𝐒 𝐓 𝐀 𝐑   𝐖 𝐀 𝐑 𝐒   !

⎯ 𝘛 𝘞 𝘖 ⎯

( 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔭𝔥𝔢𝔠𝔶 𝔬𝔣 𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔰 ! )

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

          "𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘! Put me down!"

They had to be an odd sight to see⎯the new and old Praetor of Camp Jupiter walking into New Rome, one holding a beautiful girl's hand and the other hauling a laughing daughter of Apollo over his shoulder like a bag of flour. That being said, with all that had happened within the past twenty-four hours, no citizens of the city looked at them oddly. They just smiled and continued on their way, some laughing at a certain couple as they passed. 

On one side of the duo walked Jason and Piper, the latter looking around the city in awe as she gripped Jason's hand tightly in her own. Hazel and Frank, who had happily joined both couples, were doing the same on the other side, pointing out some of the newer buildings to both Jason and Piper and answering any of their questions.

The only couple that wasn't currently acting normal was Percy and Aurora⎯not that anyone expected anything differently from them. The poor Jacarusso was hanging over Percy's shoulder, her world upside down as she held onto her boyfriend's shoulders for dear life. Percy just smirked and continued to walk the streets of New Rome like this was a normal thing to do with one's newly acquired girlfriend. Aurora could imagine her father and Venus chuckling from their spots in Olympus.

Percy chuckled. "Not until you tell the truth, Sleeping Beauty."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "You'll never get me to say it, Kelp Head."

"Well then, I guess you'll stay upside down forever." Percy pretended to drop her, causing Aurora to shriek in surprise and cling onto his waist tightly, her cheek pressed against his lower back. She could feel the blood rushing quickly to her head.

"Percy Jackson, I swear to all the gods above that if you drop me . . ." Aurora groaned. "Fine! Fine, I'll say it! Percy Jackson is the hottest demigod to exist! There, you happy now?"

Percy set her down on her feet and grinned down at her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm always happy with you."

Aurora felt her cheeks warm up and she rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and pulling them so they were in line with the others again. "You're such a cheese ball, Perce."

"Yeah, but I'm your cheese ball."

She just smiled and leaned into his embrace, enjoying this moment of peace. Even without her foresight, Aurora knew this would be one of the last times she and Percy would be able to relax for a while. The war was underway, giants rising from Tartarus and monsters stirring with the call of the Doors of Death. Aurora wouldn't be surprised if she and her boyfriend didn't get a second to be "normal" for years to come.

Pushing those thoughts away, she turned her attention to her cousin. "So, Jay-Jay. A little birdy told me that you pissed off the snow goddess. How did you manage that. Mr. Lightning Bolt?"

The son of Jupiter's ears turned bright red and he groaned. "I thought you'd forgotten that nickname."

Aurora shook her head. Every once in a while, Reyna would organize movie nights in New Rome for the legionnaires. Despite Reyna stating that the movies were to test their analytical abilities, Aurora knew her friend did it as a form of stress relief. After all, they were still kids. They deserved moments of relaxation from the heavy war-training they did on a daily basis.

One of those times, the movie of choice was Disney's Hercules. The entire time, everyone was shouting at the screen, pointing out every mythological and actual incorrection about the movie, barely anyone paying attention to the movie itself. However, Aurora had been enraptured by the film, her favorite character being Phil⎯the faun/satyr trainer of heroes. She'd hung onto every word he'd said, and when he'd referred to Jupiter (Zeus) as Mr. Lightning Bolt, Aurora had nearly jumped at the opportunity.

Since then, Jason had been known as Mr. Lightning Bolt.

"You will never get rid of it, my dear cousin." She ignored the glare sent her way, instead choosing to switch gears. "So, you're friend Leo. He's a son of Vulcan, right?" They nodded. "Is he the one who built the ship?

Piper hummed. "Yeah. Apparently he drew a picture of it as a kid. Fate and all that shit."

"That's insane!" Aurora had always had a huge amount of respect for children of both Minerva and Vulcan. Master craftsmen and amazing builders and anyone who can make something out of nothing with their bare hands. "And, like, not to pry or anything, but is he a fire-user by chance?"

Since meeting Leo, Aurora had sensed a heat coming from him that was similar to her own. Since photokinesis and pyrokinesis are very similar abilities, those who have them can easily spot each other. She could tell that he had also noticed something, having seen the way he glanced at her during lunch. 

Percy pulled her closer. "Is that some weird Apollo-sun-powers shit? You can tell when other people can control heat?"

"Yeah."

He kissed her temple, causing her to blush bright red. "You get more amazing each day."

Yet another reason she adored Percy.

The two were snapped out of her little moment at Piper's exclamation. "This place is so much different from Camp Half-Blood! The city is beautiful. Are all these people retired members of the legion?"

Hazel nodded. "It's the only safe place where demigods can live their lives past their ten years of service to the legion. We have entire families living there. It's so weird to think that I could be attending college there soon."

"Tell me about it," Percy mumbled, making Aurora smile. "So, how is camp? I heard your story, but I'm curious about the place. Is Chiron still as cryptic as ever? Do the harpies still threaten to eat kids late at night?"

Jason nodded. "Everything is pretty much the same as it was when you disappeared. Though, there was a hydra hidden in the forest at one point, which made it a little hard to play Capture-the-Flag when the dragon problem was solved."

Percy whistled. "Wow. How did they fix the dragon situation? Hephaestus cabin finally shut it down?"

Piper shook her head. "No. Our friend Leo fixed the dragon up and we flew on Festus for most of our quest until he was shot down by King Midas. Now his head is the figurehead of the ship."

The daughter of Apollo blinked. She was well aware of how mortals were returning to life through the Doors of Death, handpicked by the goddess Gaea herself. However, Aurora hadn't thought about who Gaea was picking. Hearing that King Midas had been resurrected filled her with a sense of both excitement and dread.

"Sounds . . . fun?" Frank said, shrugging. "Way cooler than what we had going on. I mean, sure, we had Arion, but he's not exactly the biggest fan of mine."

"Maybe because the first thing you said to the horse was something insulting," Aurora said, perking a brow at Frank. "Anyways, I've always wanted to meet King Midas. My stepdad used to tell me his story all the time when I was little. Probably thought it would teach me something in the long run. All I learned was that my dad gave him donkey ears because he's a sore loser, meaning Midas would probably try to kill me. But it's whatever."

Percy gaped at her. "Your dad did what?"

"Story for another time," she said. She didn't feel like getting into her father's mishaps at the moment. So, she shifted the topic⎯something she was stellar at. "Mr. Lightning Bolt, mind telling me how you managed to charm your way into a relationship with this goddess right here?" Piper's cheeks went ruby red when Aurora nodded her way. "I find it hard to believe she'd find you anything but annoying."

Jason shot her a playful glare. "Oh, yeah? Well how did you end up dating the son of Poseidon and current Praetor of the legion? Sounds like something way above your paygrade, Little Miss Funshine."

Aurora's eyes went wide as she felt her face heat up as hot as the sun. Sometimes she forgot that teasing Jason meant putting herself at risk of his own form of teasing. While she'd given him the name Mr. Lightning Bolt after watching Hercules, he'd given her the name Little Miss Funshine after hearing about care bears from one of the campers. Safe to say neither would be living those nicknames down anytime soon.

She noted how Hazel, Frank, and Percy went silent at the nickname, her face getting hotter. "Jason Alexander Grace, I will murder you in your sleep, so help me gods."

"Little Miss Funshine?" She heard the amusement in Frank's voice as she glared at her cousin. "That's gold."

The Jacarusso tossed her head back with a sigh. "You weren't supposed to find out about that. It's embarrassing."

"Just like being called Mr. Lightning Bolt!" Jason argued.

"I will strangle you!"

"Can you even reach my neck?"

Aurora launched herself at her cousin, only for Percy to stop her by pulling her into him. She continued reaching for Jason, who was laughing from his safe place beside Piper, grumbling an astounding amount of curses in Latin that were causing Hazel to gasp. 

Percy chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I think it's cute." There went her cheeks again. Lighting up as hot as Vulcan's forges. "Anyways, Rory didn't have to do anything, Jason. All she did was smile and I was acting like an idiot around her. Must be Apollo kid charm or something."

Piper noted the way Aurora was struggling to find words and thankfully came to her aid. "Hey, you've got cafes here, right? Let's get coffee!"

Aurora practically lit up at that. "Coffee? Gods, it's been fucking forever since I've had anything caffeinated!"

"You had hot chocolate this morning, Rory. You're gonna be overly-caffeinated before the meeting," Percy said, rolling his eyes. "You'll be bouncing off the walls of the Senate House."

Aurora shrugged. "Free entertainment for the newcomers! Let's go!"

She grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him toward the cafe, the other four following behind and laughing at the surprise on Percy's face.

"Get used to it Percy," Jason shouted, smirking. "She's a caffeine junkie."

"Oh, gods."

⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯

The sound of something blowing up immediately put a damper on Aurora's mood. 

She, Percy, Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazel had just left the coffee shop and were sitting at the fountain when a shrill sound pierced the air, grabbing their attention. Light flashed above them, and Aurora nearly choked on her hot chocolate.

An explosion rocked the earth, blasting a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.

Aurora stood so quickly her knees nearly buckled from dizziness. "Giants?" She went to press down on her ring, cursing when she realized that it still had yet to re-materialize on her finger from when Terminus took it. "I thought we defeated their army!"

"It isn't the giants," Jason shouted, eyes storming. "Look!"

All six heads turned to stare at the war trireme docked over the forum, eyes going wide when they saw what Jason was talking about. The Argo II was the culprit. Aurora's heart sank as she watched it launch a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern. If anyone had been in there. . .

"Gods, no." Piper muttered. 

A wave of nausea almost made Aurora's knees buckle once more. She turned to Percy with wide eyes. "I trust you, you know that, right?"

The son of Poseidon met her wide and worried gaze. His eyes stormed just like Jason's. "I know that."

"So I can trust that the people from Camp Half-Blood would never do something like this, right?" Percy nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly. Aurora let out a breath, but she didn't feel much better. That cold feeling she'd gotten earlier around Leo was back, and something told her that things were definitely not going to be okay like Percy had promised earlier that morning. "Okay. What do we do?"

Percy frowned at the ship. "We need to get up there and stop whoever is firing."

"Good idea," Frank said, but his voice was nervous. "Um, but how are we going to get through them?"

Aurora turned to see what he was talking about. A crowd of angry Romans was beginning to form around them, and none of them looked very friendly. Aurora had trained with these people for years. She knew the damage they could inflict if they were mad enough. And with the eagle standard back with them. . . she didn't want to think of what could happen if they didn't get out of there in time.

She knew for a fact that if weapons had been allowed in the city, they'd all be dead. The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some began to throw plates, others launching food and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless since the trireme was docked so high in the sky that everything they threw at it just fell back down at them.

Aurora pursed her lips. "Jay, you and Piper should go and try to calm them down. I bet hearing from their old praetor will help. And if not, charmspeak should do the trick." The two nodded, taking off to where the crowd was assembling to fire at the ship. Aurora turned to her boyfriend and friends. "We need to get on that ship and stop either Leo or Octavian."

"We can't leave without the others, though," Hazel said. "The Romans will tear them to shreds if we leave them here."

"No one will be left behind, I promise," Percy said. He turned to Aurora. "What kind of plan have you got forming in that head of yours."

Aurora managed a small smile. "A stupid one."

She explained to them what was going on in her mind. If they could fend off the Romans until Sarah and Annabeth came back from their chat with Reyna, then they could all get on board the Argo II and sail away. Sure, it wasn't the best plan, but she knew Roman demigods. They would shoot first and ask questions post hac, even if it meant killing their own. Fun people.

The other three agreed, and they were soon commenced in their second battle within twenty-four hours. Aurora didn't have a weapon at hand, but she did have her photokinesis. And though she hated using it on people (unless she needed to, like back when she fought the Amazons), she sent beams of pure light at any Roman demigods trying to either attack her, her friends, or the ship in which she would be sailing on soon.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when she looked over to check on Jason and Piper, her stomach dropped. Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, who were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper's charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding. His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.

"Pluto's pauldrons!" Frank cursed. "Look."

Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.

"That'll just make things worse," Aurora said. She scanned the crowd, eyes widening when she caught sight of Reyna, Sarah, and Annabeth rushing toward them through the mob. "There they are!"

Percy shot water from the fountain at angry Romans, keeping them at bay. His toga was in tatters, but he looked unhurt. She barely heard Sarah and Annabeth call to them as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.

Aurora noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot. 

"Dad, please let someone hit him with a flaming spear or something," Aurora mumbled. She sent another blast of light toward an angry patch of Romans, sending them spiraling away with shrieks of pain. "Sorry!"

Percy blasted the Roman mob with more water. Annabeth and Sarah joined them, dodging a flying plate of sandwiches thrown by one of the Romans.

"Annabeth, Sarah!" Percy called. "What—?"

"I don't know!" the blonde yelled.

"I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

Aurora felt her chest fill with liquid hydrogen. She felt like she might shatter into a million frozen pieces. She'd been right to think that something was off when Leo had gone off to the ship with Octavian. Something was controlling the son of Hephaestus. She knew this to be true. Call it a gut feeling or a gift that came with being a child of the god of prophecies, but she knew. 

"You're lying," Sarah shouted. "Leo would never—"

"I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of the catapults was blasted to splinters.

"You see?" Octavian screamed. "Romans, kill the invaders!"

Aurora clenched her fists in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which she thought was very likely after knowing him for a sad amount of years), they'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.

"We have to leave," Annabeth told them. "Now."

Percy and Aurora nodded grimly. The son of Poseidon turned to Hazel and Frank. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."

"How?" Sarah asked.

Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. Arion, Hazel's special speedy horse that she got from the Amazons. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she'd been born to ride (which Aurora thought was likely). Strapped to the horse's saddle was her Roman cavalry sword.

Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!"

The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic.

Aurora felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe they could make it out of here alive. Then, from halfway across the forum, she heard Jason shouting.

"Romans!" he cried. "Please!"

He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward. Aurora gasped in surprise, her hand moving to cover her mouth.

"Get back!" Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but Aurora knew the effect wouldn't last long. Their small group couldn't possibly reach them in time to help.

"Frank," Percy said, "it's up to you. Can you help them?"

The boy nodded, swallowing nervously. "Oh, gods," he murmured. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now."

Aurora, Percy, Annabeth, and Sarah lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him to the mob. Aurora couldn't help but smile at the sight, pressing a kiss to Percy's cheek.

They began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Aurora's head. An explosion almost knocked her off the ladder. Halfway up, she heard a roar below and glanced down, cheering.

Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum—a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard's and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper and Jason, grabbing them with its front claws, and vaulted into the air. 

"Is that. . . ?" Sarah asked, eyes wide.

"Frank," Aurora confirmed, a few feet below her. "He has a few special talents."

"Understatement," Annabeth muttered. "Keep climbing!"

Without the dragon and Hazel's horse to distract the archers, the never would've made it up the ladder; but finally they climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard.

Aurora caught sight of one of the newcomers. Leo stood amidships, calmly loading the ballista. Her gut twisted with horror as she saw the same strange shimmer surrounding him that she'd seen earlier. The outline of someone—something—controlling Leo. Immediately she knew who was behind this attack—Gaea.

"Leo!" Annabeth screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Destroy them. . ." He faced the group. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all."

He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.

The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed. 

"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"

Annabeth nodded and ran for the helm with Sarah. Aurora turned and glanced over the rail, which was a mistake. Legionnaires were closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.

"I don't want to worry anyone!" she shouted over her shoulder. "But Terminus is about to terminate us and I personally don't want to meet Thanatos again so soon."

Annabeth nodded. She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds. 

⟶⭑🌣⭑⟵

"Easy, easy. You took a pretty nasty hit to the head, Leo. You might have a concussion." Aurora kept her voice calm and steady despite her racing heart and nerves. She was terrified of what the Romans were planning even after about an hour of flying away from them. Could you blame her, though? She'd grown up with them and knew first-hand how serious they were.

Leo had woken up about five minutes ago, eyes dazed and skin pale. Aurora studied him for a moment, sighing in relief when she didn't see the golden sheen of whatever ancient spirit had been possessing him. He was clean. . . for now. 

"What—?" he started, only to stop as his face turned green.

Aurora dug through the bag beside her and pulled out a square of ambrosia. She handed it to him with a smile, Leo taking a bite out of it immediately. His color came back slowly and the cloudiness in his eyes cleared. Just to be careful, she placed her hand on his forehead and muttered a hymn to her father. Her palm glowed with golden light as the healing magic coursed through her, fading once the spell was done. She removed her hand from his head and laughed at the startled look on his face.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine now." Leo opened and closed his mouth in an attempt at words, but it seemed like he couldn't find any. "I'll take your lack of speech as some silent form of a 'thank you'."

The boy nodded, finishing off his tiny square of ambrosia. "Thanks. Um, why am I on the floor?"

Aurora pursed her lips and glanced behind her to see Annabeth, Frank, and Sarah standing behind her with stoic expressions. Percy, Piper, and Jason were below deck and Hazel was still riding below on Arion. Coach Hedge—the other chaperone that was prone to violent outbursts—was the only one showing emotion. He was angrily pacing the deck, his stubby goat legs causing him to waddle as he walked. A baseball bat was slung over his shoulder, and since he was dressed in mainly athletic clothes, he looked like some sort of gym coach or something (hence the 'coach' part in Coach Hedge).

"Does anyone else want to explain or. . . ?" Aurora didn't want to overstep her boundaries. She understood why Annabeth had chosen her to be the one to first talk to Leo since she seemed to be the only one who was calm throughout all of this. But she didn't know if Annabeth wanted her to be the one to tell Leo what he'd done or not.

Annabeth nodded. "Go on."

Aurora turned back to Leo and launched into an explanation of what had happened. How he'd fired on New Rome and caused panic and anger. How they had to flee the city as angry Romans tried to shoot their ship out of the sky in hopes of killing all of them. How Leo had seemed to be under the control of someone else even though it was he who was loading the weapons and firing them. She tried to be as gentle as possible, since the pain in his eyes was bad enough. She didn't want to make him feel worse than he probably already did.

"Now, Leo, what happened?" Aurora asked, brushing her hair behind her ears. "What do you remember?"

Leo took in a shaky breath and told her everything. It wasn't much, but she nodded along as he spoke, letting him know that she was listening to him. Even if all she got out of it was "It's all really fuzzy" or "I don't know what happened," she took every bit of information into account. At some point during Leo's explanation, Annabeth had knelt down beside Aurora to better hear him.

Once Leo was done, Annabeth pursed her lips and sighed. "One more time," she said. "Exactly what happened?"

Leo slumped against the mast. All around them, the ship was in shambles. The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The satellite array that powered the onboard Internet and TV was blown to bits, which had really made Coach Hedge mad. Their bronze dragon figurehead, Festus, was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball, and the ship was groaning on the port side like some of the oars were broken or out of alignment. 

Leo choked back a sob. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "You mean you don't remember?"

"I. . ." Leo struggled to find the words. "I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

Annabeth and Aurora shared a look. They were obviously the only two that had seen the strange thing happening to Leo. No one else seemed to have noticed it. 

Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. "Look, kid," Hedge said, "you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."

"Coach," Sarah said," why don't you make sure all the fires are out?"

"But I already did that."

"Do it again."

The satyr trudged off, muttering under his breath. Even Hedge wasn't crazy enough to defy Sarah, who seemed like a sheep in wolf's clothing. Intimidating on the outside but actually sweet on the inside.

Aurora looked back at Leo. She felt bad for him. Facing a ton of angry Romans when you aren't fully there isn't something most people want to experience. 

"Leo," she said calmly, "did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or—"

"No," Leo said. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."

Frank scowled at Leo. "On purpose?"

"No!" Leo squeezed his eyes shut. "Well, yes. . . I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me—"

"A cold feeling?" Annabeth and Aurora asked at the same time. Their voices melded together in a terrified harmony. 

"Yeah," Leo said. "Why?"

From below deck, Percy called up. "Rory, we need you."

Aurora caught sight of the look in Leo's eyes, her heart warming. She was worried for her cousin, but knowing that he had friends like Leo and Piper to be with him while he had been gone made her feel better. Leo was a good guy, she knew he was. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

"He'll be fine," Aurora said, smiling. "He's a stubborn ass, that one. Not even a brick could send him on a one-way trip to the Underworld." Leo smiled slightly at that, which helped Aurora feel better. Aurora turned to Annabeth. "You and I should really talk about. . .you know."

Annabeth nodded. "We will. Later, though. I have to help Sarah fix some of the damages." She turned to Frank. "Frank, we'll be back. Just. . . watch Leo. Please."

Leo's expression dampened at those words, but Aurora didn't have time to make him feel better. She stood from her crouched position and stretched, turning on her heel to walk toward the stairs that led to the lower deck. As she walked the hallways of the lower deck, she admired the work that Leo had put into the ship while building it. It was truly a work of magic in her opinion.

After a few wrong turns, she managed to find the sick bay. Inside, Jason was passed out on a bed with Piper sitting beside him and Percy standing at the door with his arms crossed. When he caught sight of her, his lips quirked up slightly.

"There you are," he said, amusement lacing his tone. "I thought I was going to have to send out a search party to find you."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I got lost, okay?" She turned to study her cousin, who didn't look the best, if she was being honest. "How is he?"

Piper sighed. "Not good. This is the third time he's been knocked out since I've known him. It's like he's doomed to get concussed anytime something bad happens."

Aurora chuckled softly and stepped into the sick bay. Jason's skin was pale and there was a large bump forming on his forehead above his eye where he'd been hit. Blood surrounded the gash that the brick had made, but other than that he seemed fine.

She stepped up beside him and placed a hand on his forehead, closing her eyes. She searched his head for injuries, wincing when she noticed that he had a concussion from the brick hitting him as well as some bruising and a laceration above his eye. She opened her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.

"Jason, you are about the dumbest person I've ever met. And I'm dating Barnacle Brains over here." Percy made a sound of surprise that she ignored. She mumbled a quick hymn to her father, her hand glowing golden as healing magic seeped through her and into Jason. When she finished, she pulled her hand back, revealing a healed head. Jason moved slightly, a sign that he was better. "There. A few hours of rest should do the job. Maybe give him some more ambrosia and nectar when he wakes up, but other than that, there's nothing else to be done."

Piper sighed in relief. "That's good. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem. Just get me if anything changes, all right?" Piper nodded before going back to watching Jason. Aurora turned and walked over to Percy, who had been watching her the entire time. She felt drained from the amount of healing and fighting she'd been doing. "I should probably take a break from the 'god' half of demigod before I burn up."

Percy nodded. "Probably. I'd like to keep my girlfriend alive, thank you very much."

Aurora stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Percy."

"Good." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they walked out of the sick bay. "So, that Leo kid. Did he shoot at the camp or not?"

Aurora sighed. "He says he did, but. . ." She hesitated. She needed to speak with Annabeth about this first to make sure she wasn't losing it.

"But what?" Percy asked.

"He said that it was like he was watching himself do it. Like he didn't have control over his body," Aurora said, shrugging. "Whatever that means. Annabeth and I are going to talk about it later to see if we can figure something out."

Percy nodded. "It's nice to see you getting along with her and Sarah."

Aurora smiled up at him. "You managed to befriend two amazing girls, Barnacle Brains. Annabeth seems really cool and Sarah sounds like a fun person to hang out with."

Percy didn't say anything, but he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, making her blush scarlet. They made their way down the halls and up the steps onto the main deck, where Annabeth, Sarah, Frank, and Leo were standing. Percy's expression hardened when he caught sight of Leo, and Aurora reached for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It warmed her heart to see him so protective over a camp that he'd only been a part of for a few days. At least she knew that he would be willing to defend Camp Jupiter if need be.

When Leo spotted them, his expression dropped. "Is Jason—?"

"He's resting," Aurora said. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine. My cousin is as hard-headed as you can get. A little brick isn't going to do the trick for him, trust me."

Leo seemed a bit better after that, but Percy sent him a hard look. "Aurora says you did fire the ballista?"

"Man, I—I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry—"

"Sorry?" Percy growled (which would've been hot if he wasn't aiming it toward someone who looked so scared and upset).

Aurora placed a hand on his chest. "We'll figure it out later."

Sarah nodded. "Aurora's right. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

Leo told them about the damage that the ship had sustained and how they needed tar, Celestial bronze, and lime. Aurora wasn't sure how they'd find all of that just lying around, but she didn't doubt Leo despite just meeting him and almost dying because of him. 

He had just begun stressing about the shortage of Celestial bronze when the dragon figurehead began to whistle and squeak.

"Perfect." Leo sighed with relief.

"What's perfect?" Annabeth said. "I could use some perfect about now."

Leo smiled. "Everything we need in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."

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Once they got there, it wasn't a pretty landing. With the oars damaged and the foresail torn, their descent was barely controlled. Aurora and the others strapped themselves below deck except for Coach Hedge and Leo. Leo was obviously landing the ship while Coach Hedge wanted to hold onto the railing and watch the crash first-hand.

Once the ship was landed, Percy, Annabeth, Sarah, Frank, and Aurora made their way to the dining hall. Which, Aurora had to admit, was pretty awesome. They crowded around the dining table and sat down, waiting for the others to show up.

The lounge was nice. The cupboard was lined with golden cups and plates that Percy said were magic, meaning whatever she wanted to eat or drink would appear if she asked. There was an ice chest (again, magical) with canned drinks sitting in the corner, perfect for picnics. The chairs were cushy recliners with thousand-finger massage, built-in headphones, and sword and drink holders (which, again, was pretty freaking cool). There were no windows, but the walls were covered in real-time footage from what Aurora assumed was Camp Half-Blood. She could see a beach, a forest, a strawberry field, and a lot more interesting stuff. The camp looked pretty cool, if she was being honest.

While they waited, Annabeth and Aurora explained what they'd seen with Leo and how he'd felt like he was being controlled earlier. They compared stories and the group came to the conclusion that Leo wasn't the one to blame. It had taken some extra convincing for Frank, who wanted to be pissed at Leo for some ungodly reason, but eventually he caved.

Piper, Leo, and Hazel joined them after ten minutes, the group joining around the table. Percy was staring longingly at the sunset view on the wall. Aurora noticed a large pine tree standing on a hill with a golden fleece hanging on the lowest branch. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was the Golden Fleece, the one from the legends. Her heart ached for him, knowing that he missed his home. But she also felt a pang of sadness. What would happen to them after this quest was over?

"So, we've landed," Percy said. "What now?"

Frank plucked his bowstring. "Figure out the prophecy? I mean. . . that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?"

"The what?" Leo asked.

Frank explained how Ella was freakishly good at memorizing books. At some point in the past, she'd inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of Rome.

"That's why you didn't tell the Romans," Leo guessed. "You didn't want them to get hold of her."

Percy kept staring at the image of Camp Half-Blood. "Ella's sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn't want. . ." He made a fist. Aurora slipped her hand into his and sent him a smile. "It doesn't matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They'll be safe there."

Aurora doubted that any of them would be safe, now that Leo had stirred up a camp of angry Romans on top of the problems they already had with Gaea and the giants; but she kept quiet. 

Annabeth laced her fingers. "Let me think about the prophecy—but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?"

"The easiest thing is tar," Leo said. "We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."

"We'll have to hurry," Hazel warned. "If I know Octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It's a matter of honor."

Aurora scoffed. "Pardon my French, but Octavian doesn't see shit in his auguries. If he did, he'd have predicted me punching him last week. And he would have foreseen his loss of praetorship early on. Octavian isn't someone to worry about right now."

Leo still felt the need to apologize. "Guys. . . I don't know what happened. Honestly, I—"

Annabeth raised her hand. "We've been talking. We agree it couldn't have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned. . . Aurora and I felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic—either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened—"

Frank grunted. "How can we be sure it won't happen again?"

"I'm fine now," Leo insisted, looking mad. "Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Piper and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and lime."

"Split up?" Percy asked. "That sounds like a really bad idea."

"It'll be quicker," Hazel put in. "Besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three or four demigods, right?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows, as if reappraising Hazel's merits. "You're right. The same reason we needed the Argo II. . . outside camp, nine demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than four. No sense alerting more of Gaea's minions than we have to."

Annabeth nodded. "Sarah and I will stay on the ship in case Piper and Coach Hedge need anything. I'll also try and check on the damage to see if anything was missed.

Percy still didn't look happy about it, but he squeezed Aurora's hand. "As long as you're my buddy, I'm good."

Hazel smiled. "Oh, that's easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Aurora and Percy into town for the tar?"

Frank opened his mouth like he wanted to protest. "I. . . I suppose. But what about you?"

"I'll ride Arion with Sa—with Leo, here." She fidgeted with her sword hilt. Aurora smiled sympathetically at her friend. This must've been hard for Hazel. "We'll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark."

Frank scowled. Obviously, he didn't like the idea of Leo going off with Hazel. Aurora knew why. He was jealous and overprotective and worried that Hazel would leave him for Leo since Leo looked like Sammy, Hazel's past boyfriend. It was cute but annoying.

"Leo," said Annabeth, "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"

"With luck, just a few hours."

"Fine," she decided. "We'll meet back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn't mean we'll get it."

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A U T H O R S   N O T E

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Here is the second chapter in MOA. Aurora is being her little healer self up here and taking control in tense situations and being nice to Leo even though he tried to destroy her home. I love her and Percy's relationship, but you can bet she'll have good relationships with everyone on the ship (maybe even with Hedge). 

Next chapter is the stop at Topeka 32 and the conversation with Bacchus. Also, Aurora will be revealing a few things next chapter at the sit down around the table. Not sure what she'll be revealing yet, but I know she'll be spilling a few things about herself. Maybe her past? Who knows?

Please comment and vote!

Love you all!

~ a.h.