Percy felt content. The sun's warm rays let his dozing mind fall into a fuzzy stupor, and the breeze that occasionally tickled his face kept him comfortable. He could feel the occasional stray rough wave crash against the hull of the Argo II, but the ship's rocking only lulled him further into his drowsy state. The sounds of his friends chattering below him from where he lay perched on top of the quarterdeck, better known as Leo's command station, were becoming hazier as he drifted off. I hope I don't wake up with a mustache drawn on my face, he thought distantly as he folded his arms behind his head into a makeshift pillow.

"PERSEUS JACKSON!"

Uh oh.

The demigod could barely contain his smirk as he sat up and leaned towards the edge of the quarterdeck to look down. Below him stood Annabeth, her calculating stormy eyes glaring up at him.

"Yes?" he asked innocently as he flipped over to give her a cheeky grin from his now upside-down point of view.

"I wouldn't push it, Jackson." Jason advised from where he was sitting with Hazel and Leo. "She's already pulled out your full name, and you might damage some important brain cells from sitting like that for too long."

"And I'm not cleaning up whatever mess you might make from falling and splatting on the deck!" grumbled Leo. Percy stuck his tongue out at both of them, but then returned his attention to Annabeth.

"You haven't seen the drachma I had on my bedside table, have you?" she asked pointlessly, clearly already knowing the answer. "I was going to send Coach Hedge and Nico an Iris message back at camp."

"I may know the location of the missing coin in question," he answers mysteriously.

"Oh, you may?" she demands as she reaches to unsheathe the white dragon-bone sword Damasen had given to her that's tied around her waist. "Don't make me come up there and get it from you!"

"All right!" he concedes with a dramatic sigh and a smile as he turns and sits up. "If you insist on ruining my fun," he continues as he reaches for the gold coin hidden in his pocket, "then I must admit defeat and give you your—oops!" No sooner than the words had escaped his mouth did the drachma slip from his pocket, tumble to the deck, and roll into the churning water below with a quiet plop. Percy watched the ripples the coin's impact had created fade away while ignoring Piper's call of, "You're gonna get it now!" from where she and Frank stood with Festus the figurehead. He sheepishly turned his gaze back to Annabeth, whose face was expressionless.

"You might want to go get that before it sinks any further," she commented indifferently, but a mischievous smile was tugging at her lips. Percy sent her a bold smirk as he stood and walked to the edge of the quarterdeck.

"Back in a flash!" he said with a wave. In one quick motion Percy dived into the murky, heaving water.

The bubbles from his jump into the sea tickled his nose as he sank. Eyes scanning his dim surroundings for the lost coin, Percy was happy to note that even though he was perfectly dry, the water's cool embrace refreshed his sun-kissed skin. He noticed that the Argo II's speed had lessened dramatically as he started to swim down in search of the drachma, and he sent a quick mental thank-you to Leo for his consideration.

As he plunged, however, Percy was startled to realize that there was a very strange lack of sea creatures in the area. In fact, he thought, now troubled, I haven't heard even a single shark today. He continued his journey, now acting considerably more cautious, but tried to brush his anxiousness off as leftover edginess from the past week. They had, of course, just defeated Gaia—Percy would be concerned if he wasn't a bit tense. He had hoped that the trip back to Long Island would be relatively monster-free, but the silent waters around him suggested otherwise.

A few uneventful minutes of hunting passed before Percy's spirits brightened considerably when he spotted a glint of gold directly below him. He immediately swam down to inspect it, and as he drew closer he could clearly see that the lost drachma had slipped into a small crevice between two stones. It was a wonder that he had spotted the coin at all; hundreds and hundreds of variegated blue rock slabs lined the floor of the area around it.

After reaching the coin, Percy flicked his wrist to direct water into the narrow gap that the coin had slid between to spread the stones apart, but they didn't budge. What? He reached forward to try and grab the drachma himself, but his hand was simply too big, so instead he opted for manually pushing the rocks aside. At first nothing happened, but the demigod would not be defeated so easily. Percy shoved even harder, and, with a great crack, one of the slab's tops broke off. The dislodged piece tumbled loudly into a few other rocks before settling, leaving its surprisingly sharp and jagged remaining half looking decrepit amongst the other intact slabs.

Pleased with his work, Percy seized the lost coin and examined it for scratches. Losing it is one thing, but Annabeth would never let me live it down if I brought it back damaged, he thought with a fond smile. Finding none, he began to swim back up to the surface, but froze when the ground beneath him began to rumble. Percy had only a split second to glance down at the rock field below and watch as the sand around started to shift before something large and heavy bowled into him and he knew no more.

Very random update, I know, but better late than never, I guess? For the loyal readers who have patiently waited for the next chapter of Going Home: you're amazing! I hope new readers can find something to enjoy in this updated chapter as well.