𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧 || Percy Jackson

Fifteen

Aurora couldn't react fast enough.

"This is so uncomfortable." She groaned when they shot up to the surface, ignoring the fact that they'd startled a surfer. Her clothes and shoes were completely soaked, hair starting to curl up as it hung around her.

Percy dragged Grover over to a life buoy, taking Annabeth and Aurora with him. A curious shark was circling them, a great white.

"Aw, it's so adorable." Aurora said, reaching out to touch it.

"Beat it." The shark turned and raced away, the girl rolling her eyes and moving away from her friends so she could fire up.

The surfer screamed when she suddenly bursted into flames, hightailing away and yelling about a bad trip.

"Oh, did he go somewhere?"

Somehow, Percy knew what time it was. Early morning, June 21st. The day of the summer solstice.

In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire. Plumes of smoke were rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, and it was all Hades's fault. He was probably sending an army of dead after them right now.

But the Underworld wasn't his problem at the moment.

They had to get to shore.

They had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus.

Most of all, they had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked them.

It took some convincing, but Aurora was once again uncomfortably drenched in water. Coast guards had picked them up, dropping them off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels and water bottles, before speeding off to rescue other people.

Percy had to go barefoot and will his waterproof magic away. He'd rather be asked why he was barefoot than why Grover had hooves.

After reaching dry land, they stumbled to the beach. They watched the city burn against a beautiful sunrise, Aurora doing her routine quickly. She saw the tiredness on her friends's faces, wondering if she ever looked like that.

"I don't believe it." Annabeth huffed. "We went all that way..."

"It was a trick." Percy said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."

"Hey..."

"You get it, don't you?" Annabeth dropped her glare, her anger fading.

"Yeah. I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody-"

"Percy... I'm sorry about your mother." Annabeth said. "I'm so sorry..."

"The prophecy was right." Percy firmly said. "'You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't want the war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt and Hades's helm, then framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid. Poseidon will get framed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."

"But who would be that sneaky?" Aurora spotted him before anyone else did, the air chilling around her as she strode forward. "Who would want war that bad?"

"Gee," Percy stopped, looking down the beach as Aurora brushed past him, "let me think."

There he was. Waiting for them in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, the headlight turning the sand red.

"Eres miserable-"

"Woah. Hey, kid." Ares stepped back, a grin stretching on his face as Annabeth and Grover grabbed hold of Aurora. "You were supposed to die."