A/N: And the winner is…Reuniting with his father! Enjoy.

Chapter 9: Homecoming

Tap, tap, tap.

Ares' footsteps reverberated through the room as he paced the main hall of the temple, extremely worried about his son. Eros lazily lounged on one of the pillars and toyed with the string of his bow, growing more and more irritated with his father as he continued pacing in worry.

"Father."

Tap, tap, tap.

He was getting angry now. "Father…"

Tap, tap, tap.

That's it. "FATHER!"

That was enough to snap the God of War out of his worried stupor. Startled and surprised, he looked around until he located his son atop the pillar, not really noticing the annoyed look on his face as his thoughts turned onto Perseus once again.

"Yes?" He snapped, his worry putting him on edge.

Eros glared at his father before floating down from the pillar and locking eyes with him. "Don't yes me. You've been doing that for over three hours and its driving me up a wall!"

Ares returned his son's look, "Well, are you not just as worried about your brother as I am?"

"Of course I am! For Hades sake, I'M MOLTING from the worry! Look!" He grabbed a fistful of his white feathers and pulled them out before showing them to his father as he continued, "I'm just not pacing or doing anything like you are. Why don't you go destroy something?"

The God of War looked a bit offended, "What do you think happened to the Parthenon yesterday? Do you think it blew itself up?"

Eros looked surprised, "That was you? Nice. Why don't you keep doing stuff like that?"

Ares raised his hands in frustration before replying, "If I continued destroying Athena's city, she would run to Zeus and tell on me like a little girl. And since she is fathers' favorite…"

"… He would immediately punish you." Eros finished before his look turned frustrated once more. "Well, why don't you practice your archery? Haven't you become a little rusty ever since the solar twins cursed you?"

Now the God of War was definitely offended. He walked over to the archery targets before speaking to his son once more, his tone set in steel.

"How about a challenge then, hmm?"

The God of Love looked confused before realization dawned upon him, and his face widened in shock. He had never once seen his father wield a bow. Ever. He grinned evilly at his father before he summoned his bow.

"Oh, you are so on, old man."

Ares did not reply as he summoned his own bow and drew the string back, prompting his son to do the same. He maintained concentration on the target before releasing a single word.

"Go."

The hall was suddenly filled with the sounds of bow strings snapping and arrows whistling through the air. The contest went on for almost a full minute before a signal from Ares caused the contest to cease. Eros smirked proudly as he turned, expecting an easy win.

His jaw fell once they saw the arrows in each target.

While Eros had fired dozens of arrows at his target in mere seconds, Ares had fired almost twice as many in the same amount of time. The God of War had to stifle a chuckle at his sons' face as he laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a pat before going back to the main hall, leaving a stunned Eros behind, staring slack-jawed at the results.

Just as Ares was about to call to him, a brilliant column of flames lit the entire room before it died down and revealed the one he had been waiting for, as well as a few others he did not recognize.

'Perseus.'

Almost as if he had heard his thoughts, the Hound of War turned to his father and gave him a cheeky grin before speaking.

"Hello Fath-"his sentence was cut short by the God of War snatching him into a bone-crushing embrace, one he happily returned with almost equal strength. Pulling back slightly, Ares matched his son's smile before embracing him again.

"I'm home father." He whispered, feeling a peace he hadn't felt since he left.

"I know, and I could not be any more proud of you. These years have made a man out of you." He finished his statement with a smile before turning to the strangers with a confused glance.

"Who are these people son?"

Perseus smiled before he gestured for Zoe to come forward and introduce herself. Zoe dropped into a bow at the sight of the God of War before speaking, "Lord Ares, I am Zoe Nightshade. It's an honor to meet you." She felt a hand on her shoulder and was surprised to discover Ares pushing her up from the ground, a warm smile prevalent on his features.

"No need to bow. I am not my father, and will not force you to bow just because you are 'beneath me'. Besides," he smirked," I would not have my son's girlfriend bow to me."

He had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the faces of both his son and his 'friend' and their sputtering protests before he remembered the rest of his guests. Turning to them, he looked them up and down before he turned back to his son.

"And these young ladies are?"

Perseus' smile faded as he told him everything that had happened, from the two leaving the Garden to encountering Artemis to revealing the truth about Orion. Once he had finished, Ares looked livid at the way Artemis had kidnapped him, but that was soon overcome by his curiosity.

"That does not explain why they came with you." As he finished, one of the girls stepped forward.

"If I may, I would like to explain." At his nod, she continued, "We have followed Artemis for years now, only to discover that she had lied to us every day. After discovering the truth from Percy here, we all deserted Artemis and the Hunt in hopes of becoming your, ah, shield-maidens, warriors who would fight in your name."

Ares was dumbfounded. He turned to his son who merely nodded and proved their words were truthful. Turning back to the group of girls, he surprised them by smiling broadly.

"I would be honored to have you follow me into battle. Swear by the Styx to follow me, and I swear I will hide nothing from you as long as you serve me."

The girls all looked between each other before nodding and turning to the God of War. The same girl approached once more before smiling and dropping into a bow that was repeated by the rest of the girls.

"We accept your offer, Lord Ares. We swear to remain forever loyal to the God of War, to forever fight for his honor, and to forever live for his glory. On the Styx we swear." The sound of thunder sealed the deal.

"And I, Ares, the God of war, swear upon the Styx that I will never betray these girls, these Maidens of War, least I fade into nothing." Thunder boomed once more as it had with the previous deal, proving both to be acceptable. The newly christened Maidens of War cheered as they flickered crimson, their eyes burning blood-red as an eagerness for battle settled in.

Ares smiled at them before speaking, "Now my first command as your lord is for you not to bow or address me as your lord." Ignoring their looks of surprise, he continued. "There are now rooms for you to stay in, seeing as how this will become your new home as well as your place of training. Now get some rest; you have a long day tomorrow."

As the girls all filed away for the night, one stood where she was, nervously twisting her hands. Noticing the girl, Ares calmly walked over before kneeling and looking the girl in the eyes. Their eyes met for a second before the God of War began speaking.

"Hello little one, what is your name?"

The little girl smiled shyly as she looked down at her feet, "I'm Chloe."

"That is a beautiful name."

"Thank you." She looked the rather tall man up and down before questioning him, "Are you a meany? That's what I always heard when my old mistress spoke of you, but you don't sound like one."

The God of War chuckled slightly before replying, "I do not know about that. I sometimes get frustrated, but I believe that happens to everyone once in a while." An idea suddenly formed in his head and he smiled at the girl.

"Do you like gifts?" At her excited nod, he chuckled before concentrating and flashing a small black bundle into his hands and laying it on the ground. Chloe looked at it curiously before she poked it, causing it to spring up and wag its tail excitedly before tackling the little girl and licking her face.

"A puppy!" Chloe turned to Ares with the small but hefty hellhound pup in her arms and gave him a hug, one that he gently returned. She looked at him again, tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"N-n-no one's ever gotten me something as great as this. Thank you." With that, she kissed his cheek and ran down the hall her sisters had traveled down, leaving Ares with a smile on his face and a chuckle at her antics before he turned to Perseus and his so called 'friend', who were smiling at the scene.

Clearing his throat, the God of War was about to speak before a speeding blur slammed into the Hound of War, sending him tumbling into the floor. Almost immediately, he was back on his feet, and as the blur came back for a second strike, Perseus tackled it and slammed it into the ground, revealing his grinning brother.

"Percy! Your back!" Rising to his feet, Eros gave him a hug that his brother gladly returned. Breaking their hug, Eros caught sight of Zoe, who was standing off to the side awkwardly, and let out a wolf whistle.

"Well, well, well brother. Gone for a measly three years and already you have a girlfriend." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye using one of his wings, "They grow up so fast."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Percy yelled, not noticing the slightly disappointed look Zoe took on after hearing that.

Eros rolled his eyes, "Whatever little brother. Now if you don't excuse me, I will be turning in for the night. Good night bro and welcome home." He flew to his room in the temple, missing his father rolling his eyes at his antics. Turning his eyes back onto the pair in front of him, Ares let out a yawn before speaking.

"I believe I am like-minded with your brother. Good night Perseus, and to you as well Miss Nightshade. I will see you in the morning Perseus. We have much to talk about." And with that, the God of War flashed himself to his palace upon Olympus, leaving the pair to their own devices.

Percy turned to Zoe before speaking, "So Zoe, what do you think?"

She looked thoughtful before speaking, "I was surprised by your father. He isn't anything like what people make him out to be."

Percy nodded his head in agreement, "Most people will believe any lie or gossip when it passes their ears. It is the way most people are. Now, why don't we find you a room?" At her nod of approval, the Hound of War led Zoe through the temple; only to discover everyone of them occupied by the new arrivals save for one.

Percy's room.

Upon entering, he immediately got out a spare blanket and spread it on the cold floor, causing Zoe to look at him strangely. Not bothering to look up, he answered her unspoken question as he continued working.

"Since there is not a room available for you, you can sleep here in my bed."

"Then what is that blanket for?"

"Umm, me?"

"You can't do that! You'll freeze! We can just share the bed." As the words left her mouth, both Zoe and Percy blushed bright red and looked at anything but each other. After a minute or two of this, Percy sighed and climbed into the bed and turned his back as Zoe entered the bed as well. Since the bed was quite small, the two were pressed together closely, only increasing the strength of their blushes.

Percy turned slightly to Zoe before falling asleep, "Goodnight Zoe."

"Goodnight Percy."

As both passed into the realm of Morpheus, they frowned in their sleep before they turned and took hold of each other, a smile gracing their faces as they dwelled into now peaceful dreams.

A/N: Ok, I know this chapter is kinda short, but I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way so I could pave the way for the story to progress. A little bit of Perzoe fluff at the end, but not much. It'll take some time to get it off the ground for real. As for the girls that deserted the Hunt, kudos to reader Le Diablo Blanc2 for accidently discovering my plans for them in the story (Freaking psychics…)

Please, continue to R&R. your support is appreciated.

Sincerely, kingofsecrets15