𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒎

❛ impulse or not she was
controlled by her love ❜

                         𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐌, 𝕹ow, Aurora despised when Nathaniel took over. It left her terribly weak to the point where she has to rely on her friends to get her from point A to point B—not only wasting their time but also risking their lives. It was her fear of being a liability that made her feel this way ( too worried for their lives to even think about hers ) so when Aurora could feel those sharp pulses of pain slithering through every vein in her body that signaling Nate's imminent arrival—she'd subdue him to the best of her ability.

She'd ignore those pulses of torment, if it meant not being a nuisance.

                         Much like she was feeling now, with her entire body sprawled out on the grass whimpering as the unrelenting pain was felt in every cell of her being. It was a pain that was completely unrelenting. As if she was bathing in a pool of lava.

                         She tightly clenched her eyes closed and panted out in pain, "Curse you, N-Nate!"

                         "Sorry, kid."

                         Aurora opened one eye to peer up at the man, "Is there an o-option to make it hurt any less, gods," she released a painful groan. If she so much as twitched a muscle a spark of pain hit her in multitudes of ways. "I-It feels like my insides are being ripped apart."

                         Nate frowned and crouched down to lay a hand on her forehead, "This is the only option, kid," his hand was cool despite the heat of the sun above them. "If there was another way for me to protect you without hurting you, I would've found it by now."

                        His bright blue eyes resembled the sky behind him. So bright and blue, Aurora wouldn't be surprised if the sky deemed him worthy to represent its terrain. His dark brown hair held small gold highlights—as if Midas had himself hand twined his fingers in his hair. His shoulders were wide and with the black long sleeve he was wearing . . . His muscles were very prominent. All in all, Aurora understood her mother's fascination with Nate—especially now being able to look at him in his human form.

                         She felt another rough round of pain in her body making her release a cry, "Ah!"

                         Nathaniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them they were back to their usual fiery orange, the same state she'd seen back in the cave. When she took a closer look, she watched in amazement as his veins turned bright white and crawled down towards his hand. The minute his hand glew a blinding white light, the pain disappeared.

                         Nathaniel pulled away and smiled at his accomplishment. When he smiled a dimple poke through on his right cheek, "Better?"

                         "Yeah. Thanks," She cautiously moved her hand, testing her newfound freedom. "Why does it hurt so much?"

                         Nathaniel sighed a conflicting look in his eyes, "You might be a demigod but the power I use is too much for your body. If I tried protecting a mortal to the same extent I do for you, they'd die. Luckily, you being half god prevents me from killing you. It helps you handle it."

                         Aurora blinked, "That makes me feel so much better," she slightly shook her head and peered at him once again. "Why is this your first time appearing like this? Why have I never seen you . . . human before?"

                         Nate shrugged, "I'm immensely more powerful when I protect you in my other form.

                         "Which is?"

                         He smirked and said nothing, only walked towards Percy and Annabeth who both looked shocked to see the man before them.

                        He glanced at Aurora and smirked. This set off alarm bells on Aurora's head, causing her eyes to narrow in suspicion, "Nate, what are—"

                         "Percy," he began—his six foot frame towering over the two thirteen year olds.

                         Percy shifted uncomfortably under Nate's watchful eye, "Um . . . Sir."

                         Nate observed him for another moment before smirking—as if he knew something he didn't, and sent Aurora a look.

                         "Nate—"

                         "Kid," he turned to Annabeth now. "That plan," he nodded his head towards Aurora. "As insane as it was . . . You knew I'd protect her. Protect you all."

                         Annabeth twiddled with her fingers, "You've done it before, there was nothing to say you wouldn't have done it again."

                         This made his lips twitch, "You truly are the Daughter of Athena."

                         His gaze turned towards the steam boat a couple of yards out. A look of displeasure now swimming in his eyes. Likely from the danger they were moments away from placing onto Aurora.

                         He turned to Aurora. "I'll see you next time, little dove. Be careful," He placed a gentle on the left side of her face. "I mean it."

                         She didn't have time to bid him farewell, because the moment she blinked he was already gone.

                         Aurora finally took notice of the dingy, poorly built, and horribly equipped steam boat. Her nose scrunched in disguised at the watercraft, especially at the obnoxiously loud noises coming from the steam room albeit from the poor managing of the vessel.

"You could have killed me you know!" Aurora stated directed at the girl now in eyesight—peering down at them from the top of the boat.

The burly girl scoffed, "Aw, don't be a wuss, Stark. We both know i won't actually try to hit you."

Auroras eyebrows rose, "No, Clarisse. I actually don't know that."

Clarisse smirked, "Well, now you do. Now quit waisting my time losers and get on."

As the black ramp lowered for the group of four, Percy turned to Aurora and mumbled, "A ray of sunshine isn't she?"

Aurora rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Tell me about it."

They soon received a tour of the ship they didn't want, through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors.

They'd seen the coal bunker, the boilers, and engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute. They'd seen the pilothouse and the powder magazine and gunnery deck ( Clarisse's favorite ) with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft-all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannonballs. Aurora crinkled her eyes in disgust. They desperately needed to be upgraded.

Everywhere they went, dead Confederate sailors stared at them, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in Percy, too, because his name was Jackson-like the Southern general but then he ruined it by telling them he was from New York. It got even worse when Aurora got into a full debate with them about their very different political views.

"It was necessary!" A sailor cried out.

Aurora narrowed her eyes, "Is that why you lost?"

They chose not to argue anymore.

Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she didn't look too thrilled about—practically pushing the Cyclops away and towards Aurora who only gave him a small smile and a tiny pat on the back.

Not exactly reassuring the poor cyclops.

Finally, they were escorted to dinner. The CSS Birmingham captain's quarters were about the size of a walk-in closet, but still much bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr. Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. Aurora squealed at the choice of soda and downed three in delight.

"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse said. "Tantalus expelled you for eternity. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."

"I'm surprised that's all he said," Aurora took a sip of the soda.

Annabeth nodded, "I'd expect more from
him especially given the fact that he's not the biggest fan of either Percy or Rory."

"Trust me," Clarisse began. "He wanted to say more. They both did."

"Did they give you this ship?" Percy asked looking around in curiosity.

"'Course not. My father did."

"Ares?"

Clarisse sneered, "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"

The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed mainly on Percy, completely disregarding his other friends, "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace, at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."

Clarisse smiled, "Destroy anyone. I like that."

Tyson gulped. Aurora took notice and patted his back once more, "It's okay. She won't hurt you."

"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters—"

"Good! I'll blow him out of the water."

"You don't understand," Annabeth said. We have to combine forces. Let us help you

"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally, I get to be the hero, and you three will not steal my chance."

Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Where are your cabin mates?" Percy asked. "You were allowed to take two friends with you, weren't you?"

"They didn't . . . I let them stay behind. To protect the camp."

Aurora blinked at her, the realization hitting her like a brick, "They're too scared to help you."

Percy rose his eyebrows, "You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?"

"Shut up, Stark, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"

"Clarisse," Percy said, "Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."

"No! I don't care what the Oracle—" She stopped herself.

"What?" Percy said. "What did the Oracle tell you?"

"Nothing," Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go . . ."

"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr. Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."

Once Aurora laid down she fell asleep, she was met with the familiar cliffside cave. She was sat at the cliff with her legs dangling off the side of the cliff. The bottomless pit looked terrifying, but the more she gazed, the more she realized the longer her eyes were focused—the larger it was growing.

"Hello, little dove"

Aurora smiled as she saw Nathaniel walk towards her in his human form and sit down next to her. The size difference was evident. Nathaniel was a very big guy who looked like he could bench press more than three hundred pounds on a daily, he was also at least a six-foot. Aurora was a four foot eleven girl who weighed about ninety-seven pounds.

"Hey, Nate."

He followed her line of sight. Amusement twinkled in his eyes as he saw her uneasy expression on her face, "You don't need to worry. There's nothing evil down there."

Aurora looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, "How do you know that?"

Nate snorted, "I live here, kid. For a thousand years as a matter of fact. I think I would know if there was something down there."

Aurora bit her lip, "But it looks like Tartarus."

Nathaniel's face hardened at the mention of the deepest part of the underworld. His eyes looked menacing like the way Annabeth and Percy described to her, he usually looked when he took control of her body. There was something dark about his eyes, but when he glanced up and saw the worried expression on her face he quickly shook his head and put a smile on his face.

"I can assure you, sweetheart, that nothing evil is down there."

Aurora rose her eyebrows in curiosity, "What's down there?"

He smirked, "Maybe I'll show you when you're ready, little dove," all of a sudden his eyes turned brighter blue as he looked at something over her shoulder. Aurora turned and looked but there was nothing there. When she turned back Nathaniel placed his hands on Aurora's shoulder and gave her a knowing look. "You are about to wake up. Do not do anything your father would do?"

Aurora squinted her eyes, "Depends on what I encounter," He gave her a patronizing look. Aurora rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't do anything stupid."

He smiled, "I'll be here if you need me."

The dream began to fade but before she could be sucked out, she made a witty remark, "You always are!"

The last thing she heard was Nathaniel's laugh before she woke up to loud alarm bells ringing throughout the entire ship, sending vibrations through the metal—hitting Aurora like a wave.

                         The captain's gravelly voice: "All hands on deck! Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?"

                         Then his ghostly face appeared above Aurora and Percy who had apparently fallen asleep next to each other's hammocks. "Get up, Yankees. Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."

                         Aurora jumped in fright at his sudden appearance and turned to Percy, "He sounds more terrifying than he looks."

"I agree."

                         Aurora rose to her feet and slipped her converse on. Already knowing what was going on. She made sure her thick bangles were on and began to tie her hair up in a ponytail while she rushed to the spar deck.

Suddenly an overwhelming fear of rage washed over her, a feeling she was all too familiar with—and who it belonged to; Ares.

                         Being as stealthy as one could, Aurora tiptoed towards the edge of the ventilation grate and peered down into the boiler deck. The heat already warming her body. Clarisse was standing right below her, talking to an image that shimmered in the steam from the boilers-a muscular man in black leather biker clothes, with a military haircut, red-tinted sunglasses, and a knife strapped to his side.

That cockroach looking god, made her clench her fists in anger. She'd still been holding a deep sense of resentment after loosing her beloved rings—rings gifted to her from her mother. Nothing too fancy, only a twenty four karat gold ring set her mother claimed would bring her good luck in terms of happiness and love.

                         Footsteps were heard from behind her. She whirled around and locked eyes with a very confused Percy, "What's wron—"

                         Aurora suddenly heard Ares's voice behind her and out of impulse she took hold of Percy's wrist and yanked him towards her. Percy stumbled not expecting Aurora to do such an act. He went to open his mouth again, but Aurora brought her perfectly painted blood red index finger to his lips.

                         As she went to peak over the ventilation grate, Percy was blushing in embarrassment. For a moment, his aura flashed from a pretty pink to a deep magenta.

                         She took her finger off of his freakishly soft lips and pointed over the ventilation grate to both Ares and Clarisse. Percy peered over and his eyes turned wide with realization, but his fists soon clenched at the god—the same reaction Aurora had when she'd noticed the god of war.

                         "I don't want excuses, little girl!" he growled.

                         "Y-yes, father," Clarisse mumbled.

                         "You don't want to see me mad, do you?"

                         "No, father."

                         "No, father," Ares mimicked. "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my sons take this quest."

                         Aurora scoffed, her eyes flashing with rage. Although she and Clarisse were never considered close, their teaming in the chariot race seemed to be a step forward towards neutral territory, "That sexist piece of sh—"

                         Percy clamped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else.

                         "I'll succeed!" Clarisse promised, her voice trembling. "I'll make you proud."

                         "You'd better," he warned. "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid or idiot Stark steal it from you—"

                         Aurora rose her eyebrows in surprise as she turned to Percy, "Did he just call me an idiot? I'm only thirteen and my IQ is 163 twice the intelligence he holds."

                         Percy tried to ignore her but couldn't help agreeing with her.

                         "But the Oracle said—"

                         "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!" Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered. "You will succeed. And if you don't . . ." He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched."Do we understand each other?" Ares growled.

                         The alarm bells rang again. They heard voices coming toward them, officers yelling orders to ready the cannons. Aurora pulled Percy, "Come on. Let's go."

                         Percy nodded and they reached Annabeth and Tyson.

     "What's wrong?" Annabeth asked Percy. "Another dream?"

                         Percy exchanged looks with Aurora and they came up with an understanding that they would keep what they saw a secret. At least to Aurora, it seemed that way.

                         Clarisse came up the stairs right after them. Percy tried not to look at her. Aurora slapped his arm causing him to frown and turned towards her in surprise. She didn't want to make it obvious.

                         Clarisse grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon, "At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"

                         Aurora looked in the same direction as she was, but she couldn't see much. The sky was overcast. The air was hazy and humid, like steam from an iron. The engine groaned as they increased speed.

                         Tyson muttered nervously, "Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water."

Aurora's eyes widen. "You're right, buddy. Not only is it terrible for the environment with how much carbon it releases, but at the rate we're going we'll probably be seeing carbon knock which is a form of deposition which can further cause Pre-ignition," Aurora glanced out of the ship, " With the weird sound that came from the engine we're talking about a tremendous amount of extensive damage to the internal parts from the high increase in combustion chamber temperature."

                         Tyson nodded like he understood everything Aurora just said, delivering another whimper, "Very bad."

                         Percy looked at her with risen eyebrows. He went to send a glance to Annabeth whom shrugged as if Aurora spewing out information like she was a walking encyclopedia was a normal occurrence. Aurora shrugged as she saw his weird look, "What? When I was six I read a book about Outboard Engines because I was bored and my dad didn't let me in his garage."

                         Annabeth nodded, "What can it cause?"

                         Aurora bit her lip in thought, "Best case scenario would a be blown engine."

                         Percy asked, "What's the worst-case scenario?"

                         Aurora blew out a breath, "Well, the worst-case scenario could be that the piston explodes and with the carbon that's down there," She pointed to the stairs. "It could make the boiler room overheat resulting in an explosion."

                         "How big?"

                         Aurora frowned, "The result could be devastating."

                         That was all Aurora had to say to make them understand.

                         After a few minutes, the dark splotches ahead of them came into focus. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea-an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a mile south of that, the other patch of darkness was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.

                          "Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.

                         "No," Clarisse said. "Charybdis."

                         Both Annabeth and Aurora grew pale at the mention of the monster, "Are you crazy?"

                         "You're not serious? Please tell me you're not serious."

                         "Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs.

                         "What do you mean the only way?" Percy asked. "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."

                         Clarisse rolled her eyes, "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them."

                         "What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth said. "That's another gateway. Jason used it."

                         Aurora shook her head, "With the disgusting weapons choice they have aboard, they wouldn't come remotely close to blowing apart the rocks."

                         Clarisse glared at Aurora, "I bet you can do better, huh, Stark!"

                         Aurora only knit her eyebrows together. "Duh!" as if it were obvious that she could indeed build a weapon that could penetrate rocks. "The worst your wimpy ass canons could do is have a really long and excruciating fight that would only leave us all dead."

                         "Oh, yeah! Then build me a
weapon!"

                         "We're in the middle of the damn ocean! Where the hell am I supposed to find any form of materials? The bottom of the ocean?" Aurora rose her voice. "Oh yeah, let me totally take my time collecting seashells while you guys die." she sarcastically stated.

                         "Say hello to the sharks for me," Percy added.

                         "If you can't build me a weapon then shut it!"

                         "You are crazy," Annabeth decided looking at Clarisse.

                         "Watch and learn, Wise Girl," she looked at the Captain."Set course for Charybdis!"

                         "Aye, m'lady."

                         Aurora grimaced as the engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed causing the wind to rush past her hair. Her worries now worsening when the engine let out a loud groan—likely the pistons rubbing together, in a not so safe way.

                         "Clarisse," Percy said, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"

                         "And spits it back out again, yeah."

                         "What about Scylla?"

                         "She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship."

                         "Choose Scylla then," Percy said. "Everybody goes below deck and we chug right past."

                         "No!" Clarisse insisted. "If Scylla doesn't get her easy meat, she might pick up the whole ship. Besides, she's too high to make a good target. My cannons can't shoot straight up—"

                         Aurora grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, "Weak"

                         "Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We're going to steam straight toward her, train our guns on her, and blow her to Tartarus!" She said this with incredible confidence Aurora knew she wasn't planning on changing her mind anytime soon.

                         The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much Aurora could feel the deck getting warm beneath her feet. She crouched and placed a hand on the deck, and just like she thought the boilers were heating up—probably from the pressure of how fast they were currently going. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind.

                         As they got closer to the monsters, the sound of Charybdis got louder and louder-a horrible wet roar like the galaxy's biggest toilet being flushed. Every time Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. Every time she exhaled, they rose in the water and were buffeted by ten-foot waves.

                         "Clarisse! Charybdis isn't helping the pressure on the engine!" She took hold of the back of Percy's shirt as he was the closest to her. He himself was currently gripping the ship railing."We might have to go with Percy's idea"

                         Annabeth stood next to Aurora and Percy, also gripping the rail, "You still have your thermos full of wind?"

                         Percy nodded while tugging Aurora closer to him as her grip began to slip, "But it's too dangerous to use with a whirlpool-like that. More wind might just make things worse."

                         "What about controlling the water?" she asked. "You're Poseidon's son. You've done it before."

                        Aurora watched as Percy tightly shut his eyes. His hair blowing around his face—which began to grow into a grimace at the lack of concentration. The wind mixed with Charybdis was making it awfully hard to concentrate, Aurora could tell.

                         "I-I can't," he said miserably.

                         "We need a backup plan," Annabeth said. "This isn't going to work."

                         "The engine is about to explode!" Aurora groaned out.

                         "Aurora is right," Tyson said. "Engine's no good."

                         Aurora grinned, "Finally, someone gets it!"

                         Tyson nodded, "Pressure. Pistons need fixing."

                         The cosmic toilet flushed with a mighty roaaar! The ship lurched forward and if it weren't for their grip on each other, both Percy and Aurora would've been thrown against the deck. Hard, by the looks of the water around them.

                         When Aurora took a peek, Her eyes turned wide . . . They were in a whirlpool.

                         She could only hope Percy's waterbending would come in soon.

                         "Full reverse!" Clarisse screamed above the noise. The sea churned around them, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it steamed.

                         "Get us within firing range! Make ready starboard cannons!"

                         Dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The propeller grinded into reverse, trying to slow the ship, but they kept sliding toward the center of the vortex. A zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire.

                         "Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"

                         "Well, get down there and fix it!"

                         "Can't!" the sailor yelled. "We're vaporizing in the heat."

                         Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!"

                         "We're going in too fast," the captain said grimly. "Prepare yourself for death."

                         Aurora shook her head, "I can do it! All I have to do is relieve the pressure from the pistons. I've done it plenty of times in cars!" Aurora faltered a bit. "Granted I had tools then, but I can make do with what I have."

Aurora sighed. Sorry Nate, but I'm being stupid right now.

"No!" Annabeth rushed out.

Percy stared at her wide-eyed as his grip slightly faltered on her, "Are you out of your mind?! You won't come back from that!"

Annabeth nodded agreeing with Percy, "You don't know if Nathaniel is fireproof!"

Aurora shrugged, "I guess this might be a good way to find out!"

Percy frantically shook his head, "No! You can't guarantee you'll walk out of it alive!"

Tyson bellowed, "Aurora will not go alone. I can help!"

Aurora looked at him, "You sure, buddy?"

"Aurora can't handle fire!"

"Go!" yelled Clarisse.

"Tyson, Aurora, no!" Percy grabbed Tyson's arm as he still gripped onto Aurora. "It's too dangerous!"

At the sound of the ship groaning. Aurora hurriedly kissed her fingers and lightly touched Percy's cheek. "Come on, ocean eyes," she stated softly her eyes meeting his as a small reassuring smile pulled at her lips. Her eyelashes and hair were coated with small water droplets, and for a moment all Percy could do was stare in her eyes. "Believe in me."

He released his grip, "I believe in you."

For a moment her hair was wild from the wind, but she still looked like the Daughter of Aphrodite.

She took one last look at him and glanced at Annabeth who had turned away from their interaction, "I'll see you on the other side," she reached out and gave Annabeth's hand a small squeeze. "Both of you."

Before they could respond, She took a deep breath and descended to the scorching hot boiler room.

The further Aurora walked in the worse her body began to feel. Every step was a struggle as if she were entering the last layer of the Earths core—yet she pushed herself despite it all. Despite her body feeling as though she was being burned alive, she pushed herself to save her close friends. If this was how to do it, then so be it.

Suddenly the pain subsided . . .

"Aurora is glowing!" Tyson said behind her.

Aurora looked at her hands. They were covered in some sort of white energy, but the closer she looked the more she realized that her entire body was surrounded by the white energy. The fire around her looked like it was trying to run away from her.

"Come on, we have to fix the pistons!"

And they got to work. Aurora didn't feel a single thing around her as she rummaged the engine to find the piston. While she was digging, she turned to Tyson who was looking on the other side of the engine.

"Why did you want to come, Tyson? You could die"

Tyson smiled at her, "Because Percy needs Aurora."

Aurora furrowed her eyebrows, not entirely understanding what the cyclops meant by the sentence. It confused her but she knew she had more important things to think about.

Suddenly, Tyson excitedly yelled, "I found the pistons!" but his expression soon fell. "Coming apart"

Aurora understood what he meant. So, she quickly placed both hands on either side of the engine and pushed it together. It was hard considering she didn't exactly have super strength, but it did give Tyson the ability to relieve the pressure on the pistons and for a moment they believed they did it

Aurora turned her head over her shoulder and saw a confederate soldier behind them watching them tentatively he still kept a large enough distance to not get vaporized. "Run and tell them the engine is about to blow, to hurry off the ship! If they ask about us, tell them we'll be fine!" Aurora grunted out as she tried her best to keep the engine together.

The dead confederate ran off without a second thought. Aurora turned to Tyson, "We can do this! We can do th—"

The hull began to crack and Aurora knew they needed to leave, if not they would be exploded to pieces. "Hey, big guy! You're going to have to go okay!" she panted out. "I can handle this!"

"No!" He bellowed. "I will help" He stood up and pushed the engine together and with his help Aurora went to take a quick step away for a bit of a breather. Her lungs practically inhaling lava.

BOOM!

The last thing Aurora saw before she ascended into the vast ocean was someone landing above her, equally unconscious. 

— NAT TALKS!!

What'd you think of the chapter??

Nate's probably pushing the air as we speak 😭

❛ allure me. ❜ ༢ ͎۪۫ ༊*·˚ ╱
❪ the prodigy, 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 book. ❫
༢ ͎۪۫ ༊ ❛ ©CELESTIALAPHRODITE 2023. ❜ ¨. ༢ ͎۪۫ ｡𖤐
❪ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 ❫ ©CELESTIALAPHRODITE, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅.