Hello there. It's been... far longer than I had hoped for, but things happen and at the very least I'm still around. Either way, I'm sorry it took this long... and sorry the chapter is so short...
It was an awkward drive from Las Vegas into the harsh terrain of Death Valley. Hours spent in uncomfortable silence, with the rumbling of the cars and Ares heavy breathing as the only audible sounds.
Percy's mood was at an all-time low, as his gaze wandered from a livid Thalia to a seductively smirking Aphrodite and then to the frothing Ares. Bianca had somehow managed to sit right next to him while sinking into the shadows to escape the attention of the two gods in the car, which left him alone with three people he would have rather avoided.
He wondered what Kayla and Zoe might be up to, who had to ride in the front car with most of Ares' soldiers. The fact that all of them were male wasn't lost on Percy and he could only imagine that this was Aphrodite's petty little revenge on one of Artemis' most loyal followers. Though Zoe had by no means overcome her ever-present hatred of everything male in the world, he hoped that the changes the girl had gone through since Artemis' disappearance would at least stay her hand now. Else there might be a lot of trouble ahead. But either way, Aphrodite had seen to it to make Zoe's trip as uncomfortable as possible, that much was clear.
Meddling gods... he could only grumble. All his life, every moment of misfortune and misery had been caused by the Olympian gods. His father, his uncles, his cousins, all of them seemingly had only one goal in life, to make his existence troublesome for their enjoyment.
"We are nearly there!" Aphrodite said, her sing sang voice oddly reminiscent of one he had heard in the past. One he usually had trouble recalling these days. His mother's voice...
The memory of it had faded over the years, just like his memory of what she had looked like. It was almost as if someone was slowly erasing his memories of her, one by one. But he was sure that this voice was at the very least similar to that of his mother. For Aphrodite to use it... he shuddered as he imagined what depravity the goddess had in mind this time... She had already impersonated his mother once before.
"We are in the middle of the desert," Thalia growled, as she looked out of the window.
"You don't say," Ares chuckled darkly, "The Mesquite Flat, a perfect little place for our rematch, don't you agree, Perseus?"
"It's lovely," Percy mumbled as he studied the area around them.
A freaking desert. Lots of sand, whole dunes of it. Of course, he should have expected this when Ares said that they would cross Death Valley on their way west. A place with little to no water. Hot, dry, desolate. Just the place someone like Ares would choose to fight a son of the sea. He would have called it a coward's tactic, but this was also the first time he had seen Ares actually plan something. Usually, the god of war seemed to be... impulsive, especially when angry.
The cars stopped at the side of the road, not far from an even greater number of military vehicles. They had passed a roadblock not too long ago, but Percy had not paid it that much attention when he first saw it. But now...
"Everyone out," Aphrodite sang, as she left the car first, followed by Ares. "Welcome to our little sandbox adventure. Miles upon miles of empty and untainted space for you to go wild in. Have fun, my lovely little boys."
"Can we get this over with?" Percy told the gods, his impatience obvious. "I have places to be and another goddess that hates my guts to save. So let's fight already."
"Hah, big words!" Ares jeered, "I've been waiting for our rematch. The last time you stole your victory, this time you won't be as lucky."
"We'll see about that!" Percy shot back.
This entire situation was just a waste of time. The outcome of this fight would be irrelevant. Ares would neither kill nor maim him. He would never risk his father's wrath. Not when the fate of Zeus beloved daughter is at stake. The quest to save Artemis was the only reason why all of them were here in the first place.
Zeus may hate the son of Poseidon like no other demigod alive or dead, but his genuine love for his daughters would stay his hands, at least until Artemis is freed. After that... Percy could only hope that his grandmother's schemes would not be the end of him.
"Percy..." Bianca whispered as she stood behind him, hiding in his shadow. "Those soldiers... something is really odd about them. They are no mere mortals. There is a darkness lingering here... These soldiers serve Ares in life... and death."
"So we are surrounded by enemies. Wonderful," Percy sighed. "Let's put an end to this!"
He was sick and tired of all the disruptions of his quest. Every new bump on the road meant another day he wouldn't be able to start searching for Ariadne. It gnawed at him, that he had to waste his time with the politics of Olympus and the whims of its gods, when his best friend was missing and in danger. Ares and Aphrodite just made things even worse now.
"Today you will learn respect, punk," Ares shouted. Gone was his usual biker outfit and in its stead, the god of war stood dressed in ancient Greek armor, black as night, with shield and sword in hand. "I'm sick and tired of hearing Athena bitch and moan about your existence. And I will no longer suffer the indignity of them knowing that you bested me in our last duel!"
"Can we finally start? I don't have time for your stupid games," Percy shot back, as he awaited Ares' attack with his swords in either hand. Sunreaver and Riptide, gifts of Apollo and Poseidon. Today he would need them both to end this battle quickly.
"Oh we will have our fun," Ares replied, as a feral smirk appeared on his face. "But first, let's make sure no one interferes with our game."
The god pointed his sword at one of his soldiers. The man only nodded, before he ran off, over a smaller dune and out of sight. Screaming and hissing could be heard, as something terrible stirred on the other side of the mountains of sand. The scream of a man followed soon after, panicked and terrified before it was silenced completely.
"Percy... I don't like the sound of that," Bianca muttered. "I really don't like it..."
He could only agree. Ares had obviously unleashed something terrible, in his maddened thirst for revenge. Seconds later, Percy finally had his confirmation. Ares had absolutely lost it. Half a dozen giant scorpions rushed over the dunes, some of them still having Ares servants in their claws, while others were just covered in blood.
Percy was about to engage the dangerous monsters, but Ares stepped in his way. "I'm the only opponent you should worry about. Letting you overpowered little demigod slaughter my pets would serve no purpose. Let the weaklings have some fun, too."
"I'll show you a weakling!" the distinct outcry of rage from Clarisse was followed by a battle-cry, as she rand towards the beasts, spear in hand, her brother hot on her heels.
On the other side of him, Percy could see Zoe and Kayla, as the senior huntress barked orders at Apollo's daughter. Together they engaged their enemies without fear. Thalia followed them, albeit begrudgingly and obviously ignored each and every order given to her by the huntress.
"Percy..." Bianca began.
"Please help our friends, I will deal with Ares," he told her. It was obvious that she was reluctant to let him do this fight on his own. It was actually endearing that this somewhat awkward cousin of his was so willing to stand by his side even in fights like this one.
"Okay. Just don't die. I've got enough dead friends already, I want some living ones, as well," she said before she ran off to join the two children of Ares in their fight. That she chose the enemies furthest away from Zeus' daughter only showed the full extent her disdain for Thalia for all to see.
"Enough waiting! Let's finish this!" Ares yelled as he attacked Percy with heavy swings of his sword.
Within moments of the beginning of the fight, Percy was pushed onto the defensive, as the god's blows, too powerful to block or parry without serious damage to his arms, rained down on him. Ares' wasn't here to play, that much became obvious.
Triton's training came to mind, as Percy searched for an opening in Ares' bulwark defense. Observation is key. Let the enemy show his dance, his moves, his predictable patterns. Avoid direct confrontation and strike back when the enemy is an open book. Percy was sure that his brother had learned this lesson the hard way. The many scars on Triton's twin tails were proof of that. And now he would put his brother's hard-earned wisdom to good use.
The war god's attacks always followed the same three steps. Attack with heavy swings, maintain momentum by pushing the enemy back with his shield, then stagger the enemy by pulling back in the moment of counterattack.
A feint, followed by a quick jump to the side was supposed to give Percy an opening in the moment of Ares' push forward, yet the supposed surprise quickly became a glaring opening, as Ares himself broke the pattern and delivered a bone-rattling kick against Percy's chest.
"Do you really think it would be this easy, Perseus?" Ares gloated, "All those fights in the past I've just been toying with you. Against a god, you will never stand a chance."
"We'll see about that," Percy coughed before he spat some blood on the hot desert sand. "You think you have the advantage because there is no water here. But you forgot one thing!"
"Ha, now the whelp is trying to lecture me," Ares laughed, a sound echoed by all his minions within earshot. "Come one, then, tell me what I've missed."
"I never fight alone," Percy replied.
Ares looked confused before that bloodthirsty grin made another appearance. "Your friends are hard-pressed to survive on their own. My sister and maybe Hades' spawn will survive this, but the others... good riddance."
He didn't even care about his own children. All Clarisse and Sherman ever wanted was the respect of their father. A sign of approval, nothing more. But Ares was a monster of war, first and foremost. There was no room left for him to be a father, too.
"You're an idiot, Ares," Percy told the god. "You don't deserve the love of your own children."
"Pah, they come and they go. They are no children, they are cannon-fodder. If I have need of them I can make two new ones for every one that dies in battle!"
"You will pay for this, Ares!"
An arrow hit the god in the back, just as Percy had said his name. Then another, and a third. Ares stumbled but did not fall. But the look of utter surprise could not be hidden. He looked around, searching for the perpetrator. But neither Artemis' servant nor Apollo's daughter could have fired the shots. Instead, his eyes found another lone huntress, perched high up on a nearby dune.
"Impossible! You have disappeared ages ago! Why are you here, Atalanta!" he yelled at her, before he looked at his minions, "Get her! I want her alive!"
The soldiers all around them quickly sprang to action and began shooting at the huntress, who quickly retreated down the other side of the dune. The soldiers followed, leaving Ares alone with Percy.
A seldom known pain spread through Ares' belly, as one of Percy's swords pierced his skin after slipping through the crack of his armor.
"Never take your eyes of your enemy," Percy said, "You beat me to a bloody pulp as a kid when you taught me that."
Ares dropped his shield and sword, and instead, he grabbed Percy's sword arm. With his strength alone he would be able to crush every bone in the arm, so the son of Poseidon knew he had to act quickly.
"And you have made another mistake, Lord Ares," Percy continued, his voice a mocking growl. "I may be a son of Poseidon, but first and foremost, I am the Champion of the Sun, blessed by Apollo and Helios to wield their powers."
Ares' eyes widened, as the sword stuck in his gut began to glow red hot, burning his flesh, causing him great pain. In a moment of panic, he let go of Percy's arm and instead swung his fists at Percy. The blow landed with a sickening crunch and threw Percy back.
"This... this shouldn't be possible! No demigod, even blessed by another god, should be able to wield the full powers of anyone but their own godly parent!" he cried in outrage, as he grabbed Sunreaver and pulled the sword from his gut with a rage-filled howl. He dropped the hot sword immediately, as it burned even his hands.
"I am no longer a mere demigod," Percy replied, his voice muffled. He had to spit blood again, as the last blow had left some serious damage, nearly breaking his jaw. "Our grandmother has seen to that."
"You little!"
Ares grabbed his sword from the ground, blinded by rage. With his godly strength, he brought his sword down on the demigod before him, intent to kill.
With Sunreaver out of his reach, Percy only had Riptide left to defend himself. His father's sword was strong and unique. The weapon of Heracles. But against Ares' might, it stood little chance. Even though Percy managed to block Ares' deadly strike, the force of the blow rocked every bone in his arm. The strike was followed by another kick, that threw Percy against a nearby dune.
With heavy, rumbling steps the god followed after him, his face a twisted mask of rage.
Ares stood over him, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his arrow wounds onto the hot sand below. The god's weapon, raised to strike Percy down, seemed to gleam in the harsh desert sun.
The demigod could roll to the side, to avoid the blow that would have cleaved him in two. Great pain shot through his wounded arm and shoulder, but he bore with it, to escape the mad god of war. Soon enough he was rolling down the other side of the dune.
"Why won't you die!" Ares shouted in rage, as his world was lost in a haze of red. The god himself was hurting even worse than Percy, as his belly had been cut and his intestines burned. But such a wound wouldn't stop a god. Not for long, at least.
As he was running out of options, Percy had to rely on what powers he could muster in his situation. One of his father's gifts, one of the many he so rarely uses to avoid the association with his absentee father.
With only his father's sword left in his hand and no water available, he rammed his sword into the ground. A small earthquake followed that shook the entire area.
Ares laughed cruelly, as he continued his assault, unfazed by the rumbling ground. "This won't save you now. I'm done playing with you, Jackson! My father can surely find someone else to save that prudish bitch Artemis!"
But the god did not see what was happening behind his back. While the earthquake wasn't enough to impede him, it had a profound effect on the dunes around them. Like a wave crashing down on the shore, the dunes collapsed down on them.
Ares was still laughing, as Percy prepared himself for the wave of sand that would bury him and the god. But just as as the sand had begun to bury the now shocked god of war, someone grabbed Percy from behind and hauled him away with inhuman strength.
It was Zoe, who looked at him with great worry visible in her dark eyes. She must have seen his fight Ares and come to his aid.
"Can't I leave you alone for just one moment without you getting hurt so badly?" the huntress asked. Unlike in past conversations, there was no reproach in her voice, no thinly veiled disgust for what he is. Only genuine worry.
Kayla was with only moments later, clearly out of breath but except for a few scrapes and bruises unharmed.
Percy's small reprieve, however, was only short-lived. With a loud roar, Ares had freed himself from his sandy prison. And by the looks of him, he was even angrier than he had been before.
Zoe helped Percy back onto his feet before she and Kayla took up positions next to their friend. This time Ares wouldn't fight just one demigod... and that frightened Percy more than the threat of getting dismembered himself. Ares would not be holding back... Not to mention that he had even less reason to go easy on the two girls...
"That's enough, Ares dear, don't you think?"
Aphrodite finally decided to get involved again. Percy wasn't sure where she had been this entire time, but he had not seen her since they had left the car. Now she stood in front of her lover, an indulgent smile on lips as she regarded the beaten state the god was in.
"You've certainly had enough playtime for today, Ares. Time to go home now. Here, let me kiss those all those bad spots to make it better," the goddess said.
It sounded less like she was talking to an equal than to a stubborn child. But it did seem to work, as Ares visibly relaxed.
Was this the true power of her Charmspeak? Her ability to mesmerize even other gods with the sound of her voice alone.
"Go ahead, I will finish things here and join you in a jiffy, my dear," the god was about to protest. As his eyes found Percy, the rage returned for a brief moment. "Ah, ah, ah, you really don't want to make me mad at you now, my dear? That would cut our playtime regrettably short."
"This is not over yet," Ares growled before he left the scene in a bright flash.
Aphrodite laughed elatedly, once Ares was gone. "Now that this unfortunate lapse in judgment is over, we finally have time to ourselves."
Slowly the goddess approached Percy, a sultry smile on her pink lips, her eyes never leaving his. Not even the two huntresses, who had their arrows aimed at her face could stop her until she stood right in front of him.
For a brief moment, Aphrodite looked a Zoe and her expression turned sour for a moment. "Go and play somewhere else, little huntress."
But Zoe did not leave.
Undeterred Aphrodite leaned towards Percy and whispered, "Don't believe for even a moment that I've forgotten my revenge, my dear. I am not denied so easily and I will have my due." She cackled madly, before she disappeared, just as Ares had before. What she left behind was a bewildered demigod and his friends, finally alone in the middle of a desert.
A/N: Sadly that's all for today. I wanted to add the rematch with Ares, since so many readers have asked me about it.
I won't even try to make a guess when I can update again. Hopefully soon, but that depends on things I can't fully control.