Hey, my favorite readers! So much for the quick update, huh? Ugh, I'm hardly making a dent in The Iliad so far. But I'm well informed! Anyway, new update on the story. Not sure if I'm going to write the sequal right after because I have an awesome story idea for my next fic! Leave me a review telling me what you think! Anyway, Enjoy and review my dears!

The next day, Grover and I were practicing our Pegasus riding with the Aphrodite campers. Blackjack had grown over the summer and was now huge, his black wings stretching over 6 feet.

"Hey ...Percy Jackson!" A girl called out to me. I glanced over to see a slender girl dressed in denim shorts and a form fitting tank top. She had pink eyeliner rimmed around her eyes and matching pink glitter brushed into her wavy black hair. She bounced giddily over to me and grabbed my hand.

"You have to come and ride on your pegasus with me, there is a fantastic breeze up there now, and not to mention the great view. She wiggled her eyebrows at me as I swallowed down my laugh.

"Uh, okay but ...do I uh ..know you?" I asked, scrutinizing the girl who was shedding glitter like tinkerbell.

"Oh no, but I'm Drew," she introduced herself with a hair flip. "I'm the new head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin, and I think we should get to know each other a little better. You know...counselor to counselor?" Drew emphasized the true meaning of what she just said with a flirty wink.

"Um... I really don't think I should," I glanced at Grover for help, who was looking at us with wide eyes. He shook his head vigorously, although Drew didn't seem to notice.

"Of course you should! Come on!" Drew squealed, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards a pegasus before I could even protest.

"Uh, Drew, you don't understand. I don't think-"

"Ooohh, this is a gorgeous one!" she interrupted me, brushing her fingers over a silky brown pegasus named Saddle.

Blackjack stared at me, slightly amused. "Hey Boss, you got another girlfriend now?" he asked in my head. I glared at him. Not funny.

Before I knew it, I was being shoved onto Saddle, Drew climbing on back, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Hiya!" Drew shouted, and we flew into the air, Grover and Blackjack gaping up at us.

Oh, for the love of Zeus, I thought grumpily, as Drew tightened her grip and leaned into me.

Saddle glided over the stalls and riding course for about five minutes, with Drew's ever tightening grip on my waist. Suddenly though, a huge gale of wind engulfed us, causing Saddle to swerve out of control, and he fell quickly back to the ground.

We hit the ground with a thud, Saddle landing right on top of me. Drew bounced onto the dirt floor and rolled a few feet. She stopped and lay on her back, groaning.

Thalia stood over me with a smug expression.

"Told ya I'd get you back for slamming me into the wall," she teased giddily, snapping her fingers. Once again, a huge breeze flew through the camp. Oh. So THAT'S where that wind came from.

Then Thalia walked away from me and over to Drew.

"And you," she snarled. Drew cowered under her intense glare. "Back off Jackson, alright girl? He's taken and I'd hate to see something bad happen to you." Drew nodded vigorously. she walked away from both of us, throwing a grin my way, and brushing roughly past Drew.

I grinned back and walked over to Grover and Blackjack. Grover was laughing hysterically, his face red. Blackjack looked like he was whinnying in amusement too.

"Oh man," Grover laughed, slapping his knee. "You were more petrified to be with that girl than you were when you were fighting off the Sirens!"

"Alright, alright," I laughed along with him. "I owe it to Thalia for getting me out of that one."

Grover glanced at his watch, still chuckling.

"Oh, it's almost eight," he told me, adjusting his reed pipes. "We should be going to your cabin now."

"Sure thing," I agreed. I led Blackjack back to his stall and fed him a sugar cube. Then we set off to my cabin where Annabeth and Thalia were already waiting.

Thalia was sitting on my bunk, telling Annabeth something and laughing hysterically. Annabeth's eyes brightened when she saw me.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain!" she called out, flashing me a smile.

Thalia smiled in my direction too. Although, it was more of a smirk.

"Hey Kelp Face, I was just telling Annabeth here about your little date with Drew," Thalia joked.

Thankfully, Annabeth started laughing, clutching her sides. Grover began to laugh too, ripping open a bag of cheese balls and eating a mouthful...and part of the wrapper.

"Hey, I got to thank you for getting me out of that one, Thalia," I sighed sitting on the ground next to them. "That girl really didn't know how to take a hint."

Thalia smiled and rolled her eyes, pulling out Annabeth's journal. "Whatever Percy, I'm just glad I got to blow you off that horse."

Annabeth playfully flicked at my cheek, then took the book from Thalia's hand. "Alright people, so where were we?"

"Oh, when you almost took that guy's head off at the carwash," Grover chimed in, his head still in the bag of chips.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and opened the crinkled pages to where we left off.

July 11, 2005

Dear Journal,

Hahaha, stupid mortal. He should've known not to piss me off. Okay...so I'm a 12 year old girl. But I'm sure I looked serious enough.

Anyways, we found a little diner nearby, so we stopped in for dinner, despite the fact that we had like, ZERO money.

Finally the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"

Percy looked at me nervously and stammered, "We, um, want to order dinner. "

The waitress looked us over. I sighed. Grover and Percy just looked so nervous. I was afraid Grover would start eating the silverware.

"You guys have money to pay for it?" she asked.

Percy shot a panicked look at me. I was just about to open mouth to formulate an excuse when I felt a dry wind blow through my hair, sending a tremor down my spine. Looking over, I saw Ares, the war god, standing in the doorway, eyeing us in amusement.

"Ooohh," Thalia groaned through a mouthful of twizzlers. "That sucks, guys"

"Yeah," I agreed, remembering my first meeting with Ares. "It did."

I stiffened. He looked exactly the way he did at the winter soltice meeting on Olympus. Same nasty sneer, oversized muscles, and look of murder flaming in his eyes. This was bad. Really bad.

Ares sauntered over and slid into my booth, crushing me against the window. I swallowed down my irritation.

"It's on me," he told the waitress, who was staring at him, paralyzed. He glanced up at her, arranging a threlook on his face. "Are you stilll here?" The waitress shot towards the kitchen.

Grover was shaking next to Percy, his eyes wide. Percy however, looked like he was about to punch a wall. Oh, man. The aura of Ares. Not good.

Ares scrutinized Percy. "So you're old seaweed's kid, huh?"

Percy sucked in a breath. "What's it to you?"

Oh, Lord Hades.

"Percy," I hissed over to him, trying to get him to understand. "This is-"

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

Percy studied him closely, until a look of recocgnition crossed his face. How he figured it out, I had no idea. Percy had surprised me again.

"You're Clarisse's dad, " he said. "Ares, god of war. "

Ares sneered at him. "Good job, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

Percy shrugged nonchalantly. "She asked for it."

I wasn't sure if he was faking the whole, 'cool guy,' attitude but it didn't seem like he was very scared.

"No," I admitted. "But that was only because he reminded me of my old stepfather. It was probably just the whole 'godly aura' thing."

"Probably," Ares areed. "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 piles of food, glancing nervously at Ares. I felt a twinge of pity for her.

Ares handed her some golden drachmas. Idiot.

The waitress looked down at the gold. "But these aren't-"

Ares took out a huge, pointed knife. "Problem, sweetheart?"

She swallowed hard, then left, walking mechanically back to the kitchen.

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

"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. "

Percy looked him over with disgust. "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," Ares said.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"

I swallowed. I was kinda liking his attitude, but I'm pretty sure Ares wasn't. I wonder why he wasn't scared of him.

Ares glared at him, a red fire building in his eyes. "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. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you. "

I shot a warning glance at Percy to make sure he didn't get too angry, but I don't think he saw. He was too busy taking deep breaths, trying to control himself. I felt a twinge of anger towards Ares. Percy was doing great on his quest, especially for a demigod who barely trained at all. He was doing better than me, not that I'd ever admit that. Ares is such a jerk.

Percy finally regained his composure."We're not interested, " he said. "We've already got a quest. "

"I know all about your quest, punk," Ares snarled. 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...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. "

Percy looked at him accusingly.

"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

Ares shrugged uncaringly. "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. "

Percy wouldn't look at me, Grover, or Ares. I looked over at Ares, trying to figure out what exactly he was planning. There are ALWAYS strings attatched when it comes to Ares.

"We're doing fine on our own," he informed Ares.

Ares snorted."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. "

Crap, I thought. Ares obviously is playing some kind of game here. He wouldn't normally come up to a bunch of demigods and try to bribe them into getting something for him. ESPECIALLY if it was about Percy's mom. Something was really wrong here...

Percy looked up, a shine of desperation flashing in his eyes.

"My mom?" he said.

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

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

Ares glared at him angrily. I swallowed.

"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. "

Ares slid out of the booth, then lumbered out the door. I leaned back, taking in a few deep breaths.

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

Percy stared out the window, his eyebrows furrowed, like he was in deep thought. I shot a worried glance at him.

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

I sighed, wishing with all my might that we could do just that.

We can't, " I sighed. "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. "

Percy sighed, suddenly looking more tired than I had ever seen him. I guess it had something to do with the fact that Ares mentioned his mom.

"Why does he need us?" he asked warily.

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," I suggested. "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?" Percy asked.

I glanced at Grover nervously.

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

Mother of Zeus, I thought.

"Ugh," I groaned at the end of the entry. "I hate the next part of the quest."

Annabeth shot me a look. "You hated the next part? I'm the one with the arachnaephobia!"

Grover shuddered. "I just hated those shoes."

Thalia shot a bewildered glance at all of us. "Okayyy, guys this was a really interesting entry, but I'm tired. I'm gonna go back to my cabin."

Annabeth glanced up. "Goodnight Thalia."

"Later," I called out.

Grover got up and followed Thalia out the door. "I'm going too," he announced, and trotted out the door. Two seconds later, he ran back inside, grabbed a back of cheetos, and ran out again.

Annabeth and I laughed.

Annabeth looked at me and grinned. "I guess I should go too," she told me.

I smiled back. "Of course. But first..."

I reached over her shoulder and flicked off the light.

Okay guys, thanks for reading. So sorry for the really late update. Trying hard to complete my summer reading. Oh, I'm going to start another fic including Thalia as the main character! So add me to your author alerts before the end of this story if you want to check it out! Review please!