I ran.

Besides the fact that the Romans were no doubt behind us/ tracking us, the sooner I got to Hades ship the sooner I could lay down and rest.  When Mars and I approached the clearing where Hades large savior of a vessel was docked, we saw everyone else waiting for us and climbing aboard, slumped and tired, moving at a snails pace.

Feeling winded and weaker than I normally would have been after running that long, I was eager and relieved to see the ship.  "Just a bit further, dear."  Mars said encouragingly, patting my shoulder.  "Someones very out of shape."  He commented.  As much as I wanted to throw an insult back at him, I knew he was right, that and I didn't have the excess energy.

Though the distance left to travel was short, I didn't know if I could make it.  But at this point, quitting wasn't an option.  I wouldn't sacrifice everyone else's safety just because I felt strange.  

"A little weak, are we my darling?" I looked up at Mars, assuming he had spoken, continuing to taunt me.  However, Mars was looking past me with an angry expression on his face, and it became clear that Mars hadn't said anything at all.  I turned around, shocked to be within a few feet of the man I loved so dearly once upon a time.

"Ares..." I breathed out in shock, receiving his cold gaze which resembled how a lion would analyze a deer before it attacked.  I skimmed over his attire, a gray V-neck T-shirt with camouflage pants, noticing his belt of weapons ranging from a gun (Which gods knew he couldn't hit a target with it to save his life) to swords, and then small knifes and daggers which he was very skilled at indeed.  In his right hand he held a bow with an arrow hanging loosely off of it.

Ares continued to analyze me, taking in my ragged appearance and heavy breathing.  It hurt my heart to see his face so unfriendly.  He didn't look like the man I loved. In fact, he wasn't that man at all. That man was gone completely, as much as it pained me to realize.  It was as if Ares, my Ares, had died and this god had taken over his face and body.

"What have they done to you?"  I whispered quietly, as Mars' arm wrapped around my waist and pushed me behind him.  I pushed against his arm a bit, wanting nothing more than to run to Ares and convince him to come with us and forget this nonsense.

"So they've got you doing their dirty work, eh?"  Mars smirked sourly.  

"Its been relatively clean so far, actually."  He admitted with a sinister smile.  "That is, until now." He smiled, the bow in his hand moving the slightest bit.

"Ares please..." I muttered, pushing the lump in my throat and the tears threatening to brim my eyes down.  "You can't do this.  You're not yourself.  You don't want to do anything you'll regret."  Ares kept his smile on his face.

Ares tilted his head to the side.  "Oh believe you me,"  He said raising his bow and pulling the arrow back. "I won't regret this.  I've looked forward to this far longer than you know. Step aside Mars.  You don't have to die. For now at least."

"Is that so?" Another voice joined in from behind Mars and I.  I turned to see Hades, out of his battle armor, wearing faded blue jeans and a black shirt, casually strolling up to us.  "Put the bow down now, Ares."  He said darkly.  I looked down at his hands noticing a dagger in his right hand. I could tell by the way he spoke that he really and truly did not want to harm Ares.  But I still was not reassured.

"Don't."  I breathed out to him.  "Hades, don't hurt him."  I begged lightly, receiving a disapproving look from Hades.

"Shut up." Mars said harshly, tugging me out from in between Ares and Hades.  Ares glared dangerously at Hades, waiting for something from him.  Perhaps for him to make the first move?  Mars walked away from me, getting a better angle at Ares and reaching into his belt, pulling out a knife.

"Two against one seems mighty unfair doesn't it?"  Ares teased.

"Fair?! Do not speak of fairness when you've deserted your family to be a hit man for the Romans." I said strongly, the hurt I felt inside seeping into my voice.  "Remember who you are Ares!  This isn't you. The Ares I knew had far to much honor to do anything as selfish as this. Where is your honor?!"  I yelled, hoping that would sink through.  I instantly felt guilty, fearing I had gone to far.  I spoke to him in a much calmer voice.  "The Ares I knew never would have betrayed us. He would have never. Never."

"Or rather the Ares you THOUGHT you knew."  Ares joked, once again smiling a cold hard smile, obviously not fazed by anything I had said.  "That weak, arrogant god is gone. A stronger, fearsome, untouchable god takes his place now. This is who I am. Who I was always meant to be. Who you lot held me back from being!" He spat venomously

I on the other hand, felt my heart drop a little more with every word, as I let his words sink in.  "And the Ares I loved?  He must still be in there. What of him?"  I asked in a shaky, wary voice.  I remembered Hades was present, and instantly felt awkward for mentioning my love for Ares in his presence. I scanned Ares' face, desperately searching for the old him.

In response, Ares aimed his bow at me.  "Does it look like he loves you back?"  He mockingly responded.  My heart dropped.  If he didn't love me, or any of us for that matter, what could I do to bring him back? I needed him as my partner to stop the Romans, but selfishly and without reason, I needed him beyond that.  I thought of the small amount of time I apparently had according to Neptune and the one person I would want to spend it with was Ares. The old Ares.  A sob escaped my throat.  Though never one to look for sympathy, I was silently hoping my tears would bring him to his senses.

"Drop your weapon!"  Mars yelled, rearing his arm back and ready to take a shot if necessary.

"Ares..."  My voice cracked, cutting me off as I starred at the tip of his arrow pointed directly at me. To die now or 5 days from now, did it really matter? I'd much rather die by the hands of a loved one than by the hands of the Romans. But I had so much more to do...

"What?"  He glared dropping his bow and allowing his hands to move as he talked. "Do you think he loves you either?  Or him?"  He asked, pointing to Mars and Hades.  "They don't.  Hades uses you, Athena.  He treats you like a common whore, and leaves you like one when he's done.  Are the promises of becoming queen of the underworld so great that you dare not slay him in his sleep and be done with him?"  The look on Hades face was far past furious, yet he still said nothing, neither confirming nor denying.  "But then again, I used you for the same reasons.  Didn't I? In the grand scheme of things, didn't I? Perhaps you like being a whore, eh?  And as for Mars,"  He said facing him.  "Well... Once a Roman always a Roman."

"Enough-" Hades barked taking a step towards Ares, but stopping when his bow was once again pointed at me.

"I'll say!" Ares chided excitedly.  "Fun is over, now back to business." He said drawing back his bow and quickly releasing it.

Before I knew what was happening, I saw Hades running in front of me.  He dove to deflect the arrow that would have pierced my chest.  

I watched him fall to the ground and land on his side.  "No!" I yelled, sinking down to the ground, and  rolling him over on his back.  A Roman red arrow lodged in his rib cage.  He looked at me, a pain inflicted expression across his face.  I stroked his cheek gently hoping to soothe and comfort him.  "You mon-"  I yelled looking up, only to see Mars jogging over towards us, and Ares laying flat on the ground.

My world seemed to slow down at that moment.  I was unknowingly standing up, feeling the pull of energy surge out of me.  Then I was running over towards Ares, reaching him and collapsing beside him, as blood pooled out of a large cut on the top of his head.   I brushed his hair back, crying hysterically to myself.

I had done this. Even more, the Romans had done this. They turned him against me.

"Athena come on, lets go!"  Apollos voice rang throughout my head.  I shook my head and rooted myself as he tried to pull me away from Ares.  From my love.

"No!  No, I'm not leaving him to die!" I screamed just as I was scooped up against my will by a familiar strong pair of arms across my waist.  I looked up to Mars' face, incoherently begging him to tum me lose while pulling at his hold on me.  Apollo and Artemis stood over Ares body, checking for a pulse and debating what to do with him.

"Athena stop!"  He barked, squeezing me tighter to him and dragging me quicker towards the ship.  I continued to struggle even once we were on board, receiving appalled looks from my family, who all stood around starring like morons.  

Mars eventually came to a door amongst many that was slightly open.  He kicked it the rest of the way open and turned me loose once inside.  It was a simple bedroom with a bed, a door on the other side leading to a bathroom, two bedside tables with candles and a bookcase with two books in it.

I ran towards him, determined to knock him out of my path.  But all this resulted in was him grabbing my shoulders and forcing me backwards onto the bed.  He layed on top of me, holding me down and held my wrists above my head.

"You're not helping anything!"  He yelled at me   I realized he was right, but continued to cry hysterically.  Mars starred at me, and waited for me to calm down for a few minutes before realizing it wasn't going to happen, walking towards the door.

He remained there for a moment, looking at me before finally he spoke.  "You know, for one that's supposed to be so wise... You're loosing it, Athena. If you haven't already lost it. You show weakness, when before you only showed strength.  You turn to... well to crying like this, when you should be out there!  Helping you're future husband.  Or coming up with one of you famous strategies.  But instead you sit here drowning in your tears.  You're not... you; who I, we all, thought you were."  He turned to leave, but hesitated once more.  "I'll do as you said and ride with you all until we're off Olympus... But after that, you're on your own.  They have no chance with you like this.  And I won't stick around to watch everything fall apart."

With that he turned and left.

Locking the door from the outside.

Mar's POV

I stood outside the door with my forehead pressed to is.  My arm throbbed slightly from taking a beating from Athena, who's sobs echoed through the door.  Her heart was broken.  I got that.  I would have liked to comfort her, to tell her everything was going to be okay.

But I couldn't do that.  I couldn't watch her unravel.  I couldn't look into her eyes as tears fell from them, caused by a god that didn't deserve her to begin with.

A god I needed to go deal with.

But not before locking Athena's door from the outside.

I walked back down the surprisingly large corridor and into the docking room, where Artemis and Apollo were carrying Ares up into the ship.  "What do we do with him?"  Artemis asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.  

"I only knocked him out, he should be fine.  Throw him in whatever kind of containment unit you can find."  I replied, gazing over him.  Apollo and Artemis looked to each other, a certain understanding passed between them.

"Knocked him out yes, but you administered quite the blow to his temple, not to mention the cut. I'll need to take a look at that.  What about Hades?"  Apollo asked.  "The arrow wound is pretty deep, probably poisoned as well, and in a difficult spot. If the healer doesn't know what they're doing, he'll be dead within the hour."

"Is what I hear of your healing being impeccable true?"  I asked him curiously.  "Do you truly think you can treat the wound?"

"My skills are pretty bad ass."  He admitted jokingly, getting Artemis to grimace.  I hoped he was serious though.

"Don't waste time on Ares. Find a room for Hades and begin the healing process.  Make sure its locked so Athena can't get in there unsupervised.  We don't need another crying fit."

"Aye, sir."  Artemis said, walking away with Apollo and Ares. She paused, halting Apollo as well. "Mars," She began, shifting uncomfortably. "this is harder for Athena than any of us could ever understand.  I ask you not to think less of her." She began moving again, all of them disappearing down the hall.

With any luck, Ares wouldn't recover.

Hey guys!  Thanks for being super patient with me!  The amount of reads has doubled since I've been on!  There was an unexpected death in my family and the whole grieving process has been a lot.

Hope you liked the update, sorry its short.  Stay eager readers, and keep checking back for more!

If you guys could comment or vote to let me know what you like/ or didn't understand, that'd be super duperly appreciated! <3

Thank you,

Elizabeth