Aurora only agreed to go to the Arch for the Starbucks.

The Arch was one of Annabeth's favorite monuments. It sucked to have a best friend who was an architect nerd, because Aurora knew she was never hearing the end of the structural beams or whatever, but it sucked even more to be hungry.

While they walked around, Annabeth constantly spouted "interesting" facts about how the Arch was built, so much to the point where Aurora was going to threaten the daughter of Athena's life.

"Guys," Percy spoke up, eyeing around with concern. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Aurora was in the middle of deciding the best way to sew Annabeth's mouth shut and catch her off guard as she read about the construction equipment used to build the Arch. Aurora had decided on jumping her as Annabeth looked over and caught the daughter of Persephone sneaking up behind her. She stared with confused eyes. Aurora gasped and threw her arms around her best friend with a charming smile. "I love you, Annie!"

"Um, anyways." Annabeth eyed Aurora suspiciously, looking over at Percy. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—" Percy made eye contact with Aurora, and suddenly the girl felt extremely uncomfortable. She hadn't told anyone about her past, besides Luke, Gracie, and Annabeth, who were her only family. Not even Connor, Silena, and Clarisse knew, her very best friends. But she had told Percy, the random kid she met two weeks ago, without really knowing why. She just felt compelled. Perhaps to try and make him understand, perhaps to show that she trusted him—to an extent. Something in her just wanted him to know.

The way Percy looked at Aurora made her feel seen through, as if every layer of defense had been stripped away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable to the penetrating gaze of his knowledge. His understanding cut through her facade like a sharp blade, leaving no room for evasion or denial.

But strangely, Percy didn't make her feel bad, like she wanted to sink and drown and die. His eyes didn't blaze with the same anger that Luke's did when she told him. He didn't simply look angry at Hades, he looked angry for her. But he also looked like he understood exactly what she went through. He didn't look sympathetic or pitiful, but rather empathetic, like he wanted to hug her—a look Aurora didn't get very often. Or, a look she didn't allow herself to receive very often. He looked at her like she was just normal Aurora. Or, even, a better version of herself. It was unsettling in the best way.

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... you mean, our friend downstairs?"

Aurora had to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of her satyr friend's statement, taking a sip of her strawberry açaí lemonade refresher to contain her giggles. "Our enemy downstairs."

"Um, right." Percy said awkwardly. "Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness." Annabeth answered with a curt nod. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. His helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat. If what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness." Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

Aurora rolled her eyes theatrically. "Yeah, whatever. It's lame and he got the short end of the stick. Don't hype it up too much."

Percy swallowed at her sentence, glancing around, as if the stupid god was there at that very second. "How do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" He asked.

"Well, for one, Rory didn't just get blasted." Annabeth noted, but exchanged a nervous look with Grover. "But other than that, we don't."

Aurora simply just scoffed, as if a god could ever blast her. Her false confidence was the sole thing she hung onto for dear life, because even at the mention of the possibility that Hades could be there sent chills from the back of her neck down her spine.

Percy nodded. "Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. Got any blue jelly beans left?"

Aurora watched as Percy picked out the two blue jelly jeans in Grover's bag and popped them into his mouth. She remembered what Percy had told her on the train, how him and his mother decided to rebel against his horrible step dad, who was actually idiotic because he didn't believe blue foods existed—hello, blueberries?—and make every food blue.

The four got into a tiny little elevator car to ride up to the top of the Arch. Annabeth was visibly excited, whereas Percy looked like he was going to throw up. Aurora leaned over with a small smirk. "Son of Poseidon, scared of heights? Big shocker."

Percy simply threw her a dirty glare and mouthed the words: small space. She was going to open her mouth to make fun of him, but an older lady entered the elevator next to them with a Chihuahua the size of Aurora's foot.

They started going up inside the Arch. "No parents?" The lady asked them. She had beady eyes and a floppy denim hat, along with a denim dress that was like a strange 80's fashion trend that failed miserably.

Annabeth, ever the quick thinker, answered almost reflexively, "They're below. Scared of heights."

The lady shook her head. "Oh, the poor darlings." Her dog growled and she petted his head, stroking it softly and saying, "Now, now, sonny. Behave."

Percy tilted his chin to the side. "Sonny. Is that his name?" He asked curiously.

With a smile, the lady just said a simple "No," as if that cleared everything up.

Aurora looked at Percy weirdly, asking him with her eyes, Why do you even care?

Percy seemed to respond with, I thought you liked dogs, hypocrite.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded Aurora of the Hephaestus cabin, maybe with less metal. Rows of tiny windows looked out to a river, a calm sea of blue.

Annabeth would not stop talking, and probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for the rest of them, the park ranger announced that it would be closing in a few minutes.

Aurora raised her eyebrows as Percy practically bolted towards the door. He really is afraid of confined spaces, Aurora noted with a shake of her head.

Aurora paused in front of the elevator, where Percy was standing blankly. Annabeth and Grover were already there, but there was no room for Aurora and Percy, due to there being two other tourists inside the elevator already.

"We'll get out," Annabeth said nervously. "We'll wait with you."

Aurora shook her head, not wanting to cause another problem. "You guys go. Don't blame me if I come back to you alone, though. I don't know if I could handle another second with Percy."

The said boy glared at her. What a lie.

Aurora glanced back at the woman behind them, her Chihuahua jumping up and down and yapping at them. "Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time?"

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at them, foam dripping from his black lips.

Aurora swallowed thickly, reaching for Percy. The first part of his body that she was able to latch onto was his hand, and she tugged him closer, her heart thumping in her throat.

"Well, son," the lady sighed. "If you insist."

Ice started forming in Aurora's stomach. She glanced over at Percy and saw that he was feeling the same way. "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?" He asked hesitantly.

"Chimera, dear," the lady corrected with a sinister smile. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make." She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, her teeth were fangs.

Aurora's heart dropped to wherever Annabeth and Grover were. Aurora had heard stories from Chiron at camp about the Chimera, and it was certainly not the kind of monster that attacked useless demigods.

But then, Aurora remembered, Percy wasn't just an ordinary, useless demigod. He was the fucking son of Poseidon, which basically meant he was a ticking time bomb. Aurora didn't really care about who people's godly parents were, but she was seriously cursing Poseidon at that moment.

And Aurora blamed Zeus. Because, why not?

The Chimera barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The Chimera was so tall its back rubbed against the roof. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the dog tag was the size of a plate.

It was unfortunate, because Aurora really liked that rhinestone collar. It was pink and sparkled. She unsheathed Oleander, deciding on using her sword. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy do the same.

Echidna hissed. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

Aurora wanted to snort. She didn't exactly like being overlooked, especially when she was about to be murdered. "Okay, but, like... why did you need to say that? The whole villain speech is so overdone." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I mean, calling yourself terrible is just cocky."

Percy let out an incredulously laugh. He stared at Aurora, relishing the fact that she was alive, and diverted his gaze to Echidna. "You're an anteater?"

The two didn't fare very well with Echidna. She howled, glowering at Percy, who had inched in front of Aurora worriedly. "How dare you insult me like that! All my other victims enjoyed my speech, and I hate Australia! For that, Aurora Miller and Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. Aurora and Percy dove opposite ways, managing to dodge the bite.

Aurora panted, raising her sword. "I fucking love Australia." She grumbled, remembering her Gracie. She looked over frantically, searching for Percy. She finally found him, scrambling to try and help the innocent civilians who were stuck in the brawl. 

Within a few seconds, Percy had uncapped his sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!"

All Aurora could think was, what the fuck.

The Chimera turned faster than she would've thought possible.

Before Percy could swing his sword, it opened its mouth and shot a column of flame straight at him. Where Percy had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Aurora let out an involuntary scream as she felt her body start to shake. The boy who listened to all her secrets, her annoying stupid big-headed enemy she was beginning to tolerate... gone.

No.

Aurora wouldn't let herself go there. She sprinted forward to find the Chimera trapping Percy into a hole in the wall, his sword nowhere to be found. He was weaponless, which terrified Aurora far too much.

She snuck up behind Echidna and her favorite son stealthily as she said, "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?" 

Percy looked terrible. As soon as Aurora saw the gashes in his calf, she understood why. The Chimera was poisonous, and Percy was losing.

Well, if it was anyone else, they would've thought Percy had lost. But this was Aurora, and she was not letting go of Percy that easily.

Aurora raised her sword, angling it in between the scales of the Chimera's neck, ready to stab the vulnerable flesh, but the monster paused. It whipped around and stared at Aurora. Her eyes locked on the beast and she struck hard, plunging her blade into the soft, penetrable skin between the bullet-proof outside of the monster.

The Chimera howled with pain and wrapped his servant tail around Aurora's middle, squeezing her ribs tightly as the sharp scales pierced her stomach. She gritted her teeth, not letting herself show any pain as her head got dizzy. She attempted to suppress the cries threatening to escape her lips, refusing to show weakness, but a guttural scream slipped out unwillingly.

Percy's eyes shot open. His handsome, sickly, pained face showed nothing but fear. Fear for Aurora, not his own self that was near minutes from death.

Aurora pinched as waves of hurt rippled through her body. The Chimera's tail tightened, sending shooting bolts of torment coursing through her limbs.

What happened next was a blur. Hazel met a sickly sea green, and in a whir of movement, Percy grabbed her hand so forcefully and surprisingly that neither Aurora, the Chimera, nor Echidna even knew what was happening.

He stared at the water that was 630 feet beneath them, his face pale from the poison and his body weak from the fighting.

They locked eyes, something unspoken bouncing between them. Aurora didn't know what was going on, but she felt trust. It was a fragile thread, delicate and untested, that tied the two together, but it was there. 

Aurora didn't know what he was going to do, but she allowed herself to trust Percy.

It was quickly proven that trusting the son of Poseidon was a really bad idea.

Percy quickly wrapped his arms around Aurora, a weak hug from a dying boy. The embrace was tender and quick—so quick that Aurora wouldn't have noticed it or been able to wrap her arms around his if she wasn't paying such close attention—tinged with an unspoken heaviness. There was an urgency in the way that Percy held on to her, as if he was going to die.

Aurora made an oath to herself, refusing to believe that Percy was simply giving up. 

I will not let Percy Jackson die.

Just as she was finishing her thoughts, he pulled her close, his lips almost brushing her ears as he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." His voice was raw and tortured, for reasons Aurora didn't understand.

And then, she did.

His hands still firmly on her back, Percy pushed the daughter of Persephone into the hole in the floor that revealed an open sky and 630 feet of air. Aurora Miller plummeted toward the river, alone as fire coursed through her veins and her rib cages closed in a slow, agonizing death. 

ೀ⋆｡🌷 notes ...

word count: 2428

date published: march 3, 2024

thoughts: okay percy i see you! ps don't be mad at pookie wookie bear :( this was a really long chapter sorry!! also who got the is it over now reference in the chapter title?