The Tail

Australia Again

Cleo's POV

We waited anxiously by the beach. The Seven were coming today. We had only just heard the news about Percy and Annabeth's proposal. We weren't exactly quite sure why they were coming over to meet us but we would know soon enough. Just as I finished the thought, Bella yelled happily and pointed to the sky. Just cresting the clouds was a giant bronze dragon. Festus.

A hand tapped me on the shoulder. I whirled around startled only to see Percy smiling down at me. I moved forward to hug him tightly. "Percy!!" My words were muffled by the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt he was wearing.

"Hey, Cus." He patted my head lightly and said hi to my friends. Annabeth jumped off the dragon's metal back and ran to Percy. I left to give the two privacy and to greet the queasy Hazel and an amused Piper.

"So," Rikki started as we were walking back to the beach house we had rented. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Yeah. Why did we go to Australia? I know it's where Percy truly became one with his fishy side but what are we doing here? Wait... Don't tell me WE have to become fish too!!" Leo screamed.

Annabeth gave an amused smile to Percy. "No, Leo. You do not have to become one with your 'fishy side.' Or any of you. Actually, we're here because I wanted to reassure Percy that being a merman isn't one, and that I would love to have him as my husband. So, I'm becoming a Mermaid myself!" We all stared at her, gobsmacked.

"And Athena is okay with this?" Jason asked dubiously.

"She'll just have to deal with it, I love Percy, and I would love to explore the ocean and its depths with him." The girls gushed happily at the Percabeth moments.

I pulled open the door and ushered my friends inside. They spread throughout the house to put their bags in their rooms. The four of us girls stayed in the kitchen, already ready for the trip to Mako. When they finally got back down, it was already 2:45 p.m. As Leo got Festus ready, Percy turned to me.

"You know, I never got to ask you why you guys why you were following me that day." I looked sheepishly at my fellow mermaids. We had followed him because of his good looks but now we knew he was engaged to Annabeth, telling him would be extremely awkward.

"Erm.." I started but was unable to finish the embarrassing sentence.

"Wefollowedyoucuswethoughtyouwerehot!" Rikki said quickly, barely breathing. He looked at us in astonishment but quickly started laughing.

"Don't worry, I won't tell my fiance." He promised us though a sly grin graced his features. However, we were all relieved at his promise- we didn't want the feisty daughter of Athena to use her new dagger on us.

When we finally got to Mako, we spent the whole day in the jungle. We told the demigods the story of how we had gotten stuck on the Island on that fateful night. Bella in turn also told the story of how she, as an eight year old stumbled upon a similar pool and turned part fish. We played the demigod version of Capture the Flag and just as we were about to start our 5th game, Nico and Thalia appeared in a flash of lightning. Nico stumbled from Thalia's grasp, turning greener by the second. Thalia just laughed and waved at us.

"Mind if we join in?" After my team, consisting of Emma, Leo, Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Piper had lost to Percy and Annabeth's team for the third time, we decided to just relax by the beach and cool off.

"When I came here for the first time, I wanted to bring all of you guys here so I we could hang out... Mako is a pretty cool place." We nodded silently in agreement as we watched the sun slide beneath the waves. Percy and Annabeth cuddled on a blanket together as all the other couples did the same. I felt a bit sad Lewis wasn't here but I knew we couldn't divulge the demigods' secret.

As the full moon climbed higher into the dark night sky, we stood to get ready to get up to the volcano. The twilight shadows darkened the forest until we could barely see a thing. Leo made small sparks in his fingers, illuminating the tropical plants. Nico seemed at ease, he was definitely used to this kind of darkness. Thalia held on tightly to his hand, her freckled face flickering in and out of the firelight of Leo's fire.

"Are there really no monsters here?" Hazel asked quietly.

"I haven't seen one yet Hazel. They probably can't cross the sea to get here." Percy reassured all of us though he didn't look to sure himself. When we finally reached the above ground entrance to the the Moon Pool, I went first, looking back over my shoulder to address them briefly.

"The Moon Pool is through here. Just slide down." I crouched down and slid my legs over the rim of the small chute. I pushed off and the whoosh of dank air washed over me. I was briefly reminded of the caves in Polyphemus' Island in the Sea of Monsters, where Percy was trapped. Then I hit the soft sand at the bottom and slid out into the cave. I waited as one by one the rest of my friends shot out. The other mermaids and I led them into the cave holding the Moon Pool.

Silently, we spread out along the edge of the pool, leaving Percy and Annabeth standing in the middle, holding hands. "You know, Annabeth, you don't have to do this if you don't want too."

"But Percy, I do." She kissed him lightly then stepped forward as the moon's silver light edged across the ragged hole at the top. "Bye guys." She glanced over at her other friends, her gaze lingering longer on Thalia as they locked eyes. Thalia gave Annabeth a huge smile and a thumbs up.

"You'll be fine, Annabeth." I promised the older girl. She looked over at my friends and I and gave a smile. As the moon settled into its place in the sky above the volcano, the pools waters glittered and bubbled. Annabeth took a deep breath and stepped over the rock edge. Her blonde hair spread around her as she sank deeper into the pool. Percy knelt at the waters edge poised and ready to jump in to save her if needed. The demigods moved closer, Leo keeping a steady fire for us to see by as Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Thalia, and Nico knelt beside Percy too.

"She'll be fine Perce." Jason clapped Percy on the shoulder. He nodded absentmindedly but stared intently at the water nevertheless. As the seconds turned to minutes, we grew increasingly restless.

"What if a monster got her?" Frank asked.

"I'm jumping in!" Thalia declared.

"No! I'll do it, Thalia, you don't want to be a mermaid do you?" Percy asked rather sharply. As he prepared to jump, the Moon Pool stopped bubbling and Annabeth broke the surface gasping for air. Her grey eyes sparkled with joy and I could soon see why. A shimmering silvery gray tail broke the surface behind her. Instead of her previous blue t-shirt, she had a matching gray top. We all whooped with joy as Percy jumped in and instantly transformed. The moon's light still shone brightly upon the two in the pool as they embraced, tails twining around the other. Sea green on gray.

It was the perfect moment.

Guys... I'm really sorry. This chapter kind of sucked. A lot. I've just been really really busy as I have a ton of projects to do.. I also had girls basketball tryouts. I really hope to make the team so I had to work hard the past couple of weeks and practice. Sadly, the next chapter is the last chapter. I can't believe it! I will NOT be doing their wedding only the epilogue. This is also the last mermaid pov chapter so sorry about that. I will probably update again on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Not sure yet. Bye...

I also hope you don't mind Annabeth being a mermaid.