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chapter nine ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
009. Lunch with Father Dearest

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CASSIE WOKE UP ON THE TRAIN AGAIN. She did some math since she had nothing better to do.

Today was June 14 so that left . . . seven days before the solstice. Cassie nodded to herself and spent the remainder of the train ride reading very slowly.

It was afternoon when they arrived in Denver. Cassie was starving as they hadn't eaten since last night.

"Let's try to contact Chiron. I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit." Annabeth informed.

"We can't use phones right?" Percy questioned.

"Monsters don't need more help tracking you, Perce." Cassie input. "She's not talking about phones."

They wandered through downtown for half and hour. Cassie liked window shopping. There were some interesting jackets and glasses.

She got some red flame shaped sunglasses. They costed $5 which got rid of all her money.

Annabeth scolded her for wasting it but Cassie shrugged placing the glasses on her head.

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Eventually, they got to a car wash and headed to the farthest stall from the street. They kept alert for any cops. Four young kids without a car at a car wash definitely seemed sketchy.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked. He didn't get an answer.

Grover grabbed the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents. I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?" Grover complained.

"Don't look at me. The dining car wiped me out. And someone wasted her money on stupid glasses." Annabeth answered, referring to Cassie.

The brunette held her hands up in surrender with a roll of her eyes.

Percy took out a quarter and handed it to the satyr.

"Excellent. We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good and my arm gets tired of pumping." Grover said.

"What are you talking about?" Percy still had no clue about what's happening.

"He's I-Ming." Cassie responded as Grover put the knob on FINE MIST.

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging. The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods." Annabeth clarified.

'I wanna meet her someday. Seems cool.' Cassie thought. (Some would warn 'be careful what you wish for' but that's for the future.)

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

Cassie nodded as Grover held the spray gun up and mist spewed out.

"Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow." Grover said.

The light shone through the mist and a rainbow of colors appeared. Annabeth out stretched her hand.

"Drachma, please."

Percy obliged and Annabeth held the coin over her head.

"O goddess, accept our offering." The blonde threw the coin into the rainbow. "Half-blood Hill."

It took a minute but the Big House shimmered into sight. The back of a familiar son of Hermes appeared.

"Luke!" Percy yelled.

The blonde boy turned and a smile fell onto his lips.

"Percy! Is that Annabeth too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

Cassie was first to reply. "Except for being forgotten, I'd say we're pretty good."

Luke's gaze shifted to the brunette.

"Cassie, good to see you're still alive."

"The amount of faith you have in me, Castellan." She faked hurt, placing her hand on her chest.

Luke laughed before Annabeth stuttered.

"We're . . . uh . . . fine."

Her hands grasped her shirt to straighten it and she pushed the hair out of her face.

"We thought-Chiron-I mean-"

Cassie rolled her eyes. The blonde couldn't get a grip of herself.

"He's down at the cabins. We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover alright?" Luke said.

"I'm right here." Grover called out, moving into view. "What kind of issues?"

Just then a car pulled into the car wash, playing obnoxiously loud music. It was so noisy that the pavement shook.

"Chiron had to-what's that noise?" Luke started, but noticed the blaring in the background.

Annabeth took the chance to get off frame.

"I'll take care of it. Grover, Carter, come on!"

"What? But-" The satyr tried to protest.

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!"

Grover mumbled something as he gave Percy the spray gun.

"Why do I have to go?" Cassie spoke up.

"Just come on, Carter!"

Cassie sighed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She made a 'help me' face to Luke and followed after the blonde.

"Still at it, I see." Luke chuckled, referring to the girls' arguing as the three disappeared out of sight.

Luke told Percy that the cabins were taking sides after learning about Zeus and Poseidon's fight.

Next to him, Percy heard Annabeth and a guy arguing before Cassie yelled something and the music went soft.

Percy and Luke talked for a while before the timer went off on the spray gun.

From beside him, the music stopped as a man yelled, slamming his door and speeding out of the car wash.

The call with Luke ended just as Cassie, Annabeth, and Grover walked back. They were all laughing and Cassie had a proud grin on her face, flipping her sword carelessly.

Their faces dropped when they saw Percy's.

"What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?" Annabeth asked.

"Not much," Percy brushed off. "Come on, let's find some dinner."

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The group found a restaurant and made their way to a booth. Families around them were eating burgers and drinking sodas.

It was a big coincidence that they kept eating burgers, but Cassie didn't mind.

Soon, a waitress came over, studying them.

"Well?"

"We, um, want to order dinner." Percy mumbled.

"You kids have money to pay for it?" The waitress questioned.

Grover's lips started to tremble. Annabeth was just about ready to pass out and Cassie had her head down on the table, so Percy couldn't see her face.

He was thinking of an excuse when the building shook. A massive motorcycle pulled into the parking lot. The headlights shone red and all conversations stopped.

The gas tank had a flame design and gun holsters were on either side. Guns included.

Cassie's head rose and she saw the man.

'Seriously!'

The guy was wearing a red muscle shirt with black jeans and a black leather jacket. He had a knife strapped to his thigh and wore red shades (Uglier than Cassie's btw. She'd want you to know that).

He would've been handsome if his face didn't look so evil. His hair was cut short and scars littered his face. He looked familiar to Percy, like someone he knew.

As he walked in, everyone froze and stood up. With a wave of his hand, they all sat down and resumed their conversations.

The waitress looked at Percy again.

"You kids have money to pay for it?"

"It's on me." The biker told her as he slid into their booth.

For once, Cassie was thankful she was shoved next to Annabeth away from the guy.

The waitress mount fell open and the biker noticed.

"Are you still here?"

He pointed at her and she swiveled, heading to the kitchen. His gaze fell on Percy and Cassie couldn't help but scowl.

"So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"

"What's it to you?" Percy snarked back. It was Ares' powers getting to him. Making him feel immense anger.

"Percy this is—" Annabeth started to warn.

"A waste of time. Let's just go." Cassie interrupted.

Ares chuckled lightly.

"Definitely mine." He muttered. "S'okay. I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

Percy's face lit up in realization. He knew why this guy looked familiar. He had the same vicious sneer as the kids in Cabin 5 and the same scowl Cassie did.

"You're Cassie's dad. Ares, god of war."

A grin broke out on the god's face. He took off his shades revealing his fiery eyes (quite literally).

"That's right punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear." Ares said.

"She was asking for it."

"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know?"

'Probably because you don't have time with all your godly stuff.' Cassie thought.

"What I'm here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you." Ares told them.

Cassie rolled her eyes as the waitress came back with the food. Ares handed her some drachmas and the woman inspected them nervously.

"But, these aren't . . ."

Ares started cleaning in finger nails with his knife.

"Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress didn't protest any further. She just left with the drachmas.

"You can't do that. You can't just threaten people with a knife." Percy cried out.

"If only it were that easy." Cassie mumbled out loud.

Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon punk? You should."

Percy was beginning to see more similarities between Ares and Cassie. From the flames to the glasses to the red to the weapons. Definitely related.

"Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor." Ares finished.

Cassie scoffed. 'Oh so now he wants our help, after what, 11 years.'

Annabeth sent her a warning glance but Cassie ignored it, crossing her arms irritatedly.

"What favor could I do for a god?" Percy inquired.

"You could do me a favor by figuring out how to get rid of him with his oh so powerful godliness." Cassie muttered under her breath. Only Annabeth heard and elbowed the brunette.

"Do that again and I'll slice your head off." Cassie threatened, glaring at the blonde. She was already frustrated with her dad. She didn't need another annoyance.

The two had missed out on Ares explaining what he wanted.

"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?" Percy said.

"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" Ares taunted. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

Cassie was getting more annoyed by the second and it wasn't her father's powers. This jerk shows up out of nowhere to make their quest harder.

"We're not interest. We've already got a quest." Percy declines.

"I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful . . ."

The thought was appealing to Ares as he licked his lips.

"Well if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back."

Ares continued to explain how he told Poseidon about Hades and how he needed them to get his shield. He lost it in a date with his girlfriend. He offered Percy information about Sally Jackson.

Percy kept making sarcastic comments riling up the god.

"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am." Ares warned.

Cassie scoffed for the hundredth time. Her hand flashed and her sword appeared under the table. She was just about ready to maim Ares, even if he was her dad.

"Can you just go already? We'll get your stupid shield." Cassie said bitterly.

"I see you found the sword." Ares looked at Cassie. His eyes held regret but Cassie wasn't looking up.

"What do you mean?" Cassie had an idea of what he meant but she was hoping it wasn't right.

"What you thought a sword like that was just left around in the woods. You know better than that kid." It was obvious where Cassie got her attitude.

"I-I-why does it matter." Cassie stuttered, which is not a common sight to see.

"It doesn't but you're welcome. How's the blessing mishap going?"

"Er. . . fine I haven't used any of them yet." Cassie scratched her neck in embarrassment.

"Hmm. That's a surprise. Most would have by now, but use it wisely. When you really need it."
Ares fiddled with his knife and pointed at her to emphasize.

Cassie nodded and avoided any eye contact with her friends (and enemy). She hadn't told them about the blessing situation yet.

Ares hadn't meant to, but he accidentally gave her five of his blessings to use whenever. It would make her indestructible for a certain amount of time but not forever.

Cassie tried not to use them willy nilly so she still had all five left.

"Don't get yourself killed. I'll see you soon, Cassandra. Nice shades." Ares shifted his attention to Percy. "I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

He vanished and Percy almost thought it was a dream, but the huge scowl on Cassie's face and Grover and Annabeth's nervousness told him otherwise.

"Not good. Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good." Grove bleated.

Cassie was glad none of them remembered the blessing thing Ares said. Percy waved him off, emotions returning back to normal.

"It's probably some kind of trick. Forget Ares. Let's just go."

"Oh so know you wanna 'just go'? I'd love to forget about my dad, Kelp Head, but we can't just dismiss him."

"Your just saying that because he's you dad. Just forget it." Percy insisted, apparently his emotions weren't completely normal yet.

He was mad at Cassie, internally blaming her for his interaction with Ares. Cassie was holding back from pulverizing him.

"We can't. Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent." Annabeth stated.

"Maybe because 'he's my dad', I should tell him to turn you into one. Serves you right for being a jerk." Cassie quipped.

"Sorry, couldn't control myself." Percy apologized awkwardly.

"Whatever." Cassie replied turning away from him.

"Why does he need us?" Percy asked.

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains. Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

Annabeth expected a response from Cassie but the brunette stayed quiet. She was lost in thought, blowing strands of her uneven hair out of her face.

Cassie moved the sunglasses to cover her eyes. She was thinking about her dad. About the sword he seemingly gave to her as a kid.

She felt the hilt of the sword ignoring the world around.

"But this water park . . . he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?" Percy questioned.

Annabeth and Grover shared looks of concern and both glance at Cassie's silent figure.

"I'm afraid we'll have to find out." The blonde said.

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That's how they found themselves standing outsider the water park.

It had a huge sign that used to say WATERLAND but was missing some letters so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was locked and had barbed wire on top and on the side. As it was night, the place was empty and looked creepy.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date. I'd hate to see what she looks like." Percy joked.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "At least he has one. That's more than I can say for some." She quipped back.

Annabeth glanced between the two. She felt weird that they were arguing. It was her and Carter's thing.

"Percy, be more respectful." Annabeth scolded.

"Why I thought you hated Ares?"

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks." Grover cautioned.

"Who is she? Echidna?" Percy guessed.

"No, idiot. Aphrodite, goddess of love." Cassie replied though her tone was laced with disgust at the word 'love'.

"I thought she was married to somebody, Hephaestus." Percy spoke.

"So what?" Cassie asked.

"Oh, so how do we get in?" Percy changed the subject.

Grover impressed them all and used the winged shoes to fly over the gate. He did a flip in the air before stumbling on his feet.

"You guys coming?"

Annabeth and Percy did it the hard way. They climbed the barbed wire, holding it steady for each other.

The three looked at Cassie expectantly. Annabeth was ready to hold the fence, but the brunette didn't need it.

Her sword materialized, electricity off to keep from electrocuting the fence and herself. She sliced a hole in the wire and stepped through.

Percy and Grover gaped and Annabeth shook her head, disappointed in herself for not thinking of that.

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They wandered through the park glancing at the rides. A souvenir shop was left open up ahead.

It had bits and bobs but the racks caught Annabeth's attention.

"Clothes. Fresh clothes." Annabeth exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you can't just-" Percy started to protest.

"Watch me."

Annabeth grabbed stuff off the racks and shelves placing some in Cassie's arms. She dragged the daughter of Ares towards the changing rooms and shoved her into one of the stalls.

Annabeth went in the other and when they both reappeared, they looked like WATERLAND advertisements.

"What the heck." Grover said as him and Percy copied the girls' actions, disappearing into the changing stalls.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth examined Cassie's reaction.

"What's it to you?" Cassie asked, attitude in her voice.

"Can I not just ask if your okay?"

"Well considering the fact that you're the reason I wasn't okay for about four years of my life, I'd say no."

"Why do I even bother, Carter?"

"Because you can't get enough of me, Chase."

"No way! I'd never date you even if we were the last two people in this world." Annabeth defended.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want to date you anyway, even if it were an option." Cassie retorted.

Neither saw the looks of pain that flashed on each other's face.

Their conversation stopped there because the boys returned from the stalls, noticing the two who stood crossed armed, facing away from each other with glares.

They all headed around the park to find the Tunnel of Love.

Percy learned about the weird situation between Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. They also found the Tunnel of Love.

Grover walked to the rim of the pool.

"Guys look!" He pointed down.

At the bottom of the pool was the boat for the ride. It was painted pink and white with an abundance of hearts.

Ares shield sat in the left seat.

"This is too easy. So we just walk down there and get it?" Percy said.

Annabeth was inspecting one of the cupid statues.

"There's a Greek letter carved here. Eta. I wonder . . ."

"Grover do you smell any monsters?" Percy questioned.

"Nothing." The satyr informed.

"Nothing-like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"

Hurt washed over Grover's face.

"I told you, that was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm going down there." Percy stated.

Cassie huffed. "No you're not. I am. Don't risk your life for 'my dad'. I wouldn't want to put you in harm's way."

Percy sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. Words just slipped out."

"Whatever. I'll be nice and forgive you Kelp Head, but next time my fist will 'slip' into your face." Cassie threatened.

"Still I'm going and you're staying here. You too, Grover. I need you for air support if something goes wrong. Percy you can control the water." Cassie explained.

"Sure. But what could go wrong?" Grover said.

"I don't know. Just an instinct. Chase, get in the boat." Cassie demanded.

Annabeth felt heat rise to her cheeks.

"Are you kidding!?"

"What now?" Cassie inquired, getting fed up.

"Me, go with you to the . . . the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?" Annabeth clarified.

Cassie's face went red too. Annabeth would say it's from her anger.

"For me, it would be pretty embarrassing. For you, it's an honor. Besides, who's gonna see you!?" Cassie reasoned. "Whatever. I'll do it myself if you're going to make it weird. And you've already made it pretty clear that we'd never date."

Cassie started the descend and found Annabeth following behind her, muttering about children of Ares messing everything up.

They got in the boat and a scarf was in the right seat. Cassie looked around and saw mirrors lining the edge of the pool. Their reflection was all around.

Cassie realized why her dad went on dates here. Both gods could stare at themselves while making out. Ewww.

She picked up the scarf and a trance washed over her. Cassie loved the perfume smell and was about to rub it against her face unwillingly when Annabeth yanked it from her. The blonde shoved it in her pocket.

"Don't do that. You of all people would stay away from love magic."

"I didn't mean to."

"Just grab the shield, Warpath, and let's leave."

Cassie went to grab her dad's shield but her hand broke some type of string. She glanced down at her hands and her eyes widen. It was a trip wire.

"Dam it." Cassie cursed.

"Don't." Annabeth warned.

"A bit too late, Brainiac."

"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."

"Oh really? Couldn't tell." Cassie muttered as the pool started creaking.

It sounded like gears winding.

"Guys!" Grover shouted. Him and Percy peered over the edge.

The cupid statues fired at one another and little metallic strands started making a net.

"Run!" Cassie yelled as she grabbed the shield.

Her and Annabeth tried to run up the walls of the pool. It was a lot harder than going down.

"Come on!" Grover urged as he and Percy tried to keep a part of the net open, but it just weaved around their hands.

The cupids' heads popped open revealing video cameras and spot light flashed onto the girls. A voice from a speaker said: "Live to Olympus in one minute . . . Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight."

"Hephaestus! I'm so stupid." Annabeth cried out.

"That you are!" Cassie screamed back, trying to find a way out.

"Shut up! Eta is 'H'. He made this trap to catch his wife with your dad. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!" Annabeth explained.

"Speak for yourself!" Cassie replied.

The girls had almost grabbed the rim when tiny metallic things crawled out. Spiders!

Annabeth shrieked.

Cassie watched as the metal insects came towards them.

"Spiders! Sp-sp-aaaah!" Annabeth stuttered as she stumbled, tripping onto her butt.

Cassie made a face, but grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled her back to the boat. The daughter of Athena was almost covered in the robots.

They got to the boat and Cassie hoped the spider's weren't programmed to kill them, but they were meant for gods. And one things for sure, they weren't gods.

Annabeth was able to get in the boat. Cassie's sword appeared and she slashed at the spiders to try and keep them away. She tried to get Annabeth to help, but the blonde was frozen in fear, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Well if you won't help could you shut up?!" Cassie said.

"Thirty, twenty-nine . . ." The speaker continued counting.

The spiders shot strands of metal in an effort to tie the girls down. The metal was easy to cut, but when hundreds of spiders are making it, it got a bit harder.

Cassie killed some robots near Annabeth, but a spider took a part from her shirt. Grover was hovering above, trying to remove the net, and Percy didn't know what to do.

"Fifteen, fourteen . . ." The speaker called.

Cassie saw the control booth and got an idea.

"Grover! Check out that booth! Try and find the 'on' switch."

"But-" Grover started to protest.

"Do it!" Cassie ordered.

The satyr rushed to the booth and pressed every button, flicking every switch. He sent Cassie a helpless look.

Normally, Annabeth was the one who'd get them out of situations like this, but she was still screaming her lungs out. Cassie looked around.

"Five, four-"

"Percy! The water tanks!" She gestured to the water pipes and the son of Poseidon got the memo.

He disappeared out of view.

"Two, one, zero!"

Cassie was about to give up hope when water poured from the pipes. It washed away all the spiders. Cassie grabbed Annabeth and fastened the seat belt of the blonde's chair.

She barely got in her seat when the wave hit them. It sent the spiders flying and completely drenched the girls. (Familiar huh?)

They spun in a circle a few times with short circuiting spiders all around. The robots smashed in the walls and the cupid cams focused on the girls.

Percy appeared and was able to get the boat to ride the current and keep away from the walls.

"Kelp Head, the tunnel!"

The boat turned toward the tunnel and they flew into the dark. Annabeth and Cassie latched onto each other, screaming as they hurled along.

They passed love themed characters and scenes before leaving the tunnel. The boat headed towards the exit.

One slight problem though. The ramp that led to a safe drop was behind chained gates. Two boats were in front of the gates. One split in half and the other sinking.

"Take off your seatbelt!" Cassie shouted to Annabeth.

"Are you crazy, Carter?!"

"Well if you wanna get smashed to death by staying on this boat, then be my guest."

Cassie strapped her dad's shield to her arm.

"We have to jump!"

They could use the force of the boat when it struck to launch themselves over the gate.

Annabeth nodded and grabbed Cassie's hand. 

"On my mark." Cassie tried.

"No! On my mark!" Annabeth refused.

"What?"

"Simple physics! Force times the trajectory angle-"

"Fine, whatever. On your mark." Cassie cut her off.

They waited and waited and waited until . . .

"Now!" Annabeth yelled.

They jumped and the boat cracked against the gate. Annabeth got them maximum lift . . a little too much.

Cassie and Annabeth headed over the gates and the pool toward the solid pavement.

Cassie was about to accept her fate when something caught her shirt from behind.

"Ouch!" Annabeth cried out.

Grover had tried to save them but the girls had all the momentum.

"You're too heavy! We're going down!"

"You really know how to make a girl feel special, Gro. Calling her fat." Cassie remarked and the spiraled down.

Grover smashed into a photo board and Cassie and Annabeth fell to the floor. Cassie still had the shield on her arm.

Percy rushed over and together the three pulled Grover from the board. Cassie wrapped her arms around the boys.

"Thanks, idiots."

The bright light distracted her. The cupid cams had moved to face them, spotlights on their faces.

Cassie flipped the bird. "Show's over! Thanks you so much Uncle H! Have a terrible night!"

The cams shut off and the spotlights dimmed. Everything went silent.

Cassie scoffed looking down at the shield. Her stupid father did this. Tricked them all.

"We need to have a little chat with Ares." Percy said. The trap was meant for him. Ares didn't think Cassie would do it.

Cassie took a deep breath. "That we do."

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ author's note

Really long chapter. Makes up for the shortness of the last one. =)

—Just Another Overthinker