ANNABETH NUDGED, the girl next to her then pointed at some old lady's, the lady's were staring directly at them " they're looking at us " Grover said, making Ella's attention go back to the police " Yeah " Annabeth said not paying attention

Ella then looked at the ladies again, and watched them cut a thin piece of thread

" We should get out right? Dude, they're looking right at us " Grover panicked, " what? " Annabeth asked, Grover gave her a " come on " hand signal

" Let's go find Percy " Ella said, " Ella.... " Grover started, " He is alive " Ella stated as she started walking to look for him " I know it " She added on

" Percy! " the three call out,  They then see Percy jump out of the water, Percy then gives them a little wave, " Hi " the three start walking up to him " Look, I'm sorry about shoving you in the stairwell even hearing myself say that sounds really bad but i just— knew you'd never agree and there wasn't enough time— " Percy gets cut off by Ella hugging him

" So " Grover says " Your not as dead as we thought you'd be " Ella let's go of Percy, " Suprise " Percy says looking at the three, " What happened? " Annabeth asked " Short version,we need to go to Santa Monica " Percy tells them " Like what— now? " Grover asked

" My fathers gonna meet me there, he's gonna help us " Percy explained, " Okay one problem is the police think that we crashed an Amtrak train and then did that " Grover points at the arch

" Th- the cops are after us? " Percy asked, " Yeah " Grover replied, " Isn't that gonna make it hard for us to get on a train? Or a bus? Or really anything you need tickets for? "

" Only one solution " Ella sighed

THE FOUR, walked in the middle of the street " Hey, guys " Percy broke the silence, " I think this quest might be harder than we thought, I've been thinking I didn't steal the master bolt, you guys didn't steal the master bolt, we're pretty sure, Hades has the master bolt but he couldn't it himself, I mean we don't even know who actually stole the thing " Percy explained " or why, or how deep this goes "

Grover, Annabeth and Ella all look at each other " I'm the last person to realize this, aren't I? " Percy says, as the others nod " Okay, so, maybe when we started my head wasn't fully in this but since the river— it all feels different somehow, he saved me, my dad, I guess I just really never thought that's something he'd do for me, so maybe I should take things more seriously now"

" Car " Grover points out, " isn't that a bike? " Ella asked, as Annabeth agreed " Just let it past " They hid as Percy spoke up again " I'm saying, we're not just trying to retrieve a thing, I think we might need to be detectives here, too "

" Sure, " Ella sighed as she avoided eye contact , " Why are you being weird with me again? I thought we weren't doing that anymore " Percy asked, " I'm not being weird " Ella told him, " Yes you are " Percy said " You've been weird since we left the arch "

" Oh— I get it, it doesn't have to be a thing you know, that you hugged me " Percy said, " Oh boy " Ella sighed agin, " I mean— we're like friends now that seems like a thing friends do, at least I thing they do "

" Me and Ella saw the fates " Annabeth speaks up, " Back at the arch, we saw the three fates then we saw Atropos cut a piece of thread " Annabeth explained, " and that's bad or— " Percy asked while looking at the other two for help, " it's really, really bad " Ella tells him

" The fates weave the life staring of every living thing, when you se a string cut— " Grover gets cut off " It's means one of us are going to die " Annabeth finished his sentence

" Come on— we're all going to die, eventually " Percy explains " Soon " Ella tells him, " It's a warning, an omen  " Annabeth agreed, " Okay guys, we need to talk about this whole fate thing, three old lady with a ball of yarn can't know what's going to happen " Percy tells them " What I chose to do changes, what's gonna happen, and I can choose to do anything— " Percy stops at the motorcycle engine stopping " I want " he finishes his sentence

" Need some help? " The biker asked, they all looked up, " Beg pardon? " Grover asked, " I asked if you could use some help " The biker tells them, " Nope, No— we're good, appreciate you asking though, so long " Grover tells him, " You don't seem to good "

" We're good " Ella tells the guy, with a fake smile, " You sure? " The biker laughed " Because you guys are so behind schedule " they all stood up " I mean— summer solstice is just a few days away and as much as I'd love to see a good war pop off, as yours big cousin, i feel like maybe, I wanna give you a hand " The biker tells the,

" Cousin? " Percy asked totally lost, " Ares, god of war " Ella explains, " let's just go " Annabeth tells the group, " You must be, Athena's kid always gotta be the wisest in the bunch "

" And you " Ares finger points at Ella " Aphrodite's kid, huh? " Annabeth then spoke up " Why would you help us? How do you even know about what we're doing out here? "

" Because I'm doing the exact same thing as you, Zeus sent all of his kids out looking for the master bolt " Ares explained, " Look dummies, there's a halfway decent dinner up the road, if you want my help, you'll meet me there but don't dawdle, won't wait forever "

" That's my cousin? " Percy's scoffed " What kind of family is this? "

" Come on " Annabeth tells them, the four finally get there, they then hear Ares laughing, " Guess this is the right place " Both Annabeth and Percy say

They walk towards him " Gimme a second I'm just staring a fight in Twitter here, nothing makes me happier then a good old- fashioned, burn it down fight " Ares explains, " Ah okay done "

" So your quest, is gonna fail ask me how I know " Ares said, " It isn't going to fail " Percy defends them, " Sure it is, for starters " Ares showed them his phone, and some guy talking about Percy

" W-who's that? " Grover asked, " My stepdad " Percy tells him, " What's he doing? " " Wait for it " Ares told Percy, Percy's step dad then says Percy had to do with Sally's missing " What!? " Percy said, " Wild, right? " Ares laughed a bit

" The FBI is already spreading your picture around " Ares tells him, " I'm gonna kill him " Percy said his anger about to explode inside of him, " I knew I was gonna like you " Ares said, " but safe to say the chances of you four idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A without getting arrested are slim to none "

" Why are you sitting here then? " Annabeth asked, " Don't you have to be lookin for the lightning bolt? " Ella agreed " If so shouldn't you be out there looking for it? "

" Hm, there's no fear in you two, is there? " Ares asked " doesn't matter, whether the bolts retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon "

" No, the oracle said if we feature the bolt, there wouldn't be a war " Percy told ares, " Is that what she said? Or is that what Chiron said she meant?  " Ares asked

" Yeah, you three are new to the family, young ones, so let me fill you in on how we work see years before i was born, my grandpa Kronos ate my aunts and uncles, yeah then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into million pieces and chucked em into a bottomless pit, so that kinda set the tone right outta the gate, Olympus rite, we betray, we back stab, we will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead, and that's why I love my family so much, my dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases, he's knows there's a war coming and in reality I think he's okay with that, I think he feels its just time for a war, so we're gonna have a war, isn't that great? " Ares explained

" We're completing this quest, we're stopping this war " Percy told Ares, " You said you can help, can you?  " Percy asked, " Okay so here it is— there's an amusement park up the road, I left my shield there, you get my shield back and I'll get you to the Underworld by lunch tomorrow with a plan to invade Hades palace " Ares told Percy

" You left you shield? " Ella scoffed " Like, forgot it on the merry-go-round? "

Ares then leans in closer to her " Your just like your mother you know that? It's getting old " Ella then raises her eyebrows, " So do we have a deal or am I killing all four of you? So I can eat in peace! "

" Okay " Percy said, " Great, one catch, I really need that shield back, so I'm gonna keep the satry and one demigod here as collateral so you don't run off "

" What? No! " Percy says

" Fuck no " Ella said

" I'll stay! " Annabeth said

" Okay! " Grover said

" No way " Percy said looking at the two, " We don't split up again " Ella agrees, " it's okay, if he wanted to kill us we'd be dead now " Grover told the two, " Plus he has me " Annabeth adds on, " Can we walk them to the door? " Grover asked

Ares give him a " Go " hand signal

" Okay, don't engage him, he'll wanna get— " She's gets cut off by Annabeth " Well be fine " She tell the Ella, " Stay safe " She hugs just Ella " and make sure he doesn't get into trouble " She says pointing to Percy

Ella then looks up to Percy and says " Will do " " Hey— " Percy gets cut off " Go, get the shield, we'll be here when you get back " Grover tells them, Ella and Percy look at each other then decide to leave

THEY STAND, in front of amusement park " Look it's your land " she says pointing to the sign that says " Waterland ", Ella had dyslexia but she read a lot that got her a little better at reader " What? " Percy asked, not being able to read because of his dyslexia

" Never mind " Ella says as they walk in, " looks like a horror movie " Percy said, " I haven't seen a horror movie " Ella said, " actually? " Percy asked, " well I've never seen any type of movie " Ella added on , " Never? What do you mean " never " Like " never-never " " Percy asked again

" Is there another kind? " Ella asked, " Well, neither of us is dead in a few days then we'll really ought to fix that with blue cherry of course " Percy says making her laugh "Your really missing " He adds on " In the meantime, we should get over this "

" Wait, Percy stop! " She calls out, but it was to late " Wait what just happened? " Percy asked, " Just hold still " Ella tells him " That's Celestial Bronze "

" Oh! Fascinating " Percy sassed " Ella, what is happening? "

" Celestial bronze is what your sword is made of if your human it'll pass right through you but if your a monster— or a Demigod it'll— well you know "

" Well what is it doing here " Percy asked, " Good question, this is definitely not just some amusement park " Ella said, " A god built this " Ella adds on, " what kinda god builds amusement parks? " Percy asked " Hephaestus " Ella tells him, "Why would Hephaestus build an amusement park? "

" Maybe he finds them amusing? " Ella joked, " that's really not funny, Ella " Percy told her " It's a bit funny " She said

" Oh, look that's cool! " Ella said looking up, " Ella! " Percy yells trying to get her attention again, " Just relax and push " Ella said, " push? " Percy asked, " Yup " Ella said, " Are you sure, cause weren't you guys this morning worried about the fates and saying one of us where going to die? We should take this seriously " Percy said

" Percy " Ella said, " Yeah? " He asked his voice full of worry, " Just Push " Percy then follows what she said and pushes and actually lives

They hear a ring 000
001

" What was that? " Percy asked, " It was a test " Ella said, as she pushed

002

" Hephaestus wanted to know if any demigod came poking around in his amusement park, now he knows " Ella said, " This is amazing, look at that, " Ella said in total disbelief of the amusement park

" have you ever seen anything like this? " She asked Percy, " if it belongs to the god of craftsman what was the god of war doing here? Aren't they enemies? And why'd he split without his shield? " Percy asked

" if I'm guessing, Ares always had a thing with— " She gets cut off, " Aphrodite, your mom " Percy said, " Yes, My mom " Ella told him " She's also Hephaestus wife "

" Oh, your kidding he met her here? In her husbands park? " Percy asked " That's my mom your talking about! " Ella said, " the family's messed up " They both say at the same time

A rides light then turns on, " Thrill, ride o' love " " Don't you even tell me not to be weird about this " Ella said " I didn't say anything " Percy defended himself " I can feel you thinking it "

" the shield must be in there " Percy said, " let's go get it " Ella said, starting to get in the ride. Percy then gets in too after a while music starts playing, " Feel like I've heard this before " Percy said " I think from a an orthodontist office maybe? "

The room then lights up with shadows showing a story? " Wait I know this it's Hephaestus story, rejected by Hera, rejected by Aphrodite, My mom told me these stories all the time, i remember this she said— " Percy goes silent, " What did she say? " Ella asked,

" She said this is what the gods are like to each other, this is the kind of family they are " Percy told her, " Why did you hesitate to say that? " Ella asked, " She was trying to keep me away from you guys " Percy said while looking at her, " Yiu were right " He looked away

" Maybe she should've been preparing me better, " Percy said looking down, " maybe she was preparing you, so when you got to us you'd be different than this " Ella said

after the story was done, the water speeded up, the lights turned green like a forest, then blue, them yellow, red, and keep going in the loop, the water calmed down a bit then they saw another boat get crushed,

" JUMP! " Percy yelled, the two then jumped off the boat into the water, the water was deeper then Ella expected, she tried to stay up, but she then couldn't anymore, she started to drown

" Percy! " Ella called out in a muffled voice, Percy tried to swim to Ella, but the closer he got the farther she got, " Ella! " He called out for her also with a muffled voice

THE TWO, woke up gasping for air, " your alright! " Percy said hugging her, " did you pull me out the water, with your powers? " Ella asked, " No " Percy said, letting go off the hug " Did you just— " She gets cut off, " I don't know, maybe " Percy said " I'm figuring this out as I go " he added on, and Ella nodded

They stood up, " How are we supposed to get that thing down? " Percy asked, it was a gold Greek statue it's hand was holding Ares shield but at the bottom there was a chair, filled with gold as well, " these things are connected " Ella said " it's a machine but how do you start it? " she thought

" It was a gift " Percy told her " with a hidden purpose, Hephaestus offered it to Hera, but as soon as she sat in it, she couldn't get up, all the gods tried but the machine was too smart, it was too strong, it was too much even for them "

they make eye contact

" finally they said, if Hephaestus let Hera free, Aphrodite, your mom, would be his wife, the chair is the bargain " Percy said, " One of us goes in, the other gets the shield "

" I'll do it " Ella said walking up to the chair, " What? Wait a minute " he pulled her back, " Whoever goes in, isn't coming out, that seems pretty clear " Ella tells him

"  I know, that's why I said wait " Percy told her " This isn't the arch, Aqualad , you're not pushing me into the stairwell again  " Ella told him, " Yes I am " Percy tells her,  " I'm not gonna let you this time, it doesn't work like that " Ella says walking to the chair, but Percy pulls her back again

" It's why you're here " Percy tells her " why Annabeth is here, " He adds on, " Excuse me? " Ella asked, " When I was chasing my team, I told Chiron I needed people who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice me, if the quests required it, he agreed, that was you two  " Percy explained,

" You were right, I can't believe it, but the Fates were right, there's no way getting around this, we dodged it at the arch, barley but— maybe this isn't something you can dodge forever " Percy told her,

" The oracle chose you! " Ella told him, " The gods chose you! "

" Stop! It isn't about that " Percy stopped her, " What could it possibly be about if it isn't about that? " Ella asked, " You're better at this than me " Percy told her " You can get the master bolt, I believe in you, believe me I wish there was another way this quest success but I just don't see it "

Percy watched as Ella looked at the chair then started to cry

Percy, then reached into his pocket, and pulled out Riptide, and gave it to her, " Get the master bolt for me will you? " Percy asked, as the girl nodded more tears coming out now

He walked towards the chair then stopped " I need you to promise me something— " Percy gets cut off, " I'm not leave the Underworld without your mom " Ella finished his sentence " Thank you, but I was gonna say, when this quest is done can you maybe swing back here, and try to get me outta this thing? " He asked

Ella faked scoffed " did you really thing you had to ask? " Percy smiled at her, both of them now crying

" Just making sure " he told her, he then sat on the chair, they then heard the machine creaking, " This is weird, it's— warm " Percy told her, Ella watched as his legs started turning gold, getting closer and closer to his face by the second

" This is a bad idea, stand up " Ella told him, " I can't " Percy told her, " Percy stand up I mean it " She cried out, " It's okay Ella, I'm okay, just come back for me okay? " Percy asked, as she nodded

his whole body then turned gold,  Ares shield then dropped on the floor

She saw the the shield and gears behind the chair and went behind the chair to see if she could if help Percy, she moved the gears around until someone walked in " Can I help you? " the worker asked

" do you need some help finding your way out? " The worker asked her, but she just continued moving the gears, the worker then pulled a ladder " off you go " The worker told her, " I'm not leaving without my friend " Ella said, " Yeah, that isn't how it works, it's kind of a one-way sort of thing it can't be undone  " The worker said

" How do you know? " Ella asked, " Because I built it " Hephaestus said, " I'm not leaving without my friend " She quotes herself " and if you aren't going to help me, could you maybe leave so I can focus? " She asked, " in spite of what my brother might've told you, I am not someone who'll be pushed around  " He tells her,

" I know you helped him ship, Medusas head to Olympus, your moms mad at you just didn't show it as much as, Athena, but if you walk out with that shield, your a hero, on your way to glory, she'll be proud, she'll be more active in your life, you'll also be forgiven, and you'll have Justice for everybody that called you " only pretty " or " weak " Justice for yourself "

"eat or be eaten , power and glory, and nothing else matter, Ares is that way, Athena is that way, Zeus is that way, My mother is that way, but he isn't that way, he's better than that, maybe I was that way, maybe I still am, but I don't want to be that way anymore, it's wrong! "

" I won't be like all you, I'll prove myself, with my friend! " She said, he then turns Percy back, he almost falls when he stands up, till ella catches him

" Some of us don't like being that way either, your a good kid, Ella, I'll put in a good word with your Mom " He said then walked away

THEY WALK, into the dinner, the shield in Ella's hand, Percy offered to hold it, but she declined, " Your okay! " Annabeth hugged Ella,

When Annabeth let go of Ella, she put Ares shield on the table, " Where's our ride? " Percy asked, Are took them outside, and pointed to a van " Your kidding " Percy said, Ares them opened the back of the van " Get in, don't I really don't care but in a few hours thing thing is gonna be at the Lotus Casino in Vegas " Are told them " Her,es hangs out there, you play your cards right and his personal driver can get you the L.A. in minutes "

" Here " he threw Percy a bag " Clothes, cash, Drachmas to summon Hermes, I'd which you luck but what good would it do? " Ares said, " We're not gonna fail " Percy said, " Don't worry, your dad had plenty of kid he stopped caring about one he lost interest, you'll have a lot of company " Ares said

" I said we're not gonna fail " Percy told Ares " and I'm getting pretty tired of you saying it ", " Percy " Grover said, " you think you know who I am but you don't " Percy said getting closer and closer to Ares " And if you aren't careful, your gonna find out . Percy warned him

" Come on, Percy " Ella sighed, Percy listened and walked away from Ares

" Thank you for the emotional abuse, and the chess buger and the ride we're gonna take you up on that, too " Grover says, the four them getting in the van " Hey, you think we can get some paper towels or something? It's not that nice in here" Grover asked

Ares closed the van, a smirk on his face

" Well, this smells " Percy said, " if it gets us where we need to go, that's all that matters " Ella said " Assuming ares was telling the truth " Percy said adding on to her sentence , " He wasn't, not entirely at any rate, he was holding something back " Grover speaks up

" How you know? " Ella asked " I think Me and Grover got it out of him " Annabeth said, " We know who stole the master bolt " Grover said