Ares leaned back in his seat, seemingly amused at how tense the young demigods were.

"What do you want?" The smallest asked bluntly.

"I got a job for ya. I was on a date with my girlfriend the other day, we were interrupted and I left my shield there. I need you to go get it."

"Why can't you go get it yourself?"

"You think I got time for that, Punk?"

"And you think we do? We're already on a quest."

Ares lowered his shades to glare at the child with flaming eyes.

"Zeus already sent his best to find the bolt. Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me. If I couldn't find a weapon that powerful... well, needless to say your whole little adventure is rather pointless."

Percy grit his teeth but put into use his years of practice ignoring his negative emotions.

The waitress came with several plates of burgers and fries, receiving a couple drachmas.

"Umm, this isn't-"

Ares pulled his hunting knife out of its holster and started not-so-casually cleaning his fingernails with hit. The poor girl squeaked and quickly left with the gold coins. The god followed her with his eyes before having his attention brought back to the children.

"You can't just threaten people like that!" Percy hissed, fists clenched.

"Welcome to America, punk. Everyone carries weapons 'round here. Don't you."

The son of Poseidon clenched his jaw, hand subconsciously moving to hover over the pocket holding his magic sword/pen.

"Thought so. Now listen here, a god has just given you a chance to prove yourself. Will you prove yourself a coward?"

Now, in another life, Percy would become quite affronted at the suggestion. In this life, he recognizes the goad for what it is and doesn't take the bait.

"I didn't know that a sense of self-preservation was synonymous with cowardice."

Ares growled at him and his fellow demigods looked at him like he'd gone mad but the son of Poseidon remained outwardly calm. On the inside he was seething but he didn't need the war god knowing that. It seemed to gain a bit of grudging respect.

"Alright kid, I'm a generous guy so I'll tell you what, you three get my shield and I'll do something for you."

"We're fine on our own."

"Is that so? That mortal money of yours isn't endless, and when it runs out you'll need a little help. It'd be quite wise," he glanced over at Annabeth, "to have a god on your side."

"Let's just do it, Percy. It shouldn't take too long, we should still have plenty of time."

The ebony haired boy sighed but nodded reluctantly.

"Good choice. Now our date was at an abandoned water park just a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

Annabeth's face scrunched up a bit, unable to avoid showing her distaste.

"What interrupted your date? Something scare you off?"

Ares glared.

"I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

It seemed as though they just blinked and the god was gone, bike and all.

Percy looked at his companions.

"Are we actually going to be doing this?"

"It's a side quest specifically from a god. Ares sought us out in particular for this," Castor said solemnly. "I don't think we have much of a choice, mate."

"Alright, let's finish eating then we can go."

<><><>

Arriving at their destination, the three of them had to climb the fence to get in. On the way to the ride they stopped at one of the gift shops. They grabbed some tourist type clothes that had been left behind and quickly changed, glad for the fresh clothing.

"Alright," Castor said as they reached the 'Thrill Ride of Love'. "We should have at least one of us stay up here just in case something happens."

"Well, while this isn't a functioning ride now there must've been some connection to a water system so Percy, you should go down there. You should be able to access your powers if there is some sort of trap."

"What? Are we just sending our friend in there alone? You can't be serious, Annabeth!"

"No, she's right." Percy said, interrupting before the son of Dionysus could build up into a full blown rant. "It makes sense, if something happens to me, I'll have two minds working to fix it out here and I won't have to worry about protecting one of you as well as myself."

Castor sighed but agreed and the youngest of the three went down into the empty pool.

Looking around, Percy didn't see anything immediately wrong. The boat had a bronze shield and a pink scarf lying innocently on the seat, it seemed easy. Perhaps a little too easy. He was proven correct when he tried to take the protective equipment and it pulled at a wire he had completely missed before.

Annabeth and Castor gasped, taking instinctive steps back as the cherub statues lining the pool ground around to aim there arrows at the boat and razor sharp wires of celestial bronze shot out to trap their friend in the stupid frilly boat.

"Percy!"

"I'm fine!" he called back even as a loud countdown started echoing through the park. "Guys, please tell me those aren't cameras!"

Their silence was telling.

"Bloody hell." He murmured under his breath as he pulled out his sword.

The two up at the edge just watched as the younger boy slashed at the net. Annabeth shrieked, literally shrieked, when hundreds of little metal spiders emerged, going right towards the boat. A bit guiltily, the daughter of Athena felt grateful that she hadn't gone down there.

Reaching out with his powers, the Hufflepuff felt the water flowing, trapped behind layers of concrete, and with a familiar tug in his gut, set it free. Water didn't like to be contained.

As the countdown reached zero and the cherub cameras turned on, a tidal wave of water crashed in, sweeping the boat into the 'Tunnel of Love'. It was dark, and Percy's heart was pounding in his ears but using the water, he was able to determine the approximate size of the tunnel and could steer well enough to avoid crashing the stupid thing into anything.

Outside of the ride, Castor was starting to panic.

"What do we do Annabeth? We stayed up here because of something like this and now-!"

"Castor! Calm down. Are you still wearing Luke's shoes?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Maia!"

"Whoa!"

The violet-eyed boy nearly fell back as wings sprouted from the shoes and lifted him up into the air. It took a moment for Castor to regain his balance, he still looked a bit pale and shaky but was stable enough.

"Alright, I'll go try to get those gates open, you fly down to try and grab him."

"I swear by the gods I'm never wearing these again after this."

"Good to know. For now, let's save our friend."

Annabeth ran for the gates blocking the exit of the ride, doing her best to ignore the cameras still rolling. It must've been one of the legendary traps set by Hephaestus to catch and embarrass the deities of Love and War.

"Here he comes!" Castor called down as he saw the water starting to rush through.

"I've almost got it!"

On the other side, Percy had to think quick. If the gates didn't open, the boat would be smashed against them. If he didn't get out somehow, he'd be smashed along with it. Unwilling to let the entire debacle be a waste, he tried to will the water to slow as he tied the shield to his back with Aphrodite's pink scarf and pictured a wall stopping the water. Magic was about intent, why should godly abilities be any different?

Sure enough, the water crashed against the mental wall and started rising, carrying the boat higher. The demigod climbed up onto the top of the boat and as it reached a place higher than the gate he got ready to make the water catch him and jumped.

His stomach jumped into his throat as he fell, just clearing the metal gate. He tried to call the water to him but the sensation of falling hindered his concentration. Thankfully, before he could reach the ground he was caught roughly under the arms.

"I got you Percy! Or maybe not. Annabeth!"

Castor was able to significantly slow their descent but not stop it. They hit the ground and rolled to absorb the impact. Both boys lay there for a moment, trying to catch their breath.

"Ugh, let's never do that again." Castor groaned.

"No promises." Percy replied with a small laugh.

"You idiot!"

The pair looked over to see a sopping wet Annabeth storming towards them.

"You couldn't just wait until I opened the gates?! I almost had them! If Castor hadn't caught you-!"

"Annabeth, I-"

"-swear to ALL the gods! And you lecture US about safety?!"

"Annabeth!"

The blonde girl stopped and took a breath, maintaining the glare she'd locked onto the youngest of their quest. Percy stood carefully, reaching forward to touch her arm, drying her off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have time to really think about other, safer options. Besides, I knew I could count on you guys to save me, that's the whole reason you stayed behind on this one, right?"

The daughter of wisdom glowered at him for a moment longer before huffing and turning on her heel to walk towards the amusement park exit.

"Whatever, let's go. Sooner we return Ares' shield, the sooner we get to the underworld."

Percy frowned back at Castor but the other boy just shrugged with a 'what can you do' smile and got up to follow. Deciding that he didn't really understand girls that much, the Potter let it go.

Together, the three demigods left the park. 

Out of earshot, there was a crack.