- The quest deepens as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are tasked with a favor from a fearsome opponent.
- Annabeth and Grover look up at the smoking peak of the Gateway Arch, now surrounded by Police and emergency services. Grover nervously points out that the cops are eyeing them with interest, but Annabeth is distracted by three old ladies knitting amidst the chaos. One of the ladies cuts a strand of yarn while looking directly at Annabeth, as Grover tells her they should leave. They go to the riverbank, hoping that Percy is somehow still alive after falling from the arch during his battle with the Chimera. To their surprise, Percy climbs out of the river unharmed, and healed from the Chimera's poison thanks to Poseidon. Annabeth is relieved to see him, and he tells them that they need to make their way to Santa Monica before they go to the Underworld, as the sea god is going to help them with their quest. Grover informs him that the Police are now after them, since the officers on the train reported that they blew a hole in it, and now they think they sabotaged the arch. Unable to get tickets on public transport without risking arrest, they start walking. Percy, who has found a new sense of commitment to the quest since being saved by his father, and points out that they still don't know who actually stole the Master Bolt, since Hades couldn't have done it himself. If they are going to succeed fully, they'll need to find out who Hades sent to carry out the theft. He notices Annabeth is distracted, and she tells them about the three old ladies she saw, the Fates. When they cut the string in front of her, it meant that one of them will die soon. Percy is skeptical, but just then they are approached on the road by a biker who offers to help them, and knows of their task. It's Ares, the God of War, who was also sent out by his father Zeus to find the bolt. He meets them at diner to talk, and shows them a news broadcast; Percy and his mother's absence has been reported by his stepfather, Gabe, who has accused Percy of destroying his car and having something to do with Sally's disappearance. The FBI and the media have gotten involved, and there is no way the three kids can travel officially without being caught. Percy is infuriated, and Ares tells them that their quest will fail inevitably. They truth is, Zeus will probably still go to war with Poseidon even if they manage to get the bolt back, since their family craves conflict. However, since Percy is family, he offers them a deal in exchange for transport out west. He left his shield, his own symbol of power, at an abandoned theme park nearby. If they retrieve it and bring it back to him, he'll get them a ride. Annabeth is flippant towards the god, but they agree to his deal. Ares decides to keep Grover with him as insurance to make sure Percy and Annabeth return, and Grover tells them to go on since he has his own plan.
Percy and Annabeth arrive after dark at Waterworld, a huge dilapidated amusement park. As Percy moves through the turnstile, he triggers a trap that activates a sharp grinding device overhead that lowers as the stile moves. He stops halfway as Annabeth realizes the blades are made from Celestial Bronze, the same material his sword and her knife are made from. The enchanted metal passes through mortals, but is deadly to monsters and half-bloods. She figures out the machine does not lower all the way, and tells Percy to finish passing through. The device retracts when he reaches the other side, and a counter ticks him and Annabeth as they enter. They realize a god must have built the park, and only Hephaestus, the God of Craftsmen, would have had the ingenuity. The trap was only meant to scare them off, but now he knows they're here. Meanwhile, Grover is able to impress Ares with his knowledge of lesser known wars, and tells him that warfare reflects nature's own brutality. Ares is flattered, and they start to chat. Annabeth and Percy start their search, and try to figure out why Ares would have left his shield at Hephaestus's park. Percy remembers that Ares has had a longtime affair with Hephaestus's wife, Aphrodite. They realize the two gods must have met, been caught by Hephaestus, and left in a rush. As they approach, one of the rides lights up and activates, the tunnel of love. Assuming their quarry lies within, they climb aboard the boat and are taken into the building. Magical lights depict the story of Hephaestus, having been rejected by his own mother, Hera, for his deformities, and later turned away by Aphrodite, who chose Ares over him. Percy comes to understand what Ares meant about family of the gods being messed up, and realizes why his mother waited so long to tell him about his heritage. She was trying to keep him away from the Olympians and their constant conflict. He wishes she had prepared him better, but Annabeth points out Sally was probably trying to make sure Percy didn't end up just like them. The lightshow concludes, and the boat drops down into a steep thrill ride, and they land deep below the park in another part of the ride. They can see the chamber where the shield is held, but the boat is about to be torn apart by another deathtrap up ahead. They abandon the boat and jump into the water, but the strong currents drag them under. Percy reaches out to Annabeth, and jets of water shoot from his hands. They wake up on a platform in the shield chamber, unsure of what exactly Percy did to save them. Ares' shield is held fast in the hands of a giant statue, in front of which sits an ornate golden throne. They set about figuring out how to free the shield from the statue.
Meanwhile, Grover gets Ares to go on a rant complaining about the campers at Camp Half-Blood, who visit Mount Olympus on a field trip every Winter Solstice. Grover points out that one of the half-bloods must have taken the Master Bolt while they were there, but Ares dismisses the idea. When Grover implies that Ares has already found the lightning thief, the god of war becomes closed off after telling him he knows that Percy did not steal the bolt, to Grover's interest. Back at the park, Percy tells Annabeth the rest of Hephaestus's story. After being rejected, he built the golden chair and tricked Hera into sitting in it, but she couldn't get back out. All the other gods tried to free her, but Hephaestus's craftsmanship was too complex and strong for even them. They eventually agreed to let Aphrodite become his wife if he let Hera go. Percy realizes the chair is the mechanism, a bargaining tool. One of them must sit on the throne to release the shield, but won't be able to leave. Annabeth immediately tries to make the decision to stay, but Percy won't let her. She insists he won't make the choice to sacrifice himself for her again, and Percy tells her the whole reason he chose her for the quest was because she could do what needed to be done for the sake of their mission, even if it meant leaving him behind. The Fates were right, one of them would have to take the fall to get the others to the Underworld in time. Annabeth argues, but Percy points out that she has a better chance of succeeding without him than he does without her. She reluctantly agrees, and promises to get him mom back from Hades, and return to find a way to get him out. He sits on the throne, which covers him in gold, making him one with the chair as the shield is dropped from the statue. Annabeth is devastated at the loss of another friend, and doesn't take the shield. She starts frantically trying to reverse the mechanism on the chair as a figure enters the catwalk above; Hephaestus himself. He shows her the way out, and tells her to take what she came for and go. She refuses to leave without Percy, and the god of craftsmen tells her it is impossible to reverse the machine. He reminds her how she has displeased her mother, and tells her once she leaves and completes the quest for the Master Bolt, she will achieve monumental glory, and win back Athena's favor. Annabeth is tired of the Olympian cycle of sacrificing everyone around them to get what they want. She tells him she doesn't want to be a part of it anymore, saying that Percy is different from all of them, willing to give himself up for the good of others. She isn't willing to let her friend take the fall for her for the sake of glory and power. Her words move Hephaestus, and he reactivates the chair and releases Percy. He tells Annabeth he'll have a talk with Athena, and lets them both leave with the shield.
The return to the diner and give the shield back to Ares, who shows them to their ride west, the back of a semi truck carrying live zoo animals. The truck is heading to Las Vegas, where they can find Hermes and try to get his driver to take them the rest of the way to Los Angeles. He also gives them a backpack of supplies, but tells them they have no chance of actually succeeding. Percy becomes angered by Ares' continual insistence of their failure and nearly challenges the god, but Grover convinces him to take what they can get and leave. As Ares closes the truck behind them, Grover tells the other two that he has figured out who stole the Master Bolt.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
What is the Canadian French language plot outline for A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers (2024)?
Answer