It was a quite anticlimactic ending, Aurora's arrow piercing Polyphemus' only eyeball perfectly in the center of his giant black pupil. However, the stupid Cyclops was really getting on Aurora's nerves, and he was so fucking annoying that she couldn't help herself; the daughter of Persephone knew she was blessed by Artemis in her ability for archery, and she also knew that all it would take was a consummate shot to bring the monster down. And if she could do it, why would she not?

The strawberry blonde haired girl grinned widely as the nuisance fell.

What she didn't account for was the fact that the Cyclops was tall. Not, "oh my gods, our height difference is so cute!" kind of tall, but more like "that giant is hundreds of feet fall" kind of tall. Which was an issue, as it seemed that the blinded Cyclops was falling forward. Onto the Queen Anne's Revenge.

"Oh, fuck!" Aurora grumbled, gritting her teeth with aggravation. Why couldn't he just die? She felt like stomping her feet and whining like a little baby, but even when he couldn't see, Polyphemus was creating problems. She just wanted to go home.

"Dive!" Percy's voice could be heard as they began sinking, and Aurora assumed he was talking to the other son of Poseidon, because the last time the two demigods had been in the ocean together, he had just pushed her off of the Gateway Arch and they sunk into the water together and a random Nereid with his mom's voice started delivering a message for them from his father. Aurora remembered she could breathe last time. She definitely could not breathe then and there.

As the ship started to sink, it acted like a sinkhole, pulling everything around it down with it. And everything also meant the people. Aurora was never a strong swimmer like Clarisse, but even she wasn't making any progress. Grover frantically kicked with his hooves, and Annabeth was hanging on to the Fleece, which flashed in the water like a wave of new pennies.

Aurora was desperately flailing her arms and legs, attempting to remember any types of strokes that would be of any help to her at the moment, but she was ever a swimmer. She never even went to the lake at camp. She never went in the water. So at a certain point in the five minutes Aurora was attempting to tread water, she sort of just... stopped trying. Her muscles were growing fatigued after their constant use, every bone in her body feeling like they were held under a blazing fire then scraped with a sharp dagger, and she hadn't gotten good, satisfying sleep since... well, since last summer. And the thought of continuing to fight, journeying and risking their lives again—well, it didn't sound as appealing as just stopping and letting go did. If she just let herself sink, if she just let her body weigh down,, and just fall into the deep abyss of water and the unknown, maybe she would finally be able to rest. Maybe everything would just stop.

And Aurora would have let herself, but it was Percy's strong grip that pulled her out. Her nose had already started to dip below the water, and her eyes were growing heavy from exhaustion, and she was just so ready to sleep for eternity, but of course Percy wouldn't let her. Percy never let her go anywhere by herself, let alone the Underworld. Elysium, preferably, but she'd done some fucked up shit in her lifetime. Dying a hero's death would not even guarantee her spot in the closest thing to heaven.

It was a blur of color—shapes shimmered in the darkness below, and three horses with fish tails galloped upward faster than dolphins. Aurora recognized the hippocampus as Rainbow, Tyson's friend that helped them out when the shitshow of a quest first started. They whisked into the wreckage, and a moment later burst upward in a cloud of bubbles—Grover, Annabeth, and Clarisse each clinging to the neck of a hippocampus.

Aurora was clinging to Percy's neck, because how the hell was he not drowning, and why the fuck did he save her? Her body started shivering, her shirt clinging to her skin and goosebumps prickling her forearms as a cool breeze brushed against her wet skin, but Percy's dry body acted as a blanket of warmth for the girl, and she leaned her head against his chest, soaking up the heat and comfort he provided.

They broke the surface of the water and raced away from Polyphemus's island. Behind them, Aurora could hear the Cyclops' obnoxious roaring in pain and anger, "I'm going to kill Nobody!" and she couldn't help but giggle softly against Percy's shoulder as they skimmed across the sea, the island shrinking to a dot and then disappearing.

"We did it, Flower Face," Percy murmured softly, his voice hushed and gentle as Aurora's eyes fluttered close. Trying to drown took a lot out of a person.

"We did?" Aurora mustered enough energy to slur out, her skin soaking up the sunshine as she lifted her chin slightly to look at the boy. He was smiling at her, his green eyes reflecting the sea surrounding them.

"We did," he answered, still in that low and tender tone that made her feel like she was in the ultimate solace. "Now rest, Ro. You deserve it."

And for once, she didn't have trouble falling asleep.

ೀ⋆｡🌷

Salt water splashed Aurora's face, and she blinked rapidly at the familiar sound of Annabeth's shouting. She inhaled briefly, her nose filling with the scent of the salty air, and she felt a ghost of a smile flit around her lips. In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline.

Despite their circumstances, Aurora couldn't help but whisper quietly, "I think sunsets are the prettiest things I've ever seen. I love them so much." It was random and off topic, but staring at the array of pinks and yellows and oranges, the singular beauty in the midst of all the chaos and terror and violence, Aurora wanted to take time and just appreciate nature's attempt at appeasing and justifying thirteen year old children fighting a god's war.

"I think so too," Percy agreed, his voice rushing out in a single breath. Aurora hadn't felt his head shift from where it was resting against her shoulder, so she wasn't sure if he could see the entirety of the surreal landscape, but his chin lolled to the side slightly, indicating that he was grinning that stupidly big grin.

"We're in Miami, I think," Annabeth concluded, her voice loud from where she sat ten feet away on her own hippocampi. "But the hippocampi are acting funny."

Sure enough, their fishy friends had slowed down and were whinnying and swimming in circles, sniffing the water. They didn't look happy. One of them sneezed.

"This is as far as they'll take us," Percy concluded after a second of "listening" to the creatures. "Too many humans. Too much pollution. We'll have to swim to shore on our own." None of them were very psyched about that, but they thanked Rainbow and his friends for the ride.

Tyson cried a little. He unfastened the makeshift saddle pack he'd made, which contained his tool kit and a couple of other things he'd salvaged from the Birmingham wreck. He hugged Rainbow around the neck, gave him a soggy mango he'd picked up on the island, and said good-bye.

Once the hippocampi's white manes disappeared into the sea, they swam for shore. Aurora hated how Percy felt the need to slow his pace to match hers, but she was slightly grateful for the company as she treaded along slowly.

The waves pushed them forward, and in no time, they were back in the mortal world. Yay. They wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. If it was strange for six kids to be dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster—which they did—no one showed it. Now that they were back among mortals, Tyson's single eye had blurred from the Mist. Grover had put on his cap and sneakers. Even the Fleece had transformed from a sheepskin to a red-and-gold high school letter jacket with a large glittery Omega on the pocket.

Annabeth ran to the nearest newspaper box and checked the date on the Miami Herald. She cursed. "June eighteenth! We've been away from camp for ten days!"

"That's impossible!" Clarisse exclaimed almost angrily. But they all knew it wasn't. Time traveled differently in monstrous places, which was irritating but true.

"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight."

"Shh," Aurora shushed aggressively, crossing her arms. "Positivity, remember?"

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "Love you for that Rory, but how are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's your fault, Jackson! If you hadn't interfered—"

"Woah, wait. Percy's fault?" Aurora halted, her head turning towards her friend with an incredulous expression. Her eyebrows raised, and she felt a pinch of vexation nip at her heart. "Be serious, Clar. How the fuck is this—"

"Stop it," Percy grumbled, but Aurora didn't miss the twinkle in his sea glass colored irises, or the way that his mouth quirked to the side with amusement at her immediate defending him.

Fuck you, she mouthed. Clarisse put her head in hands. Annabeth clenched her fists in frustration.

But Aurora knew how Clarisse felt. Ever since she was little, she never sought out a quest. She was never one of those kids who wanted the danger, the power, the glory. But Clarisse was. And this was supposed to be Clarisse's quest, and they had all just showed up uninvited—well, Aurora was invited, but whatever—and stole her thunder. And Ares... he was a horrible, horrible person, and she remembered what he had told her in the boiler room. She really wanted this for her friend. She loved Clarisse, and the daughter of the war god deserved all of the reward that would come with being a hero, being the leader of a successful quest. But it was Percy's decision, unfortunately. Not hers.

"Clarisse," Percy said slowly, "what did the Oracle tell you exactly?"

She looked up. Her stance was intimidating, and Aurora thought she might punch the black haired boy, but instead she took a deep breath and recited her prophecy: "You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, You shall find what you seek and make it your own, But despair for your life entombed within stone, And fail without friends, to fly home alone."

"Oh," Aurora sucked in a breath, taking a step towards her friend.

"Ouch," Grover mumbled.

"No," Percy said after a beat. "No... wait a minute. I've got it."

"Oh, you got it?" Aurora snorted. "When do you 'got' anything?"

"The incorrect grammar in that sentence has me screaming, Rory. Please don't." Annabeth cringed, wrinkling her sunburnt nose up at the girl, who simply just rolled her eyes.

Percy searched his pockets for money, and found nothing but a golden drachma.

"Does anybody have any cash?" Annabeth and Grover shook their heads morosely. Clarisse pulled a wet Confederate dollar from her pocket and sighed.

"Cash?" Tyson asked hesitantly. "Like... green paper?"

Percy nodded, glancing solemnly at his brother. "Yeah."

"Like the kind in duffel bags?" the baby Cyclops continued.

"Yeah, but we lost those bags days a—" Percy stuttered to a halt as Tyson rummaged in his saddle pack and pulled out the Ziploc bag full of cash that Hermes had included in their supplies.

"Tyson!" Aurora exclaimed excitedly. "Sweetheart, how did you—"

"Thought it was a feed bag for Rainbow," he admitted sheepishly, grinning proudly as everyone gaped at his accomplishment. "Found it floating in the sea, but only paper inside. Sorry."

He handed Percy the cash. Fives and tens, at least three hundred dollars. He ran to the curb and grabbed a taxi that was just letting out a family of cruise passengers.

Aurora held her breath, and she turned to her friend, but he was already looking at her. It was as if they shared some sort of communication, and she raised an eyebrow—a plea, of sorts. Please.

Percy locked eyes with her, and never tore his green gaze off of hers as he yelled, "Clarisse! Come on. You're going to the airport. Annabeth, give her the Fleece."

Aurora's face broke out into a beam as Percy took the Fleece letter jacket from Annabeth, tucked the cash into its pocket, and put it in Clarisse's arms.

Clarisse frowned, "You'd let me—"

"It's your quest," Percy nodded earnestly. "We only have enough money for one flight. Besides, I can't travel by air. Zeus would blast me into a million pieces. That's what the prophecy meant: you'd fail without friends, meaning you'd need our help, but you'd have to fly home alone. You have to get the Fleece back safely."

Aurora could see her mind working—suspicious at first, wondering what trick Percy was playing, then finally deciding he meant what he said. She couldn't help but want to hug the son of Poseidon—both of them.

Clarisse jumped in the cab, a look of fixed determination firmly set on her face. "You can count on me. I won't fail."

"Not failing would be good." Percy agreed. The cab peeled out in a cloud of exhaust. The Fleece was on its way.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "that was so—"

"Generous?" Grover offered.

"Kind." Aurora answered, pressing her lips together to smother her awestruck smile. She couldn't let Percy know how much that meant to her. Of course she couldn't.

"Insane," Annabeth corrected. "You're betting the lives of everybody at camp that Clarisse will get the Fleece safely back by tonight?"

"It's her quest," Percy justified—and rightly so. "She deserves a chance."

"Percy is nice," Tyson said.

"Percy is too nice," Annabeth grumbled.

"I'm impressed," Aurora smiled quietly, brushing her hand against Percy's slightly as an offering of sorts—a thank you. She didn't want to say it, because she knew Percy didn't do it for her. He did it for himself, and he did it for Clarisse. But the fact that he did it in the first place was so...

"Come on," Percy told them. "Let's find another way home."

And Aurora would have, but her wish to be dead earlier really came back to bite her in the ass, because as she turned, it was the blade of sword that was pressed against her neck, not the peaceful lapping on the ocean. And instead of the water being the one to murder her, it was Luke.

ೀ⋆｡🌷 the mother of perora speaks ...

word count: 2640

date published: august 23, 2024

thoughts: this was a shorter and extremely rushed chapter, so i apologize for how bad it is :( but thank you so much for waiting! ugh i really, really hate this, but we only have two more chapters left of sea of monsters, so we are so back!

a quick, important announcement: due to school starting up again, i'm going to start publishing bi-weekly, which means that a haven chapter will come once every two weeks starting next friday, august 30. each haven update will be at 5 pm eastern time! but additionally, there will be bi-weekly updates of my leo valdez fic, ghosts, on saturday at 12 pm eastern time! this weeks will alternate, so there will still be weekly updates from me :)

lastly, my walker scobell fic serendipity is out now! don't worry, it's not going to be weird or anything. if you haven't yet, please go check it out!! i love you all so so so much, thank you for reading <3 have a lovely rest of your day/night!