𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑬 || 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

ponies, aka: hippies, aka: druggies...probably

Percy's dreams for once were peaceful and bliss. Maybe that was a testiment to how tired he really was.

"Perce," a voice said. "Percy, wake up."

Salt water splashed his face. He woke up to Maisie gently shaking his shoulder. In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. They could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, store-fronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.

"Where are we?" Percy asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Miami, I think," Annabeth said, her hippocampus riding next to them. "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 said. "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, the heroes swam for shore. The waves pushed them forward, and in no time they were back in the mortal world. They wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers. If anybody noticed five kids dripping wet and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster, they didn't let on.

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.

"Shit. June eighteenth! We've been away from camp for ten days!"

"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.

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

Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled, and Maisie felt bad for her.

"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—"

Suddenly Maisie didn't feel so bad for her. "Percy's fault!?" she yelled. "Are you high!?"

Annabeth exploded too. "Clarisse, how can you say that? You are the biggest—"