Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or any of the characters except for little Rhea

I was just about to update when I read the latest review that I felt I had to adress properly. Writing that I should just quit this story altogether because I haven't updated in a while, and that I just 'suck at updating', seriously ruined my mood.

To kksambo - I have a life! During the last few month I had little breaks or weekends totally off, instead I spent them searching for colleges, visiting colleges, applying for colleges, searching for apartments, visiting apartments, earning extra money and the rest with my little niece and nephew who I will be seeing seldomnly when I move away to start college.

I also have other stories I should update but can't find the proper time or motivation for. One can't just start writing randomly without any inspiration which is seriously lacking when you just want to drop into bed as soon as you get home.

I love writing, but it had to take a backseat during the last few month because they literally decided my whole future.

So please stop insulting me!

To those of you who reviewed and supported me, I greatly appreciate it, so please ignore the rant above!

Enjoy!

Previous chapter:

''That brute is currently far too close to little Rhea for my comfort, but I'll address that later with him.'' Poseidon imagined that bastard's howls of pure unbridled agony as he mercilessly tore him apart, a small excited smirk the only sign of his suppressed rage.

A shame he couldn't stir up too much trouble currently, but he could always wait for a few years.

''Should I…?'' Triton began, falling silent once more when Poseidon waved his inquiry off with a dismissive gesture of his hand.

''No need.'' The god's smirk widened when he thought about that little present he had given her years ago. ''Rhea will be fine, I've given her some insurance. I'll remind her to use it if the impudent brute gets any ideas.''

Triton watched the malicious expression in Poseidon's dark orbs, the promise of punishment clearly visible and wisely once again kept quiet.

He quite liked being alive.

Honestly.

Chapter 35 – Wounds of Time

Time was sometimes very strange.

At times, it would flash by with immeasurable speed, seemingly blurring by; while other moments seemed to last an eternity, time dragging on endlessly.

This time, it seemed to be the former, the scenes behind the train's windows splashing by like random colors – their arrival seeming far sooner than anticipated.

None of us looked particularly well-rested, dark bags seemingly painted beneath our eyes – and the previous excitement at getting out of camp, and being offered a quest had long ago worn off.

Denver was a city like any other; a mixture of old and new, skyscrapers built next to old buildings, paint peeling and walls cracking faintly.

I didn't exactly like, nor did I dislike it.

The architecture appeared insignificant when the imminent second quest hung over us like a sharp guillotine. I didn't know Ares – not like I knew my father, or Hestia – and I was completely lost as to how to react to his ''request''.

I had pondered about this issue for hours on end by now, and I wasn't any farther in figuring out why he would act like that, then in the very moment the God of War uttered those words. From what I had heard and read over the years in Atlantis, Ares wasn't the type to jump head-first into such large confrontations, no matter what his domain was.

''Princess… Get your head out of the clouds.'' Clarisse rebuked me teasingly, a small grin lightening up her tired features, and I let out a wry smile.

''When are you going to stop calling me that?'' I was more resigned than angry, trying not to pout at the unfairness of it all. It would probably do nothing but spur the daughter of Ares on even further.

''Not going to stop. Like ever.''

Clarisse laughed, before skipping out of the train station – leaving me and Grover to follow. Grover looked at the dark cloud hovering in the grey sky visible through the arch-like windows in apparent wariness, but surprisingly did nothing but sigh in dejection.

''I'm going to protect you from the evil evil rain, Grover. Now let's go before Clarisse does something completely crazy that gets us chased by the police, or something equally ridiculous.''

The satyr snorted, commenting dryly. ''Your faith is her is astounding.''

''I hadn't noticed.'' I blinked back innocently, striding towards the direction Clarisse had left him, missing the exasperated smile tilting Grover's lips upward crookedly.

Outside the station, the wind was blowing with increasing ferocity, some people drawing their thin summer jackets tighter around themselves as they hurried over the cold stone ground.

Clarisse was already waiting for us, snacks visible in her hands – chocolate more than anything else – and I caught the snack bar thrown my way with a deft hand, Grover eying his part beside me dubiously.

''They didn't have any aluminum cans, Grover. So live with what you got.'' Clarisse scolded lightly, turning in my direction with a sheepish smile. ''The taxis are this way.''

''Too lazy…'' I muttered, my actions belying my words – feet already starting to move towards the direction Clarisse had pointed towards only a moment ago.

Clarisse muffled laughter and Grover's groan were music to my ears, as I allowed myself to smile.

Having such friends was truly very fortunate.

Unbeknownst to me, a presence was watching from a distance; red flames flickering the darkest of colors for a brief moment, a malevolent pressure enveloping the area for the mere fraction of a second, short enough not to noticed by anyone.

Even the ever-watchful Lord of the Seas.

No one noticed that there existed an infinitely small trace of a bare moment where everything had paused in its very steps.

Time truly was such a wondrous thing.

War was cruel. It was an endless fight, tinged with hate and bitterness – so many bodies bleeding onto the cold hard ground.

War didn't leave time for regrets, death lurking around every corner, every decision a path to either damnation or salvation.

He was War. He was the very personification of the most primal of instincts to kill and dominate, to conquer and survive.

War was powerful.

But sometimes Ares did not feel like he was. When his father – when Zeus – only glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, the disappointment clearly visible only to turn towards Athena; he felt like he was suffocating.

Too weak and insignificant to deserve a second glance even from his own Mother who had birthed him. At those times, his anger only calmed and chilled coldly when he saw that Hephaestus didn't even seem to be worthy of the first glance.

(In the privacy of his own mind, he screamed sometimes. Cursed them all to eternity and beyond, only to try again the very next day. Pathetic, he knows.)

The flickering flames in his eye sockets were roaring brightly, trained upon the three children he had issued that quest to.

They were stepping out of the taxi, turning towards the dilated water park, gate covered with barbed wire and coated in rust. The abandoned park was one of his haunts he sometimes took Aphrodite to, always so very eager to have his brother's wife moaning beneath him.

It made him feel powerful, like it was obvious who was superior between the two of them.

He observed with detached curiosity as the satyr used enchanted shoes – Hermes work? – to float over the gate, his own daughter and Barnacle breath's following on that strange wyvern the girl always seemed to carry with her.

He wasn't able to hear their conversation as they meandered through the various worn attractions, but their body language was equal parts exasperated and amused as their laughter carried over to him.

Poseidon's daughter – Rhea, if he remembered correctly – was a strange demi-god, Ares noted with no small amount of fascination. Even after observing her for several days, he still wasn't entirely sure why she was so fiercely protected.

She literally reeked of Poseidon.

As if she had spent such a large time close to him that her smell did not differ from a limb cut off and given her form.

A lowly mortal was obviously given more attention from her godly parent than he – the God of War – himself. His anger was sudden and fierce as he saw her pause after identifying the little symbol his brother had left behind after trapping the park, which was found by his own flesh and blood no less.

Ares would have loved the daughter of Poseidon be humiliated by Hephaestus – but it didn't really matter in the long run.

She would get his shield, and he would pretend to reward her, smuggling the stolen lightning bolt into her possession – only to send her towards Corpse Breath's domain, where she would be smote for falsely accusing the Silent One for stealing the bolt she herself had in her possession.

Hades and Poseidon would go to war, one more furious than the other – and Ares would present his work to his father, proving once and for all that he was worthy of being his successor.

A perfect plan. Worthy of being the God of War.

A cold light shone from his 'eyes' – a murderous intent rising in his heart, and Ares smiled – imaging the glorious war that would spring forth from this.

Inside of him, another presence stirred for a brief moment, cruel amusement emanating from it – Ares's flames turning the darkest of colors for a single unnoticeable moment.

Patience was a virtue.

It knew that very well.

The shield was right in front of them.

Displayed prominently on the otherwise empty heart-covered boat; statues surrounding the empty wrecked pool, arrows pointing towards the middle of the dried and worn pool.

The only thing missing was a huge neon colored sign with the word 'trap' flashing constantly.

''That's a bit too obvious, isn't it?'' Clarisse whispered doubtfully, and even Grover had a strange expression on his face.

We had only been in this old abandoned water park for nearly half-an-hour, most of the time spent trying to figure out where the love ride was, before finding this particular display.

''I'll just sent Arashi to take a look.'' I eventually sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in pure aggravation. Our time could have been spent doing better things – like stopping the darn Apocalypse.

But complaining would be a waste of breath – and I had always been of the pragmatic sort.

It didn't take long for Arashi to return, the little wyvern seeming a little disgruntled, its tail waving restlessly.

''It's surrounded by thin wires.'' A soft growling voice echoed in my mind, and I repeated the same information to Clarisse and Grover.

''Even from above? I could use the shoes to grab the shield otherwise. '' Grover offered after a short pause, but Arashi only snorted in displeasure; so I had no choice but to shake my head.

Clarisse plopped down on the ground ungracefully, crossing her legs to get more comfortable. ''How many wires are there?''

I sat down as well, relaying Arashi's information with a small frown. ''Too many to think about either going around them, or destroying them.''

''Then what should we do?'' Grover complained, mirroring Clarisse position on the ground. ''I don't want to find out what happens when we trigger the trap.''

Considering this trap was meant for Ares – I didn't want to either.

''Something remote perhaps?'' Clarisse mused out loud. ''We would have to remain at some distance though.''

I grinned brightly. ''That should work. I could use water to drag the shield towards us. The trap's radius shouldn't be too large, after all the mortal world should not be disturbed by it.''

I was rather pleased with the plan. It would allow all of us to remain at a safe distance, and even more importantly no one would have to die at my father's hand because I was forced into that ridiculous love tunnel.

''There are water tanks here.'' Clarisse pointed at a mixture of metal pipes and larger cylindrical rusty structures, and I could faintly feel the liquid inside. I breathed a silent sigh of relief; it would have taxed me quite a bit to summon water out of nowhere.

''Ready then?'' Clarisse smirked daringly, the excitement of a battle starting to thrum though our blood.

All of us grinned, before nodding decisively.

It was time to finish our first quest.

Some droplets of sweat poured down my face as I gathered all the water in the surroundings – its power comparatively small due to its stale state – summoning a literal wave of water several meters above the highest wires; pouring wave after wave of pure power into the liquid.

I would not have had to do such with the ocean's water, but this water had only the faintest of connections to my father's domain, even less than rainwater which still belonged under the category of 'Stormbringer'.

It required far more power to control, and for it to become capable of tearing apart the whole trap with blunt force, it would have to absorb some more of my own power.

It was exhausting. It was time-consuming. It was a challenge.

A bloodthirsty grin formed on my face, as my eyes flashing a bright sea-green for a short moment – and the water descended with all the force of the ocean.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, but perhaps that was only my opinion. I felt the wires snap under the water's condensed weight, wave after wave tearing through the air – until it finally pulverized the boat, heedless of the small metallic spiders now everywhere.

The shield was surrounded by water – and with a silent mental command, a small glob of water streaked through the air to drop Ares' artifact next to me.

I allowed myself a small accomplished smile, even when a voice I did not recognize began the countdown to what would have been a first-degree humiliating experience.

Being filmed and shown on Olympus? Pure disgrace!

Sagging to the stone ground in pure exhaustion, I barely took note of Clarisse nearly carrying me outside, or Grover's worried hovering.

Instead a faint victorious feeling spread through my body, as we all rested on a small stripe of grass underneath an old oak tree only several dozen feet away from the entrance to the water park.

All of us were still grinning brightly adrenaline cursing through our bodies, feeling pride at our accomplishment.

Still flushed, I rummaged through my back pack, several cubes of ambrosia vanishing into my mouth, its nourishing energy a balm for my exhausted body and mind. At this moment, I really missed my father, who would have hugged me tightly, and whispered praises into my ear.

But I was with my friends which was still a difficult thing to believe. It's not like I didn't have friends in school before, but I had to keep so many secrets from them that it was sometimes stifling, having to make up lie after lie to cover up everything they could not know.

''That was awesome.'' Clarisse's jubilant exclaim shook me out of my depressing reverie, and I returned her joyful grin with my own.

Grover gnawed on a can, left hand gesturing at me. ''Remind me to never get on your bad side, Rhea.''

Clapping interrupted my amused response, and our expressions instantly turned serious as we whirled around towards the sound.

Ares was strolling towards us leisurely, cocky grin plastered on his face. The same urge to fight welling up inside each of our minds.

''Well done. Well done, kiddos.'' The God of War exclaimed happily, but none of us were in the mood to smile anymore. ''Didn't really think you all had it in you.''

Picking up his shield that Clarisse had grabbed and dumped on the ground carelessly – Ares let it vanish into nothing after a short moment of consideration.

''Don't pull such depressing faces, I'm here to reward you for such a job well done.'' The god lifted his sunglasses to reveal the flickering flames making up his eyes, scrutinizing them for a second, before a blue backpack appeared in his hand.

''This is your reward. It has everything you need for the rest of your journey; food, water, money, weapons, and even some ambrosia. You can just take a taxi straight towards Corpse Breathe's domain. The entrance is in Los Angeles… really can't miss it. Have fun, kiddos – and don't die too quickly.''

Clarisse's father grinned at us one last time, expression disconcertingly predatory, before throwing the backpack in our direction with a flick of his hand, body vanishing into nothingness. Only then did the invisible pressure disappear, tense muscle loosing almost involuntarily.

''I really don't like your father.'' Grover mumbled cautiously, his dismay clearly evident; and Clarisse didn't disagree.

I remained stubbornly silent, aware of how lucky I was. Poseidon loved me, cherished me, protected me – and at some point I had taken it for granted. A life where my father would not pluck down the stars from the sky personally if I only so much hinted at desiring them hardly seemed feasible for me anymore.

Before I left on my first quest, we had come to the almost silent agreement to not let our emotions spill over for the duration of the quest, my father's presence not gone but severely muted at the back of my mind – and I hated it.

I was so sorely tempted to reach out, missing his presence so acutely in this moment that it seemed almost like physical pain.

''To Los Angeles we go.''

Clarisse muttered beside me, and I silently agreed.

Even though my uncle was not the one who stole the bolt, going further west and pretending we believed it wouldn't hurt us.

And I quite looked forward to meeting my uncle.

At least one of them.

Several miles beneath the surface, a stately white palace silently braced the endless sea in which it was built so many years ago.

Its halls were silent, nary a being visible in the many empty rooms. Only one single room was occupied by the sole being living in this desolate place.

Long dark hair curled in fury as a magnificent crown bound the loose curls, slender fingers moving over the keys of the exquisitely crafted piano in frantic motions. Drops of salty liquid mixed with the sea water inside the palace, shed from red-rimmed eyes.

Amphitrite – Queen of Atlantis, and wife to Poseidon – pressed the last few keys to the song, an eons old piece of music that her husband had once upon a time written for her, and couldn't stop the tears.

She barely remembered the time when she was not so bitter, so hateful towards everything that the world itself seemed to have lost its color. She had been so naïve back then, so in love with the handsome god that married her – so very smitten with his wild strength and sharp intelligence.

Amphitrite hadn't minded that he only married her out of obligation, had thought herself capable of making him fall in love with her, but time had passed and he had barely even touched her. Even his occasional tries at making it work soon enough vanished. Instead he had fooled around outside of her marriage bed, bedding others when he would not even touch her.

Amphitrite had been devastated. Crushed into fragments, and she had picked up the pieces and not allowed herself another fanciful thought ever again.

It was easier to hate than to love him, and when she noticed that even Triton's birth had not softened him towards her – she had erased every scrap of affection she had.

Instead she had loathed him, her wounds festering and hurting – but she persisted. Because Poseidon – beyond some care towards Triton – never loved anyone.

It was enough.

But then he had brought home that filth – that spawn of his – and Amphitrite had despaired. Because that one look he gave her – full of love, and gentle caring – had been so intense, she could have gathered a million of looks he had graced her with, and not even come remotely closed to this one simple gaze.

She knew that what she had done only hours ago would result in her death. But she could not find it in herself to care.

At least he would finally look at her properly, even if that gaze would be filled with the fiercest of hatred.

Eying the slowly dissolving vial on top of the piano with a fervent expression, she slowly began to laugh.

It was a sound full of madness, of a mind so broken that death would be a reprieve.

''Soon, Poseidon.'' She murmured vacantly. ''You will feel my pain… and I will be in your memory for the rest of time.

Soon, my husband. You will feel absolute despair.''

A/N I have accomplished it! Another chapter…after several month of procrastination, being actually kind of busy, and nearly finishing this chapter, before losing it due to my laptop being absolutely weird, I have brought you another small treat.

I hope you enjoyed it! Some character building for Ares and Amphitrite as a small bonus, though no Poseidon…

The gods have some issues, don't they?

The next chapter shouldn't take too long, I'll start the next one immediately so we'll see.

C'ya soon,

AriesOrion