Cupids shifted back to their original positions. The lights shut off, putting the park into darkness. It was silent, except for the trickle of water from the Thrill Ride of Love. Still, Kali could tell that Percy was far from happy.

He scowled as he hefted the shield onto his arm. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."

————

A/N— guess what? only 7 chapters are left of part one! holy shit!! then we're onto som!!!

and (shameless self promo time), in case anyone wants to check it out, i posted another pjo fic! only this time it's a crossover with dc/batfam with a demigod oc (duh) and ngl i'm kinda excited to write it

also ignore any typos please lmao – it's midnight and i'm too lazy & tired to read through and edit the chapter right now.