If I may ask, I'd like to see some more reviews for the story. While I'm very happy to see more people favor and follow the story, and seeing people haven't forgotten or abandon the story, I'd really appreciate the feedback on how everyone feels about the story. Thank you and enjoy the chapter.

The Journey Must Continue

Percy's POV

"Pleasant talk?" Ares asked as I got out of the limo.

"Not really." I sighed.

"Quite a keeper, ain't she?" Ares said.

"More like too much to handle." I said.

Ares just raised an eyebrow at that. I couldn't help but wonder if he heard my conversation with Aphrodite or not, or if actually already knew everything Aphrodite wanted to talk to me about. And if he did, I had no idea if that would end up being a good thing or a bad thing. But I wasn't too fond of the silence, so I decided to break it. After all, there was something I wanted to ask since it was something I've never done before.

"Lord Ares, in the museum I was taken to after I was captured, the Nemeon Lion ended up attacking and I ended up killing it, but I don't know how." I started.

"Really?" Ares asked, raising his eyebrow up more.

"Somehow, I had water coming from my hands and it all trapped the Nemeon Lion in a ball of water. And right after, I had lightning coming from my fingertips and striking and killing the Nemeon Lion." I finished.

Ares seemed slightly impressed by what I revealed to him, which isn't a look I've really seen on him before.

"And, well, I was wondering if you knew at all what that was and how I did it." I added.

"I can't say for sure. But it sounds like to me you may have discovered your avatar state." Ares answered.

"Avatar state?" I asked.

"A state of demigod power that hasn't been discovered by a half-blood since ancient times." Ares stated.

"Why "not since ancient times"?" I asked.

"Only demigods that have been specially trained to be stronger than others have ever been able to achieve such power. With how Zeus doesn't have us associate with our children very often anymore, there hasn't been a demigod that's been able to achieve this state of power for thousands of years. It would appear that me training you has rubbed off on you more than what I expected." Ares explained.

"In more than one way to, I'd have to guess." I added.

"Consider yourself lucky kid. Many demigods who achieved this state ended up being the death of themselves for using this kind of power improperly." Ares added.

"That explains why I felt so incredibly weakened and drained of my energy after I killed the Nemeon Lion." I stated, remembering how I felt like I burned up a lot of my own life energy from that stunt.

"Being the first demigods in years to discover his avatar state. If Poseidon wasn't still mad at you, I'd imagine he'd be very proud. This'll be quite a story you'll have to share with my daughter." Ares stated.

Clarisse La Rue, the girl that I was in a relationship with and needed to get back to.

"How's Clarisse doing? What happened to everyone at camp?" I asked.

"Well, Chiron had the whole evacuated and they're all at Olympus right now. As for your other question, my daughter is about as good as she can be. She misses you." Ares answered.

"I miss her to." I replied.

"But you have this quest to go on." Ares stated.

"Unfortunately." I sighed.

For a moment, I could've sworn that a look of sympathy was on Ares' face for a second. But that could've just been me imagining things.

"I still don't really agree with my daughter's relationship with you kid, especially with how you got her knocked up." Ares started.

I just nodded my head, not bothering to waste any words.

"But I can tell you obviously care a great deal for her, and she feels the same way to you. You get through the rest of this quest and grant me more proof on your worth, and I'll try to be more supportive on your relationship with my daughter." Ares added.

"I will, I promise." I said, bowing.

"Until then." Ares said as he went to get into the limo.

"Lord Ares?" I said.

He turned back towards me.

"If I may ask, would you please send Clarisse my love when you get back Olympus?" I asked.

Normally, telling a god what to do wasn't a very good choice of action, but this was something I had to ask. Ares didn't say anything. He just nodded once, and that was all I needed to know to see that he would comply.

Once I had my answer, Ares closed the door, and the limo started up and headed off. Taking a moment to stare at the limo before moving, I swore on the River Styx that no matter what lied ahead of me, I was going to return to Clarisse, no matter what. That being done, I made my way over to the taco place, where my companions were waiting for me. They all looked pretty relieved that I came back, like they'd been waiting worryingly for me.

"Glad you're back Percy." Grover said.

I just nodded.

"Let's go." I said, starting to make my way to the junkyard, and the others quickly followed after.

"So, what happened?" Thalia asked.

"Had a conversation with Aphrodite." I answered.

"Aphrodite? What did she want with you?" Annabeth asked.

I took a moment to look at Annabeth. I had a difficult time feeling resentful towards e now, especially since Aphrodite told me she's in love with me, and despite how I may want to hide it, I still have some feelings for her to.

"I'd rather not say. Some things are better left unsaid." I answered.

They all looked confused by my answer.

"Oh, and she offered a warning to not take anything from Hephaestus' junkyard." I added.

Zoe narrowed her eyes at this.

"The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray." Zoe stated.

"For once I agree with Zoe. You can't trust Aphrodite." Thalia said.

"I'm more likely to trust her than any of you." I countered as we entered the junkyard.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Grover asked.

"That way, that is west." Zoe said.

"How can you tell?" Annabeth asked.

In the light of the full moon, I was surprised how well I could see her roll her eyes.

"Ursa Major is in the north, which means that must be west." Zoe answered, pointing west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah, the bear thing." I said.

Zoe looked offended.

"Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent." Zoe demanded.

"I only show respect to those who deserve it, not to those who only ask for it and nothing more." I countered.

"Guys, look!" Grover broke in.

We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa! That stuff . . ., some of it looks like real gold." Annabeth said.

"It is. Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods." Thalia said grimly.

"Junk?" Grover asked and picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe.

"You call this junk?" Grover asked and then bit off a point and began to chew.

"It's delicious!" Grover exclaimed.

His said action earned himself a smack on the head by me, making him drop the crown and spit out the part he had in his mouth.

"Knock it off, fuck head! You're gonna get us all killed!" I said.

Even though being resentful towards Annabeth wasn't as easy as before, Thanks a fucking lot Aphrodite, being resentful towards the other three hadn't changed at all.

"Come on, let's get going. I don't like this place." Thalia said, gripping the shaft of her spear.

"No one does." I retorted.

She gave me a hard look but said nothing as we continued on our path. We started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same. I'd like to say we left the stuff alone, but it seemed I was the only one who wasn't dumb enough to get distracted. Annabeth found some glowing shield. Thalia found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that she apparently had to pick up. Zoe found a silver bow that was able to turn into a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. And Grover found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Grover picked them up, trying to flap their wings. I, wanting to get this quest over with so I could get back to Clarisse ASAP, just kept moving, but was losing patience as the others were all lollygagging around.

Finally, after the other were done wasting time and finally got back in trying to get out of here, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road was a different sight.

"What is that?" Annabeth gasped.

Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

"They look like, . . ." Annabeth started, but couldn't finish.

"Toes." Grover finished.

"Really, really large toes." Annabeth added.

Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks, and I just sighed in irritation.

"Let's go around. Far around." Thalia said.

"The road's right over there, just climb over." I protested.

Ping!

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, but then realized it was only Grover. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.

"I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?" Grover cringed.

"And yet that's what you walk around with when you're in the mortal world to hide what you truly are. You're a fucking idiot." I sighed.

"Come on. Around." Thalia looked at me.

"Whatever'll get all of your asses moving faster." I commented.

Despite how I didn't show it, the toes were starting to freak me out to. I mean, who sculpts ten-foot-tall metal toes and sticks them in a junkyard? I didn't know, but I was pretty sure I didn't want to know. After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.

"We made it out. Thank the gods." Zoe said.

I only had Ares and even Aphrodite to thank, not any of the other gods. But with much of a hurry I was in, I kept that comment to myself. At the edge of the dump, we found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so we decided to borrow it. There wasn't any trouble when we took it, so that was a safe sign that we had nothing to worry about.

Thalia drove. Zoe sat up front with her. Which left Grover, Annabeth, and I to sit in the pickup bed, leaning against the tow wench. The night air was cool and dry, but the nice was the least on my focuses. With how we didn't get any sleep yet, due to Ares' unexpected visit, I was pretty tired, and apparently Annabeth and Grover were to. I just hoped Thalia and Zoe were awake enough to not get us to crash into something or drive off a hill or something.

"Annabeth, would you get off of me." I said as gently as I could.

Annabeth only responded by bringing herself closer to me. Moving her head on the crook of my neck, wrapping her arms around my neck, and moving her legs on top of mine. I felt uncomfortable with how close she was to me, and the way she was breathing on my neck. But I was a little too tired to do much of anything about it. So, I just sighed and closed my eyes, letting my tiredness knock me out.

Clarisse's POV

For the past few days, everyone was getting settled in at Olympus. Though everyone was quiet. Not that I would expect anything else. I mean, camp was under attacked by 6 chimeras. Even after everything Percy and I went through to get the Golden Fleece and fix Thalia's tree and restore the barrier, it ended up not being enough somehow. Monsters still got in camp like it was nothing but child's play, and for all everyone knows, that could've been only the beginning. It could've been only one of many more attacks, and that was pretty scary. It was obvious that everyone was pretty spooked on the matter. Which is why everyone was mostly just remaining quiet in whatever guest room was given to them by the gods. For a place that demigods don't usually go to very often, this place had quite a number of guest rooms.

But out of everyone, I was, in my opinion, in the worst shape of them all. I was barely eating, drinking, or even getting any sleep. I was worried sick about Percy. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I had so many questions going around in me head. Was he okay? Where was he? Will he come back? Who took him? Why did they take him? Was he even still alive? That last one was the one that scared me more than the others. The thought of having to raise my child without his/her father, to have to let my child go through what I went through as a kid growing up before I came to camp, made me feel sick. I tried to keep my hopes up, and tried to keep myself healthy and fed, for the baby's sake. But with how I was only doing so little of it, even only forcing myself to get some food in me, it was so hard for me to do.

I rarely even left the guest room that I was given. Most of the time, I was just sitting crossed legged or lying down on my bed with a pillow in my arms, and a box of tissues right next to me. I never even bothered to shower, brush my teeth, wash my hair, or anything. I only ever got out of bed when I needed to, like trying to get some food in me, or using the bathroom. I was miserable on Olympus.

"Clarisse?" The voice of my father called, startling me and making me jump.

I looked over to see that my father Ares was standing next to the bed.

"Father!" I exhaled.

"Sorry for scaring you. Your door was slightly left open, so I'd come in and check on you." Ares said.

Honestly, given his reputation and everything, Ares actually being concerned about his kids seemed like a joke to me. But with how miserable I felt, I didn't feel like starting anything, so I just nodded my head and placed my head on the pillow I had in my arms.

"Anyways, I thought you'd like to know that I recently met up with Jackson earlier." Ares said.

That shocked me enough to get my head off the pillow and look at Ares with a less miserable expression.

"Percy's alive?" I asked.

"He's alive. In pretty rough shape given how much he's been hurt recently, but still alive, and still in one piece." Ares answered.

"Is he here?" I asked hopeful.

"No. Apparently whoever sent those chimeras to attack camp used him as bait to end the quest your friends were sent on by capturing and/or killing them all." Ares answered.

That answer had the hope I had on my face die instantly.

"He's on a quest." I said.

"That was pretty much his exact same attitude. He was not at all happy to be on another quest. Not at all happy to be stuck with that satyr Underwood, or the hunter Nightshade, or those other two demigods. Wanting nothing more than to get back to you and be at your side again. But it was a quest he apparently had to be in." Ares said.

"You let him go on the quest." I glumly stated.

"He's a part of the quest now Clarisse. He has to be the fifth member. And despite how he originally wasn't one of the members picked for the quest, it appears he was the one who was supposed to go on the quest anyways." Ares explained.

"Great." I muttered and placed my head in my hands.

"I know it's not what you want to hear. But I wouldn't worry if I were you. I think the kid will be fine." Ares tried to assure me, though with how he said it, it didn't exactly sound very reassuring to me, or comforting either.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked with my head still being held in my hands.

"Well I am the one who trained him. Anyone trained by yours truly would not be one to go down so easily." Ares said.

I just rolled my eyes at that. Of course, that would be his number one reason.

"Also, with how determined he was in getting through the quest for no other reason than to return to you and your baby, he'd never let anyone, or anything stop him. Even the lord of time wouldn't be able to stop him. One thing I've witnessed during my months of training him is that he's very persistent. Giving up ain't in the kid's nature." Ares added.

I lifted my head up a little at that. He was right. Percy wasn't one to give up no matter what. He proved that on many more than one occasion. I truly wanted to believe that Percy would come back no matter what. But with how there was the fact that like Percy, I knew that Kronos was looking to get him out of his way of destroying Olympus, whether it be by converting or killing him, I couldn't get the fear for his life out of my system. The doubts and worry just wouldn't leave me.

I just sighed deeply as the fears kept eating at me. But were momentarily halt when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see it was my father's hand on my shoulder.

"Just take it easy. Percy will be here before you know it. He's a Tartarus of a kid." Ares said.

I wasn't really convinced. Most likely, I wasn't going to be convinced until I had Percy by my side again. But I had no intention of giving up on him. So I just nodded my head without saying a word. Ares just nodded and started to head. But not before stopping and slightly turning his head in my direction.

"Oh, before I forget. The kid wanted me to send you his love, and that he'll be back ASAP." Ares said and then left.

Once he was gone, I just folded my arms on my knees and placed my head on them. While I was relieved to hear that Percy was still alive and wasn't being held as a prisoner anymore, I was still upset about him not being here and was gonna be away still for yet another quest for however long. I tried not to let all of this et to me for the sake of not ruining my baby's mental or emotional health. But with everything was just driving me nuts, I felt like I was sliding down a very steep cliff. And right, Percy was the only way to bring me back up.

Percy, you promised you'd come back no matter what, you better.

If anyone's wondering why I didn't write in the chapter a fight with Talos, well, with how Bianca isn't in the quest for this story, who was the one who got the statue to attack them in the first place in the novel, I didn't see any point of it. Another way of honoring the request I got from many of you, saying not to get Bianca killed in this story, I guess. Plus, I felt like a different scenery was needed for this update, one that would make better sense. I apologize if you're disappointed in there not being a fight with Talos. But hope everyone enjoyed the chapter anyways. Until next update. And as I said before, I would like to read more reviews for the story from here on out. Please, and thank you.