"Tony! There you are, you good for nothing brat!" A voice growled as the thug leader opened the door to his small apartment. He lived with his uncle, who liked to drink. A lot. He was the voice that called out to the short haired teen, and Tony clenched his fists to hide his anger.

"I told you to get a job over the summer! We need the rent money!" The old man yelled, a beer bottle in hand.

"Are you sure it's for rent?" Tony muttered, and his uncle walked closer to him.

"Huuh?" He hummed, getting closer and looking down at the boy.

"What was that boy?" He boomed, and Tony looked away.

"Nothing…" Suddenly the man grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look up at him. Tony grunted in pain, and looked up at the man in defiance.

"I'm tired of dealing with your attitude brat. Always talking back, no respect whatsoever." He then sent a fist to the teens stomach, and Tony gasped in pain.

"No matter how many times we go through this, you just never learn huh?" He sent another punch in the same spot, letting go of his hair. Tony crumpled to the floor, gripping his stomach.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it. I'm tired of seeing you with those entitled brats you call thugs. Get a job, bring money to the table." He spat on the ground, and walked away leaving Tony on the floor. He coughed, getting up and leaning onto the wall. He sat there for a while, still feeling winded.

'Check out a strawberry farm in Long Island.' Angel's voice echoed in his head, and Tony clenched his fists harder.

'It's far, but there's people like you and me there.' He scoffed.

"People like me…" He looked at his right hand, his palms bleeding.

"What a joke."

'Besides, it's summer. Who's going to stop you?' He stayed silent for a moment to catch his breath from the blows he took.

"But no one's stopping me."

Angel was silent the entire time the group swam back to shore. And all of them saw Los Angeles was in total chaos. Fires and explosions expanded throughout the city, with police sirens and ambulances echoed. Angel even saw some coast guards pass by on their scout boats, but they weren't noticed by them. The coast guards looked like they were in a rush, all going to the more populated beaches closer to Los Angeles. They all figured it was because of how Zeus was getting restless and angry that he hadn't gotten his bolt back yet.

Percy used his powers to have the tides push them and make the trip quicker, but he couldn't make it too fast or he'd exhaust himself. The entire time Angel was thinking of the mistake he made, trusting the Son of Poseidon. It was naive of him to do so.

Soon they made it back to the beaches of Santa Monica at sunrise, and as soon as they did Angel's mind was invaded by memories of the fight with the chimera. How he lost the fight, and how he almost died. He did his best to push down the thoughts, but he couldn't ignore the sudden pain he felt in his chest. They all sat on the sand for a moment, as if absorbing everything that had just happened.

"Percy, why was the bolt in your backpack?" Piper asked, breaking the silence. It was the question on everyone's mind, but only she was bold enough to voice it.

"You told us people kept saying you stole it. Were you-"

"No I wasn't lying!" He yelled in exasperation, surprising the daughter of love.

"I didn't steal anything! I didn't even know this stupid bolt existed!" He vented towards Piper, starting to get in her face. He was surprised when Angel rushed towards him and tackled the son of the sea onto the sand, glaring down at him.

"Back off Percy!" Angel growled at the son of sea, who glared back defiantly.

"I fucking trusted you! I believed you when you said you were framed! I felt pity for you and wanted to help you! But you go and lie to my face!" Angel yelled, and Percy glared at him as he stood up.

"I wasn't lying! I never lied about it!"

"Then why was it in your backpack huh? It just magically appeared there huh?" Angel asked sarcastically, and Percy visibly trembled. The waves behind him were becoming more violent and frantic, but Angel ignored it. He was feeling too angry to even care.

"Lay off me Angel."

"you lied to us." Angel said with venom he rarely ever used, but he made the mistake of challenging the son of the sea at the beach.

"I didn't lie, I haven't lied to anybody! I've been telling the fucking truth the whole time!" Percy yelled at him, and raised his arms to summon a huge wave. Angel glared at the green eyed boy defiantly, but deep down he felt fear. He really was a child of the big three.

"Enough!" Annabeth yelled, getting everyone's attention.

"You guys stop being boys and think about this for just a second!" Both Angel and Percy glared at each other, but eventually they both relented. With Percy dropping onto the sand and returning the water back to the ocean. Angel grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms, while Percy looked like he was trying to calm himself down.

"I know Percy didn't steal the bolt." Annabeth stated, and Angel locked eyes with her.

"How can you be so sure? I mean it was in his backpack!" Angel exclaimed.

"Because that isn't actually his backpack."

"What?" Angel asked, confused while Annabeth continued to explain.

"Before we got to Las Vegas we did a favor for Ares, the god of war. He wanted us to fetch something for him in some abandoned amusement park. In return, he gave us…" She trailed off as she motioned to Percy's backpack, which you could now very well notice that there was something magical in it.

"That backpack. We looked inside and it had some drachma, cash and some oreos. We had no idea it had the bolt inside. Like you said earlier, it magically appeared in his backpack."

"B-but how did it just-"

"This is the gods we're talking about, Angel. They're capable of almost anything." Angel didn't know what to say, Annabeth had a point. The gods had a lot of power over basic physics, he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was.

"Then Ares is behind all this." Angel muttered.

"They framed him." He concluded, and Percy scoffed in exasperation.

"That's what I've been saying since I met you genius." Angel felt like an idiot, and sighed in defeat.

"I guess I was wrong then. Sorry...I jumped to conclusions." Angel mumbled sheepishly, and everyone was surprised he was admitting he was wrong so quickly.

"Wait, that's it?" Percy asked, and Angel raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, that's it?"

"Well, we didn't think you'd admit you were wrong so easily." Annabeth asked, and Angel shrugged.

"But I was wrong, I'm not going to argue when I know I'm in the wrong." Annabeth was a little jealous at how easy it was for him to admit he was wrong, it was something she couldn't do. She can acknowledge her mistakes to herself, but when it came to admitting it to other people, well that was a different story,

"That's pretty mature and humble of you Angel." Piper said, patting his back.

"Thanks Pipes." He said with a small smile, before he felt her punch his shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He cried as he rubbed his now sore shoulder.

"For causing a scene. Now apologize."

"But I already did!" Angel whined, but Piper gave him a look. He sighed in defeat.

"I'm sorry guys, for causing a scene." He muttered, and Piper smiled proudly.

"See? Was that so hard?"

"Kinda…" Annabeth shook her head in amusement.

"It's funny how you're kind of like Percy. Except he's a lot more hot headed and dense. I don't think he would've apologized."

"Hey I'm right here y'know!" He said with a pout, but Annabeth ignored him.

"Ok this is nice and all but seriously, what do we do now?" Grover asked everyone.

"I mean we have Hades on our butts, framed into having the bolt and a war is going to start by tonight!" He cried worriedly, and he had good reason to be worried. The solstice starts at sundown, and they had to get the bolt to Olympus by then.

"We should just go to Olympus and-"

"No." Angel interrupted the satyr, giving Percy a sympathetic look.

"We're going to look for a certain god of war. I believe Percy has some words to share with him." Percy looked at him surprised, but it quickly turned to a smirk.

"You won't have to look very far punks." A booming voice echoed, and everyone turned around to see the source of the sound. It was a big dude on a motorcycle, and boy did he look pissed.

"You got one thing right. Jackson and I need to exchange some words." The punk lord said coldly, and by his body language Angel could tell he was angry. The dude has a black leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders. He wore black sunglasses and his face was covered in scars. He had very short hair, like a military cut and a savage looking beard. Angel also felt unusually angry, like 'I wanna punch someone across the face' kind of angry. But he didn't know why.

"Cousin." Percy said in a barely controlled voice, and Angel realized that this was in fact the god of war Ares. Honestly it should've been obvious, seeing how this guy was dressed. Angel also noticed that Percy was pretty livid, but could he blame him? This was the guy who had caused half of Olympus to want him dead, for something he didn't even do.

"You were supposed to die Jackson." Ares growled.

"Hades should've killed you."

"Guess I'm more capable than you thought." Percy replied smugly.

"You stole the lightning bolt didn't you? You put it in my backpack so Hades and all the gods would think I stole it to start a big war. Makes sense, seeing as you're the god of war." Ares huffed in amusement.

"So you do have a brain after all. I was starting to think it was just empty space." Percy seemed really ticked off by the comment, which kind of surprised Angel. Percy should've just quipped back or something, but he just stood there with his fist clenched and trembling in anger. Ares then waved his hand, and suddenly Percy's backpack started to shake, before disappearing into thin air.

"Hey! My-" Percy started as he felt his backpack disappear, and saw that it then suddenly appeared in Ares hand, who grinned.

"But no actually, I didn't steal it. Nor did I steal dad's bolt either. Uncle Hades told you didn't he? That gods can't take their fellow gods symbol of power." He said condescendingly, and Angel felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Percy growled angrily as he watched Ares snap his fingers, making both Zeus' and Hades' symbol of power disappear.

"I had someone else do the dirty work for me."

"Who?" Percy asked, and Ares waved him off indifferently.

"As if it mattered. Thanks to them, I got dad thinking that YOU stole his bolt for Poseidon. You were supposed to die in the underworld and get Poseidon mad at Hades. And while all that is happening…" Ares snapped his fingers and suddenly a pitch black greek looking helmet appeared in his hands. It gave off a strange but strong aura, and Angel felt fear sink into his heart just looking at it.

"Hades will be furious and be looking for this."

"The helm of darkness." Annabeth mumbled, looking at it in awe.

"That's right little daughter of Athena. Combine all of that, and boom! We got ourselves a big ol' godly war. My favorite kind of war." Ares said with a big smirk, but for some reason he looked distracted. He looked like he was in trance.

"You're too much of a brute to have thought of all that on your own." Percy remarked.

"You're taking orders from someone." Ares growled in annoyance, shaking off his distracted look.

"Stupid demigod, I don't take orders! From anybody!" He bellowed.

"I never take orders! I never dream!"

"Dream?" Angel asked, looking confused. But Percy gave a smug look, like he caught Ares red handed.

"Who said anything about dreams?" Ares eyes widened, and cursed under his breath.

"You've been having dreams about Kronos haven't you? He talks to you, just like how he tried talking to me." Percy said, and Angel looked at him confused.

"Wait, you mean the titan Kronos? He's been reaching you through dreams?" Angel asked, remembering Hestia told him about the titan. Her dad who ate her and her siblings and who was responsible for the titan war. He lost and got sent to Tartarus, could it be that he was the voice they heard at the pit they were almost sucked into? Percy shivered a little at the memory of seeing the king of titans.

"Yeah, he tried to convince me of joining him against the gods. I thought I was just going crazy." He said, glaring at the god.

"You'd betray your family just for a chance at war?"

"War is what I stand for Jackson!" Ares roared, he was like a ticking time bomb. Ready to explode.

"Then how about a duel? Since you're such a fan of fights and battles." Percy remarked.

"Fight me 1 on 1. If I win, you'll give me Hades' and Zeus' symbol of power."

Ares looked thoughtful for a second, and he again had a distracted look in his eyes.

"And if I win, I get to kill you. And this whole war gets to start." He said with a wicked grin.

"You'd really kill your cousin just to start a war?" Angel asked angrily, and Ares looked at him like some sort of insect.

"If I need to kill one demigod to start one, then so be it." He growled, before snapping his fingers. The air next to him warped weirdly, before slowly a giant boar with dark black fur and huge tusks appeared and let out a loud bellow that only a pig could.

"What's wrong Ares? Too much of a pussy to fight me without softening me up?" Percy taunted, and Ares simply scoffed.

"Bah, your petty attempts to taunt me won't work demigod. As god of war I'm an expert at taunting, and resisting when taunted." The giant boar kicked the sand, looking ready to charge at the son of sea.

"Perce, I got the boar. You deal with the rejected punk Lord." Angel said as he pulled out his lighter and summoned his glaive.

"What did you call me punk?" Ares growled, and Angel couldn't help but feel smug. It was like being near the god made his competitive nature quadruple.

"What wrong? Thought you were the god of taunting." The god growled in controlled anger, before summoning a long two handed sword in his hands, and stood in front of the ocean. As if blocking Percy.

Percy didn't waste any time and summoned his sword, glaring at the god.

"Guys please! This is the literal god of war you're facing!" Piper yelled.

"There's has to be another way!"

"You seriously can't be this reckless you two." Annabeth growled, but it was mostly in fear for the safety of the two reckless idiots.

"I got a score to settle with the meathead over there." Percy said, spinning his sword in his hand.

"Besides, we need those symbols of powers or the war will start by the end of the day."

"Angel." Piper called, but the boy didn't turn back. He simply glared at the boar who looked at him like a lion would look at a bunny. With hunger.

"Please." Angel looked back with a small smile on his face.

"Sorry Pipes. Can't let Percy get himself killed now can I?" He said with a smile, before turning away and facing the boar. In reality he was nervous out of his mind. The last real fight he had was with the Chimera, and he almost died from that. But he wasn't going to let Percy fight this dude on his own. What kind of champion would he be if he did?

"Hey Angel." Percy whispered, gripping his sword harder.

"If we don't make it out of this alive, I just want you to know that I'm thankful that you're fighting alongside me." Angel looked at the boy surprised, he didn't take him for the sentimental type.

"We will make it out of this alive." Angel reassured him, giving him his best warm smile. Which was hard for him as he too was nervous.

"Just have a little faith, and it'll make a difference. Trust me." Percy looked at him unsure, but when he saw the determined look Angel gave him, he couldn't help but feel just a little bit more confident. The child of the sea simply gave him a nod of his head, and Angel could feel the hope rolling off Percy in waves. Angel felt a small rush of adrenaline pass through his body like goosebumps, and he figured this was what Hestia meant.

'You fight, to give hope to others.' Angel remembered, before gripping his glaive and getting ready to strike.

Percy quickly lunged at the god of war with his sword ready, and the god ordered the boar to attack. The boar let out another loud bellow and charged at the boy, but before he could reach him it felt a fire make impact on its side, stopping it in its tracks.

"Over here you over sized piece of bacon!" Angel cried before throwing more fire at the boar. He growled in annoyance but shrugged off the attacks and charged at the champion Hestia instead.

Percy swung his sword over his head once he reached Ares, but the god simply raised his sword to deflect the strike. He pushed Percy blade out the way and went to stab the child of sea, but he quickly side-stepped out of the way and tried to make it way closer to the ocean. But Ares simply slammed his sword down in front of the demigod, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I know better than letting you get close to the ocean." He said with a grin before sending a kick at the son of sea. He was too slow to block the attack, and was pushed back with a grunt. Ares went to strike the dazed demigod, but Percy was able to get a hold of himself quickly enough to evade the strike of his blade and went to counterattack. But the god of war simply blocked his attack with his sword, grinning smugly.

"I can read your every move Jackson. You're sloppy and inexperienced, while I have perfected the way with my sword and have millenia of experience! You don't stand a chance!" He cackled, and Percy could grit his teeth in anger as he went back and forth with the god of war.

Angel dove out of the way as the giant boar charged at him as he sent more fire in the animals direction. But once again it proved fruitless, as it simply shrugged it off and got ready to charge again.

"Why does every monster I face have to be fire resistant?" He grumbled as the boar charged at him again. But instead of getting out of the way, he stood still and waited for the boar to get closer.

"Angel you idiot! Get out of the way!" Piper cried out, but Angel cancelled out any sounds and focused solely on the boar. As soon as he got close enough, Angel jumped over the boar's head and grabbed onto one of its long tusks, riding it like a bull. The boar swayed wilding trying to shake off the champion, but he held firm with one hand and steadied his glaive before piercing the boar's skull. The boar cried out in pain and let out one last bellow, before losing all momentum and crashing onto the sandy beach. Angel pulled out his glaive and jumped off its head with a front flip, landing gracefully in front of the now dead giant animal.

"Phew, that couldn't actually have gone any better." He said with a grin, before turning towards before and the god of war. He watched as Percy was starting to lose his footing, while Ares sent strike after strike relentlessly. He didn't waste any time as he charged at the god with his glaive in hand.

"Did...did you guys see that?" Grover asked in astonishment.

"He just-"

"Yeah we saw Grover!" Annabeth interrupted, but looked wearily at the daughter of love and beauty. Said girl was watching in astonishment, but also in worry. She wished she could be more helpful, but something about the god shook her to the very core. He gave a frightening aura, and she was way too inexperienced for this. She did after all find out she was a demigod not a day ago. Well, 5 days ago if you count the days they lost in the lotus casino.

They then heard sirens coming their direction, and the three turned around and saw a bunch of cop-cars were showing up at the beach. All at once a bunch of officers stepped out of their respected cars, and looked at the battle in front of them.

"Oh my God." One of the female officers muttered.

"That man is shooting at the two kids!" She cried.

"They're defending themselves!"

"Isn't that the kid who blew up the arch?" Another called out, leaving the three adolescent demigods and satyr gulp nervously.

"He must've been running away from that monster, and tried to use that explosion to shake him off. By the look of things it didn't exactly work." Another one with a microphone called, before turning it on.

Back with Percy and Angel, the champion was able to catch the god off guard when he came to help the son of Poseidon and helped gain some space. But once they lost the element of surprise, they were both pushed back. Ares expertly deflected and blocked their blows while also exposing their weak points and acting on them. They couldn't get close to the god, they were both on the defensive as Ares sent a fury of blows at both of them.

"Stupid mortal! Now you'll share the same fate as the sea spawn!" He bellowed, grinning wickedly at the two struggling boys.

"SMPD! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" All three of them looked inland in confusion, and saw a bunch of cop-cars with policemen and women pointing their pistols at them. Ares growled, and his aura grew stronger.

"PUNY MORTALS…" He growled, and suddenly a fireball appeared in his hand.

"STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" He bellowed before sending the ball at the cars, to which exploded on impact. All the officers saw the attack coming and were able to get out of the way in time, but some were left injured by the seer explosion and heat. Both Percy and Angel looked in horror as they saw the chaos Ares was creating, the explosion forming a giant wall of fire.

While they were distracted, Ares used it to his advantage and charged at both boys. He sent a punch across Percy's face, who cried in pain as he fell onto the ground with a thud. Before Angel could even respond to it, Ares grabbed him by the neck and raised him up from the ground. Angel grabbed his arm and added as much pressure as he could, but it proved useless. He struggled to breathe as the god raised him higher with an evil grin.

"T-that was c-cheap, even f-for you. G-god of war…" Angel choked out. Ares didn't even respond and simply sent a punch to his gut. Angel eyes widened at the sudden pain, and he gurgled as he choked on his own saliva.

"Angel!" The other three from their group cried, and went to go help their friend. But Ares simply waved his hand, summoning a giant wall of fire in front of them. They stopped in surprise and from the sudden heat of the fire.

"I suggest you stay out of this little tussle maggots." Ares growled as he tightened his grip on the boy.

"You'd be dying in vain." He said sadistically, before dropping his sword and grabbing Percy from the ground.

The child of Poseidon struggled against his grip, but like Angel it was useless. Angel's glaive and Percy's sword were scattered across the beach as they both struggled.

"A good struggle you two. But it was ultimately…." He paused before slamming both their bodies together, leaving them dazed. They both felt something trickle down their forehead, must've been blood from the impact.

"Pointless." He finished, before throwing the two in opposite directions.

"Percy!" Both Annabeth and Grover cried out, as they watched him land into the ocean.

"Angel!" Piper screamed as she watched the champion fly into the burning police cars, and causing another explosion on impact. She covered her mouth in shock, tears starting to form in her eyes. The other two turned to the explosion, now fearing the worst. They knew Percy would be okay now that they watched him land in the tides of the ocean. But for Angel, they feared for his life.

Ares seemed to realize his mistake when he watched Percy land in the water, and cursed. Slowly but surely the tides became more violent and frantic, as the waves became bigger and reached farther inland. Eventually Percy walked out of the water, completely healed and his pen now in hand. He glared at the war god with pure hatred, and commanded the waves secretly to build up and wait on his command. The tides did as instructed as Percy walked towards the god, with some water circling him as if protecting him.

"What was that about not being the brightest crayon?" Percy asked, his eyes now glowing sea green. Ares growled in annoyance as he grabbed his sword, preparing for an attack.

"Because you really are stupid." Ares growled in anger, but was interrupted by another explosion. They all turned to face where Angel had landed, and saw that the fire was now starting to slowly die down. Or rather, it was being collected to one specific area.

"What the fuck?" Ares wondered as he watched his flames become smaller and smaller, before the flame was completely gone. Slowly they watched as a now shirtless curly haired boy standing on top of a police car, his amber eyes now burning furiously. The blaze in his eyes didn't dance peacefully anymore, instead it roared and waved wildly in his pupils. Like it would in a forest fire or after an explosion.

"You really fucked up now Ares." He remarked harshly as his body gave off a fiery aura, like he was a human fire match.

"If you switched the directions you threw us in, you probably would've won." He then manipulated the fire Ares set ablaze in front of his friends and made it so it stood behind him, waving around as if eager to be let loose.

Percy then summoned a huge wave behind him, three times taller than Ares himself, and the god looked at both sides in horror.

"H-hold on a second-" Ares stuttered, but neither boys were having it. They both sent their respected elements at the god, and he could only watch in horror as they collided together into a tornado of fire and water.

Steam burst out as Ares drowned and burned at the same time. He tried to swim and combat the waves, but it proved useless. He could feel his lungs protest in pain from the lack of oxygen, and his skin burn from the heat of the fire. Eventually the two elements evaporated each other, causing the beach to be covered in a large cloud of steam. Percy manipulated the steam out of the way for both himself and Angel as they walked towards the god.

"I didn't know you could control steam." Angel stated in surprise.

"Me neither." Percy said with a grin, before turning his pen into sword form.

Ares looked dazed and out of breath as he tried to get on his feet, but they weren't going to let that happen. Angel charged at him first with his glaive and sent a cut across his chest, to which he let out a bellow of pain and golden ichor blood spilled from his wound. The god sent a wild punch to the boy's face, which caught the champion off guard and connected with his face, leaving him staggered a bit. Before the god could recover however, Percy came at him with his sword and stabbed him in his ankle, immobilizing him as he grunted and clutched his ankle in pain.

"You puny sacks of shi-" He was interrupted as he watched Angel light his fist on fire, and charged at him with a war cry. The gods eyes widened in horror as he watched the boy charge at him with power he never felt before. It wasn't anything compared to the true form of a god, and not as strong as a child of the big three. But he had never felt anything like this. For a mortal of all beings to possess such power, it shouldn't be possible. A thunderous impact exploded when Angel's fist connected with the god of war's face, leaving a huge burn mark on his already scarred features.

Angel breathed heavily as he watched the god lay face first on the sand, growling angrily as he slowly got up. He held his chest and wobbled from his injured ankle, now glaring at the two. The side of his face that Angel had punched was now bright red, like he got a sunburn.

"This isn't the last time we'll meet punks." He grumbled, before his eyes started to glow from under his sunglasses.

"I curse your weapons to fail you, whenever you need them most. They will feel heavy and dull, and be completely useless." He said, leaving both Angel and Percy infuriated. Angel summoned more fire while Percy commanded water to himself, but Ares' body started to glow brightly.

"GUYS! LOOK AWAY NOW! HE'S GOING INTO HIS GODLY FORM!"

Annabeth cried, and everyone there did as told. Slowly the light started to fade, and everyone gingerly opened their eyes. When Angel opened his, he saw both the helm of darkness and the lightning bolt on the sandy ground, and grinned.

"We did it Percy!" He said with a stupid grin and patted the child of the sea on the shoulder.

"We fuckin' did it man!" Percy looked like he was having a dream, before slowly turning towards the champion of Hestia while a small smile.

"I guess we did." His smile grew wider.

"Holy shit we did…"

"Hell yeah we did!" Angel cried in joy.

"Did you ever doubt us?"

"Did you?" Percy asked jokingly.

"Eeh, maybe just a little bit. Yeah." Angel said with a goofy smile.

"You guys!" Grover called out, getting their attention.

"We did G-man!" Percy said with a huge smile, and they shared a manly hug, grabbing each other forearms and clapping the others back.

"Never doubted you for a second you reckless idiot." The satyr said jokingly, to which Percy chuckled while Annabeth walked up to them with a smile.

"That was stupid seaweed brain. Even for you." Said seaweed brain shrugged, and the daughter of Athena turned towards Angel.

"You too. Nice job." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepish.

"It was nothi-"

He was interrupted when he was tackled onto the ground, and he let out a grunt in surprise.

"Wow what the fu-"

"Angel you stupid reckless fucking idiot!" Piper cried as she held his bare body in a tight hug.

"P-pipes! What're you-" He asked bashfully, unsure where to put his hands.

"I-I thought you died! I thought you fucking died in that explosion! You asshole!" She cried, sending soft punches to his chest. Angel couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and decided to wrap his arms around her waist. She shivered at the contact, but at the same time she also gave a sigh of relief. It must've helped her realize that he wasn't dead, and she wasn't just hallucinating.

"We're all okay Pipes. We survived." He paused.

"I survived. You should've known I was going to be okay. My element is fire after all." She sniffled a little as she enjoyed the feeling of Angel's arms around her. It reassured her that he was in fact alive.

"I know. I just, I don't know." She gave a weak chuckle.

"I was just scared."

"Yeah, me too."

"You don't get to be scared." Piper said with a pout.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Cuz I said so, you asshole"

"That's not really fair now is it?"

"AHEM!" Annabeth cleared her throat getting both of their attention. They turned to see Annabeth giving them a knowing look, while Percy and Grover were doing their own thing.

They both felt heat rise to their cheeks and they let go of each other, with Angel dusting his back of sand.

"Ahem. So uh, What now?" Angel asked, now wondering how the hell they were going to travel literally across the country in one day. Annabeth turned to the police officers who were now coming back with a small smile on her face.

"I think I have an idea."

A/N: So I decided to post 3 chapters at once since I still have 3 more already written. I'll probably start posting those next week, since I always want to have at least a couple extra chapters ready in case I end up getting writer's block or whatever excuse I can come up with. I've worked on this story for awhile and I have most of it planned out, so hopefully I don't end up abandoning this story. Hope y'all have a good day and thank you for reading my work :)