I gazed up longingly at the carnival rides and Ferris wheel for a second. I could imagine it at night, with the bright, flashing lights and little kids running around with their parents. As I stepped into the cold water of the Pacific, I felt tears form in my eyes. Maybe once this was all over, my mom and I could come to a place like this for a night.
Hades could foot the bill and give us the presidential suite again. She wouldn't have to worry about paying for anything, and we'd just enjoy our time together. Afterward, she wouldn't even worry about Gabe—I'd take care of the bastard. She could go to school, meet a nice guy, and settle down. She'd have the life she always wanted. I just had to get through this. My happy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a loud motorcycle.
My eyes caught sight of it as it roared down the street I just walked through—not that it was that hard. It was the size of a baby elephant, for Zeus' sake. The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather—but leather that looked like… well, human skin. The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama.
He was dressed in a red muscle shirt, black jeans, and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen— handsome, I guess, but wicked—with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. The weird thing was, I felt like I'd seen his face somewhere before.
"Lord Ares," I said, stepping out of the water. I slightly bowed my head. "To what do I owe this honor?"
Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "Poseidon's kid. You don't look like much."
Something changed. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the air in front of me got a little…hazy. My [Mana Detection] was telling me that the entire beach was being saturated with insane amounts of mana, but how was that possible? Was he about to just nuke Santa Monica to get my dead body?
"What can I help you with, Lord Ares?" I said, ignoring his comment. Come on, come on…
"Yeah, don't waste my time, punk," Ares replied. The explosions behind his glasses got brighter. "I'm not stupid." Wait, what? "Do you really think I'd expect you to walk on over here and 'pray' to your dad who's only been in your life for a week?" Ares said, smiling harshly. He pointed a gloved hand at himself. "I'm the God of War, punk. You're gonna need a better strategy than that. Not that strategy would've helped you anyway…."
"What are you talking about?" I growled out, dropping all pretenses of formality. Ever since he walked over to me, bad feelings started boiling in my stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with him.
"Heh," Ares said, crouching down to the ground and knocking three times. Not like, normal knocks, mind you. Each knock sounded like an elephant running into a bronze wall. The ground shook a little each time, too. "You'll see. Almost feel bad for you, ya know. First Luke betrayed you by telling me where you were headed…and now…"
"Shut up and fight me!" I screamed. I wanted to rip Ares' head off.
"No, no, little cousin," Ares said to me mockingly. "I'm not going to be the one you're fighting." My stomach dropped as the ground next to him began to tear open. A monstrous fissure rocked the beach, and a gaping hole appeared. Ghostly screams and cries of pain echoed from within. Skeletal hands started grasping at the surface. No… "Hello, nephew," Hades said in a smooth tone as he hopped out, smiling pleasantly. He looked at me happily, as if seeing me was making his entire day. "How's it hanging?" I felt like the air from my lungs had been expelled forcefully. Hades' aura of hopelessness slammed into me, much stronger than last night. I dropped to my knees. "But…but…"
"Oh, don't be stupid," Hades said, dismissively shaking his head at me. He fist-bumped Ares.
"You think I really wanted to help? After everything Olympus has taken from me? Pah! Foolish, to say the least—not that I'm surprised. You played right into my hands. All of you. You all should've been much, much more careful…"
The waves churned beneath me, salty and restless like they could sense something awful was about to happen. The ocean rose around me, wrapping my fingertips in cold, churning power. Hades kept pacing the beach, his voice dripping with mockery. "No, instead, your foolish father gave me your mother. She, of course, is dead," He practically skipped, his bony fingers gesturing like he was delivering a punchline. A smirk tugged at his lips. "And now, your turn's here! Yay! Be a good boy for me and just take it, will you? Make it easy. Tell you what… I'll even let you and your dear mommy into Elysium if you don't fight back."
Two skeletal warriors clattered out of the hole behind him, their bones glowing faintly in the moonlight. One had a Trojan-style helmet and a spear; the other lugged a war hammer the size of a small car. Real comforting. My insides twisted, hot and tight, like I'd chugged a gallon of bleach. My throat burned. My chest hurt. I couldn't breathe.
"How…why…" Hades pointed at me, his skeletal smile widening. The warriors groaned and started toward me, their feet dragging across the sand. "Don't worry," he sneered. "We'll get to talk a whole lot after this is over. Goodbye…nephew." Their footsteps got louder, crunching on the sand. The tide reached my waist, swirling around me in chaotic spirals. It twisted and tugged, but it wasn't calming. Not this time. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I was done. Mom was gone. The bolt wasn't coming back. The world was literally about to end. And there was nothing—nothing—I could do. All I had to do was wait for it, let the blow come and—
"Percy!" A voice tore through my despair, sharp and desperate, breaking through the storm in my head. My mental defenses, the ones that felt like rusty old shields, buckled under the push. My eyes snapped open. I knew that voice. "Piper?" I croaked, barely believing it. I turned toward the road, and sure enough, there she was, running full tilt toward the beach. Her braid bounced, her tear-streaked face lit by the glow of Ares' motorcycle, parked behind her. She skidded to a stop at the railing, gripping it like her life depended on it.
"What are you doing? Snap out of it!" she shouted, her voice cracking. "Can't you see what he's doing to you?" I blinked, the fog in my mind thinning. She sounded furious—no, terrified. And something about that hit me harder than a dozen skeletal warriors ever could. Snap out of what? I looked back at my uncle, only to find that his face looked fake, almost as if it had been molded out of clay. Wait, what? How did I not notice that? "He's using the helm on you!" Piper screamed again, gripping the Minotaur horn and holding it in front of her, her hands shaking. A few more shaky breaths racked her body. "Please…don't give up…"
I couldn't even imagine what she was seeing...but she fought through it for me. She fought through the fear just to warn me, even though she couldn't defend herself. She could've died… Anger started building in my gut. I activated [Mana Manipulation] and let out a monstrous ring of pure energy towards the fake Hades and warriors. It rammed into them, causing them to shake and explode forcefully. The skeletons and my uncle disappeared into a fine black mist. A strong gust of wind blew in from the west, and the mist scattered throughout the beach. Ares tsk-ed, holding a ski cap—the kind bank robbers wear—and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet.
"You didn't die. I was kind of hoping you would but, eh, you're not the priority right now. She is. I knew she'd come for you," Ares scoffed. He waved his hands, and a blazing wall of fire erupted around the whole pier. He started to slowly walk towards Piper, whistling a jaunty tune, "How sweet it is to be loved by you, yes, baby, oh…" I couldn't move. My legs felt like they'd turned to lead, and for a second, I actually wondered if I'd accidentally triggered [Time Dilation]. But nope—the meter wasn't dipping at all. This was just me, frozen in place, completely useless. Was this what Nemesis meant? True success requires sacrifice. The thought hit me like a sucker punch.
Did that mean Piper was going to have to die—just so I could get my mom back?
My throat tightened. I looked at her, kneeling in the sand, sobbing like her heart was breaking. The Minotaur's horn was jammed into the ground next to her, as if she'd tried to stab something and failed. The sight made my chest ache in a way I didn't know was possible. She didn't have to come after me. She could've stayed safe, and kept her distance. But this wasn't the first time she'd done something crazy to save me. When we fought the Chimera, she'd been willing to stand by my side, even though she could've run. Even with Medusa, she'd put it all on the line. My fingers clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms. All that guilt and doubt I'd been drowning in—about my mom, about my failures—shifted into something else. Anger.
Determination.
Piper wasn't just someone fate threw into my life. She was my friend. And no way was I letting her sacrifice herself for me. Not today. "Please…" I heard her whisper. I glanced down. The water swirled higher, spiraling around my shoulders like it had a mind of its own. I turned my gaze to the horizon, where the endless ocean stretched out, vast and unbroken, like it was daring me to remember who I was. Ares thought he could control me. Bend me to his will. And for a second there, I'd almost let him. Honest to Zeus, when I thought my mom was gone, I was ready to roll over and let him end me right there on the sand. But really? After everything I'd been through, everything I'd fought for —was I seriously going to let this overgrown toddler with a god complex take it all away? No. No freaking way.
The water surged, pooling around me, rising with purpose. It twisted into a glowing, translucent outline of a man, powerful and unyielding. The liquid streamed upward, curling around my neck, sliding over my head, and solidifying into a sleek, rippling helmet. A tendril of water snaked out from under my shirt, joining the helm like it was part of me. This wasn't just power. This was me—everything I was, everything Ares couldn't take from me. I clenched my fists. Although I stood in the surf, encased in water, a fire burned at my feet. It licked at my watery ankles, defying every law of nature. Steam hissed and billowed from my shoulders, the heat and cold colliding in a furious storm. Ares wanted a fight? Fine. He was about to get one.
— - — -
[270][MP] - [5%] chance to blind, stagger, cripple, or bleed! - [100 x 43] [100 x 15] = [-][5800[HP]
— - —
The beach disappeared around me. This was easily faster than last time. My surroundings didn't even blur—I just disappeared from the surf and reappeared in front of Ares, twisting and rotating in place like a ball of pure destruction. Flames licked the ground underneath me. I looked up and saw Ares through the watery armor I had on. Ignoring the sense of vertigo that exploded around my head like fireworks, I lashed out.
Twin strands of fire and water shot out of my body, twisting into one gigantic, multi-colored whip. It lashed forward impossibly fast, smashing into Ares' face. "Argh!" Ares screamed out. It forced him to scale back a little. Honestly, I don't think he was expecting me to be able to move after that whole ordeal. I could feel my blood roaring in my ears. "I'm going to kick your ass."
As I landed on the ground, I took Piper into my arms. "It's going to be alright, Pipes." Piper nodded numbly, closing her eyes. I gently walked over to the flames and pulled out my hand. A torrent of water rushed out of it, dimming the flames directly in front of me.
I placed her outside of the flames and walked back in, facing Ares with a growl. "You're going to pay for that, punk," Ares snarled at me. I didn't even reply. The anger kept building in my gut. I felt like if I didn't attack him here and now, I'd explode into a million tiny pieces. I started to walk towards him, his defeat burning into my mind. Three gigantic blue words came to life in front of me.
— - —
[Limit Break activated]
— - —
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And the fight agianst Ares is here !! Tell me what you think about this chapter on the comments. If you've been enjoying the ride so far, please leave a review and drop a power stone. Your support keeps this story alive and makes sure Percy doesn't suffer completely in vain.
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