Chapter 166: Good Qualities

A/N: I know that the story about Ares you are about to read isn't a 100% real but I liked it to the point that I'm going to make it a fact in this fic, so I don't want to hear, "BuT iT's WrOnG ArEs WoUlD nEvEr–" I don't care… Enjoy ;) 

[Third Person's PoV] 

Lucian and the others emerged from McDonald's, each holding a bag of food and drinks in hand. Grover was happily sipping from a small box of apple juice, looking entirely content.

"Shouldn't I be rich too?" Percy asked, his mouth full of chicken nuggets.

Lucian gave him a confused look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, aren't there, like, sunken ships at the bottom of the sea? They must've had chests filled with gold and stuff, right? So shouldn't I be rich the same way you are with buried treasure?" Percy said, swallowing another nugget.

Annabeth, holding her cup with the straw poking out between her fingers, pointed it at Percy. "He's got a point."

Lucian scoffed playfully, rolling his eyes. "Well, you're not the Prince of Atlantis, are you?"

Percy's eyes widened. "I could be… Wait—holy… Atlantis is real!?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her drink, and glanced toward Lucian. "You weren't the Prince of the Underworld when you got rich, either."

"Touché," Lucian admitted with a nod.

Percy, still reeling from the revelation, waved his hands dramatically. "If Atlantis is real, what else is? The Bermuda Triangle?!"

Lucian nearly choked on his fries. "Seriously? That's where your mind goes?"

Percy shrugged casually. "Well, I used to think it was just some scary place people avoided. But now that I'm thinking about it, it has to be connected to the supernatural, right?"

"You're actually unbelievable," Clarisse muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

They continued their banter as they approached the train station. Just as the train was about to depart, Lucian quickly used his shadows to hold the doors open, letting everyone scramble inside. They all let out a collective sigh of relief once safely aboard and found their seats as the train started moving again.

Annabeth plopped down on Lucian's lap by the window, playfully feeding him a fry with a proud smile on her face. Meanwhile, Percy sat opposite them, his expression growing more pensive as the others chatted around him.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a fry hitting him square in the forehead. He blinked in confusion, his brow furrowing as he looked up to find Annabeth staring at him with an arched brow. The others looked at him with similar expressions.

"What?" Percy asked, picking the fry off the table and popping it into his mouth.

"First of all, gross," Thalia said, scrunching her nose in disgust. "And second, we've been calling your name for like, five minutes. You've just been sitting there, zoning out."

"Sorry," Percy muttered, looking embarrassed. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Well, don't just sit there, Fish for brains," Clarisse cut in with a roll of her eyes. "Tell us what else that water spirit said to you."

Percy sighed, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "She said something about my dad… loving me." He shifted uncomfortably. "I know it sounds lame, but I can't stop thinking about it. It makes me wonder if he really does, or if she was just saying that to make me feel better."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Lucian said with a shrug.

Percy frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Look, as messed up as most of the gods can be, some of them do have good qualities. Your father, for example—he's known to care about all his children. Take the story of Odysseus, for instance."

"Odysseus?" Percy repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

Lucian nodded. "Yeah, a Greek hero known for his wisdom and cunning. Annabeth's mom was quite fond of him. I won't go into the whole story, but at one point in his journey, Odysseus blinded a Cyclops by stabbing it in the eye. That Cyclops happened to be your father's son. Naturally, your father didn't take that too well. He cursed Odysseus to wander the seas for years, preventing him from finding his way home. It took Odysseus a decade to break that curse. Your father is very vengeful when it comes to his children getting hurt."

Percy looked down, trying to hide the small smile creeping onto his face. The thought of his father caring about him, even in such a complicated way, brought him a flicker of warmth amidst the uncertainty.

"Would my dad even have a good side like that?" Clarisse muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Lucian, who heard her, turned toward her with a warm smile. "You'd be surprised... There's a story about your father from the old times that made me really admire him."

Clarisse's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait, you admire my father?"

Lucian pinched his fingers together, grinning slightly. "Well, mostly what he stood for in the past."

Clarisse leaned forward, intrigued, her interest piqued. "What was it? What did he stand for?"

Lucian's smile widened as he began. "Believe it or not, your dad was once known as the Protector of Women. He had earned the respect of many women in Olympus."

"Seriously?" Thalia asked, her tone filled with surprise.

Annabeth nodded, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Oh! I remember reading about this in the book my mom made. There's a whole section on it."

"What did he do?" Clarisse asked, her voice filled with eagerness as she hung on to every word.

"Well," Lucian started, leaning back in his seat, "a long time ago, a son of the Sea God thought he could do whatever he pleased just because of who his father was. He crossed the line and took advantage of one of your father's daughters. Your father was enraged when he found out. He didn't hesitate—he hunted down the Sea god's son and killed him, brutally. He didn't care that he was risking the wrath of the Sea God."

Clarisse listened, transfixed, her admiration for her father growing with every word.

Lucian continued, his voice calm but intense. "Naturally, there was a huge uproar. The sea god was furious, and they held a trial for your dad. Both Sea God and Sky God declared him guilty of murdering the Sea God's son."

Clarisse's face fell slightly, but Lucian wasn't done.

"But here's where it gets interesting," Lucian said, raising his hand slightly as if to hold her attention. "The women of Olympus rallied to your dad's defense. They argued that your father's actions were justified, given that the Sea God's son had wronged his daughter so grievously. In the end, your father won the trial. Not only did he avoid punishment, but he also earned their respect for standing up for his daughter. That's one of the reasons why the Amazons still hold him in such high regard today."

Clarisse's eyes practically sparkled with awe as Lucian finished the story, her opinion of her father shifting as the admiration she already held deepened.

Lucian then turned toward Thalia. "Even your father was so bothered by how brutally the murder was carried out that he cooled down on his own... escapades for a while, afraid of provoking her father's wrath."

Thalia raised an eyebrow at that, clearly skeptical but intrigued nonetheless.

Clarisse, meanwhile, was glowing with pride, stars practically gleaming in her eyes. "I had no idea..." she whispered, her admiration for her father reaching new heights.

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