Percy stalked towards Ares, his sword - Riptide - in his clenched fist.

The others watched from the dock as the two opponents sized each other up. Percy was a lanky little sixth-grader with a magic pen sword. Ares was the god of war with a massive build and huge broad sword. The odds were not in Percy's favor.

The pair fought in the surf of the beach, small waves crashing around their ankles. Percy was actually holding his own against his godly opponent. That is, until Ares forced him out of the water and into the sand. Percy blocked a heavy blow that forced him to the ground.

Annabeth flinched forward, but Aliana grabbed her arm. "If we interfere, then the deal is off."

"And what if Ares wins?" Grover watched Percy anxiously, shifting his weight from hoof to hoof.

"Then we interfere." Aliana's shoulders relaxed as Percy got to his feet. He wasn't out of the game yet.

Ares battered the son of Poseidon as he struggled to hold his sword aloft to block the incoming attacks.

"Percy! Get to the ocean!" Annabeth shouted over the clang of metal on metal.

Ares bashed Percy with his sword, knocking him to the ground.

Percy caught himself, his hands squishing in the wet sand. Wet. The farthest reaches of the surf washed around his fingers. Reenergized, he jumped to his feet and lured Ares farther into the water.

Ares, either unaware or unconcerned, continued until the water was halfway up his calves.

Unlike what you would suspect, Percy maneuvered much smoother and more easily in the knee-deep water, dodging Ares' clumsy swings and finally darting forward and stabbing his blade down into the water.

Ares let out a cry to rival a thunderclap. The water around his feet rushed away, revealing Percy's sword through his foot. He turned, wild-eyed and furious on the boy, who was astounded by his small victory.

As Ares made a move to attack again, a massive wave crashed over him, washing him to shore like a beached whale.

There was a lot of chaos in the parking lot off the beach, where Ares had lit several cop cars on fire. Thankfully, the flames had taken the attention off of Percy and Ares' fight. So no one saw the unnatural wave.

Ares growled as he pushed himself to his feet. "You'll regret this, Perseus Jackson." Ares threatened. "From now on, every time you raise your sword in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse." His body started to radiate a bright golden light.

"Percy, don't watch!" Annabeth shouted across the beach.

They all turned away as Ares revealed his true form and vanished into the night.

When Aliana looked up, Percy was walking towards them with Hades' helm under one arm.

A trio of Furies dropped from the sky and cut him off. After a short exchange, they took the helm and flew away into the night.

Percy ran up to them on the dock.

Aliana chuckled. "Not bad Water Boy. You survived, for now at least."

He met her gaze a big grin plastered across his face. "That last parts going to bite me in the butt one of these days isn't it."

"A curse from the god of war." Annabeth jumped in. "Definitely."

"We'll worry about that later. Right now," Aliana gestured to the crowd of people bustling towards them. "we have other things to worry about."

"Great." Percy grumbled. "I'm going to get arrested."

"Maybe not." Annabeth said optimistically. "Just play it cool."

"I don't know if you've noticed." Percy pointed out. "But cool and I don't really go together."

Annabeth sighed. "Just don't freak out."
                                  *   *   *
The interview went WAY better than expected. Everyone seemed to think that Ares was somehow responsible for all the things they had blamed Percy for. People even swore that they saw him in the St. Louis Arch and on the bus they had crashed.

Now, the four of them were on a plane, flying back to New York and hoping Zeus didn't blow them out of the sky. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful and, within hours, they were back on the streets of New York.

Percy turned to the others. "You guys should go back to camp. I don't want you to get punished for something I was wrongly accused of."

Annabeth and Grover nodded reluctantly, but Aliana stood her ground. "I'm coming with you."

He faced her. "I just said..."

She interrupted him. "I don't care. You might need backup. Besides, I kind of want to put off Chiron's rage as long as possible."

Percy sighed. "Fine, but only because I know that if I say 'no' you'll just hide in the trunk and come anyway."

Aliana grinned as she hopped into the taxi beside him.

The driver took them to the Empire State Building. They walked purposefully into the building and to the elevator, where a guy stood ready to take people up.

Percy talked with the guy, hoping he wasn't just a mortal, who thought they were crazy.

Aliana was just getting ready to jump in when the guy stood and opened the elevator.

They stepped inside and the man pressed the button for the 600th floor.

Aliana was anxious. She had skipped the field trip to Olympus, hadn't wanted to face her mother, but now here she was, in an elevator, with the Son of Poseidon, going to Olympus. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Please don't let me run into my mom. She didn't want to add any more drama to this trip.

The elevator finally jolted to a stop. The doors slid open to reveal a massive city. An entire mountain top just resting on the clouds over Manhattan. It was amazing that no one saw it from the ground.

Percy and Aliana walked up the Main Street towards the huge palace at the very center of the city, at the tip of the mountain peak.

About half way up, they saw people gathering for a concert put on by the muses.

Aliana scanned the crowd absentmindedly. She froze when she noticed a tall woman with long black hair and silver-blue eyes among the bustling people. The woman quickly disappeared, but Aliana knew she hadn't imagined it.

Percy touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She faced him. "Nothing. I thought I saw... it doesn't matter. Come on. We need to get this bolt back to its rightful owner." She walked away.

Percy quickly checked the crowd then jogged to catch up with her.

Soon, they stood in a huge chamber with 12 thrones circling a large fire pit in the middle.

There were two men there. One wore a formal suit and had immaculately styled hair. The other had on a Hawaiian shirt and had tousled black hair. Zeus and Poseidon were arguing when the two teens walked in. Stopping almost immediately when they noticed them.

Zeus cleared his throat and straightened. "So, you've decided to bring my bolt back."

Percy tore his gaze away from his father and looked up at Zeus. "Yes, but I'm not the one who stole it."

Zeus narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing as Percy explained everything.

"I don't know who helped Ares," Percy finished. "but it wasn't me."

Zeus nodded, taking the master bolt from Percy's hand. It grew and sparked as he curled his fingers around it.

Aliana tensed, waiting for the king of the gods to strike them down where they stood. She reached instinctively for her venomous dagger.

Zeus didn't take his eyes off of his bolt. "What do you hope to accomplish with that tiny blade? I have not threatened you,"

Aliana forced herself to release the hilt. "Apologies. Force of habit. I'm not great at trusting people, even gods."

Zeus focused on her. He chuckled. "You really are exactly like her. I don't know why she thought she could hide it."

Aliana's heart leapt into her throat. "You know who my mother is."

Zeus scoffed as if it were obvious. "Everyone knows who she is. She did everything short of claiming you. You look like her, act like her, talk like her. She even gave you a gift." He glanced at her poisonous dagger. "She didn't hide it very well."

Aliana could barely breathe. "Then... why hasn't she claimed me?" She could feel her tears trying to force their way to the surface.

"Only she knows that." Zeus answered frankly and turned, leaving Aliana with more questions than answers.

Poseidon sighed. "Forgive my brother. He was never good at handling people." The god of the sea shrunk down to the size of a normal man and approached his son.

Aliana looked at him. "I suppose I owe you a debt of gratitude."

He shook his head. "You protected my son. That is reason enough for my aid."

Aliana gave a slight bow then looked at Percy. "I'll be outside."

He nodded and she walked away.

A/N
*Phew* This was a longer chapter. Yay!
Anyway, hope you've enjoyed my story so far. Feel free to give me any feedback.
Thanks for the support!
-Cheshire