Chapter 8
Percy POV
"This way" Annabeth shouted to Grover "I found a hole in the fence". We had decided to take the little side job Ares offered us despite my insistence to just ignore him, just so we wouldn't make him mad. Annabeth held back the fence as Grover slipped through then let it swing shut in my face, Grover glanced at Annabeth then pulled the fence back for me. "What's her issue" I asked. "It's the fact you've seen your dad" Grover said "that's every demigods dream". "how do you mean" I asked. Annabeth spun around "Most go on life threatening quests like this just to see their parents once and your dad was actually there for you all your life" she shouted.
"Well it's not fun in games" I shouted back getting right in her face "right now I'm being blamed for stealing a master bolt for my father just because he's my father. We could clear both of our names in seconds simple but letting them know I was with my brother Triton while he was at the solstice. But my family won't allow it because I would be killed as punishment for breaking ancient law. Right now he's in danger of being kicked off the Olympian council because I exist, I am the bane of my own father's existence just because he was there for me".
I took a calming breath "If I fail or tell the truth my dad gets punished for being a good parent". "I'm sorry" Annabeth said. "It doesn't matter lets just get this shield and get out of here" I said. Why Ares was out in this amusement park gone wrong I'll never know, after a few minutes we found the supposed love ride that had the shield. "Alright Grover you're on lookout duty, Annabeth you're with me". Immediately Annabeth blushes "what?" I asked. "You want me to go down to the thrill ride of love with you" she said. "You can trade with Grover if you want" I said "I really don't mind". Annabeth's blush changed to an angry red as she slid down the side of the tunnel next to me. The tunnel I assumed was for a river considering the few boats that were at the bottom.
The first one we checked had nothing but the second one had exactly what we were looking for plus some bonus stuff. Inside was Ares' shield plus a pink scarf, another shield, and a spear. "Who did you think his date was again" I asked Annabeth. "Aphrodite" she said "but I don't get why she'd have the weapons". "Renaissance day at the park" I suggested. "You're an idiot" Annabeth deadpanned reaching for the shield. The moment her hands touched the shield holes appeared in the side of the tunnel and spiders poured out. To be honest I had never seen a spider before then so I was more than surprised by the amount of fear I felt. Instantly both me and Annabeth jumped in the boat and my only thought were 'keep them off the boat, keep them off the boat, keep them off the boat, keep them off the wait…Boat!'.
"Annabeth Hold on" I shouted. This was supposed to be a water ride so I reached out as far as I could and pulled on the largest body of water I could find, moments later water came gushing out of the tunnel behind us. The water crashed into our boat so hard I was knocked on my back. I stood back up as fast as I could in the rickety boat just in time to see the one in front of us break down the old gate that stood in front of us.
Our boat launched off the end of the waterfall and splashed down in the small pool below "I hate this ride" Annabeth said. "Seconded" I replied as we drifted to the shore. Grover ran up alongside us and help Annabeth and I out of the boat "What was that" he asked. "I get Annabeth but why were you freaking out" he said to me. "I didn't know" I defended "I've never actually see a spider before". "Never?" Grover asked. "Well not in person, I've seen them on TV" I said, "Lucky" Annabeth said, she sighed "Let's go give Ares his shield back".
...
"Ah there you are, I was beginning to think you something happened after you went off screen" Ares said. "Off screen?" Annabeth asked. "You didn't notice, you were on Hephaestus TV, broadcasted for all of Olympus to see" Ares laughed "although we only saw the back of your heads for a few seconds, Poseidon's already getting teased about having a son afraid of spiders". "hahaha, now how are we getting to Las Vegas" I snapped, hey no one likes getting made fun of so don't judge me.
Ares took the two shields and spear before pointing at a truck that was parked by the door to the restaurant "there's your ride and here's the stuff I promised you" He said tossing a backpack at me. I was about to complain about how hiding in the back of a truck didn't count as getting us a ride but Grover noticed the drivers were getting up to leave. Two hours later the three of us were sitting very uncomfortable in the back of a very messy truck with a under fed Lion, an ADHD Antelope, and a Zebra that could talk to me telepathically.
'Thanks for the warning dad' in the back of my mind I could picture him laughing at my predicament right along side Triton. Grover had fallen asleep a half hour earlier and he snores like a goat, I chuckled to myself about my unintentional joke. "I'm sorry" Annabeth said quietly. "Sorry about what?" I asked. "About how I acted when you told us about your dad, I was childish just to assume you got to see him without repercussions, it was unwise of me". "You need to stop comparing yourself to your mother" I said, Annabeth gave me a confused look. "You keep referring to your as unwise and I see that look on your face when people feel they'll never live up to their parents legacy" I said.
Annabeth chuckled lightly "You're probably right, its just when I was growing up with my dad I always felt unwanted. When he talks about my birth he views it as the most inconvenient thing that ever happened in his life. A child shows up in a golden cradle created by a goddess for you, my sibling's fathers take it as a miracle and I'm just the girl distracting him from his studies". "Over the years things got better, then he met my stepmother, she was fine having me around till the monsters came. To her I was the monster and she wanted me gone, my dad was torn between me or his wife and my half siblings, when I turned seven I couldn't take it anymore so I ran away" she said.
"I was found by Luke and a girl named Thalia they took care of me till we got to camp half blood, ten minutes there and my mother claimed me, it was the first time I had felt wanted by my parents in a while. Two years later Athena sent me an invisibility cap for my birthday, that's all I have of my actual mom". "You can have mine" I said. "What?" Annabeth asked. "You can have mine" I said slowly "don't get me wrong I love my mom and I'm not trying to get rid of her but she'd love you. She a Greek history professor at the local university and a huge fan of architecture the two of you would get along just fine, I'll introduce you two her when this whole thing is over." I said. "I think I'd like that" she said.
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