Hi all, and thanks for the reviews! This chapter actually has some action in it, and more than you might think. This story is far from over...
"What the fruit-" Thalia exclaimed. Like father, like daughter.
"Relax. I'm not hostile. Yet." Ares said with a grin. "I'm offering you an opportunity to earn some drachmas so you can save your girlfriend,"
I blushed. "What do you want me to do?"
"You see, we Olympians recorded the day I fought with you. They were playing it back today and laughed at me. I made a wager: we would fight again, and whoever won would get a drachma prize. I have the drachmas with me now." Ares motioned toward his pocket.
"Just me and you then?" I asked. I was lucky last time, but maybe I could beat him again.
"One more thing," Ares continued. "Poseidon insisted that we fight with celestial bronze." He drew a long celestial bronze sword.
Why had Poseidon insisted on that? Of course! The shield! I thought. It would be amusing to beat Ares, again.
"It's on, then." I said, drawing Riptide and expanding the shield.
Ares noticed the metallic luster of the shield. "What's that for?" he asked. I thought it was his business to know about weapons.
"It's just to instill doubt in a pathetic mind such as yours." I said.
Ares growled. "You're going down, kid. There's more at stake here than just drachmas."
Yeah, your reputation, which is pretty pathetic anyway. I thought. I didn't say it aloud.
I instigated the duel with a quick thrust toward Ares' stomach. He spun out of the way and slashed downward with his own sword. I held up the shield and thrust forward with it, a little too hard. The sword spun in his hands and whacked him right between the eyes. He fell to the ground.
"What the-" he exclaimed. I hoped he wasn't going to say 'fruitcake'. He didn't.
He got up. "That's it kid, you are DEAD." His sword caught on fire. He began to spin like a tornado, kicking up dust. Thalia and the others watched in horror.
I tried to thrust Riptide into the whirling vortex that was Ares, but it was quickly knocked aside by his sword. I backed away slowly.
A huge crack resounded in the distance. I looked around, startled. There was nothing there. I could faintly make out a grin on the spinning Ares' face.
A realization hit me. Oh my gods, he's broken the sound barrier!
Great. I seemed to be doomed on a regular basis nowadays.
Tyson was whispering something to Thalia. She nodded and her face became a mask of concentration. A huge black cloud hovered in the sky, unnoticed by Ares.
Tyson yelled, "Percy, hold up the shield!"
I did so, and lightning began to strike it. One, two, three, four times. Thalia collapsed on to the ground, exhausted. Grover played something on his reed pipes and Thalia got up, leaning heavily on Grover.
My shield was now surrounded with a nimbus of crackling blue energy. Ares had a mildly impressed look on his swirling face, but he held his ground.
He began to spin toward me, like a malevolent, sword-wielding, supersonic top. He picked up speed. He was inches from me when I held up the shield.
He tripped and fell forward, his sword attached to my shield. The flames had gone out. He looked amazed. He pulled, hard, to no avail. I put Riptide to his throat. "I win," I said, grinning.
I saw a look of pure hatred on his face. He began to glow, and I looked away as he revealed his immortal form. A clatter of drachmas on asphalt told me that he had kept his promise.
I picked up the drachmas and counted them. Fifty drachmas should be enough for four to the Underworld, right? Everyone around us walked around minding his or her own business. I guess Ares had strengthened the Mist when we fought.
Grover clapped me on the back. "Nice job, man!"
I said modestly, "I couldn't have done it without Thalia or Tyson."
Thalia acknowledged with a feeble shake of her head. Tyson winked. We walked through the doors or DOA Recording Studios.
Charon was inside, shuffling papers. He looked up when he saw us. "Ah, you." He said lazily. "I heard the ruckus outside. You have any drachmas for me?"
"In fact, I do. Fifty drachmas for four to the Underworld." I said, hoping they'd be enough.
Charon snatched the coins up and beckoned toward the boat. A couple of spirits grabbed onto us, hissing unintelligible words. Charon pulled them off and we boarded the boat.
"Hades didn't give me a pay raise before. Maybe if you mention it to Persephone…" Charon's voice trailed off. "Oh well, you're doomed anyway, it's no use telling you that."
"Thanks for the words of encouragement," I said sarcastically.
Charon didn't answer. The boat began to propel itself forward. Thalia shivered. I felt sorry for her, as she had never been to the Underworld.
We hovered over the River Styx. I heard Grover explaining to Thalia why it was so polluted. She was deathly pale, starting to almost look like Hades.
The boat touched down, and we climbed out. What I heard next made me jump like ten feet into the air. A voice came from deep in the Underworld.
"WHAT THE FRUITCAKE?!?!?!?"
Great. My favorite uncle, Hades.
This isn't really a cliffie, but I wanted to be funny. If you want to know the origin of "What the fruitcake?" just ask. Remember, reviews and time are required to post the next chapters.