This chapter is beyond hard to write and very powerful. I hope you can enjoy it and see where Aaron is coming from entirely...
"This is differnet." Aaron muttered as the dream, which should have ended after he hugged Nico and Bianca aftera long night of training, shifted into something very new. He saw Bryce's ship, covered in a red aura. "I can sense Ares' presence here, but why?" As if to answer him, the winds blew him closer to the ship until he was flying through the literal metal and into a room where he saw Clarisse cowering ever so slightly while a man was yelling at her from a red screen.
Even in his dream, Aaron felt a waft of anger that belied anything he had ever felt. Well, he had felt this before but being so much more sensetive to auras due to his own magic this feeling was infinitely sharper. He knew this power.
Ares. Getting a good look, as he was allowed to move on his own, Aaron saw the man himself. a muscular man in black leather biker clothes, with a military haircut, red-tinted sunglasses, and a knife strapped to his side.
"I don't want excuses, little girl!" he growled.
"Y-yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.
"You don't want to see me mad, do you?"
"No, father."
"No, father," Ares mimicked. "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my sons take this quest."
"I'll succeed!" Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. "I'll make you proud."
"You'd better," he warned. "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid steal it from you-"
"But the Oracle said-"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!" Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered.
"You will succeed. And if you don't …"
He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched.
"Do we understand each other?" Ares growled.
Aaron, having been abused himself and thus hating all abusers, did something very, very dumb. "You touch her and you will deal with me Ares." He didn't mean to speak up or make his presence known but the moment he said Ares' name, he became visible to both of the people in the room.
Ares' eyes widened for a monent, Clarisse actually recoiled, but it was Ares who spoke up first. "The Witch boy, and just what would you do to me? I am the god of War, your just a very weak witch."
Aaron sneered, drawing on the anger being invoked in his heart. "You'd be amazed at what I can do, Ares. To think you would lower yourself to be not only abusive to your kids but so deeply sexist, I wonder what Aphrodite would think of this. She may hate me but I think she would be utterly disgusted to see you disgrace one of your kids like this."
To his shock Ares actually shivered a little. "You wouldn't dare-"
"Try me. Lay your hands on your kid, on any of your kids and I will make your life hell. I will make sure no sacrifices are made to you at camp, no honors, no celebrations. Everyone will know you harm your kids. That knowledge will spread and even your most fervant followers will abandon you. Without proper worship you will falter, weaken and start to fade. I don't care who you think you are, I will go the mortal way and cut you off at the roots. I swear by Styx that I will happily do that."
Ares growled, a sound that should have scared Aaron but the anger being invoked by Ares' presence made him far too pissed to care. "If you want to defend that pathetic-"
"Brave, powerful, skilled daughter of yours? She may be a bully but she is beyond powerful for a demigoddess and you are lucky to have her name attached to yours. Now go, unless we need you, begone." Aaron wiped his hand, and dispelled the Iris message entirely, not using power but rage.
Clarisse collapsed. " How did you do that?"
"What? Stand up to him or dispel him?"
"Both."
Aaron sat down, not sure how he was even there. "I am used to abusers... and I think a god is helping me. I didn't send myself here, someone else did. Not sure who though... they care though, about the fact that your father is abusive. I don't know why but they do." Aaron focused, turning his attentions on the magic holding him there and making him strong enough to use magic as an astral being. He smiled. " Triton, you son of a gun, thank you. I know his son likes you, so maybe he thought you deserved to be defended... if Ares gives you crap again, get me. I will make honest my oath... which was dumb of me to swear but to be honest I was more affected by his aura then before. I think my new magic makes me more open to the effects of the aura."
Clarisse sniffled. "I... Thank you. Don't tell others, but thank you."
"It's good... now, what did that Oracle say? I will keep your words in confidence, you know I will."
Clarisse, to his shock, leaned into his astral form. "You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, You shall find what you seek and make it your own, But despair for your life entombed within stone, And fail without friends, to fly home alone." She sighed, a sad sound that made her actually seem human. " That was why I never stopped you from forcing me to take people with me. I mean, father was speaking to me after the Oracle trying to get me to go alone... but I... I knew you were right. You've proven it time and time again. I knew you were right. I needed people to help me even if it made me feel like this was less my quest and more... theirs. "
"This is still your quest, Clarisse. Your impossibly brave and you know what is moral and right. You care more then your father allows, that's just your nature. That is okay. Just work on your ego and bullying and you'll be fine."
A sound drew their attentiona and Clarisse stood. " We're at the Sea of Monsters, I think this is where you go."
Aaron felt a pull on his chest. "I do to... be safe, love, and come back." He smiled at her, softly. "You'll do well and you'll be safe. Ignore your father, he is a monster, your not. I think that is why I was sent here. To help you realize that. Your a brave kid, Clarisse, even for a Demigod and your will be remembered for being great. Not for your father but for your own deeds."
Then he was gone, swirling through the darkness of the dreamscape until he returned to his body, gasping for breathe as he awoke in his bed.
"That was hard... and I think it is time we start to teach Ares a lesson."
"""
Dionysius heard everything Aaron had to say about Ares' behavior, even if he said nothing about the man's name. He just nodded, listening in carefully and with the most thoughtful eyes. " You must be careful, he will kill you out of spite. Unlike Artemis, I have no one he cares for to threaten. He cares little for his children, beyond saving one from rape."
"I cannot believe he will just get away with abusing his kids, abusing anyone's kids is wrong but your own especially... sigh. He needs to be punished. I know my oath was sworn due to his aura, I am not dumb enough to threaten a god, an Olympian especially, for no reason but in this case I can't help but agree with my decision. He needs to be taken down a peg."
The man before him sighed. "It is honorable to care for his kids, I know you are not particularly close to the Demigods for how they treat you but this may be one of those situations that you have to ignore. He is favored by father, for reasons I do not know. He will be allowed to get away with it."
"Then we have to find something we can do to put him down a peg. Can I stop his worship here, at least temporarily if he hurts her again?"
"Yes you could, but you would be questioned for it by my Father himself."
"Would he have issue with His abuse of his children?" '
That made Dionysius frown. " To be honest, I am not sure. There has never been a god called out for that, too many fear them."
"Why would Triton show me this then? Not that I have an issue with defending her, I am hoping my bluff is enough but... you know if I am useless in this case what was the point?"
"I cannot tell you that, Triton has long been a mysterious god. I have never been able to fully read him. Many people have noticed this, even his father. He takes after his mother, who is a strange goddess by many metrics. What I can tell you is that Triton has a reason, usually a good one, for doing what he does. There is a reason Athena is so wise and it is not just because she inherited from her mother. She was raised by Triton and he taught her a great deal. He will have a reason."
"I will take that into consideration. So... shall we play some Pinochle?"
That made Mr. D smirk. "If you are prepared to lose."
"""
Mr. D hid his fear, the boy was overstretching himself and it would bite him in the ass. He had figured out the boy's fatal flaw, mortal or not he clearly had one. Or two perhaps... one he cared far too much and too he had too great an intolerance for Injustice. Against the gods this was not a good thing, they were far too corrupt for it to be anything less then fatal.
'I pray you remain wise, my mortal friend. You are too vunerable to fight for the justice you seek. Might is right in this world and you are not mighty enough.'
Playing his cards, Dioysius turned a part of his attention to the Gardens that still oozed his power.
'Please learn from the past and your experiences with the dead and do not over extend yourself, remember you are mortal and never forget you and in a world of Monsters and magic and gods... please, I do not want to lose your bright soul just yet. You mean far too much to me. You and my sons are the only lights I have in this horrible punishment I am forced to bear.'
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a powerful chapter.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.