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DAYS IN THE SUN

chapter six
❛ 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎. ❜

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A FEW MOMENTS later, Amara was sitting in a booth at a gleaming chrome diner. Percy and Grover sat across from her as she shared her side of the booth with Annabeth, who was leaning her head against the former's shoulder. A waitress approached the half-bloods and satyr, raising her eyebrows skeptically at the group before speaking. "Well?"

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

"You kids have money to pay for it?"

Grover's lower lip quivered while Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger, her chin digging into Amara's inner elbow crease as she adjusted her head to rest more comfortably. The brunette wasn't far behind her, she fought to keep her eyes open as she rapidly blinked, preventing her head from falling to her chest or the table until a rumble shook the building. Amara became wide awake as she witnessed a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pull up to the curb.

All conversation in the diner ceased to exist as she scanned her eyes over the motorcycle. The headlight's glared red with the gas tank having flames painted on, a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather, but the leather looked like Caucasian human skin.

Her electric blue eyes then landed on the biker himself, who was dressed in a red muscle shirt with black jeans and a black leather duster, a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and had the most brutal face, she was pretty sure she's ever seen, with oily black crew cut hair and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.

With all those hints, she was able to figure who and what he was. Ares, the god of war. "Hey," the waitress brought Amara out of her thoughts. "You kids have money to pay for it?"

Percy became a stuttering mess as he tried to answer, but she pitched in before he could get a word out. "Sure," the waitress's gaze landed to her, an eyebrow raised. "My brother can pay." She pointed to Ares as he made his way across the diner, heading toward's the demigods. Annabeth spared Amara a look before going underneath the table and reappearing on the other side of the booth in between Grover and the window.

"It's on me." The god of war told the waitress, giving her a wink before sliding into the booth besides the brunette, resting his arm alongside the back. His gaze landed back on the waitress who seemed starstruck. "Are you still here?" With those words the waitress blinked her eyes repeatedly before quickly scurrying off and away from the demigods, satyr, and god.

"So," Ares leaned against Amara, his arm resting around her shoulders as she tried not to send a jolt of electricity his way. A wicked grin curled onto his lips as he looked Percy up and down. "You're old Seaweeds kid, huh?"

She was able to see the Jackson boy's jaw tightening as he spoke. "What's it to you?"

Annabeth's eyes widened as she gave the raven haired boy a look. "Percy, this is—"

"S'okay." Ares interrupted the blonde, raising his hand to emphasize her to stop talking. "A little attitude, I don't mind. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

He went quiet for a moment, sparing the god a look before speaking. "You're Clarisse's dad, Ares." He snapped. "God of war."

A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest that Amara could feel from being right besides him as he continued talking to the boy. "That's right punk," he spoke. "I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

"She was asking for it." The brunette rolled her eyes from Percy's words, it was like he's trying to make an enemy out of the war god.

"Probably," Ares shrugged. "That's cool. I don't fight my kids fight, you know?" The god's gaze switched to Amara, but she didn't pay any attention as she fiddled with her gold eagle ring. "Unlike some gods, they like to add their own input, got it?" Her eyes immediately hardened upon his words, knowing what the own input was supposed to mean. He was referring to what Zeus did that night.

"Anyway," the god changed his attention back to the son of Poseidon and away from the daughter of Zeus who he knew he had managed to tick off by his comment. He could practically feel the anger radiating off her and see the electricity began to spark around her fingers as she tried to keep her cool. "I got a little proposition for you."

Amara's attention was directed to the waitress returning with a heap of food, the distraction being enough to make the brunette forget her anger momentarily. Ares handed the worker a few gold drachmas.

"These aren't . . ."

Pulling out a knife, the god of war began cleaning his fingernails as he eyed the mortal. "Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress quickly scurried away once more. "You can't do that," Percy snapped. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."

Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country, best place since Sparta." He narrowed his eyes at the raven haired boy. "Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should, dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor could I do a god?" Percy asked.

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much, left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little . . . date with my girlfriend, we got interrupted, and I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

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

The fire in Ares's eye sockets glowed a little hotter, causing Amara to scoot further away from the god as it was clear his frustration was growing.

"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley?" The god snapped. "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, or, maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

His motives became clear to Amara as he was trying to achieve with Percy what he had achieved with her, making them angry. He had succeeded with her by bringing up Thalia, a sore subject for the brunette that was an automatic trigger response from her. But with Percy, he didn't seem to struggle with getting angry about sore subjects like she did.

"Not interested," he said. "We've already got a quest." It took Amara by surprise that he had denied a god like that, especially the god of war. No one was that brave, so he was just plain stupid.

Ares's gaze hardened at the boy. "I know all about you quest, punk." He spat. "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 . . . well, you got no hope. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him about my suspicions of old corpse breath."

Amara was able to see Annabeth's grey eyes widening upon hearing about the god of the dead. "You told him Lord Hades stole the bolt?" The blonde asked in a skeptical tone, sending the brunette a silent look.

"Sure," the god shrugged once more. "Framing somebody to start a war? Oldest trick in the book, recognized it immediately. In a way, you've got me to thank for your little quest."

"Thanks," Percy grumbled sarcastically, sending the two demigods and satyr a look.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy," the god put his hands up in a way that was supposed to be friendly. "Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."

"We're doing fine on our own."

"Yeah, right," Ares challenged. "No money, no wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

Amara took back her comment about Percy not letting sore subjects get in his way. The minute the god of the war brought up the demigods mom, his posture immediately shifted and his composure was lost in an instant. His eyes wide and mouth open as he seemed to be processing the words that just came out from the war god's mouth.

"That got your attention," Ares smirked. "The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love Ride."

"What interrupted your date?" Percy's composure was back as he sent the god a challenging remark. "Something scare you off?"

Annabeth's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets after the raven haired boy's impertinent words, Grover let out a nervous goat noise as he sank lower and lower towards the table. He looked ready to hide underneath while Amara had a hard time fighting off the prideful grin threatening to twist onto her lips. She knew she and the son of Poseidon didn't get along, but he had guts and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. That was one quality she could come to terms with and respect about Percy Jackson.

Ares's eyes became dangerous as he narrowed them at the Jackson boy. "You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me." Ares eyes looked dangerous.

Within a blink of an eye, Ares and his motorcycle was gone from sight. "It's probably some kind of trick," Percy said after a few moments of silence. "Forget Ares, let's go."

"We can't." Annabeth argued, sparing a look to Amara who gave her a shrug. "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."

"Why does he need us?"

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains. Ares has strength, that's all he has." The brunette pointed out, twirling her necklace chain around before letting it go as she finished. "Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

"But this water park . . . he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?" Grover asked, sending the three demigods a look as he bit nervously into the foil.

"Well," Amara got her feet as she plucked one last fry from the tray. "Let's find out."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

The main gate was padlocked and topped barbed wire. Inside, dry waterslides, tubes, and pipes curled everywhere, all leading to empty pools. Old ticks and advertisements fluttered around the tarmac. With night coming on, the place looked pitiful to Amara the more she stood there.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date, I'd hate to see what she looks like." Percy said, sneering at the barbed wire on top of the fence as they tried to find a way in.

"Percy, be more respectful." Annabeth chided him, elbowing the Jackson boy.

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god, and his girlfriend is very temperamental." Amara muttered, shaking the fence to see what reaction she could get, alarms, defense mechanisms, anything.

"You don't want to insults her looks." Grover added as he copied the brunette's action

"Who is she? Echidna?" He snickered.

"Aphrodite, goddess of love." Grover said wistfully causing Amara to roll her eyes at the satyr.

The raven haired boy's mouth dropped slightly as he gave a look to the girls, who both raised a brow at him, showing their protector wasn't kidding. He quickly changed the subject.

"How do we get in?"

"Maia!" Grover shouted, flying over the fence with a small flip before he landed. "You guys coming?"

The satyr sent Amara a cheeky smile while she shook her head, fighting off the grin as she looked up at the fence. She could use the wind, that was no problem, but she struggled using it on herself. Dionysus was teaching her how to use the winds around herself, to make her fly, levitate, or lift others. But she hadn't completely mastered it, what she had done to Medusa was a once and a lifetime thing for her.

But, miracles do happen twice.

Stretching her hand out, she grabbed a gust of wind, twisting it around before moving it to the bottom of her feet, where she began slowly lifting off the ground. "Amara," Annabeth warned lightly, but the brunette ignored her.

A grin twisted onto her lips as she kept her hands flat towards the ground, becoming comfortable. A smile appeared on the blonde's lips as she witnessed her oldest friend being able to gain control over something she's been struggling with for years.

Slowly but steady, she managed to get to the top of the fence, where she sent the daughter of Athena a look. Annabeth began her climb while Percy stayed still, a brow raised as he stared up at the brunette. "What can't you do?" He asked, both in a mocking but genuine tone as she shrugged.

"Swim, or be near any body of water," she mumbled underneath her breath as she grabbed the blonde's hand, pulling her over the fence and down towards the Grover, who caught her before she could hit the ground. "Now, if you don't mind." Amara sent Percy a glare as she struggled to keep upright, finding it harder and harder to stay in the air. "I can't keep this up forever."

The son of Poseidon grumbled before he began climbing the fence, accepting Amara's hand once he got close enough. The two children of the Big Three shared a look with one another, before a mischievous smirk twisted its way onto the younger of the two's lips, tossing him over. But he didn't let her get away that easily, he never let go of her hand, resulting in pulling her down with him. The demigods crashed into the satyr who tried to soften their fall.

A groan escaped Amara's lips as she rolled over and met eyes with Percy, who sent her a smug smirk before getting up to his feet. Annabeth pulled the Grace girl up before pointing at a souvenir shop that had been left open. "Clothes," the blonde mumbled. "Fresh clothes."

"But you can't just—" Percy tried to argue, but Annabeth was grabbing clothes. "Watch me."

The boys sent each other a look, before Percy began copying her actions. Grover turned to Amara. "You coming?" She looked back and forth between the souvenir shop and her clothes, before deciding she would prefer not to look like a walking advertisement. "Sticking with this." She pointed at her outfit. The satyr gave her a shrug as he began hunting for clothes of his own.

Soon, the two demigod and satyr looked like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park as they continued their search for the Tunnel of Love. "So," Percy fell into step with Amara, his hands awkwardly shoved in his pockets as she tried to conceal her surprise from the son of Poseidon talking to her, willing. "Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?"

She spared him a look. "That's old gossip, Percy." She educated the raven haired boy. "Three thousand year old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well," she pushed her bangs away from her eyes, unconsciously meeting gazes with sea green eyes. She diverted her attention to the park ahead and away from the Jackson boy. "Hephaestus, the blacksmith, god of fire and forge. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Hera. Not exactly the most handsome person out there, clever with his hands, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent."

"She likes bikers." Grover smiled, causing Annabeth to let out a huff.

"Hephaestus knows?" Percy asked, directing his attention back to the brunette who gave him a shrug.

"Sure," she said. "He caught them together once, literally, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out of the way places, like . . ."

She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that." In front of the demigods and satyr was an empty pool, it was at least fifty meters across and shaped like a bowl. Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side, a tunnel opened up, which Amara figured was where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above read: THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover crept towards the edge. "Guys, look." Amara's attention was direction to the bottom of the pool where a pink-and-white two seater boat with a canopy over the top, little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares' shield, a polished circle of bronze.

"This is too easy." Percy peered over the edge. "So we just walk down there and get it?"

Amara internally agreed with the Jackson boy, it was too easy. But something about it was throwing her off, like everything was about to go wrong with one move or more. Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. "There's a greek letter craved here." She said, drawing the brunette out of her thoughts. "Eta. I wonder . . ."

"Grover, you smell any monsters?" Percy asked the satyr as he sniffed the wind.

"Nothing."

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

"I told you, that was underground." Grover grumbled.

"Percy," Amara warned, sending the raven haired boy a look as her eyes narrowed. Much to her surprise, he raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry." Her brows furrowed.

He was being friendly, which was strange because ever since the two met, they were bickering. It seemed so long ago when in reality, it was only a few days. But ever since they had gotten up the morning with the pink poodle, he'd been acting differently towards her. Not making anymore remarks or sarcastic comments towards her, instead, he seems to be willing to listen to what she says. Or be playful, like when he pulled her down from the top of the fence earlier.

"Amara," her name escaping his lips directed her attention to him, her thoughts long gone. "Go down there with me."

She blinked, trying to figure out what he wanted her to do. "What?"

"Annabeth and Grover will stay up here, keep watch, while we go down there and get Ares's shield. Sound good?"

She didn't put up a fight, giving the son of Poseidon a shrug before sliding down the wall of the pool. A grin appearing as she felt the wind rush against her the way down. Once she reached the bottom, she raised a brow at Percy. "You coming or what?"

He shook his head at her, before mimicking her actions and sliding down as well, making their way to the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. Percy picked up the scarf and smiled stupidly and started to rub the scarf against his cheek. Amara ripped it out of his hands and quickly stuffed it in her jeans pocket, sending him a disappointed look.

"Stay away from that love magic, Seaweed Brain."

"What?"

"Just get the shield, Kelp Head, and let's get out of here." He rolled his eyes at the nickname, but did as she said. Once he touched the shield, the same bad feeling from earlier swept through Amara. Glancing at the side of the boat, she saw a greek letter, the one Annabeth had seen on the Cupid Statues's. Eta: H.

Her gaze quickly returned to the son of Poseidon, his hand breaking through something that had been connected to the dashboard. It looked like a spider web to normal eyes, but she's been around Beckendorf for too long to not know what it was, it's a tripwire.

"Percy," she warned, raising her voice. "Wait!"

"Too late," He muttered.

Noise erupted around them, million of gears grinding as machines came to life. "Watch out!" Annabeth yelled while Grover shouted. "Guys!"

The Cupid statues had began drawing their bows into firing position. Before Amara could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at the demigods. They fired at each other, the arrows flying over their stone heads across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then, smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.

"We have to get out." Percy stated.

"Really? You don't think we should stay?" Amara asked him sarcastically with her hands on her hips. "Because I think we should."

Percy shook his head before grabbing the shield and started running, but going up the slope wasn't as easy as going down. "Come on!" Grover shouted from above, and Amara could see Annabeth's panicked face from down in the tunnel. They were trying to hold open a section of the net for the demigods, but wherever they touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around their hands.

One of the Cupid's head popped open and out came multiple video cameras. A large spotlight lit up the area and a loud speaker bellowed.

"Live to Olympus in one minute . . . fifty nine seconds, fifty eight . . ."

Annabeth screamed from above, the noise startled Amara, causing her to almost slip down the slope. But Percy grabbed her arm, catching her before she had the chance to slip. "Hephaestus! I'm so stupid! Eta is H. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools."

Percy and Amara had nearly made it to the top, when a hatch opened and little metallic things poured out in thousands. It was an army of metal spiders. "Spiders! Sp—spid—aaah!" Annabeth screamed from above and it was clear she was going to be no use.

Percy didn't waste a second as he turned around, pulling Amara down to the boat with him. He looked back at the brunette and let out a sigh. "This is so gonna cost me later, but it's worth it." Percy muttered, causing her to arch a brow. "Cost you for wh—" he quickly turned his body around, picking up the daughter of Zeus. His arms going underneath her shoulders and legs.

"Perseus Jackson, what are you—"

Percy cut Amara off by throwing her into the boat, the demigod tumbled off the seats and onto the wooden floor, a groan escaped her lips as she felt the aftermath of her back painfully hit the floor.

The Jackson boy followed behind, jumping into the boat, he began to kick away the spiders that were coming near them.

"Thirty, twenty-nine . . ."

Grover hovered above the pool in his flying trainers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge. Annabeth stood paralyzed by the rim, her eyes tearful at the sight of the spiders. Amara finally sat herself up, and sent a glare to the raven haired boy who gave her a shrug. "To be fair, you deserved it." Her eyes hardened more if possible at those words.

"Fifteen . . . fourteen."

"Grover!" Percy yelled loudly. "Get into that booth! Find the on switch!"

"But—"

"Do it!"

She was slowly getting to her feet, watching as spiders were now all over the prow of the boat. Grover was on the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons.

"Five . . . four."

Grover looked at Percy and Amara hopelessly, raising his hands, letting the son of Poseidon know that he'd pushed every button, but still, nothing was happening.

Percy closed his eyes and held his hands out, and the brunette immediately knew what he was doing, that and the fact that she could very clearly hear the water pounding against the pipes. A slow panic started to creep up and throughout her body once the noise became more clear.

"Percy, wait—"

"Two, one . . . zero!"

Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool sweeping away the spiders, a horrified look formed on Amara's face as she watched the water all around them. The raven haired boy quickly pushed the brunette into a seat, fastening her seatbelt in time for a tidal wave to slam against the boat. The action brought her back to senses as she gripped tightly onto the seatbelt, her knuckles turning red as her body froze. It earned her a strange side eyed look from Percy, but she ignored it.

She felt her heart in her throat as water rose over the top, whisking away the spiders and dousing them completely. She thanked the gods they didn't capsize, but she didn't thank them for too long as the boat turned and spun in circles around the whirlpool. Spotlights glared down at them, the Cupid cameras rolling live to Olympus.

One of her hands gripped the side of the boat, her fingers digging into it as her stomach began twisting and churning. If she was still a little girl, she would've openly cried and begged for Luke or Thalia to help her. But she didn't have them, so instead she tried to keep her panic down and opted to staying silent. The boat spun around one last time, the water level almost high enough to shred the demigods against the metal net, when suddenly, the nose of the boat dipped down towards the tunnel and they rocketed into darkness.

Her grip tightened as her panic seemed to rise, and she was practically begging her father in her head to help, to stop it, she was terrified. She felt like she was going to pass out, she could feel tears stinging her eyes as she blinked, pushing them away as she tried to not let the situation override her senses. She was going to die, that's all she could repeat to herself over and over again as the ride kept going.

They shot out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through Amara's hair as the boat barreled straight towards the exit. "Unfasten your seatbelt!" Percy instructed her. But she couldn't, she was too fear struck to move, so she shook her head. "What do you mean, no?" He demanded. "You're going to die if you don't!"

"I can't!" She yelled, not realizing how broken her voice sounded with a sob interwoven in it. Percy's eyes widened as he noticed her eyes were red, tears threatening to spill but she kept blinking them away. Her lip was caught in between her teeth, red with a slight line of blood. Her body shaking like she had hypothermia, her fingers dug into the side of the boat, with the other gripping tightly onto her necklace. Her leg was bouncing up and down, she looked ready to pass out.

"You're scared of the water," he voiced, and she realized he had figured it out. But she remained silent, trying to focus on staying calm. "Hey," her attention was drawn back to him as he offered a soft smile, the kindest he's ever given her. "Do you trust me? You're not going to die here, I promise."

She didn't say anything, staring at the raven haired boy as his sea green eyes met her electric blue ones. After a moment, she slowly nodded her head, not trusting she could speak without tears or cries escaping. "Okay then, you need to unfasten your seatbelt. Unless you want to get smashed to death, we're going to have to jump for it."

She did as she was told. Once she unfastened the seatbelt, Percy grabbed onto her arm and pulled her to stand besides him. "I don't trust you to jump alone, you're too shaky." But she knew what he really meant, he was doing this to try and calm her nerves. But it wasn't really helping as she felt more like throwing up.

"When I say go, jump!" He yelled, watching for her to give him a sign that she understood. She gave him a shaky thumbs up.

"Now!"

Together, they jumped, flying over the gates and destined to crash into solid tarmac when something grabbed their shirts from behind, Grover. Annabeth was running underneath them on the ground, looking for a landing spot. "You're too heavy!" The satyr cried. "We're going down!"

Percy grabbed onto Amara as their protector dropped them, pulling her body into his as he shielded them from the crash with Ares's bronze shield. They skitted across the ground for a couple seconds before coming to a stop, their arms unwrapping from around one another as they separated.

The brunette rolled onto her back as she finally felt like she could breath, her breaths were becoming even as her hands started to lessen their shaking, tears fell down her cheeks as she quickly wiped them away. The panic feeling in her chest was slowly disappearing as a comfort rolled over her instead, her electric blue eyes landing on the raven haired boy who was yelling at the cameras, before marching his way towards her.

He held his hand out to her, pulling up her to her feet and dropping their hands once she was steady. "We need to have a little talk with Ares," Percy snarled, anger, irritation, and frustration was evident in his tone as he began stomping towards the exit. Grover spared Amara a look before racing after the boy, Annabeth quickly appeared in her vision as arms were wrapped around her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The blonde apologized. "I should have gone down there with him, not you. I know how you are with water and Am, I'm so sorry."

But she wasn't listening to her blonde friend ramble, she was lost in thought as she watched the sea green eyed demigod talk to Grover, throwing his hands up while the satyr attempted to calm him down. A frown etched itself onto her lips as she wrapped her arms around the daughter of Athena, soaking in the comfort the demigod had to offer as they stood there. Each feeling differently then they had when they first stepped foot into the park.

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02-28-23

hello hello! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and we are officially halfway through part one! i'm currently editing part two, so hopefully it'll be out right after. if not, please be patient, i'll get it out as soon as i can. thank you so much for all the support, and i'll see you in the next chapter !!