THEY HELP PERCY AND PANDORA down a where it was packed, They duck into a small elevator and sit down.

"What was that back there? What did you hear?" Percy asked, Annabeth stares at the floor, avoiding their eyes. "She spoke to you. Alecto did that to me and percy back in the museum in New York." Pandora said, her chest heaving as she stared at Annabeth.

"What did she say?"

Annabeth looks up, seeing Echidna with a monstrous shadow behind her. "Was that the Chimera?" Grover stammered, his eyes full of fear. "I think... I think that was the Chimera."

"How did the Chimera even get inside here? How did any monster get inside here?" Grover glanced at Annabeth then at the other three.

"Annabeth?" Pandora called, her brows furrowed.

"We're in a sanctuary. Athena would have had to let her in, but why would she do that?" Grover continues.

"Annabeth!" The girl's eyes met Pandora's. "What did Echidna say to you?" She asked, and Annabeth glanced away. "She said my impertinence wounded my mother's pride. And that would will be my doom."

"Impertinence? what kind of—" Pandora paused—Annabeth tilts her head to her. The Jackson girl eyes drift to her shoes before it lifts toward Annabeth.

"Medusa's head." The girl nods to herself, "I embarrassed my mother." Annabeth said, and Percy shook his head. "But we're the ones who sent the head to olympus. We signed the note."

"And i went along with it. It embarrassed her. Now, she's angry."

"Oh, great. We're dead because of your impertinence." Kaelin said, tucking her lips as she huffed.

"Guys, what are we gonna do?" Grover asked.

"She isn't gonna help us when we get to the top to save Pandora and Percy." Grover shook his head, pointing outside the elevator door. "No, i meant, what are we gonna do about Echidna and Chimera? They're gonna be right behind us." The elevator dinged, signaling that they reached to the top.

"We're not gonna have much time." Annabeth said, helping Pandora out of the elevator. "They'll be up here any minute. And if my mother isn't going to protect us, then we'll just have to fight it out up here."

The group of five paused, seeing the hallway full of people—which wasn't part of the plan.

"Well, there goes our plan." Pandora said, huffing as she eyed the kids and the adults. "Oh, no. We gotta get everybody outta here." Annabeth glanced around, spotting a fire alarm on a nearby wall.

She turns back to the room of people before walking over to it, and pulling it down. The alarm blared loudly, causing everyone to look around.

"Everyone, let's line up." The chaperone spoke to the others, leading them to the elevators. "You guys follow them down." Pandora's head immediately snapped toward Annabeth.

"What? No, no, no. W—We're not splitting up." Grover shook his head. "Yeah, no splitting up." Annabeth sighed. "Grover, come on."

"No. No, no, no, no, no, we're all getting out of here together." Percy stammered, Grover and Kaelin helping him walk back to the staircase. "We won't make it. The Chimera is the demigod-killer. Someone has to slow her down and buy everyone some time." They reach the door and Annabeth gently handed Pandora off to Kaelin who wrapped her arm around her.

"Okay, help them down the stairs and get Percy to the river. And if you see any power poles, get Pandora to it—she can try and absorb the electricity. And don't stop. Not till you get to Hades, not till you have the bolt, do you hear me?"

"Annabeth—" Kaelin started. "Do you hear me." The girl repeated and Kaelin nodded. "Okay." Pandora shakes her head. "Okay, go." Annabeth began to close the door.

"Wait." Pandora took off her ring that vibrated before it turned into a sword, she flips the handle of her sword toward Annabeth and holds it out to her. "Take this."

Annabeth reaches out. Percy realizes what his sister was doing when Pandora pulls annabeth forward, he quickly ducked under Annabeth and got past the door before Pandora could close it. "Wait!"

"You idiot." Pandora muttered. "What? you think i would've let you do this by yourself? no way." The others banged on the door. Pandora sighed and leaned against the door.

"Hey! Percy, Dory!" Grover yelled from the other side, still banging.

"Guys, please."

"Pandora, Percy, no! Don't do this. They'll kill you."

"Zeus never helped me before. He wasn't gonna start now." She heaved as Percy leaned on the wall beside her, reaching into his pocket. "Me and Percy would've never made it to Hades. But you can. And now you will."

The others kept banging and shouting their names as they now started to walk up the hallway, their eyes blurry. "You're still an idiot" Pandora said, as they continued to walk up.

"Maybe, but i'm not letting you do this alone." He glanced over to his sister who looked similar to him; sick, and pale, it was clear the poison was working and fast at that.

They spot the Chimera walking up slowly to them, snarling loudly. Pandora and Percy both pad forward, swords at the ready.

"I don't think that's a 'pup'." Pandora whisperered as Echidna stands behind the chimera, watching. "This is the end, sweetheart. Don't fight it. You'll just make her angry."

The siblings met the chimera in the middle of the hall, towering over them, The chimera snarls, baring her huge teeth. They both slash her leg before she threw them to the side.

They watched as a scaly hood unfurls around her neck, an orange glow emits from her open mouth, they looked at the chimera in confusion before their eyes widened and they roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the fire.

They began to crawl away slowly, but stopped when the floor dropped before them, Pandora and Percy turns from the hole to the Chimera. The both stand up, wobbling slightly before they walked back over to the Chimera.

They grip their swords tightly, the Chimera swings a claw at them, Pandora and Percy dodge the attack then swung their swords. The Chimera knock their swords away with her horn then bashes them into the hole.

Echidna walked closer, looking down the hole to see Percy holding his sister's hand as his other hand clinging to the only thing holding them up.

"So unfair. You never had a chance, did you? If only someone'd cared enough for you to provide you with one." Percy grunted, feeling his finger slipping before it finally slipped.

They rapidly descend, Perry trying to grab his sister's hand, he fully grasped it as her eyes finally closed, The boy felt a gush of wind push them to a column of water from the river that swallows them.

Percy looked around the green murky water, looking for his sister before he spots her, seeing her eyes closed and noticing she wasn't moving, he tries to swim to her but something holds his leg.

He descends to the riverbed, rusted debris pins his foot, he tries to get his foot out but it doesn't budge. He glanced up, looking at his sister, who still didn't move with small bubbles coming out of her mouth.

He goes back to try and tug his foot out but he pauses, looking in the hazy water seeing something glowing approaching in the distance.

"You are frightened. It's all right, Percy. Your father sent me to tell you, it's all right. Just breathe." Percy stared at the glow before shaking his head and trying desperately to swim to his sister so they can go up to the surface. "Your father is here. He's always been here. It is so hard for him to stand back. To see you struggle. It is so hard for us all. But he's here."

"And the he's so very proud." The mysterious voice continued. "Trust him. Trust yourself." Percy stops struggling as he stares at the ghostly figure. "Just.. breathe." Percy parted his lips, his chest lifts as his lungs fill.

"Hope..Hope, Hope!" Percy slapped his sister's face softly, ignoring the calls of his friends that were in the distance. Pandora woke with a cough, water coming out of her mouth as she slapped his hand away.

"Did we die?" She muttered, sitting up. Percy helped his sister to her feet. "No, my dad, he helped us." The girl sighed. "He could've let me breathe underwater, i am his favorite niece after all." She huffed.

"You weren't even conscious." Percy said, before pulling her into a hug to which she froze up but relaxed a second later. "You scared me, Hope."

"I can never die." Pandora pulled away, smiling at him before she turned, spotting their friends. "Hi." Percy waved at them.

The others slowly approached. "Look, i'm sorry about
pushing you in the stairwell, it was a great plan but Percy messed it up, but hey, we didn't die, that's a first—" Pandora froze again as Annabeth wrapped her arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace.

"Glad you're alive, Kelp head." Percy gave a small smile at Kaelin's words.

"You're not as dead as we thought you'd be." Grover said,  Annabeth slowly unwrapped her arms that were around Pandora and stepped back.

"Surprise!" Pandora grinned. "Although, i thought i was dead for a moment."

"What happened?" Grover asked, glancing at the siblings. "Short version, we need to go to santa monica." Annabeth's lifts her brows at Percy's words.

"What, like now?"

"My father's gonna meet me there. He's gonna help us." Pandora turned to her brother, confusion written on her face. "Hello, excuse me, what?"

"Okay. Uh, just one problem with this plan. The police think that we crashed an amtrak train and then did that." Grover points up to the smoking arch.

"Th—the cops are after us?" Percy questioned. "Isn't that gonna make it hard for us. to get on a train? Or a bus? Or really anything you need tickets for?"

"Hey, guys. I think this quest might be harder than we thought." Percy said, his brow furrowed.

"I've been thinking. I didn't steal the master bolt—Hope didn't steal the master bolt. You guys didn't steal it. We're pretty sure Hades has the master bolt, but he couldn't have stolen it himself." His hands hit his jeans, after he threw them up.

"I mean, we don't even know who actually stole the thing, or why, or how deep this goes..." Walking in the middle, he glances at them. "I'm the last person to realize this, aren't i?" He questioned.

"Um, no—still confused." Pandora said, raising her hand.

"Okay, so.." Percy sighed. "Maybe when we started, my head wasn't fully in this, but since the river..it all feels different now." Percy's mouth curved into a slight smile. "He saved me. He saved me and Hope. My dad."

"I guess i just really thought that's something he'd do for me. So maybe i gotta take things seriously now." Grover glanced back, hearing something approaching.

"Car."

"That's not a car, it's a bike. Just let it pass. Come on." The group duck behind a concrete barrier, boarding the road. "I'm saying, we're not just trying to retrieve a thing. I think we might need to be detectives here, too."

"Hey, that sounds fun. Don't you think, Detective Chase?" Pandora turned to Annabeth, The girl's eyes were everywhere but Pandora. "Yeah." She nodded.

Percy notices this and leans forward. "Why are you being weird with us again? I thought we weren't doing that anymore." He asked.

"I'm not being weird." Annabeth furrowed her brow.

"Yes, you are. You've been weird since we left the arch." Pandora added before she made an 'oh' sound.

She leaned back slightly, nodding in realization as she looked at Annabeth. "Oh...i get it." Annabeth turns to her, confusion written on her face. "It doesn't have to be a thing, you know. That you hugged me."

Kaelin snorted, sharing a look with Grover.

"Oh, boy." Annabeth huffed. "I don't think—" Percy started but his sister cut him off. "I mean, we're like friends now, right?" Pandora glanced at him. "That seems like a thing friends do. At least i...i think they do." She trailed off, looking at her friends faces.

"I saw the fates. Back at the arch, I saw the three fates, and we saw atropos cut a piece of thread."

"And that's bad or..? all she did was cut a piece." Percy looked at them. "The fates weave the life strand of every living thing. When you see a string cut—"

"It means one of us is going to die." Pandora stared at her. "We're all gonna die eventually, i see no—" The girl cut her off. "Soon. It's a warning." Pandora and Percy exchanged a look.

"An omen."

Percy sighed. "Okay. Guys, we need to talk about this whole fate thing. Three old ladies with a ball of yarn can't know what's gonna happen. What i choose to do changes what's gonna happen, and i can choose to do anything i...want." He pauses hearing the motorcycle engine stop

"Need some help?" The group shoot each other a look before peaking over the barrier. They eyed a man wearing sunglasses and a long leathered coat. "Beg pardon?"

"I asked if you could use some help." He stared down at them. "Nope. No We're—We're good. Appreciate you asking, though. So long." They slowly duck back behind the barrier. "You don't seem too good." He glanced in front of him before glancing back at the barrier.

"We don't want anything from you." Annabeth pops up before ducking behind again. "Unless you have—" Pandora peaked over before Annabeth pulled her down.

"You sure? Because you guys are so behind schedule." The man grins. The group of five finally stand up, staring at him. "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 your big cousin and big brother, i feel like, maybe, i wanna give you a hand."

"Big who?" Pandora tilted her head. "Ares." Annabeth glanced sideways at them. "You must be Athena's kid. Always gotta be the wisest one in the bunch." He leans forward.

"Why would you help us?" Annabeth asked. "How do you even know about what we're doing out here?" She continued.

"Because i'm doing exactly the same thing as you. Zeus sent all of his kids out looking for the master bolt, too. Listen, dummies. I'm hungry. There's a halfway decent diner up the road. If you want my help, you'll meet me there. But don't dawdle. Won't wait forever." Ares throws his a pair of shades back on before he starts his bike.

He smirks at the children before pulling off, their eyes follow him down the road. "That's my big brother? This family sucks." Percy nodded in agreement.

"Come on." They set off down the road, following the motorcycle as it races away.

They walk into the diner, glancing around. They spot the god at a table, laughing out loud. "Why is he so loud.." Kaelin frowned, watching as Ares slap the table.

"Guess this is the right place." Annabeth said, walking toward the booth. "Give me a second, i'm just starting a fight on twitter here." Kaelin raised a brow as they sat down.

"Nothing makes me happier than a good old-fashioned, burn-it-down fight. Ah. Okay, done." The phone clattered down on the table. "So your quest..." He sighed. "...is going to fail. Ask me how i know."

"It isn't gonna fail." The war god scoffed. "Sure it is. For starters..." He picked up his phone, then flipped it around, showing Gabe on the news.

"Percy and Pandora were always troubled," Pandora furrowed her brow. "But i never thought they were capable of something like this." His voice wavered.

"Wh—who's that?" Grover asked.

"Our stepdad. What's he doing?" Percy glanced back at the phone. "Wait for it." Ares grinned. "Two kids that messed up? What wouldn't they do?"

"What?" The siblings said in sync. "Wild, right? The FBI is already spreading your pictures around." They glanced at Ares then back at the phone. "It's a camaro. I really—We really loved that car. So much. Cut." Percy shook his head as Gabe began to cry on the news. "I'm gonna kill him."

"I knew i was gonna like you. But safe to say, the chances of you five idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A. without getting arrested are slim to none."

"Why are you sitting here then? If you're supposed to be looking for the master bolt too, shouldn't you be out there looking for it?" Annabeth questioned, tilting her head at the war god. "Hm. There's no fear in you, is there?"

"Doesn't matter. Whether the bolt's retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon." Percy shoots his friends and sister a quizzical look before turning back to Ares. "No. The oracle said if we return the bolt, there wouldn't be a war."

"Is that what she said? Or is that what Chiron said she meant? Yeah. You're 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."

"He should come back and eat you." Kaelin snorted then covered her mouth. The war god took a deep breath, keeping his composure as his eyes narrowed, staring directly at Kaelin who didn't look away from him.

"Didn't mean to—Sorry, not really." She muttered, shrugging.

"Then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into a million pieces and chucked 'em into a bottomless pit, so that kinda set the tone right outta the gate. Olympians fight. We betray. We backstab. We will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead. And that's why i love my family so much."

"Is that what you're doing right now? Betraying? backstabbing?" He glances back at Kaelin glanced around the diner. "You're really making me mad."

The girl shrugged again. "It's the truth."

"My dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases. He knows there's a war coming. And in reality, i think he's okay with that. I think he feels it's just time for a war, so we're gonna have a war." Ares scrunches his face, holding a hand to his mouth. "Isn't that great."

"We're completing this quest. We're stopping this war. You said you can help. Can you?"

"Okay, so here it is. There's an amusement park up the road—" Pandora looked at him. "What? you want us to hold your hand on the ride or something?" She questioned, furrowing her brow.

Ares looked like he really wanted to throw the group to the curb. "I left my shield there. You get me my shield back, and i'll get you to the underworld by lunch tomorrow with a plan to invade Hades's palace."

"You left your shield? Like, forgot it on the merry-go-round?" Annabeth spoke up, Ares leans forward, glaring at all of them. "Okay. the chirping was funny to me for a minute, but it is getting old. So we do have a deal, or am i killing all three of you so i can eat in peace?"

"Woah, calm down, old man." Kaelin said, raising her brow.

"Okay." Percy nodded. Ares smiles and leans back in his chair. "Great. One catch. I really do need that shield back, so i'm gonna keep the satyr here as collateral so you don't run off."

"What? No." They immediately shook their heads but Grover nodded, "Okay." They turn to the satyr. "No way. We don't split up again." Percy said, glancing at him. "It's okay. If he wanted to kill us, we'd be dead by now."

The god eyes them with a wry smile. "Can i just walk them to the door?" Ares waves his hand with a sigh and they got up, walking to the door. "Okay, look. Don't engage with him. He'll wanna get you riled up, get in your head and you can't let him."

"It's okay. Really. I know what i'm doing. Go. Get the shield. I'll be here when you get back."

The four walk out of the diner, leaving Grover alone as he stared at Ares. Grover watched them leave before walking over to the booth.