A fireman approaches the three half bloods telling them they need to evacuate the building now. Eurydice protests trying to keep herself between the fireman and the other two kids, now feeling even more protective of them. That doesn't stop the fireman though. He grabs the blonde and she lets out a loud sob fighting back against his grip. 

Once they were finally evacuated Eurydice sat in the back of the ambulance with a shock blanket over her shoulders tear stains still on her cheeks. Grover and Annabeth are talking close by, but she can't hear anything they're saying. It's like radio static in her head. 

"Eurydice," Annabeth gets the older teen's attention. "Let's go find Percy."

"Annabeth..." Grover warns taking in the blonde's fragile state. 

"He's alive." She insists, "I know it."

Just then, through the crowd they notice the boy standing on a dock near the water. 

"Percy!" Eurydice cries, jumping to her feet and running over to the boy. Annabeth and Grover follow close behind her. 

Annabeth runs up to Percy and hugs him.

"Hi." Percy says stunned, "Look, I'm sorry about shoving you in the stairwell."

:Even hearing myself say that sounds really bad, but I just... I knew you'd never agree, and there wasn't enough time..." Percy rambles. 

"So... you're not as dead as we thought you'd be." Grover jokes. 

"Surprise." Percy says doing small jazz hands. 

"What happened?" Eurydice asks, bringing her hand up to her face to wipe her tears. 

"Short version, we need to go to Santa Monica." Percy explains.

"What, like now?" Grover asks.

"My father's gonna meet me there. He's gonna help us." Percy says.

"Okay. Uh, just one problem with this plan." Annabeth points out, "The police think that we crashed an Amtrak train and then did that."

Percy stands confused, "The cops are after us?"

"Yeah." Annabeth says.

"Isn't that gonna make it hard for us to get on a train?" Percy questions, "Or a bus? Or really anything you need tickets for?"

The group starts to walk, not sure where they were going to go, but knowing they had to keep moving. 

"Hey, guys." Percy stops the group, "I think this quest might be harder than we thought."

"I've been thinking." He says, "I didn't steal the master bolt. You guys didn't steal the master bolt. We're pretty sure Hades has the master bolt, but he couldn't have stolen it himself. I mean, we don't even know who actually stole the thing, or why, or how deep this goes."

He pauses again taking in the other three's awkward glances, "I'm the last person to realize this, aren't I?"

"Yeah." Eurydice responds sheepishly. 

"Okay, so... maybe when we started, my head wasn't fully in this, but since the river... it all feels different somehow." Percy tells them, "He saved me. My dad. I guess I just really never thought that's something he'd do for me. So maybe I gotta take things more seriously now."

The four of them hear a motorcycle engine revving. 

"Car." Percy calls telling the group to move to the side of the road. 

"That's not a car, it's a bike. Just let it pass. Come on." Grover tells them.

"I'm saying, we're not just trying to retrieve a thing." Percy continues, "I think we might need to be detectives here, too."

"Yeah." Annabeth answers.

"Why are you being weird with me again?" Percy asks, "I thought we weren't doing that anymore."

"I'm not being weird." Annabeth argues.

"Yes, you are." Percy insists, "You've been weird since we left the Arch."

All of a sudden Percy starts to grin mischievously, "Oh... I get it. It doesn't have to be a thing, you know. That you hugged me."

Eurydice tries to stifle a laugh but fails miserably at Percy's comment. 

"I mean, we're like friends now." Percy teases, "That seems like a thing friends do. At least I think they do."

"I saw the Fates," Annabeth cuts Percy off, "Back at the Arch, I saw the Three Fates, and I saw Atropos cut a piece of thread." 

Eurydice's face falls at the realization.

"And that's bad or...?" Percy asks.

"The Fates weave the life strand of every living thing." Annabeth explains, "When you see a string cut it means one of us is going to die."

"We're all gonna die eventually." Percy points out.

"Soon." Annabeth deadpans, "It's a warning. An omen."

The same motorcycle they heard before starts to get closer. The four demigods just ignore it continuing their conversation. 

"Okay. Guys, we need to talk about this whole fate thing." Percy says, "Three old ladies with a ball of yarn can't know what's gonna happen. What I choose to do changes what's gonna happen, and I can choose to do anything I... want."

The motorcycle stops and the man driving it looks at them.

"Need some help?" He asks.

"I beg your pardon?" Grover responds.

"I asked if you could use some help." He repeats.

"Nope. No. We're... We're good. Appreciate you asking, though. So long." Grover dismisses the man.

"You don't seem too good." He presses.

"We don't want anything from you." Annabeth tells the man once again trying to get him to leave.

"You sure?" He asks, "Because you guys are so behind schedule. I mean, summer solstice is just a few days away."

This confuses the group. Who is this and how does he know all of this. 

"And as much as I'd love to see a good war pop off, as your big cousin, I feel like, maybe, I wanna give you a hand."

"Cousin?" Percy asks.

"Ares." Annabeth figures it out. Eurydice moves the other three behind her so if Ares attacks he won't hurt them. 

Ares looks at Annabeth, "You must be Athena's kid. Always gotta be the wisest one in the bunch."

"And you," He examines Eurydice, "Persephone's kid right? I never thought I'd see you out on a quest. You're mother always said you were too fragile. Her delicate little flower or some crap like that." 

"Why would you help us?" Eurydice challenges ignoring what he said about her mother, "How do you even know about what we're doing out here?"

"Because I'm doing exactly the same thing as you." Ares says, "Zeus sent all of his kids out looking for the master bolt, too. Listen, dummies. I'm hungry. There's a halfway decent diner up the road. If you want my help, you'll meet me there. But don't dawdle. I won't wait forever."

He starts up his motorcycle before taking off down the road. The four of them look at each other before shrugging deciding that for now at least it was their best bet. 

They walk up to the diner pushing open the door. Hearing Ares laughing loudly from a table inside. 

"Guess this is the right place." Percy says moving over to the table.

Ares looks up at them from his phone, "Gimme a second, I'm just starting a fight on Twitter here. Nothing makes me happier than a good old-fashioned, burn-it-down fight."

"Ah. Okay, done." He puts down the phone and Eurydice rolls her eyes. 

"So your quest," Ares sighs, "is going to fail. Ask me how I know."

"It isn't gonna fail." Percy argues. 

"Sure it is." The god pulls out his phone showing them a news clip. 

They hear a mans voice come through the phone, "For starters... Percy was always troubled, but I never thought he was capable of something like this."

"Wh... Who's that?" Grover asks Percy.

"My stepdad." Percy answers before turning his attention back to Ares, "What's he doing?"

The news clip turns back to the reporter interviewing him, "And in addition to the destruction at the Gateway Arch..."

"What's he doing?" Percy repeats. 

"Wait for it," Ares responds. 

"...you believe he may also have had something to do with your wife's disappearance?" The reporter continues.

"A kid that messed up?" Percy's stepdad responds, "What wouldn't he do?"

"What?" Percy asks in shock. 

"Wild, right?" Ares says putting the phone down, "The FBI is already spreading your picture around."

"I'm gonna kill him." Percy says angrily.

"I knew I was gonna like you." Ares grins, "But safe to say, the chances of you four idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A. without getting arrested are slim to none."

"Why are you sitting here then?" Annabeth challenges, "If you're supposed to be looking for the master bolt too, shouldn't you be out there looking for it?"

"There's no fear in you, is there?" Ares hums, "Doesn't matter. Whether the bolt's retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon."

"No." Percy protests, "The Oracle said if we return the bolt, there wouldn't be a war."

"Is that what she said? Or is that what Chiron said she meant?" Ares asks, "Yeah." 

"You're new to the family, young one, so let me fill you in on how we work. See, years before I was born, my grandpa Kronos ate my aunts and uncles. Yeah. Then my dad made him puke them back up, then chopped him into a million pieces and chucked 'em into a bottomless pit, so that kinda set the tone right outta the gate."

"Olympians fight. We betray. We backstab."

"We will push anyone down a flight of stairs to get ahead. And that's why I love my family so much. My dad knows he's not getting this bolt back with quests or goose chases. He knows there's a war coming."

"And in reality, I think he's okay with that. I think he feels it's just time for a war, so we're gonna have a war." Ares takes a deep breath, "Isn't that great?"

"We're completing this quest. We're stopping this war." Percy insists, "You said you can help. Can you?"

"Okay, so here it is." Ares begins, "There's an amusement park up the road. I left my shield there. You get me my shield back, and I'll get you to the Underworld by lunch tomorrow with a plan to invade Hades's palace."

"You left your shield?" Percy quips, "Like, forgot it on the merry-go-round?"

"Okay. The chirping was funny to me for a minute, but it is getting old." Ares snaps, "So do we have a deal, or am I killing all four of you so I can eat in peace?"

The four of them exchange a look before subtly nodding agreeing to a plan. 

"Okay." Percy tells him. 

"Great." Ares says, "One catch."

"Oh just one?" Eurydice rolls her eyes leaning back in her seat.

"I really do need that shield back," Ares ignores her, "so I'm gonna keep the satyr and princess of hell here as collateral so you don't run off."

"What? No." Percy protests.

"Okay." Grover agrees and Eurydice nods knowing there's  no point in arguing. 

"No way." Percy repeats, sending a glare to Eurydice and Grover, "We don't split up again."

"It's okay." Eurydice reassures.

"If he wanted to kill us, we'd be dead by now." Grover reasons, "Can we just walk them to the door?"

Ares agrees and the two walk Percy and Annabeth to the door. 

"Okay, look. Don't engage with him." Annabeth lectures, "He'll wanna get you riled up, get in your head and you can't let him."

"It's okay. Really." Eurydice tells her. 

"We know what we're doing. Go. Get the shield." Grover tells the two, "We'll be here when you get back."

Eurydice pulls Annabeth into a hug, "Be safe Annie. Take care of Percy. We need both of you."

She places a kiss on her forehead before watching the pair walk off. 

Grover and Eurydice move back to the table taking a seat across from Ares. 

Ares scrolls on his phone as Eurydice and Grover just stare at him awkwardly.

"We've met before." Grover finally breaks the silence.

"Been around a long time, little boy." Ares says, "I've met a lot of people."

"I'm 24." Grover rolls his eyes.

"Good for you." Ares scoffs

"We met at the solstice." Grover continues, "On Olympus."

"Protestor." Ares says angrily.

"Oh, I wasn't one of the protestors." Grover clarifies, "I'm a fan."

"I think you got me mixed up with someone else, kid." Ares sighs. 

"No, I don't." Grover insists.

"Satyrs eat tofu. Satyrs worship flowers." Ares argues, "Satyrs sing songs about their feelings. Satyrs are not fans of mine."

"Satyrs are children of nature." Grover counters, "Nature is brutal. Red in tooth and claw, right? Maybe unpleasant. But that doesn't make it untrue. You are the champion of all of that. I respect it."

"So what are you like, a casual World War II buff?" Ares raises an eyebrow at the satyr, "You've seen Saving Private Ryan, have you?"

"I prefer the Turbot War." Grover says, "The Lobster War. The Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Years' War. Your deep cuts."

"Huh?" Ares questions, "Those are wars where hardly anyone died."

"I like your mellower stuff." Grover tells Ares, "There's something cool about overwhelming force and a quick surrender."

"No one talks about those anymore." Ares says in slight awe. 

"They should." Grover says looking over at Eurydice and winking slightly.

"So tell me where we met again?" Ares sighs. 

The three sit there talking for about an hour stroking Ares ego trying to get him to reveal any information he had. 

"I hate kids. All of 'em. I hate my own kids." Ares tells them, "Um, maybe less than other kids, but still not fond of them."

Eurydice winces thinking of Clarisse back at camp. 

"'Look what I made!' 'What are butterflies for?' 'My knee hurts.'" He mocks, "I love my job, but that night when everyone's kids show up for the winter solstice and I have to sit through their 'presentation.'"

"That night is the worst night of the year, every year, by far." Ares complains, "This one in particular, it seems. Since one of those kids somehow walked off with the master bolt." 

"Says you. Who knows who actually took it." Grover presses.

"Plenty of people hate my dad enough to try." Ares admits.

"Maybe. But not many people could pull it off." Eurydice says.

"Someone Hades could've recruited for the job." Ares says.

"Says you." Grover says.

"And someone who could slip away long enough to do it without being missed, bold enough to cross Zeus, stealthy enough to get their hands on the thing..." Ares cuts himself off, "En... Enough."

"Not everything is a puzzle that needs to be solved." He sighs, "You're as bad as my sister."

"Was she always like that?" Eurydice speaks up.

"Who?" Ares asks. 

"Your sister. Athena." Eurydice clarifies.

"What do you mean?" Ares send the girl a confused look. 

"Always making things more complicated than they need to be so people will think she's smarter than you." Eurydice tells him. 

He stares her down for a minute and you could feel the tension in the room rise, but Eurydice's stare did not falter.

"Thank you!" Ares laughs, "I can't be the only one who sees it, right?" 

"No." Grover adds, "Not at all."

"It certainly feels that way sometimes." Ares laughs, "And seriously, she's the smart one? Really? If she's so smart, explain the owl. She talks to it, like, all the time. This fat, nasty little feathered rodent. And it's like her best friend. And we're so sure that she's a genius and I, no owl, am not?"

"Totally!" Eurydice agrees. "It's like people only see what they wanna see and ignore anything at all that doesn't fit the story they like to tell themselves."

"Exactly!" 

"Like you being the one to find the lightning thief and not her." Grover says and Ares freezes.

"What did you mean by that?" Ares challenges.

"By what?" Grover asks innocently. 

"Found the thief." Ares says, "We both know your friend didn't steal the bolt." 

That's what they needed. That's what they'd been looking for. 

"Yeah, but Zeus thinks he did," Eurydice covers quickly, "which is kind of all that matters, right?"

"Shut up." Ares snaps and the three of them go back to sitting in silence until finally Percy and Annabeth return placing the shield down on the table. 

"Where's our ride?" Percy asks. Ares sighs leading the four demigods outside the diner where there is an animal transport van. 

"You're kidding." Percy deadpans.

"Get in, don't. I really don't care." Ares tells them, "But in a few hours, this thing is gonna be at the Lotus Casino in Vegas. Hermes hangs out there. You play your cards right and his personal driver can get you to L.A. in minutes."

Ares hands Percy a backpack, "Here. Clothes. Cash. Drachmas to summon Hermes. I'd wish you luck, but what good would it do you?"

"We're not gonna fail." Percy insists.

"Don't worry." Ares dismisses him, "Your dad had plenty of kids he stopped caring about once he lost interest. You'll have lots of company." 

"We're not gonna fail, and I'm getting pretty tired of you saying it." Percy moves towards Ares.

"Percy," Grover warns. 

"You think you know who I am, but you don't." he walks straight up to Ares getting in his face, "And if you aren't careful... you're gonna find out."

"Percy..." Eurydice says getting him to back off. She pulls him towards the back of the van. "So, thank you for the emotional abuse and the cheeseburgers... and the ride. We're gonna take you up on that, too."

"Hey, do you think we could get some paper towels or something, it's not that nice in here." Grover asks, but Ares just waves at them as the door to the van closes locking them in. 

"Well... this smells." Percy says taking a seat on a bale of hay.

"If it gets us where we need to go, that's all that matters." Annabeth counters.

"Assuming Ares was telling the truth." Percy says.

"He wasn't." Grover tells the two, "Not entirely, at any rate. He was holding something back."

"How do you know?"

"Because I think we got it out of him." Grover gestures to himself and Eurydice.

"We know who stole the master bolt."