A/N: Sorry for not updating last week. My family has been having some personal troubles. This past week has been rough on the whole family…and then I had writer's block at the end. But today I finally pushed through it by watching some FMA battles on Veoh to get me in the battle mood. So I gotta thank that awesome show for the fight scene at the end of this chapter. Besides that, sorry again for not updating and enjoy the extra long chapter!

Disclaimer: Sam, Tucker, and Danny are not mine! But the rest pretty much are.

Chapter 16 Bad First Impressions

Bounding through the thick forest, Theo's heart started to race. He had spent way too much time looking for Danny's friends. He was wasting time that was precious for both Danny and himself. He didn't care that he was making loud sounds as he raced back toward the clearing he had found Danny's friends in. He knew Aphrodite was somewhere around, but he believed she would have to be somewhere near where he was heading, looking after the three teens she and Ares had obtained from Vlad the day before.

Theo came to a stop at the edge of the bright clearing. His short, sweat laden fur was covered with twigs and leaves from his reckless sprint through the tight bunching of trees. Controlling his erratic breathing, Theo paused to observe the group of three bound teens. They sat with their backs against each other, bonded together by a rope to their wrists. They looked tired and hungry, but besides that they were fine.

One thing was out of place, though. Theo's eyes narrowed in suspicion as they rested upon a small boy wearing a toga and straw hat. The other two were clearly not from there, wearing their own century's style of the clothing. But this kid was definitely from the time period. Who was he? Was he a friend or foe? Hermes had called him a friend, but the god wasn't always the reliable one.

A second later Theo saw Aphrodite walk into the clearing. She sure was an intoxicating one. Theo had to fight the urge to stare at her. The goddess had that power over men. Just with one look, a guy could fall under her spell, mesmerized by her beauty. And from looks of it…Tucker was already love struck. Theo gave a knowing grin as he saw the boy practically drool over the goddess. Again, he was thankful to be an outside demigod. Her spell had little effect on him.

"Tucker, ew," Sam hissed at her friend. "Snap out of it!" There was a pause as her words were left dead in the air. "Boys are such idiots!" It was time to take action before Sam did. The girl looked ready to tear Tucker's face off as he stared dreamy eyed at Aphrodite.

The goddess completely ignored all the kids. She was in her own world, sweetly humming to herself as she gracefully glided around the kids. Her long red curls of hair gently flowed off her slender shoulders as she moved. She had porcelain skin and deep green eyes that could melt any heart that looked into them. She had pinned her robe tightly to her skin, letting her curves take shape in the smooth flowing outfit. She looked like an angel.

Theo smiled to himself. Aphrodite was in a good mood that day, which would be better for him. He had only seen her in her other, darker mood a few rare times. If the angel was in that mood, she was more like a demon than someone sent from Heaven. You didn't want to see her in that frame of mind.

"Good morning, pretty girl!" Theo exclaimed as he pushed his way into the clearing. His years on probation had taught him to treat Aphrodite like she was a pretty little girl. The woman had the mindset of a child, just less innocent when it came down to the sexual side of things.

Aphrodite spun around with a look of surprise on her features. Sam gave Theo a suspicious glare. Tucker was still awe struck by the goddess. The other boy looked at Theo, but his face was hidden in shadow, making his expression a mystery to everyone except to himself.

The goddess instantly remembered Theo. Her green eyes widened in surprise of seeing him after so many years of his absence. A smile came to her lips as she took in his muscled body. The woman slowly walked toward him as she asked with a giggle, "How's my handsome Egyptian demigod doing?"

Theo smiled slyly, knowing the underlying tone of her voice. She was trying to taunt him into her beauty spell. He had to be quick on his feet if he wanted to avoid it. Aphrodite was smart enough to know that he had plans of tricking her. Now she was trying to dupe him before he did the same to her. But she was going to have to do better than that old enchantment of hers to fool the demigod.

"I was just…passing through and thought you needed some company," Theo said slowly, picking his words wisely. He took a few steps to his right, keeping the distance between him and her at a steady three feet. If she touched him, her spell would make him as useless as Tucker.

"Aw," Aphrodite said, giving the teen a sweet smile, "You were always the charming one, Theo. What's next? Flowers? Roses have always been my favorite…but you already knew that."

It was the eye contact that started the battle. Instantly, Theo could feel her power pry at his very thoughts, imploring him to succumb to her will. Showing no weakness, Theo held his ground in his head and kept the conversation going. By now the two of them were gradually circling each other, as if a real physical skirmish was going to happen.

"Hm," Theo responded. "Roses have always been my favorite flower too. But I have something better for you."

"Oh, a present!" the goddess said, her smile changing into one of wiliness. "You're too kind."

Theo matched her grin with one of his own. From behind his back he took out a sparkler he had managed to smuggle from Danny's time period without anyone knowing. He had kept it hidden and secret for perfect times like these. With the snap of his fingers, the stick was lit and sparkled with brilliant light. It was nothing like Aphrodite had seen. Her reaction was the one Theo expected.

Her guard going down and her eyes widening, Aphrodite rushed up to Theo like a kid's first experience with the wondrous object. "Oh, Theo, it's so pretty!" she exclaimed, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Finally she couldn't take the wait for it anymore. "Give it to me!" she nearly growled at him. She yanked the sparkler away from the teen and stared at it with a delight in her eyes.

Theo backed off at this action. She had almost touched him. Recovering quickly, Theo took out another sparkler for the goddess and lit it. This time he gave it to her with a forced sweet smile. She giggled and waved both sticks now in the air. It was a comical sight to see a grown woman playing with sparklers like a little kid would.

"I have another gift for you," Theo said.

Aphrodite looked up from her play at Theo with a giant smile on her face. "You're my favorite, Theo!" she said, running to him for a hug. Theo's expression changed into one of alarm for a fleeting second. He skirted out of the way of her open arms, deftly avoiding her touch.

"You can thank me latter, pretty girl," Theo said, forcing himself to keep an even and calm voice. On the inside, his heart was beating like a drum set in a rock band. "You can find your gift in a field. Just keep walking that way." He pointed in the direction he had placed the bird cage with the dove in it, her symbol.

For a moment the goddess thought about this. She knew not to trust Theo, but his presents were just too kind and loving for her to reject. Ares had told her to guard the kids. She didn't like the job. It was boring. Ares wouldn't mind if she took a small break.

Without another word or a thank you, Aphrodite skipped off into the woods with her new sparklers in search for her other gift Theo had promised. Theo watched her go. He let out a deep sigh of relief when he couldn't see or hear her anymore. The hard part was over.

Turning to the tied up kids, Theo for the first time acknowledged that they were there. Sam looked highly suspicious of him, keeping up a perpetual look of distrust with a dagger deadly glare. Tucker was finally getting over the spell he had been under. He seemed greatly confused and slightly…disappointed. Aphrodite usually had that affect on men. The mystery kid still had his face in shadows, but Theo could see those violet eyes stare intently at him through the dark.

"What?" Theo asked them, folding his arms in front of his chest. He crushed the icy silence then by saying, "You guys all want sparklers too?"

"Where did the hott woman go?" Tucker asked. Ignoring Theo, he looked around the clearing in desperate search for the goddess of his dreams.

"He has a one track mind, doesn't he?" Theo asked Sam, slipping something of a smile to his lips.

Sam rolled her eyes at the understatement. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice having a harsh undertone.

Theo's smile faded into a small frown. "We can chat all we want after I set you guys free and give your friend the signal," he responded coldly. The bound kids all watched with devastation and slack jaws as Theo summed up a great deal of his powers. Hands fully engulfed in crackling flames, the demigod threw them above his head. The teen gave a grimace that looked more like an evil grin as he fought for control of the output of the fire. With some effort, Theo blasted a large fireball up out of the clearing for Danny to see a half a mile away. The ghost boy would arrive shortly.

"Oh, not now!" Theo hissed at himself when he realized the fire around his arms wasn't responding to him. It took all of Theo's concentration to finally get the blaze to die down and then finally be put out. He was sweating when he was done, tired from his excessive use of power.

"Holy cow!" Tucker whispered in disbelief. He and Sam seemed pretty shaken from the sight of Theo's fire powers. Their eyes were wide in both fear and shock. Sure, they had just seen him snap his fingers for a spark, but the whole fireball thing was a little too much for their minds.

But it was the mysterious kid's reaction that got most of Theo's attention. The boy didn't look surprised at all. Intrigue was the only thing Theo saw in the kid's eyes. A real kid would have either passed out or screamed bloody murder. Not this one. Theo's suspicions only deepened.

"What are you?" Sam asked, pushing the earth under her with the heels of her combat boots to scoot farther away from Theo. "Are you a ghost? Are you like that woman who just left? Tell us!"

Theo pulled out his dagger, making Sam and Tucker both flinch. "Relax," Theo said with the roll of his eyes, "I'm with Danny." As he said this, the demigod worked on all three of their rope binds.

As soon as Theo was done with the job, Sam's foot suddenly shot up and managed to hit Theo under the chin. With his previous head injury, Theo didn't take well to the hit. Blacking out for a brief second, Theo limply fell to the grassy ground. He woke up quickly with a painful groan and the tip of his own dagger in his face.

"How do you know Danny?" Sam asked Theo. She was the one holding the dagger, but Theo knew she wouldn't ever hurt him. From his past adventures through the ghost zone, Theo had ended up many times in Danny's time period. He knew his friends enough to know Sam was smart and a good ghost fighter, but she would never purposely harm a stranger like him. Right now she was just being cautious and was all talk.

"Oh please," Theo said with a waning smile, "You don't think Danny could have survived this place for more than a day without a guide?"

"So you're like his guide?" Tucker asked him. "Why would he need a guide? Wait…what kind of a guide are you? You look like a Catwoman comic gone wrong." A grin crept to the boy's lips.

"Tucker," Sam scolded, but she too was having trouble keeping in that suppressed smile.

"Oh, cute," Theo said, his ears flattening in annoyance. "No wonder you two are Danny's sidekicks. You can be just as maddening as he can be."

"Sidekicks?" Tucker protested loudly.

"How do you know that we are Danny's friends?" Sam asked. Like always, she was the more practical one.

"Chit chat can be saved for later," Theo answered with a tired sigh. Striking too swiftly for Sam or Tucker to comprehend, Theo yanked the dagger out of Sam's hand. He was on his feet a moment later, rushing past the two. Catching the boy off guard, Theo roughly grabbed a fist full of the front of Rhodes's toga. The demigod forced the boy back first into a tree, the tip of his cool blade lightly resting at the kid's throat.

"If you don't mind me asking, who in Hades are you?" Theo questioned the boy he had pinned to the tree trunk.

Rhodes didn't answer at first. Sam took the action as fear on the little boy's part. "Hey! Put the kid down, cat boy!" she yelled at Theo.

"Yeah," Tucker piped in. "You're freaking him out!"

"Do you two know who this kid is?" Theo asked both of them, his voice sharp. "He could be a spy or something. He's not answering any of my questions."

"Um…no," Tucker answered truthfully. "But he's just a kid. He's harmless. Maybe if you were a little less harsh he would answer our questions."

Theo debated these words for a second, deciding to let the boy go a moment later. He didn't know what his problem was. The boy was too young to be any threat to Danny's and his mission. Why was he so suspicious? There was nothing there. And yet, there had been a spark between them on first contact. Two powers had clashed. This boy wasn't normal.

Sam pushed past Theo, giving him a smirk. Theo took it in with half infuriation, half admiration for the boldness of the girl. He watched as Sam leaned down a little so she was at the kid's eye level. She handled the situation wonderfully by saying to the boy, "Sorry that we had to drag you into this mess. Something very serious is going on, so that is why cat boy, here, was so harsh to you. We just need some basic information from you. What's your name?"

"Cat boy," Theo muttered in distaste. "Where does she get the nerve?" He glared at Tucker when he saw him chuckling at the comment.

"My name is Rhodes," the boy said in a voice that still hadn't reached puberty, making it sound like a girl's in a way. "I was running away from my uncle when someone very powerful captured me and used me to make you two stop your search for him. I…I have no where else to go." It was the truth. Sam and Tucker hadn't been sure that Vlad would kill Rhodes if they kept interfering, but they couldn't chance it when a life was on the line. That was how they got tied up in the first place.

"What kind of a name is Rhodes?" Tucker whispered to Theo.

"What kind of name is Tucker?" Theo responded with a cruel smile.

"What is your name, anyways?" Tucker asked, trying to lighten the situation.

"Theo," Theo answered absentmindedly. He leaned down to Rhodes's eye level like what Sam was doing and told the boy with a dead serious tone in his voice, "I need all the people I can get for this last stretch of our mission. I don't care if you tag along with us, kid, but I can't guarantee your safety or even your life. If you join us, you don't complain or we will take you to the first town we see and leave you there. So…are you with us?"

The boy gave Theo a sly grin from under the shadows of his straw hat. Theo returned it with one of his own. "I'm in," Rhodes said with a sharp nod. Against his better judgment, Theo accepted the kid into the group.

"Uh…what mission are you talking about?" Tucker asked Theo, deeply confused now. "We just came here to get Danny back and then leave."

Theo stood back up to face the puzzled and slightly anxious Sam and Tucker. The wheels in his head were working furiously, thinking of a million things all at once. This plan of his was going down hill…fast. Sam and Tucker were asking questions they needed to know, but time prevented them from quick answers. Rhodes had made the equation a little whacked because of Theo's suspicion for him. And Danny should have been there by now.

"Where are you, ghost boy?" Theo muttered the question to himself.

-Danny-

The first attack was barely seen and detected from Ares. Taking no chances now, the god came in with his double bladed axe held high, spilling blood his only focus. Thinking smoothly now, Danny ducked and dodged every hard hitting swing Ares threw at him. Only a few times Ares came close to hitting the boy, but Danny was right there with his sword to protect himself.

It was only this moment where Danny realized how different his human and ghost form was. Sure, there had always been the obvious stuff to distinguish the two from each other. But with his ghost senses working near their limit, his strength and stamina heightened, and his head clear of all fear, it seemed like his human form was so pathetic and delicate. He had been no match for Ares then. Now he was working at the god's level. Were humans really that fragile?

Danny ducked after another swing of the axe. It came so close to slicing through a side of his head that Danny could hear the swoosh in the air as it came down. In mid swing, the weapon glowed a brilliant red and morphed into another type of weapon.

With an alarmed yelp, Danny saw that the axe was now a gleaming sword and it was changing its direction quickly. The boy didn't have the time to block the new angled swing with his own sword. Instead, he turned intangible, phasing right through it as it carved right through his ghostly mid section.

Ares rapidly brought his blade back up to hold the hilt in both hands for a more powerful swing. Danny turned tangible again, staying in his crouch so he could be ready to roll out of the way if he had to. That last one had been too close. It took a lot of focus to use any powers when he had to concentrate on sword fighting as well. All it took was a little bit more speed from Ares, and the ghost boy could be caught off guard and get hurt again. That was the last thing Danny needed.

Ares' blade glittered a dazzling gold as it reflected off the sun blazing down upon the adversaries. He heaved it high before vertically bringing it downward, a loud battle yell escaping the god. Danny deftly rolled forward and through the immortal's legs.

Springing back to his feet, Danny lifted his own sword to scathe the back of the god. Ares spun around just in time to raise his sword. Metal collided violently with metal. The clash of both swords felt like slamming into a brick wall for Danny.

Ignoring the pain in both his hands and his bleeding arm, Danny phased right through the god. Ares gave a roar, swinging his sword in one long arc as he whirled all the way around. If Danny hadn't been alert, he surely would have gotten his head cut off. But he was already in the air; above any threat as he kicked the helmet Ares was wearing right off his head.

The bronze helmet clanked noisily to the grassy hill ground. This small deed enraged the god of war. He glared venomously up at Danny, those black eyes full of hate. "Who do you belong to?" he barked up at Danny. "Once I kill you, I will go to your immortal mother or father and throw your dead body at their feet as a reminder to them how poorly they raised you! You have no respect for the gods!"

"I belong to no one!" Danny yelled back down at him. He blasted downward, fiercely swinging his sword at Ares. The god easily stepped to the side, grabbed the boy's ankle, and flung him harshly to the ground. Hastily scrambling to his feet, Danny didn't have the time to dodge another swing. The tip of Ares' blade swept across the teen's chest.

Letting out a stifled cry of pain, Danny duck rolled out of the way of a second swing. At the end of the roll, he sprung off the ground and into the air to hover over Ares' head. Breathing hard from the so much exertion, Danny lightly traced his fingers over his new wound. It wasn't as deep as the one on his arm, but it was bleeding nonetheless. It stung and burned, competing against his arm injury for the most painful under the useful numbness of adrenaline that was pumping through his body.

"I can see that you are weary and tired, boy," Ares called up to Danny. He saw some blood drip off of Danny's wound and fall to the grass beside him and laughed in evil glee of the gruesome sight. "I do have to give you credit for making it this far. You are like a little monkey, the way you jump and fly around," he said with a malevolent chuckle. "But your body can't go on much more. The moment you make a mistake, I will be there to give the fatal blow. No amount of flying or intangibility will help you in this battle."

"Then maybe we should cool things down," Danny snarled back.

The next swing from Ares could be a more deadly one. The teen knew he wouldn't be able to take much more of this. It was time to finish the god off before any more damage could be inflicted.

Eyes switching to a frosty blue, Danny collected his cold power in his hands. Near his limit of control of an ice blast, Danny pushed his palms down at Ares. The spray caught the god slightly off guard, but he was still able to raise his sword to deflect the icy blow.

"I'm glad that's done," Danny sighed in relief to himself. He floated back to the earth to see how much Popsicle damage he had done to the god. The frosty mist was still collected around what Danny thought to be the ice sculpture of the immortal. He waited patiently for the cold fog to blow away in the wind.

"Underestimating someone in battle is a big mistake," the voice of Ares growled from behind the boy.

For a second Danny was frozen in fear. Forcing himself to get over it, Danny twisted his body around while trying to get his sword up in time for a block. He gritted his teeth as the first blow reverberated through the bones in his hands. He jumped away, sprung off the ground and flew back at Ares at a faster speed. At the last second, he changed his flight direction and came down with his sword from above the god's head. Their swords clashed again. Ares was just too quick for Danny to beat with a sword.

"Besides changing its shape, my sword can deflect almost any unique attack from a god, goddess, or demigod," Ares explained to Danny. "Your ice powers are completely useless here."

Danny growled in frustration. He pushed off the god's shoulders, sending both of them flying in different directions across the field. Ares smoothly rolled back to his feet. Danny swooped around and blasted back at Ares. He was half way there when he saw the god spot his spear symbol and pull it out of the earth. He pointed it at the teen coming at him, a white blast coming out of it.

The ghost boy flew off to one side, avoiding the first blast of white power from the spear. "What the heck is that thing?" Danny asked himself. He wasn't lucky on the second shot; it caught him in the shoulder. "No!" Danny screamed as he felt his powers dwindle into nothing. A second later, he was Danny Fenton, next to useless human.

Shorting out, Danny lost his flight ability and fell roughly to the ground, landing on his shoulder and loosing his sword in the process. Panic rising steadily in him, Danny lunged for his weapon with a type of desperation in his wide blue eyes. He didn't have a chance. Ares got there first, kicking it down the hill with a wicked laugh.

"I guess I should thank you for returning my symbol, pathetic one," Ares said as he slowly started to walk toward Danny. With a skill mastered by only a few, Ares twirled the spear around with one hand. It looked like a helicopter's blades as they spun with a deadly whirl.

Danny said nothing. His pains were sharply returning. He had lost a lot of blood, so his clouded head spun and his eyes couldn't seem to focus enough. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, grimacing at the pain of doing just that simple task. He was in deep trouble.

Ares took his eyes off his prey for a second, puzzlement on his face as he looked off into the forest. Danny turned his head around to see what was so bizarre that it would capture Ares' attention. He didn't know how to feel when he saw a stream of fire blasting out of the top of sea of deep green pine trees. It was Theo's signal. But…was Danny going to survive to even make it there?

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Another cliffhanger! Oh! Phantom Mania is in an hour! I'm excited for this next episode and for the movie…even though I've already seen them. Oh well. At least I got to see the Pandora's Box episode which was the only one in the season that I hadn't seen before. It was good. It didn't interfere with my fic, which made me happy. Okay. Enough with my blabbing! I WILL get my next chapter out next Friday. I hope this whole two week updating thing will stop and go back to one week. I will see all you awesome readers next Friday!