V.

The Search Begins (Enyo)

Enyo's temporary appointment as the 12th Olympian turned out to be longer than she anticipated. Enyo's initial plan was to converse with Ares the moment he sat on his throne as he was still linked to its power. She just wanted to know where he was. That plan failed almost immediately. Soon after she sat in Ares's throne after being appointed, it changed. It was no longer how it looked when Enyo entered the Hall. It shifted to a more 90s punk rock look rather than 80s metal. Spikes were around the back and the leather was shinier. The skulls in the arm rests changed to resemble a more crystal like appearance. When light hit them a certain way, the color would change. She still managed to have a short but heated conversation with Ares beforehand.

"I TOLD YOU MORONS I'M DONE!" Enyo gasped and jumped slightly as she heard Ares's voice in her head.

"Bro, it's me! Where are-

"NO. DON'T LOOK FOR ME. I'M DONE WILL ALL OF YOU. THAT INCLUDES YOU ENYO." Ares's voice yelled.

"Bro, please. Don't leave me like this. You promised." she begged. Ares did not respond. She tried again.

"Ares?...Ares?" Nothing. That's when she noticed that his former throne had changed. There was now no way to contact him via this method. The throne was hers now. It's power was now linked to her. Enyo cursed in Ancient Greek. Aphrodite, who was still present in the Hall even after everyone else was gone, walked over.

"What? Did you find him?" she asked hopefully. Enyo noticed she still had Ares's jacket draped over her shoulders. That made her more angry at him

"No. He told me to not look for him. I can't contact him this way anymore," she said, pounding her fist on the arm rest.

"What do you mean?" Aphrodite asked.

"I think that now I'M the Goddess of War, or brutal war y'know whatever his title officially was, the throne is now mine and not his. I also guarantee that he won't answer his phone or an Iris Message from me now," Enyo said bitterly. She was still hung up on the fact that Ares's used her full name. He hadn't done that in years. Sure, he said "Enyo" when he was talking about her to others but he always called her "E" or "sis." He must really be angry. More so than ever before.

"I...I thought he would be happy to hear from you," Aphrodite said, her voice on the point of breaking.

"Aph. He included me when he meant 'all of you,'" Enyo said. Aphrodite's face fell. She knew about Ares's promise to his sister.

"Oh no...I...He...no…"

"I will find him," Enyo said as Aphrodite began to hyperventilate. "Look, D and Pho are here. Must have heard the commotion from earlier..." Phobos and Deimos had indeed arrived in the Hall. Phobos went to console his mother while Deimos looked quizzically at Enyo and Aphrodite.

"Hey ma, we heard a ruckus was coming from this place a few hours ago and...Hang on...where's dad? Why are you sitting on his throne Aunt E?" Deimos said, looking from his mother to Enyo.

"D, your father quit. Like he left," Enyo responded. "They appointed me as his replacement"

"What do you mean 'he quit'" asked Phobos, who was still consoling Aphrodite. Enyo told them what had happened. Phobos and Deimos looked absolutely furious.

"So, the stupid Owl Lady and the old fart pissed him off again? More so than usual? That, and they blamed him for the attacks on Athens?" Deimos snarled. "Where'd she go? I'll kick her ass"

"Get in line bro," Phobos said, looking equally as angry. "Why do they always blame him for everything?"

"I've been saying that for millenia. Your father is very kind to us but whenever the others start trouble, they immediately blame him first. Even when he has a solid alibi," Aphrodite said, patting Phobos on the shoulder. "Thank you son. Your mother loves you"

"Yeah, I know," Phobos said and allowed Aphrodite to kiss his cheek. "What's the plan Aunt E? Are we gonna go looking for dad?"

"I think that we should but it could be extremely risky. A. Because he's pissed and B. The Big Guy is also pissed and most likely wants him dead too. Aph, I won't let the Old Man hurt him. Trust me," Enyo said. She would not allow Zeus to hold Ares over Chaos. Phobos and Deimos nodded in agreement.

"We're in," Phobos said.

"Totally. Who else is?" Deimos said.

"I know ma is. Aunt E should be able to get Eris and some of the other minor gods to help too right? What about Eris's brother Thanatos? He'll want to help, I'm sure of it. He's good friends with dad," Phobos added. Enyo nodded.

"Here's the deal. I'm sure Ares's power is weakened now that I've taken his place. Even if it is temporary. Although he may still be powerful and could still be able to track us pretty easily. So we'll have to do this quietly. Stealth op. I know that's not our MO but we have to do it this time. Scout out some locations he might have fled to. I don't think he left America but it wouldn't hurt to try Sparta or Rome," she said.

"D and I will take that job," Phobos said. "We'll search all of Greece and Italy while we're at it."

"We'll meet up with Eros too. I think he's in Italy the last time I heard from him. He may want to help" Deimos added. Aphrodite kissed Deimos on the cheek as well.

"Great, I'll take Eris to maybe Japan or China or somewhere in the East and look there. Ares and I met with Hachiman and some of the Chinese war gods one time when we took a vacation. They may remember me. I think we left on decent terms" Enyo continued. "Aph, you and Thanatos start looking around America. I'll tell Thanatos what's up and what the plan is. Remember, don't approach him, don't talk to him even though I know you all want to and, in Aph's case, you may want to hit him. Just find where he is and we'll figure out what to do after. Make sure he doesn't see you." The others nodded and proceeded to make their way out of the hall talking amongst themselves. She thought that since he was weakened there was surely no way he was powerful enough to evade them for long. Eventually, she got up herself and left the Hall, on her way to her quarters. She glanced towards the chariot parking lot off to the side where she saw Ares's empty parking spot. I'll find you big brother, she thought to herself. I'll bring you home.

Turns out a weakened Olympian god was still immensely powerful. Almost 2 months had passed since Enyo replaced Ares. No one had been able to find him. He wasn't in Sparta or Rome. Phobos and Deimos had spent about 4-8 weeks there as they also thought they should check all of Europe as well. Even with help from their brother, Eros, they had zero luck. They had gathered some information about the Athens attacks however. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of weather patterns or monster activity but there had been a lot of snake attacks.

"Snake attacks?" Enyo asked them as they returned from their mission about a month after Ares's resignation. She was currently working on her chariot/motorcycle.

"Yeah, that's what I said. I don't recall there being that many snakes in Greece. I mean other than the ones Dad made," Phobos said.

"Saw a few Manticores though. That was new. They were pretty much wreaking havoc over there. We dealt with them." Deimos added. Enyo raised her eyebrows

"Manticores? Like attacking mortals?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was bizarre. They were WAY stronger than that Dr. Thorne dude that captured Artemis that one time. Granted, mortals were even more afraid because we were there but still, we killed them. Think they saw them as, what are they called, terrorists? Or something like that. In terms of the snake attacks, Eros had snuck into a hospital where a bunch were being treated. They were ochia viper bites." Phobos said.

"Were they bad bites? Like nothing Asclepius or Sunny Boy couldn't handle right?" she said.

"Uh well...see Eros said that the mortals were indeed receiving medical attention but most were getting worse. Like the poison was getting more potent the longer they stayed there." Phobos said. Enyo had dropped her tools in alarm. Almost as if this sounded familiar. Enyo heard a distant guttural laugh ring in her ears as well as a deep voice

"Another falls victim to my poison, War God." it said followed by Ares's voice yelling her name in desperation. One of the few times he didn't call her by a nickname.

"ENYO! NO!"

"Oh no," she said, clutching the bridge of her nose and trying to rid herself of that encounter. She remembered how scared Ares sounded when he yelled her name. Yes, Ares was indeed scared. Afraid he might lose her. This caused her to miss and resent Ares even more. Because she had lost him.

"Yes, we know. May just be because the doctors were ill equipped to deal with snake venom. Eros is gonna keep an eye on it in the meantime. Might even ask Asclepius or Sunny Jim for help if it gets worse" Deimos said. "Any luck with Thanatos or ma?" Enyo was still trying to shake that terrible voice from her mind. There was no way it could be happening again. Ares had killed him.

"Haven't heard from either yet," she said. "Thanatos said he was gonna search the East coast whenever he got the time. Your mother is in Hawaii I believe. She said she wanted to talk with Laka and Ku. That or she's tanning on the beach. In the meantime, think of other places he may have gone. I still can't believe we haven't found him yet." Phobos and Deimos walked off, discussing where they should go next. Enyo spent the next few weeks alone in her workshop at Ares's fortress. She barely talked to anyone, even Eris. Thanatos's search of the East coast turned out to be for nothing. Same goes for Aphrodite's expedition to Hawaii, although she had gotten a nice tan and a shirt for Ares that she said matched his eyes. Phobos, Deimos and Eros had also been unsuccessful. Ares continued to evade them for several more months while Enyo and Aphrodite became more and more angry. On the day of the Summer Solstice (now 6 months have passed since Ares's departure), Enyo was to be found in the courtyard of Ares's Fortress looking at the statue of him and Leonidas. She looked at her brother's carved stone face and remembered how happy he was to receive it all those months ago. She was waiting to hear from Thanatos. Apparently, he and Aphrodite had been somewhat successful this time after weeks of failure and he had told her to meet him here within the hour before her meeting with the Olympians. Her first official one after taking Ares's place. Enyo recalled her visits to Japan and China with Eris which had taken place about a month ago at this point.

They had gone to Japan first to meet with the Shinto war god Hachiman. Hachiman had not been friendly to Enyo or Ares the first time he had met them outside of the city of Usa. He thought they were ruthless killers and started wars for fun. Hachiman HATED that. Oh, how the ancient Athenian storytellers LOVED to berate Ares. He challenged Ares to a duel and if he lost, they were to leave Japan and never return. Hachiman had changed his feelings toward Ares and Enyo after helping him slay a small squad of Jorōgumo (who Enyo noticed attacking the city of Usa) and saving the lives of his son and daughter. Enyo and Eris had found him practicing archery in the mountains. He was dressed in light samurai armor colored red with his trademark red mempo mask which bore the visage of an oni. His helmet was a traditional Dō-maru kabuto and was also colored red with accents of gold. His katana was sheathed on his left side and a smaller wakizashi blade was attached to his lower back. The handle was facing his right side. He was focused on his archery target and didn't hear either Enyo or Eris approach...or so they thought. Quicker than either of them could perceive (which was an accomplishment because they were gods) Hachiman fired 2 arrows in quick succession at them. The arrows had buried themselves into the trees behind them. Hachiman spoke

"Hanasu," he said. Enyo realized he was speaking Japanese and his voice wasn't as muffled as she thought it would be. She knew a little Japanese and thought Hachiman had just told her to 'speak.'

"Uh, hi Hachiman. Remember me?" she asked. Hachiman's eyes narrowed and he spoke again, this time in accented English

"Hai. You are the Greek war goddess that came to Japan for, what you call, a 'vacation' a few years ago?" he asked.

"Yes. My brother and I-" Enyo started to say but faltered when she said 'brother.' Eris put her hand on her shoulder to encourage her to continue.

"My brother, Ares and I, visited you once and helped you with that spider demon problem. We saved your children as you battled the most powerful one" Enyo managed to say. Hachiman nodded and bowed to her.

"Arigato. Yes I do recall that. Hanzo and Yuki are still safe with their mother. Your brother was a fierce warrior if I recall correctly. Where is he now? Forgive me but I do not know who your companion is. I also apologize for attacking you. I thought you were Oni attempting to sneak up on me," he said.

"It's alright Hachiman. This is Eris. Another Greek goddess. Goddess of Strife and Discord." Enyo said. Eris waved politely. Hachiman's eyes narrowed again

"I seem to recall you starting that Trojan War, yes?" Eris shifted.

"Well...yes…only because the Olympians didn't invite me to-" Eris began but Hachiman had lifted one gloved hand to silence her. Enyo was surprised when Eris stopped talking. Must have been that overwhelming sense of power Hachiman sometimes gave off. He is one of the most important Shinto gods after all.

"Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow." he said. Enyo made a face but Hachiman didn't notice. She remembered that he sometimes spoke in proverbs. She was also surprised that Hachiman didn't attack Eris for kickstarting a war. Maybe he thought if Eris was with her, she could be trusted.

"You are aware that your friend Ares almost died in that war right? I read Homer one evening when I was bored. Explains my initial hostility towards him and Enyo here," Hachiman continued. Eris shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes that's true. He was bested by Athena and some guy named Diomedes," Eris said. Enyo looked at Hachiman. He also had the ability to calm anyone down in even the most stressful situations. Sometimes by just standing and listening. His eyes darted to Enyo's and she instinctively knew what to do next.

"It's fine Eris. He got revenge in the Peloponnesian War, remember? Lys-" Enyo stopped herself before saying that soldier's name. Instead she shifted subjects.

"Anyway, we came to you because we wanted to know if you have heard from Ares," she said. Hachiman noticed the change in subject and nodded. Enyo thought he knew why she stopped herself. He was very well versed in wars and battle. As well as losing allies and loved ones.

"I have not. Why do you ask?" he asked politely. Enyo told Hachiman the circumstances of Ares's resignation and subsequent disappearance. Hachiman bowed his head.

"I see. You are desperate to find Ares-san correct?" Enyo nodded.

"He's never been this mad before. He's never not talked to me either. He left us all without explaining his reasoning, leaving me to take up his post where I have to listen to those other morons yell at each other for hours on end. We haven't been able to find him let alone TALK to him in like 5 months now. I HATE THIS. I HATE HAVING TO LOOK FOR HIM. I WANT HIM BACK. HE SAID HE WOULDN'T LEAVE ME," Enyo yelled. Enyo's mind flew back to a time where she remembered Ares telling her those words and clutched the side of her head. Hachiman walked over, albeit cautiously, and placed his gloved hand on Enyo's shoulder.

"There is no need to be angry, Enyo. One who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger. You have been looking without success for 5 months now? Never give up. I remember him fondly. A bit reckless and hot-headed but he had his heart in the right place. You will find him. I myself have not been informed of his arrival in Japan but I will be sure to converse with the other Shinto gods to be on the lookout, I will contact you with more information when it arrives. In fact, I believe our meeting is shortly. I must leave you now. Perhaps I could persuade some of them to search some of the surrounding areas as well," Hachiman said. Enyo looked dejected. She was sure Ares may have gone here. Ares may have axed a potential plan to come to Japan after he found out Enyo was searching for him.

"Do not be afraid of going slowly, be afraid of standing still" Hachiman said before disintegrating into the wind in a shower of cherry blossom leaves. Eris looked at the spot where Hachiman vanished.

"Well...he was nice wasn't he?" she said. Another arrow flew past Eris's ear. Enyo grinned as Eris scowled. They ran into Raijin and Fujin in Tokyo who were eating at a sushi restaurant shortly after leaving Hachiman. Both had also agreed to look out for Ares before realizing that they were late for their meeting that Hachiman had just gone to.

"YOU said it was at midnight!" Raijin shouted at Fujin. Thunder rolled over his head as he ran beside him.

"Oh don't blame ME again!" Fujin responded, running on solid air.

Enyo and Eris went to China next, another place Enyo and Ares had visited before. They had again teamed up with 2 of the war gods to help some of the Chinese demigods with a nasty infestation of Jiangshi. Similar experience to Japan initially. The Chinese gods thought Ares and Enyo were hostile and prepared to fight but changed their feelings after they helped save a city from the Jiangshi.

"Your brother has gone missing, you say? For 5 months?" asked the Chinese God of Valor, Guan Yu. Guan Yu had served under Liu Bei when he was alive and was a part of the War of the Three Kingdoms before being deified after his death. Guan Yu's appearance had not changed over the years. He still looked as though he was from the Han Dynasty. Enyo and Eris had located Guan Yu practicing with his Green Dragon Crescent Blade in a temple in the mountains. Unlike Hachiman, Guan Yu did not fire arrows at either of the goddesses but had greeted them respectfully.

"I do not believe that he has passed through China. Have you asked any others? Erlang Shen perhaps?"

"No. You were the first one we managed to find." Enyo said. Guan Yu began to stroke his facial hair, lost in thought.

"We just came from Japan as well. Met Hachiman, he said he'd keep us posted if he got word of Ares's potential arrival there." Enyo added. Guan Yu nodded.

"Then I shall do the same with the other Chinese gods. Sun Wukong, Nuwa, Nezha, Chang'e and Hou Yi would keep an eye out for him. This much I know for sure," he said. Enyo looked dejected again.

"Keep your head up Enyo. You will find him," he said. Enyo and Eris left Guan Yu to practice with his Crescent Blade once more. Enyo and Eris ran into Erlang Shen shortly after leaving Guan Yu's Temple. They had noticed him in a dog park outside of Shanghai. He was not dressed in old Chinese attire but rather jeans, a red vest over a plain black T-shirt and a backwards hat which covered his 3rd eye. His spear was attached to his back but no one drew attention to it. Erlang Shen greeted both Goddesses politely upon seeing them. Thankfully, he spoke in English like Guan Yu had as Enyo was not at all familiar with Chinese dialects

"Greetings Enyo! What brings you to China? Vacationing with your friend here?" he asked, taking the tennis ball from his dog's mouth. The dog eyed the ball as Erlang Shen threw it for him to fetch.

"Hey Erlang. Glad you remember me. This is Eris by the way." she said. Erlang Shen inclined his head at Eris.

"Indeed. You helped me fight some troublesome Jiangshi a while back with that other guy that looked similar to you. What was his name? Ares?" Enyo punched a nearby tree when Erlang Shen said her brother's name. It splintered and fell over into the nearby woods. Eris walked over and grabbed Enyo's hand as she went to punch another. Erlang Shen looked at the fallen tree in alarm. His dog meanwhile was barking happily at it seeing if the big stick could fit in his mouth.

"Oh dear, was it something I said?" he asked. Enyo tried to speak but her eyes were blazing with blue fire. Eris decided to speak instead.

"She's upset. See, Ares quit and left Mount Olympus about 5 months ago. We've been looking for him. I guess the other Olympian Gods pushed him past the breaking point," she said.

"AND HE LEFT ME. HE PROMISED HE WOULDNT LEAVE ME." Enyo shouted. Birds flew away in alarm. "I saw him an hour before it happened. He left without me. Told me to not look for him. Said that when he meant 'everyone,' it included me. He promised he'd never leave me thousands of years ago...after...after I lost..." Enyo continued. With each sentence, her voice became more and more unsteady. Like she was about to cry. Which was ludicrous. The Goddess of Bloodlust and Destruction/Brutal War does not cry like a wee baby in it's crib. Except for that one time. Enyo could not stop the memory. She was transported back thousands of years ago. Back to Ancient Greece.

"LYSANDER! I HEARD YOU! WHERE ARE YOU?" Enyo had yelled. She was dressed in Spartan armor but tuned to fit a female's body type. She was not wearing a helmet so her long dark hair flowed out from behind her in the wind while her dark blue eyes darted around the landscape. She turned in all directions, her sandaled feet sinking into the soft ground a bit. She had indeed heard her son's voice come from around this area. He had whispered to her that he failed which sounded weird so she decided to check it out. Enyo had arrived at the city limits of Haliartus where a small battle had taken place a few hours ago. She sprinted and stepped over bodies, cursing whenever she saw a dead Spartan. Enyo saw something that made her godly heart fall into her stomach. Lying unmoving on the ground clad in a Spartan Admiral's attire was a face Enyo knew. She ran over, adamantly refusing to believe it was who she thought it was. Must have been a trick of the light or she had just been worried about her son's whispered message to her. Her rage peaked when she confirmed who the body belonged to. It was Lysander. Her son. Her pride and joy. He had been stabbed through the gut. His stomach was coated in red and his eyes were open but were unable to see the face of his mother. She was too late to save him. Just like Ares had been with Leonidas. Enyo's scream of utter misery and anger could have cracked marble. In fact, it did leave sizable cracks in the walls surrounding the city. She knelt next to him, wiped off most of the blood from his wound and cradled his head in her arms while saying

"Mama's here… it's alright. I'm here. Shhh. You didn't fail," over and over. Eventually 2 large shadows were cast over her. They were Ares and Thanatos. They must have heard her scream. Ares looked at the body of Lysander and clenched his fists. Thanatos had bowed his head and reached toward Lysander's body.

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM HIM! DON'T TOUCH MY SON!" Enyo yelled. Ares looked at her in alarm. Thanatos recoiled.

"Sis, there's nothing you can do for him. He's de-" Ares began.

"DON'T YOU SAY MY BOY IS DEAD! DON'T YOU SAY IT!" Enyo screamed, still holding Lysander's head in her arms. She then addressed Lysander's body "Come on son, wake up. Your uncle is here! You always liked him right?!" Ares looked toward Thanatos but Thanatos shugged in confusion.

"Enyo, he's gone," Thanatos said.

"HE'S NOT GONE. HE'S RIGHT HERE! HE'S WITH ME!" she yelled at Thanatos. Ares moved forward, knelt next to Enyo and placed his hands on her shoulders. Enyo turned away from him, she didn't want him to see her face. She was indeed crying. Spartans don't cry.

"C'mon E. Let's go. Sparta has other problems at the moment. Smart Ass's city basically crushed their naval fleet. Fantastic really, now I get to hear about THAT every 5 minutes. E, you have to leave him" he said. Enyo didn't move.

"No," she said.

"Sis,"

"NO!" she shouted. Ares tried to get her to move but Enyo shoved him away and continued to cradle Lysander's head. Ares staggered back, tripped over his cape and fell in a heap, cursing.

"Bring him back, Thanatos," she said.

"What?" Thanatos said, helping Ares to his feet and helping him fix his helmet.

"Bring. Him. Back." she growled.

"Enyo, you know I can't do th-"

"BRING HIM BACK. BRING HIM BACK TO ME RIGHT NOW! RIGHT. NOW!" she screamed. Ares decided that they weren't going to win her over with reason and nodded at Thanatos. Thanatos nodded back as if he understood. Ares knelt down and closed Lysander's eyelids while Enyo struggled in vain to stop him. Together, Ares and Thanatos easily lifted Enyo away from her son's body while she was still yelling and struggling to get back to his side as if she stayed with him for long enough he'd be revived. Ares, struggling to maintain his grip on Enyo's right shoulder and arm as she kicked and punched his body, looked right at her and said

"It's alright E. You'll always have me, I won't leave you. I promise."

Eris noticed Enyo recalling this event and held her shoulders steady. Enyo buried her head into Eris's shoulder still hearing Ares's voice saying "you'll always have me" and "I won't leave you" over and over again. But he did leave her and he said he was done with everyone. Including her. Erlang Shen approached cautiously.

"Oh my," Erlang Shen said. "And you believe that he no longer loves you?"

"Well I mean...can you blame her? He said he wouldn't leave her and he did," Eris said. Erlang Shen's dog walked over and tried to get Enyo to pet his head. Enyo did so, albeit reluctantly.

"I just want to know where he is and we can't find him ANYWHERE. I thought that he would flee here. I want him to know that I still care about him but he won't talk to me. I'm his sister and he won't even acknowledge me anymore," Enyo said. Eris held Enyo closer. Erlang Shen bowed his head. They stood in silence for a few minutes. Erlang Shen's dog also remained silent. Eventually, Erlang Shen spoke,

"Tell you what, I'll get some of the other Chinese gods to keep an eye out all over Asia for you. I'll send my dog to you with any information I find. Deal?" Enyo looked over at him.

"Guan Yu and Hachiman said that they would do something similar," Eris said as Enyo seemed to be unable to talk.

"Oh you met Guan? I was wondering where he had been. Let me guess, mountains?" Erlang Shen asked. Enyo nodded.

"Mark my words Enyo, Greek Goddess of War, we will find him. All of Asia will be on the lookout." Erlang Shen said calmly. His dog barked in agreement.

Hachiman, Guan Yu and Erlang Shen had been true to their words. They sent regular reports to Enyo about whether or not they had gotten word of Ares's being in either Japan or China or any of the surrounding areas. No luck however. Enyo was beginning to get more and more pissed at Ares. Did promises mean nothing to him? Enyo was pulled away from these thoughts when she saw that Thanatos had arrived. Thanatos was dressed in a black tank-top and jeans today rather than his normal black cloak. Thanatos had been looking across the US with Aphrodite for signs of Ares. Aphrodite was not with Thanatos however.

"Hey Thanatos. What's the word? Where's Aph?" she asked. Thanatos grimaced.

"Uh well. Good news and bad news. Good news is, we found Ares." Enyo's eyes widened. She ran over to Thanatos and gave him a hug as well as a peck on the cheek. Thanatos wasn't exactly comfortable with this gesture but let Enyo do it anyway

"YES! Thank you thank you thank you! Where is he?" she demanded. Thanatos extricated himself from Enyo's arms and continued

"Phoenix, AZ. Near where his daughter was going to college. Saw him working security at a rock concert. Bad news. He's not there anymore." Enyo's face fell

"What do you mean, he's not there anymore?" she asked.

"He saw us coming. As to your earlier question as to where Aphrodite is...well...like I just said he saw us when he was working at the rock concert. We weren't being so stealthy as we were excited to have finally found him. Confronted us as we regrouped outside and like pure rage left him. You were right E, he was MAD. Screamed at Aphrodite that he was done with her, even said some bad things she had done to him over the years. Then rounded on me for tracking him. Then he shoved her away after she tried to embrace him and apologize. Even threatened her with a borrowed celestial bronze knife which basically confirmed that he was still angry with her. He uh...even mentioned you. Said something along the lines of 'tell my punk sister to stop looking for me.' Tried calling him, just to see if it would work. No response as per usual." Enyo now looked murderous. Punk sister? They had all tried the obvious plan of calling him on his Olympian phone. He never answered. Blasted caller ID. Yes, Olympian Gods had phones, as mentioned by Apollo during his trials and Enyo had pulled her own out to embarrass Apollo 6 months ago, but they were vastly different from the mortal ones. Best part? No contracts or data caps. Iris Messages were also a no go as Enyo predicted correctly. Ares never answered those either.

"Tried searching the house we knew he was staying in but he was gone. Disappeared again." Thanatos continued.

"What...why? How?" she said, still fuming about Ares calling her his "punk sister."

"No idea. He just wasn't there. We had followed him to the place he was staying in but when we checked the next morning, nothing. Place looked like it was abandoned for years. No note. Nothing. Just up and left, Aphrodite's in her room still upset. I wouldn't advise going near her until after your meeting. She seemed to be pissed at you for some reason. Don't ask, I don't have a clue as to why." Enyo punched the wall in frustration

"Why is he so determined to leave us all in the dark? What is wrong with him? He does know Aph loves him right? What about Phobos and Deimos? Eris? They love him. You're his best friend so you love him," Enyo said. "I love him," she added quickly.

"I know that Enyo. Obviously I love him too. I figure he knows we all do but he may need a little more time to cool off. I also think we should give Aphrodite a few more days to recover before we send her out searching again. I know you'll be seeing her tonight. Try not to mention Ares to her. Upside, we know he's in America, at least I hope he didn't flee elsewhere. Doubt it though" Thanatos said. Enyo slumped back on a nearby bench, her head in her hands.

"This is bull crap" she said. "Why is he doing this to us?" Thanatos shrugged.

"No idea. I'm gonna keep at it though." Thanatos's tablet beeped. "What the," he said before looking at the screen. His eyes widened.

"Oh dear. It appears that I am needed in...what's this... Athens? Oh great. Another attack. They're gonna pester you about it shortly. I'm sure of it. I gotta go Enyo. As soon as I take care of this, I'll get back to tracking Ares. I promise. That or I'll bust into the Hall and say this attack wasn't your fault. Might do that anyway to be honest, because this does not look good. Give my best to my sister if you see her," Thanatos walked out of the courtyard and took flight, heading towards Athens. Enyo punched the wall in frustration again. Why are you so determined to stay away big brother? We all miss you...especially me. You comforted me when I lost Lysander. I never forgot that, she thought to herself before walking to and mounting her bike. I'm gonna find you. I'll bring you back kicking and screaming if I have to, she continued as she kicked her bike into gear and rocketed towards the Hall of the Gods.