DAWN VOLUNTEERED TO GO AND WAKE PERCY UP, IF ONLY SO SHE COULD WAKE HIM BY JUMPING ON HIS BED.

"It's time to get up!" She grinned maniacally before launching herself at the sleeping, drooling boy, making sure to dig in as many uncomfortable knees and elbows as she could. "Uncle Percy!"

The son of Posiden groaned and rolled over, a bit of jet black hair plastered on the side of his face so it looked like he was trying out a particularly adventurous new hairstyle. Dawn smiled down fondly at him.

"Percyyy," Dawn whined, attempting to manoeuvre to pull his eyelids open, giggling. Percy swatted her with a pillow. "We're in Rome, dude! Wake up!"

Percy sleepily blinked, sea green eyes looking still tired, like he was ready for bed instead of just having woken up. Dawn laughed. Percy was never a morning person - she remembered that much from her time at Camp Half-Blood.

"In Rome?" Percy groaned. Dawn nodded enthusiastically.

"Technically, above Rome." She laughed at his confused expression, but sobered up a little when she thought about the other reason she'd wanted to be the one to wake him. "And I kind of wanted to talk to you about something else, too."

Percy must've sensed her agitation, or wistfulness, or sadness, began Dawn watched as he pulled himself up to sit, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Dawn sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed, running her fingers over the blue comforter and breathing in the sea-salty smell that always seemed to follow Percy around. She wondered absently if she smelt like sea-salt too, and wondered how she would even check that.

"Dawn?" Percy prompted, sea green eyes looking at her questioningly. Dawn nodded, and then remembered she'd told him she wanted to talk to him about something. Percy yawned, maybe sleepy from the gentle lull of the Argo and the warmth of the room, but used his hand to gesture for her to talk. His dark hair was sticking up in every direction, and Dawn had the random urge to reach out and smoothe it down. She bit her lip.

"I had a dream last night," she started cautiously. Percy frowned, but nodded.

"Demigod dreams suck." He said, and Dawn felt the corners of her lips tugging up. How she loved her uncle Percy, who could somehow make anything seem just a little less scary, a little less threatening.

Dawn explained her dream. She explained the storm, how the earth goddess Gaea had appeared in the rubble of Atlantis, the conversation she'd had with her father. Percy, to his credit, didn't look surprised, just weary and a little concerned. Dawn chewed on her bottom lip, anxiety rising up in her like an old friend. Dawn didn't feel equipped for this life of danger on the surface. It felt like she was being pushed onto a stage without rehearsal and told she was meant to be performing, looking out into a waiting audience of hundreds of people. Dawn fiddled with the comforter as she spoke, trying not to meet Percy's eyes. Part of her wished he would just say that she should definitely just go back to Atlantis and keep them safe down there. Dawn had no such luck.

"I had a dream as well," Percy confessed after she'd finished, smoothing his hair down absently. "I was at Camp Half-Blood, and Gaea was there. It disappeared into just...destruction. She said something, too, but I can't really remember."

Percy wouldn't meet her eyes, and Dawn knew he was lying about not being able to remember what Gaea had said. Percy was a terrible liar to those who knew him, and Dawn knew her uncle like he was her brother. Godly families were weird, but Percy was as close to it as they came. She frowned but didn't push him.

"I'm worried about Atlantis." She confided nervously. "It's- It's my only home. I can't let it be destroyed."

"You think I don't feel that way about camp?" His voice broke on the last word, and Dawn looked at Percy sympathetically. He wasn't much older than her, not really, and didn't look much older, too. Right now, he looked too vulnerable, wrapped in his blanket and eyes still full of sleep. Dawn felt a sharp jab of sympathy directed towards Percy. At least she'd spent the majority of her life underwater, safe and sheltered and happy - Percy had never had that luxury. From what she'd heard, he didn't have it easy before he got to Camp Half-Blood. Mixed uncomfortably in with the sympathy was the unfamiliar bitterness of jealousy - Percy might've had it rough, but he had it worked out. He was the best demigod of their generation. He had a girlfriend and friends and a home. He knew where he belonged in the world. Dawn didn't have that.

"Dad said not to go down to Atlantis," Dawn said hesitantly, biting her lip. Percy raised his eyebrows, sea-green eyes swimming with confusion. "He said I'd have a part to play, on this quest. I just- I wish I knew what he meant." 'And I wish he'd never said it', Dawn's own mind supplied for her. She didn't want to be roped into a quest like this - was absolutely terrified of what it meant. Dawn already felt out of place on the surface world, like an extra part in a machine, and as selfish as it was, she didn't want to be obliged to stick around. There wasn't much she could do, anyway, - she wasn't strong like Percy or smart like Annabeth, or even particularly good like all the other demigods back at Camp Half-Blood. During the Titan War, the most Dawn had really done was to help one of the little Apollo kids as a medic and to serve as kind of the face of it all alongside Percy - Dawn was best when she was outside of the action.

"We'd go crazy if we tried to work out what it meant every time our parents said something goddy and cryptic." Percy scowled out his window at the sea underneath them like it had personally offended him. Dawn had to bite back a laugh.

"That's true." She agreed, grinning at him, her anxiety from before almost forgotten. Maybe it was a sea-demigod thing, or maybe it was just Dawn, but she'd always moved from emotion to emotion quickly, never really holding onto anything for too long. "Do you think there's, like, a seminar or something? How to say the most confusing thing to your demigod children?"

Percy grinned back, snarky and crooked. "Oh, there definitely is. And it teaches them how to be, like, vague enough that they're always right, no matter what happens."

"Ha!" Dawn waited for them to get struck by a bolt of lightning, or drowned by a freak wave or something. When nothing happened, she rolled off Percy's bed, springing onto the floor and pulled a groaning Percy out of his bed. Percy was taller than her by a fair bit, and he was long and lanky next to her as he groaned and half-heartedly swatted her away.

"C'mon!" Dawn said, gleefully dragging him out of his cabin, taking pleasure in his blue PJ shorts that clashed horribly with his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. "We're descending over Rome, by the way!"

She dragged him up the stairs, giggling at his protests, up to where the rest of the crew was assembled on the deck. Annabeth rolled her eyes fondly at the sight of Percy, and Dawn bit back a grin as the daughter of Athena stalked over to grab her boyfriend by the hand and lead him to look over the edge of the ship at the city below (Dawn was mostly trying to stop herself from laughing at Percy's dumbfounded expression).

Dawn walked over to where Leo was standing at the controls, ignoring the stare of the other members of the crew on her back, ignoring her feeling of out of placeness. She grinned a hello at Leo, feeling unexpectedly warm at the sight of his curly hair flying wildly in the wind. Dawn leaned over the edge of the boat to see, letting the breeze whisk her hair away from her face and bite into her skin. The city below them was incredible. That was the only way to put it. It stretched forever, an amalgamation of buildings and streets and people as small as ants. The vastness was like nothing Dawn had ever seen before, not even Atlantis. It looked completely jam-packed, a mix-mash of past and present - an old cathedral next to a modern-looking coffee shop, a small tourist group with phones crowded next to a temple that looked like it could've been from the time of the gods. Dawn was almost speechless at Rome - it was a staple of human culture and history, a complete combination of past and present, a preservation and a living, breathing, artifact. Dawn sneaked a peak at Leo, who was steering the ship next to her with his Wii remote. He must've seen her looking at him, because he met her eye and grinned wildly.

"Pretty cool, hey?" Dawn smiled back, nodding down to the city beneath them. She had to speak loudly, the wind whistling in her ears, but Leo nodded half-heartedly, scowling a little at the city spread out beneath them.

"It would be cooler if there was somewhere to park our ship!" Leo yelled back, and Dawn laughed.

"You're ridiculous," she shook her head, shouting over the wind. "It's, like, one of the oldest cities in the world and your only comment is there's not enough parking?"

Leo shrugged. "It's old! Rubble, temples, cool, been there, done that. Now, parking! That would really make it great."

Dawn laughed again, and Leo smiled sheepishly, like he was proud of her laughter. Dawn felt her cheeks redden, and looked away. She looked over the city, the sun beating down on her face, the sky blue above them. It really was a beautiful day. Leo must've spotted something, because the ship began to move downwards, and Dawn watched as Leo cupped one of his hounds over his mouth to yell over to the rest of the crew.

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced, pointing over to a wide green space in the distance that Dawn squinted to see. He shrugged. "Let's hope the mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

Dawn hung over the edge of the Argo II, as far out as she dared as Leo set the ship down in the park he'd pointed to. He must've been right about his prediction about the Mist, because no mortals screamed or started shooting at the Argo II or anything. Dawn huffed a laugh at the mental image.

The crew had gathered once they landed, but Dawn pulled herself up onto the rigging, trying to balance herself so she could get the best view of the city (from the most precarious position). A while away, the Colosseum rose up over the buildings, looking just like she'd seen in movies or photos. Dawn couldn't help the smile that pulled onto her face. Rome was uber cool. She looked over to the rest of the demigods, gathered in the middle of the deck and speaking in hushed voices. Jason was pointing to a nearby building, saying something Dawn couldn't hear.

Dawn sighed, climbing down from the rigging and taking a deep breath before awkwardly wandering over to the crew of the Argo II.

"Plans?" Hazel was saying, eyes gleaning in the midday light. "Nico has until sunset - at best. And this city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

Dawn frowned. No one had said anything to her about the city getting destroyed! She thought about the Rome she'd seen from the sky, and wondered if it was even possible to destroy such a place. It didn't seem like it. And Nico...was Hazel talking about Nico Di Angelo, the Hades kid from the Battle of Manhattan? Dawn knew Nico had a bit of a strange history at Camp Half-Blood after his sister had died and wondered how he fit into all of this, but kept quiet.

"You're right," Percy said. "Annabeth...did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

"Yes," the blonde replied, and Dawn watched as Annabeth's grey eyes turned stormy. "It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should—"

"Take me along," Percy interrupted. "Yeah, you're right."

"That's not—" Dawn's head flicked back to Annabeth.

"Safe," Back to Percy as he spoke. Dawn stifled a laugh. The Percy/Annabeth show was hilarious - she never wouldn't enjoy watching her uncle get shown up by his much smarter and more ruthless girlfriend. . "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."

Dawn and the rest of the crew watched in awkward silence and Percy and Annabeth had a weirdly tense silent staring contest. Dawn caught Leo's eye, who shook his head a little with a silent, teasing smile. Dawn smirked back, rolling her eyes pointedly. Leo grinned.

"Fine," Annabeth finally muttered, and Dawn resisted the urge to yell 'Go, Percy!'. For some reason, she didn't think Annabeth would find it all that funny. Dawn quietly listened as Annabeth asked if Hazel could find Nico's location and Hazel asked Frank if he would go with her, causing Frank to look like he'd just won the lottery. Dawn kicked the ground with her shoe, resisting the urge to smile with warmth at Frank's beaming face.

"And, uh...Leo." Hazel said awkwardly. Dawn snuck a look at Leo, who had turned a little red, and at Frank, whose smile was rapidly turning into a scowl. "It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish-centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

"Yeah, no problem," Leo said. Dawn bit her lip. That was maybe the most awkward interaction she'd ever witnessed, with Frank, Hazel, and Leo all awkwardly avoiding each other's eyes. Jason hadn't mentioned anything going on between them when they'd spoken the night before, but Dawn wasn't stupid, and anyone could feel the awkward tension between the three of them from a mile away. Dawn wasn't a daughter of Aphrodite or anything, but she didn't get the vibe that it was a romantic thing, either, like the two guys competing over Hazel. She felt like it was more complicated than that, and winced at the awkward silence that overcame the group.

"I'll come too!" Dawn offered brightly, hoping she sounded a little more enthused than she felt. "I love wandering around strange cities!"

Leo, Frank, and Hazel all looked relieved, if not a little miffed. Dawn smiled at the group. They conferred for a little while longer - Jason, Piper, and Coach Hedge were staying to watch over the ship, and they all planned to meet back at the Argo II at three.

Leo lowered the gangplank, and Dawn watched as Percy and Annabeth stepped off the ship. She waved them a little goodbye, then turned to Frank, Hazel, and Leo, who were standing awkwardly, about to climb down. Dawn grinned at them.

"So, anyone like 'I Spy'?"

a/n a chunk of dialogue from the end taken from mark of athena which i (obviously) do not own! sorry for the late update, ive been absolutely crazy busy lately, but hope yall enjoyed! comments and votes r always appreciated :)