𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐖 , percy jackson

﹒౨ৎ﹒aurora and percy get split custody

𝛢𝐹𝑇𝛦𝑅𝐺𝐿𐒆𝑊 , 𝑎𝑐𝘵 𝘰𝑛𝑒

chap twelve

☾

❝Oh, that's not.❞

The half-bloods and satyrs entered the crowded diner after rushing up the road in hopes that Ares wouldn't leave. Aurora scanned the room for Ares, but it didn't take long to find him considering he was laughing loudly like a maniac and typing aggressively on his phone. They approached his table, the god noticing them and looking back down at his phone. "Give me a second; I'm just starting a fight on Twitter here."

They sat down across from Ares, staring at him judgmentally. "Nothing makes me happier than a good old-fashioned, burn-it-down fight," Ares raved while typing. Aurora narrowed her eyes. "Oh, that's not," she said. Ares didn't seem to notice her comment and set his phone down. "Okay, finished. So, your quest—"the god sighed dramatically, "is going to fail. Ask me how I know."

"It isn't gonna fail," the son of Poseidon said defensively. Aurora wanted to agree but wasn't sure if she truly believed it. Ares scoffed, picking up his phone and beginning to look up something on the news. "Sure it is, for starters . . ." He turned his phone around, and a man who looked about in his mid-thirties began speaking. Aurora cringed, moving back a little. "Ew. Why is his hair like that?"

"Percy was always troubled, but I never thought he was capable of something like this," the man said with sympathy. Percy leaned forward, his gaze turning into a glare as he stared at the phone. Grover frowned in confusion. "Who's that?" He asked. "My stepdad," Percy muttered. Aurora felt sympathy for Percy, not particularly because of what his stepfather was saying but because he must've had to look at his face every day.

"What's he doing?" Percy asked, confused.

Ares chuckled. "Wait for it."

"And in addition to the destruction at the Gateway Arch, you believe he may also have had something to do with your wife's disappearance?" The interviewer asked Percy's stepfather, who had been putting up an act of sympathy. "A kid that messed up? What wouldn't he do?" The man muttered. Percy glared at the phone. "What!?"

"Wild, right? The FBI is already spreading your picture around," Ares added as Percy's stepfather rambled on about how he—and supposedly his wife—loved the car that was crashed by who he thought was Percy and began dramatically sobbing, though it was clear the sobs were forced. "I'm gonna kill him," Percy grumbled. Aurora took a breath. "Can we please clear up our terrorist allegations first?"

Percy glanced at her, "Yeah, I'll add it to the calendar. Are you guys free on the 20th?"

"Nope, I'll be clearing up my murderer allegations that day," the daughter of Athena said, shaking her head. Grover stared at Annabeth in fear before he realized she was being sarcastic. Ares turned off his phone and set it on the table. "Anyway, safe to say, the chances of you three idiots hitchhiking the rest of the way to L.A. without getting arrested are slim to none." Annabeth glared at the god of war. "Why are you sitting here then? If you're supposed to be looking for the master bolt too, shouldn't you be out there looking for it?"

Aurora's fear grew as Ares visibly got annoyed with Annabeth, anger stirring in his eyes like a whirlpool that the four of them had been on the verge of drowning in. "Hm. There's no fear in you, is there?" Annabeth narrowed her eyes, and the god returned the action, "Doesn't matter. Whether the bolt's retrieved or not, Zeus is going to war with Poseidon." Percy frowned. "No. The Oracle said if we returned the bolt, there wouldn't be a war."