Santa Monica Beach is the name of the beach where Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood appeared after escaping the Underworld using Poseidon's Pearls, on June 21st, the day of the Summer Solstice.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Lightning Thief[]
Ares, the god of war, whom Percy fights
The coastguard picks them up and drops them off at Santa Monica Pier, with towels and water bottles that say "I'm a Junior Coast Guard!". Percy intentionally makes himself wet, at it would raise attention if he departed the ocean without a single drop of water on him. They reach Los Angeles which has been damaged by an earthquake caused by Hades in his anger that the trio have escaped. Percy and Annabeth figure out what happened and that they were tricked, so now Percy will be framed for stealing Zeus' Master Bolt and Hades' Helm of Darkness causing a three-way war.
They meet Ares on the beach, who seems genuinely pleased to see that Percy has survived. It turns out that Ares was responsible for giving them the backpack in Denver which was a sheath for the Master Bolt. When Percy questions why Ares didn't just keep the Master Bolt, he thinks about it and goes into a trance-like state, as if listening to another voice. Percy guesses that he's lying and that sending the Master Bolt to Hades wasn't his idea; it turns out to be Kronos'. But Ares denies this, saying "I don't have dreams."
Then Ares sends a boar to try and kill Percy, but Percy chops off its tusk and engulfs it in a wave. Percy goads Ares into a fight, which is witnessed by mortals who think they are fighting with guns. Until Ares makes a wall of red fire engulf the police cars, which explode, and disperses the spectators. Percy beats Ares by tricking him with a feint to his head before stabbing him in the heel with Riptide after he causes a six-foot wave to smash into Ares' face.
Ares roars in pain causing the sea to be blasted back leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide. There is Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowing from his boot. He limps towards Percy, but before he does anything a dark presence stops him, instead he curses him that every time Percy lifts the blade in hope of success, he will feel the curse of Ares. He reveals his true, immortal form and disappears.
The Furies have been watching the whole battle and Percy tosses Hades' Helm of Darkness to Mrs. Dodds and tells her to make Hades call off the war. The trio decide to fly back to New York to give Zeus's Bolt in time.