The Fall of Leo Valdez - CricketCat - The Heroes of Olympus (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Annabeth and Percy were barely holding on.

Leo was clinging to the Athena Pathenos' head when he heard Percy cry out. He glanced over his shoulder, only to check if his friends were okay, only to realise that Annabeth and Percy were both dangling over the pit, holding on for their lives. Nico and Hazel were reaching over, trying to grab them but they were too far away. They'd never reach them before they fell. Leo felt sick. Nemesis' promise echoed in his head over and over. This was her price, he realised. To send Percy and Annabeth over the edge and into the darkest pit in the Underworld. Leo didn't know much about Tartarus, but he knew it wasn't a place anyone would want to end up in. If his friends fell, he didn't think they'd ever come back up again.

Leo would not let that happen.

He slid down the statue, his ankles jarring as he landed roughly on the stone floor. Annabeth and Percy were only twenty metres away but Leo knew they wouldn't last long. He sprinted towards them, his hands flying into his tool belt and praying for something he could use. Around him, the cave was starting to tremble as the power of Tartarus grew stronger. Leo could feel the air becoming suffocating with dust and ash. He had to hurry. As he skidded to a stop by the edge of the pit, his hand grabbed hold of something in the largest pocket of the belt. He pulled it out to find a short bungy cord and a carabiner lying in his palm.

That could work.

"Nico!" Leo cried, tossing him one end of the cord before tying the other end to the largest boulder he could find. "Clip me on!"

"What?!" Nico and Hazel exclaimed at the same time, clearly incredulous. Leo groaned in frustration, grabbing Nico's hand which held the carabiner.

"Clip me on!" he yelled. Nico seemed to get the message but he swiftly hooked the caribiner through the belt loop of Leo's trousers, securely tying him to the bungy cord. Leo then ran to the edge, glancing back at the two children of Hades who stared at him in shock. "Get ready to grab them!"

Then he jumped off the edge.

The bungy cord pulled taunt and Leo slammed into the side of the chasm. He groaned but gritted his teeth, pushing himself up so his feet were planted firmly against the wall. Below him, Percy was hanging onto a narrow shelf of rock with one hand while clutching onto Annabeth for dear life with the other. His eyes widened as he saw Leo, sweat pouring down his face.

"Percy!" Leo cried. He stretched out his hand, reaching for his friend to try and grab him. "Give me your hand!"

"Annabeth first!" Percy shouted, his face turning more red by the second.

"No!" Annabeth yelled. "Percy you have to drop me! We're not all going to get out of this alive! You have to let me go!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Percy screamed. "We're gonna get out of here and we're gonna do it together!" Then he started pulling, slowly drawing Annabeth up with one hand and brute strength. It reminded Leo of stories he'd heard where mothers had lifted cars off their children using pure adrenaline. That's when Leo knew that if Percy Jackson wanted something, he damn well was going to get it. Percy's veins were popping in his neck and forehead and he hauled Annabeth up.

"Reach, Annie!" Leo shouted, holding out one hand while holding onto the rope with the other. "Come on, you can do it!" Annabeth reached up her hand, her fingertips brushing Leo's before he grabbed hold of her wrist. Using the last of his strength, Percy boosted her up enough for Leo to catch her, swinging so she could get a good grip of the rock in the chasm wall. He pushed her up just high enough for Hazel and Nico to grab her arms and pull her up the rest of the way, successfully drawing Annabeth out of the chasm. Leo almost sighed with relief but his task wasn't done yet.

One down. One to go.

"Your turn, Aquaman!" He shouted to Percy, reaching out his hand again. "Come on, you've got this!" But Percy looked tired, exhausted even. Gods know he had been holding up Annabeth for far to long. He was still clinging on, just with a few fingers on the ledge, but was rapidly losing his grip. His face was pale and clammy, almost ashen as he looked up at Leo with defeated green eyes.

"You've got to go, Leo," he said. "You've got to leave before it drags you in too." Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Percy Jackson could not be giving up. Never in his life did Leo think he'd see this day. But then he realised. Percy wasn't giving up. In fact, he was far from it. Percy was trying to save him.

"Nuh uh, not on your life, Jackson!" Leo shouted. He pushed himself off the wall, tipping his head down and his feet up and snatching Percy's wrist just as the other boy slipped off the ledge. Percy dangled in his grip, kicking his legs as the chasm threatened to suck them both in. Drawing all his strength, Leo prayed to every god in existence that this would work and yanked Percy upwards, wrapping an arm around his shoulders while Percy hugged his waist.

"You gotta climb up the rope, Perce!" Leo yelled. "Come on, Waterboy, you can do it!" He pushed Percy up, letting him climb over his body to the rope. Percy's hands managed to find it and he started pulling himself up, shimmying up the rope like a pirate. Leo almost wanted to laugh at the son of the sea god acting like a pirate. He would have done too but his eyes zeroed in on a terrifying sight.

The rope was fraying. It was resting on the edge of the chasm, bearing the weight of two demigods and practically being sawed by the sharp rock. Percy must have noticed it too because he stopped climbing, staring down at Leo in horror. In that moment, Leo knew what he had to do. If he couldn't stop Nemesis' price from happening, then he pay it himself. His friends were the most precious thing in the world to him and, even though they sometimes didn't appreciate him, even though they sometimes ignored him, by Hades he was going to save the one good thing he had. Besides, he knew Nico was right. If they were going to have a chance in this war, someone had to sacrifice themselves. Someone had to plunge into the depths of hell to get the job done.

Percy must have seen in his eyes what he was about to do because his face drained of all blood. "Don't you dare, Valdez!" He yelled, eyes wide with fear. "Don't you f*cking dare!"

"It can't hold us both!" Leo said.

"It can, Leo!" Percy cried. "It will! We'll pull you up!" Leo shook his head as the rope frayed even more. Above, he could see Nico, Annabeth and Hazel desperately reaching to grab Percy and hold onto the rope at the same time. But Leo knew they wouldn't have the strength to keep them both up if the rope did snap. They would get pulled in too and Leo would not have that.

"I'll meet you there, Jackson!" Leo shouted up. "The Doors of Death. I'll close them!"

"No, Leo!" He heard Hazel cry out. "It'll kill you!"

"Someone has to try!" Leo said. He returned his gaze to Percy who was now trying to reach down for him. But his strength was spent and he was barely holding himself up.

"Don't do this, Leo!" He panted. "Please don't!" Leo smiled sadly.

"Promise me one thing, Aquaman," he said softly. "If I don't make it back, free Calypso for me. Please. I swore I would."

"We're gonna get you up and you can do that yourself!" Percy yelled. "Please, Leo!" Leo glanced up one last time, meeting Nico's eyes who only stared at him with sadness but understanding. He nodded once and Leo knew he'd get the Seven there. The rope was snapping, only two strands left to keep Percy from falling. Leo knew he had to do it now. As scared as he was, he was more scared of his friends getting hurt. He looked up at Percy who was still desperately trying to reach him.

"I'll meet you there!" Leo whispered, so quietly that only Percy could hear him. "I promise."

"LEO! NO!"

In one swift move, he reached round to the caribiner and unhooked it. He managed to catch Percy's eyes one last time before his heart lurched into his throat and his stomach dropped.

And then he fell.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Piper didn't think she'd ever been more relieved when she saw Percy and Annabeth haul themselves up over the side of the Argo II, closely followed by Nico and Hazel. All four collapsed onto the deck, breathing ragged and uneven. Rushing forwards, Piper fell to her knees by Annabeth first, a hand on her shoulder as her friend coughed and spluttered. "Annie! Annie, are you okay?" Annabeth didn't answer, too shocked and exhausted to even form words. Piper bit her lip, glancing up at Jason who moved forwards to check the others who were in much the same state at Annabeth. Nico was curled up on his side, heaving in oxygen like a man starved. Percy sad physically trembling, his hands cut up and welling blood. Frank rushed to Hazel's side, holding her in his arms and talking to her softly. Piper's heart clenched at the heartbroken look on Hazel's face. Something had gone wrong.

"What happened?" Jason asked, crouching by Percy's side and handing out ambrosia squares. "Is everyone alright?"

"The place collapsed," Percy coughed. "As soon as we got the statue, the whole thing just caved in." Piper looked up in alarm.

"Where's Leo?" she demanded. No one answered her, Nico and Hazel even refusing to meet her eyes. "Where is he?!" she yelled. Leo had been down there to hook up the Athena Parthenos to the cables he'd lowered from the Argo II. He should be here now. She rose to her feet, staring down at everyone with her fists clench. "Somebody better tell me right now where Leo is or I swear I'll charmspeak you all to walk off a cliff."

"Piper-" Percy whispered, his eyes distraught. "Leo...he-he fell."

"Fell?" Jason repeated, his voice soft and scared. "Fell where?! You mean he's still down there?!" But Piper understood. She saw the look on all their faces. That chasm led to one place and one place only. Her throat closed up. Tears sprang to her eyes. And, for the first time since her Grandpa Tom died, she felt the sharp slash of loss in her life.

"Tartarus," she breathed. "He fell to Tartarus."

Jason was on his feet instantly, running towards the edge of the ship probably to jump off and go searching for Leo but Nico grabbed hold of him.

"Jason, you can't save him!" He said, every word straining with effort. "He's gone!"

"Let go of me!" Jason growled. "He could still be down there! I can get to him! I can still save him!"

"Leo wouldn't want that!" Nico shouted. "Don't get yourself killed for him because you know Leo would blame himself!"

"Get off me!" Jason yelled, trying to rip free. But Nico held strong. He looked pained to do so but he kept his grip of Jason, stopping him from doing something stupid and jumping into Tartarus after Leo. Slowly, Piper stumbled forwards and wrapped her arms around Jason, her hand burying itself in the hair at the nape of his neck and drawing his head down to her shoulder. Jason's frame began shaking with sobs and it took everything in Piper not to break down right then and there.

Leo. They had lost Leo. It was almost as if Piper's heart was being ripped in two. It was like the further Leo fell, the further he went away from them, the more her heart was torn. Leo. They're best friend. The friend who always was there, who was always a shoulder to cry on or someone who listened, who tried to fix every problem because he could never leave anyone broken. Leo who had suffered too much cruelty in this world already. She felt her stomach clench and her brain throb, a sickness rising in her at the thought of being even a minute without him.

"I'm sorry," Percy said, struggling up and staggering his way forward to Piper and Jason. "It was my fault. It should have been me. Leo saved us, Annabeth and I. If it wasn't for him, we would have fallen too." He suddenly let out a howl of frustration, screaming in anger. "I should have done something! I should have grabbed him while I still had the chance!" Annabeth made a pained noise, rising to her feet and grabbing Percy's hands.

"You did everything you could, Percy," she whispered softly. "There was nothing you could have done..." But the look of anguish on Percy's face didn't leave and Piper felt her heart break a little more. She turned to Nico, her eyes pleading.

"Is he still alive?" she begged. "Please, just tell me he's still alive..." Nico's face twisted in confliction but he nevertheless closed his eyes and spread his hands, palms facing the floor. The crew all waited with baited breath, no one daring to move just in case Nico lost concentration and they lost their last connection with Leo. Finally, Nico opened his eyes, looking harrowed.

"He's still alive," he said. "But he's in Tartarus. I'm...I'm not sure he'll last long there. I'm sorry, that's all I can tell." Swallowing hard, Piper turned to the rest of the Seven.

"There has to be a way to rescue him," she said, trying to be confident despite the obvious wobble in her voice. "There has to be." She was desperate, clinging to the hope that there was an answer to this.

"The Doors of Death," Jason said quietly, raising his face from Piper's shoulder. His eyes were puffy and red but as hard as steel. "That's where we go next. If Gaia's armies can travel through the Doors, then maybe Leo can too. He could get out."

"It's impossible," Nico said, shaking his head. When Hazel and Frank shot him a glare he raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I don't want to be the bad guy here but think about it. Leo would have to travel across Tartarus with no food, no water and no weapons, not to mention he'd be completely alone. He'd have to walk all the way to the Doors with getting killed in a place where everything will try to kill him. Tartarus is practically poison to everything but monsters. Even the air he breathes will be trying to kill him. And, if he miraculously manages to survive all that, he'd have to make it to the Doors, cut the chains and hold them shut on his own for Hades knows how long and hope and pray that we'd be there to meet him on the other side to close the doors in the mortal world after him. That kind of timing just won't happen." Everyone was silent, staring at Nico with a mixture of anger and heartbreak. Nico sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't want to say it, but we have to be realistic here. There's no way he'd survive all that with only a tool belt and a few bad jokes."

"But he will," Jason croaked. "He's Leo Valdez. There's nothing he can't do." Piper couldn't help but agree. She'd seen Leo perform literal miracles to get them out of all kinds of situations before. He could build anything, fix anything, survive anything. If there was anyone who could joke and build and fight their way through Tartarus, it was Leo.

"I promised that we'd meet him there," Percy murmured suddenly. "I swore to him that we'd get there and meet him. I won't break that promise." His face was red and splotchy. Piper found it odd that Percy cared so much. He'd never shown much interest in Leo before besides the odd bro moment or prank they pulled together. Other than that, Piper wasn't even sure they classified as friends, especially after the New Rome incident. But Percy, and Annabeth for that matter, both seemed a wretched as the rest of them.

"He won't make it," Nico said severely. "And we can't keep the Doors open any longer than necessary."

"He will make it," Frank bit back. "And we keep the Doors open for as long as possible to save him." Piper nodded, glaring at Nico. She knew he was only trying to be realistic. And, if she was completely honest with herself, there was a small voice in the darkest corner of her mind that told her what Leo was trying to do was impossible, that she should grieve now because she would never see him again. She drowned out that voice with everything she had. Leo was strong, Leo had been through a different type of hell many times before, Leo would escape just like he always did. She just had to have faith.

"So we go to the Doors of Death," she said. "We fight our way through and we rescue Leo. If he's not there, I'm going in myself to get him."

"I'll go with you," Jason said immediately.

"We all will," Percy replied, looking around at the others as if they'd dare defy him.

"And once we rescue him, we close the Doors and cut the chains," Piper continued. "Then, to Athens." Every nodded and Piper could sense the atmosphere had changed from one of despair to one of determination. She squeezed Jason's hand tightly, drawing reassurance from him.

"It's as good a plan as any," Frank said. "We've come this far." Piper stared around at the circle of demigods she was proud to call friends. They could do it. They were the most powerful demigods of the generation. Her eyes fell on Nico who was carefully avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Nico," she said softly. "We can't do this without you. Please, will you help us?" Nico looked up at her with his dark eyes. She couldn't read what he was thinking but she hoped that he wouldn't leave them.

"I'll help," he said. "Of course I will." She smiled gratefully at him.

"I hate to burst everyone's bubble," Frank said. "But does anyone know how to fly this thing?" That stopped Piper completely in her tracks. No, was the answer. No one apart from Leo knew how to fly the Argo, or sail it for that matter. Percy may have some idea with the sailing part but even he looked lost as he stared over at the Argo's control panel.

"I can do it," Annabeth said, stepping forward. "Leo taught me a few basic things, I can learn the rest."

"We'll all help," Hazel nodded at her. "We can all learn just in case." Piper opened her mouth to agree but suddenly a roar split the air. The entire Argo jolted forwards, knocking Piper off her feet. The others scrabbled for their weapons, sure they were being attacked but Piper would know that roar from anywhere.

"Festus!" she cried, running over to the control board and leaning over the edge so she could get a good look at the dragon's head. "Good boy, Festus! Good boy!" The control panel had come to life as Festus took over, pulling the ship forwards with every bit of electronic strength he had. Piper took it as a sign.

Festus wanted his friend back.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Leo had been falling for days.

Well, at least it seemed that way. It could have been days, but it could have been only hours, even minutes. In reality, he didn't know. All he knew was he'd been falling for a very, very long time. The wind ripped and tore at his clothes, snatching at his army jacket and pulling at his shirt. The sound of the air roared in his ears, drowning out even Leo's hammering heartbeat. He'd never wished more for Jason's air powers or Nico's shadow travel abilities. In that moment, he would even have settled for Annabeth's smarts because at least she would have thought of something. But all he had was a tool belt that couldn't even give him a parachute and fire powers that Leo was much too scared to use, even if they did somehow get him out of this situation.

Not for the first time, Leo felt a stab of fear in his heart. His brain still hadn't caught up with the fact that he was quite literally falling to hell. Part of him almost found it ironic. Aunt Rosa had always said he was a diablo, that hell was where he belonged. He may have been only eight at the time, but Tia Rosa's words had seared into Leo's brain and were as fresh as the day she'd first said them. Leo couldn't help but think maybe his aunt was right. Perhaps falling to Tartarus was his punishment for killing his mother.

No, he thought to himself, pushing the thought of his mother from his mind. Leo's punishment for his mother's death was yet to come, he knew that. This was Nemesis' fault. If Leo hadn't been stupid enough to open that fortune cookie, then he'd still be up at the surface rather than falling to his death in the depths of hell.

But then Percy and Annabeth would've fallen, he brain argued back. You saved them. Leo knew he was right there. He promised himself at the start of all this that the only person who needed sacrificing was him and him alone. If anyone was going to die, it would be Leo because by the gods he was not going to let any of his friends go.

Now he just had to get back to them.

Filled with new determination, Leo's hands flew to his tool belt and he started grabbing everything he could to try and figure out a way out of this. He knew that he should probably try and think more clearly but in his panic the tool belt just threw out random items, sending them flying up above him. Then the idea struck him. If he didn't have a parachute, then he was just going to have to make one. Easier said then done when falling to your death but it was the best Leo had.

Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his mind. What did every workshop have in case of emergencies? A fire blanket. Reaching into the largest pocket of the belt, Leo stretched out his fingers into the ether and willed a fire blanket to come to him. His fingers brushed something soft and he almost cried with relief, yanking the blanket up and out. It was almost ripped from his hands at the speed he was falling at but he managed to hold onto it, clutching it between his knees tightly. Next, he dug back into his belt and begged yet again for another blanket and, Gods please, some duct tape. The belt did what he commanded and Leo grabbed the two items. Now for the tricky part. Hugging both blankets, he began frantically duct taping them together with huge strips. Every time he finished one, he went back into his tool belt and grabbed another blanket, taping that one to the originals.

Leo was so absorbed in his work, he hadn't noticed that the tunnel he was falling in had opened up into a massive cavern that must have been miles long. The light turned red and hellish and Leo looked down to realise that ground was rapidly approaching. Yelping, he threw away the duct tape and grabbed hold of the ends of his makeshift parachute, flaring it up and praying to the gods that this would work. The canopy flew out and Leo was suddenly yanked upwards, the drag slowing his fall enough that he wouldn't be smashed into a Leo pancake on impact.

He whooped aloud, laughing in pure hysteria. "Yes!" He cried out. "f*ck you Tartarus! You ain't killing me yet!"

It probably wasn't the best idea Leo had ever had to insult the most dangerous primordial next to Gaia.

His celebrations were very short lived. A ripping sound above him made him whip his head up to see his makeshift parachute of fire blankets was coming apart as the duct tape gave way. He was still many metres up from the ground where he could now see a black river below. Gripping onto the blankets with everything he had, Leo couldn't help but scream as he started falling faster, the air whistling past his ears as he plummeted towards the water.

Closing his eyes, Leo sent up another quick prayer to the gods, not even know if the gods could even hear him in Tartarus. The black water rose up to meet him and Leo held his breath-

BOOM!

It wasn't the impact that shock him but the cold. Leo was a fire user, his domain was heat and warmth. But dropping into the river was like dropping into a swimming pool full of ice. The freezing water made his muscles clench and seize up and suddenly, Leo couldn't move. He couldn't move or swim or breathe as the inky water took control.

Pointless, it whispered in his ear. Pointless to escape. Only more misery awaits. Just give up. Sink to the bottom where all your pain will end.

Leo was so close to agreeing. It would have been so easy. He really had no chance of getting out of Tartarus anyway. Why put himself through all that pain? What was waiting for him? Hoards upon hoards of monsters, Gaia planning a demigod sacrifice, a war between the Greeks and Romans, and friends who barely even noticed he was there. They wouldn't miss him when he was gone.

Wait.

Piper would miss him. Jason would miss him. If no one else, he knew they would be devastated if Leo let himself die here. So he fought. He fought with everything he had, kicking and clawing at the water until he burst to the surface. The water's whispers became louder, trying to drag him back down again but Leo shouted back. Piper and Jason needed him. He kept their faces in his mind as he swam to the shore, reminding himself every time he wanted to give up that Jason and Piper were relying on him to make it back. Who else was going to tease them with silly nicknames? Who else was going to cheer them up with stupid jokes when they were sad? Who else would be a shoulder to cry on, a friend who listened when they needed that?

His hand hit the black sand on the beach and Leo dragged himself out, crawling as far as he could from the river until he collapsed on his back. He sucked in deep breaths, barely noticing the slight burn of the poisonous air or the sting in his hands where the sand had cut into him. That didn't matter right now. Leo was just grateful to be alive so far.

After catching his breath and coughing up as much of the awful black water as he could, Leo slowly sat up and looked around him.

Tartarus wasn't at all what he thought it was going to be...not that he'd given it much thought if he was honest with himself. The black river, the river Cocytus, Leo remembered, cut across the land through sand that was as sharp as glass. Over his shoulder behind him, red cliffs rose up and dropped as the land moved. The sky was orange like fire which didn't comfort Leo at all. And, the worst thing, it was cold. Not the like the freezing of the river but cold enough that Leo knew he was going to suffer. Fire users didn't do well in the cold, let alone in Tartarus kind of cold. Yep, this was hell alright.

Pushing himself to his feet, Leo clutched his chest as the air suddenly became more difficult to breathe. Ah, the poisonous air. He'd forgotten about that little party trick. Staggering forwards, Leo began to walk, not knowing quite what else to do. At the back of his mind, he knew that he was right to keep moving. If monsters were good at tracking down demigods in the mortal world, they sure as Hades were going to find him quickly in their own domain. Every step Leo took made his bones ache, his muscles cramp, his head scream out. It was like he was still underwater. He wrapped his army jacket around himself closer, shivering and attempting to heat himself up just a tiny bit to at least dry off his clothes. But the more he tried, the tireder he became. It was almost as if Tartarus itself was draining all of Leo's energy. He couldn't say he was surprised and made a mental note to himself to only use fire powers when absolutely necessary.

Leo stumbled all the way to the edge of a cliff and almost fell off the edge as he swayed. Below was a huge canyon, about five hundred foot drop from where Leo was standing to the ground. Although his vision was starting to become hazy, the canyon seemed lighter than the rest of Tartarus somehow. He rubbed his eyes, blinking and staring down the cliff face. At the bottom of the canyon, carving through the land, was a literal river of fire.

He knew that river. Annabeth must have told him something about it before...or maybe it was Nico? He couldn't remember where he'd heard it, but he knew that river. The Phlegethon. That was its name. What did the Phlegethon do? Something about keeping the prisoners in the Fields of Punishment alive? The more he breathed, the more his mind became hazy and misty. He fought it, keeping his eyes wide and refusing to fall asleep.

Healing! The thought struck him like a bolt of lighting. The Phlegethon could heal! Leo had no idea if it would be able to heal him, but he had to try.

Once again, climbing down a sheer rock face with cut up hands and a half working brain was probably not Leo's brightest idea. But he'd tried summoning rope from his tool belt again but his stunt with the fire blankets must have over heated it. So cut him some slack, it had been a long day and he wasn't exactly feeling, or looking, his best. Climbing down the cliff was hands down one of the scariest things he'd ever done. Every muscle in his body trembled with exhaustion. His fingers cramped as he clutched onto every hand hold. Leo was reminded of the lava wall back at Camp and Will yelling at him that he should spend less time playing in the lava and more time actually climbing. Gods, he wished he'd listen now.

Halfway down and Leo was glistening with sweat. It may have been cold but the poison was working fast. Leo kept his brain awake by retelling himself stories. Like the time when he and Piper had broken out of the Wilderness school, or when he and Jason had gone surfing at Camp. He remembered sitting with Annabeth and working on architecture problems together, and learning how to fight with Percy and Frank who both insisted that he be taught how to handle a blade and not just a hammer. He'd only laughed and said that a hammer was by far superior. Hazel had rolled her eyes but laughed with him.

"Only you, Leo," she had said. "Only you."

He thought of Calypso, her beauty, her fury when he'd broken her table. Percy had asked him if he'd fallen for her, but Leo said no. Calypso was a friend and nothing more. A good friend, maybe one of his best, but she was the one girl on this Earth that Leo could never see himself with. She was too free, too wild, had too many dreams that Leo desperately wanted her to fulfill.

Almost there, he thought to himself. So close, almost there.

His foot touched down on the ground and he collapsed again. Crawling forwards, he practically dragged himself towards the bank of the Phlegethon. Without thinking, he thrust his hands into the fiery waters. It surprisingly was cool but that could have been because his nerves were being overloaded with heat. Even Leo's power couldn't protect him from everything. He cupped his hands, pooling the flames in his palms before sipping it. It tasted horrible, like burning rubber, and it felt even worse in his stomach, but after a few moments, Leo started to feel much better.

His vision came back into focus, the dull ache around his body subsided enough for him to be able to think clearly, his cuts and bruises started to heal. In fact, Leo thought it was the best he had felt in a while. Scooping up more fire, he drank as much as he could until his belly was full and his body felt re-energised. Well, as much as it could have been. Leo spent the next half an hour lying by the river and just breathing. Once his tool belt had cooled off, he managed to summon a canteen to fill up with fire water just in case he needed it on his journey towards the Doors of Death. Clipping it to his belt, Leo finally stood up, gazing around him and trying to think what to do next.

Which way? It wasn't like there was a brochure with a map of Tartarus. Heck, if Leo ever got out of here then he'd make one himself just to spite the place. So he started walking down river, sticking close to the fire in case he needed more or lost his way. He had been feeling rather chipper for a guy in hell when a screech interrupted his mood.

The creature came diving at him before Leo could even yell out. His instincts kicked in and he rolled away, digging into his belt and grabbing the biggest hammer he could find. The monster came at him again, moving so fast that it blurred Black. Leo blinding swung out with his hammer, connecting with the creature with a sickening crack. With one last wail, it melted into sludge. Breathing hard, Leo tripped backwards, staring at the pile of monster dust in shock. Well, he knew one thing. Arachne was dead. Leo almost smiled. That was revenge for Annabeth and one less monster for him to deal with. One out of millions.

But he tried not to think about that.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

The mountain gods were really starting to get on Hazel's nerves.

She was leaning over the side of the Argo, trying to spot a way through theApennines that wouldn't mean they'd be crushed by rock throwing maniacs. As she hung over the railing, clutching on so tightly were fingers were turning white, a boulder came flying out of the mist right at her head. She just about managed to fling herself backwards and cover her head as the rock sailed over her and smashed into the mast. It topped onto the deck, throwing Nico out of the crows nest and burying him under canvas.

"Nico!" Hazel ran forwards and helped her brother stand.

"I'm alright," he told her. "I'm fine."

"Oh Hades!" She heard Annabeth curse from the control panel where she'd strapped herself in. "That's the third mast already!" Spinning the Wii Controller, the deck beneath Hazel rumbled as a celestial bronze canon rose from below, firing at the mountain gods who stood on top of the peaks. The cannon balls smashed into them but it only seemed to make them madder.

"It's not going to work, Annie!" she yelled out, she and Nico running towards the control panel at the helm. "They're too strong."

"I hate to say it, but you're right," Annabeth sighed. She steered the ship away from the mountains and safely further out in the sky to give them a breather. "We have to get through those mountains. There has to be a way."

"You're the ideas, girl," Nico grumbled coldly. "You figure it out." Shooting her brother a glare, Hazel turned back to Annabeth who pursed her lips together tightly. She knew what the other girl was thinking. Of course she did. It had been on her mind too. The truth was, Leo had always got them out of situations like these. It was Leo who built this ship, he had pushed himself to the limits to keep the damn thing together to even make it this far. She wouldn't give up now, and she certainly wouldn't get Leo's ship destroyed in the process.

"Maybe we should wake up the others," Nico suggested. "Whatever we decide here effects all of us. We should discuss it together."

"They need rest," Annabeth argued back. "They took the last shift, it wouldn't be fair to wake them up now." Hazel agreed. It definitely wouldn't be fair, especially since Jason, Piper and Percy had been taking Leo's fall the hardest. Besides, ever since they lost him, the crew hadn't been able to agree on anything, always arguing about everything. It had almost been unbearable. No, waking up the others was not a good idea.

"We just need some creative thinking, that's all," Hazel said, looking at the other two with an eyebrow raised. "Come on, surely between us we can think of something."

"If I was on my own, I could shadow travel over," Nico said meekly. "But I couldn't for the entire ship. Gods, I'm not even sure I have the strength to transport myself anymore..."

"Okay, so no to shadow travelling," Hazel sighed. "Any other ideas?"

"Maybe we could try and camouflage the ship?" Annabeth said. "I wouldn't know how but I'm sure we could figure it out somehow..." She trailed off, looking unsure. Unsure definitely wasn't a good look on Annabeth. Hazel bit her lip, staring out at the mountainous landscape worried and thinking about what lay below it. The Underworld, land of her father, Pluto. She'd only ever met Pluto once, and hadn't even realised it at the time. Thanatos had suggested that Pluto had been doing her a favour by ignoring her, otherwise he'd be forced to return her soul to the Underworld. Which meant calling on him to help was probably a stupid idea. And yet...

Please, Dad, she found herself praying. I have to find a way to your temple in Greece – the Houseof Hades. If you're down there, show me what to do.

Something flickered in the corner of her eye, and as Hazel turned to look she watched the beige blur race across the countryside. "Arion!" she cried.

"What?" Nico asked, staring at the horse in shock.

"Her horse!" Annabeth excalimed. "But how-?"

The horse spiraled around the mountain until he reached the summit, rearing up and whining. "We have to meet him," Hazel said. "He's here to help."

"But Hazel, the mountain gods-" Nico started but Hazel shook her head, grabbing his arm.

"Just get me close enough," she said. "I'll climb down the rope ladder. But he's here for a reason. I think Arion needs to tell me something." Annabeth brought the ship as close as she could to the mountain and Hazel quickly climbed down the ladder, leaping off and wrapping her hands around Arion's neck. "Awh I missed you!" she said. "Where have you been?" But Arion nickered, pushing her hand. She didn't need to speak horse to know that Arion needed to take her somewhere. She nodded, reaching down towards the ground and summoning a gold nugget which the horse ate happily. Then, she swung up onto his back, suddenly feeling a lot better again.

"Hazel? What's going on?" Nico called down from the ship.

"He needs to take me somewhere!" Hazel shouted up.

"I hope he doesn't want to take you into that!" Annabeth pointed north. Hazel turned and tasted blood in her mouth. There, on the next hill, was a black, swirling storm, its inky finger touching down amongst some old ruins. She looked down at Arion.

"You want to go there?" Hazel asked. He neighed, pawing his hoof along the floor as if to say yeah duh. She glanced back up to the ship. "I'll be okay," she called up. "Stay put and wait for me! I'll be back soon!"

"And what if you don't come back?" Nico said.

"Don't worry," Hazel replied, hoping her words were true. "I will." Spurring Arion, Hazel sped straight for the tornado, the wind whipping around her violently. Soon, the storm had engulfed the entire hillside and Hazel was completely blinded by it. There was a presence to the storm, something powerful that kept pulling her and Arion forwards. Every step her horse took, the grass or stone turned white underfoot, almost like glass. It was like a cruel reminder of the crumbling cavern that had dropped Leo into Tartarus.

Suddenly, like that awful thought at started it, the storm became still. Hanging in the air, the mist gently swirled around her. Not just normal mist. The Mist. Hazel could feel its radiating power.

"Hello?" She called out. Her voice sounded like it was being muffled by a pillow.

"Hello," came the reply. Hazel petted Arion gently as he became skittish.

"It's okay, buddy," she told him. "We're in this together." But the moment she slid off his back, Arian bolted back into the Mist. Hazel swallowed hard.

"So much for in this together," she muttered. Steeling her nerves and with one hand on her sword, she slowly moved forwards. The Mist parted to show her the way and she found herself in the middle of a crumbling Roman courtyard. In front of her was a woman, the woman who had answered her call. Her skin pale but her face beautiful. With glittering hair, she looked like some sort of creepy princess, especially with her black eyes. She was a goddess, that was for certain.

"Who are you?" Hazel asked. "Which goddess?"

‘Ah.’ The woman nodded. ‘Let me give you some light.’

She raised her hands. Suddenly she was holding two old-fashioned reed torches, guttering with fire. The Mist receded to the edges of the courtyard. At the woman’s sandalled feet, the two wispy animals took on solid form. One was a black Labrador retriever. The other was a long, grey furry rodent with a white mask around its face. A weasel, maybe?

The woman smiled serenely. "I am Hecate," she said. "Goddess of magic. We have much to discuss if you’re to live through tonight."

Hazel wanted to run, but her feet seemed to be stuck to the white-glazed ground. On either side of the crossroads, two dark metal torch-stands erupted from the dirt like plant stalks. Hecate fixed her torches in them, then walked a slow circle around Hazel, regarding her as if they were partners in some eerie dance. The black dog and the weasel followed in her wake.

"You are like your mother," Hecate decided.

Hazel’s throat constricted. "You knew her?"

"Of course. Marie was a fortune-teller. She dealt in charms and curses and gris-gris. I am the goddess of magic." Those pure black eyes seemed to pull at Hazel, as if trying to extract her soul.

During her first lifetime in New Orleans, Hazel had been tormented by the kids at St Agnes School because of her mother. They’d called Marie Levesque a witch. The nuns had muttered that Hazel’s mother was trading with the Devil.

If the nuns were scared of my mom, Hazel wondered, what would they make of this goddess?

"Many fear me," Hecate said, as if reading her thoughts. "But magic is neither good nor evil. It is a
tool, like a knife. Is a knife evil? Only if the wielder is evil."

"My-my mother …" Hazel stammered. "She didn’t believe in magic. Not really. She was just faking it, for the money."

The weasel chittered and bared its teeth. Then it made a squeaking sound from its back end. Under
other circ*mstances, a weasel passing gas might have been funny, but Hazel didn’t laugh. The rodent’s red eyes glared at her balefully, like tiny coals.

"Peace, Gale," said Hecate. She gave Hazel an apologetic shrug. "Gale does not like hearing about nonbelievers and con artists. She herself was once a witch, you see."

"Your weasel was a witch?"

"She’s a polecat, actually," Hecate said.

"But, yes-Gale was once a disagreeable human witch. She had terrible personal hygiene, plus extreme – ah, digestive issues.’ Hecate waved her hand in front of her nose. "It gave my other followers a bad name."

",Okay." Hazel tried not to look at the weasel. She really didn’t want to know about the rodent’s
intestinal problems.

"At any rate," Hecate said, "I turned her into a polecat. She’s much better as a polecat."

Hazel swallowed. She looked at the black dog, which was affectionately nuzzling the goddess’s
hand. "And your Labrador …?"

"Oh, she’s Hecuba, the former queen of Troy," Hecate said, as if that should be obvious.

The dog grunted.

"You’re right, Hecuba," the goddess said. "We don’t have time for long introductions. The point is, Hazel Levesque, your mother may have claimed not to believe, but she had true magic. Eventually, she realized this. When she searched for a spell to summon the god Pluto, I helped her find it."

"You …?"

"Yes." Hecate continued circling Hazel. "I saw potential in your mother. I see even more potential in you."

Hazel’s head spun. She wanted ask more but Hecate had clearly moved on. Holding out her hands, the goddess raised her arms and three gateways - north, east and west, swirled into existence from the Mist.

In the western doorway, Roman and Greek demigods in full armour fought one another on a hillside under a large pine tree. The grass was strewn with the wounded and the dying. Hazel saw herself riding Arion, charging through the melee and shouting – trying to stop the violence.

In the gateway to the east, Hazel saw the Argo II plunging through the sky above the Apennines. Its rigging was in flames. A boulder smashed into the quarterdeck. Another punched through the hull. The ship burst like a rotten pumpkin, and the engine exploded.

The images in the northern doorway were even worse. Hazel saw Annabeth, unconscious – or dead –
falling through the clouds. She saw Frank staggering alone down a dark tunnel, clutching his arm, his
shirt soaked in blood. And Hazel saw herself in a vast cavern filled with strands of light like a luminous web. She was struggling to break through while, in the distance, Leo lay sprawled and unmoving at the foot of two black-and-silver metal doors.

"Choices," said Hecate. "You stand at the crossroads, Hazel Levesque. And I am the goddess of crossroads."

Hazel looked at each swirling gateway: a demigod war, the destruction of the Argo II,
disaster for herself and her friends. "All the choices are bad."

"All choices have risks," the goddess corrected. "But what is your goal?"

"My goal?" Hazel waved helplessly at the doorways. "None of these."

The dog Hecuba snarled. Gale the polecat skittered around the goddess’s feet, farting and gnashing
her teeth.

"You could go backwards," Hecate suggested, "retrace your steps to Rome … but Gaia’s forces are
expecting that. None of you will survive."

"So … what are you saying?" Hecate stepped to the nearest torch. She scooped a handful of fire and sculpted the flames until she was holding a miniature relief map of Italy.

"You could go west." Hecate let her finger drift away from her fiery map. "Go back to America with your prize, the Athena Parthenos. Your comrades back home, Greek and Roman, are on the brink of war. Leave now, and you might save many lives."

"Might," Hazel repeated. "But Gaia is supposed to wake in Greece. That’s where the giants are gathering."

"True. Gaia has set the date of August first, the Feast of Spes, goddess of hope, for her rise to power. By waking on the Day of Hope, she intends to destroy all hope forever. Even if you reached Greece by then, could you stop her? I do not know." Hecate traced her finger to the next gate. "You could go east, across the mountains, but Gaia will do anything to stop you from crossing Italy. She has raised her mountain gods against you."

"We noticed," Hazel said.

"Any attempt to cross the Apennines will mean the destruction of your ship. Ironically, this might be the safest option for your crew. I foresee that all of you would survive the explosion. It is possible, though unlikely, that you could still reach Epirus and close the Doors of Death. You might find Gaia and prevent her rise. But by then both demigod camps would be destroyed. You would have no home to return to." Hecate smiled. "More likely, the destruction of your ship would strand you in the mountains. It would mean the end of your quest, but it would spare you and your friends much pain and suffering in the days to come. The war with the giants would have to be won or lost without you."

Won or lost without us.

A small guilty part of Hazel found that appealing. She’d been wishing for the chance to be a normal girl. She didn’t want any more pain or suffering for herself and her friends. They’d already been through so much. She looked behind Hecate at the middle gateway. She saw Leo sprawled helplessly before those black-and-silver doors. A massive dark shape, vaguely humanoid, now loomed over them, its foot raised as if to crush Leo.

"What about Leo?" Hazel asked, her voice ragged. "How do I save him?"

Hecate shrugged. "West, east or south...he dies."

"Not an option," Hazel said.

"Then you have only one path, though it is the most dangerous."

Hecate snapped her fingers and a Mist map of the Apennies zoomed in. She pointed to a spot in the mountains and crossed her miniature Apennines, leaving a glowing white line in the red flames.

"There is a secret pass here in the north, a place where I hold sway."

The goddess made a wide loop … to the top of Italy, then east to the sea, then down along the western coast of Greece. "Once through the pass, you would travel north to Bologna and then to Venice. From there, sail the Adriatic to your goal, here: Epirus in Greece."

Hazel didn’t know much about geography. She had no idea what the Adriatic Sea was like. She’d never heard of Bologna, and all she knew about Venice was vague stories about canals and gondolas. But one thing was obvious. "That’s so far out of the way."

"Which is why Gaia will not expect you to take this route," Hecate said. "I can obscure your progress somewhat, but the success of your journey will depend on you, Hazel Levesque. You must learn to use the Mist."

"Me?" Hazel’s heart felt like it was tumbling down her rib cage. "Use the Mist how?"

Hecate extinguished her map of Italy. She flicked her hand at the black dog Hecuba. Mist collected around the Labrador until she was completely hidden in a cocoon of white. The fog cleared with an audible poof! Where the dog had stood was a disgruntled-looking black kitten with golden eyes.

"Mew," it complained.

"I am the goddess of the Mist," Hecate explained. ‘I am responsible for keeping the veil that separates the world of the gods from the world of mortals. My children learn to use the Mist to their advantage, to create illusions or influence the minds of mortals. Other demigods can do this as well. And so must you, Hazel, if you are to help your friends."

"But …" Hazel looked at the cat. She knew it was actually Hecuba, the black Labrador, but she couldn’t convince herself. The cat seemed so real. "I can’t do that."

"Your mother had the talent," Hecate said. "You have even more. As a child of Pluto who has returned from the dead, you understand the veil between worlds better than most. You can control the Mist. If you do not … well, your brother Nico has already warned you. The spirits have whispered to him, told him of your future. When you reach the House of Hades, you will meet a formidable enemy. She cannot be overcome by strength or sword. You alone can defeat her, and you will require magic."

Hazel’s legs felt wobbly. She remembered Nico’s grim expression, his fingers digging into her
arm. You can’t tell the others. Not yet. Their courage is already stretched to the limit.

"Who?" Hazel croaked. "Who is this enemy?"

"I will not speak her name," Hecate said. "That would alert her to your presence before you are ready to face her. Go north, Hazel. As you travel, practise summoning the Mist. When you arrive in Bologna, seek out the two dwarfs. They will lead you to a treasure that may help you survive in the House of Hades."

"I don’t understand."

"Mew," the kitten complained.

"Yes, yes, Hecuba." The goddess flicked her hand again, and the cat disappeared. The black Labrador was back in its place. "You will understand, Hazel," the goddess promised. "From time to time, I will send Gale to check on your progress."
The polecat hissed, its beady red eyes full of malice.

"Wonderful," Hazel muttered.
‘Before you reach Epirus, you must be prepared," Hecate said. "If you succeed, then perhaps we
will meet again … for the final battle."

A final battle, Hazel thought. Oh, joy.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Killing Archane had really taken something out of Leo.

Maybe it was the loneliness starting to set in. Maybe it was Tartarus getting inside his head. But as he stumbled along the River of Fire, trying not to fall in because he wasn't sure even he would survive that, he couldn't help but feel disgusted at himself. When he killed Arachne, he hadn't even given it a second thought. He'd swung his hammer and smashed her head in without even looking. Even when fighting monsters up in the mortal world, Leo didn't think there had ever been a time where he'd killed a monster without trying to talk it out first. His brain was splitting as it argued against itself. One side was telling him that Arachne was a monster, that she was going to kill him, that she had almost doomed Percy and Annabeth to this hell. But the other side, the scathing, awful side of Leo, felt nothing but horror at how he killed her, the brutality of it.

It wasn't the fact that he'd killed her. Over the past months, he'd killed plenty of monsters who had tried to kill him. It was the moment of pure rage and fear that scared him. The last time he was that angry was in the Wolf House when Khione threatened Jason and Piper. He remembered feeling blind anger, the fury at the snow goddess for threatening his friends. Years before that, he'd felt that same anger and dreadful fear when Gaia had tricked him into killing his mother. It felt exactly the same, just like he had when Arachne jumped him, an Leo wondered if his fire powers had bread something deep-seated and evil inside of him. Something that lived for pain and anger and torment.

"I'm in Tartarus," Leo muttered to himself, gnawing on his bottom lip. "Monsters surround me. They wouldn't hesitate to kill me. It's not a big deal. I'm not evil. I'm not evil. Get over it."

But for some reason he couldn't.

His head started to droop down from exhaustion. The fire water may be stopping him from slowly suffocating to death; it didn't do anything to quench his thirst or hunger. If he was honest with himself, Leo couldn't remember the last time he ate or drank. It must have been on the Argo...possibly. He was just debating with himself if he should take a break - then he heard them. Voices.

Diving for a boulder, Leo pressed up against it and grabbed the biggest hammer he could from his tool belt, peeking up over the rock to spot the monster. His shoes almost touched the river and his squeezed himself up tighter against the rock.

Up ahead was a group of six...well, Leo didn't even know what they were. Their legs were like animals, all mismatched and odd but their bodies were...well, they were girls. Cheerleaders, to be exact. He snorted to himself. Tartarus had its own personal cheerleaders. He wondered who made up the football team? The Titans with Kronos as their quarterback?

The group of monsters seemed to be heading downstream too, arguing among themselves and twirling their pompoms.

"I wonder, young one," an old and shriveled monster snarled, "if you do not know the way like you say you do. Has the Earth Mother really summoned us?" The lead girl, the one whose top half looked like the typical cheerleader Leo used to flirt with, whipped around and hissed.

"Oh shut your fang hole, Serephone," she said. "When's the last time you escaped to the mortal world? I was there only a couple of years ago. I know the way. Besides, I understand what we're facing up there. You don't have a clue!"

There was more scuffling and feral moans and Leo bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. This was a bitch fight if he ever saw one. If Leo had expected anything in Tartarus, it definitely wasn't this.

"Enough!" Serephone yelled. "Enough of this. We will follow Kelli. For now."

"Believe me," the cheerleader girl said, who Leo assumed must have been Kelli, "I have good reason to get into this fight. Gaia has called us and we are going to have so much fun. I will kill Percy Jackson before this war is over and have my revenge!"

Leo stilled. Percy? These things knew Percy? It'd be awkward if this was an ex-girlfriend of his, Leo thought. Heck, monsters were known to trick demigods into things like that so for all Leo knew, Kelli could have been an ex-girlfriend. A murderous one. But hadn't Percy told a story about fighting cheerleaders before? The ones that had attacked him at school? Surely these couldn't be them...but maybe...?

The group started shuffling away, hissing and growling at each other as they went. Leo stayed where he was, ignoring how he legs were beginning to cramp up. Then, slowly, he risked a peak over the boulder to see the monsters ahead, following the river. Well, as much as he didn't like it, he knew they were heading to the Doors of Death. That meant following them.

Brilliant.

Stumbling over the black, glassy terrain of Tartarus was not what Leo called a relaxing walk. His feet hurt, his head pounded, his mouth was dry and generally, he felt all out miserable. He constantly reminded himself that at least none of his friends were here to suffer this with him...but at the same time he was sure he would have felt much better if he had someone to lean on. He battled on though, just like he always did.

The scary demon ladies weren't exactly the fastest things in hell. They regularly slowed down or stopped, constantly arguing and whining about each other, about their lives and all their hardships. It was almost funny. Leo liked funny. It meant that he was still himself. So that was what he did. As he trudged along, following the trail of the cheerleaders, he told himself jokes like he told everyone jokes to cheer them up. His mum always said that was his real superpower - the ability to find the funny side in every situation.

Ahead, the monster ladies suddenly sped up and disappeared from sight. Leo felt panic bubble up in his stomach, worried that he'd lost them. Limping forwards faster, he made it to the spot where he last saw the group and his heart plummeted. A cliff. Another one. The River tumbled over the side and splashed down angrily, continuing on at the bottom. Below, he saw the monsters had just reached the ground and had started crossing the grey, dusty plain that stretch as far as Leo could see. Miles and miles it went on for, only broken up by the odd black, crumbling tree or bubbling blisters that rose to the surface. Monsters being reborn, Leo could only assume. Even if by some miracle Leo made it down a second cliff in his condition, he'd have the joy of crossing a wide open plain where he'd be spotted almost instantly.

Find the funny side, he thought desperately. Find the funny side.

Well, maybe he'd finally get some muscles by all this climbing he was doing.

Sighing to himself, he started the climb, concentrating with everything he had to make sure he didn't slip. His finger cramped, his legs trembled as his muscles screamed out for food. All he could offer was a breath mint as every other type of food had abandoned his tool belt. He must have been the best smelling demigod around with all these mints he was having.

"Could be worse," he panted as he struggled over another ledge. "Could have fallen into the Lethe. Could have become a Leo pancake. Could have been burned up by fire water. But nope, I'm still here. Still here. Still here, Tartarus. I bet you didn't think I would be."

Was talking to yourself the first sign of madness? Possibly. Talking to the deadly spirit of the pit? Suicide.

Finally, Leo's foot touched the bottom and he collapsed onto the ground. Breathing hard, he decided just to lie there for a few minutes just because he could. Damn the demon ladies because at this rate, he was going to die of exhaustion before he made it anywhere near the Doors.

"Come on, Leo," he whispered to himself. "People up there are depending on you." He had a ship to get back to. And a dragon. And friends. And Jason and Piper. God, he wished he had Jason and Piper here right now, wished he had their calming voices of reason and loving hugs that held him together just when he needed them to. Now, he had to be there for them and close the Doors. That was why he was here.

"Get up, Leo," he groaned. "Get up!" He pushed himself up, straining as he rose to his feet again and started walking along the river. He avoided the cave entrances and stayed as close as possible to the river bank to drink fire water when he needed. It did nothing for his hunger or his thirst but at least it kept him going.

Suddenly, he remembered why he was following this route and he froze in his tracks. Where were the demon ladies? They should have been right ahead. Unless they were hiding...

Too late, Leo grabbed a hammer from his tool belt. The demon ladies emerged from the rocks and boulders from where they had hidden. They surrounded him instantly, the six of them snarling and snapping as they laughed. The lead monster, Kelli limped forwards on her mismatched legs, her fangs glinting in the red light as she grinned.

"Ooh, a demigod," she cooed. "And a son of Hephaestus too. You'll be a spicy appetizer before I kill Percy Jackson." Leo swallowed hard. This had definitely not gone to plan. Fighting wouldn't work, he knew that already. Even if he had a sword, he didn't have the skill of Percy or Jason or even Hazel. He didn't have Piper's persuasion or Frank's powers. But he did have smarts and wit. And that was his only hope.

"Spicy is not how I would describe me," Leo said with a smirk. "Hot, yes. But spicy? Nah. They call me Flaming Hot Leo Valdez up in the mortal world. But you've been down here for a very long time so I'll forgive you if you don't recognise me."

"Hot?" Kelli scoffed. "You have no idea what hot is."

"Just like you have no idea what's going on up in the mortal world," Leo shot back. "Geez, I would have thought you ladies were smart, but obviously not."

"We know enough," Kelli said. "Gaia has spoken."

"You're heading towards a major defeat," Leo sang, shooting his typical sh*t-eating grin. "You lost the Titan War because Percy Jackson outsmarted you. What makes you think you can win this one? Besides, if Gaia is really calling for you lot, then she must be in trouble up there."

"We are powerful creatures!" Kelli screeched. "Gaia is waiting to use us at the last moment."

"Yeah, sure," Leo scoffed, then an idea sparked in his mind. He remembered, when Percy first told him the story, him saying something about the demon ladies use of the Mist and Charmspeak. They were in allegiance with Hecate, he was sure. Worth a risk, Leo supposed. He might as well use the knowledge he had. "But you're on the wrong side, you do know that right? Hecate is on our side now. Why are you fighting for Gaia against Hecate's wishes?"

That seemed to strike a nerve. The demon ladies shifted uncomfortably. "Is this true?" Serephone asked. "Has our lady made peace with Olympus?"

"Shut up, Serephone!" Kelli shouted. "Gods, you're so annoying!"

"I would follow Serephone if I was you," Leo said idily, clutching his hammer tighter. "She's older and wiser than Kelli. She knows the ways of Hecate." That seemed to do it. Kelli leapt at Serephone and the two women grappled. Half a second later though, Kelli stood triumphant over a pile of dust.

Dang it.

"Will there be anymore issues?" Kelli hissed at her sisters. None of them moved. "Hecate is mysterious as she is knowledgeable. Who knows her real motives? But she is also the goddess of crossroads. She expects us to make our own choices. And I choose Gaia!"

Leo only had about a second warning before the demon ladies attacked. The first one came at him from the left and he just about managed to swing his hammer, disintegrating her instantly. He wasn't so lucky with the next two. One latched herself onto his hammer hand, sinking her teeth into his arm. The second launched herself onto his back, her claws digging into him painfully. Leo cried out, trying to shake the two monsters off him but to no avail. They forced him to his knees in front of Kelli who smiled sweetly at him.

"Now, Leo Valdez, tell me how you know Percy Jackson," she said. Leo growled, pulling back but failing. The monsters held him in place, their claws and teeth digging in deeper and deeper. Kelli knelt down, grabbing Leo's chin and forcing him to look at her.

"You mentioned Percy Jackson," she said. "I wonder if you are a friend of his, hm?" Leo said nothing but he must have given something away because Kelli laughed. "Oh you are, aren't you. Well, Leo Valdez, when I find Percy in the mortal world, I'll tell him of this. I'll tell him how I killed you slowly, painfully, so he knows that this was all his fault. After all, I might have been lenient on you if you hadn't said his name. Such a pity." She slashed out and Leo jerked backwards as she clawed his stomach. Blood welled up and dripped down his shirt at the tear. The demon ladies seemed to become even more excited at the blood, their mouths slavering, ready for a taste. Leo closed his eyes, sending his final prayers up to his father and picturing Jason and Piper's faces, but then a shadow fell across him.

And a Titan dropped onto the battlefield.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Percy spent the night training.

He stood in the ship's gym, slashing his sword through various wooden dummies and pounding his fists into punching bags until he was dripping with sweat. He punched and punched at the boxing bag, not caring that his knuckles were splitting or his muscles were burning. Training was the only way he could clear his mind at the moment. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Leo falling away from him down into the pit. It infuriated Percy to the point of insanity.

It should have been me, he thought as he slammed his fist into another punching bag. It was meant to be him that fell into Tartarus. Leo was just a kid. He was barely fifteen years old and had practically thrown himself into the chasm just to save Percy and Annabeth. Percy had barely known Leo, and what made it worse was that he hadn't really tried to get to know him. Granted, they'd started off on the wrong foot when Leo attacked New Rome, but Percy knew that wasn't Leo's fault. He had been possessed by the eidolons himself so he knew what it was like. Percy wasn't one to hold a grudge, but he didn't try and talk to Leo much either.

Guilt surged through him and launched a kick into the punching bag. The chain snapped and the bag fell to the ground with a crash. Percy stood over it, breathing hard with his fists still clenched.

"Well that was dramatic," a voice said. He whipped around and was surprised to see Piper standing awkwardly at the gym door. She was also dressed in workout clothes, her dagger was strapped to her side where her hand lay on the hilt.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away from Piper. "Er...yeah, sorry if I woke you," he said.

"I was already awake," Piper told him. "Nightmares," she elaborated with Percy didn't reply. She moved further into the room, her eyes wide as she looked around at the carnage Percy had caused. "Are you...are you okay?" Percy snorted.

"I should be the one asking you that," he said. "You're the one who lost you best friend." He then grimaced at his words. "Sorry. That was insensitive. Just forget I said that." Piper shook her head, toeing past a wooden dummy carefully.

"It's alright," she said with a small laugh. She hesitated for a moment, shaking her head. "Well, I mean, it's not alright. I'm not alright. But I'm trying to be. You know, trying to stay strong for the team, trying to make sure we make it to Greece to save Leo." Percy bit his lip, watching Piper as she came to a stop near him. He hadn't really spoken to Piper much before. It was much the same as Leo, he just hadn't made the effort. But he did know she was badass and a wicked talker. He would be dead at least twice over if it wasn't for Piper's quick thinking. Just looking at her now, Percy couldn't help but think about Silena Beauregard and how much Piper reminded him of her. He didn't do right by Silena, but maybe he could do right by Piper.

"It would be okay, you know, if you didn't want to pretend to be okay," he said, slightly cursing himself for his awkwardness and lack of eloquence. "I mean, if you needed to talk about it, then we're all here. I know you probably would talk to Jason or Annabeth or Hazel before me but, I don't know, I'm offering. Just in case." Piper looked up at him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Thanks, Percy," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, no worries," Percy said, running a hand through his hair. He and Piper stared at each other, and Percy was just thinking about leaving when Piper spoke up again.

"I miss him," she whispered. "I spend my days worrying over him, wondering if today will be the day Nico and Hazel tell us Leo is dead, and each day that goes by that they don't makes me feel such relief and horror at the same time."

Percy nodded in understanding. "I get it. Not knowing what's happening to a friend is hard."

"It just feels so hopeless," Piper said softly. "I want to talk to someone about this stuff but I'm not sure anyone can completely understand, you know? Annie is so torn up in guilt that she's working herself to death. Hazel and Frank are trying their best to keep us all together. Jason is going crazy and missing Leo to the point that he's going to get himself killed. And you...well..." She gestured around her and Percy blushed in self-consciousness.

"I wasn't- I mean, I'm no really close to Leo," he shrugged. "But he sacrificed himself to save me and Annabeth. I made him a promise, and I'm not about to break it." Piper nodded but Percy sensed there was a lot more she was unwilling to say. The details of Piper's, Jason's and Leo's friendship weren't exactly clear, and Percy noticed that sometimes they certainly didn't act like traditional friends. But he wasn't about to judge or press. He knew that wasn't what Piper needed.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can fix a mean hot chocolate or a blue cookie?"

"Actually," Piper said, "I really need a distraction right now. I was wondering if you could maybe do some training with me? I haven't exactly been in the demigod game for long and the little training I did before we left camp doesn't exactly cut it. It sounds stupid but I heard you're a great teacher. Could you...maybe train with me? For a bit?" Percy smiled.

"That I can do."

***

If there was one thing Jason hated about being a demigod, it was the dreams.

He found himself standing at the bottom of a cliff. It wasn't any normal cliff; the rock was Black and jagged like broken glass. The sky above him was tinged red and the very air felt like poison in his lungs. His skin crawled uneasily, his instincts screaming at him to fly away. But his feet were rooted to the spot.

"Dreadful place, isn't it," a voice said. Jason turned to see Juno, or Hera in this form, standing next to him. She wore her usual white gown with a black cloak, her eyes stern and severe. She regarded Jason thoughtfully. "You do know where you are, don't you?"

"Tartarus," Jason replied.

"Indeed," Hera said. She gazed around her in disdain. "It does not surprise me that this was where Gaia decided to hide the Doors of Death. Obvious, really. Cruel, but obvious."

"What do you want, Hera?" Jason demanded. "Why am I here?" Hera scowled then raised her hand, pointing towards the cliff.

"Watch," she said. Jason did, looking up and squinting his eyes. Moving slowly down the cliff was a small form, clinging to the rock for dear life. As the figure descended further, Jason soon recognised his curly hair and overalls.

"Leo," he whispered.

The son of Hephaestus was gripping onto the cliff so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Leo's arms and legs were shaking from effort, his muscles close to giving up from the exertion of climbing. In the real world, Jason doubted that Leo would look this exhausted from the climb. But this was Tartarus and the very air you breathed was trying to kill you.

Jason tried to run towards Leo, to fly up and grab him, but the ground clung to his feet and prevented him from moving. He turned desperately to Hera, eyes wild. "Do something!" He yelled. "For gods sake, he's meant to be your chosen one or something! Save him!"

"I cannot," Hera said, shaking her head solemnly. "Believe me, this is not the path I had chosen for Leo Valdez. I would have much preferred it if the Athena spawn and Percy Jackson were here. But it seems that Leo is not very good at bowing to fate. He interfered and now even I am unsure of his future."

"Send me down to Tartarus," Jason begged. "I don't care if it kills me but he shouldn't be alone! He won't survive!"

"The very fact he has survived so far has given me hope that he might just complete the task at hand," Hera said. "And I couldn't send you here Jason, even if I wanted to. This is a journey and Leo Valdez must complete himself." Jason looked up helplessly, watching as Leo clambered down the last few metres before he collapsed at the bottom of the cliff. He lay there on his back, gasping for breath and trembling.

"What can I do?" Jason asked. When Hera didn't answer, he turned towards her and fell to his knees. "Please, Hera. Please, I'll do anything you ask. Just tell me how to save him." The Queen of Olympus looked at him, her gaze stern and calculating.

"You must complete your own mission, Jason Grace," she told him. "With luck on your side, perhaps both the Argo and Leo will survive."

"There must be something more!" Jason shouted. "For Hades sake, you're a goddess! Save him!"

"Focus on your mission, Jason," Hera said. "Do not let your insignificant human emotions distract you. This is your warning. Now go. It will not take long for Tartarus to sense your presence here, and I will not lose a second hero to Gaia."

"No, wait!" Jason yelled. "You can't just leave him!" But the world swirled around him and disappeared.

"No!" Jason sat bolt right up in bed, his breathing ragged. Someone was banging on his door frantically, the ship creaking and groaning.

"Jason!" Hazel cried from outside. "Jason, get up! We're being attacked!"

That was when an explosion hit the deck and the ship listed sideways.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Jason didn't think being a demigod could get any worse. Sure, he had fought monsters and titans and giants. He had faced almost every kind of evil. But dwarfs? Now that was one step too far.

He found himself tumbling out of bed as the entire ship listed sideways, rolling across the floor until he hit the wall. Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling around and grabbing random items of clothing and armour and throwing it all on. Luckily, his sword had been lying on his bedside table until his room had been destroyed, so it was fairly easy to find it amongst the mess.

The cabin shook as another explosion sounded above him and for a moment, Jason swore he'd heard Leo shouting orders. His heart leapt but he quickly pushed the thought from his mind. Hera was right about one thing. He had to keep his feelings out of the fight. He'd be no good to Leo if he didn't manage to get the team to the House of Hades in time to save him.

Charging forwards, Jason sprinted up onto the deck only to find Piper and Coach Hedge wrapped in duct tape and struggling against their bonds. Dancing around in front of them was by far the weirdest thing Jason had ever seen. The dwarf was about four feet tell with bowed legs and chimp-like feet. He was wearing the loudest clothes possible: green-plaid trousers with red suspenders and a striped pink and black blouse. Each of his arms were covered in gold watches which barely fit over the red fur sprouting over his body, most of which seemed to be concentrated in his magnificent eyebrows.

But where were the others? Surely they had heard the explosion too. Piper spotted Jason standing behind the dwarf and her eyes widened. She tried to shout a muffled warning from behind her duct tape gag which Jason did not understand. That was until Percy Jackson tackled him by the waist.

"GET DOWN!" He yelled, grabbing Jason and throwing the both of them to the ground. The third explosion boomed in Jason's ears and he felt the heat burn the back of his neck. Groggily, he lifted his head, dizzy and disorientated. Percy had somehow managed to get to his feet but was stumbling around like a baby deer, randomly swinging Riptide at a second brown-furred dwarf who had appeared. Brown Fur was giggling as he teased Percy, prancing in reach of Percy's swings before jumping back out the way again.

Jason wasn't exactly doing much better than Percy. His limbs felt numb and useless, like he'd just been hit by a four tonne block of concrete. Brown Fur had decided he'd had enough with Percy and skipped over to the ballista where Red Fur was loading in to launch. Brown Fur giggled again, waving his hand at Jason before his friend pressed the trigger, shooting Brown Fur into the sky while he balanced on the projectile like a skateboard. Red Fur wasn't far behind, jumping up onto the railing, saluting Jason and back-flipping off.

By this point, Percy had seemed to notice Jason's predicament and limped over to help him. "We need to get them," he croaked, yanking Jason to his feet and steadying him as the world started to spin. "They stole Piper's dagger and Leo's stuff." Jason saw red at that. He felt Jupiter's anger bubble under his skin like lightning. Attacking the ship, fine. Blowing up stuff, fine. But stealing Leo's stuff? The one thing that Jason had left of his best friend? Those dwarfs didn't know what they had coming.

The entire ship was in chaos. Various boxes of weapons and items that Leo had been working on were strewn about and scattered across the floor. The dwarfs had been setting off various grenades in an attempt to destroy as much as possible. Up on the top deck, Annabeth was frantically working on the control panel, trying to right the ship which was dangerously tipping to one side. Jason had absolutely no idea where Hazel and Nico were, but Frank was frantically trying to cut Piper and Hedge free of the tape. Staggering forwards through the wreckage, Jason fell to his knees by Piper and ripped off her gag.

"Don't worry about me!" she said. "Go after them!"

"They took the Archimedes sphere!" Annabeth yelled from the control console. "And a bunch of other things too. We can't leave here without that sphere!"

"Annabeth, go with Jason," Percy ordered, his eyes hard. "I'll keep an eye on the ship. You and Jason go get those dwarfs." If Annabeth was surprised that Percy was giving her orders, she didn't show it. In fact, she looked more determined than anyone. She hopped down from the control panel and turned towards Jason.

"You good to control the winds?" she asked. Jason nodded, wrapping and arm around Annabeth's waist.

"We'll be back soon," he said then lifted off.

***

It was only a short flight, the city of Bologna just right below them. Jason and Annabeth touched down in a large piazza lined with white marble government buildings and outdoor cafés. Bikes and Vespas clogged the surrounding streets, but the square itself was empty except for pigeons and a few old men drinking espressos.None of the locals seemed to notice the huge Greek warship hovering over the piazza, nor the fact that Jason and Annabeth had just flown down – Jason wielding a gold sword, and Annabeth with her bronze dagger. Annabeth silently thanked Leo for using Mist to hide the Argo. She didn't know what they'd do if mortals suddenly thought they were being attacked.

"Alright, where to?" Jason asked, turning to her. Annabeth pursed her lips, looking up at the Argo and mentally calculating the distance in her mind.

"The dwarfs fired the ballista in that direction," Annabeth said, pointing across the piazza. "They couldn't have gone far after that."

"That way it is then," Jason grumbled, his grip tightening on his blade. They waded through the cobbled streets, past shops and restaurants and avoiding people as much as they could. Jason didn't seem to be in a talking mood, so Annabeth spent the time studying him instead. In the short time she'd known Jason, she'd already built up a pretty good picture of his character in her mind. He was a fighter, that's for sure, and a good one at that. He wasn't one to back down from a fight if it was for something he believed to be right. There was power in him that Annabeth was certain he had yet to unlock. But there was a sadness that surrounded him, making him reluctant to use the powers he had been given.

That sadness had definitely grown since they'd lost Leo.

Gods know that both Jason and Piper hadn't been themselves. Annabeth remembered what Percy had told her about his conversation with Piper, how he thought there was something more to the story. Looking at Jason now, Annabeth thought the same. She'd seen the flash of anger in his eyes when Percy had told him the dwarfs had stolen Leo's things. She could feel the desperate air around Jason, the way he kept pushing them forwards towards Epirus and the Doors of Death. They all missed Leo, more than Annabeth ever thought she would. It was only recently that she realised she missed Leo's jokes, their late night talks in the dining room where they'd go over plans for weapons and temples together. She missed the way his mind worked, how he looked up to her not just as a intellectual mentor, but also as an older sister. But for Jason, it was clear that he was missing Leo, but Annabeth didn't think it was just as a best friend. There was definitely more to the equation.

"Hey, look," Jason said, breaking Annabeth from her thoughts. She looked up and found herself in a smaller piazza in front of a huge, naked statue of Neptune. She felt a small blush rise to her cheeks at the sight. This was her boyfriend's dad after all.

"Do you reckon this is a clue?" Jason asked Annabeth, both of them stepping forwards to examine the statue.

"I'm not sure," Annabeth replied. "There are lots of statues of gods around Italy." She moved closer, climbing up onto the pedestal and placing her hand on the stone. Inside, she sense Celestial bronze for sure, maybe even some gears. She was sure Leo would be able to sense more if he were here. "This is definitely mechanical," she told Jason. "Maybe even an entrance to a secret lair."

"Oooh a secret lair?" shrieked a voice nearby. "I want a secret lair!"

"I want a secret lair too!" another voice yelled from above.

Jason stepped back, his sword ready and his face as dark as thunder. Annabeth almost got whiplash trying to look in two places at once.The red-furred dwarf in the cowboy hat was sitting about thirty feet away at the nearest café table,sipping an espresso held by his monkey-like foot. The brown-furred dwarf in the green bowler was perched on the marble pedestal at Neptune's feet, just above Leo's head.

"If we had a secret lair," said Red Fur, "I would want a firehouse pole. And a water slide!"

Brown Fur laughed in agreement, tinkering with Leo's Archimedes sphere and throwing away parts. "Stop that!" Jason growled, charging forwards but Annabeth stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

"Stay quiet," she hissed at him. "These are tricksters. You can't beat them by force."

"Yes, we are tricksters," Red Fur agreed, reaching into his bag and pulling out Piper's dagger to play with. "We are the best tricksters."

"The very best," Brown Fur nodded.

"Oh, I am very sure of that," Annabeth said, trying to put on her best admiring voice. "You did very well on our ship. We're so impressed, we wanted to find out who you are!"

"Oooh, I love fans!" said Brown Fur. "Well, Miss Blondie, we shall introduce ourselves! I am Akmon. And my brother over there-"

"-is the handsome one!' The red-furred dwarf lifted his espresso. Judging from his dilated eyes and his maniacal grin, he didn't need any more caffeine. "Passalos! Singer of songs! Drinker of coffee! Stealer of shiny stuff!"

"You're the Kerkopes," Annabeth realised. Silently, she cursed to the gods. Flattery would only get them so far with these two, plus she had a raging son of Jupiter next to her to control who was going to explode at any minute.

"So you've heard of us!" Passalos looked very pleased indeed, grinning from ear to ear. Annabeth coughed, her hand gripping her dagger more tightly.

"Of course I've heard of you!" she said. "How could anyone not heard of the famous dwarfs who tricked even the mighty Hercules." Both the dwarfs pretended to swoon.

"Ahh Black Bottom," Akmon sighed. "He was such fun, wasn't he, brother? Walking around naked in the sun so much his bottom became very tanned indeed. He was going to kill us when we stole from him but he liked our jokes so much he let us go! Very good sense of humor, Black Bottom had."

"I'm sure," Annabeth agreed. "Well we have a good sense of humor too. I'll tell you what, if you give us all our stuff back, we can trade for all the jokes we know. I think that sounds like a fair deal, don't you?" The two dwarfs looked at each other and, for one hopeful second, Annabeth thought they would agree. But then they burst out laughing, throwing their head backs at the force of it.

"We don't think so," Akmon giggled. "Nice try though!" Annabeth opened her mouth, wanting to keep negotiating, but apparently Jason had had enough.

"That's it!" he shouted. "Our stuff. Now. Or I'll fry you both." Jason thrust his sword into the sky. Dark clouds began to gather over the piazza. Thunder boomed.

"Oh, scary!" Akmon shrieked.

"Yes," Passalos agreed. "If only we had a secret lair to hide in."

"Alas, this statue isn't the doorway to a secret lair," Akmon said. "It has a different purpose."

Annabeth's gut twisted and she realized something was very wrong. "Trap!" she yelled and dived from the statue's pedestal. Unfortunately, Jason was too busy summoning his storm. Annabeth rolled on her back as five golden cords shot from the Neptune statue's fingers. One barely missed her feet. The rest homed in on Jason, wrapping him like a rodeo calf and yanking him upside down.A bolt of lightning blasted the tines of Neptune's trident, sending arcs of electricity up and down the statue, but the Kerkopes had already disappeared.

"Bravo!" Akmon applauded from a nearby café table. "You make a wonderful piñata, son of Jupiter!"

"Yes!' Passalos agreed. "Hercules hung us upside down once, you know. Oh, revenge is sweet!" Annabeth threw her dagger at Passalos, who was trying to juggle two pigeons and the Archimedes sphere. "Eek!" The dwarf jumped out of the way, dropping the sphere and letting the pigeons fly.

"Time to leave!" Akmon decided.He tipped his bowler and sprang away, jumping from table to table. Passalos glanced at the Archimedes sphere, which had rolled between Annabeth's feet. She glared at the dwarf. "Try me," she snarled.

"Bye!" Passalos did a back flip and ran after his brother. Annabeth scooped up the Archimedes sphere and ran over to Jason, who was still hanging upside down,thoroughly hog-tied except for his sword arm. He was trying to cut the cords with his gold blade but having no luck. "Hold on," Annabeth said. "If I can find a release switch-"

"Just go!" Jason growled. "I'll follow you when I get out of this."

"But Jason-"

"Don't lose them! We need to get everything back!" The last thing Annabeth wanted was some alone time with the monkey dwarfs, but the Kerkopes were already disappearing around the far corner of the piazza. Annabeth left Jason hanging and ran after them.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Leo didn't think things could get any weirder, but a Titan falling from the sky was definitely not on his Things To Meet In Tartarus list. A Titan, who was ten feet tall with silver Einstein hair and wearing a blue janitors uniform with the name tag of BOB. Yep, things definitely just got weirder.

The crazy demon ladies screeched in panic, immediately dropping Leo who crumpled to the ground. The Titan swung his broomstick in delight, crashing it into the monsters who barely knew what hit them. "Do something, you cowards!" Kelli screamed at her friends. "Stop him-" But she was cut short when the Titan raised his huge foot and stomped on her head. She dissolved into yellow monster dust right on the spot.

"SWEEP!" The Titan laughed, knocking another monster of her feet and smacking the next one so she sailed upwards and plunged into the fire river. "Sweep, sweep, sweep!" The rest of the demon ladies scattered quickly, running away as fast as their mismatched legs could carry them. The janitor turned to Leo who stared up at him in a mixture of terror and relief. "Bob sweeps!" the janitor grinned, jumping in a little victory dance. "Bob sweeps the monsters away."

"You sure did that," Leo murmured, looking away at the piles of yellow monster dust in awe. The Titan, or Bob as he seemed to call himself, strode towards Leo who tried to back away. "Er-take it easy there, big guy!" he squeaked.

"I heard you say you are friend of Percy," Bob said excitedly. "I thought Percy might be here too, but it is just you, friend of Percy."

"Yep, that's me," Leo said quickly. "I'm a friend of Percy's. Me and him go way back. Best buds, actually. Mates before dates and all that. Funny though, Aquaman never mentioned who was buddies with a Titan... But I suppose he didn't mentioned he has a crazy monster ex-girlfriend called Kelli so you know..." Bob didn't seem to be listening to Leo's rambling. Instead, his gaze was focused on the gash across Leo's stomach where the monsters had slashed him.

"Owie," he frowned, pointing at Leo. He reached forwards and Leo yelped, trying to jump back. Bob was much too quick for him though and gently laid his hand across Leo's arm. Instantly, all of Leo's wounds closed up, the pain slowly ebbing away until it was just a dull ache. "All better!" Bob announced. Leo almost couldn't believe it. Shakily, he rose to his feet, craning his neck to look up at the Titan who was practically double his height.

"Thanks, Bob," he said.

"You're welcome, friend of Percy," Bob grinned.

"Oh, I'm Leo," Leo said in reply. "Or Super Sized McShizzle. Or Supreme Commander of the Argo II. Or-"

"Friend of Percy!" Bob cheered. Leo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Not the most creative of nicknames, but I'll take it," he muttered. He looked back up at Bob, opening his mouth to ask how on earth the Titan got here, but the janitor's face had suddenly turned serious. "Er, Bob? Everything okay up there, buddy?"

"We must go," the Titan said. "Yes, time to talk later. We must go before they find you."

"They?" Leo asked, definitely not liking the sound of that. He turned to scan the horizon but saw no approaching monsters. Just wasteland and reddish skies.

"Yes, indeed, they are coming," Bob agreed. "But come, friend of Percy! Bob knows a way. Yes, come, we will have fun!"

***

Leo followed Bob through the wasteland, tracing the route of the Phlegethon as they approached the storm front of darkness. Every so often, Bob would tell him to stop and drink more firewater which Leo would always groan at. He may have been practically fire proof, but the firewater did not go down very well. His throat felt like he was constantly gargling with battery acid.

"Urgh," he groaned after another gulp, shuddering and trying not to throw up.

"Does firewater not taste nice?" Bob asked. His eyes were wide with concern, and Leo didn't have the heart to tell him that it didn't. Neither did he want to risk making the titan angry. So he bit back his grimace and shook his head.

"It's fine, big guy," he said, hating how his voice was croaky and cracking. "It's totally fine." If Bob didn't believe him, he didn't say anything. He only patted Leo's back with one huge hand which Leo was sure would leave bruises.

On they went, trudging towards the storm. Leo had absolutely no idea why they were heading that way, but he was too scared to ask Bob. In fact, he was too scared to do anything but walk at all. He was aching all over, hurting from bruises, shaking with exhaustion, starving, thirsty, miserable, and completely terrified. Leo wanted to go home. He wanted Jason and Piper. He wanted to curl up in bed surrounded by their love and cry. Tears started welling up in his eyes but he furiously wiped them. He couldn't afford to be weak here. It was not the time to cry.

"So Bob," Leo said casually, trying to distract himself from his overwhelming feelings. "How did you get down here?" Bob turned back with a grin.

"I jumped," he said, like it was obvious.

"Oh, right," Leo said. "Totally normal to jump into Tartarus after someone who says your friend's name." Unexpectedly, the titan burst into booming laughter so loud that Leo felt his bones shake.

"You are funny, friend of Percy," Bob chuckled. "I should call you funny friend of Percy instead."

"You can just call me Leo," Leo grumbled. "But really Bob, why did you jump? I'm not Percy." Bob stopped and turned, and Leo instantly felt panic as the titan loomed over him. He tried to resist the urge to flinch but epic failed.

"Percy is my friend," Bob said simply. "And I trust Percy. So if Percy likes Leo, then Bob also likes Leo." He nodded affirmatively then smiled. "Come along, funny friend. We're almost at rest stop." Leo's heart leapt. A rest stop? Part of him hoped that Bob was talking about some sort of diner with clean restrooms and hundred of burgers and fries. Gods, what he'd do for some burgers and fries right now. He almost laughed at the thought. A diner in Tartarus for all your monster needs.

Leo hobbled along, trying to ignore the rumble in his stomach. He stared at Bob's back as he led them towards the wall of darkness, now only a few hundred yards away. His blue janitor's coveralls were ripped between the shoulder blades, as if someone had tried to stab him. Cleaning rags stuck out of his pocket. A squirt bottle swung from his belt, the blue liquid inside sloshing hypnotically.

"How did you meet Water Boy then?" Leo piped up again, not liking the silence.

"Percy rescued me," Bob replied. "Percy was very kind. He and his friends the scary Hades boy and the lightning girl saved me."

"You mean Nico and Thalia?" Leo asked in surprise. "Wow, you've met almost every big three child there is then. You should meet my friends Jason and Hazel and you'd have a full set."

"Is a full set good?" Bob queried. He looked confused at the phrase.

"Yeah, a full set is good, big guy," Leo assured him. "Jason and Hazel are cool. I reckon Hazel would really like you. She's Nico's sister but not like Nico, if you get what I mean."

"I heard Hades talk about this Hazel" Bob exclaimed excitedly. "She likes shiny things." Leo laughed at that.

"She does, I'll give you that," he replied. "So how did Percy save you?"

"I fell into a river," Bob said bluntly. "Percy likes rivers. He helped me." A river... Suddenly Leo's blood went cold. How could he have been so stupid? Bob was a titan but he didn't act like one. He fell into a river but apparently loved Percy Jackson. Bob must have fallen into the river Lethe and forgotten all his memories. He didn't remember he was a titan who was supposed to hate demigods. Leo swallowed hard. What if Tartarus would heal Bob's memories? If he sent Bob away, Leo knew he wouldn't survive another minute here. But if Bob stayed and suddenly remembered who he was... Well, Leo didn't know which titan Bob was exactly but he definitely knew titans were not good. Following Bob through Tartarus was a crazy risk, but Leo couldn't think of a better plan.

They picked their way across the ashen wasteland as red lightning flashed overhead in the poisonous clouds. Just another lovely day in the dungeon of creation. Leo couldn't see far in the hazy air, but the longer they walked, the more certain he became that the entire landscape was a downward curve. He'd heard conflicting descriptions of Tartarus. It was a bottomless pit. It was a fortress surrounded by brass walls. It was nothing but an endless void.One story described it as the inverse of the sky – a huge, hollow, upside-down dome of rock. That seemed the most accurate, though if Tartarus was a dome Leo guessed it was like the sky – with no real bottom but made of multiple layers, each one darker and less hospitable than the last.And even that wasn't the full, horrible truth...

They passed a blister in the ground – a writhing, translucent bubble the size of a minivan. Curled inside was the half-formed body of a drakon. Bob speared the blister without a second thought. It burst in a geyser of steaming yellow slime, and the drakon dissolved into nothing.

Bob kept walking and Leo tried not to throw up again.

They kept moving but Leo was starting to struggle. His muscles were burning, his eyesight blurring, his lungs aching. He tripped on a larger rock, falling face first into the dirt. Bob looked back and clambered over to help but Leo shook his head, pushing himself back up.

"Leo must let me help," Bob said gently.

"I'm fine," Leo groaned, stumbling forwards again. He should have listened to Bob because not two minutes later, Leo had collapsed again. This time, he couldn't get up. Despite his protests, Bob reached down and swung Leo up into his arms. Leo must have looked like a rag doll in the hands of a huge titan, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Rest, funny Leo," Bob said. "You are safe with me." Leo tried his absolute hardest to stay awake, but once again, he completely failed, slipping into unconsciousness in the arms of a titan.

Bet no demigod could say they ever did that.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

The dwarfs didn't try very hard to lose her, which made Annabeth incredibly suspicious.

They stayed just at the edge of her vision, scampering over red-tiled rooftops, knocking over window boxes, whooping and hollering and leaving a trail of random items behind them. It was almost as if they wanted Annabeth to follow. She jogged after them, hauling the Archimedes sphere with her and watching their every move carefully. Rounding a corner, she saw two ancient stone towers jutting into the sky, side by side, much taller than anything else in the neighbourhood – maybe medieval watch-towers? Judging by the architecture and the way they leaned in different directions, she guessed that a very experienced builder had created them. She was almost jealous by the genius of it.

The Kerkopes scaled the tower on the right. When they reached the top, they climbed around the back and disappeared. Had they gone inside? Annabeth could see some tiny windows at the top, covered with metal grates, but she doubted those would stop the dwarfs. She watched for a minute, but the Kerkopes didn't reappear.

Which meant Annabeth had to get up there and look for them.

"Perfect," she muttered. How on earth was she meant to get up there? Jason was still tangled up and gods know where in the city. The ship was too far away to call for backup. She didn't have any fancy powers to call upon. Heck, she didn't even have Leo's smarts to build something to help her out.

But you do have your mind, a part of her brain whispered. Annabeth wanted to argue back that her mind was no use at all in this situation. In fact, she didn't trust her brain at all after losing Leo. It was her fault after all. If she'd just been smart enough to cut the spider webs that had almost dragged her down into the pit, if she had pushed Percy away when he grabbed her or used her knife to climb back up the chasm, maybe Leo wouldn't be down in Tartarus right now.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was facing down there. Monsters, poisonous air, terrain, things worse than she'd dared to think of. Everyday, she asked Nico and Hazel to check if Leo was still alive, and everyday they told her that he was, but wouldn't be for much longer. It left Annabeth with the determination and the resolve to pick up where Leo left off and make sure the ship made it to Greece in one piece.

A job much harder than she'd ever anticipated. Before Leo fell, she had absolutely no idea the amount of work Leo was doing single-handedly to keep the ship in the air. Now, she experienced that first hand every time Festus reported something was wrong. It was exhausting trying to keep up with all the faults, especially with monsters attacking all day, every day.

Stop it, she told herself. She had a job to do. Worrying about Leo would have to wait.

Annabeth looked away from the towers and down at the Archimedes sphere in her hands. She had absolutely no idea how to use it, and she didn't have the time to learn either, but what she could do was use it as bait. The dwarfs wouldn't trade, she knew that. Annabeth wouldn't give up the sphere either knowing how hard Leo had worked to get it. However, they could be distracted by it...

Glancing around, she noticed a small grocery store just down the round on the corner. Hopefully they'd have what she needed. Jogging towards it, Annabeth made her way in and down the various aisles until she found the items she required.

Matches, cooking oil, and kitchen roll.

Quickly making her way to the cashier, she paid with the few euros she still had from Rome, stuffing the items into a plastic bag along with the Archimedes sphere. Then, she ran from the shop and towards the towers. The dwarfs went for the one on the right, so Annabeth located to the entrance and started up the winding stairs inside. She was stopped briefly at the ticket booth but managed to slip past the caretaker while he was distracted with a family who arrived just behind her.

The stairs went on and on and on. They were beautifully crafted, just like the tower itself, but Annabeth didn't stop to admire the architecture. She didn't think she'd ever be this grateful to Chiron for pushing her in training, but it meant that her fitness levels were more than enough to tackle the tower. If she could climb a lava wall, she could definitely climb this.

Finally, she reached the top.

The room was about the size of a broom closet, with barred windows on all four walls. Shoved inthe corners were sacks of treasure, shiny goodies spilling all over the floor. Annabeth spotted Piper'sknife, an old leather-bound book, a few interesting-looking mechanical devices and enough gold togive Hazel's horse a stomachache.At first, she thought the dwarfs had left. Then she looked up.

Akmon and Passalos were hanging upside down from the rafters by their chimp feet, playing antigravity poker. When they saw Annabeth, they threw their cards like confetti and broke out in applause. "I told you she'd do it!" Akmon shrieked in delight. Passalos shrugged and took off one of his gold watches and handed it to his brother.

"You win. I didn't think she was that dumb."

"Calling a daughter of Athena dumb is not the wisest," Annabeth said as they dropped to the floor.

Passalos straightened his cowboy hat and kicked open the grate on the nearest window. "What should we make her climb next, brother? The dome of San Luca?" Annabeth smiled sweetly.

"Oh, that sounds fun!" she said. "But, before you guys go, I wanted to return something." She reached into her bag and pulled out the Archimedes sphere. "I thought you'd like this back. Upon closer inspection, I realised that it is much to valuable to be carried around by a demigod. Better that it is kept safe by you." The dwarfs looked at each other before lunging at the sphere, snatching it from Annabeth's hands.

"Valuable?" Akmon scowled. "How valuable?"

"It is very shiny," Passalos stated.

"She gave it to me!" Akmon growled, pulling the sphere away from his brother.

"No, it's mine!" Passalos yelled, grabbing it back.

While the dwarfs were fighting, Annabeth moved slowly towards the pile of treasures in the corner. From her bag, she grabbed the cooking oil and kitchen roll, tearing up the material and throwing it over the gold. Then, she poured the oil over it and grabbed the matches. The dwarfs hadn't seemed to notice what she was doing, too busy fighting between themselves.

"Hey!" Annabeth shouted. Immediately, the brothers stopped and turned towards her. "You take one more step, and I'll torch all your treasures!"

"The shinies!" Akmon cried, taking a step forwards but Annabeth lit the match.

"I'll burn it all!" she threatened.

"No, please!" Passalos wailed. "Don't burn the shinies!"

"We'll make you a deal!" Akmon suggested. "We'll cut you in for ten percent if you let us go!"

"Afraid not," Annabeth said triumphantly. She hadn't been sure her plan would work but the dwarf's love of shiny things was also their weakness.

"We'll do anything!" Akmon said again.

"I only want a few things," she said. "And, if you swear on the River Styx that I can have them, and that you'll let me leave without stopping me and you promise to never steal from me again, then I will not burn your treasures in return."

"Yes, yes, we swear, we swear!" the dwarfs cried. "Please, please don't burn them!"

Just then, thunder boomed overhead. Lightning flashed, and the bars on the nearest window burstinto sizzling, melted stubs of iron.Jason flew in like Peter Pan, electricity sparking around him and his gold sword steaming. His eyes immediately focused in on the dwarfs who stood with their hands up and staring at Annabeth.

"I just wasted a perfectly good entrance, didn't I?" Jason frowned.

"Something like that," Annabeth agreed. "You're just in time though. Me and our friends here have made a deal. We can take what we want, and in return I won't burn all their gold."

"Smart," Jason said appreciatively.

"How did you find me anyway?" Annabeth asked.

"Saw these big towers and figured you'd be somewhere around here," he replied. Annabeth nodded.

"Grab everything we need," she told him. "I'll keep an eye on Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee here." Jason started rummaging through the piles of the dwarfs' shinies whilst Annabeth kept them under control. He found Piper's dagger easily enough, pocketing it quickly as if the dwarfs would steal it again. It was only then that Annabeth remembered what Hazel had said.

"Jason," she said. "Didn't Hazel say we needed something from here. Something that may help us with the quest?"

"I was thinking that," Jason said. "But there's so much here..."

"Watch the dwarfs for a minute," Annabeth ordered. "Fry them if they try anything." She turned towards the piles of treasure and started looking. She wasn't quite sure what she was searching for, but there were a few objects that were catching her eye. There were coins, gold nuggets, jewellery, paper clips, foil wrappers, cuff links, and all manner of other valuable things. But she kept coming back to a couple of things that didn't seem to belong.

One was an old bronze navigation device, like an astrolabe from a ship. It was badly damaged and seemed to be missingsome pieces, but Annabeth still found it fascinating.

"Take it!" Passalos offered.

"Odysseus made it, you know! Take it and let us go."

"Odysseus?" Jason asked in surprise. "Like, the Odysseus?"

"Yes!" Passalos squeaked. "Made it when he was an old man in Ithaca. One of his last inventions,and we stole it!"

"How does it work?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, it doesn't," Akmon said. "Something about a missing crystal?" He glanced at his brother forhelp.

"'My biggest what-if'," Passalos said. "'Should've taken a crystal.' That's what he kept mutteringin his sleep, the night we stole it." Passalos shrugged. "No idea what he meant. But the shiny is yours! Can we go now?"

Annabeth wasn't sure why she wanted the astrolabe. It was obviously broken, and she didn't get the sensethat this was what Hecate meant them to find. Still, she slipped it into her plastic shopping bag. Maybe Leo could help her figure it out if- no, when he got back.

She turned her attention to the other strange piece of loot – the leather-bound book. Its title was ingold leaf, in a language Annabeth thought she vaguely recognised, but nothing else about the book seemed shiny. She didn't figure the Kerkopes for big readers. "What's this?" she waved it at the dwarfs, who were still teary-eyed from the prospect of losing their shinies.

"Nothing!" Akmon said. "Just a book. It had a pretty gold cover, so we took it from him."

"Him?" Annabeth demanded, suddenly feeling uneasy. "Who? Who did you steal this from?" Akmon and Passalos exchanged a nervous look.

"Minor god," Passalos said. "In Venice. Really, it's nothing."

"Venice.' Jason frowned at Annabeth. "Isn't that where we're supposed to go next?"

"Yeah." Annabeth examined the book. She may not have been able to completely read it yet, but it had lots of illustrations: scythes,different plants, a picture of the sun, a team of oxen pulling a cart. If the book had been stolen from a minor god in Venice – the next place Hecate had toldthem to visit – then this had to be what they were looking for.

"Where exactly can we find this minor god?" Annabeth asked.

"No!" Akmon shrieked. "You can't take it back to him! If he finds out we stole it –"

"He'll destroy you," Jason guessed. "Which is what we'll do if you don't tell us, and we're a lot closer." He pressed the point of his sword against Akmon's furry throat.

"Okay, okay!" the dwarf shrieked. "La Casa Nera! Calle Frezzeria!Please don't tell him we stole it! He isn't nice at all!"

"Who is he?" Annabeth asked. "What god?"

"I – I can't say," Passalos stammered.

"You'd better," Jason warned.

"No," Passalos said miserably. "I mean, I really can't say. I can't pronounce it! Tr – Tri – It's too hard!"

"Truh," Akmon said. "Tru-toh – Too many syllables!" They both burst into tears. Annabeth didn't know if the Kerkopes were telling them the truth, but it was hard to stay mad at weepingdwarfs, no matter how annoying and badly dressed they were.Jason lowered his sword. "What do you want to do with them, Annie? Send them to Tartarus?"

"Please, no!" Akmon wailed. "It might take us weeks to come back."

"Assuming Gaia even lets us!" Passalos sniffled. "She controls the Doors of Death now. She'll bevery cross with us." Annabeth looked at the dwarfs. She'd fought hundreds of monsters before and never felt bad about dissolvingthem, but this was different. She had to admit she sort of felt sorry for them. Besides, Leo was in Tartarus rightnow, hopefully still alive, trudging towards the Doors of Death. The idea of sending these twinmonkey boys there to face the same nightmarish problem ... well, it didn't seem right. She imagined Gaia laughing at her weakness – a demigod too softhearted to kill monsters.

But Annabeth wasn't just any demigod. Gaia didn't mess with her friends and get away with it.

"I'll make you another deal," she said. Akmon's eyes lit up.

"Thirty percent?"

"I'll leave your treasure, minus the stuff that belongs to us and the astrolabe and this book, which we'll take back to the dude in Venice, as we already agreed," Annabeth said. "We'll leave you all your treasure, and we won't tell this god that you stole the book either. And in return, we'll set you free."

"Uh, Annabeth...?" Jason asked nervously. Akmon squealed with delight.

"But," Annabeth growled. "In return for us sparing your lives, you have to do something forus. I'm going to send you somewhere to steal from some people, harass them, make life hard for themany way you can. You have to follow my directions exactly. You have to swear on the River Styx."

"We swear!" Passalos said. "Stealing from people is our speciality!"

"I love harassment!" Akmon agreed. "Where are we going?" Annabeth grinned.

"Ever heard of New York?"

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Leo shouldn't have slept in Tartarus.

Really, it should have been a given. But the exhaustion and terror had taken it's toll and Leo found himself unconscious in Bob's arms before he even knew it. At first, the blissfulness of sleep felt like a blessing. Then came the dreams. The oh so horrible dreams that were bad in the mortal world and absolutely agonizing down here in Greek hell. His nightmares flashed so fast, moving through the worst moments in Leo's life like it was on film. He saw his mother suffocating in the smoke of the fire that he started. He saw Aunt Rosa slapping him in the police station the morning after, screaming at the officers that Leo was a diablo and didn't deserve to live. He saw Ms Teresa, his worst foster parent, locking him in the basem*nt for the simple mistake of getting home from school later than usual. Each vision reminded Leo once again of the pain he had gone through, the pain he was still going through.

"That's right, Leo Valdez," a sleepy voice whispered. A figure rose up from the darkness of his dream, her face hooded in earth just as it always was. "Remember all this pain, all this suffering. You do not have to suffer now."

"Gaia," Leo snarled. "Get out of my head!"

"Oh, but I'm always in your head, Leo," she chuckled softly. "I'll always be here to torment you. You'll never be rid of me."

"Leave me alone!" Leo yelled. Without meaning to, his hands caught alight in his anger, the flames red hot and furious.

"Temper, temper," Gaia chided. "It was your lack of control that got your mother killed, wasn't it? I wonder who you'll kill next, Leo? Maybe Frank Zhang with his life so perilously tied to a piece of fire wood?"

"Stop it!" Leo shouted, spinning around in the darkness trying to locate Gaia in the murk.

"Or maybe Hazel Levesque who fears death so much that she's blind to your destructive power?" Gaia continued. Her voice sounded amused, as if Leo was a plaything for her to tear apart. "Or maybe even your precious Piper McLean and Jason Grace. Now wouldn't that be ironic. You always did have a habit of destroying the ones you love most."

Leo screamed in frustration, his body catching alight and the flames overpowering him. He couldn't control this. This curse was never meant to be his to bear. The fire rose and Leo found himself choking on it, struggling to draw breath. The flames grew even hotter and Leo was convinced he was going to crumble to dust. He wasn't sure if you could die in dreams, but it certainly felt like he was about to prove that theory. Just as the fire grew too much to bear, a huge wave of water came crashing down on him and he collapsed onto luscious green grass.

"You took your time," a woman's voice said sternly. Leo leapt to his feet, certain that Gaia was back for more, but found himself faced with Reyna on Half Blood Hill.

"Reyna?" he asked, stepping back nervously. The last time he has seen this girl, she was dead set on killing him for firing on her camp...even if it wasn't his fault. "What are you doing here?"

"I must stand here," Reyna said, only now Leo was beginning to realise that it wasn't Reyna at all. "The Roman must bring me."

"What?" Leo asked. "Who the hell are you, lady?"

"My statue must stand here," Reyna said again. "My journey must end on the wings of Rome."

"Your journey?" Leo demanded. "Wait, you mean the Athena Parthenos?"

"Yes, I must stand here if you are to stand a chance," Athena said. "Your camp stands on the brink of destruction. They cannot hold out in the face of a Roman attack. Without me, without a united demigod front, Gaia will destroy you all. And you, Leo Valdez, will face suffering greater than you have ever known."

Leo felt sick. "What?" he croaked. "You want your bloody great statue to stand here?! You're insane lady!"

"Hurry, Son of Hephaestus," Athena said, her eyes steely as she gazed across Camp Half Blood. "The message must be sent, or we are all doomed." Leo didn't have time to ask what she meant. The ground beneath his feet cracked open and he fell into darkness.

***

"WAIT!" Leo shouted, sitting bolt right up and gasping at air. His hands went to his chest in a blind panic, scrabbling at the tattered remains of his shirt like a lifeline. His heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. Damn it. Tartarus was really messing with his head. Rubbing his eyes, Leo did a quick assessment of his surroundings. He was lying on a stone slab just in front of an alter. Bob was perched just to the side of him. The Titan was humming away some random song that Leo didn't know. He found it oddly comforting though.

"Leo!" Bob exclaimed, grinning when he noticed Leo was awake. "Good! Awake means food!"

"Food?" Leo asked blearily. "What do you mean food?"

"Food!" Bob said, pointing over Leo's shoulder to the alter. Leo whipped around, coming face to face with the shrine filled with food just ahead of him. He wasn't quite sure what happened after that. All he knew was that he blacked out and by the time he realised what had happened, he was already halfway through a pizza slice that had somehow appeared in his hands. It was strange how sometimes you didn't know how hungry you were until there was food in stomach. Leo tore through every bit of food he could get his hands on. Finally, when his stomach felt satisfied, he looked up at Bob who had perched tentatively on the steps of the alter.

"You not gonna eat?" Leo said through a mouthful of fries. Bob looked uncomfortable.

"Wanted Leo to eat first," he answered. "Leo was hungry, so Leo should eat first."

"Don't be ridiculous," Leo said, gesturing haphazardly to the piles of food. "Just eat something." Gingerly, Bob picked up a packet of M&Ms, muttering a quick thank you. Leo frowned but didn't say anything. They sat in silence for a moment and Leo took his chance to relax just a tiny bit. He knew he was going to have to tell Bob where he needed to go. Maybe letting a Titan know his plan wasn't the smartest, but he couldn't help but trust Bob. Besides, Bob had already saved his life twice. They needed each other.

"Bob, can I ask you something?" Leo asked. Bob grinned at him.

"Ask away, funny friend," he exclaimed. Leo pursed his lips together.

"Right, well, I need to do something here. In Tartarus. I have a job to do. It's dangerous and you don't have to come with me...but I could use a hand, you know?"

"Anything for friend of Percy's," Bob said sincerely. "What is job?"

"I need to get to the Doors of Death," Leo said slowly. "And I need to close them. If me and you are going to get out of here, that's the only way. And I want us both to survive. So...basically what I'm asking is if you'll help me get there." Bob's face was unreadable.

"That is a difficult task," he said. "Very difficult. Monsters and giants hunt Leo. Tartarus knows you are here. They'll know you go to the Doors." Leo felt his heart sink.

"It's okay Bob," he said. "It was a lot to ask. I don't want you to think you have to help me."

"No, Bob will help Leo," Bob said determinedly. "Bob will help Leo and we can both go see Percy." Leo felt relief course through him. He grinned at Bob, finally feeling a smaller glimmer of hope.

"Well, I think you deserve another packet of M&Ms," he said, tossing Bob a second packet. Bob cheered in triumph, happily snacking away. Leo laughed at the sight. A Titan eating M&Ms. Wonders never cease. "I have no idea where this food came from but I don't care either!" he declared.

"He have Hermes shrine to thank," Bob said, shrugging. "Hermes shrine brings us food and M&Ms. Do they have more M&Ms where you're from?"

"A Hermes shrine?" Leo glanced back at the alter, slowly pushing himself up to his feet. "What in Tar- what is a Hermes shrine doing all the way down here?"

"Fell," Bob replied. "Fell far. Don't know how. Can't...can't remember." Bob pouted, clearly troubled by his lack of memory. Leo felt his heart lurch. Bob couldn't be remembering, could he? He didn't even want to think about what a Titan may do to him if Bob suddenly remembered who he was. To distract himself from those terrifying thoughts, Leo slowly approached the alter, examining the stone. This was eerily familiar to him. The M&Ms, the shrine, Hermes.

Wait.

"Holy Mother of Zeus!" Leo yelped. Bob startled, grabbing his broom.

"What is it, funny friend?" he asked.

"This shrine!" Leo said excitedly. "It's connected to Camp Half Blood!"

"Camp?" Bob frowned.

"Where I'm from," Leo hurriedly explained. "My friends are there. The food we're eating now, it came from them! It's their sacrifices to Hermes. Connor always burns a pack of M&Ms for his dad! It has to be them!" Leo turned back to the hearth, his mind whirling at a hundred miles per hour. "Bob, if we can receive food here, do you think we can send something back?" Bob shrugged.

"Don't know," he said. "Gods are strange. Why do they need food anyway?" Leo ignored the question, quickly digging into his tool belt and summoning a pen and notepad. The logic worked out. If people can send stuff through, then there should be no reason why he couldn't send a message back. It wouldn't hurt to try. Even if there was the slightest hope, he had to try. He thought about his dream and Athena's words.The message must be sent. She was right. The Greeks and the Romans had to fight together. If Gaia kept them at odds, everything they loved with died. Swallowing hard, Leo scribbled down his message to Rachel and Chiron, praying to Hermes and Hera and every god he could think of that they would receive it.

"Leo," Bob said nervously. "We should go."

"Just a minute, Bob," Leo muttered.

"They'll be here soon," Bob said. "In a few minutes, they'll be here and they will hurt Leo."

"A few minutes?" Leo whipped around. A lump of fear was stuck in his throat. "Are you sure? Who are they?"

"Giants, monsters, everything," Bob said. "I think a few minutes. Time is hard in Tartarus." Leo turned back to the alter and continued writing. His handwriting was shaking and tense but he thought it was readable. At least he hoped so.

Connor,

Give this to Rachel and Chiron. Not a prank. Don't be an idiot. Also, traps for you in Bunker 9. You'll need them.

Leo

Placing the note on the alter, Leo summoned the tiniest flame on his finger, hating the way his body felt sapped of energy even with the smallest of fires. He watched the note burn away and prayed once again it would reach its destination. He didn't know Rachel well, and what he was asking her to do might just get her killed, but he didn't know another way.

"Leo, we must really go," Bob said urgently. "They smell you. They are close."

"Okay," Leo said, stumbling down the steps and back to Bob. "I'm ready."

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

The darkness was what terrified Leo the most.

Since leaving the Hermes shrine, Tartarus seemed to have decided it had been too easy on him so far, so a black wall of dust, mist and choking fear descended upon the jagged land. It was all Leo could do to stay on his feet and avoid the rising sharp rocks and deadly pits. Roars of monsters sounded all around him but he had no idea where they were coming from. He was desperate to light a small fire just on his palm but every time he tried, his knees turned to jello and his blood turned cold in his veins. At the back of his mind, Leo knew the frosty darkness was slowly killing him from the inside out. But he couldn't spare a moment to think about that, lest he speared himself on a rock. A Leo-kebab. Wow, what a treat for Tartarus' monsters.

Bob didn't seem overly bothered by the dark. His silvery glow was a small relief for Leo who was starting to become overwhelmed with fear. Never in Leo's life had he felt this kind of unrelenting and all-consuming terror. Tartarus was really trying to up its game in turning him into a small ball of quivering mush, especially as the terrain just kept sloping downwards. Leo had a horrible feeling that he was walking right down Tartarus' throat. He didn't want to know what would happen once they made it to the belly of the beast.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he tried to focus on Jason and Piper's faces the day before he fell. They'd had a few moments to themselves that morning and, for once, Leo had let them keep him away from his work. Together, they had just laid in Jason's bed and talked about anything that was on their minds. Leo could still feel Jason's hand running through his hair gently as he listened to Piper talk about her worries with her dad. He could feel the weight of Piper's legs on top of his, and could see her disapproving but loving stare as he fiddles with some wires in his hands. He could feel the rumble of Jason's laughter against his back from where he lay on Jason's chest. Gods, he missed them.

Leo let the pleasantness of the memory wash over him, suddenly not paying attention at all to where he was walking. He only had time to hear Bob's warning shout before his foot met empty air and he tumbled into a pit. Luckily, or unluckily, for him, his body landed on something soft and squishy. For a moment, Leo felt relieved. But the moment he opened his eyes - and came face to face with a new kind of horror - he let out a yelp and scrambled back. In the pit, bubbling up from the rocky surface, was a golden membrane. Inside, the scowling face of a fully formed Titan stared up at him, his armour already plated on and his fist clenched around a sword. Even through the thick skin of the membrane encasing the Titan, Leo could feel the heat radiating from him. He suspected that if he and this Titan ever met in the world above, the fire storm that would ensue would probably level a city. Whoever this Titan was, it would soon be bursting from its cocoon ready to rise again to the surface.

Bob lumbered up behind Leo with a large but comforting hand on his shoulder. "Is Leo okay?" he asked. "Leo fell very far."

"I'm okay, Bob," Leo assured him, suddenly very aware that Bob might see the Titan and remember who he was. "Um, how about we go, yeah? You know, gotta keep on moving. No point stopping." He tried to guide Bob away but the silver Titan remained still. He stared down at the golden blister, his eyes wide and confused.

"Gold, not silver," he muttered. "But he looks like me."

"Bob?" Leo squeaked uncertainly. "Bob, we should go."

"Why does he look like me?" Bob murmured. Leo swallowed hard. His heart hammered in his chest.

"Hey, Bob, look at me," he said. Slowly, the Titan turned to face him. "Are we friends, Bob?"

"Yes," Bob replied but he didn't sound sure. "Leo is friend of Percy. Percy is friend of Bob. So Leo is also friend of Bob."

"Exactly, buddy," Leo replied. "But listen. In the world, there are always good and bad things. There are good demigods and bad demigods, just like there are good monsters and bad monsters."

"Like the pretty ghost ladies who serve Persephone are good but exploding zombies are bad," Bob shuddered.

"Yeah, exactly," Leo said quickly. "But the same goes for Titans. That's what you are. Bob the Titan. You're a good Titan, Bob. An amazing Titan. This one though," Leo pointed to the bubble, "this one is bad." Bob's hand tightened around his broom.

"Bob is good," he said determinedly. "There is always at least one good - monsters, Titans, giants."

"Oh well, I'm not sure about giants," Leo said with a small, awkward laugh.

"Oh, yes," Bob nodded with such earnest that Leo decided not to argue.

"Can we go now, though?" he asked. "I don't want to become a monster meal, you know? And I really don't want to be here when this guy wakes up because that would not be fun and-" Bob swiped his broom through the air. If he had been aiming at Leo, he would have been cut in half within an instant. But the golden bubble containing the golden Titan exploded, sending goo and guts flying. Leo wiped the mess from his eyes, staring down in shock at the small crater were the blister used to be.

"Bad Titan," Bob said, his expression grim but eyes bright as if he was about to cry. "Now he cannot hurt Leo."

"Bob..." Leo whispered, staring up at the Titan. His words got stuck in his throat at Bob looked down at him with a sad gaze.

"Come, little Leo," he said. "We must move on." Numbly, Leo followed, trying not to let the guilt of Bob killing his own brother consume him.

***

Venice was the last place Frank wanted to be.

After Annabeth and Jason had got back from Bologna with their new discoveries, the ship had hastily made its way to Venice as the dwarfs had suggested. The remainder of the seven had frantically been running around the Argo II, trying to fix the most damaged parts of the ship. Frank was pretty sure Annabeth hadn't emerged from below deck in days as she tried to keep the engine from exploding. Percy and Jason, under Nico's watchful eye had somehow fixed the mast after it had snapped again. That left Hazel, Piper and Frank to protect the ship from numerous monster attacks. In all honesty, Frank was getting very tired of monster attacks.

He was also getting tired of Ares and Mars screaming in his head. And it only seemed to be getting worse the closer they got to Venice. They argued constantly. Mars demanded Frank kill the Greeks while Ares just wanted Frank to kill everyone. It was nightmarish. So yes, Venice was not somewhere Frank wanted to be. Especially when the entire place was crawling with cow like monsters.

"I guess we're going to have to walk through them and hope they're peaceful," Frank said uncertainly as he and the rest of the seven watched the strange creatures at the harbour.

"It's the only way to find the owner of that book," Annabeth sighed, wiping the soot off her forehead. "Look, I would go but the engine is playing up again and I need to figure out how to fix it." Frank felt sorry for her. Even he had to admit that Annabeth looked completely exhausted. He had no idea how Leo did it all. Even between the six of them, they were struggling to keep the ship moving, and that was with Festus' help. How Leo kept the Argo flying...well, Frank had no idea.

"Nico and I will go," Hazel volunteered. "This entire city feels off... I think it's best we go."

"Then I'll go too," Frank said. "Three is better than two." Hazel smiled warmly at him and Frank felt his heart flutter a bit. Nico, on the other hand, didn't react. His face remained stoic as he looked out over the city.

"The book says to go to the Black House," the son of Hades said, frowning deeply. "There's a strong sense of death around this city. Lots of restless spirits. I don't like it. We need to be quick." It didn't take them long to get ready after that. Nico scared Frank at the best of times, but his warning freaked him out even more. After Alaska, Frank had really had enough of ghosts.

Jason gave Frank and Hazel a ride to the dock while Nico opted to shadow travel instead. Together, the three of them trudged into the city, trying to avoid the large, hairy animals that were dotted along the canals. The monsters in question were nibbling on the tufts of vegetation that grew through the cracks in the pavement.

"At least they're plant eaters," Frank muttered. "That's good."

"Well let's hope they don't like a side of demigod," Hazel replied.

"There," Nico said suddenly, interrupting them. He pointed down a small side street which seemed darker somehow. Frank squinted. At the far end of the plaza, a stone archway carved with lions led into a narrow street. Just past the arch, one of the town houses was painted black – the only black building Frank had seen so far in Venice.

"La Casa Nera," he guessed. Hazel’s grip tightened on his fingers.

"I don’t like that plaza. It feels … cold."

Frank wasn’t sure what she meant. He was still sweating like crazy. But Nico nodded. He studied the town-house windows, most of which were covered with wooden shutters. "You’re right, Hazel. This neighbourhood is filled with lemures."

"Lemurs?" Frank asked nervously. "I’m guessing you don’t mean the furry little guys from Madagascar?"

"Angry ghosts," Nico said. "Lemures go back to Roman times. They hang around a lot of Italian cities, but I’ve never felt so many in one place. My mom told me …" He hesitated. "She used to tell me stories about the ghosts of Venice." Again Frank wondered about Nico’s past, but he was afraid to ask. "I'm sending out a warning message to all the ghosts," Nico continued. "They should stay away from us. Now all we have to worry about are these...things." He gestured to the group of cows in front of them.

"Well, they seem harmless," Hazel said. Before Frank could stop her, she started walking forwards and stumbled on a loose cobblestone. All at once, the cows turned to face them, their nostrils flaring angrily.

"Yeah, not harmless," Frank squeaked. He slowly moved forwards, putting himself between his friends and the monsters. "Guys, slowly back away towards the house. I'll distract them." It turned out the monsters didn't like that too much. The moment Hazel and Nico made a move, they charged. Frank transformed himself into a lion within an instant, his claws swiping through two of the monsters while he chased after a third. Nico and Hazel ran towards the Black House, trying to lose two monsters which stormed after them. Frank's vision was obscured by more cows running towards him, green smoke steaming from their mouths. One of them blasted the steam at him and suddenly, Frank couldn't breathe. His lion form melted away from him as he began retching.

"Frank! Frank!"

Nico's voice. Frank blindly stumbled towards him, raising his stinging eyes just a little to see Nico brandishing his sword at the rest of the cows. And next to him...Hazel. She was propped up on the wall, looking sickly and green as her head slumped down against her chest.

"She got a blast of green gas right in the face," Nico said miserably. "I – I wasn’t fast enough."

Frank couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Rage and despair battled inside him. He’d always been scared of Nico. Now he wanted to drop-kick the son of Hades into the nearest canal. Maybe that wasn’t fair, but Frank didn’t care. Neither did the war gods screaming in his head.

"We need to get her back to the ship," Frank said. The cow monster herd prowled cautiously just beyond the archway. They bellowed their foghorn cries. From nearby streets, more monsters answered. Reinforcements would soon have the demigods surrounded.

"We’ll never make it on foot," Nico said. "Frank, turn into a giant eagle. Don’t worry about me. Get her back to the Argo II!"

With his face burning and the voices screaming in his mind, Frank wasn’t sure he could change shape, but he was about to try when a voice behind them said, "Your friends can’t help you. They don’t know the cure." Frank spun round.

Standing on the threshold of the Black House was a young man in jeans and a denim shirt. He had curly black hair and a friendly smile, though Frank doubted he was friendly. Probably he wasn’t even human. At the moment, Frank didn’t care. "Can you cure her?" he asked. "Of course," the man said. "But you’d better hurry inside. I think you’ve angered every katobleps in Venice."

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

If Frank thought the angry voices of Mars and Ares would quieten down in the presence of another god, he was very wrong indeed. In fact, their arguing only got louder as the strange man in denim led Nico and Frank, carrying Hazel between them, deeper into the Black House. The monsters barged against the doors that the man had quickly locked behind them as they ran inside. Frank was terrified that they would somehow manage to break through.

"Oh don't worry," the strange god said. "They can't get in. You're safe now!"

"Safe?" Frank snapped. "Hazel is dying!" The god scowled.

"Yes well, bring her through I suppose," he replied. They hurried through until they reached the front room which resembled a greenhouse with the amount of plants covering its walls.The air smelled of fertilizer solution. Maybe Venetians did their gardening inside, since they were surrounded by water instead of soil? Frank wasn’t sure, but he didn’t spend much time worrying about it.

The back room looked like a combination garage, college dorm and computer lab. Against the left wall glowed a bank of servers and laptops, their screen savers flashing pictures of ploughed fields and tractors. Against the right wall was a single bed, a messy desk and an open wardrobe filled with extra denim clothes and a stack of farm implements, like pitchforks and rakes. The back wall was a huge garage door. Parked next to it was a red-and-gold chariot with an open carriage and a single axle, like the chariots Frank had raced at Camp Jupiter. Sprouting from the sides of the driver’s box were giant feathery wings. Wrapped around the rim of the left wheel, a spotted python snored loudly.

Frank hadn’t known that pythons could snore. He hoped he hadn’t done that himself in python form. He would have kept Percy up and gods know that Percy hadn't slept a wink since Leo fell.

Frank and Nico set Hazel down on the bed as the strange man watched them. "What were those things?" Frank asked. "Why the Hades were they trying to kill us?"

"Katoblepones," said their host. "Singular: katobleps. In English, it means down-looker. Called that because they’re always looking down. They were accidentally transported here from Africa many years ago.They came here aboard that ship and have been breeding like rats ever since. They love the magical poison roots that grow here – swampy, foul-smelling plants that creep up from the canals. It makes their breath even more poisonous! Usually the monsters ignore mortals, but demigods … especially demigods who get in their way."

"Okay, all right!" Frank snapped. "Can you cure Hazel?"

The man shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?!" Frank had to use all his willpower not to throttle the guy. He put his hand under Hazel’s nose. He couldn’t feel her breath. "Nico, please tell me she’s doing that death-trance thing, like you did in the bronze jar." Nico grimaced.

"I don’t know if Hazel can do that. Her dad is technically Pluto, not Hades, so –"

"Hades!" cried their host. He backed away, staring at Nico with distaste. "So that’s what I smell. Children of the Underworld? If I’d known that, I would never have let you in!" Nico drew his sword.

"She’s my sister," he growled. "I don’t know who you are, but if you can cure her you have to, or so help me by the River Styx –"

"Oh, blah, blah, blah!" The man waved his hand. Suddenly where Nico di Angelo had been standing was a potted plant about five feet tall, with drooping green leaves, tufts of silk and half a dozen ripe yellow ears of corn. "There," the man huffed.

"What did you do?!" Frank yelled. "Who are you?!"

"I thought that would be obvious," the man drawled. "Triptolemus." He bowed. "My friends call me Trip, so don’t call me that. I am the God of Farming so kneel before me!"

"Heal my friends," Frank demanded, ignoring the order.

"What? No! Did you not hear a word I just said?" Trip exclaimed.

"Heal. My. Friends," Frank ground out, really starting to lose his patience with the god in front of him, and the gods in his head.

"I will not," the god replied, turning away. "I do not like Hades. Many years ago, when I was a mortal prince, Demeter came to me on her travels in search for her daughter. Many turned her away, but I did not. In return for my help, she made me the God of Farming. So no, I will not heal your Underworld friends nor will I ever do a favour for Hades. Now, if you wouldn't mind, pick what you would prefer to be. Some wheat? Or perhaps some corn? I am quite flexible."

"We're here on a friendly mission!" Frank said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out the book. "Look, this belongs to you. We came to present it to you as a gift." Trip's eyes lit up when he saw the book and he practically snatched it out of Frank's hands.

"My almanac!" Triptolemus grinned and seized the book. He thumbed through the pages and started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oh, this is fabulous! Where did you find it?"

"Um, Bologna. There were these –" Frank remembered that Annabeth said he wasn’t supposed to mention the dwarfs – "terrible monsters. We risked our lives, but we knew this was important to you. So could you maybe, you know, turn Nico back to normal and heal Hazel?" Trip narrowed his eyes.

"And what would I get in return?" he sneered. "Nothing, I suspect."

"You've got your book!" Frank exclaimed. "Isn't that enough?"

"I require a higher price," the god hissed. Frank was beginning to get desperate. The voices were only rising in volume in his head and he swore he was about to explode.

"Look, we've come a long way to give you this book," he said tiredly. "We're trying to save the world here! If you help us now, then you'll be forever remembered as the god who helped defeat Gaia."

"Glory is not what I want," Trip sniffed.

"Then what about your chariot?" Frank blurted out. Both he and the god turned to look at the dusty, broken carriage that sat in the corner of the room. Frank had no idea what he was doing but Trip was distracted and that was all he needed. "I can fix it. I'll find a way to get it moving again. In return, you fix Nico and Hazel and give us whatever aid we need to defeat Gaia's forces."

Trip laughed. Frank was half tempted to yell out "kidding!" because what was he doing?! He wasn't Leo! Leo was currently in the depths of hell fighting who knows what because Frank wasn't there for him when he should have been. He couldn't figure out how to escape Chinese handcuffs, let alone fix an entire chariot. Maybe this was his punishment for being too far stuck up his own ass instead of befriending Leo when he could. Maybe this was how Frank managed to screw up the quest.

"What makes you think I can aid you with that?" the god chuckled.

"Hecate told us so," Frank said. "She sent us here. She – she decided Hazel is one of her favourites." The colour drained from Trip’s face.

"Hecate?" Frank hoped he wasn’t overstating things. He didn’t need Hecate mad at him too. But, if Triptolemus and Hecate were both friends of Demeter, maybe that would convince Trip to help.

"The goddess guided us to your almanac in Bologna," Frank said. "She wanted us to return it to you, because … well, she must’ve known you had some knowledge that would help us get through the House of Hades in Epirus so we can rescue one of our own from Tartarus." Trip nodded slowly.

"Yes. I see. I know why Hecate sent you to me. Very well, son of Mars. Go find a way to fix my chariot. If you succeed, I will do all you ask. If not –"

"I know," Frank grumbled. "My friends die."

"Yes," Trip said cheerfully. "And you’ll make a lovely patch of sorghum!" Frank's heart sank.

***

Later, Frank would tell Annabeth about what happened after he left the Black House. He wasn't proud of the events that transpired. After the conversation he had with Mars and Ares, Frank knew that only an act of pure bravery and sacrifice would get him the serpent he needed to fix the chariot. His plan after that unfold perfectly.

After luring the monsters away from the mortals, all Frank saw was red. He couldn't tell how many animals he had turned into, or how many cows he slaughtered using Hazel's sword. All he knew was to keep fighting, to hold off each charge and kill them all. Guilt flashed across his mind because these monsters were definitely not the worst he'd ever faced. They were grazing animals really. Animals that Frank had royally pissed off.

Think of Hazel, he thought desperately to himself as his lion claws slashed through yet another monster.Think of Leo. This is to save them.

By the time he was finished, there was onekatobleps remaining. Frank returned to his human form, sweaty and caked in monster dust. "Come on!" he roared at the last cow. "COME AND GET ME!" Apparently that was enough for the monster. It stormed forwards, falling easily onto Hazel's sword and exploding with on last puff of green breath. "IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, MARS?" Frank screamed. "IS ENDLESS SLAUGHTER GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

"Well done," said a familiar voice behind him. Frank whipped around, coming face to face with a rather weary looking Mars. He was wearing a red beret and olive fatigues with the insignia of the Italian Special Forces, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. His face was hard and angular, his eyes covered with dark sunglasses.

"Father," Frank managed. He couldn’t believe what he’d just done. The terror started to catch up with him. He felt like sobbing, but he guessed that would not be a good idea in front of Mars. Oh gods, what had he done?

"It’s natural to feel fear." The war god’s voice was surprisingly warm, full of pride. "All great warriors are afraid. Only the stupid and the delusional are not. But you faced your fear, my son. You did what you had to do."

"I –" Frank wasn’t sure what to say. "I … I just needed a snake." A tiny smile tugged at Mars’s mouth.

"Yes. And now you have one. Your bravery has united my forms, Greek and Roman, if only for a moment. Go. Save your friends. But hear me, Frank. Your greatest test is yet to come. When you face the armies of Gaia at Epirus, when you come to find the son of Hephaestus, your leadership –" Suddenly the god doubled over, clutching his head. His form flickered. His fatigues turned into a toga, then a biker’s jacket and jeans. His rifle changed into a sword and then a rocket launcher. "Agony!" Mars bellowed. "Go! Hurry!"

Frank didn’t ask questions. Despite his exhaustion, he turned into a giant eagle, snatched up the python in his massive claws and launched himself into the air.

When he glanced back, a miniature mushroom cloud erupted from the middle of the road, rings of fire washing outwards, and a pair of voices – Mars and Ares – screamed, "Noooo!" Frank wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he had no time to think about it. He flew over the city – now completely empty of monsters – and headed for the house of Triptolemus.

The god seemed highly amused when Frank returned, dragging the snake behind him by its tail. "Ah, you found one," Trip clapped. Frank unceremoniously dropped the snake onto the floor, kneeling by Hazel's bedside and sighed with relief when he found she was still breathing.

"Heal them," he demanded. "Now."

"And how would I know if the snake works?" Trip mused.Frank gritted his teeth. The voices of the War God may have gone silent in his head, but he still felt their combined anger churning inside him. He felt physically different, too. Had Triptolemus got shorter?

"The snake is a gift from Mars," Frank growled. "It will work." As if on cue, the python slithered over to the chariot and wrapped itself around the right wheel. The other snake woke up. The two serpents checked each other out, touching noses, then turned their wheels in unison. The chariot inched forward, its wings flapping. "You see?" Frank said. "Now, heal my friends!"

Triptolemus tapped his chin. "Well, thank you for the snake, but I’m not sure I like your tone, demigod. Perhaps I’ll turn you into –"

Before Frank knew it, he had flown across the room and slammed the god against the wall. "Now you listen to me ," he said, his voice deadly calm as he slowly applied pressure around Trip's throat. "I am not afraid to bash your head in right now if you don't do what I say. We need to make it to Greece as fast as possibly to rescue our friend from a very horrible fate. If you do not heal Hazel and Nico right now, and give us the information we need to safely make it through the House of Hades, I will not hesitate to let Mars know the betrayal you will have committed today. Do I make myself clear?" Trip swallowed hard, nodding quickly.

"Crystal," he replied tightly. Frank nodded, stepping back and watched the god carefully gather herbs to heal Hazel. The moment the medicine was placed under her tongue, Hazel spluttered and gasped awake.

"What-" Frank couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped her in a tight hug.

"You're fine, everything is going to be fine," he reassured her.

"But …" Hazel gripped his shoulders and stared at him in amazement. "Frank, what happened to you?"

"To me?" He stood, suddenly self-conscious. "I don’t …" He looked down and realized what she meant. Triptolemus hadn’t got shorter. Frank was taller. His gut had shrunk. His chest seemed bulkier. Frank had had growth spurts before. But this was nuts. It was as if some of the dragon and lion had stayed with him when he’d turned back to human. "Uh … I don’t … Maybe I can fix it." Hazel laughed with delight.

"Why? You look amazing! I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished –"

Triptolemus heaved a dramatic sigh. "Yes, obviously some sort of blessing from Mars. Congratulations, blah, blah, blah. Now, if we’re done here …?" Frank glared at him.

"We’re not done. Heal Nico." The farm god rolled his eyes. He pointed at the corn plant, and BAM! Nico di Angelo appeared in an explosion of corn silk. Nico looked around in a panic.

"I – I had the weirdest nightmare about popcorn." He frowned at Frank. "Why are you taller?"

"Everything’s fine," Frank promised. "Triptolemus was about to tell us how to survive the House of Hades. Weren’t you, Trip?"

"Fine,’"Trip said."‘When you arrive at Epirus, you will be offered a chalice to drink from. Just know that it is filled with deadly poison." Hazel shuddered.

"So you’re saying that we shouldn’t drink it."

"No!" Trip said. "You must drink it, or you’ll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is –" his eyes twinkled – "barley." Frank stared at him.

"Barley." Out of thin air, Trip produced two bags of barley and handed them off to a very surprised Nico. "Make it into little cakes," he sighed. "And eat them before you step into the House of Hades. The barley will absorb the worst of the poison, so it will affect you, but not kill you."

"That’s it?" Nico demanded. "Hecate sent us halfway across Italy so you could tell us to eat barley?"

"Good luck!" Triptolemus sprinted across the room and hopped in his chariot. The god pulled a lever on his chariot. The snake-wheels turned. The wings flapped. At the back of the room, the garage doors rolled open. "Away, my serpents! Away!"

"That," Hazel said, "was very strange." Nico brushed some corn silk off his shoulder. scowling fiercely.

"Leo better be at the Doors when we get there," he growled. "Because if I got turned into a plant for nothing, I'll go into the Underworld and bring him back so I can kill him myself." And with that cheerful statement, the three stumbled back to the Argo II, hoping that their ridiculous plan would be enough to save their Repair Boy.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Leo was learning about Tartarus, it was that it liked to get inside your head. As they trudged across the wasteland with only Bob's silvery glow to guide them in the darkness, Leo felt his mind becoming more sluggish by the second. Poisonous and dark thoughts were filling his mind no matter how hard he tried to fight them.

"They're better off without you."

"You couldn't even fix Festus."

"I bet Frank's happy now that he doesn't have to worry about you burning his lifeline."

"Piper and Jason probably don't even miss you."

"Annabeth can pilot the ship so much better than you."

"Hazel hates you."

"Calypso would rather stay on her island than be rescued by you."

"Why would your friends want you when you murdered your own mother?"

"MURDERER!"

"Stop it!" Leo shouted, his hands clasped around his ears. Ahead of him, Bob spun around, his eyes wide with concerned shock. He plodded over to where Leo had frozen in place, looking down at the small demigod.

"Is Leo alright?" he rumbled.

"I'm fine," Leo replied with a sigh. "Sorry, Bob. I was talking to myself." He shuddered, wrapping his tattered army jacket tighter around himself to protect from the icy cold. "This place...it's giving me dark thoughts. But I'm okay. You don't have to worry." The Titan didn't seem reassured. Glancing upwards, Bob peered into the darkness behind them as if his vision could cut through the black fog.

"Our pursuers grow closer," he said. "We should move on." Leo tried not to cry. His bones ached with heavy exhaustion and all he wanted to do was sleep. The air seemed to be getting denser and harder to breathe. It felt like they were climbing Mount Everest despite walking downwards instead of up. Reluctantly, Leo reached to his belt and grabbed his canteen of fire water. He quickly gulped down half of the bottle, grimacing at the foul taste.

"Okay," he rasped. "Let's go then."

Whilst trudging behind Bob, Leo reached into the pockets of his tool belt, rummaging around until he found his breath mints. Breath mints and some basic tools were the only things he could manage to find in his belt now. The further away they got from the surface, the weaker its magic seemed to be. And Leo had a sneaking suspicion that where they were headed...well, it would be further underground than any human had ever been.

He popped a mint into his mouth, savoring the taste as it masked the fire water. Thank god for tic tacs. If Leo ever got out of here, he was definitely going to send a thank you letter to the company. "What are those shiny things?" He looked up and saw Bob staring curiously at the box of mints in his hands. Leo raised an eyebrow.

"You've never heard of tic tacs?" he asked. Bob furrowed his eyebrows.

"Tic tacs?" Bob said. "What are these tic tacs? Are they weapons?"

"No!" Leo laughed. "They're mints. People eat them if they want to refresh their breath. They taste nice basically." He offered out the box to Bob. "Here, have one. You might like it." After a bit of fumbling, in which Leo eventually had to tip a mint into Bob's palm because the Titan's hands were much too huge to hold the box, Bob finally stared down at the little mint in his hand. "Alright then," Leo said, also holding out a mint in his smaller hand. "Tic tac eating 101, first you place the tic tac on the end of your tongue like this." He demonstrated by sticking out his tongue. Bob giggled, also making a funny face. "Then you keep the tic tac in your mouth until it disappears. So don't swallow it otherwise you don't get to enjoy it."

Bob followed Leo's instructions, his face scrunching up as he placed the tic tac in his mouth. "So?" Leo asked. "What do you think?" Bob looked like he was experiencing some sort of system malfunction.

"It was sweet," he said, confusing dancing through his eyes. "But then it went spicy. Tic tacs are strange." Leo couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"It's meant to be nice and refreshing!" he explained, wiping away the tears in his eyes. "Oh come on, big guy, you must like it a little bit." Bob shuddered.

"I do not like tic tacs," he said gravely. "They will be a great weapon in your battles against the Earth Mother." Leo's laughter only increased. He imagined building a tic tac dispenser to shoot at Gaia as she tried to rise from her sleep. The Seven's reaction to that would be hilarious. Annabeth and Nico would be so mad at him, probably standing there with their arms crossed in identical disapproving poses. Frank and Hazel would probably be confused but not question it, charging into battle anyway. He was pretty sure Jason and Piper would die on the spot from embarrassment. And Percy would join in on the tic tac revolution. Knowing him, he'd find every single tic tac flavour there was to fire at Gaia. The thought made him smile.

"It's alright, buddy," Leo said. "When we get out of here, I'll buy you some different flavour tic tacs. Then we'll find the ones you like best and buy you a whole stash."

"I would like that," Bob agreed.

They continued walking through the blackness. Leo felt a little lighter though. Maybe they could do this after all. "So what's the masterplan then, big guy?" he asked. "Where we headed?"

"The lady," Bob said. "For Death Mist."

"Right, gotcha." Leo hesitated. "But um...who is this lady? Just for, you know, educational purposes."

"Naming her?" Bob glanced back. "Not good." Leo sighed. He could understand that. Annabeth was constantly telling him that names had power. Names in here in Tartarus were probably more dangerous then ever.

"Can you at least tell me how far?" he asked.

"I do not know," Bob admitted. "I can only feel it. We wait for the darkness to get darker. Then wego sideways."

"Sideways, right, awesome," Leo muttered. "Because that makes total sense."

As they continued on into the darkness and the black, cold fog sank even further into his body, he thought about his message to Rachel Dare. If Rachel could somehow get his proposal to Reyna without getting killed in the process...

A stupid hope, said the voice in his head.You have only put Rachel in danger. Even if she finds the Romans, why should Reyna trust you after all that has happened? You attacked their camp for Zeus' sake!

Yeah, Leo was definitely going crazy.

Suddenly Bob stopped. He raised his hand: Wait.

"What?" Leo whispered.

"Shh," Bob warned. "Ahead. Something moves." Leo strained her ears. From somewhere in the fog came a deep thrumming noise, like theidling engine of a large construction vehicle. He could feel the vibrations through his shoes."We will surround it," Bob whispered. "Go right. I shall go left." Leo grabbed a hammer from his tool belt, thankful that it still allowed him some sort of weapon. Slowly, he crept right, Bob going left with his spearhead glowing in the fog.

The humming got louder, shaking the gravel at Leo's feet. The noise seemed to be coming from immediately in front of them.

"Ready?" Bob murmured. Leo crouched, preparing to spring. "On three. One. Two-"

A figure appeared in the fog. Bob raised his spear.

"Wait!" Leo shrieked.Bob froze just in time, the point of his spear hovering an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten.

"Rrow?" said the kitten, clearly unimpressed by their attack plan. It butted its head against Bob's foot and purred loudly. It seemed impossible, but the deep rumbling sound was coming from the kitten. As it purred, the ground vibrated and pebbles danced. The kitten fixed its yellow, lamp-like eyes on one particular rock, right Leo's feet, and pounced. The cat could've been a demon or a horrible Underworld monster in disguise. But Leo couldn't help it. He picked it up and cuddled it, savoring the warmth of another living thing. It was bony under its fur, but otherwise it seemed perfectly normal.

"How did-" He couldn't even form the question. "How in Hades did a kitten get down here?" The cat grew impatient and squirmed out of his arms. It landed with a thump, padded over to Bob and started purring again as it rubbed against his boots. "Well, somebody likes you, Bob," Leo laughed.

"It must be a good monster." Bob looked up nervously. "Isn't it?" Leo felt a lump in his throat. Seeing the huge Titan and this tiny kitten together, he suddenly felt insignificant compared to the vastness of Tartarus. This place had no respect for anything – good or bad, small or large, wise or unwise. Tartarus swallowed Titans and demigods and kittens indiscriminately. It was a place where demigods can cause Titan brothers to turn against each other. The guilt rise up in Leo's heart again and he had to look away from Bob.

Bob knelt down and scooped up the cat. It fitted perfectly in Bob's palm, but it decided to explore. It climbed the Titan's arm, made itself at home on his shoulder and closed its eyes, purring like an earthmover. Suddenly its fur shimmered. In a flash, the kitten became a ghostly skeleton, as if it had stepped behind an X-ray machine. Then it was a regular kitten again.

"Ah," Leo said, his voice small. "That's what a kitten is doing in Tartarus."

"I will call him Small Bob," said Bob. "He is a good monster."

End of discussion. The Titan hefted his spear and they continued marching into the gloom.

***

"Here."

It was a while later when Bob froze again. Wearily, Leo looked up to where the kitten and the Titan had stopped. His head hurt, his eyes blurring as he tried to make out Bob in the fog.

"Is this the place where we go sideways?" he croaked.

"Yes." Bob struck off left and Leo had no choice but to follow. The air definitely seemed thicker and colder here. It sapped the energy right out of him. Even the small spark of fire that Leo knew must be in his heart had diminished to just an tiny glowing ember. The cold was getting dangerous for him. Fire users were not made for this. If Leo didn't get some warmth soon, he wasn't sure how much further he'd be able to go.

As Leo stumbled on, he looked up and realised they’d entered some sort of forest. Towering black trees soared into the gloom, perfectly round and bare of branches, like monstrous hair follicles. The ground was smooth and pale.

"Ah, the armpit of Tartarus," Leo muttered. "What a sight."

Suddenly his senses were on high alert, as if somebody had snapped a rubber band against the base of his neck. He rested his hand on the trunk of the nearest tree. He wasn’t sure what had set her off. Nothing looked different. Then he realized the tree trunk was quivering. He wondered momentarily if it was the kitten’s purr, but Small Bob had fallen asleep on Large Bob’s shoulder. A few yards away, another tree shuddered.

"Something’s moving above us," Leo whispered, reaching for his hammer.

"We are stopping?" Bob asked, turning around.

"Bob, there's something here," Leo said. The Titan grew closer to him and they both stared up into the canopy. Leo strained his eyes, trying to see above the creatures in the dark, but nothing moved. He had almost decided he was being paranoid when the first monster dropped to the ground only five feet away.

The monster was by far the ugliest thing Leo had seen as of yet: a wrinkled hag with bat-like wings, brass talons and glowing red eyes. She wore a tattered dress of black silk, and her face was twisted and ravenous, like a demonic grandmother in the mood to kill. Bob grunted as another one dropped in front of him, and then another to the side of Leo. Soon there were half a dozen surrounding them. More hissed in the trees above. The monsters’ talons looked plenty dangerous and Leo had flashbacks to Kelli's terrible claws. Swallowing hard, he gripped his hammer tightly.

"Um...hi," Leo said. "So what are you guys then?"

The arai, hissed a voice.The curses!

Leo tried to locate the speaker, but none of the demons had moved their mouths. Their eyes looked dead; their expressions were frozen, like a puppet’s. The voice simply floated overhead like a movie narrator’s, as if a single mind controlled all the creatures.

"What-what do you want?" Leo asked, trying to maintain a tone of confidence but his voice came out as a squeak. The voice cackled maliciously.

To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night!

"Only a thousand times?" Leo murmured. "Oh, good...I thought we were in trouble." The circle of demon ladies closed in.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Hazel was really beginning to tire of the stupid weasel Gale.

She'd woken up in the middle of the night after a nightmare about crossroads and torches and Leo being chased by giants, only to find that Gale the weasel was sitting on her chest. Since then, she'd tried to avoid the thing but the creature followed her everywhere. There wasn't a moment of peace. She'd even gone up onto the deck to see if Gale would avoid the cold sea air but even that had failed. Eventually she just decided to tolerate the polecat, even if she constantly farted.

Standing at the port railing, Hazel tried to breathe deeply to settle her stomach. Next to her, Gale ran up anddown the railing, passing gas, but the strong wind off the Adriatic helped whisk it away. She stared at the white cliffs in the distance and thought about why Hecate had sent Gale thepolecat.Something was clearly about to happen. Hazel would be tested.She didn't understand how she was supposed to learn magic with no training. Hecate expected herto defeat some super-powerful sorceress. But how?

Hazel had spent all her free time trying to figure that out. She'd stared at her spatha, trying to makeit look like a walking stick. She'd tried to summon a cloud to hide the full moon. She'd concentrateduntil her eyes crossed and her ears popped, but nothing happened. She couldn't manipulate the Mist.

The last few nights, her dreams had got worse. She found herself back in the Fields of Asphodel,drifting aimlessly among the ghosts. Then she was in Gaia's cave in Alaska, where Hazel and her mother had died as the ceiling collapsed and the voice of the Earth Goddess wailed in anger. She was on the stairs of her mother's apartment building in New Orleans, face to face with her father, Pluto.His cold fingers gripped her arm. The fabric of his black wool suit writhed with imprisoned souls.He fixed her with his dark angry eyes and said:The dead see what they believe they will see. So do the living. That is the secret.

He'd never said that to her in real life. She had no idea what it meant.

The worst nightmares seemed like glimpses of the future. Hazel was stumbling through a dark tunnel while a woman's laughter echoed around her.Control this if you can, child of Pluto, the woman taunted.

And always Hazel dreamed about the images she'd seen at Hecate's crossroads: Annabeth falling through the sky; Leo lying unconscious, possibly dead, in front of black metal doors; and a shrouded figure looming above him – the giant Clytius wrapped in darkness.

Next to her on the rail, Gale the weasel chittered impatiently. Hazel was tempted to push the stupid rodent into the sea.I can't even control my own dreams, she wanted to scream.How am I supposed to control the Mist?She was so miserable that she didn't notice Frank until he was standing at her side.

"Feeling any better?" he asked. He took her hand, his fingers completely covering hers. She couldn't believe how much taller he'd become. He had changed into so many animals, she wasn't sure why one more transformation should amaze her...but suddenly he'd grown into his weight. No one could call him pudgy or cuddly anymore. He looked like a football player, solid and strong, with a new centre of gravity. His shoulders had broadened. He walked with more confidence. What Frank had done on that bridge in Venice ... Hazel was still in awe. None of them had actually seen the battle, but no one doubted it. Frank's whole bearing had changed.

"I'm-I'm alright," Hazel managed. "You?"

"Um-taller," Frank laughed. "But otherwise, okay."

"Good, I'm glad," she replied. She looked up to the crows nest where Percy and Nico were talking quietly amongst themselves. "It's not actually you I'm worried about." Frank followed her gaze.

"They're both feeling guilty," he said absentmindedly. "About Leo. They both blame themselves."

"They shouldn't," Hazel sighed. "But I suppose they were there when it happened."

"So were you," Frank pointed out. "So was Annabeth."

"Yeah but I was trained differently to Percy and Nico," Hazel said. "I'm Roman, through and through. Sacrifice is part of our lives. Percy and Nico were raised Greek where personal losses are felt much more. Percy especially hates feeling like he's failed someone. He had a soft spot for Leo after the whole eidolon thing. And Annabeth is...Annabeth. She's much better at compartmentalizing. I miss Leo too, I really do, but I know that he did the right thing." Frank was silent, looking out across the ocean.

"I woke Piper up from a nightmare last night," he said gravely. "She was screaming for Leo. I wouldn't have heard but I was on watch so I happened to be walking by."

"She misses him too," Hazel said.

"More than the rest of us," Frank replied. "Jason too... I mean, we all knew there's something going on there between the three of them. I never quite figured it out though."

"I don't think it's for us to understand," Hazel said softly. "But Piper described it like losing a part of her heart. I don't think Jason and her will fully function again until we get Leo back."

"Can you feel if he's still alive?" Frank asked lowly. "Because if he isn't...maybe we need to start preparing the others for the possibility that Leo won't make it."

"He's still alive," Hazel confirmed. "Nico will have a better idea of his condition, but I can feel his life force. For now, he's still fighting."Frank stood up straight. He was wearing a beige T-shirt with a picture of a horse and the wordsPALIO DI SIENA. He'd only bought it a couple of days ago, but now it was too small. When hestretched, his midriff was exposed.Hazel realized she was staring. She quickly looked away, her face flushed.

"Nico is my only relative," she said. "He's not easy to like, but...thanks for being kind to him."

Frank smiled. "Hey, you put up with my grandmother in Vancouver. Talk about not easy to like."

"I loved your grandmother!" Gale the polecat scampered up to them, farted and ran away. "Ugh." Frank waved away the smell. "Why is that thing here, anyway?" Hazel was almost glad she wasn't on dry land. As agitated as she felt, gold and gems wouldprobably be popping up all around her feet.

"Hecate sent Gale to observe," she said.

"Observe what?" Hazel tried to take comfort in Frank's presence, his new aura of solidity and strength. "I don't know," she said at last. "Some kind of test."

Suddenly the boat lurched forward.

Frank and Hazel tumbled over each other, ans Hazel groaned as she hit the deck hard.Dimly, Hazel wondered if they'd hit an iceberg – but in the Adriatic, in the middle of summer?

The ship rocked to port with a massive commotion, like telephone poles snapping in half. "Gahh!" Annabeth yelled somewhere behind her. "It's eating the oars!"

What is?Hazel wondered. She tried to stand, but something large and heavy was pinning her legs.She realized it was Frank, grumbling as he tried to extract himself from a pile of loose rope.Everyone else was scrambling. Jason jumped over them, his sword drawn, and raced towards the stern. Piper was already on the quarterdeck, shooting food from her cornucopia and yelling, "Hey! HEY! Eat this, ya stupid turtle!"

Turtle?

Frank helped Hazel to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Hazel lied, clutching her stomach. "Go!" Frank sprinted up the steps, slinging off his backpack, which instantly transformed into a bow and quiver. By the time he reached the helm, he had already fired one arrow and was nocking the second.

Annabeth frantically worked the ship's controls. "Oars won't retract. Get it away! Get it away!" Up in the rigging, Nico's face was slack with shock.

"Styx – it's huge!" he yelled. "Port! Go port!" Coach Hedge was the last one on deck. He compensated for that with enthusiasm. He bounded up the steps, waving his baseball bat, and without hesitation goat-galloped to the stern and leaped over the rail with a gleeful "Ha-HA!"

Hazel staggered towards the quarterdeck to join her friends. The boat shuddered. More oars snapped, and Annabeth yelled, "No, no, no! Leo will kill me!" Hazel reached the stern and couldn't believe what she saw.

When she heard the word turtle, she thought of a cute little thing the size of a jewellery box, sitting on a rock in the middle of a fishpond. When she heard huge, her mind tried to adjust – okay, perhap sit was like the Galapagos tortoise she'd seen in the zoo once, with a shell big enough to ride on. She did not envision a creature the size of an island.

When she saw the massive dome of craggy black and brown squares, the word turtle simply did not compute. Its shell was more like a landmass– hills of bone, shiny pearl valleys, kelp and moss forests, rivers of seawater trickling down the grooves of its carapace.On the ship's starboard side, another part of the monster rose from the water like a submarine.

Lares of Rome...was that its head?Its gold eyes were the size of wading pools, with dark sideways slits for pupils. Its skin glistened like wet army camouflage – brown flecked with green and yellow. Its red, toothless mouth could've swallowed the Athena Parthenos in one bite. Hazel watched as it snapped off half a dozen oars.

"Distract it!" Annabeth ordered. "We can't let it destroy the ship!"

Coach Hedge clambered around the turtle's shell, whacking at it uselessly with his baseball bat and yelling, "Take that! And that!"

Jason flew from the stern and landed on the creature's head. He stabbed his golden sword straight between its eyes, but the blade slipped sideways, as if the turtle's skin were greased steel.

"Er-guys!" he yelled. "It doesn't seem to be kill-able! Percy, can't you talk to it?!" Percy, who was currently holding on for dear life on the rigging, shot Jason a look.

"I talk to horses, not giant, ship-eating turtles, bro!" he shouted.

Frank shot arrows at the monster's eyes with no success. The turtle's filmy inner eyelids blinked with uncanny precision, deflecting each shot. Piper shot cantaloupes into the water, yelling, "Fetch, ya stupid turtle!" But the turtle seemed fixated on eating the Argo II.

"How did it get so close?" Hazel demanded.

Annabeth threw her hands up in exasperation. "Must be that shell. Guess it's invisible to sonar and radar. The stealth turtle can't be tracked!"

"Can't you get us in the air!?" Piper yelled.

"Not with half the oars broken!" Annabeth replied, swinging the Wii remote and spinning the Archimedes sphere. She looked up, her eyes suddenly narrowing as she stared into the distance. Hazel watched as the gears seemed to turn in her head. "But I can get us to those straits!" Hazel looked to where she was pointing, spotting the cliffs a few miles off. "Everyone, hold onto something."

"Er Annabeth," Percy said nervously. "What are you doing?"

"Something stupid," she muttered. She pressed the 'A' button on the Wii remote and a big, red button popped up onto the control console. "Hold tight." Before Hazel could say anything, Annabeth slammed the button.

Immediately, the ship shot forwards, trails of fire blazing from the back like a rocket ship. The turtle groaned as it's face became charred and burned, but even as the distance between it and the ship increased, it began paddling towards them at speed. "I need a distraction!" Annabeth shouted. "Keep it busy!"

"A distraction," Hazel repeated.

She concentrated and thought:Arion!She had no idea whether it would work. But instantly Hazel spotted something on the horizon – a flash of light and steam. It streaked across the surface of the Adriatic. In a heartbeat, Arion stood on the quarterdeck.Gods of Olympus, Hazel thought.I love this horse. Arion snorted as if to say,Of course you do.You're not stupid.

Hazel climbed on his back. "Piper, I could use that charmspeak of yours."

"Once upon a time, I liked turtles," Piper muttered, accepting a hand up. "Not any more!" Hazel spurred Arion. He leaped over the side of the boat, hitting the water at a full gallop. The turtle was a fast swimmer, but it couldn't match Arion's speed. Hazel and Piper zipped around the monster's head, Hazel slicing with her sword, Piper shouting random commands like, "Dive! Turn left! Look behind you!" The sword did no damage. Each command only worked for a moment, but they were making the turtle very annoyed.

Arion whinnied derisively as the turtle snapped at him, only to get a mouthful of horse vapour. Soon the monster had completely forgotten the Argo II. Hazel kept stabbing at its head. Piper kept yelling commands and using her cornucopia to bounce coconuts and roasted chickens off the turtle's eyeballs.

As soon as the Argo II had passed into the straits, Arion broke off his harassment. They sped after the ship, and a moment later were back on deck.The rocket fire had extinguished, though smoking bronze exhaust vents still jutted from the stern.The Argo II limped forward under sail power, but their plan had paid off. They were safely harboured in the narrow waters, with a long, rocky island to starboard and the sheer white cliffs of the mainland to port. The turtle stopped at the entrance to the straits and glared at them balefully, but it made no attempt to follow. Its shell was obviously much too wide.

Hazel dismounted and got a big hug from Frank. "Nice work out there!" he said. Her face flushed.

"Thanks." Piper slid down next to her.

"Annabeth, since when does the ship have jet propulsion?"

"Leo put it in before we left Camp Half Blood," Annabeth said, looking slightly crazed with her blonde hair sticking up at wild angles. "He told me it was only if we needed to get out of somewhere fast. I didn't think he meant that fast though."

"The kid doesn't hold back," Percy whistled.

"It roasted the turtle's head,' Jason said appreciatively. "So what now?"

"Kill it!" Coach said. "You even have to ask? We got enough distance. We got ballistae. Lock and load, demigods!"

Jason frowned. "Coach, first of all, you made me lose my sword."

"Hey! I didn't ask for an evac!"

"Second, I don't think the ballistae will do any good. That shell is like Nemean Lion skin. Its head isn't any softer."

"So we chuck one right down its throat," Coach said, "like you guys did with that shrimp monster thing in the Atlantic. Light it up from the inside."

Frank scratched his head. "Might work. But then you've got a five-million-kilo turtle carcass blocking the entrance to the straits. If we can't fly with the oars broken, how do we get the ship out?" "

You wait and fix the oars!" Coach said. "Or just sail in the other direction, you big galoot."

Frank looked confused. "What's a galoot?"

"Guys!" Nico called down from the mast. "About sailing in the other direction? I don't think that's going to work." He pointed past the prow.A quarter mile ahead of them, the long rocky strip of land curved in and met the cliffs. The channel ended in a narrow V.

"We're not in a strait," Jason said. "We're in a dead end." Hazel got a cold feeling in her fingers and toes. On the port rail, Gale the weasel sat up on her haunches, staring at Hazel expectantly.

"This is a trap," Hazel said.

The words had barely left her mouth when an arrow sank into the mainmast, six inches from Piper's face.The crew scattered for cover, except for Piper, who stood frozen in place, gaping at the arrow that had almost pierced her nose the hard way.

"Piper, duck!" Jason whispered harshly.But no other missiles rained down.Frank studied the angle of the bolt in the mast and pointed towards the top of the cliffs.

"Up there," he said. "Single shooter. See him?" The sun was in her eyes, but Hazel spotted a tiny figure standing at the top of the ledge. His bronze armour glinted.

"Who the heck is he?" Percy demanded, his face menacing. "Why is he firing at us?"

"Guys?" Piper's voice was thin and watery. "There's a note." Hazel hadn't seen it before, but a parchment scroll was tied to the arrow shaft. She wasn't sure why, but that made her angry. She stormed over and untied it.

"Uh, Hazel?" Percy said. "You sure that's safe?" She read the note out loud.

"First line: Stand and deliver."

"What does that mean?" Coach Hedge complained. "We are standing. Well, crouching, anyway.And if that guy is expecting a pizza delivery, forget it!"

"There's more," Hazel said. "This is a robbery. Send two of your party to the top of the cliff with all your valuables. No more than two. Leave the magic horse. No flying. No tricks. Just climb."

"Climb what?" Piper asked.

Nico pointed. "There." A narrow set of steps was carved into the cliff, leading to the top. The turtle, the dead-end channel,the cliff ... Hazel got the feeling this was not the first time the letter writer had ambushed a ship here.She cleared her throat and kept reading aloud: "I do mean all your valuables. Otherwise my turtle and I will destroy you. You have five minutes."

"Use the catapults!" cried the coach.

"P.S." Hazel read, "don't even think about using your catapults."

"Curse it!" said the coach. "This guy is good."

"Is the note signed?" Nico asked.Hazel shook her head. She'd heard a story back at Camp Jupiter, something about a robber who worked with a giant turtle, but, as usual, as soon as she needed the information it sat annoyingly in the back of her memory, just out of reach. The weasel Gale watched her, waiting to see what she would do.The test hasn't happened yet, Hazel thought. Distracting the turtle hadn't been enough. Hazel hadn't proven anything about how she could manipulate the Mist ... mostly because she couldn't manipulate the Mist.

Annabeth studied the cliff top and muttered under her breath. "That's not a good trajectory. Even if I could arm the catapult before that guy pin-cushioned us with arrows, I don't think I could make the shot. That's hundreds of feet, almost straight up."

"Yeah,'"Frank grumbled. "My bow is useless too. He's got a huge advantage, being above us like that. I couldn't reach him."

"And, um ..." Piper nudged the arrow that was stuck in the mast. "I have a feeling he's a good shot.I don't think he meant to hit me. But if he did ..." She didn't need to elaborate. Whoever that robber was, he could hit a target from hundreds of feet away. He could shoot them all before they could react.

"I'll go," Hazel said.She hated the idea, but she was sure Hecate had set this up as some sort of twisted challenge. This was Hazel's test – her turn to save the ship. As if she needed confirmation, Gale scampered along the railing and jumped on her shoulder, ready to hitch a ride. The others stared at her. Frank gripped his bow.

"Hazel –"

"No, listen," she said, "this robber wants valuables. I can go up there, summon gold, jewels,whatever he wants."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "If we pay him off, you think he'll actually let us go?"

"We don't have much choice," Nico said. "Between that guy and the turtle ..."

Jason raised his hand. The others fell silent. "I'll go too," he said. "The letter says two people. I'll take Hazel up there and watch her back. Besides, I don't like the look of those steps. If Hazel falls ... well, I can use the winds to keep us both from coming down the hard way." Arion whinnied in protest, as if to say,You're going without me? You're kidding, right?By the grim look on Percy's face, Hazel didn't think she was far off on her translation.

"I have to, Arion," Hazel said. "Jason ... yes. I think you're right. It's the best plan."

"And if you need a back up, I'll make sure the sea doesn't kill you either," Percy said. "Just...don't fall, alright?"

"Only wish I had my sword." Jason glared at the coach. "It's back there at the bottom of the sea."

"Oh, dude, sorry," Percy said, grinning sheepishly. He raised a hand aloft and, a few seconds later, Jason's sword flew from the water and landed in his hand. He offered it back to Jason who nodded appreciatively.

"Now," Hazel said. "If there are no other objections, we have a robber to meet."

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Leo panicked.

Not very courageous of him, he knew, but when you're face to face with dozens of demon ladies, his flight or fight response kicked into overdrive. Or it would have done if he wasn't completely surrounded.

"Er-come on ladies, let's talk about this," he said, gripping onto his hammer more tightly. Bob was already brandishing his broom, with Small Bob the kitten having disappeared into the Titan's overall. Smart cat. What Leo wouldn't give to be able to hide right now.

The arai do not negotiate, the demon ladies hissed.The arai onlykill!

"Oh Hades..." Leo gulped, backing up a little towards the black trees. Bob swept his broom in a wide circle, trying to keep the arai at bay. "Killing is rather harsh, don't you think?"

We serve the bitter and the defeated,said the arai.We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you, Leo Valdez.

The firewater in Leo's stomach started crawling up his throat. He wished Tartarus had better beverage options, or maybe a tree that dispensed antacid fruit. That, or it needed sick bags around every corner because he was definitely about to puke.

The nearest demon lunged. Her claws extended like bony switchblades. Leo's instincts kicked in. He sidestepped the first demon lady, bringing down his hammer on the creature so it burst into dust. For a moment, Leo didn't feel too bad. The arai weren't the most tactical or sophisticated of attackers. In fact, she hadn't even come close to Leo. But then pain started. The bone deep, throbbing, crushing pain that knocked the air right out of him. He dropped the one knee, every breath forced from his lungs.

"What-" he gasped. "What is this?"

The curse of the cyclops, Ma Gasket,the arai screeched.You crushed her under an engine in Detroit. She cursed you to feelherpain one hundred times over as she was vaporised.

Leo tried not to scream under the invisible weight. It had been so long since he'd thought about those cyclops'. At the time, he'd been so proud that he'd defeated them, knowing that he'd rescued Jason and Piper from being eaten. He should have known the cyclops mother wouldn't let him go that easily.

Vengeance. Curses. It couldn't mean every monster Leo had ever killed, could it? "I don't understand..." he murmured.

"If you kill one, it gives you a curse," Bob said but his voice sounded so far away. Leo's arms felt like jelly, less than jelly actually. He felt like he was being ground into dust.

Choose!the arai cried.Will you be shot to death like Lycaon? Or ripped apart like the Earthborn? You have spread so much death and suffering, Leo Valdez. Let us repay you!

The arai charged at him again and Leo braced himself for their claws.

"SWEEP!" Bob's broom whooshed over Leo's head. The entire arai offensive line toppled backwards like bowling pins. More surged forward. Bob whacked one over the head and speared another, blasting them to dust. The others backed away.

Leo held his breath, waiting for his Titan friend to be laid low with some terrible curse, but Bob seemed fine – a massive silvery bodyguard keeping death at bay with the world's most terrifying cleaning implement.

"Bob, you okay?" Leo asked. "No curses?"

"No curses for Bob!" Bob agreed. The arai snarled and circled, eyeing the broom.

The Titan is already cursed. Why should we torture him further? Percy Jackson already destroyed his memory, and you, Leo Valdez, did not tell him.

Bob's spearhead dipped. Time slowed as the Titan turned, his eyes full of hurt and confusion. Struggling to his feet, Leo staggered towards him, taking a hold of his arm. "Don't listen to them, Bob!" he cried. "They're evil! They're trying to break your friendship with Percy!" Bob looked down at him.

"My memories..." he said. "It was Percy?"

"I don't know," Leo answered honestly. "I don't know what happened to your memories, or how Percy was involved. But I do know that Percy is your friend. And I'm your friend. Aren't I your friend, Bob?"

Curse him, Titan!the arai urged, their red eyes gleaming.Add to our numbers!

"Bob, listen," he tried again, "the arai want you to get angry. Don't give them what they want. I'm your friend, but they aren't!"

Did Percy Jackson visit you in Hades' palace?the arai hissed.No! He left you to rot while mopping floors! Any friend of Percy Jackson's is an enemy of yours, Titan.

"Percy never visited," Bob murmured. "Nico did, but Percy never visited." At this point, Leo was really starting to get scared. He looked around, desperately looking for some sort of escape route. The darkness stretched for miles. Leo knew that he had no chance in running. But staying here with an angry Titan would mean certain death. "Nico visited. Told me about Percy. Told me Percy was good. Told me Percy was a friend. I thought Leo would be like Percy if he was Percy's friend. That is why Bob helped. But Bob isn't sure now..."

"Please, Bob," Leo whispered, staring up at the Titan with pleading eyes. "Please don't do this."

The arai attacked, and this time Bob did not stopped them.

Leo ran. He swung his hammer blindly, trying to fend off any arai who managed to reach him. Weaving between the trees, Leo stumbled underneath their branches, hoping that it would slow the arai down. His heart hammered against his chest. The poisonous air burned his lungs. His eyesight was blurring, his head pounding. The darkness seemed push in closer and Leo knew he had no choice. Gathering the last bit of strength he had, he held out his palm and summoned a fireball.

A screech from behind him made him trip in shock. One of the arai had managed to fly ahead of the others and stretched out a deadly claw for Leo. In blind panic, Leo shot the fire ball at the creature, instantly vaporizing it. Immediately, a stabbing, cold feeling settled over him. Leo took a sharp intake of breath as his muscles started to freeze over, ice crinkling over his clothes and skin. His fire extinguished as the ice grew colder, his body shaking with exertion as his energy was sapped.

The curse of Khione, the arai cackled together.You humiliated her in the Wolf House. She cursed you to never again feel warmth.

Leo's teeth chattered in reply. He tried to lift his hammer arm, wincing and groaning as each movement cracked the ice. The prickling in his fingers signified he was only a few seconds away from frostbite. "St-stop i-it," he croaked.

Why should we?the arai hissed.Why should we end your suffering when you have caused so much? You have hurt so many, Leo Valdez. Monsters, demigods, humans...even your own mother.

Leo's eyes widened. "N-no," he said. "No, sh-she wouldn't h-have." In their collective voice, the arai's laughter screeched around him in delight. It was like a shard of ice to his heart. A brutal stab to the chest. A twisting, gut-wrenching pain that left Leo almost in tears. These creatures...they couldn't know anything about his mum, could they? They had to be lying. She would never have cursed him. He wouldn't believe it. The arai were trying to hurt him at the deepest level possible, trying to probe him for weaknesses. Anger flooded through him. The ice encasing him cracked and melted, crumbling to the ground as flames engulfed his body. He no longer cared for his life. If here was where he was going die, then he might as well go out fighting.

He let out an almighty scream and charged. The arai screeched and scattered in fear, shocked by Leo's sudden assault. He swiped at them with his hammer, blasting fireballs and wreaking havoc to their forest. With each one he killed, another curse crashed into him like a tidal wave. He felt himself peppered by hundreds of blaster shots like the ones he'd attacked New Rome with, burned by waves Greek fire like Keto's skolopendra, disintegrated like the eidolons. He was stabbed with knives, slashed by belts, beaten by thousands of fists. He felt loss and devastation course through his veins just as fresh as the day his mother had died. He felt the crushing weight of failure after leaving Calypso on her island. Worst of all was the shame of being the monster he knew he was, the terror that one day his friends would realise his darkness was too much to control. Every single wretched feeling Leo had ever had ripped straight through him. Curse after curse ripped into his body but Leo couldn't stop. Once again, the rage he'd felt when he'd killed Arachne filled him until he couldn't think past his anger.

Another arai rose up in front of him and Leo didn't even think before he'd smashed it's head in with his hammer. The curse settled over him and suddenly, Leo couldn't breathe. He stopped in his tracks, his hand clutching his throat as he tried to heave in oxygen.You have chosen your fate, the arai cackled.The curse of Rosa Valdez. You murdered her sister in a fire before she was burdened with the devil child himself. She wished for you to stop breathing. It seems she will finally get her wish.

Leo collapsed, his chest stuttering. Black dots swam in his vision as the arai closed in for the kill. Time slowed, everything moving sluggishly as his brain tried to comprehend what was happening to him. He stared vacantly above him, smiling slightly as the faces of Jason and Piper gazed down. They were bathed in a silvery light like the angels they were. They had to be angels to put up with him. He wondered briefly if they'd ever find out what had happened to him here, if they'd mourn for him or carry on with their lives. He hoped they'd move on. He hoped they'd leave his ghost behind and live happy lives without him.

He will lose consciousness before he dies, one arai speculated.

No, he will burn first, another hissed.

They were betting, Leo realised. Betting on his death. Leo really didn't want to die like this. Please, he really didn't want to die.

"Bob," he whispered. "I need you." It was a hopeless plea. Why would Bob answer his call when he believed his demigod friends had betrayed him?

Leo's surroundings started to flicker.The sky boiled and the ground blistered. Leo realized that what he saw of Tartarus was only a watered-down version of its true horror – only what his demigod brain could handle. The worst of it was veiled, the same way the Mist veiled monsters from mortal sight. Now as Leo died he began to see the truth.The air was the breath of Tartarus. All these monsters were just blood cells circulating through his body. Everything Leo saw was a dream in the mind of the dark god of the pit.

This must have been the way Nico had seen Tartarus, and it had almost destroyed his sanity. Really, what hope did Leo Valdez the Mechanic have to survive when the Prince of the Underworld almost didn't?

You see the horror of the pit?the arai said soothingly.Give up, Leo Valdez. Isn't death betterthan enduring this place? Isn't death better than enduring your own loneliness?

"I'm sorry," Leo murmured.

He apologises!the arai shrieked.He regrets his crimes!

"No," Leo croaked. "I'm sorry, Bob. I'm sorry what Percy did to you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry that you have to suffer like this. Please, just go before Tartarus kills you too." Leo closed his eyes, imagining Jason and Piper's faces one last time before the arai killed him. A single tear slipped down his cheek as he prepared for death-

Boom!

Leo's eyes snapped open to find Bob standing over him, his broom aloft as he swiped through the arai like they were paper. Within seconds, most of the arai had been vaporised, the rest having flown away in their terror. Leo lay there in shock, his eyes wide as he stared up into the darkness above them. After making sure the last of the arai had gone, Bob lumbered over to Leo, crouching down beside the demigod.

"Owie," he said, touching a finger gently to Leo's forehead. Leo's chest uncoiled, his lungs free to breathe easily once more, but his other injuries were stubborn. "Too many curses," Bob muttered. "Leo has many enemies. Bob cannot heal everything."

"It's okay, big guy," Leo murmured, his eyelids heavy. "You tried." He couldn't even feel his body anymore. His consciousness was like a small helium balloon, loosely tied to the top of his head. It had noweight, no strength. It just kept expanding, getting lighter and lighter. He knew that soon it wouldeither burst or the string would break, and his life would float away.

"Bob cannot let Leo die," the Titan said. "Leo is Bob's friend. Bob may have been Iapetus before, but Bob is Bob now. And Bob makes his own decisions about his friends."

"I'm still so sorry..." Leo croaked.

"Not Leo's fault," Bob assured him. "Not Percy's fault either. Percy may have lied, but he didn't let Bob die in the Lethe. Therefore, Percy still saved Bob's life."

"You're too good for us, Bob," Leo whispered, his eyes fluttering as the pain in his body peaked. "Far too good." Bob was silent, seemingly speechless. Leo wasn't sure many people had called Bob good before. He was glad he got to.

In the distance, a roar broke through the still silence. "I SMELL DEMIGOD!" the voice bellowed. "I'M COMING FOR YOU, FIRE CHILD!" A giant. It had to be. Leo didn't know which one though. There were many that hated him so, at this point, it could be anyone.

"Polybotes," Bob said, answering Leo's question for him. "He is very close now."

"Go, Bob," Leo gasped. "You have to go before they find you." But Bob remained still. He rose to his feet, looming over Leo's broken and battered body.

"I promised to help Leo," he said. "And I do not break promises." Leaning down, Bob scooped Leo into his arms like a rag doll. Leo whimpered as he was jostled, every cell screaming at him. "I know safe place," Bob said. "There is a giant who might know what to do."

If Leo was in any shape to do so, he might have screamed at Bob that giants were definitely not the people he wanted to go to. But he was drained. Summoning the amount of fire he had and sustaining all the curses had sapped the life right out of him. He still wasn't sure how he'd even done it considering he'd struggled to light his finger not so many hours ago.

The dark edges of unconsciousness were closing in but Leo didn't fight it. He trusted Bob. He had to. And he was just so tired of fighting. He was so tired of holding on.

Leo let go.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Hazel still couldn't get a read on Jason Grace.

Ever since she'd arrived at Camp Jupiter, she'd heard stories about him. The campers spoke with reverence about the son of Jupiter who'd risen from the lowly ranks of the Fifth Cohort to become praetor, led them to victory in the Battle of Mount Tam, then disappeared. Even now, Jason seemed more like a legend than a person. She had a hard time warming to him, with those icy blue eyes and that careful reserve, like he was calculating every word before he said it. Also, she couldn't forget how he had been ready to write off her brother,Nico, when they'd learned he was a captive in Rome.

But then Leo fell and everything changed.

Hazel had watched as the carefully controlled exterior of Jason Grace crumbled. She'd witnessed a new side to him, one that was desperate and wild and almost unhinged. He'd pushed them all to their limit, urging them on to make it to Greece. Hazel didn't blame him though. She knew that Jason missed Leo fiercely. Part of her wondered how she'd never noticed the bond that Jason and Piper shared with Leo. But another part of her didn't. She'd clearly overlooked the secret glances the three always seemed to share, or the way Jason would always keep Leo company on the helm during long nights, or how Leo never seemed to sleep in his own bed. She supposed that none of it was her business to notice until now. But when the son of Jupiter, one of the most powerful demigods to ever exist, was shattering before her eyes, it was kind of hard not to pay attention.

Although, thinking about this when trying to scale a cliff with a weasel on your shoulder was probably not the best idea.

"You alright?" Jason called up to her.

"Yeah." Hazel's heart jackhammered into her ribs. "Fine."

She glanced up. She couldn't see the thief from here, but she sensed he was waiting. Hazel was confident she could produce enough gems and gold to impress even the greediest robber. She wondered if the treasures she summoned would still bring bad luck. She'd never been sure whether that curse had been broken when she had died the first time. This seemed like a good opportunity to find out. Anybody who robbed innocent demigods with a giant turtle deserved a few nasty curses.

Gale the weasel jumped off her shoulder and scampered ahead. She glanced back and barked eagerly.

"Going as fast as I can," Hazel muttered.She couldn't shake the feeling that the weasel was anxious to watch her fail.

"This, uh, controlling the Mist," Jason said. "Have you had any luck?"

"No," Hazel admitted.She didn't like to think about her failures – the seagull she couldn't turn into a dragon, Coach Hedge's baseball bat stubbornly refusing to turn into a hot dog. She just couldn't make herself believe any of it was possible.

"You'll get it," Jason said.

His tone surprised her. It wasn't a throwaway comment just to be nice. He sounded truly

convinced. She kept climbing, but she imagined him watching her with those piercing blue eyes, his jaw set with confidence. "How can you be sure?' she asked.

"Just am. I've got a good instinct for what people can do - demigods, anyway. Hecate wouldn't have picked you if she didn't believe you had power."

Maybe that should have made Hazel feel better. It didn't. She had a good instinct for people too. She understood what motivated most of her friends – even her brother, Nico, who wasn't easy to read.But Jason? She didn't have a clue. Everybody said he was a natural leader. She believed it. Here he was, making her feel like a valued member of the team, telling her she was capable of anything.But what was Jason capable of?

"What about Leo?" she asked. "What did your instincts tell you about him?" Jason was silent for a moment. Hazel silently cursed her curious mind. She'd really put her foot in it here.

"I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind when I first met Leo," Jason finally said. "But I knew he had my back, and that he was smart. I could tell that even when my brain was scrambled up without my memories. But when we went on our first quest together...well, I realised that Leo wasn't just smart. He was also kind, and mischievous, and loyal, and insanely brave. He's one of the best people I know really."

Hazel swallowed back a wave of emotion. That was certainly not what she expected. She faltered for a second, turning around to sit on one of the steps so she could see Jason's face.

"I'm sorry, Jason," she said. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright," Jason assured her, also taking a seat. He looked out across the ocean and then down to the ship below. "I'm glad you asked, actually. It feels nice to talk about him and not just...you know, his fall."

"We'll find him," Hazel said. "I promise I'll do everything in my power to make sure we do." Jason gave her a small but grateful smile. For some reason, Hazel felt her doubts about Jason Grace float away, the conversation making her see him in a new light. Jason wasn't just some myth, some legend that no one truly knew. He was just a boy who missed his best friend dearly.

"Come on, we're almost there," Jason said, gesturing to the top of the cliff. "I have a feeling this guy is anything but patient."

When Hazel reached the top, she was sweaty and breathless. A long sloping valley marched inland, dotted with scraggly olive trees and limestone boulders. There were no signs of civilization.Hazel's legs trembled from the climb. Gale seemed anxious to explore. The weasel barked and farted and scampered into the nearest bushes.

Far below, the Argo II looked like a toy boat in the channel. Hazel didn't understand how anyone could shoot an arrow accurately from this high up,accounting for the wind and the glare of the sun off the water. At the mouth of the inlet, the massive shape of the turtle's shell glinted like a burnished coin.

Jason joined her at the top, looking no worse for the climb. He started to say, "Where-"

"Here!" said a voice.

Hazel flinched. Only ten feet away, a man had appeared, a bow and quiver over his shoulder and two old-fashioned flintlock duelling pistols in his hands. He wore high leather boots, leather breeches and a pirate-style shirt. His curly black hair looked like a little kid's do and his sparkly green eyes were friendly enough, but a red bandanna covered the lower half of his face.

"Welcome!" the bandit cried, pointing his guns at them. "Your money or your life!"

Hazel was certain that he hadn't been there a second ago. He'd simply materialized, as if he'd stepped out from behind an invisible curtain. "Who are you?" she asked.The bandit laughed.

"Sciron, of course!"

"Chiron?" Jason asked. "Like the centaur?"

The bandit rolled his eyes. "Sky-ron, my friend. Son of Poseidon! Thief extraordinaire! All-around awesome guy! But that's not important. I'm not seeing any valuables!" he cried, as if this were excellent news. "I guess that means you want to die?"

"Wait,'"Hazel said. "We've got valuables. But, if we give them up, how can we be sure you'll let us go?"

"Oh, they always ask that," Sciron said. "I promise you, on the River Styx, that as soon as you surrender what I want, I will not shoot you. I will send you right back down that cliff."

Hazel gave Jason a wary look. River Styx or no, the way Sciron phrased his promise didn't reassure her. "What if we fought you?" Jason asked. "You can't attack us and hold our ship hostage at the same-"

BANG! BANG!

It happened so fast that Hazel's brain needed a moment to catch up.Smoke curled from the side of Jason's head. Just above his left ear, a groove cut through his hairlike a racing stripe. One of Sciron's flintlocks was still pointed at his face. The other flintlock was pointed down, over the side of the cliff, as if Sciron's second shot had been fired at the Argo II. Hazel choked from delayed shock.

"What did you do?"

"Oh, don't worry!" Sciron laughed. "If you could see that far – which you can't – you'd see a hole in the deck between the shoes of the big young man, the one with the bow."

"Frank!"

Sciron shrugged. "If you say so. That was just a demonstration. I'm afraid it could have been much more serious." He spun his flintlocks. The hammers reset, and Hazel had a feeling the guns had just magically reloaded. Sciron waggled his eyebrows at Jason. "So! To answer your question – yes, I can attack you an d hold your ship hostage at the same time. Celestial bronze ammunition. Quite deadly to demigods. You two would die first – bang, bang. Then I could take my time picking off your friends on that ship.Target practice is so much more fun with live targets running around screaming!"

Jason touched the new furrow that the bullet had ploughed through his hair. For once, he didn't look very confident.Hazel's ankles wobbled. Frank was the best shot she knew with a bow, but this bandit Sciron was inhumanly good. "You're a son of Poseidon?" she managed. "I would've thought Apollo, the way you shoot."

The smile lines deepened around his eyes. "Why, thank you! It's just from practice, though. The giant turtle – that's due to my parentage. You can't go around taming giant turtles without being a son of Poseidon! I could overwhelm your ship with a tidal wave, of course, but it's terribly difficult work. Not nearly as fun as ambushing and shooting people."

Hazel tried to collect her thoughts, stall for time, but it was difficult while staring down the smoking barrels of those flintlocks. "Uh ... what's the bandanna for?"

"So no one recognizes me!" Sciron said.

"But you introduced yourself," Jason said. "You're Sciron."

The bandit's eyes widened. "How did you – Oh. Yes, I suppose I did." He lowered one flint lock and scratched the side of his head with the other. "Terribly sloppy of me. Sorry. I'm afraid I'm a little rusty. Back from the dead and all that. Let me try again." He levelled his pistols. "Stand and deliver! I am an anonymous bandit and you do not need to know my name!"

Something clicked in Hazel's memory. "Theseus. He killed you once." Sciron's shoulders slumped.

"Now, why did you have to mention him? We were getting along so well!"

Jason frowned. "Hazel, you know this guy's story?" She nodded, though the details were murky.

"Theseus met him on the road to Athens. Sciron would kill his victims by, um..." Something about the turtle. Hazel couldn't remember.

"Theseus was such a cheater!" Sciron complained. "I don't want to talk about him. I'm back from the dead now. Gaia promised me I could stay on the coastline and rob all the demigods I wanted, and that's what I'm going to do! Now ... where were we?"

"You were about to let us go," Hazel ventured.

"Hmm ...' Sciron said. "No, I'm pretty sure that wasn't it. Ah, right! Money or your life. Where are your valuables? No valuables? Then I'll have to-"

"Wait," Hazel said. "I have our valuables. At least, I can get them." Sciron pointed a flintlock at Jason's head.

"Well, then, my dear, hop to it, or my next shot will cutoff more than your friend's hair!"

Hazel hardly needed to concentrate. She was so anxious, the ground rumbled beneath her and immediately yielded a bumper crop – precious metals popping to the surface as though the earth was anxious to expel them.She found herself surrounded by a knee-high mound of treasure – Roman denarii, silver drachmas,ancient gold jewellery, glittering diamonds and topaz and rubies – enough to fill several lawn bags.

Sciron laughed with delight. "How in the world did you do that?"

Hazel didn't answer. She thought about all the coins that had appeared at the crossroads with Hecate. Here were even more – centuries' worth of hidden wealth from every empire that had ever claimed this land – Greek, Roman, Byzantine and so many others. Those empires were gone, leaving only a barren coastline for Sciron the bandit. That thought made her feel small and powerless.

"Just take the treasure," she said. "Let us go."

Sciron chuckled. "Oh, but I did say all your valuables. I understand you're holding something very special on that ship ... a certain ivory-and-gold statue about, say, forty feet tall?" The sweat started to dry on Hazel's neck, sending a shiver down her back. Jason stepped forward. Despite the gun pointed at his face, his eyes were as hard as sapphires.

"The statue isn't negotiable." Hazel could practically see the rage bubbling underneath Jason's skin. Leo sacrificed himself to get that statue. Jason would burn the world down before he gave it up. "Gaia told you about it, didn't she? She told you to take it."

"Maybe," Sciron shrugged. "She said I could keep it for myself. Hard to pass up on an offer like that."

"The statue won't do you any good," Hazel said. "Not if Gaia destroys the world." The muzzles of Sciron's pistols wavered.

"Pardon?"

"Gaia is using you," Hazel said. "If you take that statue, we won't be able to defeat her. She's planning on wiping all mortals and demigods off the face of the earth, letting her giants and monsters take over. So where will you spend your gold, Sciron? Assuming Gaia even lets you live."

Hazel let that sink in. She figured Sciron would have no trouble believing in double-crosses, being a bandit and all.He was silent for a count of ten.Finally his smile lines returned. "All right!" he said. "I'm not unreasonable. Keep the statue."

Jason blinked. "We can go?"

"Just one more thing," Sciron said. "I always demand a show of respect. Before I let my victims leave, I insist that they wash my feet."

Hazel wasn't sure she'd heard him right. Then Sciron kicked off his leather boots, one after the other. His bare feet were the most disgusting things Hazel had ever seen ... and she had seen some very disgusting things.They were puffy, wrinkled and white as dough, as if they'd been soaking in formaldehyde for a few centuries. Tufts of brown hair sprouted from each misshapen toe. His jagged toenails were green and yellow, like a tortoise's shell.Then the smell hit her. Hazel didn't know if her father's Underworld palace had a cafeteria for zombies, but if it did that cafeteria would smell like Sciron's feet.

"So!" Sciron wriggled his disgusting toes. "Who wants the left, and who wants the right?"

Jason's face turned almost as white as those feet. "You've ... got to be kidding."

"Not at all!" Sciron said. "Wash my feet, and we're done. I'll send you back down the cliff. I promise on the River Styx."

He made that promise so easily, alarm bells rang in Hazel's mind. Feet. Send you back down the cliff. Tortoise shell.The story came back to her, all the missing pieces fitting into place. She remembered how Sciron killed his victims.

"Could we have a moment?" Hazel asked the bandit. Sciron's eyes narrowed.

"What for?"

"Well, it's a big decision," she said. "Left foot, right foot. We need to discuss."

She could tell he was smiling under the mask. "Of course," he said. "I'm so generous you can have two minutes."

Hazel climbed out of her pile of treasure. She led Jason as far away as she dared – about fifty feet down the cliff, which she hoped was out of earshot. "Sciron kicks his victims off the cliff," she whispered.

Jason scowled. "What?"

"When you kneel down to wash his feet," Hazel said. "That's how he kills you. When you're off balance, woozy from the smell of his feet, he'll kick you over the edge. You'll fall right into the mouth of his giant turtle."

Jason took a moment to digest that, so to speak. He glanced over the cliff, where the turtle's massive shell glinted just under the water. "So we have to fight," Jason said.

"Sciron's too fast," Hazel said. "He'll kill us both."

"Then I'll be ready to fly. When he kicks me over, I'll float halfway down the cliff. Then when he kicks you, I'll catch you." Hazel shook her head.

"If he kicks you hard and fast enough, you'll be too dazed to fly. And, even if you can, Sciron's got the eyes of a marksman. He'll watch you fall. If you hover, he'll just shoot youout of the air."

"Then..." Jason clenched his sword hilt. "I hope you have another idea?"

A few feet away, Gale the weasel appeared from the bushes. She gnashed her teeth and peered at Hazel as if to say, Well? Do you?Hazel calmed her nerves, trying to avoid pulling more gold from the ground. She remembered the dream she'd had of her father Pluto's voice: The dead see what they believe they will see. So do the living. That is the secret.She understood what she had to do. She hated the idea more than she hated that farting weasel, more than she hated Sciron's feet.

"Unfortunately, yes," Hazel said. "We have to let Sciron win."

"What?" Jason demanded.

Hazel told him the plan.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

"Finally!" Sciron cried. "That was much longer than two minutes!"

"Sorry," Jason said through gritted teeth. "It was a big decision...which foot." Hazel tried to clear her mind and imagine the scene through Sciron's eyes - what he desired, what he expected. That was the key to using the Mist. She couldn't force someone to see her reality.

But she was the daughter of Pluto. She'd seen for herself the way the dead mourned and longed for a past life they could barely remember. They saw what they believed they would see. There wasn't much difference there. If the dead could see that, then why couldn't Hazel create it?

Of course she could be wrong, in which case she and Jason were about to be turtle food.She rested her hand on her jacket pocket, where Frank's magical firewood seemed heavier than usual. She wasn't just carrying his lifeline now. She was carrying the lives of the entire crew.

Jason stepped forward, his hands open in surrender. "I'll go first, Sciron. I'll wash your left foot."

"Excellent choice!" Sciron wriggled his hairy, corpse-like toes. "I may have stepped on something with that foot. It felt a little squishy inside my boot. But I'm sure you'll clean it properly."

Jason's ears reddened. From the tension in his neck, Hazel could tell that he was tempted to drop the charade and attack – one quick slash with his Imperial gold blade. But Hazel knew if he tried, he would fail. And if he failed, then Leo would be lost.

"Sciron," she broke in, "do you have water? Soap? How are we supposed to wash-"

"Like this!" Sciron spun his left flintlock. Suddenly it became a squirt bottle with a rag. He tossed it to Jason.

Jason squinted at the label. "You want me to wash your feet with glass cleaner?"

"Of course not!" Sciron knitted his eyebrows. "It says multi-surface cleanser. My feet definitely qualify as multi-surface. Besides, it's antibacterial. I need that. Believe me, water won't do the trick on these babies."

Sciron wiggled his toes, and more zombie café odour wafted across the cliffs.

Jason gagged. "Oh, gods, no..."

Sciron shrugged. "You can always choose what's in my other hand." He hefted his right flintlock.

"He'll do it," Hazel said. Jason glared at her, but Hazel won the staring contest.

"Fine," he muttered. "Excellent! Now..." Sciron hopped to the nearest chunk of limestone that was the right size for a footstool. He faced the water and planted his foot, so he looked like some explorer who'd just claimed a new country. "I'll watch the horizon while you scrub my bunions. It'll be much more enjoyable."

"Yeah," Jason said. "I bet."

Jason knelt in front of the bandit, at the edge of the cliff where he was about to topple over. Hazel concentrated as best she could. She imagined Sciron, imagined what he wanted to see, imagined Jason being kicked off the cliff and into the turtle's mouth below.

When the kick happened, she almost missed it.

Sciron slammed with foot into Jason's chest. Jason tumbled backwards, flailing and screaming as he fell. When he was about to hit the water, the turtle rose up and ate him in one bite, sinking below the surface of the water.

Alarm bells sounded on the Argo II. Hazel could hear Piper wailing and Percy shouting with rage all the way from the ship. The sea started to boil, the sky blackening as Percy summoned everything he had. Hazel knew she had to be quick before Percy destroyed the whole world to avenge Jason.

She forced her mind to split into two parts –one intensely focused on her task, one playing the role Sciron needed to see.

She screamed in outrage. "What did you do?"

"Oh, dear..." Sciron sounded sad, but Hazel got the impression he was hiding a grin under his bandanna. "That was an accident, I assure you."

"My friends will kill you now!"

"They can try," Sciron said with a shrug. "But in the meantime I think you have time to wash my other foot!Believe me, my dear. My turtle is full now. He doesn't want you too. You'll be quite safe, unless you refuse." He levelled the flintlock pistol at her head.

She hesitated, letting him see her anguish. She couldn't agree too easily, or he wouldn't think she was beaten. "Don't kick me," she said, half-sobbing.His eyes twinkled. This was exactly what he expected. She was broken and helpless. Sciron, the son of Poseidon, had won again.

Hazel could hardly believe this guy had the same father as Percy.

She snatched up the spray bottle Jason had dropped. "Sciron," she growled, "your feet are the least disgusting thing about you."

His green eyes hardened. "Just clean."

She knelt, trying to ignore the smell. She shuffled to one side, forcing Sciron to adjust his stance,but she imagined that the sea was still at her back. She held that vision in her mind as she shuffled sideways again. "Just get on with it!" Sciron said.Hazel suppressed a smile. She'd managed to turn Sciron one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, but he still saw the water in front of him, the rolling countryside at his back.She started to clean.

When the kick came, she flew backwards, but she didn't go far. Suddenly, the world shifted. The illusion melted, leaving Sciron totally confused. The sea was at his back. He had only succeeded in kicking Hazel away from the ledge.

"How?" he demanded.

"Stand and deliver," Hazel told him with a smirk that Leo would have been proud of.

Jason swooped out of the sky, right over her head, and body-slammed the bandit over the edge. Sciron screamed as he fell but was cut off when the turtle lunged upwards, snapping Sciron in one bite.

"Hazel, what was amazing!" Jason grinned. But Hazel didn't feel so amazing. She collapsed to her knees, suddenly dizzy. Jason ran over to her but his movements were slow, his outline blurry. His voice sounded like nothing but static.

"Hazel," a deep voice said behind her. "You have done well."

"Father?" Hazel turned and found herself looking at Pluto. His tunic and toga were of black wool, embroidered with threads of gold. The faces of tormented souls shifted in the fabric. The edge of his toga was lined with the crimson of a senator or a praetor,but the stripe rippled like a river of blood. On Pluto's ring finger was a massive opal, like a chunk of polished frozen Mist.

"What do you want?" Hazel demanded.

"My daughter," he said. "I am impressed. You have grown strong."

"I thought all major gods were incapacitated," she managed. "Your Greek and Roman sides fighting against one another."

"We are," Pluto agreed. "But you invoked me so strongly that it allowed me to appear to you for a moment."

"I didn't invoke you..." she said but her voice was small. She didn't even believe herself.

"It does not matter now," Pluto said. "But you must listen. When you come to my house in Epirus, you must be prepared. The dead will not welcome you. And the sorceress Pasiphaë...well, she will not be fooled as easily as Sciron." Pluto's eyes glittered like volcanic stone. "You succeeded in your first test, but Pasiphaë intends to rebuild her domain, which will endanger all demigods. Unless you stop her at the House of Hades..."

His form flickered. For a moment he was bearded, in Greek robes with a golden laurel wreath inhis hair. Around his feet, skeletal hands broke through the earth.The god gritted his teeth and scowled.His Roman form stabilized. The skeletal hands dissolved back into the earth.

"We do not have much time." He looked like a man who'd just been violently ill. "Know that the Doors of Death are at the lowest level of the Necromanteion. You must make Pasiphaë see what she wants to see. You are right. That is the secret to all magic. But it will not be easy when you are in her maze."

"What do you mean? What maze?"

"You will understand," he promised. "And, Hazel Levesque ... you will not believe me, but I am proud of your strength. Sometimes ... sometimes the only way I can care for my children is to keep my distance."

Hazel bit back an insult. But even as she did, her heart pounded as she replayed his words. Her father was proud of her.

"Go to your friends," Pluto said. "They will be worried."

"Wait!" Hazel cried. "I need to know something."

Pluto raised an eyebrow.

"Leo," Hazel said. "Is he alive still? Nico and I find it harder to sense him everyday." Pluto studied for her a moment.

"His soul has not yet passed through into the Underworld," he said carefully. "But you must know, Hazel, the further he travels, the weaker he becomes. And he is already very weak. I do not foresee his survival for much longer. He does not possess the resistance your brother has to live in such a place as Tartarus."

"He is Leo," Hazel insisted. "And that means he will find a way."

"Your faith in your friend is admirable," Pluto said with a small smile. "But faith alone is not enough. Faith is often overwhelmed by those in that realm." He hesitated for a moment. "But it is quite remarkable that he has survived this long." His form was beginning to fade. "With luck, Hazel, and if you time your arrival to perfection, then perhaps there may be a body for you to burn."

That was not a comforting thought at all, but Pluto was gone before Hazel could react.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Leo didn't know how he was still alive.

He wished he was dead. That way, at least he'd be saved from the burning pain that had engulfed his body. It was clear the arai had left their mark on him, both inside and out. Leo wondered if he looked at bad as he felt. Was he covered in stabs wounds, bruises, burns? It was almost ironic. A fire-user almost burnt to death. If Leo was in better shape, he'd definitely laugh at himself. Hell, he was laughing at himself now in his half-conscious state.

His waking moments were few and far between. Most of the time, his mind drifted in and out of dreams and visions, almost as if his soul was no longer tethered to his own body. Sometimes he found himself on the Argo II, mindlessly following Jason or Annabeth around the ship without really knowing what he was doing. Other times, he was on Calypso's island, watching as his friend wandered about the beaches with a forlorn look on her face. The worst dreams were the ones of the war where giants rampaged and demigods tore each other apart. He only hoped that he was seeing what could happen and not what was happening now. Leo couldn't bear to think what would happen if he didn't manage to close the Doors of Death. If he failed his friends, then really he wasn't worth anything.

When Leo did manage to peel open his eyes for a second, he could make out blurry figures and faces hovering above him. Wherever he was, there was always a warm glow surrounding the room, almost as warm as Hestia's hearth. Sometimes he could hear voices muttering and murmuring around him.

Bob. He could definitely hear Bob. Bob had taken him...somewhere. Not that he was sure where. But it was warm and comfortable and almost...cozy? Tartarus and cozy didn't really go together. Maybe Leo was dead after all.

"I am surprised to see you with a demigod," a deep voice rumbled. Now that wasn't Bob. Leo tried to peel his eyes open but couldn't find the strength.

"Leo is a friend," he heard Bob reply. The other voice snorted.

"Friend is not a word you hear in Tartarus," he said. "I'm surprised the boy has made it this far, even with you protecting him."

"Then why heal him?" Bob challenged.

"Because he intrigues me," the voice replied. Giant? Didn't Bob say something about a giant before Leo conveniently passed out? "A demigod in Tartarus is one thing, but attempting to close the Doors of Death? And do it alone? He's mad, and yet somehow he's still here. There is something about this demigod that is...different."

"You sense it too?" Bob asked.

"Yes," the giant said softly. "I sense it. He is the one the prophecy speaks of. My mother certainly knows it. No wonder she's sent all of hell and earth to hunt the boy down."

To storm or fire the world must fall...

"Bob will protect Leo," Bob said fiercely.

"Then you are a fool," the giant said, but not unkindly. "It was demigods who took your memory and yet here you are, protecting one. He will use you only to forget you." There was silence for a moment. In his semi-lucid state, Leo was anxious that maybe Bob was finally beginning to see what a curse he was. Would the Titan kill Leo? Would he leave him to the mercy of the giants?

"Leo tried to save me," Bob whispered. "The arai...the giants...they knew. But he told me to run. To leave him."

"Hmm," the giant murmured thoughtfully. "A self-sacrificing demigod is not hard to find, but one that would die for a Titan...well, that is interesting indeed." There was some shuffling and suddenly, Leo felt a hand against his shoulder, seemingly unwrapping some bandages. "His wounds are almost healed but not without some scarring. He was lucky to survive. Even drakon broth cannot heal everything. It seems the burns are the worst."

"Cruel," Bob muttered.

"Indeed," the giant huffed. The bed creaked. "You must rest. My brethren will be here within a day. Take this time to recover before you must move on. No doubt you'll need your strength if you are to keep the boy alive."

"I will protect Leo," Bob insisted. "He must survive. He is the key."

The giant sighed.

"He is doomed."

Leo didn't hear much after before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

***

The next time Leo woke, he actually managed to open his eyes. He slowly sat up, wincing as his body cracked and ached with movement. Well, at least the bed he was in was comfortable...and big. Seriously, this thing had to be almost ten times the size of him. Carefully, so not to alert anyone, Leo swung his legs over the side and gently stepped down. Despite the bone-deep hurt in his feet, he felt relatively refreshed for someone who was recently almost sliced apart.

His side was the most worrying. He could feel his skin stretching and burning over his ribs. Under his shirt, his torso was wrapped in a woven cloth of some kind that was acting like bandages. Leo didn't know what he would find under there if he removed them, but he wasn't about to find out.

Moving forward gingerly, Leo made his way to the door, pausing just inside the door frame. A fire was crackling in the next room and Leo could see Bob crouching just in front. Small Bob the kitten was curled up on his shoulder once more, purring gently. But in the armchair next to the fire...well, Leo had to blink a few times to get his brain to compute.

That was a giant.

sh*t.

Bob must had heard his mini freak out because he turned around with a small frown. "Leo should not be up," he said. "Leo needs to rest."

Well, Bob had practically announced his presence.

"Don't stare." The giant was now facing Leo too, looking skeptical and disapproving. Leo's mouth had gone completely dry. His heart was pounding against his ribs, his eyes widening as the giant rose to his feet to glare down at Leo. "I'm not going to hurt you," the giant said with an eye roll, his voice low and gravelly. He gestured to the armchair. "Sit down before you fall down."

Bob seemed to sense Leo's apprehension as he gently, or as gently as his large hands could, took Leo by the shoulder and guided him to the chair. "Do not worry, Leo," he said. "Damasen is a good giant. A friend."

"A friend?" Leo said meekly. "Bob, buddy, as much as a love you, I think you're confused. Giants aren't exactly my biggest fan." The giant, Damasen, snorted.

"An understatement, Leo Valdez," he said. "Lucky for you, I have no interest in the war or my brethren's politics. You are safe here for now." Damasen moved towards the fire where a large cooking pot hung. In his hands were three bowls which he filled with a thick looking broth. "Here," he said, passing a bowl to Leo. "Eat up. You'll need your strength." At Bob's encouraging nod, Leo slowly and tentatively tried the stew. The three of them sat together silently. Damasen seemed to be studying Leo's every move, watching him fidget with nerves.

"I see you are nervous, Leo Valdez," Damasen said finally. "Speak you mind."

"Erm..." Leo said. "Might not be a good idea."

"You fear me?" Damasen asked.

"Well I am kind of fighting against you mother," Leo pointed out. "Plus your brothers have tried to kill me multiple times. Still are trying actually. I'm surprised you let me live." Damasen's lips curled up into a small smile.

"You intrigued me," he replied. "Besides, it is currently my father you should be the most worried about."

"Tartarus?" Leo muttered. "Yeah, we've met."

"You have not," Damasen challenged. "You've walked upon his body, that is true. But if you were truly to meet him? You would not survive a second."

"I don't understand..." Leo said. Damasen gestured around his small hut.

"All that you see is the body of Tartarus, or at least one manifestation of it. He knows you are here. He tries to thwart your progress at every step. My brethren hunt you. It is remarkable you have lived this long, even with the help of Iapetus."

Bob scowled at the name. "The defeated ones hunt us, yes. They will be close behind now."

"How close?" Leo asked.

"Close enough," Damasen replied. "I can obscure your path enough for you to rest. I have power over this swamp. But they will eventually catch you. You will not make it to the Doors of Death." Bob must have told him Leo's plan. Or part of a plan at least.

"Do you know where they are? The Doors?" Leo said.

"Of course," the giant said. "At the very heart of Tartarus, where all things flow. But you will not make it alive."

"Then help me," Leo said. "Come with us." The giant threw back his head and laughed. The entire hut seemed to shake and Leo gripped the arm of the chair in fear.

"I am not your friend, Son of Hephaestus," he boomed. "I helped mortals once, and see where it got me."

"Here?" Leo guessed with a sigh.

"Bad story," Bob explained. "Good giants have bad stories. Damasen was created to oppose Ares."

"Yes," the giant agreed. "Like all my brethren, I was born to answer a certain god. My foe was Ares. But Ares was the god of war. And so when I was born-"

"You were his opposite," Leo guessed. "You were peaceful."

"Peaceful for a giant, at least." Damasen sighed. "I wandered the fields of Maeonia, in the land you now call Turkey. I tended my sheep and collected my herbs. It was a good life. But I would not fight the gods. My mother and father cursed me for that. The final insult: one day the Maeonian drakon killed a human shepherd, a friend of mine, so I hunted the creature down and slew it, thrusting a tree straight through its mouth. I used the power of the earth to regrow the tree’s roots, planting the drakon firmly in the ground. I made sure it would terrorize mortals no more. That was a deed Gaia could not forgive."

"Because you helped someone?"

"Yes." Damasen looked ashamed. "Gaia opened the earth, and I was consumed, exiled here in the belly of my father Tartarus, where all the useless flotsam collects – all the bits of creation he does not care for." The giant plucked a flower out of his hair and regarded it absently. "They let me live, tending my sheep, collecting my herbs, so I might know the uselessness of the life I chose. Every day – or what passes for day in this lightless place – the Maeonian drakon re-forms and attacks me. Killing it is my endless task."

"You're telling me I just ate drakon meat?" Leo said, staring down at the bowl. "A drakon that you have killed every day for centuries?" The giant nodded. "Dude, you need to get out of here more than I do."

"Impossible," Damasen said. "I cannot leave, no matter what direction I travel. No, little demigod. My curse has overtaken me. There is no hope for me."

"There must be a way," Leo said but his voice fell flat. Leo understood hopelessness more than anyone. He understood that pain. "Bob has a plan to reach the Doors."

"Yes," Bob seemed to pick up on the need to distract the giant. "Death Mist."

"Death Mist?" Damasen scowled at Bob. "You would take him to Akhlys?"

"It is the only way," Bob said.

"You will die," Damasen said. "Painfully. In darkness. Akhlys trusts no one and helps no one." Bob looked like he wanted to argue, but he pressed his lips together and remained silent.

"Is there another way?" Leo asked.

"No," Damasen said. "The Death Mist...that is the best plan. Unfortunately, it is a terrible plan."

Damasen’s eyes were like the sockets of the drakon’s skull – dark and hollow, devoid of hope. He flicked a broken bone into the fire and rose to his full height – a massive red warrior in sheepskin and drakon leather, with dried flowers and herbs in his hair. Leo could see how he was the anti-Ares. Ares was the worst god, blustery and violent. Damasen was the best giant, kind and helpful...and for that he’d been cursed to eternal torment.

"You must rest some more," the giant said, rising to his feet and collecting the empty bowls. "My brothers will be here soon. I will prepare supplies for your journey. I'm sorry, but that's all I could do." Despite having slept already, Leo's body betrayed him. Bob scooped him up like a rag doll and carried him back to the bed, placing him down gently.

"I will keep watch a little while longer," Bob said softly. "Sleep, Leo."

So Leo slept.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

Jason's dream hit him when he was a thousand feet in the air.

Convenient? No.

He needed to wake up or he would die, but he wasn’t able to hold on to that thought. In the dream, he found himself on the roof of a tall building, the night-time skyline of Manhattan spread around him. A cold wind whipped through his clothes.

A few blocks away, clouds gathered above the Empire State Building – the entrance to Mount Olympus itself. Lightning flashed. The air was metallic with the smell of oncoming rain. The top of the skyscraper was lit up as usual, but the lights seemed to be malfunctioning. They flickered from purple to orange as if the colours were fighting for dominance.

On the roof of Jason’s building stood his old comrades from Camp Jupiter: an array of demigods in combat armour, their Imperial gold weapons and shields glinting in the dark. He saw Dakota and Nathan, Leila and Marcus. Octavian stood to one side, thin and pale, his eyes red-rimmed from sleeplessness or anger, a string of sacrificial stuffed animals around his waist. His augur’s white robe was draped over a purple T-shirt and cargo pants.

In the centre of the line stood Reyna.Upon seeing her, Jason felt an incredible pang of guilt. He’d let her believe they had a future together. He had never been in love with her, and he hadn’t led her on, exactly...but he also hadn’t shut her down. He’d disappeared, leaving her to run the camp on her own. (Okay, that hadn’t exactly been Jason’s idea, but still...) Then he had returned to Camp Jupiter with a new girlfriend in Piper and...well, Leo. Leo who Jason still wasn't sure there was a word for how he felt about him. Add in a whole bunch of Greek friends in a warship, firing on the Forum and running away, Jason had pretty much left Reyna high and dry with a war on her hands.

In his dream she looked tired. Others might not notice, but he’d worked with her long enough to recognize the weariness in her eyes, the tightness in her shoulders under the straps of her armour. Her dark hair was wet, like she’d taken a hasty shower. The Romans stared at the roof-access door as if they were waiting for someone.

When the door opened, two people emerged. One was a satyr, someone that Jason didn't recognise. The other was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Her red hair was fiery and bright in the darkness. Even without the strange aura that surrounded her from being the Oracle, her presence alone was enough for everyone to turn their attention to her.Jason remembered her at the campfire, reciting lines of prophecy that sent Jason, Piper and Leo on their first quest together. She was a regular mortal teenager – not a demigod – but, for reasons Jason never understood, the spirit of Delphi had chosen her as its host.

The real question: What was she doing with the Romans?

She stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Reyna. "You got my message."

Octavian snorted. "That’s the only reason you made it this far alive,Graecus. I hope you’ve come to discuss surrender terms."

"Octavian." Reyna warned.

"At least search them!" Octavian protested.

"No need," Reyna said, studying Rachel Dare. "Do you bring weapons?"

Rachel shrugged. "I hit Kronos in the eye with this hairbrush once. Otherwise, no." The Romans didn’t seem to know what to make of that. The mortal didn’t sound like she was kidding.

"And your friend?" Reyna nodded to the satyr. "I thought you were coming alone."

"This is Grover Underwood," Rachel said. "He’s a leader of the Council."

"What council?" Octavian demanded.

"Cloven Elders, man," Grover said, his voice high and reedy. "But I'm not here for that. I'm a card carrying protector, so I'm here to, you know, protect Rachel if needed."

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "But no weapons?"

"Just the pipes." Grover’s expression became wistful. "Percy always said my cover of 'Born to be Wild' should count as a dangerous weapon, but I don’t think it’s that bad."

Octavian sneered. "Another friend of Percy Jackson. That’s all I need to hear."

Reyna held up her hand for silence. Her gold and silver dogs sniffed the air, but they remained calm and attentive at her side. "So far, our guests speak the truth," Reyna said. "Be warned, Rachel and Grover, if you start to lie, this conversation will not go well for you. Say what you came to say."

From her jeans pocket, Rachel dug out a piece of paper like a napkin. "A message. From Leo Valdez."

Jason's blood went cold in his veins. That...that was impossible. Leo was in Tartarus. He couldn’t send anyone a note, much less on a napkin. But Leo was Leo. He'd done crazier things. It would be just his style too, to figure out the impossible whilst surviving in Tartarus.Maybe I’ve hit the water and died, Jason's subconscious said.This isn’t a real vision. It’s some sort of after-death hallucination.

But the dream seemed very real. He could feel the wind sweeping across the roof. He could smell the storm. Lightning flickered over the Empire State Building, making the Romans’ armour flash. If this was real, then Jason had just seen real proof that Leo was still alive. Not just Nico's inconsistent predictions or Hazel's fleeting senses. No, this was real, tangible proof that Leo was still alive, and apparently making real moves to impact the war. That stupid, idiot boy. He was still trying to help even now. If Leo was here, Jason would have throttled him if he wasn't too busy choking back the lump in his throat.

Reyna took the note. As she read it, her eyebrows crept higher. Her mouth parted in shock. Finally, she looked up at Rachel. "Is this a joke?"

"I wish," Rachel said. "He really is in Tartarus."

"How?"

"I don’t know," Rachel said. "The note appeared in the sacrificial fire at our dining pavilion. That’s Leo’s handwriting. I checked with his siblings and against his blueprints that he left behind. Leo asks for you by name."

Octavian stirred. "Tartarus? What do you mean?" Reyna handed him the letter. Octavian muttered as he read: "Rome, Arachne, Athena – Athena Parthenos?" He looked around in outrage, as if waiting for someone to contradict what he was reading. "A Greek trick! Greeks are infamous for their tricks!"

Reyna took back the note. "But why ask this of me? Leo Valdez is an enemy of Rome. He opened fire on our camp. He was the one who started this war." Even as she said the words, Jason could see the slight twitch of her lips. Reyna didn't believe it was Leo's fault. Maybe she knew about the eidolons. Maybe she didn't. But Jason knew her well enough to pick up on her tells. Reyna was pretending for the sake of the Romans.

"Leo is smart, smarter than most people give him credit for," Rachel said, smiling slightly. "Besides, Leo believes you can do it,Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano."

Jason felt like he’d been slapped. Nobody ever used Reyna’s full name. She hated telling anyone what it was. The only time Jason had ever said it aloud, just trying to pronounce it correctly, she’d given him a murderous look.

Reyna scowled. "How did you-"

"Uh," Grover Underwood interrupted. "You mean your initials are RA-RA?" Reyna’s hand drifted towards her dagger. "But that’s not important!" the satyr said quickly. "Look, we wouldn’t have risked coming here if we didn’t trust Leo's instincts. A Roman leader returning the most important Greek statue to Camp Half-Blood – he knows that could prevent a war."

"This isn’t a trick," Rachel added."‘We’re not lying. Ask your dogs." The metallic greyhounds didn’t react. Reyna stroked Aurum’s head thoughtfully.

"The Athena Parthenos...so the legend is true."

"Reyna!" Octavian cried. "You can’t seriously be considering this! Even if the statue still exists, you see what they’re doing. We’re on the verge of attacking them – destroying the stupid Greeks once and for all – and they concoct this stupid errand to divert your attention. They want to send you to your death!" The other Romans muttered, glaring at their visitors. Jason remembered how persuasive Octavian could be, and he was winning the officers to his side.

Rachel Dare faced the augur. "Octavian, son of Apollo, you should take this more seriously. Even Romans respected your father’s Oracle of Delphi."

"Ha!" Octavian said. "You’re the Oracle of Delphi? Right. And I’m the Emperor Nero!"

"At least Nero could play music," Grover muttered. Octavian balled his fists. Suddenly the wind shifted. It swirled around the Romans with a hissing sound, like a nest of snakes. Rachel Dare glowed in a green aura, as if hit by a soft emerald spotlight. Then the wind faded and the aura was gone. The sneer melted from Octavian’s face. The Romans rustled uneasily.

"It’s your decision," Rachel said, as if nothing had happened. "I have no specific prophecy to offer you, but I can see glimpses of the future. I see the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill. I see her bringing it." She pointed at Reyna.

"So you're telling me that Leo Valdez is in Tartarus, yet he's somehow found a way to send me a message that he wants me to bring this statue from the ancient lands to here?" Reyna's face betrayed no emotion. "I have no connection to Leo but he chooses me?"

"As I said before," Rachel said. "Leo is smart. He knows it has to be you. I would even go as far to say he's offering you an olive branch of sorts. Not only between Romans and Greeks, but an apology from himself too."

"A strange apology to ask for a dangerous favour," Reyna said, but not unkindly.

"Gaia will rise everywhere," Rachel replied. "She’s already stirring. No place will be safe from the battle. And we know that her first targets are going to be the demigod camps. She wants us destroyed. Leo knows what he's asking you to do is almost too much, but I'm sure he's hoping you'll see it's the only way."

"Speculation," Octavian snarled. "A distraction. The Greeks fear our attack. They’re trying to confuse us. It’s the Trojan Horse all over again!"

Reyna twisted the silver ring she always wore, with the sword and torch symbols of her mother, Bellona.

"Marcus," she said, "bring Scipio from the stables."

"Reyna, no!" Octavian protested. She faced the Greeks.

"I will do this for Leo, for the hope of peace between our camps, but do not think I have forgotten the insults to Camp Jupiter. Your ship fired on our city. You declared war – not us. Now, leave."

Grover stamped his hoof. "Percy would never –"

"Grover," Rachel said, "we should go." Her tone said it all.

After they had retreated back down the stairs, Octavian wheeled on Reyna. "Are you mad?"

"I am praetor of the legion," Reyna said. "I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome."

"To get yourself killed? To break our oldest laws and travel to the ancient lands? How will you even find their ship, assuming you survive the journey?"

"I will find them," Reyna said. "If they are sailing for Greece, I know a place Jason will stop. To face the ghosts in the House of Hades, he will need an army. There is only one place where he can find that sort of help."

In Jason’s dream, the building seemed to tilt under his feet. He remembered a conversation he’d had with Reyna years ago, a promise they had made to each other. He knew what she was talking about.

"This is insanity," Octavian muttered. "We’re already under attack. We must take the offensive! Those hairy dwarfs have been stealing our supplies, sabotaging our scouting parties – you know the Greeks sent them."

"You will not launch an attack without my orders. Continue scouting the enemy camp. Secure your positions. Gather all the allies you can, and if you catch those dwarfs you have my blessing to send them back to Tartarus. But do not attack Camp Half-Blood until I return." Reyna's voice was clear and authoritative. Octavian narrowed his eyes. Jason knew that look. There was no way he was following orders.

Reyna stormed off, her purple cloak billowing and her dogs at her heels. Once she was gone, Octavian turned to the centurions. "Gather all the senior officers. I want a meeting as soon as Reyna has left on her fool’s quest. There will be a few changes in the legion’s plans."

One of the centurions opened his mouth to respond, but for some reason he spoke in Piper’s voice: "WAKE UP!" Jason’s eyes snapped open, and he saw the ocean’s surface hurtling towards him.

sh*t.

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

It was Percy that Jason confided in.

After he had narrowly escaped falling to his death (although Percy insisted he was ready to cushion his fall), Jason had quickly pulled the older demigod aside and told him about his dream. Percy didn't react while Jason told his story. His face remained stoic, almost eerily calm. Once again, Jason was reminded just why Percy was not only the unofficial leader of their quest but also why he had risen through the ranks of both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half Blood so quickly.

When Jason finished, Percy let out a slow breath. "So he's still alive."

"Yeah," Jason said quietly.

"And he managed to get a message to Reyna about the statue?"

"Yeah."

"Gods." The word seemed to tear about of Percy, emotional and raw. "He's a real menace." Jason couldn't help himself. He laughed. It was true after all. Even Tartarus was having no effect on Leo Valdez's ability to create chaos. Gaia must really be hating him right about now.

"We need to stop somewhere," Jason said, running a hand through his hair. "Reyna and I spoke about it years ago. I'd forgotten it till now but...well, now I know that I have to go there. We can't make it through the House of Hades otherwise."

Percy was nodding. "Yeah, man, whatever you need to do." He hesitated for a second. "Are you going to...tell everyone else?" Jason had thought about this. They needed to know, for sure. Any news of Leo was good news at this point. It was just...well, he was wary. He was under no illusion that his own behaviour had been erratic at best and angry at worst. Telling the others the news...he wasn't sure he could keep it together. Percy was one thing. He was their leader, their steady hands and calming presence. Jason felt like he could tell him and face no judgment for whatever breakdown would come next. Standing up in front of the others was completely different. Where Percy's job was to lead at the front, Jason's job was to support behind the scenes. He hadn't exactly been doing that lately.

Percy seemed to sense this. "Would you like me to do it?" he asked gently. Jason nodded, shooting his friend a grateful smile. Percy clapped his shoulder. "Cool, let's go get the others."

They ended up gathering in the mess hall. Jason gripped Piper's hand under the table as Percy told the others of Leo's message.His friends were quiet long enough for Coach Hedge to finish a peanut butter and banana sandwich, along with the ceramic plate.The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack. Every once in a while Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers, reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language that only Leo could understand. A pang of hurt went through Jason once again. Gods, the work Leo had been doing on this ship was near on impossible. He wasn't even sure how Annabeth was keeping the damn thing going.

Speaking of Annabeth, her face was a picture right now. "A note from Leo?" she said in amazement. "I don't know how that is even possible but if it is...he might just do this."

"I just can't believe that Reyna would try to find us," Frank said. "It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"That's if she lives," Hazel pointed out. "It's been hard enough for us with seven demigods and a warship."

"And me." Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage." Jason had to smile. Coach Hedge could be pretty ridiculous, but Jason was glad he'd come along.He thought about the satyr he'd seen in his dream – Grover Underwood. He couldn't imagine a satyr more different from Coach Hedge, but they both seemed brave in their own way.

"Reyna will find us," Piper spoke up. Her voice was shaky but still as strong as ever. "I wouldn't bet against that girl."

"Yeah," Jason said. "She mentioned something in my dream – she's expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I – I'd forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It's a place I need to visit." Piper leaned towards him, her caramel braid falling over her shoulder. Her multi-coloured eyes made it hard for him to think straight. Leo had always said Piper's eyes made even his hyperactive brain shut down.

"And where is this place?" she asked.

"A...uh, a town called Split."

"We're not far from there," Annabeth said. "Festus said something about making harbour soon. He seemed to know where he was going so I didn't question anything. But it makes sense now." Jason allowed himself a grin. Clearly Festus had been one step ahead of him. "We've been in Croatian territory for about a day now," Annabeth continued. "In Roman times it used to be called something else of course-"

"Dalmatia," Nico interrupted, making Jason jump.

Holy Romulus...Jason wished he could put a bell around Nico di Angelo's neck to remind him the guy was there. Nico had this disturbing habit of standing silently in the corner, blending into the shadows.He stepped forward, his dark eyes fixed on Jason. Since they'd rescued him from the bronze jar in Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less, as if he were still subsisting on those emergency pomegranate seeds from the Underworld.

"Croatia used to be Dalmatia," Nico said. "A major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?" Jason felt like his soul was being stripped.

"Yeah," he said. "Reyna and I talked about it once. Obviously at the time we never thought we'd be able to go to the ancient lands. Now that we're here...well, she'd go there because I'd go there."

"Let me guess," Nico said, giving him a thin and creepy smile. "You're afterDiocletian's sceptre."

"You're joking, right?" Annabeth said, her eyebrows raised. "That's why we're here?"

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, I don't get it."

"Supposedly Diocletian's sceptre could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods," Nico explained dryly.

Percy whistled. "Okay, now I'm interested. A booty-kicking army of zombies? Nice!"

"Not sure I would've put it that way," Jason muttered, "but yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank warned. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death –"

"Which are guarded," Hazel murmured, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants..." She hesitated. "Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to 'rebuild her domain'. Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

Frank grunted. "And, if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaia and get there before the first of August. Besides, the longer is in Tartarus–"

"I know!" Jason snapped.

"Dude," Percy said softly. Jason took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry Frank," he said, grimacing. Frank only nodded but didn't seem overly upset. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the sceptre is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking for Epirus."

Nico nodded. "The sceptre of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You'll need my help." Jason tried not to show his discomfort, but his skin prickled at the thought of going anywhere with Nico di Angelo.Percy had shared some disturbing stories about Nico. His loyalties weren't always clear. He spent more time with the dead than the living. Once, he'd lured Percy into a trap in the palace of Hades.Maybe Nico had made up for that by helping the Greeks against the Titans, but still...

Piper squeezed his hand. "Hey, sounds fun. I'll go, too. I need to get off this boat for a bit anyway."

But Nico shook his head. "You can't, Piper. It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely...ah, spook him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that." Nico's eyes held a gleam of challenge. He seemed curious as to whether or not Jason would protest.

The ship's bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker. "I think that means we've arrived," Annabeth announced.

"Okay, well we've got a plan at least," Percy said, rising to his feet. He pressed his knuckles down onto the table. "Jason, Nico, you go ashore to try and track down that sceptre. Annabeth and I will try and get as much of the ship repaired as we can. Hazel, Frank and Piper, you guys are in charge of defending the ship with Coach Hedge. With any luck, we'll be out of here soon." The other nodded and muttered their agreements.

Annabeth anchored the Argo II in the bay alongside six or seven cruise ships. As per usual, the mortals didn't pay any attention to it as it moored up. But still, Jason and Nico blended in with a crowd of tourists just to be safe.

At first glance, Split seemed like a cool place. Curving around the harbour was a long esplanade lined with palm trees. At the sidewalk cafés, European teenagers were hanging out, speaking a dozen different languages and enjoying the sunny afternoon. The air smelled of grilled meat and fresh-cutflowers. Beyond the main boulevard, the city was a hodgepodge of mediaeval castle towers, Roman walls,limestone town houses with red-tiled roofs and modern office buildings all crammed together. In the distance, grey-green hills marched towards a mountain ridge, which made Jason a little nervous. He kept glancing at that rocky escarpment, expecting the face of Gaia to appear in its shadows.

Nico and he were wandering along the esplanade when Jason spotted a guy with wings buying an ice-cream bar from a street cart. The vendor lady looked bored as she counted the guy's change.Tourists navigated around the angel's huge wings without a second glance.Jason nudged Nico.

"Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "Maybe we should buy some ice cream."

"What even is he?" Jason asked as he and Nico discreetly followed the winged dude down the street.

"He's definitely not a returned spirit," Nico said. "Or a creature of the Underworld for that matter."

"Strange," Jason murmured. At that moment,the winged dude turned and looked directly at them. He smiled, gestured over his shoulder with his ice-cream bar and dissolved into the air.

Jason couldn't exactly see him, but he'd had enough experience controlling the wind that he could track the angel's path – a warm wisp of red and gold zipping across the street, spiralling down the sidewalk and blowing postcards from the carousels in front of the tourist shops. The wind headed towards the end of the promenade, where a big fortress-like structure loomed.

"I'm betting that's the palace," Jason said. "Come on."

Even after two millennia, Diocletian's Palace was still impressive. The outer wall was only a pink granite shell, with crumbling columns and arched windows open to the sky, but it was mostly intact, a quarter mile long and seventy or eighty feet tall, dwarfing the modern shops and houses that huddled beneath it. Jason imagined what the palace must have looked like when it was newly built, with Imperial guards walking the ramparts and the golden eagles of Rome glinting on the parapets. Annabeth would have definitely loved the architecture.

The wind angel – or whatever he was – whisked in and out of the pink granite windows, then disappeared on the other side. Jason scanned the palace's facade for an entrance. The only one he saw was several blocks away, with tourists lined up to buy tickets. No time for that.

Grabbing Nico by the waist, Jason lifted them both into the air. Nico made a muffled sound of protest as they soared over the walls and into a courtyard where more tourists were milling around, taking pictures.

"Don't grab me again," Nico said darkly, glaring at Jason as he brushed down his jacket. Jason held up his hands in a surrender motion, smiling sheepishly. Shaking his head, Nico looked around. "The entrance to Diocletian's private residence is that way." He pointed to the left.

"How do you know?"

Nico's eyes darkened. "I've been here before. With my mother and Bianca."

"In the 30s?" Jason asked.

"1938 or so," Nico said absently. "Why do you care? Do you see that winged guy anywhere?"

"No..." Jason was still trying to wrap his mind around Nico's past.

He'd always tried to build a good relationship with the people on his team. Jason had learned the hard way that if somebody was going to have your back in a fight it was better if you found some common ground and trusted each other. But Nico wasn't easy to figure out.

"I just...I can't imagine how weird that must be, coming from another time."

"No, you can't." Nico stared at the stone floor. He took a deep breath. "Look, I don't like talking about it. Honestly, I think Hazel has it worse. She remembers more about when she was young. She had to come back from the dead and adjust to the modern world.Me...me and Bianca, we were stuck at the Lotus Hotel. Time passed so quickly. In a weird way, that made the transition easier."

"Percy told me about that place," Jason said. "Seventy years, but it only felt like a month?"

Nico clenched his fist until his fingers turned white. "Yeah. I'm sure Percy told you all about me." His voice was heavy with bitterness – more than Jason could understand. He knew that Nico had blamed Percy for getting his sister Bianca killed, but they'd supposedly got past that, at least according to Percy. Piper had also mentioned a rumour that Nico had a crush on Annabeth. Maybe that was part of it.Still...Jason didn't get why Nico pushed people away, why he never spent much time at either camp, why he preferred the dead to the living.

In a way, Nico kind of reminded Jason of Leo. Of course, Leo was so different in so many ways to the son of Hades. But one thing they had in common is that they didn't like to trust people. Whilst Leo had his machines, his gismos and gadgets that kept him busy, Nico obviously preferred ghosts to humans.

It had taken time though, Jason reminded himself, to break down Leo's walls. It had taken endless nights of trying to convince Leo to just come to dinner with them, or to go and play capture the flag with them, or just to talk to them. And it had worked eventually. In the months between their first quest and the launch of the Argo II, Jason and Piper together had managed to worm their way into Leo Valdez's heart and finally gotten him to trust someone with all his secrets and fears. Jason was so painfully aware that there was no one on this planet that loved Leo Valdez before he found Jason and Piper, and it hurt beyond reason that he'd let him down. Leo had fallen straight into the darkest depths in hell and Jason had done nothing to stop it. Gods, did Jason want a Leo hug right now.

Nico wasn't too different. Only, Nico hadn't found his person yet, the one that would keep his secrets and allow him to trust again. Jason hoped he would soon. He really did.

Speaking of Nico, the son of Hades was glaring up at the windows above them. "The Roman dead are angry here."

"I don't suppose Diocletian's ghost is too happy either," Jason muttered. The wind rustled, pushing leaves and food wrappers across the peristyle. In the corner of his eye,Jason caught a glimpse of movement – a blur of red and gold.When he turned, a single rust-coloured feather was settling on the steps that led down. "That way." Jason pointed. "The winged guy. Where do you think those stairs lead?" Nico drew his sword. His smile was even more unsettling than his scowl.

"Underground," Jason groaned. "My favourite place."

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

Ugh, just why underground?

Jason hated it even more since fighting those twin giants under the Colosseum with Percy and Piper in Rome. Nico was definitely not helping things with his Stygian iron blade. That thing seemed to make everything darker, drawing all light from the air.

Together, they crept through a vast cellar with thick support columns holding up a vaulted ceiling. The limestone blocks were so old they had fused together from centuries of moisture, making the place look almost like a naturally formed cave. Above and to the sides were support beams that kept the structure stable. Jason spotted a marble bust near the left wall, the stone face of Diocletian staring at him in disapproval. Well, this seemed as good a place as any to leave Reyna a note. It was away from the crowds, and he trusted her to find it. She was a hunter after all. Nico watched him tuck his note between the bust and the pedestal silently.

Diocletian's marble eyes made him jumpy. Jason couldn't help thinking of Terminus, the talking statue-god back at New Rome. He hoped Diocletian wouldn't bark at him or suddenly burst into song.

"Hello!" Before Jason could register that the voice had come from somewhere else, he sliced off the emperor's head in panic. The bust toppled and shattered against the floor. "That wasn't very nice," said the voice behind them.Jason turned.

The winged man from the ice-cream stand was leaning against a nearby column,casually tossing a small bronze hoop in the air. At his feet sat a wicker picnic basket full of fruit. "I mean," the man said, "what did Diocletian ever do to you?"

The air swirled around Jason's feet. The shards of marble gathered into a miniature tornado, spiralled back to the pedestal and reassembled into a complete bust, the note still tucked underneath. "Uh –" Jason lowered his sword. "It was an accident. You startled me."

The winged dude chuckled. "Jason Grace, the West Wind has been called many things ... warm,gentle, life-giving and devilishly handsome. But I have never been called startling. I leave that crass behaviour to my gusty brethren in the north."

Nico inched backwards. "The West Wind? You mean you're –"

"Favonius," Jason realized. "God of the West Wind."

Favonius grinned and bowed. "You call me by my Roman name but yes, it is I. You're lucky I'm not too picky about names." Nico raised his eyebrows and scowled.

"Why aren't your Greek and Roman sides in conflict?" he demanded.

Favonius shrugged. "Sure I have the occasional headache, but I'm a minor god after all. Never much in the limelight. The battles among demigods don't bother me really."

"Oh," Jason said, glancing at Nico who's jaw was set in frustration. "So...um, what are you doing here?"

"Many things," Favonius said, his voice airy and light. "Let's see...I was eating ice cream earlier, and now I'm hanging out with my fruit basket and this quoit." The words seemed to summon the two objects to him, the fruit basket dropping his feet with a clatter and a large bronze ring, which he assumed was a quoit, spinning on his index finger. Jason blinked in surprise.

"I meant why did you lead us here," he said, hoping that he wouldn't have to explain himself constantly to this god. "You know, why did you appear to us?"

"Oh that!" Favonius chuckled. "The sarcophagus of Diocletian. Yes. This was its final resting place. The Christians moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you –" he spread his hands sadly – "that what you're looking for isn't here. My master has taken it."

"Your master?" Jason had a flashback to a floating palace above Pike's Peak in Colorado, where he'd visited (and barely survived) the studio of a crazy weatherman who claimed he was the god of all the winds. Gods, that was a bad day. "Please tell me your master isn't Aeolus."

"That airhead?" Favonius snorted. "No, of course not."

"He means Eros." Nico's voice turned edgy. "Cupid, in Latin."

Favonius smiled. "Very good, Nico di Angelo. I'm glad to see you again, by the way. It's been along time."

Nico knitted his eyebrows. "I've never met you."

"You've never seen me," the god corrected. "But I've been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, and several times since. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master's face." Nico turned even paler than usual. His eyes darted around the cavernous room as if he was starting to feel trapped.

"Nico?" Jason said, suddenly feeling nervous himself. "What's he talking about?"

"I don't know. Nothing."

"Nothing?" Favonius cried. "Oh dear me. One would think being forced into close proximity with the one you care for the most would be enough for you to finally speak the truth. Apparently not."

Suddenly Jason felt like he was eavesdropping.The one you care for most.He remembered what Piper had told him about Nico's crush on Annabeth. Apparently Nico's feelings went way deeper than a simple crush.

"We've only come for Diocletian's sceptre," Nico said, clearly anxious to change the subject. "Where is it?"

"Ah..." Favonius nodded sadly. "You thought it would be as easy as facing Diocletian's ghost? I'm afraid not, Nico. Your trials will be much more difficult. You know, long before this was Diocletian's Palace, it was the gateway to my master's court. I've dwelt here for aeons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid."

Jason didn't like the mention of difficult trials. He didn't trust this weird god with the hoop and the wings and the basket of fruit. He certainly didn't trust Cupid.

But an old story surfaced in his mind – something he'd heard at Camp Jupiter. The West Wing had carried Psyche, Cupid's wife, here once. The history of love here...that was why Diocletian had built his palace here. Jason didn't like his next conclusion either.

"You took the sceptre," he guessed.

"For safekeeping," Favonius agreed. "It became on of Cupid's many treasures when the palace was ransacked. A reminder of better times. If you want it..." Favonius turned to Nico. "You must face the god of love."

Nico stared at the sunlight coming through the windows, as if wishing he could escape through those narrow openings.Jason wasn't sure what Favonius wanted, but if facing the god of love meant forcing Nico into some sort of confession. It was becoming more and more clear that this wasn't about a simple love confession. The anxiety on Nico's face...the way Favonius was grinning...this was about humiliation. That wasn't something Jason was prepared to put Nico through.

"Nico, you don't have to do this," Jason said. Nico looked like he was going to be sick. But he squared his shoulders and nodded.

"It's fine," he said. "I – I'm not afraid of a love god." He looked up at Favonius. "Take us to Cupid." The god grinned before spinning the hoop on his finger once more.

And they dissolved into air.

The West Wind carried them away, rising above the town of Split and into the sky. For Jason, who was used to riding the winds, the sensation was a little unpleasant. He couldn't imagine what Nico was feeling. Together they raced over the hills, past Roman aqueducts, highways and vineyards. As they approached the mountains, Jason saw the ruins of a Roman town spread out in a valley below –crumbling walls, square foundations and cracked roads, all overgrown with grass – so it looked like a giant, mossy game board.

Favonius set them down in the middle of the ruins, next to a broken column the size of a redwood.Jason's body re-formed. For a moment it felt even worse than being the wind, like he'd suddenly been wrapped in a lead overcoat.

"Yes, mortal bodies are terribly bulky," Favonius said, as if reading his thoughts. The wind god settled on a nearby wall with his basket of fruit and spread his russet wings in the sun. "Honestly, I don't know how you stand it, day in and day out."

Jason scanned their surroundings. The town must have been huge once. He could make out the shells of temples and bathhouses, a half-buried amphitheatre and empty pedestals that must have once held statues. Rows of columns marched off to nowhere. The old city walls weaved in and out of the hillside like stone thread through a green cloth. Some areas looked like they'd been excavated, but most of the city just seemed abandoned, as if it had been left to the elements for the last two thousand years.

"Welcome to Salona," Favonius said. "Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid."

The name echoed, as if voices were whispering it through the ruins. The place was even creepier than the cellar they'd just left. Jason wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly the thought of meeting Cupid was nerve-wracking. He had a feeling that the images of baby faced cupids with angels wings were definitely not accurate.

Nico braced himself against a column, his legs trembling visibly. "Hey, man..." Jason stepped towards him, but Nico waved him off. At Nico's feet, the grass turned brown and wilted. The dead patch spread outwards, as if poison were seeping from the soles of his shoes.

"Ah..." Favonius nodded sympathetically. 'I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo."

"I am not nervous," Nico muttered.

"You are," Favonius challenged. "And if you know of my story, then for good reason." Jason didn't know what that meant, but Nico turned even paler. "Well, I must go," the god said. "Good luck, Nico. Don't let your anger rule you, otherwise your fate will be even sadder than mine."The wind god disappeared in a swirl of red and gold. The summer air suddenly felt oppressive. The ground shook,and Jason and Nico drew their swords.

"Nico..." Jason said, starting to realise just why Nico was so nervous. "Nico, you don't-"

So.

The voice rushed past Jason's ear like a bullet. When he turned, no one was there.

You come to claim the sceptre.

Nico stood at his back, and for once Jason was glad to have the guy's company. "Cupid," Jason called, "where are you?" The voice laughed. It definitely didn't sound like a cute baby angel's. It sounded deep and rich, but also threatening – like a tremor before a major earthquake.

Where you least expect me,Cupid answered.As Love always is, as you know so well Jason Grace.Something slammed into Jason and hurled him across the street. He toppled down a set of steps and sprawled on the floor of an excavated Roman basem*nt.

I would think you'd know better, Jason Grace.Cupid's voice whirled around him.You've found true love, after all. Or do you still doubt yourself? Do you still doubt your capability to love? Or perhaps it isn't your capability you doubt, but your strength to endure a love lost? It will happen to you one day...possibly even one day soon.

Nico scrambled down the steps. "You okay?"

Jason accepted his hand and got to his feet. "Yeah. Just sucker punched." He definitely was not going to mention how Cupid's words had rattled him. How could Cupid know that?

Oh? Did you expect me to play fair?Cupid's voice chided.I am love, and love is never fair.

This time, Jason's senses were on high alert. He felt the air ripple just as an arrow materialized, racing towards Nico's chest.Jason intercepted it with his sword and deflected it sideways. The arrow exploded against the nearest wall, peppering them with limestone shrapnel.

They ran up the steps. Jason pulled Nico to one side as another gust of wind toppled a column that would have crushed him flat. "Is this guy Love or Death?" Jason growled.

Ask your friends, Cupid said.Frank, Hazel and Percy met my counterpart, Thanatos. We are not so different. Except Death is sometimes kinder. Once again, something you may know very soon, Jason Grace.

"We just want the sceptre!" Nico shouted. "We're trying to stop Gaia. Are you on the gods' side or not?" A second arrow hit the ground between Nico's feet and glowed white-hot. Nico stumbled back as the arrow burst into a geyser of flame.

Love is on every side, Cupid said.And no one's side. Don't ask what Love can do for you.

Movement behind him: Jason spun, slicing his sword through the air. His blade bit into something solid. He heard a grunt and he swung again, but the invisible god was gone. On the paving stones, a trail of golden ichor shimmered – the blood of the gods.

Very good, Jason, Cupid said.At least you can sense my presence. Even a glancing hit at true love is more than most heroes manage. Very interesting indeed.I was right about you.

"So now I get the sceptre?" Jason asked. He was not prepared to let Cupid get in his head anymore. His love life, however complicated it may be, was none of his buisness.

Cupid laughed.Unfortunately, you could not wield it. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an of officer of Rome can lead them.

Jason faltered. But he was an officer of Rome. He was a Praetor, the highest office someone could get. He remembered when he offered to give up his post to Percy. Did that make him unworthy? Would legions of dead Roman ghosts not follow him?

A third arrow zipped past his shoulder, taking advantage of Jason's distraction. Nico gasped at the arrow sunk into his sword arm.The son of Hades stumbled. The arrow dissolved, leaving no blood and no visible wound, but Nico's face was tight with rage and pain. "Enough games!" Nico shouted. "Show yourself!"

A costly thing, looking at the true face of Love, Cupid said.My wife Psyche looked upon my face, and she suffered greatly before she earned her way back to my side.

A wall crumbled near Jason and he only just managed to roll away. "Stop it!" Nico yelled. "Leave him alone! It's me you want!"

Jason's ears rang. He was dizzy from getting smacked around. His mouth tasted like limestone dust.He didn't understand why Nico would think of himself as the main target, but Cupid seemed to agree.

Poor Nico di Angelo.The god's voice was tinged with disappointment.Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you – what have you risked in my name?

"I've been to Tartarus and back," Nico snarled. "You don't scare me."

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Jason pulled himself up. All around Nico, the ground shifted. The grass withered, and the stones cracked as if something was moving in the earth beneath, trying to push its way through.

"Give us Diocletian's sceptre," Nico said. "We don't have time for games."

Games?Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal.Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work – a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you –especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

"Nico!" Jason shouted. "What does this guy want from you?"

Tell him, Nico. Cupid taunted.Tell him why you left Camp Half Blood. Tell him why you hide among the dead, always alone, never once settling. Tell him why you are a coward, afraid and ashamed of who you are.

Waves of darkness rolled off Nico, slamming into Jason just as hard as Cupid's hits. Images of Nico's past scattered across the courtyard as the ground cracked and skeletons rose up to attack the invisible god. Jason stood frozen, watching in shock as a vision version of Percy Jackson rose up before him.He saw Nico and his sister on a snowy cliff in Maine, Percy Jackson protecting them from a manticore. Percy's sword gleamed in the dark. He'd been the first demigod Nico had ever seen in action.

Later, at Camp Half-Blood, Percy took Nico by the arm, promising to keep his sister Bianca safe. Nico had believed him. Nico had looked into his sea-green eyes and thought, how can he possibly fail? This is a real hero. He was Nico's favourite game, Mythomagic, brought to life.

Jason saw the moment when Percy returned and told Nico that Bianca was dead. Nico had screamed and called him a liar. He'd felt betrayed, but still ... when the skeleton warriors attacked, he couldn't let them harm Percy. Nico had called on the earth to swallow them up, and then he'd runaway – terrified of his own powers, and his own emotions.

Jason saw a dozen more scenes like this from Nico's point of view... And they left him stunned, unable to move or speak.

Meanwhile, Nico's Roman skeletons surged forward and grappled with something invisible. The god struggled, flinging the dead aside, breaking off ribs and skulls, but the skeletons kept coming,pinning the god's arms.

Interesting,Cupid said, and Jason could practically hear his grin.Perhaps you do have the strength.

"I left Camp Half Blood because of love," Nico said. "Annabeth...she..."

Still hiding,Cupid hissed.

It was all clicking for Jason. He knew what this was about. Of course he did. "Nico," he managed to say. "Nico, it's okay. I-I get it."

Nico glanced over, pain and misery on his face. "No, you don't," he said. "You couldn't possibly understand." Oh, but Jason did understand. He understood probably better than anyone.

"Leave him alone, Cupid," Jason croaked, all his strength drained. "This isn't...this isn't right." But it was no use. Jason knew that. You couldn't run from love. Just like Jason, Nico couldn't escape this.

Nico's voice was like broken glass. "I – I wasn't in love with Annabeth."

"You were jealous of her," Jason said. "That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around...him. It makes total sense." All the fight and denial seemed to go out of Nico at once. The darkness subsided. The Roman dead collapsed into bones and crumbled to dust.

"I hated myself," Nico said. "I hated Percy Jackson."

Cupid became visible – a lean, muscular young man with snowy white wings, straight black hair, a simple white frock and jeans. The bow and quiver slung over his shoulder were no toys – they were weapons of war. His eyes were as red as blood, as if every valentine in the world had been squeezed dry, distilled into one poisonous mixture. His face was handsome, but also harsh – as difficult to look at as a spotlight. He watched Nico with satisfaction, as if he'd identified the exact spot for his next arrow to make a clean kill.

"I had a crush on Percy," Nico spat. "That's the truth. That's the big secret." He glared at Cupid. "Happy now?"

For the first time, Cupid's gaze seemed sympathetic. "Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy." His voice sounded smaller, much more human. "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."

Cupid dissolved into the wind.

On the ground where he'd stood lay an ivory staff three feet long, topped with a dark globe of polished marble about the size of a baseball, nestled on the backs of three gold Roman eagles. The sceptre of Diocletian. Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. "If the others found out–"

"If the others found out," Jason said, "you'd have that many more people to back you up and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble." Nico scowled. Jason still felt the resentment and anger rippling off him. "But it's your call," Jason added. "Your decision to share or not. I can only tell you –"

"I don't feel that way any more," Nico muttered. "I mean ... I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I – I don't..."

His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary-eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn't imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would've been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone – even more isolated than other demigods.

"Nico," he said gently, "I've seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest." He chuckled slightly. "Braver than me, anyway." Nico looked up uncertainly. Jason looked down, twirling his sword in his hand. "You're not the only one with a secret."

Nico stared at him for a moment, eyes wide.

"You were forced to share your secret today," Jason said, "so I'm going to tell you mine to show you that you're not alone." He took a deep breath. "You have a Percy...well, I have a Leo."

"What?" Nico breathed. "You? The great Jason Grace, not straight?"

"It's not quite the same as your situation," Jason said hurriedly, "but it's difficult all the same. Leo, Piper and I...we're not just close friends. I mean, we are but it's more than that. It's complicated and there's a lot of feelings and emotions involved, but I can tell you that we're definitely not platonic."

"I knew there was something going on there," Nico said quietly. "The others do too but we weren't...we weren't sure."

"Yeah, sometimes we're not exactly subtle," Jason chuckled. "Look, I don't know what we are or where we're going with this, but what I do know is that I love Leo Valdez and Piper McLean in exactly the same way and exactly the same amount. And I refuse to choose between them. As much as I know the others wouldn't care about it, I also don't feel the need to tell them yet. There's nothing to tell anyway because we're still figuring it out ourselves."

"I understand," Nico whispered. "Thank you for telling me. That...that couldn't have been easy. It isn't easy, I mean."

"No," Jason agreed. "It's why I've been so...angry recently. Leo is down in Tartarus all alone and I did nothing to save him. I love him the way I do and yet it did nothing to stop him from falling."

"Jason," Nico said softly. "It wasn't your fault. I was there. You couldn't have done anything even if you had been down in the chasm when it happened."

Jason closed his eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that although the others will understand, you also don't have to say anything at all." Grimacing slightly at the cliche of his words, Jason turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though that was probably the most awkward thing ever, he did feel lighter confiding in Nico. Piper understood everything because of course she did, but if Jason had somehow managed to help Nico accept himself, then maybe they were fighting for more than just demigods now. Maybe now, they could finally fight for themselves too. "We should...we should get back to the ship," he said. "I can fly us."

"No," Nico announced although he was still looking at Jason. "This time we're shadow travelling. I've had enough of the winds for one day."

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

The roar of a drakon woke Leo up for the second time.

However, unlike the first time, Leo shot out of bed like a rocket. He'd been having such a horrible dreams about demon grandmothers crushing him whilst his workshop was burning down around him when the drakon decided to wake up the whole of Tartarus. As grateful as he was to be woken from the nightmare, he definitely wasn't grateful for the way it had been done. He'd sat bolt right up, tangling his legs in the drakon hide blanket and falling flat on his face on the floor. His body groaned in protest, the burn on his side almost screeching at him.

Damasen and Bob must have heard the commotion because they suddenly loomed over him. "You must go, demigod," the giant said as Bob hefted Leo upright. "The drakon is returning. I fear itsroar will draw the others – my brethren, hunting you. They will be here within minutes."

"Minutes?" Panic clawed up Leo's throat. "How did they get so close?"

"Here." Damasen threw a drakon leather satchel at Leo who caught it in shock. "Clothes, food, drink."

"But-"

"Leo, there is no time," Bob said, his eyes frantic. He also wore a satchel, but his was considerably larger. His broom was clutched in his hand as if he was anticipating an attack at any moment. Leo's heart was pounding in his chest.

"What will you tell them when they get here?" Leo asked as he allowed Damasen to fuss about him, slinging the satchel over his shoulders and wrapping a drakon-skin poncho around him. The giant's mouth twitched.

"What is there to tell? Nothing of significance, as long as you're gone," he said. The giant started pushing Leo towards the door where Bob bounced on his heels in agitation.

"Wait, Damasen," Leo pleaded. "Come with us."

"Nice try, little one," Damasen said, shaking his head. "I told you before. I cannot leave this place."

"You can!" Leo cried. "I'm a son of Hephaestus, I know all about breaking and fixing things, and I'm sure you can break this curse! Come on, old man, don't stay a hermit!"

"I will ignore that you called me a hermit," the giant said, his voice low. He glanced behind Leo into the darkness beyond the swamp before crouching down. "Listen to me, Leo Valdez, and listen well. For your own sake, you must stop worrying about others. You must stop living your life for other people and start living for yourself. It is your own inferiority that my mother and father seek to exploit. If you give in to the voices that I know you hear, then you have already lost."

The words hit Leo harder than any of the monsters he had faced down here. Damasen had just exposed Leo's very soul like it was nothing. How many times had Leo heard Jason say the very same thing? How many times had Piper begged Leo to see his own worth? How many times had Annabeth warned him of his fatal flaw? The worst thing was Leo knew Damasen was right. Nemesis had used Leo's low self-esteem like a toy, tangling him in the strings of the Fates like he was a puppet. Nemesis was morally questionable at best and had still sent him to Tartarus. Gaia would do far worse.

"Leo, we have to go." Bob's voice sounded far away. "Leo!"

"My curse is here, child," Damasen said, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I cannot leave. It is the only destination I can picture."

"Find me, then," Leo whispered. "I'm asking you because I'll need you. Find me. Remember me. We can all get out of here together." The giant studied him, then reached for his belt. In his hands he held a drakon bone knife, although it was more a sword for someone Leo's side.

"Take this, a final gift," Damasen rumbled. "I know you tool belt magic is failing, and I would be a fool to send you into Tartarus without a weapon. Use it well, Leo Valdez."

"A bone sword and a death prediction?" Leo joked weakly, really wanting to cry. "Bet you're a joy at Christmas gift giving." Bob's hand clamped down on Leo's arm, pulling him away quickly.

"Until we meet again, Leo Valdez," Damasen said in farewell.

Leo didn't look back as he followed Bob into the swamp, but he heard Damasen behind them, shouting his battle cry at the advancing drakon, his voice cracking with despair as he faced his old enemy yet again.

***

They hurried quickly away, Bob almost carrying Leo as he stumbled and staggered about like a baby deer. Their pursuers behind them were making no effort to obscure their location, shouting out war cries that were designed to scare Leo to death. It was almost working.

Since leaving Damasen's hut, the cold was beginning to seep into Leo's bones again. Even the tunic-like poncho the giant had made for him wasn't keeping out the chill. He'd already tried to summon even the tiniest flicker of fire to warm himself, but his body had just refused. Even the smallest of sparks caused Leo to double over in pain. No, fire was not an option.

Neither, it seemed, was his tool belt. Damasen was right, the magic was failing. The only thing Leo could summon now was a singular screw. Practically useless.

Leo's wounds ached from the biting frost, his joints stiff and painful. He was shaking and trembling so much that he was sure the arai's curse from Khione was still affecting him. Or maybe it was just Tartarus cranking up the pressure. Either way, if Leo thought the cold was bad before, then he was really in for it now.

It's only what you deserve, Tartarus whispered.

Bob, as always, was not affected. He continued on, pointing out rocks where Leo should be careful or chatting away to small Bob the kitten like he didn't have a care in the world. For Leo, he was just grateful that the Titan was still with him. It would have been all too easy for Bob to decide enough was enough and abandon him to the elements. Yet, Bob stayed. Bob stayed because he thought Leo was worthy to be his friend. Heeding Damasen's words, Leo was trying hard to believe that he was.

"Bob," Leo rasped, his voice raw. "What do you want to see first when we get out of here?" He was distracting himself. It was so very obvious. Luckily, Bob grinned and seemed content to play along.

"The stars," he replied. "Bob wants to see the stars."

"Where do you want to see the stars?" Leo asked.

"I do not mind," Bob said with a shrug. "Wherever the sky is bright. Like at Camp Half Blood. Nico said the sky was very nice at Camp Half Blood."

"He's right," Leo said, closing his eyes briefly and imaging the sky views above Bunker 9. "Tell you what, when we make it back to the surface, I'll build you a big telescope so you can be even closer to the stars. You can see them all, even during the day if you'd like. And I'll get Annabeth to teach you about the constellations so you can name them too. Maybe you'll even become a star expert one day" Bob turned.

"Leo can really build such a thing?" he asked in amazement.

"I can build pretty much anything, buddy," Leo laughed. It sounded weak and hollow, but it was joyous laughter nonetheless.

"What does Leo want to see then?" Bob asked. Leo looked down at his feet, biting his lip to hold back the tears that suddenly came to his eyes. Jason and Piper. That was the answer. Of course, he wanted to see the rest of the seven too. He wanted to laugh with Hazel, joke with Percy, tease Frank, and problem-solve with Annabeth. But more than anything, he wanted just one afternoon with Jason and Piper to do whatever they pleased. He wanted just to sit with them, to feel safe and loved and warm. It didn't sound like much of a dream. For Leo though, who had spent years on the run with no home or family to call his own, it sounded nothing short of paradise.

"Just my friends," he whispered in reply.

Then the darkness dispersed with a massive sigh, like the last breath of a dying god. In front of them was a clearing – a barren field of dust and stones. In the centre, about twenty yards away, knelt the gruesome figure of a woman, her clothes tattered, her limbs emaciated, her skin leathery green.Her head was bent as she sobbed quietly, and the sound shattered all Leo's hopes.

He realized that life was pointless. His struggles were for nothing. This woman cried as if mourning the death of the entire world.

"We're here," Bob announced gravely. "Akhlys can help."

Leo did not want her help.

Nevertheless, Bob trudged forward. Leo felt obliged to follow. If nothing else, this area was less dark – not exactly light, but with more of a soupy white fog.

"Akhlys!" Bob called. The creature raised its head and Leo thought he was going to throw up.

Her body was bad enough. She looked like the victim of a famine – limbs like sticks, swollen knees and knobby elbows, rags for clothes, broken fingernails and toenails. Dust was caked on her skin and piled on her shoulders as if she'd taken a shower at the bottom of an hourglass.

Her face was utter desolation. Her eyes were sunken and rheumy, pouring out tears. Her nose dripped like a waterfall. Her stringy grey hair was matted to her skull in greasy tufts, and her cheeks were raked and bleeding as if she'd been clawing herself. Leo couldn't stand to meet her eyes, so he lowered his gaze.

Across her knees lay an ancient shield – a battered circle of wood and bronze, painted with the likeness of Akhlys herself holding a shield, so the image seemed to go on forever, smaller and smaller. Leo was sure he recognised that shield, but he brain was too frozen to remember where from.

The goddess started at him with her wet milky eyes. "You see the shield of Hercules?" she groaned. "He painted me on its surface, so his enemies would see me in their final moments – the goddess of misery." She coughed so hard it made Leo's chest hurt. "As if Hercules knew true misery. It's not even a good likeness!" Her cheeks dripped blood, making red polka dots on her tattered dress.

She radiated pure pain. Leo could hardly think through the despair. "Bob," he said. "We shouldn't be here."

From somewhere inside Bob's uniform, the skeleton kitten mewled in agreement.The Titan shifted and winced as if Small Bob was clawing his armpit. "Akhlys controls the Death Mist," he insisted. "She can hide you."

"Hide him?" Akhlys made a gurgling sound. She was either laughing or choking to death. "Why would I do that?"

"They must reach the Doors of Death," Bob said. "To return to the mortal world."

"Impossible!" Akhlys said. "The armies of Tartarus will find you. They will kill you."

Bob expression turned unsure. Leo realised that this wasn't something Bob could help with. He was going to have to get them out of here, preferably with Death Mist in hand. Not that he was sure what he could do. Once again, he found himself wishing for the powers and talents of his friends. What he wouldn't give for Annabeth's smarts right about now, or Piper's charmspeak. He had no fire, no tool belt, and definitely no courage.

It is your own inferiority that my mother and father seek to exploit.

That's what Damasen had said. That's what he warned.

So what did Leo have? Apart from a broken tool belt and stuttering fire powers. Humour. He did have humour. Humour, in a place that was humourless. What a fantastic idea, Leo. Yes, let's make the Goddess of Misery laugh. Simple.

But it was the only idea he had.

Stealing himself, he took a deep breath, ignoring the stab of ice in his lungs and the knocking of his knees, and stepped forward.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

"So Akhlys," Leo said, ever so carefully disguising the tremour in his voice and the shaking of his hands. "Goddess of Misery, huh? So I'm guessing that means you really like pain and suffering and all the good stuff like that?" The goddess raised her head, so Leo took that as a yes. "How about we make a trade, yeah?"

"A trade?" the goddess hissed.

"You know what a trade is, right?" Leo raised an eyebrow and tried to look as nonchalant as possible.

Akhlys's gnarled fingernails dug into Hercules's shield, gouging the metal. "I was old before the Titans were born, you ignorant boy. I was old when Gaia first woke. Misery is eternal. Existence is misery. I was born of the eldest ones – of Chaos and Night. I was –"

"Okay, I get it, you know what a trade is," Leo muttered, waving his hand. "So old lady, here is a little something you might not know about me. Up in the dizzying heights of the mortal world, I am rather famous."

"You? Famous?" If Akhlys could laugh, she probably would have then. "You lie, demigod."

"Nope, I don't lie," Leo said, obviously lying through his teeth. "I'm famous for my absolutely awful jokes." Even Bob looked confused but Leo did everything in his power not to look at him, praying to whatever god could hear him that Bob would play along. "Yep, I know. Crazy isn't it! But it's true. My jokes are known throughout the land as the worst to ever have been spoken."

"And why is this of interest to me?" Akhlys wailed. "Why do you brag when you know I have so little?"

"Because, my most hideous vampiress," Leo said with a cheeky smirk and a small bow, "I am here to make you feel such misery you could live off it for centuries to come." The goddess's eyes were so wide they could have consumed Leo. It took everything in him not to collapse under the weight, to curl up in a ball and cry out for mercy. So he stared back with his cheshire cat grin. He must have looked downright insane. Maybe he was. He was facing down with the goddess of misery, a goddess that he didn't know existed until ten minutes ago, to bargain for Death Mist using jokes. Not something Leo thought he'd ever do when he wrote out his bucket list.

By some miracle, Akhlys' thin lips stretched into a slightly less miserable frown. "You offer terrible jokes?" she said. "And in return I give you Death Mist?"

"Well that is the idea of a trade," Leo said.

Akhlys hissed. "Ask me for a more sensible gift. I am also the goddess of poisons. I could give you death – thousands of ways to die less painful than the one you have chosen by marching into the heart of the pit." Around the goddess, flowers bloomed in the dust – dark purple, orange and red blossoms that smelled sickly sweet. Leo's head swam. "Nightshade," Akhlys offered. "Hemlock. Belladonna, henbane or strychnine. I can dissolve your innards, boil your blood."

"Oh no, my jokes are worth exactly one order of Death Mist," Leo said. "As much as I appreciate your offer of a quick and painful death, a slow and painful death is more my style. Now, do we have a deal or not?" Akhyls writhed and wailed, rolling in the powdery flowers in discomfort. "Think of all the suffering you can inflict once you've heard my jokes," Leo sung. "Think of all the wailing you'll hear. Don't you want that, my disgusting horror? Don't you want to hear the pain?"

"Fine, fine, I agree," the goddess screeched. "Please just tell me the jokes!"

"Ah ah ah," Leo said, waggling his finger which was slowly turning blue from the cold. "I'll be needing an oath that once I've told you my jokes, you'll give me your Death Mist."

"Leo-" Bob warned but he knew he was in too deep now.

"I swear not on the Styx but on my mother," Akhlys hissed. "An oath broken on her name is far more dangerous than a pointless river."

"I'll take it," Leo said with a shrug. The chill was numbing his lips now. Could he die from hypothermia down here? He cracked his sore knuckles and rolled his shoulders, wincing but gritting his teeth. Jokes. Bad jokes. This should be easy. "Are we sitting comfortably, my lady of foulness?" The goddess crossed her spindly legs, leaning forward on the shield eagerly. She looked almost like an attentive kindergarten student. Bracing himself, Leo searched his mind for the corniest, worst jokes he knew. It shouldn't be hard. He'd spent a lifetime making bad jokes.

"Okay this first one is a real corker to open up with," Leo said. "Why don't oysters donate to charity?" The goddess shook her head.

"Explain," she demanded.

"Because they're shellfish!" It took a moment for the joke to land, just long enough that Leo started to question if this was a good idea. But then the goddess let out a guttural howl of anguish. She rocked back, bloody tears falling from her cheeks.

"Oh, the agony!" she screeched. "That was SO BAD!" Leo took that as a good sign.

"Did you know that Zeus entered a cooking contest?" he asked. "Because I heard he cooked up a storm." That one definitely landed straight away because Akhlys shrieked, slamming her fists into the poison flowers. The ground shook at her wails and Leo had to quickly roll away from the poisonous dust cloud that swept past.

"Awful!" she cried out. "Please, the misery!"

"Another, Leo!" Bob encouraged. Even he looked like he was cringing at the trashy dad jokes Leo was coming out with. That must mean they were bad.

"Why was six afraid of seven?" Leo practically shouted.

"Why? Why?! Tell me why!" Akhlys' eyes were turning red as she clawed the ground.

"Because seven ate nine!" Akhlys groaned, her hands covering her ears as if she didn't want to hear more. Never did Leo think his jokes would have this effect. Even Piper, for all her drama, had never said his jokes were this bad. The scene was so bizarre that Leo wanted to start laughing himself. He had to stay composed.

"Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut? Poor guy really needed some space!"

"What did Zeus say to Apollo after he accidentally used his shampoo? I didn't realize it was your shampoo, I apollo-gize!"

"Why are there fences are cemeteries? Because everyone's always dying to get in!"

Leo went on and on. Akhlys lapped up the jokes, cringing at every one but begging for more. As each one landed, she cried and screamed and groaned about her endless misery. It was working. It was actually working. Finally, just as Leo had run out of jokes, the goddess raised her hand. "Stop," she moaned. "No more. No more! I have collected enough misery to last me." Leo sighed with relief, pulling his drakon skin poncho closer to his body.

"So?" he pressed. "I met my end of the bargain. Show me the Death Mist."

The goddess was already shuffling into the gloom.

Leo turned to look at Bob, but the Titan was gone. How does a ten-foot-tall silver dude with a very loud kitten disappear?

"Hey!" Leo yelled to Akhlys. "Where's my friend? What have you done with him?"

"He cannot take this path," the goddess called back. "He is not mortal. Come, little fool. Come,experience the Death Mist."

Leo followed the goddess's dusty footprints through the poison flowers, deeper into the fog. The loss of Bob unnerved him. He had grown so used to the Titan's silvery glow and easy conversation. Bob was the only thing keeping him sane. Without him, Leo didn't think his corny jokes would protect him. He was petrified.

As he struggled across the dusty plain, the fog became so thick that Leo had to resist the urge to swat it away with his hands. The only reason he was able to follow Akhlys's path was because poisonous plants sprang up wherever she walked. She was like some ghostly ghoul version of Hansel and Gretel, only he hoped there wasn't a scary witch at the end of the trail...or anything worse for that matter. Not for the first time, Leo wished he had his fire right now to light the way. The cold darkness was oppressive, resting just on the edges of his consciousness like it was trying to freeze his brains out. At this rate, it wouldn't be long. Oh how Khione would love to see him now.

The fog dissipated, and he found himself on a peninsula that jutted out over a pitch-black void. "Here we are." Akhlys turned and leered at him. Blood from her cheeks dripped on her dress. Her sickly eyes looked moist and swollen but somehow excited. Can Misery look excited?

"Uh...great," Leo asked. "Where is here?"

"The verge of final death," Akhlys said. "Where Night meets the void below Tartarus."

Leo inched forward and peered over the cliff. "I thought there was nothing below Tartarus."

"Oh, certainly there is..." Akhlys coughed. "Even Tartarus had to rise from somewhere. This is the edge of the earliest darkness, which was my mother. Below lies the realm of Chaos, my father. Here,you are closer to nothingness than any mortal has ever been. Can you not feel it?"

Leo knew what she meant. The void seemed to be pulling at him, leaching the breath from his lungs and the oxygen from his blood. The numbing of his lips from earlier seemed to spread to his hands and feet. A darkness was sapping at his life force, the very fire in his soul almost extinguished. "I-I can't stay here," he stammered. His stomach rolled. He was going to throw up. The cold was backbreaking, bone shattering. Leo could hardly breathe through it.

"No, indeed!" Akhlys said. "Don't you feel the Death Mist? Even now, you pass between. Look!" White smoke gathered around Leo's feet. As it coiled up his legs, he realized the smoke wasn't surrounding him. It was coming from him. His whole body was dissolving. He held up his hands and found they were fuzzy and indistinct. He couldn't even tell how many fingers he had. Hopefully still ten. "It likes a fire user it seems," the goddess cackled. "No wonder. I knew it would bring you close to death, but this is far closer than I thought. How beautifully excruciating!"

"But I can pass unseen?" Leo gasped. If he was solid, he'd be clutching his chest right about now. "I can get to the Doors of Death?"

"Well, perhaps you could," the goddess said, "if you lived that long, which you won't." Akhlys spread her gnarled fingers. More plants bloomed along the edge of the pit – hemlock, nightshade and oleander spreading towards Leo's feet like a deadly carpet. "The Death Mist is not simply a disguise, you see. It is a state of being. I could not bring you this gift unless death followed –true death."

A trap. Of course it was.

Leo drew his drakon bone sword but the blade was made of smoke. He tried to swing at Akhlys but she simply stood and grinned as the sword passed right through her.The goddess's ruined mouth split into a grin. "Did I forget to mention? You are only mist now – a shadow before death. Perhaps if you had time, you could learn to control your new form. But you do not have time. Since you cannot touch me, I fear any fight with Misery will be quite one-sided." Her fingernails grew into talons. Her jaw unhinged, her yellow teeth elongated into fangs, and she lunged.

For one brilliant second, Leo felt almost triumphant. He was smoke after all. This silly goddess couldn't even touch him.

He was proven wrong when Akhlys' claws raked across his chest. Leo cried out, the wound stinging like frost bite. He stumbled backwards, tripping over himself even in smoke form. His legs moved too slowly. His arms felt like tissue paper.Come on, get it together Leo.

Akhlys crouched to spring again. Leo backed away slowly. He had to figure out a way to control this Death Mist thing otherwise he'd be ripped to pieces. The goddess leapt forwards and Leo only just managed to roll away. Well, that was quicker. Maybe he was starting to get the hang on this. He needed a plan though. He couldn't keep dodging the goddess forever. At this point, it was so dark that he couldn't even just run away. There was nowhere to go.

Once again, Akhlys launched forwards, tackling Leo by the waist. He slammed into the ground, his head bouncing off the dirt as the weight of the goddess pinned him. Akhlys had grabbed his sword arm, wrapping her bony fingers around his wrist. Leo screamed in pain as his wrist cracked under the pressure. Black ice crept around his forearm from her deadly grip. She was literally freezing his arm off. Panicking, Leo kicked upwards, somehow managing to connect with the goddess. She howled, rolling away and giving Leo enough time to pull himself to his feet.

Gods did his wrist hurt.

Rage filled him. Leo was tired. He was tired of hurting. He was tired of being bullied. Most of all, he was tired of god damn Misery.

Brandishing his sword with his other hand, he turned and glared at the goddess. "Go," he snarled. "Leave now, or I will destroy you."

"You? Destroy me?" the goddess cackled. "You are nothing, mortal! You cannot kill me!"All around her, poisonous plants grew and burst like overfilled balloons. Green-and-white sap trickled out, collecting into pools, and began flowing across the ground towards Leo. The sweet-smelling fumes made his head feel wobbly. The goddess of misery was fixated on him. He tried to retreat again. Unfortunately the poison ichor was flowing all around him now, making the ground steam and the air burn. Leo found himself stuck on an island of dust not much bigger than a shield. He fell to one knee, his throat was as dry as dead leaves.

"You will feed the eternal darkness," Akhlys said. "You will die in the arms of Night!"

Something inside Leo snapped.

Earlier, when he had tried to summon his fire, the pain was far too great to even produce a small flame. But Leo didn't care anymore. If he was going to die, he was going to die with fire in his hands and burn all of Tartarus down with him.

Fire consumed him before he could even stop himself. The flames rose up from his fingertips, swirling in a firestorm that Leo couldn't control. Fury and rage had taken over every though Leo had until nothing but Akhlys' death occupied his thoughts. The goddess herself seemed to sense this. She bared her teeth, raising her hands to crush her cloud of poison around Leo, hoping to choke him out. But Leo was quicker.

He stepped forwards and roared.

Fire blasted the goddess of misery, enveloping her in a column of blazing inferno. Her screeches filled the poison air of Tartarus almost like nails across a chalkboard. Leo couldn't bring himself to care. The heat intensified around him as Leo cranked up the pressure. He boiled the goddess' golden godly blood, simmering her organs and scorching her lungs. He used the goddess' own minimal body heat to cook her from the inside out. Akhlys was now a bonfire, her wails dying down as she lost strength. Leo grinned. He was winning. Finally, he was winning.

Stop, a voice in his mind whispered. Piper. It sounded like Piper.This isn't you. That's enough. Stop before you can't.

The switch flipped back. Leo came back to himself, horrified at the scene in front of him. Akhlys had been reduced to a pile of dust, crumbled in a heap and surrounded by charred flowers. The fire immediately extinguished and Leo fell to his knees, gasping and wheezing as the poisonous air in his lungs froze again. The pain came crashing into him like waves. Every muscle was shaking with exertion, his very bones throbbing. Leo couldn't have moved if he tried. He was frozen, not just because of the raw icy cold that pressed back into him but also because of the horror of what he'd just done. The rage that had filled him, the venom and anger and utter hate...Leo had never been more scared of himself.

There was movement from the pile of ashes. Leo looked up as Akhlys clawed her way up, her body stained with soot. She looked a nightmare. Hissing, Akhlys' head rose and back away from Leo in fright. Without another word, she scrambled along the path, fell on her face and got up again, wailing as she sped into the dark.

Leo remained still. His insides were sharp like shattered glass. "Please," he whispered. "Please no more." No one answered. Icy tears rolled down his cheeks. "I can't...I can't. Please....I don't want to be here anymore."

Behind him, he was dimly aware of a presence growing beyond the edge of the cliff. He had to get up. He had to move, no matter the cost of doing so. His broken wrist ached and stung as Leo hefted himself upwards, dragging his battered and broken body into a standing position. He had to get away from the cliff but his mind felt like cotton wool. Even as his body was acclimatising to the Death Mist, his injuries sapped more out of him every second. Akhlys' claws had left blackened slashes across his chest and wrist.

The temperature dropped further. The abyss seemed to exhale. A form dark and shadowing rose up before him, towering over him in such darkness that Leo forgot light existed.

"Son of Hephaestus,"said the darkness, in a feminine voice as soft as coffin lining. "Come to die at the hands of Night?"

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Piper had spent the last two days up on deck, watching as the Mediterranean froze beneath the hull. Two days out to sea from Split, grey clouds swallowed the sky. The waves turned choppy. Cold drizzle sprayed across the deck, forming ice on the rails and the ropes.

"It's the sceptre," Nico murmured, hefting the ancient staff. "It has to be."

Piper wondered. Ever since Jason and Nico had returned from Diocletian's Palace, they'd been acting nervous and cagey. Something major had happened there – something Jason wouldn't share with her. Not that she had pressed too much. The night before, when they were lying in his cabin, Piper had asked only once what had happened.

"It's not for me to say," Jason had replied. She didn't ask after that. She trusted Jason enough that if it was important to the quest, he would have said something. "I talked to Nico about Leo though...about us." Now that did surprise Piper. She sat up on one arm, her hair brushing Jason's nose. His stark blue eyes met hers.

"Did he guess?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not entirely," Jason replied. "He knew there was something and...well, I wanted to tell him. He won't tell anyone else." Piper had never really cared about other people knowing. In her mind, she didn't care who knew as long as her boys were okay with it. The only reason why they had kept it a secret so far was because they still weren't entirely sure whatitwas. That, and the quest getting in the way. Just in case things did go sideways with the team, they hadn't wanted to upset the balance of the ship. Not that Piper thought there would be a problem, but it was always at the back of her mind.

Jason was watching her, reading her carefully. "He was fine," he said softly. "Just like you said everyone would be. But I'm sorry I told him without asking you first."

"Hey," Piper chided gently. "I told you before. I don't care who knows."

"I know," Jason said. "I just..." He faltered, glancing back up at Piper. "Leo wouldn't mind, would he?" His voice was fragile, unsure. Leo was another reason why they hadn't told the others. Not that he knew, but Jason and Piper had spoken about it at length. Leo found it difficult enough to be around people as it was. He was under pressure constantly with ship repairs to do and new teammates to bond with. The last thing he needed was apprehension over them too. He'd never brought it up to them, but Piper knew Leo. He was so scared of rejection and abandonment that he'd bottle up his feelings forever.

"No, I'm sure he wouldn't," Piper soothed, not sure if she believed it or not.

After that, they didn't speak much. Jason was due to be on guard duty within an hour so they just made the most of being in each other's company. Still, their missing piece was so obvious, and the pain in Piper's heart just kept growing.

Now, she stood on the quarterdeck with the rest of the seven as they attempted to discuss strategy as they got closer to Epirus. It was clearly not a good place to hang out.Wind swept frost across the deck. The sea churned beneath them.Piper didn't mind the waves so much. The rocking and pitching reminded her of surfing with her dad off the California coast. But she could tell Hazel wasn't doing well. The poor girl got seasick even in calm waters. She looked like she was trying to swallow a billiard ball.

"Need to –" Hazel gagged and pointed below.

"Yeah, go." Nico kissed her cheek, which Piper found surprising. He hardly ever made gestures of affection, even to his sister. He seemed to hate physical contact. Kissing Hazel...it was almost like he was saying goodbye.

"I'll walk you down." Frank put his arm around Hazel's waist and helped her to the stairs.Piper hoped Hazel would be okay. The last few nights, since that fight with Sciron, they'd had some good talks together. They'd shared stories,complained about the guys' gross habits and shed some tears together about Leo. Hazel had told her what it was like to control the Mist, and Piper had been surprised by how much it sounded like using charmspeak. Piper had offered to help her if she could. In return, Hazel had promised to help Percy with coaching her in sword fighting – a skill at which Piper epically sucked. Piper felt like she had a new friend,which was great...assuming they lived long enough to enjoy the friendship.

Nico brushed some ice from his hair. He frowned at the sceptre of Diocletian. "I should put this thing away. If it's really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help..."

"Sure," Jason said. Nico glanced at Piper, Percy and Annabeth, as if worried what they might say when he was gone. Piper felt his defences going up, like he was curling into a psychological ball, the way he'd gone into a death trance in that bronze jar. After one last look, Nico disappeared below deck. Annabeth and Percy turned to each other, heads low in conversation. They seemed worried about something but Piper couldn't bring herself to ask, just grateful that the two older demigods seemed to be taking charge.

Turning away, Piper unsheathed her dagger, forcing herself to check it. She'd been doing this everyday since Leo fell, trying to catch a glimpse of where he was. She was always disappointed. Her dagger seemed determined to show her anything but Leo, especially if it was frightening images of the Roman legion amassing by Camp Half Blood. They didn't have much time. The war was brewing, and brewing quickly.

The other reoccurring image was the House of Hades -a pale sorceress in a gold dress, her hands weaving golden light in the air like silk on a loom; a giant wrapped in shadows, marching down along corridor lined with torches. As he passed each one, the flames died. She saw a huge cavern filled with monsters – Cyclopes, Earthborn and stranger things – surrounding her and her friends,hopelessly outnumbering them.Every time she saw those images, a voice in her head kept repeating one line over and over.

To storm or fire the world must fall.

The line had always bothered her. It definitely meant either Jason or Leo, that much was clear. But one of them destroying the world? That didn't seem likely.

Annabeth had a different interpretation, one that Piper hadn't dared tell Jason about yet. According to Annie, the world might not refer to their society, but to Gaia herself. She predicted that instead of Jason or Leo destroying the world, one of them would actually destroy Gaia instead. That was good, is it wasn't for the line before.

An oath to keep with a final breath...

One of them would die. One of her boys would sacrifice himself to defeat Gaia. If Annabeth was right, and she usually was, Piper didn't think she would survive that.

She hoped that she was wrong, begged even. But it was almost too perfect. This entire quest had started with them rescuing Hera. It seemed the fates were determined to end it with them too.

"Is it me or is it getting colder?" Annabeth said. Piper's head shot up. Annabeth was right. The ice and frost seemed to have gotten thicker. Piper was certain it was being caused by something more than just Diocletian's sceptre. The cold wind, the mix of ice and rain seemed actively hostile and somehow familiar. That smell in the air, the thick smell of...

Piper should have understood what was happening sooner, but she'd spent most of her life in southern California with no major changes of season. She hadn't grown up with that smell...the smell of impending snow. Every muscle in her body tensed. "Annabeth, sound the alarm." She hadn't realised she was charmspeaking until Annabeth abandoned Percy's side and punched the alarm button on the console.

Nothing happened.

"The wires must be frozen," Annabeth frowned. "Piper, what's going on?"

"It's her!" Piper snatched up her dagger. "She's back! We have to-"

Before she could finish, the boat listed to port. The temperature dropped so fast that the sails crackled with ice. The bronze shields along the rails popped like over-pressurized soda cans.Jason drew his sword, but it was too late. A wave of ice particles swept over him, coating him like a glazed doughnut and freezing him in place. Under a layer of ice, his eyes were wide with amazement.

Percy drew Riptide, starting forwards to help Jason but winds swirled around his feet, lifting him above the deck.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, running towards him but Percy shot skywards into the clouds, disappearing with a shout. "NO!"

Piper looked desperately at the stairwell, hoping to see her friends charging to the rescue, but a block of ice had sealed the hatch. The whole lower deck might have been frozen solid. Annabeth was screeching at the sky, looking almost feral.

"Show yourself!" she screamed.

"Hello," the voice in the storm whispered. The girls whipped around.Standing amidships was a girl in a flowing dress of white silk, her mane of black hair pinned back with a circlet of diamonds. Her eyes were the colour of coffee, but without the warmth. Behind her stood her brothers – two young men with purple-feathered wings, stark white hair and jagged swords of Celestial bronze.

"So good to see you again,ma chère," said Khione, the goddess of snow. "It's time we had a very cold reunion."

"Khione," Piper spat. "I wondered when you'd show your face again."Ever since last winter, Piper had expected Khione to show her frosty face sooner or later. When they'd defeated her at the Wolf House in Sonoma, the snow goddess had vowed revenge.

"Ah, my beloved." Zethes. Just great. He stood on the catapult platform,his purple wings spread. His white hair was still feathered in a horrible Disco Age mullet. The collar of his silk shirt stuck out over his breastplate. His chartreuse polyester trousers were grotesquely tight, and his acne had only got worse. Despite that, he wriggled his eyebrows and smiled like he was the demigod of pickup artists. "I knew you would miss me." He spoke Québécois French, which Piper translated effortlessly. Thanks to her mom, Aphrodite, the language of love was hardwired into her, though she didn't want to speak it with Zethes.

Annabeth seemed to have recovered from her moment of shock, rounding on Khione with a ferocity. "Where is Percy?" she demanded. "What have you done with him?!" The snow goddess rolled her eyes.

"Oh you won't be seeing Percy Jackson again," she smirked. "I have sent him to a place where he can never return.Shewill not easily forgive him."

"Where have you sent him?" Annabeth snarled.

"I tire of you," Khione sighed. Piper tried to warn her friend but Khione was too quick. With a flick of her hand, the goddess shot an ice cloud at Annabeth, freezing her solid just like Jason. "Ah, much better."

"Let my friends go!" Piper shouted, forcing every ounce of charmspeak she could into her voice.

Zethes blinked. "We should let your friends go."

"Yes," Cal agreed.

"No, you idiots!" Khione snapped. "She is charmspeaking. Use your wits."

"Guys, listen," Piper said. "Your sister disobeyed Boreas. She's working with the giants, trying to raise Gaia. She's planning to take over your father's throne."

Khione laughed, soft and cold. "Dear Piper McLean. You would manipulate my weak-willed brothers with your charms, like a true daughter of the love goddess. Such a skillful liar."

"Liar?" Piper cried. "You tried to kill us! Zethes, she's working for Gaia!"

Zethes winced. "Alas, beautiful girl. We all are working for Gaia now. I fear these orders are from our father, Boreas himself."

"What?" Piper didn't want to believe it, but Khione's smug smile told her it was true.

"At last my father saw the wisdom of my counsel," Khione purred, "or at least he did before his Roman side began warring with his Greek side. I fear he is quite incapacitated now, but he left me in charge. He has ordered that the forces of the North Wind be used in the service of King Porphyrion and of course...the Earth Mother."

Piper gulped. "How are you even here?" She gestured at the ice all over the ship. "It's summer!"

Khione shrugged. "Our powers grow. The rules of nature are turned upside down. Once the Earth Mother wakes, we shall remake the world as we choose!" She moved forwards, examining the icy statues of Annabeth and Jason as if they were her possessions. "The Athena spawn will make an excellent paper weight of course. And as for Jason Grace..." Her eyes gleamed. "He will be my right hand in my throne room. Perhaps I'll even defrost him sometimes. I'm sure he'll behave."

"He's not your pet, Khione," Piper growled.

The goddess smirked. "Perhaps not, but he will be my prisoner." She tapped Jason on the head. "Alas, I had hoped it would be Leo Valdez. I'm sure he'd probably beg to be at my side right now, given the alternative..."

"Don't you dare talk about Leo," Piper snapped.

Khione grinned. "Hit a nerve, did I? I told you I would have my revenge, and now he is serving a punishment greater than I could ever imagine. Justice, as always." Piper felt rage bubbling beneath her skin. She could not let Khione get to her. She had to focus. The rest of the seven were relying on her. "Perhaps it's for the best," Khione continued airily. "Really, he would have been far too dangerous with his fire. At least nowLord Clytius can continue his work without worry."

Fire. Of course. Piper glanced at the frozen head of Festus. She needed to reactivate him.

"Well!" Khione announced. "I fear our time together is at a close. Zethes, if you would–"

"Wait!" Piper said. A simple command, and it worked. The Boreads and Khione frowned at her, waiting. Piper was fairly sure she could control the brothers with charmspeak, but Khione was a problem. Charmspeak worked poorly if the person wasn't attracted to you. It worked poorly on a powerful being like a god. And it worked poorly when your victim knew about charmspeak and was actively on guard against it. All of the above applied to Khione.

What would Leo do?

Delay, Piper thought. When in doubt, talk some more. "You're afraid of my friends," she said. "So why not just kill them?'"

Khione laughed. "You are not a god, or you would understand. Death is so short, so...unsatisfying. Your puny mortal souls flit off to the Underworld, and what happens then? The best I can hope for is that you go to the Fields of Punishment or Asphodel, but you demigods are insufferably noble. More likely you will go to Elysium – or get reborn in a new life. Why would I want to reward your friends that way? Why...when I can punish them eternally?"

"And me?" Piper hated to ask. "Why am I still alive and unfrozen?"

Khione glanced at her brothers with annoyance. "Zethes has claimed you, for one thing."

"I kiss magnificently," Zethes promised. "You will see, beautiful one." The idea made Piper's stomach churn.

"But that is not the only reason," Khione said. "It is because I hate you, Piper. Deeply and truly. And the perfect punishment for you is not only to imprison your friends, but also make you watch as Leo Valdez painfully perishes at the hands of the Lord Tartarus. Now that...that is something I long to see. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have a front row seat." Piper's fists clenched but her heart was aching. Khione seemed so sure of Leo's death. Did that mean-?

No. Piper couldn't believe her. She wouldn't.

Khione finally decided to leave Jason's frozen form alone and gestured to Zethes. "Of course, I need to ensure you are well out of the way first. Brother, if you will." Zethes seemed pleased to be given such an important task and plucked something from the air – a frozen sphere the size of a softball,covered in icy spikes.

"A bomb," Zethes explained, "especially for you, my love."

"Bombs!" Cal laughed. "A good day! Bombs!"

"Uh..." Piper lowered her dagger, which seemed even more useless than usual. "Flowers would've been fine."

"Oh, it will not kill the pretty girl." Zethes frowned. "Well...I am fairly sure of this. But when the fragile container cracks, in...ah, roughly not very long...it will unleash the full force of the northern winds. This ship will be blown very far off course. Very, very far."

"Indeed." Khione's voice dripped with false sympathy. "Poor Piper. The least powerful of the seven and the most useless.What will you do to stop us? A hero? Ha! You are a joke."

Her words stung like sleet, mostly because Piper had had the same thoughts herself. What could she do? How could she save her friends with what she had? She came close to snapping – flying at her enemies in a rage and getting herself killed. She looked at Khione's smug expression and she realized the goddess was hoping for that. She wanted Piper to break. She wanted entertainment.

Piper's spine turned to steel. She remembered the girls who used to make fun of her at the Wilderness School. She remembered Drew, the cruel head counsellor she had replaced in Aphrodite's cabin; and Medea, who had charmed Jason and Leo in Chicago; and Jessica, her dad'sold assistant, who had always treated her like a useless brat.

All her life, Piper had been looked down upon, told she was useless.

It has never been true, another voice whispered – a voice that sounded like her mother's.Each of them berated you because they feared you and envied you. So does Khione. Use that!

Aphrodite was right. Piper was someone to be feared. Hadn't Leo always said she could strike fear into the hearts of her enemies just by a single look? If Leo believed in her, she had to believe in herself too.

Piper didn't feel like it, but she managed a laugh. She tried it again, and the laughter came more easily. Soon she was doubled over, giggling and snorting.

Calais joined in, until Zethes elbowed him.

Khione's smile wavered. "What? What is so funny? I have doomed you!"

"Doomed me!" Piper laughed again. "Oh, gods...sorry." She took a shaky breath and tried to stop giggling. "Oh, boy...okay. You really think I'm powerless? You really think I'm useless? Gods of Olympus, your brain must have freezer burn. You don't know my secret, do you?"

Khione's eyes narrowed. "You have no secret," she said. "You are lying."

"Okay, whatever," Piper said. "Yeah, go ahead and take my friends. Leave me here...useless." She snorted. "Yeah. Gaia will be really pleased with you."

Snow swirled around the goddess. Zethes and Calais glanced at each other nervously.

"Sister," Zethes said, "if she really has some secret then we must know."

Khione obviously didn't buy it. Piper tried to keep a straight face, but she made her eyes dance with mischief and humour.Go ahead, she dared.Call my bluff.

"What secret?" Khione demanded. "Reveal it to us!"

Piper shrugged. "Suit yourself." She pointed casually towards the prow. "Follow me, ice people."

She pushed between the Boreads, her eyes fixed on the prow and the figurehead just beyond. As she passed, she tried to not look at the frozen statues of Annabeth and Jason, or think about Percy shot into the sky. She had to focus on Khione now who was following close behind her.

The ship rocked under her feet. A single gust of summer air made it through the chill, and Piper breathed it in, taking it as a good omen. It was still summer out there. Khione and her brothers did not belong here.Piper knew she couldn't win a straight fight against a goddess and two winged guys with swords. She wasn't as clever as Annabeth, or as good at problem solving as Leo.

But she did have power. And she intended to use it.

During her many talks with Hazel, Piper had realized that the secret of charmspeak was a lot like using the Mist. In the past, Piper had had a lot of trouble making her charms work, because she always ordered her enemies do what she wanted. She would put all her power into her voice and hope it was enough to overwhelm her enemy's will.

Sometimes it worked, but it was exhausting and unreliable. Aphrodite wasn't about head-on confrontation. Aphrodite was about subtlety and guile and charm. Piper decided she shouldn't focus on making people do what she wanted. She needed to push them to do the thingstheywanted.

She just had to make it work.

She stopped at the foremast and faced Khione. "Wow, I just realised why you hate us so much," she said, her voice filled with pity. "We did humiliate you pretty badly at the Wolf House. I mean, you had a giant king on your side, plus an army of wolves and Earthborn, and yet all Leo had to do was light a fire and it sent you running."

"The beautiful girl must be lying," Zethes said. "Khione was not beaten at the Wolf House. She said it was a...ah, what is the term? A tactical retreat."

"Treats?" Cal asked. "Treats are good."

Piper pushed the big guy's chest playfully. "No, Cal. He means that your sister ran away."

"I did not!" Khione shrieked.

"What did Hera call you?" Piper mused. "Right – a D-list goddess!"

She burst out laughing again, and her amusem*nt was so genuine that Zethes and Cal started laughing, too.

Khione's white dress began to steam. Ice formed over Zethes's and Cal's mouths, plugging them up. "Show us this secret of yours, Piper McLean," growled. "Then pray I leave you on this ship intact. If you are toying with us, I will show you the horrors of frostbite. I doubt Zethes will still want you if you have no fingers or toes...perhaps no nose or ears."

Zethes and Cal spat the ice plugs out of their mouths. "The pretty girl would look less pretty without a nose," Zethes admitted.Piper had seen pictures of frostbite victims. The threat terrified her, but she didn't let it show.

"Come on, then." When she got to the figurehead, she put her hand on Festus' neck. His bronze scales were cold.There was no hum of machinery. His ruby eyes were dull and dark. "You remember our dragon?" Piper asked.

Khione scoffed. "This cannot be your secret. The dragon is broken. Its fire is gone."

"Well, yes..." Piper stroked the dragon's snout.She didn't have Leo's power to make gears turn or circuits spark. She couldn't sense anything about the workings of a machine. All she could do was speak her heart and tell the dragon what he most wanted to hear. Although Festus wasn't originally Leo's creation, there was enough of Leo in him that Piper could use. Her heart always had room for anything of Leo. "Festus is more than a machine. He's a living creature."

"Ridiculous," the goddess spat. "You – have – no – power!"

"Spoken like a D-list goddess," Piper said. "One who never gets taken seriously, who always wants more power." She turned to Festus and ran her hand behind his metal ears. "You're a good friend, Festus. No one can truly deactivate you. You're more than a machine. Khione doesn't understand that." She turned to the Boreads. "She doesn't value you, either, you know. She thinks she can boss you around because you're demigods, not full-fledged gods. She doesn't understand that you're a powerful team."

"Zethes and I team?" Cal asked.

Piper laughed. "You are smart, Cal! Even I underestimated you."

"Wait, now," Zethes protested. "I am smart also. And good-looking."

"Very smart," Piper agreed, ignoring the good-looking part. "So put down the wind bomb and watch Khione get humiliated."

Zethes grinned. He crouched and rolled the ice sphere across the deck. "You fool!" Khione yelled.

Before the goddess could go after the sphere, Piper cried, "Our secret weapon, Khione! We're not just a bunch of demigods. We're a team. Just like Festus isn't only a collection of parts. He's alive.He's my friend. And when his friends are in trouble, especially Leo, he can wake up on his own." She willed all her confidence into her voice – all her love for the metal dragon and everything he'd done for them, all her love for Leo and Jason and their strange little trio. The rational part of her knew this was hopeless. How could you start a machine with emotions?

But Aphrodite wasn't rational. She ruled through emotions. She was the oldest and most primordial of the Olympians, born from the blood of Ouranos churning in the sea. Her power was more ancient than that of Hephaestus or Athena or even Zeus.

The dragon's metal skin grew warm under Piper's hand. She dived out of the way, tackling the snow goddess, as Festus turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees and blasted the Boreads, vaporizing them on the spot. For some reason, Zethes's sword was spared. It clunked to the deck, still steaming.

Piper scrambled to her feet. She spotted the sphere of winds at the base of the foremast. She ran for it, but before she could get close Khione materialized in front of her in a swirl of frost. Her skin glowed bright enough to cause snow blindness.

"You miserable girl," she hissed. "You think you can defeat me – a goddess?"

At Piper's back, Festus roared and blew steam, but Piper knew he couldn't breathe fire again without hitting her, too. About twenty feet behind the goddess, the ice sphere began to crack and hiss.Piper was out of time for subtlety. She yelled and raised her dagger, charging the goddess. Khione grabbed her wrist. Ice spread over Piper's arm. The blade of Katoptris turned white. The goddess's face was only six inches from hers. Khione smiled, knowing she had won.

"'A child of Aphrodite," she chided. "You are nothing."

Festus creaked again. Piper could swear he was trying to shout encouragement; she could almost hear Leo's voice in him. Suddenly her chest grew warm – not with anger or fear but with love for that dragon; and Jason and Annabeth,who was depending on her; and for Percy who they just had to find; and her friends trapped below; and Leo, who was trapped in hell and needed her help. Maybe love was no match for ice...but Piper had used it to wake a metal dragon.

Mortals did superhuman feats in the name of love all the time. Mothers lifted cars to save their children. And Piper was more than just mortal. She was a demigod. A hero. The ice melted on her blade. Her arm steamed under Khione's grip. "Still underestimating me," Piper told the goddess. "You really need to work on that."

Khione's smug expression faltered as Piper drove her dagger straight down. The blade touched Khione's chest, and the goddess exploded in a miniature blizzard. Piper collapsed, dazed from the cold. She heard Festus clacking and whirring, the reactivated alarm bells ringing.

The bomb. If she broke the ship, Leo would kill her.

Piper struggled to rise. The sphere was ten feet away, hissing and spinning as the winds inside began to stir. Piper dived for it. Her fingers closed around the bomb just as the ice shattered and the winds exploded.

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

Leo had never felt so small.

Nyx was almost too much to take in. Looming over the chasm, she was a churning figure of ash and smoke, as big as the Athena Parthenos statue, but very much alive. Her dress was void black, mixed with the colours of a space nebula, as if galaxies were being born in her bodice. Her face was hard to see except for the pinpoints of her eyes, which shone like quasars. When her wings beat, waves of darkness rolled over the cliffs, making Leo feel heavy and sleepy, his eyesight dim.

Her chariot was made of Stygian Iron. Leo could feel the dark pull of the metal even from here, the same feeling he got whenever he was close to Nico di Angelo's sword. Two massive horses pulled her along,all black except for their pointed silver fangs. The beasts' legs floated in the abyss, turning from solid to smoke as they moved. They snarled and bared their fangs at Leo. The goddess lashed her whip – a thin streak of stars like diamond barbs – and the horses reared back. Leo didn't need Percy's horse translating powers to understand what they were saying.

"No, Shade," the goddess purred. "Down, Shadow. This little prize is not for you."

Leo was shaking so hard that his teeth were rattling in his skull. "You - You're not going to let them eat me?" His voice was timid but right now, Leo was impressed he could muster a voice at all.

Nyx's quasar eyes burned. "Of course not. I would not let my horses eat you, any more than I would let Akhlys kill you. Such a fine prize, I will kill myself!" Leo didn't feel particularly witty or courageous right now. But he had to do something, otherwise this could be a very short conversation.Think, Leo!he berated himself.Talk to her, distract her, do anything to stay alive a little bit longer.

He had a feeling a couple of corny jokes wouldn't work with a literal primordial. So he was going to have to try something else.

"Please don't kill yourself!" Leo cried, trying to keep his voice steady. "That would not be a good start to our date."

The goddess lowered her whip. "What? Date? No that's not - "

"Oh good," Leo pretended to sigh with relief. "I thought for a moment I'd blown my shot before even having a conversation with you! Now that would have been awful!"

The vampire horses looked confused. They reared and snorted and knocked their dark heads together. Nyx pulled back on the reins. "Do you know who I am?" she demanded.

"Of course I do!" Leo said. "I'd be crazy to not. Everyone on the speed-dating program talked about you but...well, your name wasn't on the list. Must be an oversight."

Nyx's eyes winked out for a moment. "Speed-dating program?! What list?"

Leo patted his pockets. "I did have one," he said. "You know, Tartarus Tenderhearts Speed-Dating is the third group I've tried. Olympus One and Only was just so oversubscribed, and Utopian Underworld had so many creeps. I'm hoping I'll find my one true love here."

"Tartarus Tenderhearts?!" Nxy shrieked.

"Never mind, I'm sure they didn't mean to forget you," Leo mused. "But then again, you're not exactly putting yourself out there, are you? I mean, Kelli the Empousa really made an effort. She set up such a lovely picnic on the banks of the River Phlegethon. And the arai went all out with their woodland walk. I thoroughly enjoyed that one. I was actually meant to go to the Doors of Death to meet my next date but it seems I've bumped into you instead. Strange, as I said, as you weren't on my list. Huh, guess you just weren't good enough."

"Not good enough?!" Nyx cracked her whip. Her horses bucked and snapped their silvery fangs. Waves of darkness rolled out of the chasm, turning Leo's insides to jelly, but he couldn't show his fear. He forced himself to lower his sword arm. This was a goddess beyond anything he'd ever faced. Nyx was older than any Olympian or Titan or giant, older even than Gaia. She couldn't be defeated by one puny demigod – at least not using force. Leo made himself look at the goddess's massive dark face.

"Well, how many others have come to see you on the speed-dating program?" he asked innocently.

Nyx's hand went slack on the reins. "None. Not one. This is unacceptable!"

"As I said," Leo said with a shrug, "you just haven't put yourself out there. Listen, I'm sure if you talk to the organisers they can sort everything out. You'll have to find a spot, of course. I think Day took the last spot on my event and she's been the most popular date by far. I really want to meet her. Apparently, she's taking people on skylight walks. I mean, how cool is that!"

"Day!" Nyx gripped the rail of her black chariot. The whole vehicle shuddered. "You mean Hemera? She is my daughter! Night is a much better date than Day!"

"Eh," said Leo. "I liked the arai, or even Akhlys better."

"They are my children as well!"

He stifled a yawn. "Got a lot of children, huh? I'm not sure that's the kind of relationship I want."

"I am the mother of all terrors!" Nyx cried. "The Fates themselves! Hecate! Old Age! Pain! Sleep! Death! And all of the curses! Behold how date-able I am!"

Nyx lashed her whip again. The darkness congealed around her. On either side, an army of shadows appeared – more dark-winged arai, which Leo was really not thrilled to see; a withered man who must have been some god of old age; and a younger woman in a black toga, her eyes gleaming and her smile like a serial killer's – Leo had no idea who she was.

More kept appearing: dozens of demons and minor gods, each one the spawn of Night. Leo wanted to run. He was facing a brood of horrors that could snap anyone's sanity. But if he ran he would die. If he stayed, he would die. Fear pumped through his icy veins. Of everything Leo had faced down here, this was by far the worst. He struggled to control his shallow breathing, on the verge of a panic attack.

"I - I suppose this is fa - fairly impressive," he stammered, swallowing the lump in his throat. "But as I said, I'm not quite sure you're what I'm looking for."

"You miserable boy!"Nyx hissed. "How dare you not tremble before me! How dare you not whimper and beg for my attention! I am the most sought after power in all of Tartarus! Even the king of Olympus fears me!"

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "I'm sorry, love, I really am. It's not you, it's me." At this point, Leo was pulling out every cliche in the book. He'd been on the wrong end of a fair amount of rejections in his life. If anyone knew how to play this, it was him. "Look, it's getting late and I think our time is up. I'm off to my next date at the Doors of Death, but listen I really do hope you find what you're looking for."

"Aha!" Nyx cried in triumph. "You wish to see the Doors of Death? They lie at the very heart of Tartarus. Mortals such as you could never reach them, except through the halls of my palace – the Mansion of Night!" She gestured behind her. Floating in the abyss, maybe three hundred feet below, was a doorway of black marble, leading into some sort of large room.

Leo's heart pounded so strongly he felt it in his toes. That was his way out – but it was so far down, an impossible jump. If he missed, he would fall into Chaos and be scattered into nothingness – a final death with no do-over. And to make it worse, he was exhausted. He wasn't sure if his battered and broken body could even run right now, let alone jump. Even if he could make it, the goddess of Night and her most fearsome children stood in his way.

He had to try though.

"Woah, inviting me in already, Nyx?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you are more fun than I thought."

"I am!" the goddess agreed.

"Listen, I'm willing to get to know you more," Leo said. "But maybe you should bring one of your children along just to help us break the ice. Which one's your favourite?"

The brood rustled. Dozens of horrible glowing eyes turned towards Nyx. The goddess shifted uncomfortably, as if her chariot were heating up under her feet. Her shadow horses huffed and pawed at the void. "My favourite child?" she asked. "All my children are terrifying!"

"Yeah, I'm not seeing it right now," Leo said. "I'm looking for someone to be the dark to my light, the ice to my fire. Right now, Nyx my love, I'm not seeing much darkness from you. And from the way you've raised your children, it doesn't look like they're very dark either. I want a dark family for us to create together!"

"I am the darkest," hissed Toga Girl. "Wars and strife! I have caused all manner of death!"

"I am darker still!" snarled the old man. "I dim the eyes and addle the brain. Every mortal fears old age!"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo said, trying to ignore her chattering teeth. "I'm not seeing enough darkness in this family."

The horde of arai wailed, flapping their leathery wings and stirring up clouds of blackness. The old man spread his withered hands and dimmed the entire abyss. Toga Girl breathed a shadowy spray of buckshot across the void.

"I am the darkest!" hissed one of the demons.

"No, I!"

"No! Behold my darkness!" If a thousand giant octopuses had squirted ink at the same time, at the bottom of the deepest, most sunless ocean trench, it could not have been blacker. Leo might as well have been blind. He steeled himself though. He only had one chance at this.

"Wait!" Nyx called, suddenly panicked. "I can't see anything."

"Yes!" shouted one of her children proudly."'I did that!"

"No, I did!"

"Fool, it was me!" Dozens of voices argued in the darkness. The horses whinnied in alarm.

"Stop it!" Nyx yelled. "Whose foot is that?"

"Eris is hitting me!" cried someone. "Mother, tell her to stop hitting me!"

"I did not!" yelled Eris.

"Ouch!" The sounds of scuffling got louder. If possible, the darkness became even deeper. Leo focused in as much as he could on the doorway far below him. Almost there. Just a little bit longer.

"Somebody give me light!" Nyx screamed. "Gah! I can't believe I just said that!"

"It's a trick!" Eris yelled. "The demigod is escaping!"

"I've got him!" screamed an arai.

"No, that's my neck!" Geras gagged.

Leo took his chance. He leapt with all the strength he had left in him into the darkness, aiming for the doorway miles below. After his fall into Tartarus, Leo thought that nothing else would ever compare. But by the gods did this feel worse. His heart seemed to slow down as he plummeted, and he vaguely wondered if, after everything, this is how he would die? Scarily, he found himself almost wondering if it was for the best. Even if he did manage to get out of here, there was no telling what lay before him if he actually made it to the Doors of Death.

He cut himself off, not allowing himself to ponder any longer on that thought. The others were relying on him. This wasn't just about escaping, this was about forcing Gaia's hand and closing the Doors for good. He had to make it, if not for his sake but for Jason and Piper and everyone else on the Argo.

The ground came rushing up to meet him and his feet hit the floor. Pain shot up through his legs and he fell to his hands and knees, choking back a scream as he was forced to put pressure on his broken wrist. Scrambling up, he ran, stumbling and hauling himself away.Above him in the dark, Nyx and her children scuffled and yelled, "I've got him! My foot! Stop it!"

Leo kept running, forcing himself to keep going despite the stab of ice in his lungs and the screaming pain that shot from his wrist and chest. He couldn't see anyway, so he closed his eyes, trusting his other senses – listening for the echo of open spaces, feeling for cross-breezes against his face, sniffing for any scent of danger – smoke or poison or the stench of demons.

The squabbling sounds of Nyx's children got further away. That was good. In the distance ahead of him, Leo began to hear a throbbing sound, like his own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully the floor vibrated underfoot. The sound filled him with dread,so he figured it must be the right way to go.

He ran towards it.

As the beat got louder, he smelled smoke and heard the flickering of torches on either side, sensing a strange kind of fire. He guessed there would be light, but a crawling sensation across his neck warned him it would be a mistake to open his eyes. Whatever horrors lay in the Mansion of Night, they weren't meant for mortal eyes. Seeing them would be worse than staring at the face of Medusa. Better to run in darkness.

The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up Leo's spine and causing the throb in his bones to increase. It felt like someone was knocking on the bottom of the world, demanding to be let in. He sensed the walls opening up on either side of him. The air smelled fresher – or at least not quite as sulphurous. There was another sound, too, closer than the deep pulsing...the sound of flowing water.He knew the exit was close. If he could make it out of the Mansion of Night, maybe he could leave the dark brood of demons behind.

STOP, something yelled inside of him.STOP!

Leo screeched to a halt. He still didn't open his eyes, but he didn't need to. There was a river in front of him, some kind of moat around the Mansion of Night. He could hear the rushing of the water but also...also voices. Thousands of voices. They were shrieking in agony, pleading for mercy.

Help!they groaned.It was an accident!

The pain!their voices wailed.Make it stop!

Leo didn't know the exact name of the river, but he knew there were souls trapped in there. The souls of the damned.

Murderers!the river wailed.Yes, like you!

Join us, another voice whispered.You are no better than we are.

Leo shook. They knew. They knew about his mother. They knew he'd killed her.

Yes, the river hissed. Yes, we know.We know you burned her alive. We know you could have controlled it. We know it wasyour fault!

It was almost deafening. Leo remembered that night so painfully clearly. The workshop. His mother's face. Gaia's voice. He remembered the fear, the fire, the smoke, the screaming, the silence after. He remembered the pain, the gut-wrenching hurt when he realised what he'd done.

You belong with us, the river told Leo.You know it's true.

Leo took a step forward, tempted.

"There!" cried a voice behind him. "Kill the demigod!" Leo jolted out of his trance. The children of Nyx had found him. Knowing he had no other choice, he back up a few paces to give himself some room. He had to jump. He had no strength to fight Nyx with, and no desire to be caught by her either, so his only option was to leap and hope that adrenaline carried him through.

He jumped, sailing through the air as the river churned and wailed below him, splashing Leo's bare ankles with stinging brine. He wasn't going to make it. He wasn't going to make it! Bracing himself, he tried to prepare for the cold then -

CLUMP!

"Leo!"

Leo slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly in the harsher lighting. He looked up, only to find the grinning silvery face of Bob staring down at him. With a jolt, Leo realised that he was in Bob's arms, the Titan having plucked him from the air as he leapt over the terrifying river. "Hi, Leo!" Bob said, the joy in his voice so clear.

"Bob?" Leo croaked. "But how - "

"Diagonal!" Bob announced, clearly pleased with himself. "Not through scary Mansion of Night. Another way only for Titans and monsters and such. But good you got the Death Mist! You look like a very good dead person."

Leo couldn't help it. He began to cry, chest stuttering in deep, heaving sobs. Bob looked practically terrified, holding Leo closer. "Oh, don't cry, little Leo!" he said, distressed. "Don't cry! I meant you look good!"

"It's not that." Leo forced himself to smile through his tears. "It's just so good to see you, Bob."

Bob frowned. "Then why do you cry?"

"Happy tears, big guy," Leo tried to assure him, despite not being sure himself. He felt so emotionally drained, so worn and expended, so agonised. His tears were partly happy to see Bob and feel marginally safer, but they were also because he was just so tired and so scared and so utterly wounded.

But Bob seemed to see through him, his eyebrows furrowed. "It is okay now, Leo," he said sincerely. "We are almost there."

He set Leo down onto the dusty, rocky ground, and it was only then that Leo looked to see where he was.Before him stretched a valley big enough to hold the San Francisco Bay. The booming noise came from the entire landscape, as if thunder were echoing from beneath the ground. Under poisonous clouds, the rolling terrain glistened purple with dark red and blue scar lines.

The centre of the valley was covered with a fine black fuzz of peppery dots. They were so faraway, it took Leo a moment to realize he was looking at an army – thousands, maybe tens of thousands of monsters, gathered around a central pinpoint of darkness. It was too far to see any details, but Leo had no doubt what the pinpoint was. Even from the edge of the valley, he could feel its power tugging at his soul.

The Doors of Death.

"See," Bob said. "We are close."

"But Nyx - " Leo looked back but found that his pursuers were nowhere to be seen. It seemed the children of Night did not like to leave the darkness. He felt relief. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

"We should go," Leo groaned, trying to push himself up. "We need to - ah!" The moment he put weight on his wrist, his entire arm crumpled beneath him. After being chased through the Mansion, Leo had almost forgotten about the damage Akhlys had caused him. He curled up around his arm, staring at the black, spindly vein like marks that wrapped like vines just above his hand. No bones were peaking out, so that was good, but he could feel the icy splinters that had shattered them. His chest wasn't much better but at least the bleeding had stopped despite leaving the same black clawing. "sh*t," Leo muttered. This was not good. He couldn't use his right hand at all.

"Ouchie," Bob said in sympathy. Just like before, he reached out and touched Leo's forehead. The bones snapped back together and Leo yelped with the force of it, more tears springing to his eyes. He looked back at his wrist again, noticing it seemed to be straighter but still feeling like it was frozen in ice. "Can't heal all," Bob said in explanation. He frowned again. "Cold blackness might always be there, as will pain. Hand might not work sometimes. I am sorry, Leo."

"It's alright, buddy," Leo said through gritted teeth, pushing through the last ebbs of pain from Bob's sudden setting of his wrist. "I'm used to pain." He didn't want to admit it, but Bob's words bothered him slightly. Leo's hands were everything to him. He needed them to build and the idea of one of them being out of action scared him. Experimentally, he flexed his wrist and hand, checking for movement. It hurt, definitely, and his full range of movement was way off, but felt more like a stiff sprain now rather than a break. He could hold his sword at least, but anything heavier might be a problem.

Bob watched his with pitying eyes. "Is Leo okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," Leo replied, his voice shaky. "You did you best, Bob. Hopefully when we get out of here it will get better." Bob didn't look convinced but said nothing. Leo cleared his throat, blinking back his tears and swallowing down the lump in his throat.

"So, which way now, Bobby boy?" he asked, filling his voice to the brim with forced optimism. "The Doors of Death await!"

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Percy regained consciousness just as he hit the water.

That wasn't really the problem. The ocean's surface cushioned his fall as always, caressing him gently like a sleeping baby. He let himself sink, trying to collect his thoughts. He remembered the snow storm, then a voice, and finally Piper's warning before he was shot into the sky. After that...well, his mind was a blank. His heart tugged in worry for Annabeth, hoping that she was okay.Annabeth is strong, he reminded himself,and she's got the whole crew backing her up. She'll be fine.

Kicking upwards, Percy broke to the surface. Whoever had made that storm, they had certainly thrown him a long way. The Argo II was nowhere in sight. Percy couldn't even sense another ship within miles of him. He wasn't even sure if he was still in the Mediterranean anymore. Where the hell was he?

Treading water, he spun around, hoping that there might be some land mass near by -

Then his stomach dropped.

Ahead of him, not even a mile away, was an island that Percy never thought he would see again. Well, that wasn't true. Actually, he had been preparing himself for the very real possibility that he would come back here, if things with Leo went south. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe this wasn't Ogygia at all but some other gorgeous island. He was kidding himself though. Percy would recognise those shores from anywhere. But to be back here now, and so soon... Percy wasn't ready for that.

He could just swim away, use the currents to push himself out to see for miles, but that would be pretty stupid.Ogygia was a phantom island with magic that was far beyond Percy's ability to understand. No matter how far he swam, he knew he'd always end up back in the same spot. There was only one way off this island, and Percy was 1000% sure thatshewould never feel that way about him again.

Well, there was only one thing to do.

So Percy swam. It took him about ten minutes to reach the island's shores. He probably could have done it quicker but he was trying to figure out what to say. How was he going to explain this? No one could visit Ogygia twice, at least that's what Calypso had said. He wasn't quite sure how he ended up here again, but he suspected Gaia was at work. Wasn't Calypso her grand child or something? Percy wasn't exactly knowledgeable on the family tree, but the close relationship to Gaia unnerved him slightly.

Calypso wouldn't have joined her...would she?

Stop it, he scolded himself.You know she wouldn't have. She would never.

He waded through the waves, climbing up onto the soft white beach that he'd walked not even two years ago. Apparently, he was so nervous and freaked out about the entire thing that his clothes were now soaked from his lack of concentration. Memories were slamming into him like the tides - walks in the hills, the sound of the breeze against the trees, the smell of cinnamon. It was all coming back to him, alongside a healthy dose of heartache. Hades, this was almost too overwhelming.

Of course, it wasn't long until Calypso found him.

Percy had looked up and spotted her. This was her island after all, and Calypso was a powerful enough sorceress to know when someone was on her island. She was standing on the edge of the treeline, just staring at Percy in disbelief. Just like last time, she wore a sleeveless white Greek-style dress with a gold braided belt. Her hair was long, straight and golden brown – a cinnamon-toast colour. Her face was milky pale, her eyes almond-shaped and dark. Her lips formed an 'o' as shock descended over her. She was as beautiful and ethereal as Percy remembered.

Calypso moved forward, as if in a trance. Percy couldn't move, couldn't speak. He could only watch as she approached him, her face now betraying no emotions. She came to a stop right in front of him and Percy swallowed hard. "Calypso," he said. "I - um - "

"How - how are you here?" Calypso's voice was trembling. "You can't be here. You can't come back. That's the rule. You shouldn't be here."

"Look, I'm just as confused as you are," Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not quite sure how it happened." Calypso's eyes turned cold. Pushing past him, she stalked onto the beach and into the surf, glaring up at the sky like it had personally offended her.

"REALLY?" she screamed. "You want to make my curse even worse? Zeus! Hephaestus! Hermes! Have you no shame? It's not bad enough I am exiled? It's not bad enough that you make me lose people again and again? You think it's funny to send Percy Jackson back to me like some lost puppy? I AM NOT HIS KEEPER! This is NOT FUNNY! Take him back!"

"Uh - they're not listening," Percy tried to calm her down. "All the gods have got this weird split personality thing going on at the moment. They probably can't hear you." Calypso whirled around.

"I know that!" she snapped. "Leo told me everything."

"Everything?" Percy echoed.

"Yes, everything," Calypso said. "I know all about Gaia and the Prophecy of Seven and Olympus being closed and the suicidal quest that you're all on. I know about Jason and Piper and Hazel and Frank, and I definitely know about you and An - Annabeth. When Leo was here, he said you were headed to Rome. I'm assuming he made it back to the ship to get you there?" Percy didn't answer. "Well? Did he? Did he make it back?"

"He did..." Percy said softly. "But Cal..." Horror dawned in her eyes.

"What happened?" she demanded. "Is Leo alright?" Percy couldn't answer at first. "Damn you, Percy Jackson, you tell me what happened right now!"

"He fell," Percy whispered. "He fell into Tartarus." Quietly, Percy explained the whole story to Calypso. He told her of Annabeth's quest, of how the Athena Parthenos was so vital to the quest but came at a terrible cost. He choked a bit when he talked about hanging over that edge with Annabeth's hand slipping from his. The memory was so terrifying even now. "Leo...he saved us. He sacrificed himself for us." Percy looked up at Calypso who looked completely heartbroken, tears shining in her eyes. "He asked me to rescue you, you know. If he couldn't make it back, he asked me to get you off this island."

"Still a fool, I see," Calypso laughed through her tears. "I told him it's impossible."

"Leo doesn't believe in impossible," Percy replied. "It's why he's going to make it through Tartarus. He's going to close the Doors of Death. I just know it."

"I believe that he will try," Calypso said. "But the last time I was told I was going to be freed, it didn't go so well." She met Percy's gaze steadily and he couldn't help but look away.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Calypso. I really am."

"I don't blame you completely, if that helps," the sorceress said. "I know you supposedly made the gods promise to set me free. I know after the Second Titan war the gods vowed to forgive their enemies and offer amnesty. They didn't keep their oath though, did they?"

"Calypso - "

"I thought you were better than trusting the gods and their false promises, Percy Jackson." Her words hit home. Because yes, Percy should have known better then to trust the gods and their oaths. They broke their promises all the time.

"I'm sorry," Percy said again, because there were no words to describe the guilt he was feeling.

"I know," Calypso said, giving him a sad look. They stood in silence, neither really knowing what to say. The sun was setting across the ocean, and it suddenly hit Percy that he'd have to find a way off this island soon or the others would have to complete the quest themselves. But the only way off the island he knew about...

"The raft won't come," Calypso said, as if reading his mind. "I don't - I don't feel like that for you. Not anymore."

"There has to be some other way off," Percy said. "I need to get back. The others...they need me."

"Percy, if there was any other way off I'd tell you," Calypso said. "Believe me, I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here."

"What about Leo?" he asked, ignoring the subtle dig at him. "How did he escape?" Calypso looked pained.

"The raft came for him," she replied. "Because I..."

"You love him," Percy breathed.

"He doesn't feel that way for me," Calypso said quickly. "He made it very clear that he saw me as a friend. Besides I think...I think his heart belongs to someone else." That confused Percy. Leo liking someone? He'd never mentioned anything, but then again, Percy had never asked. Another reason why he felt guilty. Despite everything Leo had done for them, Percy really didn't know much about him. For all of Percy's talk of loyalty, he hadn't shown much recently.

"So I'm stuck here then," Percy sighed.

Calypso bit her lip. "For the moment, yeah," she said. "But - But we're going to try and find another way, Percy. Leo needs you to meet him in Greece, so we're going to get you out of here."

Percy blinked at her. "You're going to help me?"

"Of course I am," she said. "Like I said, Leo needs you. And I'm not so cruel as to make you stay here. You have things you need to do, Percy Jackson." Percy couldn't even find the words to answer that. Calypso didn't seem to expect a reply though, as she turned on her heel and marched back up the beach to where Percy knew her cave was. "Come on, Jackson," she called back. "Let's get you out of here."

***

The cave was just as Percy had left it.The walls were made from multi-coloured chunks of crystal. White curtains divided the cave into different rooms with comfy pillows and woven rugs and platters of fresh fruit. He spotted a harp in one corner, a loom in another and a big cooking pot where the stew was bubbling, filling the cavern with luscious smells.

The strangest thing about Calypso's cave was the chores were doing themselves. Towels floated through the air, folding and stacking into neat piles. Spoons washed themselves in a copper sink.

As always, Calypso seemed unfazed. She made her way over to some shelves to the side of the cave and pulled out a thick piece of paper with a stick of charcoal. "If the raft won't come, then we'll have to build one ourselves," she said matter-of-factly.

"Er - I thought it had to be the magic raft thing," Percy said dumbly.

Calypso nodded. "It will be difficult. Usually, even if someone swam for miles, the magic that surrounds the island will keep them here. But between us, with your power over the sea and my sorcery, maybe we can make something work."

Percy had no idea what she was talking about, but he knew Calypso was powerful. Despite being trapped here for over 3000 years, she definitely knew a thing or two about magic. But that was part of the problem. Calypso had been stuck here for for three millennia and had never figured out a way to escape off her island. Surely if there was a way, she would have found it by now.

But there was no other plan. He wasn't like Annabeth who had a plan for every letter of the alphabet and then some. In fact, there was rarely a time Percy went in with a Plan A. So even if Calypso had part of a plan, however small that was, he had to try it. He owed her that.

"Okay then," he said. "Tell me what you need me to do."

***

The first few days were difficult. As much as Percy tried to focus, he found his mind wondering to the Argo II. His dreams provided no information, nor did any Iris messages come through. In fact, unlike the last time he was here where Gods contacted Calypso fairly often, no one appeared whatsoever. It unnerved Percy to be so cut off. Did his friends survive the attack? Were they looking for him? Did they sail onto Greece? Percy wasn't sure what he wanted more.

Of course, Annabeth was constantly in his thoughts. Being here with Calypso made it all the worse. The last time he was here, Annabeth hadn't taken it too well. Of course, that was before they were officially together, but still. He knew Annabeth trusted him, and Percy definitely had no interest in trying to make Calypso fall in love with him again, but still. Old feelings were a difficult thing to navigate, especially when tied to a magical island.

During the days, Percy worked on creating a raft for himself using materials he found around the island. He and Calypso didn't speak much. She mostly stayed in her cave, muttered spells and creating potions that Percy really didn't understand. Every so often, she would bring him clothes and other things, casually asking him about how the boat was going but not much more conversation after that. After the talk they'd had on the first day, they seemed to have settled into awkward small talk. It was better than complete silence though, so he accepted it.

It was on the fourth day that the worst happened.

Percy had just finished raising the main mast of his makeshift raft, and was thanking Poseidon for his skills with boats, when the sand beneath his feet rumbled. His first thought was earthquake, and he wondered if Ogygia could even get earthquakes. Calypso came running from her cave, looking tense. "Percy!" she shouted. "Percy, get away from the sand!" Blindly, Percy stumbled from his boat and up into the treeline just in time for the beach begin to swirl and a grainy figure rise from the earth.

"Gaia," Percy spat.

Her form wasn't solid. If Percy didn't know any better, she was almost a sand-model version of Gaia. Her eyes were closed, but she didn't look asleep, exactly. She had a smile on her dust-devil face, as if she was intently listening to her favourite song. Her sandy robes shifted and folded, reminding Percy of the undulating fins on that stupid shrimpzilla monster they'd fought in the Atlantic. For his money, though,Gaia was uglier.

Calypso had reached him, glaring at Gaia. In her hand, she clutched a rock she must have picked up from near her cave. The way she held it made Percy nervous.

"Percy Jackson," Gaia murmured, her sleepy voice soft but powerful. "How the fates have aligned to bring you here."

"What do you want?" Percy demanded.

"Nothing from you," Gaia replied. "At least, not anymore. In fact, some might say that it was a mercy for Khione to send you here."

"A mercy from that?" he growled. Gaia just chuckled softly, unnerving Percy even more. He stepped forward, his hand drifting to his pocket to retrieve Riptide, but Calypso placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Gaia." Her voice was stern and steady. "You are not welcome."

"Ah, Calypso." Gaia raised her arms as if for a hug. "Still here, I see, despite the gods' promises.Why do you think that is, my dear grandchild? Are the Olympians being spiteful, leaving you with no company except this undergrown fool? Or have they simply forgotten you, because you are not worth their time?" Calypso stared straight through the swirling face of Gaia, all the way to the horizon. "Yes," Gaia murmured sympathetically. "The Olympians are faithless. They do not give second chances. Why do you hold out hope? You supported your father, Atlas, in his great war. You knew that the gods must be destroyed. Why do you hesitate now? I offer you a chance that Zeus would never give you."

"Where were you these last three thousand years?" Calypso asked. "If you are so concerned with my fate, why do you visit me only now?"

Gaia turned up her palms. "The earth is slow to wake. War comes in its own time. But do not think it will pass you by on Ogygia. When I remake the world, this prison will be destroyed as well."

"Ogygia destroyed?" Calypso shook her head, as if she couldn't imagine those two words going together.

"You do not have to be here when that happens," Gaia promised. "Join me now. Kill this boy. Spill his blood upon the earth, and help me to wake. I will free you and grant you any wish. Freedom.Revenge against the gods. Even a prize. Would you still have the demigod Leo Valdez? I will spare him for you. I will raise him from Tartarus. He will be yours to punish or to love, as you choose. Only kill this trespassing boy. Show your loyalty."

Calypso thrust her hand towards Gaia in a three-fingered gesture Percy recognized from Camp Half Blood: the Ancient Greek ward against evil. "This is not just my prison, Grandmother. It is my home. And you are the trespasser."

The wind ripped Gaia's form into nothingness, scattering the sand into the blue sky.

Percy swallowed. "Thanks," he said. "That was...that was really brave."

Calypso's eyes smouldered with anger, but Percy knew the anger was aimed at him. "Your friends must need you, or else Gaia would not ask for your death." She turned away towards Percy's half finished raft. "We have work to do. We must get you back to your ship."

***

When Calypso set her mind to something, she was a machine. Within a day, she'd gathered enough supplies for a week long voyage – food, flasks of water, herbal medicines from her garden. She wove a sail big enough for a small yacht and made enough rope for all the rigging.She got so much done that by the second day she asked Percy if he needed any help with his own tasks.

Which, admittedly, he really did.

"How is it coming along?" she asked, looking up at Percy who was hanging onto the mast.

"Well, the main body of the ship is done," he called down. "I just need to find something to make some sails." She had simply nodded and walked away. A few hours later, just as the sun was setting, she returned with two woven sails that were infused with some kind of spell which prevented them from ever tearing. Percy took them gratefully and soon tied them to the mast, finding they fitted perfectly. All he had to do now was finish the makeshift deck and fit the rudder, then he'd be good to go.

Calypso must have sensed it was almost time because that night, when she'd brought him food, she stayed with him to eat - something she hadn't done since he'd arrived. Looking up at the raft, and at the supplies stacked up around it, Percy couldn't help but ask the dreaded question.

"About what Gaia said..." He hesitated. "About you getting off this island. Would you want to try it?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well..." Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I mean, do you want to come with me?"

"Percy..." Calypso said wearily.

"Look, I promised Leo I'd get you out of here," Percy said quickly. "And I will keep that promise. I don't see why we can't try."

"If I tried to come with you, your tiny chance of escape would be no chance at all," Calypso said. "The gods have placed ancient magic on this island to keep me here. A hero can leave. I cannot. The most important thing is getting you free so you can stop Gaia. Your friends need you. Leo needs you. The quest cannot fail."

"But I promised," Percy said fiercely.

"And I'm sure you will keep that promise," Calypso said, "when the time comes. But that time is not now."

"So I'm supposed to just leave you here? Again?" Percy demanded. "You're my friend, even if you're not mine, and I can't just abandon you again."

"You must," Calypso insisted. "Iamyour friend, Percy, and I forgive you for everything. But you need to forgive yourself. Sometimes, the way forward is not simply just fixing the mistake, but also forgiving yourself for it in the first place. You must forgive yourself and move forward."

Percy got the feeling she wasn't just talking about herself. He'd been carrying the guilt of Leo's fall for weeks now, blaming himself despite his friends saying there was nothing he could have done. He had to let it go, for his sake and the sake of the crew. They needed him to be fully present when they entered the House of Hades and not driven half mad blaming himself. That is, if he actually managed to get off Ogygia.

"Can I ask you a question?" Calypso asked.

Percy nodded eagerly. "Yeah, anything."

"If Annabeth didn't exist, would you have left me? The first time around?"

The question hit Percy like a train. "Uh - what?" he choked.

Calypso rolled her eyes. "Even then you were obvious with your feelings for her," she said. "And Leo told me you were together now. I just want to know, if it wasn't for her, would you still have left?"

Percy thought about it. That time in his life was pretty chaotic. He was in the middle of the quest in the Labyrinth having just blown up Mount St Helen's. It was also mere months before the war with Kronos really started which was definitely enough to distract him from Annabeth. But would he have stayed if Annabeth wasn't in the picture? "Honestly, I almost did stay with you," he confessed. "I was a bit oblivious at the time about Annabeth but she was definitely a factor. If she hadn't been around... I still think I would have gone back. The war with Kronos was still coming. As much as I wanted to avoid it, the fates wouldn't have let me."

Calypso nodded. "I thought as much," she said. "I suppose it's part of the reason I fell for you in the first place. Your selflessness. Your loyalty. You wouldn't be you without it." She took a deep breath. "Maybe that's why I still care for you. I think...I think friendship is something I want now."

"Friends?" he said to Calypso with a smirk. "So we count as friends now?" She rolled her eyes, punching him in the shoulder. But she was smiling too.

"Yeah, Jackson," she said. "I reckon we are."

"Am I your first friend?" he asked.

"Shut it," she smirked. "But yeah, you are. I haven't exactly had friends before. I'm not entirely sure how it all works."

"Well, it's an honour to be your first friend," Percy said. "You'll be an excellent friend. You're helping me escape this island, that's definitely a good start. So you're better than you think." She smiled, turning to look out at the ocean when suddenly the colour drained from her face. She shot to her feet, gaping.

"What is it?" Percy asked. "What's wrong?" He stood, following her gaze out over the waves. Then he spotted it.

The raft had arrived.

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

Leo wasn’t dead yet, but he couldn’t be far from it.

The Death Mist probably had something to do with that. It wrapped around him like a shroud, dissolving his body every so often only for it to reform again, though it did nothing to prevent the ever-growing ache in his bones and the stab in his lungs. The last time Leo felt this bad was just after he’d run away from Teresa’s house and spent the next few months on the run and living in storm drains. It had been a while since he’d thought about that having pushed that time to the furthest corner of his mind. Funny, Tartarus had a way of bringing up the worst of Leo’s memories.

Bob, as always, was not fazed. He skipped along with Small Bob on his shoulder like they were on an afternoon stroll. Leo wanted to be that carefree again, but it was as if the darkness of Tartarus had seeped into his soul and quenched whatever fire Leo had left. He was fairly sure that Akhyls had also poisoned him somehow. His wrist still felt icy cold to the touch despite Bob having fixed his broken bones. The claw marks on his chest felt the same. Sometimes, if they were going up a particularly steep incline, Leo could feel icy shards scraping out his insides like a yoghurt pot. He tried to focus on other things but found that just as dismal.

Under his feet, the ground glistened a nauseating purple, pulsing with webs of veins. In the dim red light of the blood clouds, he must have looked like a freshly risen zombie. Ahead of them was the most depressing view of all. Spread to the horizon was an army of monsters – flocks of winged arai, tribes of lumbering Cyclopes, clusters of floating evil spirits. Thousands of baddies, maybe tens of thousands, all milling restlessly, pressing against one another, growling and fighting for space – like the locker area of an overcrowded school between classes, if all the students were ’roid-raging mutants who smelled really bad.

Bob led him to the edge of the army. “Stay quiet and stay behind me,” he advised Leo. “They will not notice you.”

Leo gulped. “Um, Bob, buddy. Hate to break this to you, but if you can see me, then won’t the others?”

“You are friend,” Bob replied simply. “No, they will not see you.”

Leo stared at the swarm of vicious monsters. “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about bumping into any other friends in this crowd.”

Bob grinned. “Yes, that is good news! Now, let’s go. Death is close.”

“The Doors of Death are close,” Leo corrected with a nervous laugh. “Let’s watch the phrasing, big guy.” They plunged into the crowd. Leo trembled so badly he was afraid the Death Mist would shake right off him. He’d never seen such a large group of monsters before in his life. And what did he have? A drakon bone sword, a broken tool belt, and fire powers which literally almost killed him. Not that he could use those fire powers anymore. They disappeared along with the rest of his energy.

A few feet away, a group of empousai tore into the carcass of a gryphon while other gryphons flew around them, squawking in outrage. A six-armed Earthborn and a Laistrygonian giant pummelled each other with rocks, though Leo wasn’t sure if they were fighting or just messing around. A dark wisp of smoke – Leo guessed it must be an eidolon – seeped into a Cyclops, made the monster hit himself in the face, then drifted off to possess another victim. He shivered, remembering the cold touch of the eidolon when he himself had been possessed.

Somewhere in front of them, a deep voice bellowed: “IAPETUS!”

A Titan strode towards them, casually kicking lesser monsters out of his way. He was roughly the same height as Bob, with elaborate Stygian iron armour, a single diamond blazing in the centre of his breastplate. His eyes were blue-white, like core samples from a glacier and just as cold. His hair was the same colour, cut military style. A battle helmet shaped like a bear’s head was tucked under his arm. From his belt hung a sword the size of a surfboard.

Despite his battle scars, the Titan’s face was handsome and strangely familiar. Leo was pretty sure he’d never seen the guy before, but his eyes and his smile reminded Leo of someone…

The Titan stopped in front of Bob. He clapped him on the shoulder. “Iapetus! Don’t tell me you don’t recognize your own brother!”

“No!” Bob agreed nervously. “I won’t tell you that.”

The other Titan threw back his head and laughed. “I heard you were thrown into the Lethe. Must’ve been terrible! We all knew you would heal eventually. It’s Koios! Koios!”

“Of course,” Bob said. “Koios, Titan of…”

“The North!” Koios said.

“I know!” Bob shouted. They laughed together and took turns hitting each other in the arm. Apparently miffed by all the jostling, Small Bob crawled onto Bob’s head and began making a nest in the Titan’s silver hair.

“Poor old Iapetus,” said Koios. “They must have laid you low indeed. Look at you! A broom? A servant’s uniform? A cat in your hair? Truly, Hades must pay for these insults. Who was that demigod who took your memory? Bah! We must rip him to pieces, you and I, eh?”

“Ha-ha.” Bob swallowed. “Yes, indeed. Rip him to pieces.”

Leo’s fingers closed around the hilt of his sword. He didn’t think much of Bob’s brother, even without the rip him to pieces threat. Compared to Bob’s simple way of speaking, Koios sounded like he was reciting Shakespeare. That alone was enough to make Leo irritated. But so far Koios didn’t seem to have noticed him. And he didn’t think Bob would betray him. If he’d wanted to do that, then Leo would have been dead long ago.

“Ah, it’s good to see you…” Koios drummed his fingers on his bear’s-head helmet. “You remember what fun we had in the old days?”

“Of course!” Bob chirped. “When we, uh…”

“Holding down our father Ouranos,” Koios said.

“Yes! We loved wrestling with Dad…”

“We restrained him.”

“That’s what I meant!”

“While Kronos cut him to pieces with his scythe.”

“Yes, ha-ha.” Bob looked mildly ill. “What fun.”

“You grabbed Father’s right foot, as I recall,” Koios said. “And Ouranos kicked you in the face as he struggled. How we used to tease you about that!”

“Silly me,” Bob agreed.

“Sadly, our brother Kronos was dissolved by those impudent demigods.” Koios heaved a sigh. “Bits and pieces of his essence remain, but nothing you could put together again. I suppose some injuries even Tartarus cannot heal.”

“Alas!”

“But the rest of us have another chance to shine, eh?” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “These giants may think they will rule. Let them be our shock troops and destroy the Olympians – all well and good. But once the Earth Mother is awake she will remember that we are her eldest children. Mark my words. The Titans will yet rule the cosmos.”

“Hmm,” Bob said. “The giants may not like that.”

“Spit on what they like,” Koios said. “They’ve already passed through the Doors of Death, anyway, back to the mortal world. Polybotes was the last one, not half an hour ago, still grumbling about missing his prey. Apparently a demigod he was after got swallowed by Nyx. Never see them again, I wager!”

Leo’s heart thudded. If the giants had already passed through the Doors, then at least they wouldn’t be hunting through Tartarus for him. But his friends on the other side in the mortal world were now in danger. All of the earlier fights with the giants had been in vain. Their enemies would be reborn as strong as ever. It would almost be impossible to get through.

“Well!” Koios drew his massive sword. The blade radiated a cold deeper than the Hubbard Glacier. Leo gasped softly, clutching his chest and dropping to one knee. The icy aura of the sword cut through him like butter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bob discreetly glance at him but luckily Koios didn’t seem to notice. “I must be off. Leto should have regenerated by now. I will convince her to fight.”

“Of course,” Bob murmured. “Leto.”

Koios laughed. “You’ve forgotten my daughter, as well? I suppose it’s been too long since you’ve seen her. The peaceful ones like her always take the longest to re-form. This time, though, I’m sure Leto will fight for vengeance. The way Zeus treated her, after she bore him those fine twins? Outrageous!”

Twins. Of course. Apollo and Artemis were the children of Zeus and Leto. Through his shivers, Leo almost laughed. He could definitely see the family resemblance.

“Well! I’ll see you in the mortal world!” Koios chest-bumped Bob, almost knocking the cat off his head. “Oh, and our two other brothers are guarding this side of the Doors, so you’ll see them soon enough!”

“I will?”

“Count on it!” Koios lumbered off, almost knocking over Leo as he scrambled out of his way. Before the crowd of monsters could fill the empty space, Leo motioned for Bob to lean in. “You okay, big guy?” he whispered.

Bob frowned. “I do not know. In all this –“ he gestured around them – “what is the meaning of okay?”

“Fair enough,” Leo said softly. Now that he was away from that sword, the pressure on his chest eased off and he could finally breathe again. Bob examined him carefully.

“Two more Titans at the Doors,” he said worriedly. “That is not good.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Leo assured him, even though he wasn’t entirely sure himself. Bob’s expression looked grim, and Leo realised what was actually worrying him. “Don’t worry, Bob. You’re good now, remember? The Titans can’t change you. You’re different. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be Iapetus too. You can be both, a mixture of the two, if that’s what you want.”

Bob’s silver eyes looked darker than usual. He held out his hand, which Leo took gently. “Leo is good friend,” Bob said sincerely. Patting Leo’s hand, the Titan rose to his full height. “Let us go, then. Not much further.”

Stomping on Tartarus’s heart wasn’t nearly as much fun as it sounded. The purplish ground was slippery and constantly pulsing. It looked flat from a distance, but up close it was made of folds and ridges that got harder to navigate the further they walked. Gnarled lumps of red arteries and blue veins gave Leo some footholds when he had to climb, but the going was slow.

And, of course, the monsters were everywhere. Packs of hellhounds prowled the plains, baying and snarling and attacking any monster that dropped its guard. Arai wheeled overhead on leathery wings, making ghastly dark silhouettes in the poison clouds.

Ahead, jagged streaks of darkness tore through the air – like lightning, except pure black.

“The Doors,” Bob said. “Must be a large group going through.”

Leo’s mouth tasted like blood. Even if his friends from the Argo II managed to find the other side of the Doors of Death, how could they possibly fight the waves of monsters that were coming through, especially if all the giants were already waiting for them? Leo almost wished they weren’t there. The last thing he wanted was for the quest to fail because they were trying to rescue him.

“Do all the monsters go through the House of Hades?” he asked. “How big is that place?”

Bob shrugged. “Perhaps they are sent elsewhere when they step through. The House of Hades is in the earth, yes? That is Gaia’s realm. She could send her minions wherever she wishes. You are demigod though. It may be different for you.”

That didn’t make Leo feel any better. Monsters coming through the Doors of Death to threaten his friends at Epirus – that was bad enough. Now he imagined the ground on the mortal side as one big subway system, depositing giants and other nasties anywhere Gaia wanted them to go – Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter or in the path of the Argo II before it could even reach Epirus. That, and Leo himself didn’t know where he’d end up. Even if by some miracle he managed to get up to the mortal world, for all he knew he could be shot to the Arctic.

Bob helped him over another ridge when he saw Leo struggling.

Suddenly the Doors of Death were in plain view – a freestanding rectangle of darkness at the top of the next heart-muscle hill, about a quarter mile away, surrounding by a horde of monsters so thick Percy could’ve walked on their heads all the way across. The Doors were still too far away to make out much detail, but the Titans flanking either side were familiar enough. The one on the left wore shining golden armour that shimmered with heat. The one on the right wore dark-blue armour, with ram horns curling from the sides of his helmet. Leo knew who it was by description only. It was definitely Krios, the Titan that Jason had killed in the battle for Mount Tam. Jason had only told him the story once, but it sounded terrifying enough for Leo to remember.

Leo swallowed the lump in his throat. “Bob, if you have to fight them, can you?”

Bob hefted his broom, like he was ready for a messy cleaning job. “We must hurry,” he said, which Leo noticed wasn’t really an answer. “Follow me.”

So far, the Death Mist camouflage plan seemed to be working. So, naturally, Leo expected a massive last-minute fail. As he stumbled along behind Bob, the Doors were getting closer and closer until Leo could make out the art-deco designs. Frost rose up from the base of the Doors, the purplish glow in the air around them and the chains that held them fast. Cords of black iron ran down either side of the frame, like rigging lines on a suspension bridge. Leo could feel the devastating cold almost as if it was tugging at his heart. His body was trembling so hard by now that his teeth would probably fall out of his mouth.

He forced himself to keep looking, trying so hard not to fall asleep under the heavy weight of the cold. The Doors were tethered to hooks embedded in the fleshy ground. The two Titans stood guard at the anchor points. As Leo watched, the entire frame shuddered. Black lightning flashed into the sky. The chains shook, and the Titans planted their feet on the hooks to keep them secure. The Doors slid open, revealing the gilded interior of an elevator car.

The Titan Leo didn’t know yelled to the surrounding crowd: “Group A-22! Hurry up, you sluggards!” A dozen Cyclopes rushed forward, waving little red tickets and shouting excitedly. They shouldn’t have been able to fit inside those human-sized doors, but as the Cyclopes got close their bodies distorted and shrank, the Doors of Death sucking them inside.

The Titan Krios jabbed his thumb against the UP button on the elevator’s right side. The Doors slid closed. The frame shuddered again. Dark lightning faded.

“You must understand how it works,” Bob said quietly. “Each time the Doors open, they try to teleport to a new location. Thanatos made them this way, so only he could find them. But now they are chained. The Doors cannot relocate.”

“So I have to cut the chains,” Leo breathed. “But the Death Mist? Will it…you know, disappear?”

“I do not know,” Bob said. “But yes, the chains must be cut without the Titans knowing if you are to escape.”

“I - ” Leo was shaking. He thought that Nyx, and arai, and Kelli had been terrifying. But this…this was too much. “I can’t do this, Bob. I – I’m not a fighter! I’m not like Percy or Nico or Jason! I just…I just fix things and that’s it! I can’t – I can’tdo this!” His breathing became shallow and short. In the back of his mind, Leo knew he must be having some kind of panic attack but he couldn’t calm down. Bob sensed his growing distress, laying a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

“I will distract the Titans,” he said gently. “All you need to do is break the chains. You are a builder, Leo, yes? And if you know how to build things, then you will also know how to break them too. You can do this.” Bob’s quiet confidence in him was enough to bring tears to Leo’s eyes.

“Okay,” he said, his voice wobbling. “And after I cut the chains…”

“Then you enter the lift,” Bob said calmly, “and I will stay behind to defend the button.”

“What?” Leo asked. “What do you mean, stay behind?”

“Someone must,” Bob said gravely. “Someone must keep pressing the UP button for twelve minutes, or the journey will not finish and…bad things happen. But if the chains are cut and the elevator finishes the journey, then the Doors will disappear and Gaia will lose them forever.”

Leo glanced at the Doors. Sure enough, Krios still had his thumb jammed on the UP button. Twelve minutes… Somehow, they would have to get the Titans away from those doors. Then someone would have to keep that button pushed for twelve long minutes, in the middle of an army of monsters in the heart of Tartarus, while the other rode to the mortal world. It was impossible.

“I will hold the button,” Bob said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

“Bob - ” Leo’s voice was thick. “I can’t ask you to do that. You said you wanted to see the sky again and the stars and the sun… There has to be another way. Please, there has to be.”

“I would like that,” Bob agreed. “But someone must push the button. And once the chains are cut…my brethren will fight to stop your passage. They will not want the Doors to disappear.” Leo gazed at the endless horde of monsters. Even if he let Bob make this sacrifice, how could one Titan defend himself against so many for twelve minutes, all the while keeping his finger on a button?

“But the stars…” Leo croaked.

“I will see the stars again someday,” Bob promised. “But for now, it is you who must see them for me.” Apparently that was end of discussion. Bob turned towards the Doors and the awaiting Titans. “Remember, both chains must be cut. Only then can you escape.”

“Okay,” Leo whispered.

Bob nodded and marched forwards, sweeping the crowds of monsters from his path.

Leo to sneaked through behind, praying to the gods that this plan would work.

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

Jason was tired.

After days of dealing the the South Wind (who Jason was decidedly not a fan of) and wrangling unruly venti, he could barely stay awake. Worst of all was dealing with the crew. Khione's attack and the loss of Percy had caused the crew's mood to go from bad to worse. Annabeth had pretty much shut off, focusing entirely on trying to rebuild the ship. She was determined to get it up and running again to find Percy. Privately, Jason and Piper both agreed that even if Khione hadn't killed Percy, the likelihood of him landing safely was slim. But they wouldn't tell Annabeth that. They both knew the power of hope.

Hazel, Frank and Coach Hedge were putting everything into repairing the ship too. They were doing the heavy lifting work as Annabeth rewired the control panel. Festus and Buford the Table were helping in their own ways. Really, everyone was doing everything they could to leave the docks of the South Wind.

Nico appeared next to Jason as he surveyed the work. "Any word from the king?" he asked, his eyes dark as he looked at Jason.

"Every day he calls for me later and later," Jason replied.

"We need to leave," Nico muttered. "And soon."

"You sense something?"

"Leo is close to the Doors," Nico said. "He'll need help to get through them alive. He - " Nico hesitated. "There's something wrong with his aura. I can't tell what it is. But it isn't right." Jason closed his eyes, his fist clenching.

"How long do we have?" he asked. His voice was low and deadly, the air suddenly becoming thick with electricity. Even Nico took a step back.

"I don't know," he said. "Not long enough."

"Right." Jason turned, rising off the deck with the winds and flying upwards. He sped through the palace, ignoring the calls of the king's servants as he went. In another time, another life, perhaps he would have been more patient. But the anger that surrounded his heart was growing with each day they were apart from Leo. That, and the loss of the calming influence of Percy, Jason was close to losing control completely.

The doors to the throne room was shut when he arrived, but the panic Jason was feeling was enough to blast them open. He burst through into the room, startling venti and spirits alike. The king, in the form of Auster today, did not seem surprised. As Jason approached the throne, he seemed almost pleased to see him. It was almost enough to unsettle Jason.

Almost.

Standing up, he would have been about ten feet tall. A crown of steam wreathed his shaggy white hair. His beard was made of clouds, constantly popping with lightning and raining down on the god's chest, soaking his sand-popping with lightning and raining down on the god's chest, soaking his sand-colored toga. Jason wondered if you could shave a thundercloud beard. He thought it might be annoying to rain on yourself all the time, but Auster didn't seem to care. He reminded Jason of a soggy Santa Claus, but more lazy than jolly.

"So..." The god's voice rumbled like an oncoming front. "The son ofJupiter returns."

Jason looked up and held the god's gaze. "My Lord," he said. "Do you have any news of my friend?"

"Who?"

"Percy Jackson," Jason said through gritted teeth. "He was taken by Boreas' children. You promised me aid to find him and continue our quest."

"I did?"

"Yes." Jason tried to keep control but he felt himself rapidly slipping. "With your permission, we need to leave immediately."

"Hmm." Auster leaned back in his throne. "You interest me, Son of Jupiter. You remind me of my own children, floating from place to place. Undecided, most of the time. Yet something has changed in you today, I sense. You are now very much decided. Yet, you still ask for permission. Interesting."

"Interesting?" Jason began to seeth. "You have kept us here for days. I have been to multiple audiences with you and you have done nothing but speak in riddles. You promised us aid, and now I call you out on you promise. Or are you really a god who does not keep his oaths?" Lightning crackled at the tips of Jason's fingers as he spoke. The winds picked up within the throne room, swirling around him as his soul began to turmoil. "We are leaving. Today. You will help us or I will make it my mission to destroy everything you hold dear. Do you understand me?"

There was silence for moment. Only the whistling of the winds could be heard throughout the halls. But then slowly, Auster began to smile. "Finally, you make a decision for yourself, Jason Grace," he said. "I have been waiting for you to finally settle the matters of your heart."

Jason faltered. "What?"

"Oh did you not know?" Auster asked. "I would have thought surviving a visit with Cupid would have made this clear." He rose from his seat, looking down at Jason curiously. "You, Jason Grace, could not decide where you belong. Your heart wants one thing, you mind another. You have continued to force yourself to make a choice. Duty or love. But, like you have realised with your heart, love can be divided equally. You can belong in two places if that is what you wish. Perhaps it is this decision to not choose that will save us. Perhaps it is your love of both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half Blood, of both the Daughter of Aphrodite and the Son of Hephaestus that will teach us that division is never the answer."

"I don't understand..."

"Yes, you do, Jason."

And he did. He'd known for a while, even if he didn't want to admit it. "We're leaving," he said. "Today. You will provide horse venti to pull the ship and you will instruct them to find Percy Jackson."

"Wonderful!" Auster beamed, his beard flashing with electricity. "Now...can you make good on those bold words? Can you control what you ask for, or will you be torn apart?" The god clapped his hands. Winds swirled around his throne and took the form of horses. These weren't dark and cold like Jason's friend Tempest. The South Wind horses were made of fire, sand, and hot thunderstorm. Four of them raced past, their heat singeing the hair off Jason's arms. They galloped around the marble columns, spitting flames, neighing with a sound like sandblasters.The more they ran, the wilder they became. They started to eye Jason.

Auster stroked his rainy beard. "Do you know why the venti can appear as horses, my boy? Every so often, we wind gods travel the earth in equine form .On occasion, we've been known to sire the fastest of all horses."

"Thanks," Jason muttered, though his teeth were chattering with fear. "Too much information."

One of the venti charged at Jason. He ducked aside, his clothes smoking from the close call.

"Sometimes," Auster continued cheerfully, "mortals recognize our divine blood. They will say, That horse runs like the wind. And for good reason. Like the fastest stallions, the venti are our children!"

The wind horses began to circle Jason. "Like my friend Tempest," he ventured.

"Oh, well..." Auster scowled. "I fear that one is a child of Boreas. How you tamed him, I will never know. These are my own offspring, a fine team of southern winds. Control them, Jason Grace, and they will pull your ship from the harbor."

Control them, Jason thought. Yeah, right.

They ran back and forth, working up a frenzy. Like their master, the South Wind, they were conflicted—half hot, dry sirocco, half stormy thunderhead.

I need speed, Jason thought. I need purpose.

He envisioned Notus, the Greek version of the South Wind—blistering hot,but very fast.In that moment, he chose Greek. He threw in his lot with Camp Half-Blood—and the horses changed. The storm clouds inside burned away, leaving nothing but red dust and shimmering heat, like mirages on the Sahara.

"Well done," said the god. On the throne now sat Notus—a bronze-skinned old man in a fiery Greek chiton, his head crowned with a wreath of withered, smoking barley. "What are you waiting for?" the god prompted.

Jason turned toward the fiery wind steeds. Suddenly he wasn't afraid of them.He thrust out his hand. A swirl of dust shot toward the nearest horse. A lasso—a rope of wind, more tightly wound than any tornado—wrapped around the horse's neck. The wind formed a halter and brought the beast to a stop. Jason summoned another wind rope. He lashed a second horse, binding it to his will. In less than a minute, he had tethered all four venti. He reined them in,still whinnying and bucking, but they couldn't break Jason's ropes. It felt like flying four kites in a strong wind—hard, yes, but not impossible.

"Very good, Jason Grace," Notus said. "You are a son of Jupiter, yet you have chosen your own path—as all the greatest demigods have done before you. You cannot control your parentage, but you can choose your legacy. Now, go. Lash your team to the prow and direct them toward Malta."

"Malta?" Jason tried to focus, but the heat from the horses was making him light-headed. He knew nothing about Malta, except for some vague story about a Maltese falcon. Were malts invented there?

"Once you arrive in the city of Valletta," Notus said, "you will no longer need these horses."

"You mean...we'll find Percy there?"The god shimmered, slowly fading into waves of heat.

"Your destiny grows clearer, Jason Grace. When the choice comes again—storm or fire—remember me. And do not despair." The doors of the throne room burst open. The horses, smelling freedom, bolted for the exit.

***

Jason was at the helm for six hour before Malta appeared in the distance.

His arms felt rubbery, like he'd been holding a barbell straight out in front of him.He hoped they'd reached the right place, because he couldn't keep the horses together any longer. He released the wind reins. The venti scattered into particles of sand and steam.

Exhausted, Jason climbed down from the prow. He leaned against Festus' neck. The dragon turned and gave him a chin hug, the machinery humming slightly that reminded Jason of Leo's singing.

"Thanks, man," Jason said. "Rough day, huh?"

Behind him, the deck boards creaked. "Jason?" Piper called. "Oh, gods, your arms..." He hadn't noticed, but his skin was dotted with blisters. Piper unwrapped a square of ambrosia. "Eat this."

He chewed. His mouth was filled with the taste of fresh brownies—his favorite treat from the bakeries in New Rome. The blisters faded on his arms. His strength returned, but the brownie ambrosia tasted more bitter than usual, as if it somehow knew that Jason was turning his back on Camp Jupiter. This was no longer the taste of home.

"Thanks, Pipes," he murmured. "The others?"

"All fine. Tired of being cooped up. Annabeth is on the verge of murdering someone. Should I tell them it's safe to come above deck?" Jason licked his dry lips. Despite the ambrosia, he felt shaky. He didn't want the others to see him like this.

"Give me a second," he said. "...catch my breath. "Piper leaned next to him. In her green tank top, her beige shorts, and her hiking boots, she looked like she was ready to climb a mountain—and then fight an army at the top. Her dagger was strapped to her belt. Her cornucopia was slung over one shoulder. She'd taken to wearing the jagged bronze sword she'd recovered from Zethes the Boread, which was only slightly less intimidating than an assault rifle.

"You did well," she said. "He'd be proud of you."

"He'd say I need to get in the gym first."

Piper smiled. "Yeah, there's that too."

"I'm lucky to have you," he said. "And him."

"Yeah, you are." She pushed his chest gently. "Now, how do we get this ship to the docks?"

Jason frowned across the water. They were still half a mile from the island. He had no idea whether they could get the engines working, or the sails....

Fortunately, Festus had been listening. He faced front and blew a plume of fire. The ship's engine clattered and hummed. It sounded like a massive bike with a busted chain—but they lurched forward. Slowly, the Argo II headed toward the shore."Good dragon." Piper patted Festus' neck. The dragon's ruby eyes glinted as if he was pleased with himself.

"He seems different since you woke him," Jason said. "More...alive."

"The way he should be." Piper smiled. "I guess once in a while we all need a wake-up call from somebody who loves us."

Standing next to her, Jason felt so good, he could almost imagine their future together at Camp Half-Blood, once the war was over—assuming they lived, assuming there was still a camp left to return to.

When the choice comes again, Notus had said, storm or fire—remember me. And do not despair.

The closer they got to Greece, the more dread settled in Jason's chest. He was starting to think Piper was right about the storm or fire line in the prophecy—one of them, Jason or Leo, would not come back from this voyage alive.Which was why they had to rescue Leo. As much as Jason loved his life, he would not let Leo die for his sake. He could never live with the guilt, just like he couldn't live with himself if they couldn't get Leo out of Tartarus. Of course he hoped he was wrong. But if not, Jason had to be prepared. He would protect his friends and stop Gaia—whatever it took.

Do not despair. Yeah. Easy for an immortal wind god to say

As they got closer, Jason began to scan the boats in the harbor. One in particular caught his eye. The raft didn't look anything a mortal would make. Piper had spotted it too.

"Percy," she said with a grin. "Of course the idiot managed it."

"Jackson is too stubborn to die at the hands of a snow goddess," Jason replied. "Let's get the others. We have to move quickly now."

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Fear was a funny thing.

Leo couldn't remember the last time he didn't feel fear. He had been scared when he fell into Tartarus. He was scared when they had started the quest. He was scared when he went to the Wilderness School. He was scared when he ran from Teresa. He was scared when he Tia Rosa had rejected him. And by the gods he was scared when Gaia killed his mum. Looking back on his life, Leo realised that fear had always been a part of it.

That certainly hadn't changed now.

He crept to the left of the Doors, clutching his drakon bone sword with his good hand as Bob approached the two Titans. Krios was on the other side to Leo, his armour dark like the endless pit. It was a stark difference toHyperion who Leo could barely look at without feeling as though his eyes were going to melt from their sockets. Leo swallowed hard. Krios had his foot firmly on the anchor of the right hand side chains and his thumb jammed on the UP button. The Death Mist was holding so far, but Leo didn't want to take any chances.

“Iapetus!" Hyperion bellowed. “Well, well. I thought you were hiding under a cleaning bucket somewhere.”

Bob lumbered forward, scowling. “I was not hiding.”

"I'm sure," Hyperion's voice dripped with sarcasm. "How's the old memory, brother? I heard Percy Jackson turned you into a brainwashed janitor. What did he name you? Betty? Bertha?"

"Bob," Bob snarled. Leo bit his chapped lips, hating how his knees were shaking even at the sound of Bob's voice.

“Well, it’s about time you showed up, Bob. Krios and I have been stuck here for weeks—”

“Hours,” Krios corrected, his voice a deep rumble inside his ram's helmet. If he wasn't already dying from hypothermia, Leo's heart would have gotten even colder at the sound of it.

“Whatever!” Hyperion said. “It’s boring work, guarding these doors, shuffling monsters through at Gaea’s orders. Krios, what’s our next group, anyway?”

“Double Red,” said Krios.

Hyperion sighed. The flames glowed hotter across his shoulders. “Double Red. Why do we go from A-22 to Double Red? What kind of system is that?” He glared at Bob. “This is no job for me—the Lord of Light! Titan of the East! Master of Dawn! Why am I forced to wait in the darkness while the giants go into battle and get all the glory? Now, Krios I can understand—”

“I get all the worst assignments,” Krios muttered, his thumb still on the button.

“But me?” Hyperion said. “Ridiculous! This should be your job, Iapetus. Here, take my place for a while.”

Bob glanced at Leo who had reached the base of the first set of chains. He turned back to Hyperion, frowning deeply. "Mother Gaia has forgotten us," he said. "She favours her second brood and leaves us in the pit." That definitely seemed to enrage Hyperion. He stalked towards Bob, shouting obscenities in a language Leo had never heard. But he understood. Hyperion was the more dangerous one here. If he was distracted, that would give Leo some time.

He dropped to his knees in front of the left hand side chains, examining the anchor and the links. The metal was something Leo had never seen before, thick and glowing with power. It looked as if it had been made in the fires of Tartarus itself. He could hack at it with his sword but that might draw too much attention. Besides, who knew if this metal would break at all? If he had a working tool belt, there were dozens of tools he could try but that magic had run out long ago in this pit. Melting the chains with his fire was out of the question too, even if Leo did have the strength to summon a spark.

What was he going to do? There had to be some way to break the chain without alerting any of the Titans.

Hyperion and Bob were stilled arguing, throwing insults back and forth like petulant children. The golden titan stamped his foot on the ground in rage, the ground shaking and rumbling beneath. It was so loud that it was almost like thunder. Maybe just loud enough...? Leo looked back to the chain. There was only one way to do this. As much as he wanted to avoid brute force, there seemed to be no other way. A more energetic Leo might have been able to come up with something else, but this Leo was so f*cking exhausted, so tired of everything. If he managed to bring down his sword just as Hyperion stamped, maybe it would be enough to mask the noise for him to get to the second chain. Or maybe he'd be caught and die. At this point, he didn't care.

Drawing his sword, Leo raised his arms and stared at Hyperion. He watched as the Titan lifted his foot, ready to come down again and -

Before he could strike the chains, a high-pitched whine pierced his ears, like the sound of an incoming rocket. Leo just had time to think: Uh-oh. Then an explosion rocked the hillside. A wave of heat knocked him backward. Dark shrapnel ripped through Krios and Hyperion, shredding them as easily as wood in a chipper. Pieces of it just nicked Leo but not enough to cause any damage more than a couple of scrapes. He hit the deck hard, covering his head with his hands and trying not to scream.

STINKING PIT. A hollow voice rolled across the plains, shaking the warm fleshy ground.

Bob staggered to his feet. Somehow the explosion hadn’t touched him. He swept his spear in front of him, trying to locate the source of the voice. Small Bob the kitten had crawled into his overalls, leaving just a tail peeking out.

TITANS, said the voice disdainfully. LESSER BEINGS. IMPERFECT AND WEAK.

In front of the Doors of Death, the air darkened and solidified. The being who appeared was so massive, radiating such pure malevolence, that Leo wanted to crawl away and hide. Instead, he forced his eyes to trace the god’s form, starting with his black iron boots, each one as large as a coffin. His legs were covered in dark greaves; his flesh all thick purple muscle, like the ground. His armored skirt was made from thousands of blackened, twisted bones, woven together like chain links and clasped in place by a belt of interlocking monstrous arms.

On the surface of the warrior’s breastplate, murky faces appeared and submerged—giants, Cyclopes, gorgons, and drakons—all pressing against the armor as if trying to get out. The warrior’s arms were bare—muscular, purple, and glistening—his hands as large as crane scoops. Worst of all was his head: a helmet of twisted rock and metal with no particular shape—just jagged spikes and pulsing patches of magma. His entire face was a whirlpool—an inward spiral of darkness.

As Leo watched, the last particles of Titan essence from Hyperion and Krios were vacuumed into the warrior’s maw.

Somehow he found his voice, albeit weak and shaky. “Tartarus.”

The warrior made a sound like a mountain cracking in half: a roar or a laugh, Leo couldn’t be sure.

This form is only a small manifestation of my power,said the god.But it is enough to deal with you. I do not interfere lightly, little demigod. It is beneath me to deal with gnats such as yourself.

It shook Leo to his core to realise that the god could see him. Not just the god, but the monsters around the Doors had recovered enough to be snarling at him. The Death Mist had melted away from him, leaving his exposed and vulnerable.

Leo's legs threatened to collapse beneath him. The cold, stabbing pain in his wrist and chest from Achlys' claws increased tenfold in Tartarus' presence. The very breath from his lungs was stolen from Leo, the blood in his veins almost freezing. The last time he felt fear on this scale was when Teresa had locked him in the basem*nt. All he had done was not come back by curfew. He knew he shouldn't have gone back to the house but all his things were there. He had no choice. Teresa had beaten him that night, thrown him down the stairs to the cellar without a second thought. Bleeding and bruised, Leo somehow managed to pick the lock hours later, running away into the night. That was the moment fear that crippled his mind.

But that was nothing compared to this. He was paralysed, frozen, so unbelievably frightened that his heart was a few beats away from stuttering out. In that moment, Leo was nothing more than an insignificant spec.

He wanted to go home.

You have proven surprisingly resilient, Tartarus said. You have come too far. I can no longer stand by and watch your progress.Tartarus spread his arms. Throughout the valley, thousands of monsters wailed and roared, clashing their weapons and bellowing in triumph. The Doors of Death shuddered in their chains.Be honored, little demigod, said the god of the pit.Even the Olympians were never worthy of my personal attention. But you will be destroyed by Tartarus himself!

Leo dropped his sword and fell to his knees. The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth and he realised he had bitter through his cheek. His entire body was numb, his ears ringing. He was dimly aware of monsters circling and surrounding him but Leo couldn't hear them. At the back of his mind, he knew he was dissociating but he couldn't seem to shake the glacial cold that had engulfed him.

The god of the pit flexed his fingers, examining his own polished black talons. He had no expression, but he straightened his shoulders as if he were pleased.It is good to have form, he intoned. With these hands, I can eviscerate you.His voice sounded like a backward recording—as if the words were being sucked into the vortex of his face rather than projected. In fact, everything seemed to be drawn toward the face of this god—the dim light, the poisonous clouds, the essence of the monsters, even Leo’s own fragile and waning life force. He looked around and realized that every object on this vast plain had grown a vaporous comet’s tail—all pointing toward Tartarus.

And Leo...Leo just sat there.

Your fear smells wonderful,said the god.I see the appeal of having a physical body with so many senses. Perhaps my beloved Gaia is right, wishing to wake from her slumber.He stretched out his massive purple hand and might have plucked up Leo like a weed, but Bob interrupted.

“Begone!” The Titan leveled his spear at the god. “You have no right to meddle!”

Meddle?Tartarus turned.I am the lord of all creatures of the darkness, puny Iapetus. I can do as I please.

His black cyclone face spun faster. The howling sound was so horrible, Leo clutched his ears. Bob stumbled, the wispy comet tail of his life force growing longer as it was sucked toward the face of the god. He roared in defiance, charging and thrust his spear at Tartarus’ chest. Before it could connect, Tartarus swatted Bob aside like he was a pesky insect. The Titan went sprawling.

Why do you not disintegrate?Tartarus mused.You are nothing. You are even weaker than Krios and Hyperion.

“I am Bob,” said Bob.

Tartarus hissed.What is that? What is Bob?

“I choose to be more than Iapetus,” said the Titan. “You do not control me. I am not like my brothers.” The collar of his coveralls bulged. Small Bob leaped out. The kitten landed on the ground in front of his master, then arched his back and hissed at the lord of the abyss. As Leo watched, Small Bob began to grow, his form flickering until the little kitten had become a full-sized, translucent skeletal saber-toothed tiger.

“Also,” Bob announced, “I have a good cat.”

No-Longer-Small Bob sprang at Tartarus, sinking his claws into Tartarus’ thigh. The tiger scrambled up his leg, straight under the god’s chain-link skirt. Tartarus stomped and howled, apparently no longer enamored with having a physical form. Meanwhile, Bob thrust his spear into the god’s side, right below his breastplate. Tartarus roared. He swatted at Bob, but the Titan backed out of reach. Bob thrust out his fingers. His spear yanked itself free of the god’s flesh and flew back to Bob’s hand. Small Bob dropped out of Tartarus’ skirt. He ran to his master’s side, his saber-toothed fangs dripping with golden ichor.

You will die first, Iapetus,Tartarus decided.Afterward, I will add your soul to my armor, where it will slowly dissolve, over and over, in eternal agony.Tartarus pounded his fist against his breastplate. Milky faces swirled in the metal, silently screaming to get out.

Bob turned toward Leo, reaching down and pulling him to his feet. The Titan's touch pulled Leo out of his stupor and he looked up at Bob in awe.

The Titan grinned. “Take the Doors. I will deal with Tartarus.”

Tartarus threw back his head and bellowed—creating a vacuum so strong that the nearest flying demons were pulled into his vortex face and shredded.Deal with me?the god mocked.You are only a Titan, a lesser child of Gaea! I will make you suffer for your arrogance. And as for your tiny mortal friend…Tartarus swept his hand toward the monster army, beckoning them forward.

DESTROY HIM!

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

Percy looked...well, Percy looked lost when they found him.

Piper knew the look the moment she saw him. One of memory and loss, but also closure and fulfillment. They had found him at the top of the city's fortifications, just sitting at a coffee shop and looking into the distance like he'd found something there. The mug of coffee on the table looked as though it had long gone cold, not having been touched. Percy himself remained still and motionless, clearly lost in thought. Piper didn't get to study him long before Annabeth tackled Percy from his seat.

"You IDIOT, Jackson!" she shouted. "Where the HELL have you been?!"

"Hi to you too, Wise Girl," Percy groaned. "Easy on the ribs."

Annabeth gave no sign that she'd heard him. "Don't you DARE do that again! I've been worried sick!"

"Not like I had much choice," Percy chuckled, wincing as he pushed himself up from the ground.

"You can't blame her, Perce," Jason said, clapping Percy on the shoulder. "Remember the last time you went missing?" Percy smirked and pulled Jason into a hug.

"Yeah, don't remind me, bro," he said.

"We're just so glad you're okay," Hazel said with tears in her eyes as Frank gave Percy another bone crushing hug. "Khione could have sent you anywhere. We were just praying you landed on water."

"I'm good, guys," Percy reassured them, although his smile was faint. "She just chucked me out to sea somewhere but I managed to find an island and find a way back."

"Seems you were lucky," Nico said lowly. "Could have been a lot worse."

"As long as you're okay," Annabeth said, taking Percy's hand and squeezing it. "That's all that matters." Percy nodded but looked over to Piper, his eyes conveying a message that hit her hard. Regret, heartbreak, fear - all emotion swirling in Percy's eyes. His posture was stiff, even with Annabeth standing right next to him. Piper had seen this before with someone else. And suddenly, she knew what had happened to Percy.

"Hey, let's get back to the boat," she said. "I'm sure Perce needs a bit of rest before we get going again. We're not far from the House of Hades, are we Nico?"

"Close enough," Nico agreed.

Everyone started making their way back down to the ship again but Percy hesitated. "Piper, could I talk to you?" Piper glanced over at Annabeth who raised an eyebrow.

"Everything okay?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, I'm all good, Annie," Percy said. "I promise. I just need a minute." Annabeth nodded slowly, kissing Percy gently on the cheek.

"Okay, just...don't be too long," she replied. As she turned, she shot Piper a look before following the others down the hill to the boat. As soon as she was gone, Percy let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair.

"Let me guess," Piper said. "You met Calypso again." If Percy was shocked that she knew, he didn't show it. He simply nodded, turning to look back out to the horizon as if he could see Calypso's island still. His face betrayed very little emotion but as always, his eyes were practically gleaming. "How was she?"

"Angry," Percy laughed slightly. "Frustrated. Worried about Leo. But overall, more fierce than the last time I saw her. It looked good on her."

"Are you going to tell Annabeth?" Piper challenged.

"I will," Percy said. "She knows something is up anyway so I couldn't get away with it even if I wanted to. I just...she always used to get worried about me and Calypso. I don't want her to worry when there's literally nothing to worry about."

"Good," Piper said. "I don't want you guys to be fighting when we're about to face the Doors of Death."

"Yeah..."

"Are you okay?" Percy looked a little shocked to be asked the question.

"I'm...I don't know," he replied. "I left her there and I didn't make sure she got rescued. That's on me. Yet she forgave me just like that. Well, after a little awkwardness. I just...I'm not sure I deserved it."

"If she thought you did, then you did," Piper reasoned. "There's no point questioning other people's choices. You can't control that, just like we can't control the quest." Percy smiled slightly.

"I knew you'd get it," he said.

"Is that why you wanted to talk then?" Piper chuckled. "For love advice from a daughter of Aphrodite?"

"Kind of," Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But also...well, I wanted to talk about Leo."

Piper blinked. "What about him?"

"Piper..." Percy said. "How much do you know about him and Calypso?"

"Everything," Piper replied. "He told Jason and I about the island, about how she's in love with him but he's not in love with her. He...he still cares about her though. I think that's why he asked you to save her for him if...if he can't." Percy nodded, looking down at his hands.

"Cal said something about Leo being in love with someone else," he said. "Do you...know anything about that?" Piper crossed her arms.

"Why do you ask?" she said. They stared at each other, the breeze stirring Piper's hair so it flew behind her. She kept her eyes locked to Percy's, refusing to back down. Part of her wondered how many people had done this before meeting their end at the point of Riptide. Not many people looked into the eyes of Percy Jackson without fear. She wasn't scared of him though. He was her friend and, more importantly, he was making her angry.

"Piper..." Percy said gently. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"What do you know, Percy?" she demanded. "Did Nico tell you? Because Jason swore he wouldn't but if you try and speak to him about it I will end you."

"Whoa, okay," Percy said, holding out his hands. "I don't know much, alright? Annabeth always says I pathetically useless at observing this kind of stuff. But even I saw how different Nico and Jason were when they got back from getting the sceptre. All I'm saying is that if you want someone to listen to who gets crazy love situations, then I'm here. But if not, then that's cool. I just wanted to let you know what Calypso said. It's to do with Leo so I thought you'd want to know."

Piper swallowed hard, her heart beating out of her chest. "I don't care who knows what," she said quietly. "If it was up to me, I'd scream it from the rooftops. But now is not the time nor place. One day, you'll know. But I don't want to talk about it now."

"Okay," Percy said simply with a shrug. "Fine by me." They both began walking down the hill back towards the ship.

"Can I ask you something?" Piper asked. Percy nodded. "Why did you ask me and not Jason? You two are closer, and if you really wanted to know what's going on you're more likely to get it out of him."

"Well, you are the certified love expert on the ship," Percy said with a grin. "But to be honest, I wanted to check in with you. My aim wasn't to find out anything, just to...well, just to make sure everything was okay."

Piper shook her head. "You're a strange man, Percy Jackson. Only you would be thrown off a ship and travel the ocean on a makeshift raft and ask if I was okay."

"Yeah, well, gotta make sure there's a crew for Leo to come back to," Percy grinned. Piper smiled, about to reply when she spotted the others standing ahead. As she and Percy approached, the others didn't seem to notice them. Instead, they were watching something out to see with worried eyes. Piper followed their gaze and watched in horror as a streak ofdarkness shot into the air like black lightning—as if pure night had torn through the daytime.

“That can’t be…” Nico muttered. “Greece is still hundreds of miles away.”

The darkness flashed again, momentarily leaching the color from the horizon. “You think it’s Epirus?” Jason asked.

Nico nodded. “The House of Hades is open for business.”

A few seconds later, a rumbling sound washed over them like distant artillery. “It’s begun,” Hazel said.

“What has?” Percy asked.

When the next flash happened, Hazel’s gold eyes darkened like foil in fire. “Gaea’s final push,” she said. “The Doors of Death are working overtime. Her forces are entering the mortal world en masse.”

“We’ll never make it,” Nico said. “By the time we arrive, there’ll be too many monsters to fight.”

"Let them try and defeat us," Annabeth growled. "Besides, we've got Percy back now. Boys, do you reckon you can give us the push we need?" Piper watched as Percy and Jason grinned at each other.

"Yeah, think we can," Jason replied.

***

Frank was hoping for fireworks.

Or at least a big sign that read: WELCOME HOME!

The Greek landscape below was inhospitable. The hills were strewn with boulders and stunted cedars, all shimmering in the hazy air. The sun beat down as if trying to hammer the countryside into a Celestial bronze shield. Even from a hundred feet up, Frank could hear the drone of cicadas buzzing in the trees—a sleepy, otherworldly sound that made his eyes heavy. Even the dueling voices of the war gods inside his head seemed to have dozed off. They had hardly bothered Frank at all since the crew had crossed into Greece.

The remaining Seven and Coach Hedge stood on deck and watched as Annabeth descended the ship as close as possible to the ground without actually making contact. Next to Frank stood Jason who was practically humming with eagerness. Piper was just the same, knowing they were (hopefully) one step closer to Leo.

Below deck earlier, Frank had privately pulled Nico aside and asked if he could still feel Leo's life force.

"No," the son of Hades had replied. "But that could mean a number of things."

"You think he's dead though," Frank had said. Nico didn't react.

"I hope he isn't," was all he said before turning and melting into the shadows. Frank got the message loud and clear. He had to be prepared to help the rest of the crew if Leo wasn't there waiting for them at the House of Hades.

"Annabeth!" Nico's voice broke Frank from his thoughts. As usual, di Angelo was perched atop the foremast. He pointed toward a glittering green river snaking through the hills a kilometer away. “Maneuver us that way. We’re close to the temple. Very close.” As if to prove his point, black lightning ripped through the sky, leaving dark spots before Frank’s eyes and making the hairs on his arms stand up.

Jason strapped on his sword belt. “Everyone, arm yourself. This fight isn't going to be an easy one. But remember, Leo is in there. We have to get to him before it's too late."

"Inspiring speech, Praetor," Percy chuckled awkwardly, clapping Jason on the shoulder. "Sure everyone got the message."

"I thought it was good, Jason," Frank nodded.

"Hey, you guys, over there!" Annabeth called from the helm. "The lightning."

The Argo II hovered directly over the river. A few hundred meters away at the top of the nearest hill stood a cluster of ruins. They didn’t look like much— just some crumbling walls encircling the limestone shells of a few buildings— but from somewhere within the ruins, tendrils of black ether curled into the sky, like a smoky squid peeking from its cave. As Frank watched, a bolt of dark energy ripped through the air, rocking the ship and sending a cold shockwave across the landscape.

“The Necromanteion,” Nico said. “The House of Hades.”

Frank steadied himself at the rail. He supposed it was too late to suggest turning back. He was starting to feel nostalgic about the monsters he’d fought in Rome. Heck, chasing poison cows through Venice had been more appealing than this place.

Piper hugged her arms. “I feel vulnerable floating up here like this. Couldn’t we set down in the river?”

“I wouldn’t,” Hazel said. “That’s the River Acheron.”

Jason squinted in the sunlight. “I thought the Acheron was in the Underworld.”

“It is,” Hazel said. “But its headwaters are in the mortal world. That river below us? Eventually it flows underground, straight into the realm of Pluto—er, Hades. Landing a demigod ship on those waters—”

"Yeah, let's stay up here," Percy said.

Half a kilometer downstream, some fishing boats were puttering along. Frank guessed they didn’t know or care about the history of this river. Must be nice, being a regular mortal.

Next to Frank, Nico di Angelo raised the scepter of Diocletian. Its orb glowed with purple light, as if in sympathy with the dark storm. Roman relic or not, the scepter troubled Frank. If it really had the power to summon a legion of the dead…well, Frank wasn’t sure that was such a great idea.

Jason had once told him that the children of Mars had a similar ability. Supposedly, Frank could call on ghostly soldiers from the losing side of any war to serve him. He’d never had much luck with that power, probably because it freaked him out too much. He was worried he might become one of those ghosts if they lost this war—eternally doomed to pay for his failures, assuming there was anyone left to summon him.

“So, uh, Nico…” Frank gestured at the scepter. “Have you learned to use that thing?”

“We’ll find out.” Nico stared at the tendrils of darkness undulating from the ruins. “I don’t intend to try until I have to. The Doors of Death are already working overtime bringing in Gaea’s monsters. Any more activity raising the dead, and the Doors might shatter permanently, leaving a rip in the mortal world that can’t be closed.”

"We should probably get down there then," Jason said.

Percy grinned. "Let's go crash a ghost party."

Chapter 31

Chapter Text

Despite the midday heat and the raging storm of death energy, a group of tourists was climbing over the ruins. Fortunately there weren’t many, and they didn’t give the demigods a second look.

After the crowds in Rome, Frank had stopped worrying too much about getting noticed. If they could fly their warship into the Roman Colosseum with ballistae blazing and not even cause a traffic slowdown, he figured they could get away with anything.

Nico led the way. At the top of the hill, they climbed over an old retaining wall and down into an excavated trench. Finally they arrived at a stone doorway leading straight into the side of the hill. The death storm seemed to originate right above their heads. Looking up at the swirling tentacles of darkness, Frank felt like he was trapped at the bottom of a flushing toilet bowl. That really didn’t calm his nerves. Nico faced the group. “From here, it gets tough.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. "And up until now it's been peachy?"

Nico glared at him. "This isn't a joke. Pilgrims used to come here to commune with dead ancestors. Once we're inside, the death energy will only get worse. Be on guard and try to stick together."

"Do we all know the plan?" Annabeth asked, digging into her bag and grabbing the barley cakes. "Everyone eat up. We go in together and keep focused on the Doors of Death. Nico, Hazel and Frank will lead. Piper, Jason, you guys will take the middle and keep us on track. Percy and I will guard our backs. With any luck, we'll get to the Doors without too much of a fight. Then all we have to do is -"

"Fight a sorceress and a giant," Hazel winced. "Easy peasy."

Frank chewed his cracker of death and tried not to gag. It reminded him of a cookie made with sawdust instead of sugar. “Yum,” Annabeth said, wrinkling her nose.

"It would taste better if it was blue," Percy grumbled.

“Okay.” Nico choked down the last of his barley. “That should protect us from the poison.”

"Poison?" Frank hoped his voice wasn't too high. Nico gave him a look.

“Just stick close together, and maybe we can avoid getting lost or going insane.” On that happy note, Nico led them underground.

The tunnel spiraled gently downward, the ceiling supported by white stone arches that reminded Frank of a whale’s rib cage. As they walked, Hazel ran her hands along the masonry.

“This wasn’t part of a temple,” she whispered. “This was…the basem*nt for a manor house, built in later Greek times.” Frank found it eerie how Hazel could tell so much about an underground place just by being there. He’d never known her to be mistaken.

“A manor house?” he asked. “Please don’t tell me we’re in the wrong place.”

“The House of Hades is below us,” Nico assured him. “But Hazel’s right, these upper levels are much newer. When the archaeologists first excavated this site, they thought they’d found the Necromanteion. Then they realized the ruins were too recent, so they decided it was the wrong spot. They were right the first time. They just didn’t dig deep enough.”

They turned a corner and Frank took the opportunity to glance at Jason and Piper who were just behind him. The two had been quiet ever since they'd gotten off the ship. Frank didn't blame them. He couldn't image what they must be feeling. They had no idea if Leo was down here or, even worse, if he was even still alive. If they had come all this way and Leo hadn't managed to close the Doors on Tartarus' side... Well, there was no way that Jason and Piper wouldn't be going in after him.

Frank shivered at the thought.

"Wait," Nico suddenly whispered, holding up a hand. In front of them was what appeared to be a dead end.

"Cave in?" Percy called from the back.

"No, a test," Nico replied. "Hazel...?"

Hazel stepped forward. She placed her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder crumbled to dust. The tunnel shuddered. Cracks spread across the ceiling. For a terrifying moment, Frank imagined they’d all be crushed under tons of earth—a disappointing way to die, after all they’d been through.

Then the rumbling stopped. The dust settled.

A set of stairs curved deeper into the earth, the barreled ceiling held up by more repeating arches, closer together and carved from polished black stone. The descending arches made Frank feel dizzy, as if he were looking into an endlessly reflecting mirror. Painted on the walls were crude pictures of black cattle marching downward.

“I really don’t like cows,” Piper muttered.

“Agreed,” Frank said.

“Those are the cattle of Hades,” Nico said. “It’s just a symbol of—”

“Look.” Frank pointed. On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed. Frank was pretty sure it hadn’t been there a moment before. The cup was full of dark-green liquid.

"Ah, there's our poison then," Percy said.

Nico picked up the chalice. “We’re standing at the ancient entrance of the Necromanteion. Odysseus came here, and dozens of other heroes, seeking advice from the dead.”

Nico drank from the chalice, then offered it to Jason. “Do you trust me?"

Frank wasn’t sure what Nico was talking about, but Jason didn’t hesitate. He took the cup, raising it to the others. "For Leo," he said, and drank. They passed it around, each taking a sip of poison. As he waited his turn, Frank tried to keep his legs from shaking and his gut from churning. He wondered what his grandmother would say if she could see him.Stupid, Fai Zhang! she would probably scold. If all your friends were drinking poison, would you do it too?

Frank went last. The taste of the green liquid reminded him of spoiled apple juice. He drained the chalice. It turned to smoke in his hands.

Nico nodded, apparently satisfied. “Congratulations. Assuming the poison doesn’t kill us, we should be able to find our way through the Necromanteion’s first level.”

"Just the first level?” Piper asked. Nico turned to Hazel and gestured at the stairs. “After you, sister.”

In no time, Frank felt completely lost. The stairs split in three different directions. As soon as Hazel chose a path, the stairs split again. They wound their way through interconnecting tunnels and rough-hewn burial chambers that all looked the same—the walls carved with dusty niches that might once have held bodies. The arches over the doors were painted with black cows, white poplar trees, and owls.

“I thought the owl was Minerva’s symbol,” Jason murmured. He was holding Piper's hand, Frank noticed. Good. They needed comfort right now.

“The screech owl is one of Hades’s sacred animals,” Nico said. “Its cry is a bad omen.”

"Please stop talking about bad omens, man," Percy shuddered.

“This way.” Hazel pointed to a doorway that looked the same as all the others. “It’s the only one that won’t collapse on us. I think...”

“Keep going, Hazel," Annabeth encouraged. The group moved on.

Frank began to feel like he was leaving the world of the living. His skin tingled, and he wondered if it was a side effect of the poison. In the eerie glow of their magic weapons, his friends looked like flickering ghosts. Cold air brushed against his face. In his mind, Ares and Mars had gone silent, but Frank thought he heard other voices whispering in the side corridors, beckoning him to veer off course, to come closer and listen to them speak.

Finally they reached an archway carved in the shape of human skulls—or maybe they were human skulls embedded in the rock. In the purple light of Diocletian’s scepter, the hollow eye sockets seemed to blink. Frank almost hit the ceiling when Hazel put a hand on his arm.

“This is the entrance to the second level,” she said. “I’d better take a look.” Frank hadn’t even realized that he’d moved in front of the doorway.

“Uh, yeah…” He made way for her. Hazel traced her fingers across the carved skulls.

“No traps on the doorway, but…something is strange here. My underground sense is—is fuzzy, like someone is working against me, hiding what’s ahead of us.”

“The sorceress that Hecate warned you about?” Jason guessed.

Hazel chewed her lip. “It would be safer not to say her name. But stay alert. One thing I’m sure of: From this point on, the dead are stronger than the living.” Frank wasn’t sure how she knew that, but he believed her. The voices in the darkness seemed to whisper louder. He caught glimpses of movement in the shadows. From the way his friends’ eyes darted around, he guessed they were seeing things too.

“Where are the monsters?” he wondered aloud. “I thought Gaea had an army guarding the Doors.”

“Don’t know,” Jason said. His pale skin looked as green as the poison from the chalice. The hand that wasn't holding Piper's gripped his sword more tightly. “At this point I’d almost prefer a straight-up fight.”

"Careful what you wish for," Percy said gravely.

The tunnel shook. Rubble rained down from the ceiling. Hazel grabbed Frank’s hand. “That was close,” she muttered. “These passageways won’t take much more.”

“The Doors of Death just opened again,” Nico said.

“It’s happening like every fifteen minutes,” Piper noted.

“Every twelve,” Annabeth corrected. "Everything is always in twelves."

“We’d better hurry," Nico said, glancing upwards. "Leo...he's close. But his life force...it doesn't feel right. Something is blocking him from my powers. It's almost as it he's..."

"Don't," Jason bit out. Frank looked around at the others, all of whom were looking grave and worried. It suddenly hit him. They didn't think Leo was still alive. There was hope there, of course, but no certainty. Not like the fire that burned in Jason and Piper's eyes. They all thought they were here to collect a body.

As they traveled deeper, the corridors widened. The ceilings rose to six meters high, decorated with elaborate paintings of owls in the branches of white poplars. The extra space should have made Frank feel better, but all he could think about was the tactical situation. The tunnels were big enough to accommodate large monsters, even giants. There were blind corners everywhere, perfect for ambushes. Their group could be flanked or surrounded easily. They would have no good options for retreat. Frank was just happy that Annabeth and Percy were guarding them from behind. If anyone knew that they were doing in a maze, it was those two. Their stories about the Labyrinth was enough to convince Frank that he never wanted to be in a maze ever. So much for that.

All of Frank’s instincts told him to get out of these tunnels. If no monsters were visible, that just meant they were hiding, waiting to spring a trap. Even though Frank knew that, there wasn’t much he could do about it. They had to find the Doors of Death.

“The tunnel from here is unstable,” Hazel warned. “The floor might…well, just follow me. Step exactly where I step.” She made her way forward. Frank walked right behind her—not because he felt particularly brave, but because he wanted to be close if Hazel needed his help.

The voices of the war gods were arguing again in his ears. He could sense danger—very close now.

Fai Zhang.He stopped cold. That voice…it wasn’t Ares or Mars. It seemed to come from right next to him, like someone whispering in his ear.

“Frank?” Jason whispered behind him. “Hazel, hold up a second. Frank, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Frank murmured. “I just—”

Pylos, the voice said.I await you in Pylos. Frank felt like the poison was bubbling back up his throat. He’d been scared plenty of times before. He’d even faced the god of Death. But this voice terrified him in a different way. It resonated right down to his bones, as if it knew everything about him—his curse, his history, his future. His grandmother had always been big on honoring the ancestors. It was a Chinese thing. You had to appease ghosts. You had to take them seriously. Frank always thought his grandmother’s superstitions were silly. Now he changed his mind. He had no doubt…the voice that spoke to him was one of his ancestors.

“Frank, don’t move.” Hazel sounded alarmed. He looked down and realized he’d been about to step out of line.

To survive, you must lead, the voice said.At the break, you must take charge.

“Lead where?” he asked aloud. Then the voice was gone. Frank could feel its absence, as if the humidity had suddenly dropped.

“Frank?” Percy said. “Frank, talk to us. What is it?” Frank’s friends were all looking at him with concern.

“I’m okay,” he managed. “Just…a voice.”

Nico nodded. “I did warn you. It’ll only get worse. We should—”

Hazel held up her hand for silence. “Wait here, everybody.” Frank didn’t like it, but she forged ahead alone. He counted to twenty-three before she came back, her face drawn and pensive. “Scary room ahead,” she warned. “Don’t panic.”

They followed Hazel into the cavern.

The place was like a circular cathedral, with a ceiling so high it was lost in the gloom. Dozens of other tunnels led off in different directions, each echoing with ghostly voices. The thing that made Frank nervous was the floor. It was a gruesome mosaic of bones and gems—human femurs, hip bones, and ribs twisted and fused together into a smooth surface, dotted with diamonds and rubies. The bones formed patterns, like skeletal contortionists tumbling together, curling to protect the precious stones—a dance of death and riches.

“Touch nothing,” Hazel said.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Percy muttered.

Jason scanned the exits. “Which way now?”

For once, Nico looked uncertain. “This should be the room where the priests invoked the most powerful spirits. One of these passages leads deeper into the temple, to the third level and the altar of Hades himself. But which—?”

"There should be a symbol," Annabeth said, looking around with her eyebrows furrowed. "Some kind of sign or direction. The priests would need a quick way to tell which way if they needed to escape a ghost."

“That one.” Frank pointed. In a doorway at the opposite end of the room, a ghostly Roman legionnaire beckoned to them. His face was misty and indistinct, but Frank got the feeling the ghost was looking directly at him.

Hazel frowned. “Why that one?”

“You don’t see the ghost?” Frank asked.

“Ghost?” Nico asked. Okay…if Frank was seeing a ghost that the Underworld kids couldn’t see, something was definitely wrong. He felt like the floor was vibrating underneath him. Then he realized it was vibrating.

"Er - does anyone else feel that?" Piper asked.

“We need to get to that exit,” Frank yelled. “Now!"

The group started to run, trying to follow the path Hazel was scouting out for them whilst moving quickly. He drew his bow and herded Hazel along as fast as he dared.

"Annabeth!" someone behind him yelled and Frank saw Jason yank Annabeth towards him just before a gryphon dove from the ceiling. With a roar, Percy had quickly slashed through the gryphon before it could even get its claws out. "Go!" he shouted, hauling Annabeth to her feet as Jason and Piper covered them. "Frank, get us out of here!" Frank could tell he was scaring his friends, but he couldn’t help it. He knew in his gut they had only seconds before…

In front of them, the legionnaire ghost vaporized. The cavern reverberated with monstrous roars—dozens, maybe hundreds of enemies coming from every direction. Frank recognized the throaty bellow of the Earthborn, the screech of more gryphons, the guttural war cries of Cyclopes—all sounds he remembered from the Battle of New Rome, amplified underground, echoing in his head even louder than the war god’s voices.

“Hazel, don’t stop!” Nico ordered. He pulled the scepter of Diocletian from his belt. Piper and Jason drew their swords as the monsters spilled into the cavern. A vanguard of six-armed Earthborn threw a volley of stones that shattered the bone-and-jewel floor like ice. A fissure spread across the center of the room, coming straight toward Annabeth and Percy. No time for caution. Frank tackled his friends, and the three of them skidded across the cavern, landing at the edge of the ghost’s tunnel as rocks and spears flew overhead.

“Go!” Frank yelled. “Go, go!”

Annabeth, Hazel and Percy scrambled into the tunnel, which seemed to be the only one free of monsters. Frank wasn’t sure that was a good sign. Two meters in, Percy turned. “The others!” The entire cavern shuddered. Frank looked back and his courage crumbled to dust.

Dividing the cavern was a new fifteen-meter-wide chasm, spanned only by two rickety stretches of bone flooring. The bulk of the monster army was on the opposite side, howling in frustration and throwing whatever they could find, including each other. Some attempted to cross the bridges, which creaked and crackled under their weight. Jason, Piper, and Nico stood on the near side of the chasm, which was good, but they were surrounded by a ring of Cyclopes and hellhounds. More monsters kept pouring in from the side corridors, while gryphons wheeled overhead, undeterred by the crumbling floor.

The three demigods would never make it to the tunnel. Even if Jason tried to fly them, they’d be shot out of the air. Frank remembered the voice of his ancestor: At the break, you must take charge.

“We have to help them,” Hazel said. Frank’s mind raced, doing battle calculations. He saw exactly what would happen—where and when his friends would be overwhelmed, how all six of them would die here in this cavern…unless Frank changed the equation.

“Nico!” he yelled. “The scepter.” Nico raised Diocletian’s scepter, and the cavern air shimmered purple. Ghosts climbed from the fissure and seeped from the walls—an entire Roman legion in full battle gear. They began taking on physical form, like walking corpses, but they seemed confused.

Jason yelled in Latin, ordering them to form ranks and attack. The undead just shuffled among the monsters, causing momentary confusion, but that wouldn’t last. Frank turned to Hazel, Annabeth and Percy. “You guys keep going.”

Hazel’s eyes widened. “What? No!”

“You have to.” It was the hardest thing Frank had ever done, but he knew it was the only choice. “Find the Doors. Save Leo.”

"We're not leaving you, Frank!" Percy said. "I'm not leaving another friend to die!"

"You have to!" Frank shouted. "Leo has one chance and that is you guys. Go now!"

“But—” Annabeth glanced over Frank’s shoulder. “Hit the deck!”

Frank dove for cover as a volley of rocks slammed overhead. When he managed to get up, coughing and covered in dust, the entrance to the tunnel was gone. An entire section of wall had collapsed, leaving a slope of smoking rubble. “Hazel…” Frank’s voice broke. He had to hope she was alive on the other side and with Annabeth and Percy. He couldn’t afford to think otherwise.

Anger swelled in his chest. He turned and charged toward the monster army.

Chapter 32

Chapter Text

It took a full second before Leo realised he was about to be overrun.

He had been so detached from reality, so absent from his mind, that he barely recognised the arc of a cyclops' sword coming towards him before he ducked just in time. Suddenly, the world came back to him in high definition, his hearing tuning back in and sight clearing as battle cries rose up around him. Ah right. He was about to die. Now he remembered.

The first set of chains for the Doors lay just in front of him. Diving forwards, he slashed through the moorings with a clean swipe, his drakon-bone sword sinking into the metal like it was butter. Leo's wrist scream in agony along with the rest of his broken body as he swung the sword again, decapitating half a dozen telkhines as he fought his way over to the other side of the Doors. The second set of chains snapped again with a single blow and Leo bit back a cry as another wave of cold pain sank deep into his bones.

The Doors shuddered, then opened with a pleasantDing!

Oh.

Bob and his saber-toothed sidekick continued to weave around Tartarus' legs, attacking, and dodging to stay out of his clutches. They didn't seem to be doing much damage, but Tartarus lurched around, obviously not used to fighting in a humanoid body. He swiped and missed, swiped and missed.

More monsters surged toward the Doors. A spear flew past Leo's head. He turned and stabbed an empousa through the gut, then dove for the Doors as they started to close. He kept them open with his foot as he fought. At least with his back to the elevator car, he didn't have to worry about attacks from behind. But it left him vulnerable with only one hand free.

Another empousa launched herself at him, raking her claws across Leo's shoulder before he managed to slice her in half. He groaned, swallowing back thick tears as blood dripped from cuts on his face, his arms, and hands. A group ofaraicame at him next, wailing and snarling as Leo cut them apart. He dropped to one knee as the curses overtook him once again, feeling his lungs constrict and the pain of bones snapping. Brandishing his sword, he managed to get the hoards of monsters to back up just slightly out of reach, giving him a slight reprieve as he looked up to find Bob.

The Titan's attacks were getting slower. Tartarus was learning to control his new body. Saber-toothed Small Bob lunged at the god, but Tartarus smacked the cat sideways. Bob charged, bellowing with rage, but Tartarus grabbed his spear and yanked it out of his hands. He kicked Bob downhill,knocking over a row of telkhines like sea mammal bowling pins.

YIELD!Tartarus thundered.

"I will not," Bob said. "You are not my master."

Die in defiance, then, said the god of the pit.You Titans are nothing to me.My children the giants were always better, stronger, and more vicious. They will make the upper world as dark as my realm!

Tartarus snapped the spear in half. Bob wailed in agony. Saber-toothed Small Bob leaped to his aid, snarling at Tartarus and baring his fangs. The Titan struggled to rise, but Leo knew it was over. Even the monsters turned to watch, as if sensing that their master Tartarus was about to take the spotlight. The death of a Titan was worth seeing.

This was it, Leo realised. It didn't matter how many monsters he could fight off here. Without someone to hold the button, withoutBob, Leo would never escape this place. The cold weight of understanding settled over him. He was never meant to get out here anyway. When he'd first fallen, he had only two things on his mind: save his friends, close the Doors of Death. Here he was, with his foot jammed between the Doors, only one step away from completing both of those tasks. All he had to do was take one step. One step into the monsters, one step towards Bob, one step towards Tartarus who would likely incinerate him instantly.

And honestly? Leo couldn't wait to finally be relieved from the exhaustion, the pain, theagony.

His final battle would be here.

Closing his eyes, he said his final goodbyes to his friends, to his family, to Jason and Piper. He hoped that one day he would see them again in the Underworld. Maybe Hades would make a special exception and let him visit them from the Fields of Asphodel when they ended up in the Elysium.

Taking a deep breath, he shifted, ready to run to Bob's aid -

A ripple of alarm passed through the army. In the distance, Leo heard shrieks, screams, and a persistentboom, boom, boomthat was too fast to be the heartbeat in the ground—more like something large and heavy, running at full speed.

An Earthborn spun into the air as if he'd been tossed. A plume of bright green gas billowed across the top of the monstrous horde like the spray from a poison riot hose. Everything in its path dissolved.Across the swath of sizzling, newly empty ground, Leo saw the cause of the commotion. His mouth fell open in shock.

The Maeonian drakon spread its frilled collar and hissed, its poison breath filling the battlefield with the smell of pine and ginger. It shifted its hundred foot-long body, flicking its dappled green tail and wiping out a battalion of ogres. Riding on its back was a red-skinned giant with flowers in his rust-colored braids, a jerkin of green leather, and a drakon-rib lance in his hand.

"Damasen!" Leo cried.

The giant inclined his head. "Leo Valdez, I took your advice. I chose myself a new fate."

What is this?the God of the Pit hissed.Why have you come, my disgraced son?

Damasen glanced at Leo, a clear message in his eyes:Go. Now.

He turned toward Tartarus. The Maeonian drakon stamped its feet and snarled. "Father, you wished for a more worthy opponent?" Damasen asked calmly. "I am one of the giants you are so proud of. You wished me to be more warlike?Perhaps I will start by destroying you!" Damasen leveled his lance and charged.The monstrous army swarmed him, but the Maeonian drakon flattened everything in its path, sweeping its tail and spraying poison while Damasen jabbed at Tartarus, forcing the god to retreat like a cornered lion.

Bob stumbled away from the battle, his saber-toothed cat at his side. The Titan limped to the Doors. Golden ichor flowed from the wounds on his arms and chest. His janitor's outfit hung in tatters, not unlike Leo's own clothes. His posture was twisted and hunched, as if Tartarus' breaking the spear had broken something inside him.Despite all that, he was grinning, his silver eyes bright with satisfaction."Go," he ordered. "I will hold the button."

Leo gawked at him. "Bob, you're in no condition—"

"You must, friend," Bob said. "You must go now."

"Bob," Leo croaked. "I-I can't just leave you."

Behind the Titan, Small Bob was viciously taking down any monster that dared come near the Doors, protecting his master with ferocity. Bob the Titan knelt down, a hand on Leo's uninjured shoulder. "It has been the greatest honour of Bob's life to travel with you, Leo, friend of Percy," he said somberly. "Bob will never forget your kindness, your funny jokes, your loyalty. You are Bob's best friend no matter what happens here."

Tears streamed down Leo's face. He could barely breathe as it was, let alone with sobs wracking through his body. "Bob...please..."

"It is your destiny to return to the world," Bob said. "Put an end to this madness of Gaia. You are the only one who can, chosen one. The world must fall by fire - your fire."

A screaming Cyclops, sizzling from poison spray, sailed over their heads.

Fifty yards away, the Maeonian drakon trampled through monsters, its feet making sickening squish squish noises as if stomping grapes. On its back, Damasen yelled insults and jabbed at the god of the pit, taunting Tartarus farther away from the Doors. Tartarus lumbered after him, his iron boots making craters in the ground.

You cannot kill me!he bellowed.I am the pit itself. You might as well try to kill the earth. Gaia and I—we are eternal. We own you, flesh and spirit!He brought down his massive fist, but Damasen sidestepped, impaling his javelin in the side of Tartarus' neck. Tartarus growled, apparently more annoyed than hurt. He turned his swirling vacuum face toward the giant, but Damasen got out of the way in time. A dozen monsters were sucked into the vortex and disintegrated.

"Bob, he'll destroy you," Leo pleaded. "There's no coming back from this."

Bob shrugged. "Who knows what will be? You must go now. Tartarus is right about one thing. We cannot defeat him. We can only buy you time."

Leo couldn't help himself. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Bob's neck, breathing in the scent of lemony cleaning supplies. "I'll never forget you. I'll tell everyone about you. Anyone who listens will remember you and Damasen as heroes, as the best Titan and the best giant. Someday, you will regenerate."

Bob ruffled his hair. Smile lines crinkled around his eyes. "That is good. Until then, my friend, tell the sun and the stars hello for me. And be strong. This may not be the last sacrifice you must make to stop Gaia." He pushed him away gently. "No more time. Go."

Leo stumbled into the elevator car, knees trembling and body shaking. He had one last glimpse of the Maeonian drakon shaking an ogre like a sock puppet, Damasen jabbing at Tartarus’ legs. The god of the pit pointed at the Doors of Death and yelled:Monsters, stop them!Small Bob the saber-toothed crouched and snarled, ready for action.

Bob winked at Leo. “Hold the Doors closed on your side,” he said. “They will resist your passage. Hold them Leo—”

The panels slid shut.

Leo shoved his entire body against the Doors, his hands splayed against their metal surface in an effort to keep them closed. His half broken wrist splintered yet again but Leo ignored the searing cold burning through him. There were no handles, or anything else to hold on to. As the elevator car ascended, the Doors shook and tried to open, threatening to spill him into whatever was between life and death.

The agony was tremendous. Despite the creepy elevator music playing somewhere in the background, all Leo could hear was screaming. Perhaps it was his screaming? He didn't know. The car shot upwards at a speed that made him want to curl up on the floor and cry. Gravity was trying to crush him and vaguely, at the back of his mind, Leo wondered if this is what astronauts felt like hurtling up into space. Every so often, his grip would slip and small pockets of sulphur would seep into the lift. He coughed and gagged but remained still, squeezing his eyes shut in effort.

"Twelve minutes," he murmured. "Just twelve minutes."

Every muscle, every bone, every sinew, every vertebrae, every atom in his body was howling. His scars stung, his tendons snapped, his mind cracked open and yet, Leo held on. He held on for Bob, for Damasen, for Jason, for Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, Frank, Percy, Coach Hedge, Nico, Festus, Chiron, his mother, for everyone who had ever risked their lives for him.

"Come on, Leo! Twelve minutes..."

He held on. He held on. He just had to hold on.

The air around him was becoming toxic. His lungs were bursting, dying for clean air. His heartbeat roared out in a desperate plea. Tears were soaking his cheeks, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. His hands were sparking as if his fire was trying to burst back to life. Scorched black hand prints were sure to be left behind on the elevator's shiny surface. A reminder that a demigod had somehow made it through a lot of hellfire but with a lot of help.

The Doors tried to open again but Leo shoved them back closed with a grunt. No. Not now. Not when a Titan and a Giant so many miles below were sacrificing their lives just so he could live. Gods of Olympus what if no one was up there to meet him? What if they hadn't made it in time? "J-Jason," Leo sobbed, more blood spilling into his mouth. "Pi-Piper. Please. Please be there.Please."

Percy had promised. Nico had promised. They had to be there. They had to be. Leo didn't know what he'd do if they weren't. He held on.

He cried and wailed and screamed but he still held on.

He held on.

He held on.

He held -

DING!

Chapter 33

Chapter Text

"AHHHH"

Annabeth winced as Percy roared at the collapsed tunnel entrance yet again, pounding his fits against the rocks. "Percy!" she cried. "Percy, stop! It's no use. We're not going to get through there any time soon." Next to her, Hazel let out a choked sob and Annabeth quickly wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her as best she could. If Percy had heard her words, he didn't react, only smashed Riptide against the rock as if he could slice it. "Percy! Hey, stop!"

"But the others-"

"Will be fine," Annabeth finished. "They're resourceful. They will find a way out. The best chance they've got is for us to keep going to the Doors. We need to get to them and to Leo, okay? That's the logical thing to do." Percy turned towards her, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. His eyes met Annabeth's gaze and she gestured towards a still weeping Hazel who seemed dizzy and overwhelmed. "We need to stick together," she said quietly. "That's all we've got."

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Gods, you're right. I'm sorry. f*ck, I'm sorry." He made his way towards them, placing a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Hey, Haze. It's okay. Frank's gonna be just fine. He's got Jason, Piper, and Nico with. They've all gotten themselves out from far worse situations."

"I'm sorry," Hazel whispered, wiping her face. "Gods, what am I doing?!"

"It's alright," Annabeth soothed. "It's to be expected."

"I shouldn't- I just...Frank, he's -"

"Hey, I would be no better if it was Percy on the other side of that wall," Annabeth said, glancing up at her boyfriend. "In fact, I was no better when he was missing. You're allowed to feel, Hazel. Don't worry. We've got you." Hazel sniffed but swallowed hard and rose to her feet.

"I'm good," she said, wiping her sweaty palms on her trousers. "We need to move. This tunnel isn't stable." Annabeth watched as Hazel scanned the paths in front of her.About thirty feet down, the tunnel split into four smaller arteries, each one identical, but the one on the left radiated cold. "That way," Hazel decided. "It feels the most dangerous."

"I'm sold," said Percy. He took Annabeth's hand and squeezed it. They began their descent. Hazel led the way, her hand firmly planted on the side wall. Percy and Annabeth followed behind, weapons in hand and on guard. "Hey," Percy said softly as Hazel took another turn. "I'm sorry for freaking out back there."

"None of that, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth chided. "Can't have you getting all soppy on me."

Percy shot her a small smile. "Even so, I shouldn't have done that."

"It's like I said to Hazel," Annabeth replied. "You're allowed to feel. So don't apologise for being worried about our friends."

"I just..." Percy hesitated. Annabeth could sense his apprehension, the tension in his body on full display. "I've been thinking a lot recently about me, my fatal flaw, Leo and...and Calypso." Annabeth stopped, forcing Percy to stop with her. She knew something had happened when Khione had attacked. She especially knew something was going on when Percy had asked Piper to stay behind. It was crystal clear now what that something was.

"Khione sent you back to Ogygia," she stated. "You saw...her again."

"Yeah," Percy admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing behind him to check Hazel wasn't looking. "I swear, nothing happened!"

"I know nothing happened," Annabeth replied. She wasn't lying. She trusted Percy more than anyone. He had saved her life more times than she could count. The last thing on her mind was the prospect of Percy cheating on her. Was she a little jealous? Maybe. But she had hated the person she was when Rachel Dare was in the picture. Besides, she was older now, wiser and maturer. She knew that Percy would tell her if there was a problem in their relationship well before anything on the scale of cheating happened.

But looking at Percy's face, she was more worried about what Calypso had told him.

"What's going on, Seaweed Brain?" she asked gently. "You seem..." The word hung in the air.Scared.

"Calypso and I talked a lot about friendship," Percy said. "About us being friends, about the rest of the Seven being tied together by friendship, about her and Leo growing into a friendship too. My fatal flaw is so linked to friendship, to loyalty. Leo fell on my watch. He's suffering because I couldn't save him."

"Percy-"

"No, it's true," Percy interrupted. "I was stupid and only focused on you when I should have been focused on the team. I've been acting out because of my guilt. I've been so angry at myself that I'm scared I'm giving Gaia exactly what she wanted. I'm putting the entire quest in danger because of my failure."

In the light of Riptide, Percy's face almost seemed ghostly. His features were twisted with guilt and pain. Annabeth realised that Percy had been carrying this around since the beginning, since the moment they lost Leo. She knew he'd been suffering, but she'd been too occupied with keeping the ship in the air and everyone safe to notice that Percy had needed her more. Everything he had been doing had been in an effort to fix what he thought was his mistake. And it had been killing him from the inside.

Her heart broke. She should have done more.

"Oh Percy," Annabeth said softly, moving forwards and taking him in her arms. "This isn't your fault."

"But it is," Percy mumbled into her shoulder.

"No," she said. She pulled back, cupping Percy's cheeks gently. "You listen to me, Percy Jackson. One of us always had to fall into Tartarus. It was prophesied from the very beginning. Maybe it should have been me, or you, or both of us together. But Leosavedus. He saved us without a second thought. You can't blame yourself for that, Percy. You can't because then Leo's sacrifice will have been in vain."

Percy's eyes widened. "I- I didn't mean - I never meant -"

"Hey, I know you didn't," she hushed. "You would never. All I'm saying, Seaweed Brain, is that it isn't your job to save everyone, especially when the person you want to save issaving you. Leo is the bravest person I know and I will never stop thanking him for what he did. But if you keep beating yourself up and tearing yourself apart, what did Leo save you for? Focus on saving him, yes, but don't lose yourself to your fatal flaw. You and I both know how badly that goes." Annabeth pressed their foreheads together, closing her eyes and just breathing with him. "Forgive yourself, love. Please, forgive yourself."

"I-I'll try," Percy croaked.

"Hey guys!" Hazel popped her head around the corner, her eyes widening when she saw the two of them. "Oh! Sorry. I didn't-"

"Our fault, Haze," Percy said, clearing his throat. His voice was thin but physically, he looked far better than he had before. Annabeth smiled lightly. "Sorry, we're coming now."

SQUEAK!

"Um. Is that the weasel again?" Annabeth asked.

Hazel winced, her cheeks reddening. "Unfortunately, yes," she replied as the polecat scurried up her side and wrapped itself around her neck. "I think we're getting close."

"Close to what?"

A woman's voice echoed down the corridor: "Close to me."

A wave of nausea hit Annabeth so hard her knees buckled. The whole world shifted. Her sense of direction became completely unmoored. She and Percy didn't seem to move, but suddenly they were three hundred feet down the corridor, at the entrance of the chamber with Hazel right next to them. "Welcome," said the woman's voice. "I've looked forward to this." Annabeth's eyes swept the cavern. She couldn't see the speaker which unnerved her. The power in the voice was unmistakable though.

The chamber was huge and ornate.The obsidian walls were carved with scenes of death: plague victims, corpses on the battlefield, torture chambers with skeletons hanging in iron cages—all of it embellished with precious gems that somehow made the scenes even more ghastly.The domed roof was a waffle pattern of recessed square panels, but here each panel was astela—a grave marker with Ancient Greek inscriptions. Annabeth, despite marveling at the architecture, couldn't help but wonder if actual bodies were buried behind them.

She scanned the room quickly, blade in hand, but saw no other exits. At the apex of the ceiling, a circle of pure black stone gleamed, as if to reinforce the sense that there was no way out of this place—no sky above, only darkness. Her eyes drifted to the centre of the room.

"By Hades..." Percy muttered next to her.

sh*t.

Fifty feet away was a set of freestanding elevator doors, their panels etched in silver and iron. Rows of chains ran down either side, bolting the frame to large hooks in the floor.The area around the doors was littered with black rubble. With a tightening sense of shock, Annabeth realised that an ancient altar to Hades had once stood there. It had been destroyed completely. Annabeth swallowed hard.

The Doors of Death.

Percy met her gaze. This was it.

"Where are you!?" Hazel yelled, glaring around the room. Annabeth gripped her blade hard. Riptide was glinting in the silvery light. The fight for Leo began now.

"Don't you see us?" taunted the woman's voice. "I thought Hecate chose you for your skill."

Another bout of queasiness churned through Annabeth's gut.Dark spots floated in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they only turned darker. The spots consolidated into a twenty-foot-tall shadowy figure looming next to the Doors.The giant Clytius was shrouded in the black smoke, but through the Mist Annabeth could dimly make out his form - dragon like legs with ash-colored scales; a massive humanoid upper body encased in Stygian armour; long, braided hair that seemed to be made from smoke. His complexion was as dark as Death's, or at least Percy's description of him to her. His eyes glinted cold as diamonds. He carried no weapon, but that didn't make him any less terrifying.

"Ah, so there's the bodyguard," Percy muttered.

"Now where is our host?" Annabeth said lowly, clutching her knife.

Halfway between Hazel and the giant, the air shimmered. The sorceress appeared. She wore an elegant sleeveless dress of woven gold, her dark hair piled into a cone, encircled with diamonds and emeralds. Around her neck hung a pendant like a miniature maze, on a cord set with rubies that made Hazel think of crystallized blood drops. The woman was beautiful in a timeless, regal way—like a statue you might admire but could never love. Her eyes sparkled with malice.

"Pasiphaë," Hazel spat.

The woman inclined her head. "My dear Hazel Levesque. How lovely to meet you."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "She knows we're here too, right?"

"Silence, fool!" the sorceress,Pasiphaë, hissed. "I have no use for demigod boys—always so full of themselves, so brash and destructive."

"Hey, lady!" Percy protested. "Bit harsh, don't you think?"

Pasiphaë scowled before turning to Annabeth. "Why a woman such as yourself, Annabeth Chase, puts up with this nonsense is beyond me," she said, her voice soft. "The intelligence and skill that you possess should be put to far greater use than being the sidekick of some irrelevant son of Poseidon."

Annabeth felt the rage fill her. "And a powerful sorceress like you should know better than to threatenmyfriends," she growled.

"Yeah! That's my girlfriend!" Percy whooped.

"Percy," Hazel hissed. "You might want to shut up."

"Listen to your friend," Pasiphaë said. "Be a good boy and let the women talk."

Pasiphaë paced in front of them, examining Hazel, her eyes so full of hate it made Annabeth's skin tingle with the need to protect her friend. The sorceress's power radiated from her like heat from a furnace. Her expression was unsettling and calculating - a look Annabeth knew well.

Somehow, though, the giant Clytius unnerved Annabeth more.He stood in the background, silent and motionless except for the dark smoke pouring from his body, pooling around his feet.

"Your—your friend doesn't say much," Annabeth noted. "Care to explain?"That's it, Annabeth, keep her talking.

Pasiphaë looked back at the giant and sniffed with disdain. "Pray he stays silent, my dear. Gaea has given me the pleasure of dealing with you; but Clytius is my, ah, insurance. Just between you and me, I think he's also here to keep my powers in check, in case I forget my new mistress' orders.Gaia is careful that way."

Now that was interesting, Annabeth thought. Clearly the sorceress was a loose canon - perhaps something they could use to their advantage.

Hazel straightened her back, her face passive but Annabeth could see the fear flickering in her eyes. She wasn't used to being at the forefront, something Annabeth could relate to. As much as Annabeth wanted to step in, she knew that this was Hazel's fight. Hecate chose her for a reason and she had to respect that.

"Whatever you're planning," Hazel said, "it won't work. We've cut through every monster Gaia's put in our path. If you're smart, you'll get out of our way."Gale the polecat gnashed her teeth in approval, but Pasiphaë didn't seem impressed.

"You don't look like much," the sorceress mused. "But then you demigods never do. My husband, Minos, king of Crete? He was a son of Zeus. You would never have known it by looking at him."

"What a charming wife you were," Percy muttered.

Pasiphaë's nostrils flared. Annabeth elbowed Percy in the ribs. "Remember the Minotaur, Percy?" she said through gritted teeth. "Our new friend here was that creature's mother." The dawning recognition in Percy's eyes was enough to make Annabeth crack up with laughter if they were in a different situation.

"Yes," Pasiphaë said at last. "My disgrace was unbearable. After my son was born and locked in the Labyrinth, Minos refused to have anything to do with me. He said I had ruined his reputation! And do you know what happened to Minos? For his crimes and his pride? He was rewarded. He was made a judge of the dead in the Underworld, as if he had any right to judge others! Hades gave him that position. Your father., Hazel Levesque"

"Pluto, actually."

Pasiphaë sneered. "Irrelevant. So you see, I hate demigods as much as I hate the gods. Any of your brethren who survive the war, Gaia has promised tome, so that I may watch them die slowly in my new domain. I only wish I had more time to torture you three properly. Alas—"

In the centre of the room, the Doors of Death made a pleasant chiming sound. The green UP button on the right side of the frame began to glow. The chains shook. "There, you see?" Pasiphaë shrugged apologetically. "The Doors are in use. Twelve minutes, and they will open."

Next to Annabeth, Hazel trembled almost as much as the chains. "More giants?"

"Thankfully, no," said the sorceress. "They are all accounted for—back in the mortal world and in place for the final assault." Pasiphaë gave her a cold smile. "No, I would imagine the Doors are being used by someone else...someone unauthorised."

Annabeth had to grab Percy's arm to prevent him was diving forwards. "Leo," he breathed.

Annabeth couldn't speak. She wasn't sure whether the lump in her throat was from joy or frustration. If Leo had made it to the Doors, if he was really going to show up here in twelve minutes...

"Oh, not to worry." Pasiphaë waved her hand dismissively. "Clytius will handle the boy. You see, when the chime sounds again, someone on our side needs to push the UP button or the Doors will fail to open and whoever is inside—poof. Gone. Or perhaps Clytius will let your dear friend out and deal with him in person. Or rather, what's left of him. That depends on you three."

Annabeth's mouth tasted like tin. She didn't want to ask, but she had to. "How exactly does it depend on us?"

"Well, obviously, we need only two demigods alive," Pasiphaë said. "The lucky two will be taken to Athens and sacrificed to Gaia at the Feast of Hope."

"Obviously," Percy muttered.

"So, who will it be?" The sorceress spread her hands. "Let's see who is still alive in twelve...actually, eleven minutes, now."

The cavern dissolved into darkness.

Chapter 34

Chapter Text

Hazel's internal compass spun wildly. Her usual underground senses had dissolved completely.

She remembered when she was very small, in New Orleans in the late 1930s, her mother had taken her to the dentist to get a bad tooth pulled. It was the first and only time Hazel had ever received ether. The dentist promised it would make her sleepy and relaxed, but Hazel felt like she was floating away from her own body, panicky and out of control. When the ether wore off, she'd been sick for three days. This felt like a massive dose of ether. Part of her knew she was still in the cavern. Pasiphaë stood only a few feet in front of them. Clytius waited silently at the Doors of Death.But layers of Mist enfolded Hazel, twisting her sense of reality. She took one step forward and bumped into a wall that shouldn't have been there.

Percy pressed his hands against the stone. "What the heck? Where are we?" A corridor stretched out to their left and right. The air smelled of mildew, as in an old tomb. On Hazel's shoulder, Gale barked angrily, digging her claws into Hazel's collarbone.

"Yes, I know," Hazel muttered to the weasel. "It's an illusion."

Percy pounded on the wall. "Pretty solid illusion."

"I think that's the point," Annabeth said. "This is a test. The survival of the fittest for the honour of being Gaia's sacrifice."

"Excellent," Percy scowled.

Somewhere above them, Pasiphaë laughed. Her voice sounded watery and far away. "Is it an illusion, Hazel Levesque, or something more? Don't you see what I have created?"

Hazel tried to reach out with her mind, tried to cut through the Mist and see the cavern which she knew they were still standing in. But all she saw were tunnels scattered in every direction. Well, every direction except to the Doors.

"Wait," Annabeth said, her face grim but eyes wide. "I know this place. Percy - "

"I feel it too," Percy said.

"Yes,"Pasiphaë hissed. "I believe you two have some experience with this particular maze." Then it clicked. Hazel looked around her, the Mist curling beneath her finger tips. The walls felt alive, as if they had heartbeats and brains and feelings.

"The Labyrinth," Hazel whispered. "She's remaking the Labyrinth."

"That's impossible," Annabeth exclaimed. "The Labyrinth collapsed whenDaedalus died. I was there; I saw it happen!"

Pasiphaë's voice clucked disapprovingly. "Ah, but I am still alive. You credit Daedalus with all the maze's secrets? I breathed magical life into his Labyrinth. Daedalus was nothing compared to me—the immortal sorceress,daughter of Helios, sister of Circe! Now the Labyrinth will be my domain."

"It's an illusion," Hazel insisted. "We just have to break through it."

Even as she said it, the walls seemed to grow more solid, the smell of mildew more intense.

"Too late, too late," Pasiphaë crooned. "The maze is already awake. It will spread under the skin of the earth once more while your mortal world is leveled.You demigods...you heroes... will wander its corridors, dying slowly of thirst and fear and misery. Or perhaps, if I am feeling merciful, you will die quickly, in great pain!"

Holes opened in the floor beneath Hazel's feet. She felt herself being grabbed by Percy and pushed aside as a row of spikes shot upward, impaling the ceiling. "Run!" she yelled.

Pasiphaë's laughter echoed down the corridor. "Where are you going,young sorceress? Running from an illusion?"

Hazel didn't answer. She was too busy trying to stay alive. Behind them,row after row of spikes shot toward the ceiling with a persistentthunk, thunk, thunk. "We have to get out of here!" Percy yelled.

"It's Mist!" Annabeth shouted. "The only way out is through!"

Hazel turned a corner, leaping over a trip wire before skidding to a halt in front of a pit twenty metres across. "Woah!" Percy just about managed to stop before barreling into her. His pant leg was ripped from where one of the spikes grazed him but otherwise, he seemed unharmed. "How deep is that?"

Hazel's senses told her that the pit was at least fifty feet straight down, with a pool of poison at the bottom. Could she trust her senses? Whether or not Pasiphaë had created a new Labyrinth, Hazel believed they were still in the same cavern, being made to run aimlessly back and forth while Pasiphaë and Clytius watched in amusem*nt. Illusion or not: unless Hazel could figure out how to get out of this maze, the traps would kill them.

"Eight minutes now," said the voice of Pasiphaë. "I'd love to see you survive, truly. That would prove you worthy sacrifices to Gaea in Athens. But then, of course, we wouldn't need your friend in the elevator."

Hazel's heart pounded. She faced the wall to her left. Despite what her senses told her, that should be the direction of the Doors. Pasiphaë should be right in front of her.Hazel wanted to burst through the wall and throttle the sorceress. In eight minutes, she needed to be at the Doors of Death to let Leo out.But Pasiphaë was an immortal sorceress with thousands of years of experience in weaving spells. Hazel couldn't defeat her through sheer willpower.She'd managed to fool the bandit Sciron by showing him what he expected to see. Hazel needed to figure out what Pasiphaë wanted most.

"Seven minutes now," Pasiphaë lamented. "If only we had more time! So many indignities I'd like you to suffer."That was it, Hazel realized. She had to run the gauntlet. She had to make the maze more dangerous, more spectacular—make Pasiphaë focus on the traps rather than the direction the Labyrinth was leading.

Hazel focused her mind, thinking about everything she had learnt so far on the quest. She replayed Jason's encouraging words to her from their time with Sciron, channeling the belief the crew had in her from the beginning. Piper's kind words, Percy's steadfast support, Frank's undying confidence in her, Annabeth's faith. Most of all, she thought about Leo and his unflinching optimism. She could do this. She would do this for him.

"Guys, we're going to jump," Hazel said.

"WHAT?!" Annabeth and Percy both looked incredulous.

"It's not as far as it looks!"

"Hazel, wait -"

"Go!" She grabbed their hands and they launched themselves across the pit. When they landed, Hazel looked back and saw no pit at all—just a three-inch crack in the floor."Come on!" she urged.

They ran as the voice of Pasiphaë droned on. "Oh, dear, no. You'll never survive that way. Six minutes."The ceiling above them cracked apart. Gale the weasel squeaked in alarm,but Hazel imagined a new tunnel leading off to the left—a tunnel even mored angerous, going the wrong direction. The Mist softened under her will. Th etunnel appeared, and they dashed to one side. Pasiphaë sighed with disappointment. "You really aren't very good at this, my dear."

"Hazel, what are you doing?" Percy asked nervously.

"Keep running, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth cried. Hazel met her gaze, surprised to see trust in Annabeth's eyes. She knew Annabeth believed in her, trusted her to get them out of here. It gave Hazel the spur she needed.

The floor collapsed under them. Hazel jumped to one side, dragging Percy with her. Annabeth had moved to the other side, stabbing her knife into the wall to keep balance. Hazel imagined another tunnel, veering back the way they'd come, but full of poisonous gas. The maze obliged.

"Hold your breath," she warned.They plunged through the toxic fog. Hazel's eyes felt like they were being rinsed in pepper juice, but she kept running.

"Five minutes," Pasiphaë said. "Alas! If only I could watch you suffer longer."

They burst into a corridor with fresh air. Percy coughed. "If only she would shut up."

They ducked under a bronze garrote wire. Hazel imagined the tunnel curving back toward Pasiphaë, ever so slightly. The Mist bent to her will.The walls of the tunnel began to close in on either side. Hazel didn't try to stop them. She made them close faster, shaking the floor and cracking the ceiling. They ran for their lives, following the curve as it brought them closer to what she hoped was the center of the room.

"A pity," said Pasiphaë. "I wish I could kill you and your friend in the elevator, but Gaia has insisted that two of you must be kept alive until the Feast of Hope, when your blood will be put to good use! Ah, well. I will have to find other victims for my Labyrinth. You three have been second-rate failures."

Hazel stumbled to a stop, Percy and Annabeth right beside her. In front of them stretched a chasm so wide, Hazel couldn't see the other side. From somewhere below in the darkness came the sound of hissing—thousands and thousands of snakes.Hazel was tempted to retreat, but the tunnel was closing behind them,leaving them stranded on a tiny ledge. Gale the weasel paced across Hazel's shoulders and farted with anxiety.

"Okay, okay," Annabeth muttered. "Any time now, Hazel."

"Give me a second," Hazel said, bending the Mist and shaping it to her needs. "There's no way back."

"I gathered that," Percy gulped, Riptide glowing in the dim light.

"Hold my hands," she said. "On three."

"On three?!" Percy exclaimed.

"Annabeth, get ready."

"Get ready for what!?"

"Three!"

"Wait!"

Hazel leaped into the pit, pulling Annabeth and Percy with her. She tried to ignore Percy's screaming and the flatulent weasel clinging to her neck. She bent all her will into redirecting the magic of the Labyrinth. Pasiphaë laughed with delight, knowing that any moment they would be crushed or bitten to death in a pit of snakes.

Instead, Hazel imagined a chute in the darkness, just to their left. She twisted in midair and fell toward it. They hit the chute hard and slid into the cavern, landing right on top of Pasiphaë.

"Ack!" The sorceress's head smacked against the floor as Annabeth sat down hard on her chest, her knife pressed to her throat just like Hazel had planned. For a moment, the four of them and the weasel were a pile of sprawling bodies and flailing limbs. Hazel tried to draw her sword, but Pasiphaë managed to kicked Annabeth off herself first. The sorceress backed away, her hairdo bent sideways like a collapsed cake.

"You miserable wretches!" she howled.The maze was gone. A few feet away, Clytius stood with his back to them,watching the Doors of Death. By Hazel's calculation, they had about thirty seconds until Leo arrived. Hazel felt exhausted from her run through the maze while controlling the Mist, but she needed to pull off one more trick.

She had successfully made Pasiphaë see what she most desired. Now Hazel had to make the sorceress see what she most feared."You must really hate demigods," Hazel said, trying to mimic Pasiphaë's cruel smile. "We always get the best of you, don't we, Pasiphaë?"

"Nonsense!" screamed Pasiphaë. "I will tear you apart! I will—"

"We're always pulling the rug out from under your feet," Hazel sympathized. "Your husband betrayed you. Theseus killed the Minotaur and stole your daughter Ariadne. Now three second-rate failures have turned your own maze against you. But you knew it would come to this, didn't you? You always fall in the end."

"I am immortal!" Pasiphaë wailed. She took a step back, fingering her necklace. "You cannot stand against me!"

"You can't stand at all," Hazel countered. "Look." She pointed at the feet of the sorceress. A trapdoor opened underneath Pasiphaë. She fell, screaming, into a bottomless pit that didn't really exist.

The floor solidified. The sorceress was gone.

Hazel turned to Annabeth and Percy who stood there in shock. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Annabeth's voice was shaky. "Yeah, think we are."

Percy looked at her, his mouth gaping open. "How did you -"

DING!

Chapter 35

Chapter Text

DING!

The sound rang through the cavern, echoing around like a funeral bell. Hazel watched in horror as, rather than pushing the UP button, Clytius stepped back from the controls, keeping Leo trapped inside.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled and Annabeth launched her dagger. It should have been an impossible shot, one that no one could have made given all the time in the world, much less with a huge giant standing in the way. Yet Hazel watched as the knife sailed almost thirty feet past Clytius and hit the UP button dead on. The elevator dinged and the Doors let out a great hiss, black smoke billowing from the doorway.

And Leo Valdez tumbled out.

"Oh gods," Hazel sobbed as Leo hit the floor like a corpse. His clothes were ripped and steaming, black smoke billowing around him from the Doors. His tool belt, which was usually kept so pristine, was fraying and torn. He was bleeding, blood pooling beneath his body and shining in the silvery light from wounds across his shoulders and torso. Dark purple bruising stood out starkly across Leo's skin, his usual warm complexion grey. Hazel felt sick as he spotted Leo's blackened and mangled right wrist. Whatever had caused that was a magic more dark than she'd ever seen before. Bile rose up in her throat.

"LEO!" Percy roared. Hazel watched as he and Annabeth started forwards, their expressions murderous and filled with fury. But Clytius stopped them. He raised one massive hand, a clear order telling them to STOP, and lifted his foot over Leo's head. They froze at the threat but Hazel could still feel their terrifying aura of power radiating around them. The giant's smoky shroud poured over the floor, covering Leo in a pool of dark fog and filling the room.

"Clytius, you've lost," Hazel snarled. "Let him go, or you'll end up like Pasiphaë."

The giant tilted his head, smirking like something she said was funny. At his feet, Leo suddenly lurched like he'd been hit by a power line, his body jerking at jagged angles. He rolled onto his back, black smoke pouring from his mouth. "I am not Pasiphaë," he spoke, but it wasn't his voice. It was far too deep to be Leo, tones that were far to cruel and evil. "You have won nothing."

"Stop that!" Hazel cried. "You're hurting him!"

"Let him go!" Percy shouted.

Even from thirty feet away, she could sense what remained of Leo's strength waning, his life force slipping away as his energy drained. Whatever Clytius was doing, pulling words from his mouth – it was killing him.

Clytius nudged Leo's head with his foot. His battered face lolled to one side. "Not quite dead." The giant's words boomed. "But not far from it. A terrible shock to the mortal body, I would imagine, coming back from Tartarus. And this one was already weak. He won't last much longer." More smoke poured from between Leo's lips and the giant continued his twisted musings. "PerhapsI'lloffer his body to Porphyrion in Athens as a gift. My brother does not like the fire user, so he shall be my offering to the new king to do with as he pleases. I shall also take you, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson, to be sacrificed to raise the Earth Mother. Just the sacrifice we need. Unfortunately, that means I have no further use for you, Hazel Levesque."

"Oh yeah?" Percy growled, pointing Riptide at Clytius. "Hate to break it to you Rock Face, but it ain't going to be that easy. Now let Leo go, or this isn't going to end well for you." The giant's laughter echoed through the room, Leo's body trembling at the force of it.

"Always the hero, Percy Jackson," he chuckled. "But you failed once when it came to Leo Valdez, and you will fail again." Percy screamed in frustration and blasted a wave of water at the Clytius. The force of it should have at least knocked the giant down, but Clytius's smoky aura absorbed the water on impact. Tendrils of black haze travelled back up the stream of water, turning it to ash and covering Percy in darkness. Percy fell to his knees, clutching at his throat.

"No!" Annabeth ran towards him. Gale chattered a warning on Hazel's shoulder.

"Annabeth, don't!" Hazel cried just as the giant laughed.

"I would not." Clytius's voice reverberated from Percy's mouth. "You do not understand, Hazel Levesque. I devour magic. I destroy the voice and the soul. You cannot oppose me."

Black fog spread further across the room, engulfing Leo completely now and billowing towards Hazel and Annabeth. They backed up quickly.

"Leave my friends alone," Hazel stammered in a small voice. "I won't let you hurt them." The giant chuckled, switching back to Leo whose body was visibly beginning to give up.

"And what will you do, Hazel Levesque? You have no fire, no hope, and no goddess to defeat me."

Somewhere behind Hazel, a soft, lyrical voice said, "What about my flames,old friend?"Gale squeaked excitedly and jumped from Hazel's shoulder, scampering to the entrance of the cavern where a blond woman stood in a black dress, the Mist swirling around her.

The giant stumbled backwards, bumping into the Doors of Death.

"You," he said from Percy's mouth.

"Me," Hecate agreed. She spread her arms. Blazing torches appeared in her hands. "It has been millennia since I fought at the side of a demigod, but Hazel Levesque has proven herself worthy. What do you say, Clytius? Shall we play with fire?"

The giant did not run away screaming like Hazel expected. Instead, the appearance of Hecate seemed to only solidify his resolve.When he saw the goddess's torches blazing, the giant seemed to recover his wits. He stomped his foot, shaking the floor and almost stepping on Leo's arm. Dark smoke billowed around him until Leo was totally hidden. Hazel could see nothing but the giant's gleaming eyes.

"Bold words." Clytius spoke from Percy's mouth. "You forget, goddess. When we last met, you had the help of Hercules and Dionysus— the most powerful heroes in the world, both of them destined to become gods. Now you bring...these?"Leo's unconscious body contorted in pain.

"Stop it!" Hazel yelled. She didn't plan what happened next. She simply knew she had to protect her friends. She imagined them behind her, the same way she'd imagined new tunnels appearing in Pasiphaë's Labyrinth. Percy dissolved. He reappeared at Hazel's feet, along with Leo. The Mist whirled around her, spilling over the stones and enveloping her friends. Where the white Mist met the dark smoke of Clytius, it steamed and sizzled, like lava rolling into the sea.

Percy opened his eyes and gasped. "Wh-what...?"

Leo remained motionless. Hazel tried not to sob as she felt his weak heartbeat splutter.

On Hecate's shoulder, Gale the polecat barked with admiration. The goddess stepped forward, her dark eyes glittering in the torchlight. "You're right, Clytius. Hazel Levesque is not Hercules or Dionysus, but I think you will find her just as formidable."

Through the smoky shroud, Hazel saw the giant open his mouth. No words came out. Clytius sneered in frustration. Percy rose to his feet, picking up Riptide and rolling his shoulders. "Oh it's on," he growled.

"What do you need us to do, Hazel?" Annabeth asked.

"Annabeth, you stay with Leo," she said. "Protect him. Stay in the Mist and away from the smoke. Percy?" She glanced over at the son of Poseidon, his gaze dark. "Stay close. Get in hits where you can, but he's mine." Hazel drew her spatha.

Percy grinned. "Let's do this."

Hazel and Percy advanced together. The giant spread his arms. The domed ceiling shook, and the giant's voice echoed through the room, magnified a hundred times.

Formidable?the giant demanded. It sounded as if he were speaking through a chorus of the dead, using all the unfortunate souls who'd been buried behind the dome'sstelae.Because the girl has learned your magic tricks, Hecate? Because you allow these weaklings to hide in your Mist?A sword appeared in the giant's hand—a Stygian iron blade much like Nico's, except five times the size.I do not understand why Gaea would find any of these demigods worthy of sacrifice. I will crush them like empty nutshells.

Hazel's fear turned to rage.She screamed. The walls of the chamber made a crackling sound like ice in warm water, and dozens of gems streaked toward the giant, punching through his armor like buckshot. Clytius staggered backward. His disembodied voice bellowed with pain. His iron breastplate was peppered with holes. Golden ichor trickled from a wound on his right arm. His shroud of darkness thinned. Hazel could see the furious expression on his face.

You, Clytius growled.You worthless—

"Worthless?" Hecate asked quietly. "I'd say Hazel Levesque knows a few tricks even I could not teach her."

Hazel stood in front of her friends, determined to protect them, but her energy was fading. Her sword was already heavy in her hand, and she hadn't even swung it yet. She wished Arion were here. She could use the horse's speed and strength. Unfortunately, her equine friend would not be able to help her this time. He was a creature of the wide-open spaces, not the underground.

The giant dug his fingers into the wound on his biceps. He pulled out a diamond and flicked it aside. The wound closed.So, daughter of Pluto, Clytius rumbled,do you really believe Hecate has your interests at heart? Circe was a favorite of hers. And Medea. And Pasiphaë. How did they end up, eh?

Behind her, Hazel heard Annabeth muttering words to Leo, trying to bind his wounds with torn rags from her shirt. Percy was breathing hard and clutching Riptide like his life depended on it. She could feel him buzzing for a fight.

"This is your crossroads, Hazel," Hecate said softly behind her. "Your choice. Believe him if you will, or become the hero you were born to be."

Behind Clytius, the Doors were shuddering, attempting to break free from the chains that held them. "Percy," she said, her voice steely. "Cut the chains. I'll deal with our friend here."

"Finally," Percy said. Raising their swords, the charged.

Apparently Clytius hadn't expected them to be so suicidal. He was slow raising his sword. By the time he slashed, Hazel had ducked between his legs and jabbed her Imperial gold blade into hisgluteus maximus. Not very ladylike. The nuns at St. Agnes would never have approved. But it worked.

Clytius roared and arched his back, waddling away from her. Mist still swirled around Hazel, hissing as it met the giant's black smoke.Hazel realized that Hecate was assisting her—lending her the strength to keep up a defensive shroud. Hazel also knew that the instant her own concentration wavered and that darkness touched her, she would collapse. If that happened, she wasn't sure Hecate would be able—or willing—to stop the giant from crushing her and her friends.

Whilst Hazel distracted the giant, Percy had managed to make it to the right side of the Doors, slashing Riptide through the chains with a battle cry.

NO!the giant cried, swiping his huge sword towards Percy. But Percy was quick, his battle instincts sharpened over the years, and he rolled away with Clytius' sword sailing over him. Hazel wasn't so lucky. The flat of the giant's blade slammed into her chest and sent her flying across the room. She hit the wall with a thud. In the distance, she could hear Percy screaming her name.

"Hey, Rock Face!" Percy yelled, abandoning the Doors to distract Clytius from Hazel's recovering form. "Try this on for size!" Riptide cut through the back of the giant's knees and Clytius shouted in pain, his massive fist trying to catch Percy as the sea god's son once again dove to the side.

Through her blurry vision, Hazel saw a flash of fire. Hecate stood nearby, her form shimmering as if she were about to dissolve. Her torches seemed to be flickering out, but that might have just been that Hazel was starting to lose consciousness. She couldn't give up now.

She forced herself to stand. Her side felt like it was embedded with razor blades. Her sword lay on the ground about five feet away. She staggered toward it. "Clytius!" she shouted.She meant it to sound like a brave challenge, but it came out as more of a croak. At least it got his attention.

The giant turned from Percy. When he saw her limping forward, he laughed.

A good try, Hazel Levesque, Clytius admitted.You did better than I anticipated. But magic alone cannot defeat me, and you do not have sufficient strength. Hecate has failed you, as she fails all of her followers in the end.

The Mist around her was thinning. At the other end of the room, Annabeth tried to force-feed Leo some nectar, though Leo was completely unresponsive. Percy stood on the other side of the giant, glancing over at the Doors and trying to calculate the route to the last set of chains.

Hecate stood with her torches, watching and waiting—which infuriated Hazel so much, she found one last burst of energy.She threw her sword—not at the giant, but at the Doors of Death. The chains on the left side shattered. Hazel collapsed in agony, her side burning, as the Doors shuddered and disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Clytius roared so loudly that a half dozenstelaefell from the ceiling and shattered. "That was for my brother, Nico," Hazel gasped. "That was for destroying my father's altar. And that was for Leo!"

You have forfeited your right to a quick death, the giant snarled.I will suffocate you in darkness, slowly, painfully. Hecate cannot help you. NO ONE can help you!

The goddess raised her torches. "I would not be so certain, Clytius. Hazel's friends simply needed a little time to reach her—time you have given them with your boasting and bragging."

Clytius snorted.What friends? These weaklings? They are no challenge.

In front of Hazel, the air rippled. The Mist thickened, creating a doorway, and four people stepped through.Hazel wept with relief. Frank's arm was bleeding and bandaged, but he was alive. Next to him stood Nico, Piper, and Jason—all with their swords drawn.

"Sorry we're late," Jason said. "Is this the guy who needs killing?"

Chapter 36

Chapter Text

Leo.

Jason's stomach dropped when he saw him lying unconscious next to Annabeth. It took everything in him not to grab Piper and run to Leo's side, to hold him in his arms and take him away from this god-awful place. By the looks on Piper's face, she was thinking the exact same thing. But no. They had a job to do first.

Turning away, Jason faced the giant, lightning crackling around him.

Across the room, Percy smirked. "What took you so long, Grace?"

Nico raised his sword, Piper her dagger, Frank drew his bow, and together, they charged towards Clytius. The giant never really stood a chance.

They attacked him from every direction—Percy slashing at his legs, Frank shooting arrows at his head, Piper jabbing at his chest using her new found skills thanks to Percy's training. Each time the giant's smoky veil started creeping around one of them, Nico was there, swiping through it, drinking in the darkness with his Stygian blade.

Jason attacked with a new found ferocity. Anger swelled through him like a tidal wave. He wanted to tear Clytius limb from limb, he wanted to burn his body and make him feel every bit of pain that Leo felt. Whereas before this anger would have scared him, now he channeled it into every strike. He flew around the giant's head, roaring as he swiped and stabbed and kicked. It didn't matter if Clytius wasn't the one who hurt Leo. For now, he was the object of Jason's rage.

The giant was surrounded. Clytius snarled, turning back and forth as if he couldn't decide which of them to kill first.Wait! Hold still! No! Ouch!The darkness around him dispelled completely, leaving nothing to protect him except his battered armor. Ichor oozed from a dozen wounds. The damage healed almost as fast as it was inflicted, but Jason could tell the giant was tiring.

One last time he flew at him, kicking him in the chest, and the giant's breastplate shattered. Clytius staggered backward. His sword dropped to the floor. He fell to his knees, and the demigods encircled him. Only then did Hecate step forward, her torches raised. Mist curled around the giant, hissing and bubbling as it touched his skin.

"And so it ends," Hecate said.

It does not end.Clytius's voice echoed from somewhere above, muffled and slurred.My brethren have risen. Gaea waits only for the blood of Olympus.It took all of you together to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?

Hecate turned her torches upside down. She thrust them like daggers at Clytius's head. The giant's hair went up faster than dry tinder, spreading down his head and across his body until the heat of the bonfire made Jason wince. Clytius fell without a sound, face-first in the rubble of Hades's altar. His body crumbled to ashes.

For a moment, no one spoke. Hecate turned to Hazel, bowing her head slightly. "It is done," she said. "Continue your quest, Hazel Levesque. You will be needing your magic soon." The goddess studied them all once before disappearing in a swirl of Mist. Jason looked at Piper, relief coursing through his veins. They'd done it. They'd actually done it. He turned, hoping to see Leo awake-

Only to find Annabeth on her knees and pressing the heels of her palms into Leo's chest.

No.

Jason was flying before he even realised. He crashed to his knees beside Leo's limp body, opposite Annabeth as she kept pushing down against Leo's sternum. "What's happening?" he demanded, looking up at Annabeth who kept her eyes trained on Leo's face. "Annabeth, what happened?!"

"His heart stopped!" Annabeth panted, breathing hard at the effort. "The nectar wasn't working fast enough. His body couldn't take the strain. I- I think he's..." Piper had reached Annabeth, falling besides Leo's head, her hands cupping his cheeks.

"No," she wailed. "No, no, no, please gods, no!" She leaned down and pressed her cheek against Leo's mouth, her eyes widening in horror. "He isn't breathing. Jason, he isn't breathing!"

The others had reached them. From behind him, Jason heard Hazel choke down a sob. He looked up, finding Nico's eyes. The son of Hades looked paler than Jason had ever seen. Jason knew what that meant.

Then suddenly Percy was there, pulling Piper away from Leo and passing her to Frank despite her cries of anguish. Frank wrapped his arms around Piper, murmuring words of comfort as Percy took over from Annabeth, raising up on his knees to continue chest compressions. "Annie!" He exclaimed. "Annie, we need more ambrosia! Something to give him a boost!"

"We don't have anymore!" Annabeth said.

"Check his tool belt," Nico said lowly. Annabeth frantically nodded, her hands flying to Leo's battered tool belt pockets but coming up empty.

"Annabeth, I need it now!" Percy said.

"It's not working!" she cried. "It's not working!"

Percy cursed before looking up at Jason. "Jason!" he said. "Jason, listen to me." Percy's shout was enough to snap Jason from his stupor and he raised his gaze to meet Percy's eyes. "I need you to start giving him rescue breaths."

"W-what?" Jason stammered.

"Mouth to mouth!" Percy yelled, sweat beading on his forehead as Leo's ribs cracked beneath his hands. "When I get to thirty chest compressions I need you to breathe into his mouth twice, okay? Only when I say."

"But I-"

"It's his only chance!" Percy said. "I'll talk you through it. Hand under his chin, tilt up and close his nose, alright?"

"Percy-" Jason couldn't do this. He couldn't watch Leo die. He couldn't -Oh gods-

"Now!" Percy ordered. Scrambling forwards, Jason leaned down over Leo's face, tilting his chin up and slotting his lips over his. Leo's lips were cold, freezing even, like he had hypothermia. Jason pushed as much air as he could into Leo's lungs, watching as his chest inflated once, then twice. Percy checked his pulse, pursing his lips together before continuing pushing down on Leo's sternum. They did it again and again, Percy pumping blood through his body and Jason breathing for them both as long as he could.

Percy just kept going, his arms locked at the elbow as he pushed with all his might down on Leo's sternum. "Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four..." he breathed, counting every pump. "Come on Leo! Come on, man, stay with us!"

"Don't do this, Leo," Jason whispered. "Please, don't do this to us." He prayed. He prayed for more than he'd ever prayed for, begging every god he'd ever met to bring Leo back to them. Leo's face remained still and pale, not even a hint of life flickering across his features. Bile was rising in Jason's throat. Percy kept pumping down on his heart, and Jason kept breathing into his lungs, and Piper kept begging him to wake up

"He's fading," Nico said softly behind them. "His life force is almost gone."

"Stay alive, Leo," Percy muttered. "Come on, stay with us!"

Piper was sobbing next to Leo's lifeless body, enclosed in Frank's grasp to stop her from collapsing. Hazel was on her knees with Annabeth, both girls hugging each other. Only Nico stood alone, his face turned away from the scene.

"Percy," Nico muttered. "Percy, stop. That's enough."

"No," Percy growled. "No, he's not dying like this. Not now."

"There's nothing more you can do," Nico whispered. "His soul's moved on. It's over."

"Percy," Annabeth croaked, reaching for him, her arm outstretched. "Percy, he's gone. You have to stop. He's...he's gone." It was only at Annabeth's words did Percy stop, falling backwards onto the ground with his head in his hands.

"Wait, what are you doing?! Why are you stopping?" Jason demanded. "Percy?" Percy looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Jason looked around the group, realising with a sense of dread in his heart. "No," he said. "No! No, what are you doing?! We have to keep going! We can still save him!"

"Jason." It was Hazel, her hand gently landing on his wrist. "He's gone. He- Leo...he's not coming back."

Piper let out a shriek, breaking free from Frank's grip and collapsing over Leo's body. She sobbed aloud, her shoulders shaking from grief. And Jason... Jason just sat there. He sat there and stared at Leo's motionless face, at the bruising and the blood and the blackened web of scars that trailed up Leo's wrist. He stared at his tattered clothing and his motionless chest. Tears slipped down his cheeks.

His Leo.TheirLeo. He'd made it. He'd made it through Tartarus and closed the Doors of Death only to... He had been so close. For it to end like this... Jason's heart ripped in two.

The silence was deafening. Piper's muffled sobs echoed around the cavern as seven demigods stood vigil over the body of a hero. Annabeth sniffed, shuffling forwards. "We...we should go," she said softly. "People need to be told. His shroud needs to be burnt. The longer we stay here..." She trailed off.

"No," Jason said, shaking his head. "No. No, I'm not letting him do this." Rising to his feet, Jason stalked over to Leo's lifeless body, raising his hands upwards. Lightning crackled between his fingertips, electricity forming in his palms. Piper raised her head, her eyes red but bright. "Everybody stand back," Jason ordered. Percy took Piper by the shoulders and drew her back from Leo's body.

"What are you doing?" she said. "No, let go of me! Percy, let go!"

"Jason," Nico said, striding forwards, "he's dead. He's gone. His soul has passed over. You have to let him go."

"I won't!" Jason shouted. "I have to at least try."

"You can't bring back the dead, Jason," Nico said, his voice low and dangerous. "I won't let you."

"Try and stop me," Jason spat out. Nico looked like he wanted to say more but Hazel took his elbow and pulled him away. Jason fell to his knees over Leo, fingertips crackling and sparking with electricity. He took deep, steadying breaths, paying to the gods for forgiveness for what he was about to do.

"Listen up, Valdez," he said, cracking his knuckles as the air crackled with energy. "You don't get to do this. You don't get to go out like this, you hear me? Not after everything you've been through. So come on! Fight Leo!" He raised his hands upwards, summoning every bit of energy into balls of lightning in his palms. With a cry, Jason brought his palms down to Leo's chest, watching as Leo's body jolted as lightning coursed through his veins.

"Come on, Leo! I'm not letting you do this!" Jason shouted. "I'm not letting you walk through hell just to die now! Not now when we need you!" He brought down his hands again and Leo's body jerked.

No heartbeat.

"You don't get to do this to me. Not after you drove me mad with your crazy pranks and insane ideas. Not after we've traveled half the world to get here. Not after everything we've been through!"

Zap.No heartbeat.

"Don't do this to us, Leo. Fight! Fight, you stubborn idiot!"

Zap.No heartbeat.

"Come on, Leo," Frank murmured. "Come on."

"Fight it," Annabeth whispered before her voice became stronger. "Fight it!"

"Please wake up, Leo," Hazel said. "We need you."

"Stay alive, Leo!" Jason roared. "You hear me? Stay alive! Wake up, Leo. WAKE UP!"

ZAP!

Leo's chest suddenly heaved and he gasped, his eyes flying open.

Jason fell backwards in shock as Leo gasped for air, rolling to the side and hacking up black bile and smoke. "LEO!" Piper broke free from Percy's grip, wrapping her arms around Leo's weak body and pulling his head onto her lap. "Oh gods,Leo..."

"Not possible," Nico whispered. "He was dead. He should be dead."

Leo's eyes seemed distant and vacant as he stared up at Piper who continued to cry. "Pipes...?" he croaked, his voice frail and dry. "Wh-wh-...Jase...?" The call of his name spurred Jason into action. He crawled forward on shaky arms, collapsing next to Leo and burying his face into his neck. The dam broke. Finally, he let himself break down, sobbing into Leo's shoulder and gripping onto him with all his might.

Leo didn't seem to know what was happening. His breath rattled in his chest, probably not helped by his freshly broken ribs. But he continued staring up into Piper's eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It took several minutes, but eventually a small ghost of a smile broke across his dry and cracked lips. "Piper..." he wheezed, a tear slipping down his cheek. Piper laughed through her sobs, cradling Leo's head in her arms.

"Oh you idiot," she cried, pressing her lips to his forehead. "You brave, stupid idiot."

Leo's gaze shifted down to Jason, his hand raising slightly to thread his fingers through Jason's hair. He opened his mouth to say something more but coughed, wincing as his body jerked. "Shh," Jason shushed him, his hands settling on the side of Leo's neck. "It's okay. It's okay. We've got you. You're safe. You're safe now."

Leo didn't try to say anything more. His eyes began to drift closed again, exhaustion taking over him. Jason kept his hand over his heart, making sure that it kept beating even after Leo slipped back into unconsciousness. "Jase," Piper choked out, running her hand through Leo's hair. "Jason, he..." Jason knew what she was going to say. He may have brought Leo back, but the boy was still barely holding on. They had to leave. They had to get him out.

Jason looked up, realising the others had backed away to give them some space. "Percy," he called, and the son of Poseidon shot over.

"How is he?" Percy asked, taking a knee beside the group.

"Not good," Jason replied, the worry reverberating through his voice. "We need to get him back to the ship."

Percy nodded. "We need to go anyway. Hazel says the cavern is unstable. I'd rather not stick around long before Gaia sends someone else after us."

Jason nodded, turning to Piper who was still staring down at Leo in shock. "Pipes," he said, nudging her arm. "Pipes, come on." She looked up at him and nodded, helping Jason carefully lift Leo into his arms. Leo's head lolled onto Jason's shoulder, his breathing ragged.

"Er- guys?" Frank said, looking up at the cavern's ceiling. Cracks were beginning to appear in the cave's walls, the structure shuddering around them.Columns of dust spilled down.

"Okay, time to go," Jason said. "Frank?"

Frank shook his head. "I think one favor from the dead is all I can manage today."

"Wait, what?" Hazel asked.

Frank's cheeks turned bright red. "Long story, tell you later."

To their left, a section of the wall split. Two ruby eyes from a carved stone skeleton popped out and rolled across the floor. "We'll have to shadow-travel," Hazel said.

Nico winced. "Hazel, I can barely manage that with only myself. With seven more people—"

"I'll help you," she replied. An entire section of tiles peeled loose from the ceiling.

"Everyone, grab hands!" Nico yelled. They made a hasty circle, Jason clutching Leo more tightly to his chest. Piper took Leo's uninjured hand whilst Annabeth placed her hand on Jason's arm to keep them connected. "Hold on tight!" The cavern collapsed, and he felt himself dissolving into shadow.

Chapter 37

Chapter Text

Jason's feet landed on the deck of the Argo II hard. He stumbled, his grip tightening over Leo to keep his secure in his arms. The others also re-materialised in varying forms, Annabeth in particular looking a little green after travelling through shadow. Piper immediately glued herself to Leo's side, looking more worried than Jason had ever seen her as Leo's head lolled lifelessly against his shoulder. He could still feel Leo's heart beating rapidly but unevenly. It was the only thing telling him Leo was still alive.

"What the-?" On the helm, Coach Hedge gaped at the group of disheveled demigods who had suddenly appeared in a swirl of shadow. "Jackson? Grace? Wait, is that- is that Valdez?"

"Coach!" Percy yelled up. "Help Jason and Piper with Leo! He needs any healing nature magic you've got!" The Coach quickly spurred into action, leaping down from the helm and disappearing below deck. Whirling around, Percy then turned to Frank who was crouched next to two very exhausted children of the Underworld. "You good with them, Frank?" He only got a nod in reply.

"I'll get us moving," Annabeth said, already climbing to the helm where Festus was whining and creaking, as if sensing his master had returned. "Go with them, Percy. They'll need you."

Jason watched all of this in a state of shock. It was only when Percy clapped him on the shoulder and began steering him towards the stairs that he and Piper seemed to snap out of their stupor. Jason moved quickly then, heading below deck and towards the medbay. Bursting through the doors, he gently placed Leo on the first bed he saw. Coach Hedge was already there, cutting off Leo's shirt and cursing at the sight of the wounds.

"We need to stop the bleeding and clean his wounds," he growled. "He won't make it much longer if he loses much more blood." Percy seemed to get the message, gathering supplies from the med bay shelves and tossing them to the Coach. Piper had positioned herself by Leo's head. She'd already got hold of some anti-septic wipes and began cleaning away the grime from the cuts on Leo's face.

"Jackson! Coach Hedge barked. "Start cleaning and dressing that shoulder wound. Looks like an Empousa got a piece of him. Grace!" Jason jumped at the sound of his name being shouted. "Quit standing around and find some more nectar and ambrosia. I don't like the sound of his breathing." The Coach was right, of course. Leo had been wheezing, his breath rattling in his chest. Jason staggered around the medbay to complete his task, finally finding a flask of nectar and bringing it back to the bed. Gently, he lift Leo's head and, with Piper's help, poured small sips of nectar down Leo's throat.

"That should help the broken ribs," Coach Hedge said, and Jason didn't miss the way Percy winced as he continued cleaning Leo's shoulder wound. "I can make a salve for the bruising. He's clearly dehydrated, starving, and suffering hypothermia which we can work on. But his wrist..."

Jason almost couldn't bring himself to look at the mess that was Leo's right hand. The webs of blackness snaking up from the palm of his hand all the way up to the forearm was like nothing Jason had ever seen before. There was a similar claw mark on his chest but not nearly as bad as his mangled wrist. Slowly, he reached out, intending only to lift Leo's arm onto a pillow but Coach Hedge stopped him. "We don't know what it is yet," he warned. "It smells of dark magic, almost like a curse but not quite."

"What kind of thing could cause that?" Jason asked, his voice raw.

Coach Hedge looked grave. "Something powerful," he answered. "Something that hasn't crawled out of the depths of Tartarus for a very long time."

"There must be something we can do," Piper said, her hand protectively laying on Leo's uninjured shoulder.

"Maybe we should talk to Annabeth and Hazel," Percy offered. "Even Nico might know something. Those three have knowledge that we don't." He thought for a moment. "I could try and talk to Grover too, see if he has any idea."

"Whatever it is, it seems contained to his wrist for now," Coach Hedge said, his nose twitching. "I'll make that paste now and try and restore some of his strength. I'm not the best with nature magic, but something might help."

"How is the rest of him?" Piper asked. "Not just his body but..."

His mind, Jason thought. Gods, he hadn't even thought about Leo's mental state.

"No way to tell until he wakes up," Coach Hedge said. He glanced over at Percy who seemed extremely lost in thought. "But I do know that demigods who go through extremely traumatic experiences tend to carry them for the rest of their lives. Getting Leo through the night is the focus right now. As for the rest of it... we can't know until later."

"We'll help him," Piper said fiercely.

"We all will," Percy replied.

"I'll get going on that salve," Coach Hedge said. "I have the herbs I need in my room. McLean, lend a hand?" Piper seemed reluctant to leave Leo's side but ultimately knew it would help. Jason knew Piper better than he knew himself. Even though having Leo out of her sight pained her, Piper was someone who functioned on action. If she was doing something that actively worked towards Leo's recovery, then she'd go to the ends of the earth to complete the task.

"Jackson, Grace," Hedge continued. "Keep cleaning and bandaging his wounds. Try and get some water down him if you can. If we're lucky, we'll keep out any infection but we need to be ready in case he gets a fever."

Jason nodded, turning away as Coach Hedge and Piper left the room.

"We should set up shifts, keep an eye on him in case he starts to deteriorate," Percy said, not looking at Jason whilst he moved onto cleaning the gash on Leo's hip. His eyes reflected that of a soldier who had seen too much pain.

"I'm not leaving him," Jason stated.

"He doesn't need you burning out, Jason," Percy warned. Objectively, Jason knew Percy was right. But the thought of being away from Leo again, even for a minute, made his insides twist with sickness.

"Set up shifts," Jason conceded. "But don't ask us to leave his side. If it were Annabeth, would you want anyone else watching over her?"

Percy didn't reply, but Jason knew the answer anyway. He sat down heavily on Leo's bed, his fingers ghosting over the blackened bruises blossoming over Leo's skin. Percy slowly rose to his feet, still refusing to meet Jason's eyes. "I'm going to grab him some fresh clothes then check on the others. You might want to start cleaning him up a bit. We don't want the wounds to get infected."

Jason only nodded, watching as Leo's chest started to move up and down more rhythmically as the nectar fixed up his broken ribs. No matter what it took, Jason swore to the gods that he'd get Leo through this. He didn't care what it cost him.

"Jase," Percy said softly from the door. "It almost was Annabeth in his place. If that had happened, if Leo hadn't of intervened..." He trailed off but Jason understood.

Tartarus would not have been ready for the wrath of Percy Jackson.

It certainly wasn't ready for the wrath of Jason Grace.

***

Leo dreamed of lightning and fire and shadow.

He tumbled in a state of constant confusion, his body falling down a dark abyss that laughed so cruelly it made Leo's ears bleed. The wind roared around him as he picked up speed. Lightning flashed above. He'd been here before. This was how it all started. His hands immediately went to his tool belt only to find it wasn't there. In blind panic, he flailed, fingers clawing at air.

"Demigod,"the voice whispered, dark and full of hatred."You thought you could escape me? You thought you could escape HER!?"

Leo didn't reply. He tried to light fire in his palms but only managed a small spark. In the darkness below, he could see the terrifying face of Tartarus, his huge hand reaching to snatch Leo from the air.

"You are nothing,"Tartarus hissed."Nothing compared to the might of Gaia. Nothing compared to the might of the Pit. You are weak, weaker than even your fellow brethren."

The cold was becoming unbearable as Leo fell. He could feel the ice crackling over his clothes, sinking deep into his bones. The air became frigid as Tartarus approached. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. No. No, not again.

"No one truly escapes Tartarus, scum."The voice of the Pit reverberated around him."No monster, no god, no Titan, no Giant, NO DEMIGOD."

Rock walls of a cavern suddenly closed in and Leo slammed into them, his hands scrabbling to find a hold. His fingers caught hold of a ledge. Crying out, Leo gripped onto it will all his might, muscles straining and popping. Blood dripped down his fingertips.

"We will always haunt you, Leo Valdez. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, you will never escape me. I will hunt you for the rest of your miserable life. Night or day you will see me, fear me, until your pathetic human mind breaks down around you and you are left with nothing but a shell of yourself. And then, after I've taken every last drop of your sanity and power, I will send the worst of my children to the mortal world to find your friends and tear them apart. I will make you watch as I destroy everything you hold dear. Then I will finally kill you. Slowly, excruciatingly, I will squeeze the life from your body until you are nothing but dust!"

Leo heard screaming. It must have been his own. He tried to pull himself up but the strength of the Pit was too much. His grip was slipping, frostbite forming along the rigid bones of his fingers.

"Your soul belongs to me!"Tartarus roared."Gaia can do what she wills with you, but when the world ends and she rises again, your fate belongs to me. Mark my words."

Looking down, Leo watched as the massive hand of Tartarus rose up from the depths, ready to grab him and pull him back down into the depths of Hell."Yes, scream, Leo Valdez. No one can hear you. You are MINE!"

***

"Shh, Leo, shh, it's okay. It's okay, you're alright. It's just a nightmare." Someone was speaking softly to him. He felt a hand in his hair, brushing through tangled curls gently. He wanted to open his eyes. He wanted to know where he was. But every time he tried to peel open his eyelids, they remained tightly closed.

"His fever's spiking." Another voice. It sounded like... Annabeth maybe? He couldn't be sure. His brain was muddled, scrambled even. Another hand on his forehead. "sh*t he's burning up."

"What do we do? More nectar?" Was that Hazel? Where were Jason and Piper?

"Too risky. We need to keep up his fluids, make sure all his wounds stay clean. This infection is nasty."

Infection?Leo let out a small groan, tossing his head to the side. Sweat dripped down neck, his hair damp with it. He managed to crack one eye open, his vision blurred and bleary. Two people hovered above. He caught the blonde hair of Annabeth as she leaned over him, forcing a straw into his mouth. "Drink, Leo," she said. "Come on, that's it." The water tasted incredible. After gods know how long surviving on nothing but fire water, the taste of pure and simple water was enough to make Leo start crying. Gods he wanted Piper. He wanted Jason. Where even were they?

"Pipe- Pi..." He couldn't get the words out. His throat was like a desert.

"Maybe I should go and get Piper," Hazel whispered. "He's asking for her."

"She's exhausted," was Annabeth's reply. "She hasn't left his side in days. Let her rest, even if it is just for a couple of hours."

"And Jason?"

"With Reyna," Annabeth said. "He said he'd be back soon."Reyna?Were they in New Rome? What inHadeswere they doing in New Rome?

"I think we need to take a look at his wrist again," Hazel breathed. "Coach Hedge and I tried to come up with something to ease the pain but..." She trailed off. "Annabeth...I'm scared..."

"I know," Annabeth said. "We just have to keep him as comfortable as possible and hope for the best. Who knows what really happened to him down there."

Leo tried to follow the conversation but he could feel the darkness creeping back in. He tried to fight it, not wanting to be pulled back into nightmares, but his body was shutting down again. Hazel and Annabeth disappeared into a swirl and Leo sunk back under.

***

The next time Leo woke, Percy Jackson was re-bandaging his shoulder.

Leo managed to open his eyes just enough to see Percy perched on the side of the bed, wrapping white gauze over the wound where the empousa had raked her claws across him. Percy looked tired. The kind of tired that came from holding up the weight of the world on his shoulders. Leo wondered what had happened since they last saw each other. He couldn't imagine it had been easy to travel to Greece. They must have faced so many trials and challenges.

Oh gods, had they lost someone? Leo tried to wrack his muddled brain for who he hadn't seen yet. Annabeth and Hazel were here earlier - he knew that for certain. They'd talked about Jason and Piper so they must be okay. The only people he hadn't seen yet was Frank, Coach Hedge and Nico. Hades, had one of them not made it? He felt his breathing quicken in panic. What if someone was hurt? What if they needed Leo's help?! What if Tartarus had gotten them too? His chest heaved, lungs burning. Blindly, he lashed out, not caring that his body screamed in protest at the sudden movement. He had to get up. He had to know everyone was okay.

"Woah Leo," he heard Percy say. "Calm down, man." But Leo couldn't. The thought that Tartarus had somehow gotten to his friends petrified him. There were suddenly hands gripping his upper arms, holding him still as he writhed. "Leo, Leo, please. You're alright. It's okay. Please, you're going to hurt yourself." Percy held Leo tightly as he thrashed which wasn't too difficult. Even in his panic, Leo could feel how weak his body had become after only a few seconds of movement. He felt something drip below his nose. Percy cursed.

"sh*t, not again," he muttered. "Jason! Jason, get in here!"

The door to the room flew open and suddenly, Jason was there. "What happened?" he demanded. Leo felt a tissue under his nose.I must be bleeding, he thought haphazardly.

"I was just redoing his shoulder and he freaked out," Percy quickly explained. "I dunno if he's really awake or not. He seems pretty out of it."

"Must be the fever," Jason sighed. Leo felt the bed dip from underneath him, a cool flannel dabbing his forehead and cheeks. "Shh, Leo. You're okay. Everything's okay. I'm here." Leo let out a whine, back arching. Everything hurt. His head was pounding, his wrist throbbing. Every bone in his body felt like it was on fire - and not in the good way. "Listen to me, Leo. You're alright, I promise."

Despite everything, Leo felt his body begin to relax back into the mattress. Jason's fingers were wound in his hair, his words soft and comforting. At the back of his mind, Tartarus' threat still lingered. But Jason sounded so sure. Leo knew Jason better than anyone. If something had happened, if Tartarus had got to them, Jason sure as hell wouldn't be here with Leo when he could be fighting for their friends. "That's it, Leo. That's it. You're alright. I've got you."

"His nose..."

"I know, Percy."

"It keeps happening. Annabeth thinks-"

"I know what Annabeth thinks," Jason snapped. There was silence for a moment. "f*ck, I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean that. I just...I just can't afford to think about it right now."

"Hey, I get it," Percy said. "We need to keep it in mind though. The strain on him coming through the Doors...that's got to have had some kind of effect on him."

Jason didn't reply but Leo felt him shift. Gods, there was something wrong with him, wasn't there? Besides from the obvious that is. What Percy was talking about... Well, Leo remembered closing the Doors. He remembered holding them shut. He remembered his wrist splintering yet again. But he didn't remember anything that happened after that.

Except for Jason and Piper's faces.

"Have we got any of that salve left from Coach Hedge?" Jason asked. "We need to reapply to his ribs."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll grab it," Percy murmured. Jason fingers continued to brush through his hair. Leo felt the darkness tugging him back in again. But this time, he let it.

***

Leo dreamed of Bob.

The Titan looked like he was made of pure starlight. He was sat on a grassy rise, one that looked suspiciously like Half-Blood Hill, and was gazing up at the sky in wonder. There didn't seem to be anything surrounding the hill. When the sky met the horizon, the starlight blurred anything Leo might see. It was simply only the hill and the stars and Bob. Gone was Bob's janitors uniform and his broom. Instead, he was dressed in shining silvery clothes that radiated a beautiful energy. He was smiling softly. Happiness looked good on him.

Leo slowly walked towards him, slowly taking a seat by his side. The grass felt lush beneath his fingers. A gentle breeze stirred his hair, fresh and calming. He realised his body didn't hurt anymore. He felt light, relaxed even.

Gods, he must be dead.

"Bob?" Leo asked, surprised at the strength of his voice.

The Titan turned, smiling down at him. "Hello, Leo."

"Am I-" Leo looked around. "Are we dead?"

Bob chuckled. "You are not dead, Leo. You are dreaming."

"But you..." Bob's smile faded. He looked back up at the stars, his hands folded in his lap. Leo swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry, Bob."

"Bob is not sorry," Bob replied. "Bob is happy and free again at last. That is more than Bob thought he'd ever have."

"Are you in the Elysium?" Leo asked. This didn't look like the Elysium to him, but then again what would he know?

"Monsters and Titans and Giants do not go to the Underworld to rest," Bob said, although he didn't seem angry by it. "Bob does not know where he is. But that is okay. This place is nice. Bob would be happy to stay, but you must leave soon."

"But I only just got here," Leo protested. "I need to say thank you. Bob...I have so much more to say."

"Bob already knows," the Titan said with a small smile. "Leo always has so much to say."

Leo laughed wetly. "Is that your way of saying I talk too much?"

"Sometimes," Bob admitted with a grin. "But Bob likes it when Leo talks. He learns about things like tic tacs and M&Ms."

"Great weapons of demigods," Leo said solemnly.

"Indeed," Bob replied.

Shifting slightly, Bob turned and wrapped an arm around Leo's shoulder. He looked back up at the stars and faintly, Leo could make out the outline of a huntress girl running across the sky with her bow. The bright blobs of light seemed to swirl around as the constellations came to life. Lions and hunters and planets danced across the sky, a Titan and a demigod watching below. "The stars are more beautiful than Bob ever imagined," Bob said. "Bob is glad to see them now."

"Bob," Leo croaked. "I-I miss you so much."

"You will see Bob again," the Titan replied. "All you have to do is look up."

The dream started to fade around him. Leo tried to cling on, not wanting his time with Bob to end so soon. "I don't want to go, Bob," he whispered. "I'm scared of what will happen when I wake up."

Bob regarded Leo with his kind eyes. "Leo will hurt, for a bit," he said. "It will be tough to heal. Tartarus is not nice to demigods. He will send dreams, threats. The Pit cannot hurt Leo on the surface, but Gaia can. Beware her, Leo. She hunts you still." The stars swirled faster and faster, the wind picking up and pushing Leo away.

"Bob!" he called.

"Do not be afraid to ask for help," Bob said. "Friends will help, Leo. Do not forget that."

"Wait, Bob!" Leo shouted. "Wait please!"

"Goodbye, Leo! Remember to look up at the stars!"

"Bob! Bob!"

***

Leo's eyes opened.

Chapter 38

Chapter Text

Piper sighed deeply as she re-entered Leo's room, massaging the crick in her neck from sleeping in the armchair for the last couple of days. In her other had, she held a plate piled high with sandwiches that Frank had urgently shoved into her hands whilst she'd been in the dining room. The lights had been turned down low, a few candles burning gently with sweet smelling aromas. It all looked peaceful and quiet. At least, it would have done if the boy in the bed had been awake and smiling rather than unconscious and extremely sick.

"Hey," Jason called softly to her from the other side of Leo's bed. He looked just as tired as she felt, dark bags stark beneath his eyes.

"Hi," Piper replied, surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded. She moved forwards, taking the other seat by Leo's bed and placed the sandwiches between them. "Frank gave me these. Probably on Hazel's orders."

Jason snorted. "Hazel is in full mother hen mode."

"Annabeth too," Piper said, remembering how her friend was running around constantly to make sure they were all okay. She fell quiet for a moment, glancing at Leo's face which was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "His fever seems to have finally broken."

"Thank the gods," Jason murmured. He leaned forward, his hands clutched tightly together. "He was talking in his sleep again. Something about stars?"

"Stars?"

Jason shrugged. "I couldn't make out much else. It was mostly just nonsense. But hopefully he'll be a bit more coherent now."

Piper took a deep breath in, pursing her lips together. She glanced down at Leo's shattered wrist which lay resting on a pillow, wrapped up in a tight splint. The gruesome memory of Coach Hedge and Annabeth having to practically hold his arm together whilst they strapped it up made Piper sick to her stomach. She could still see the agony on Leo's face, even unconscious, as they snapped bone back into place. The black poison still remained. Annabeth was working with Hazel and Nico to find a cure, if there even was one, but it was slow going. With monsters attacking the ship daily, and the quest on hold until Leo recovered, the ship and crew were barely holding together.

"Reyna said she'll visit later," Jason said, swiftly changing the conversation when he saw Piper's face darken. "She, Nico, and Coach Hedge said they need to leave soon."

"How soon?" Piper asked. The history with Reyna was rocky, but Piper still appreciated everything she was doing to defend the ship whilst the rest of the crew operated in a state of shock.

"A couple days at the most, maybe a few more depending on when Nico feels up to shadow travelling," Jason sighed. "He's...He's strong. I know he is, but I can't help worrying about him." Piper would never understand Jason's friendship with Nico, yet she knew she wasn't meant to. Nico was silent and scary and a little bit mean, but he had also suffered. Jason often attracted suffering people, so perhaps she shouldn't be surprised about Nico and Jason's unlikely friendship.

"What are we going to do, Pipes?" Jason whispered. He looked absolutely wrecked. Just like Piper felt, but she was just having a better time hiding it. "If we don't finish the quest, Gaia is going to rise and the world will end. But I can't even think about that right now because if Leo doesn't get better I -" He broke off with a strangled choke. Piper instantly leaned forwards, her hand grasping Jason's over Leo's still body.

"He will wake up," she said defiantly. "He will get better. I will not let him slip away again, okay? I will drag him back from the Underworld myself if I have to. Leo will get better and we will finish this quest and finally get to be together without any of this in our way." Jason's eyes were red and Piper herself could feel tears rising up. "I promise you. I promise that we will defeat Gaia and she won't get to meddle with us ever again."

"If anyone could promise that, it's you Piper McLean," Jason said. He gripped Piper's hand harder, both of them resting over Leo's heart -

When suddenly, they felt his body lurch.

Piper's mouth dropped open. "Did you-?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jason replied, rising to his feet. "Leo? Leo, can you hear me?"

Nothing.

"Leo?" Piper asked. "Hey, come on. Leo can you open your eyes for me?"

They waited with bated breath, just staring at his face for any sign. For a moment, one terrible moment, Piper thought that they had only imagined it. But then slowly, ever so slowly, Leo's eyes began to flutter open. At first, he seemed confused, a mist over his eyes that hid their beautiful brown colour from view. But then he blinked a few times, clearing his eyes until they settled directly on Piper.

"P-Pi-Pipes?" he croaked out, his dry lips crinkling.

"Oh my gods," Piper whispered. "Oh my gods, Leo!" She couldn't help herself. She launched herself forwards and wrapped her arms around his frail body. Jason wasn't far behind her, collapsing to his knees beside the bed and clutching Leo's upper arm.

"Hades, Leo, it's so good to hear your voice," Jason said.

"Ja-Jase?" Leo's voice cracked. "J-Jase, I-" He broke off into a coughing fit, his chest heaving and lurching at the force of it. Jason immediately scrambled to the bedside table, grabbing a bottle of water. Together, Piper and Jason helped Leo sit up in bed, propping him back on the pillows as Jason brought the water to his mouth. Leo almost desperately gulped it down, barely stopping for air. Eventually, Jason pulled the empty water bottle away, and Leo sat back in bed, his chest rapidly trying to catch up. Eventually, he caught his breath enough to return his gaze back to Jason and Piper, both of whom were nervously kneeling by his bedside now.

"Hi," Leo finally breathed, and Piper couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing, leaning forwards and running her hand through Leo's hair.

"That's all you've got to say, huh?" she almost sobbed.

"S-sorry," Leo murmured with a lazy grin. "Did-didn't have t-time to thin-nk of an-anything else."

"Shame on you," Jason laughed through unshed tears. Leo grinned lopsidedly before wincing. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"Just-Just a li-little," Leo replied meekly. "I-I'm fine."

"Sure you are," Piper deadpanned.

"It's fine," Leo insisted again. He shifted his body slightly, glancing around the room. "Wh-where are we?"

Jason, Piper noticed, looked tense. "On the Argo II, off the coast of Greece. We needed to lie low for a bit whilst we figured out what to do." He bit his lip. "Reyna found us. Turns out the situation at home isn't looking good."

"She got my note?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Piper grinned. "She got your note. I, for one, would love to know how you managed that, you crazy idiot."

"L-long story," Leo sighed. "F-found a Hermes shrine connected to camp. Connor's stupid M&Ms gave it away." He glanced over at Piper. She watched as his eyes scanned and analysed her, his brain slowly processing the information. "Are you guys okay? Are the others fine?"

Piper frowned. "We're all fine Leo," she promised. "It's been rough but everyone is alright. Better now that you're back."

"And the ship?" Leo asked, visibly swallowing. "You guys manage it okay? I tried to leave Festus with instructions for Annabeth. There should have been everything you needed in my room. I didn't know how much you'd need but I really tried to be prepared just in case but I just didn't know what would happen and -"

"Leo." Jason moved his hand to his cheek and Piper realised that Leo had completely lost his breath. "Slow down. Please..." Leo blinked, his chest heaving, blood beginning to drip from his nose. He slowly brought his good hand up, wiping the blood away. Jason's eyes stayed locked to his gaze.

"What... I don't understand...?" Leo whispered. He frantically looked between the two of them. "Why...?" They both knew what he was asking.

Jason looked pained. "We don't know," he replied, looking at Piper. "We have a couple theories. The strain from coming back through the doors is one. Or maybe an injury..."

"My head hurts," Leo murmured, squeezing his eyes shut. "It...Gods, it's like a hammer against my skull."

"I can get you some aspirin," Piper said, starting to get up but Leo's good hand shot out to stop her.

"No, please, don't go," he croaked. "Please."

"Leo, hey, it's okay," Piper said softly. "We're not going anywhere."

"I just-" He couldn't seem to speak. His eyes were frantic and bloodshot.

"Leo?" Jason asked, shifting slightly. "Leo, are you okay?"

"I- hmm- nggh-" Piper watched in horror as Leo's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body going rigid against the bed. Before either of them could react, Leo began shaking, uncontrollable jolts and jerks rolling through him. His muscles spasmed and strained, the cords in his neck protruding awfully.

"Leo?! Leo!" Piper cried, moving forwards and using her own body to stop Leo's broken wrist clattering into the bedside table.

"sh*t," Jason hissed, quickly sweeping back their chairs with a gust of wind to stop Leo's flailing limbs from crashing into anything else. "f*ck, Piper it's seizure!"

Blood was now gushing from Leo's nose, his eyes flitting under his strained eyelids. "Leo? Leo it's okay. It's okay. We're here. We're right here." Piper kept talking, pouring every ounce of charmspeak she had in her to make Leo believe the words. Even Jason was nodding along although his eyes told a different story entirely.

"You're okay, Leo," he said, reaching forwards and placing a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. He didn't restrain him. They couldn't risk it.

After what seemed like hours, the jerks and spasms finally began to slow, and Leo's body fell still. Within moments, Jason and Piper were at his side again. Piper turned Leo over onto his side, raising his chin slightly to make sure his airways were clear. Jason reached for Leo's broken wrist, checking and rechecking the splint until he was sure it remained intact.

Leo's eyes were open but clouded. His chest rose up and down shakily as his lungs worked overtime. Piper ran her hands through his hair, waiting through those eyes to clear again.

"What the f*ck was that?" she whispered to Jason.

The son of Jupiter looked grave. "I think we need to talk to Annabeth and Percy," he said. "This...this is not normal. He should have been healing."

"Do you think it's the Doors?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Jason replied. "Maybe? It seems the most likely cause."

Piper swallowed back the lump in her throat. Gods, Leo couldn't catch a break could he?

"Hmmm." The groan came from Leo's direction. Piper watched him blink rapidly, slowly coming back to himself.

"Easy, easy now, Leo," Piper said gently. "Take your time, yeah?"

"What...?" Leo's words were slurred.

"You had a seizure," Jason explained. "You're okay now, though."

"Ti-ti-tired," Leo whined.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart," Piper whispered. "We've got you. Just rest up."

Jason and Piper watched Leo slowly succumb to the lure of sleep again.

"f*ck," Jason breathed out, fisting his hair. "What are we going to do?"

Piper didn't have an answer.

Chapter 39

Chapter Text

The fresh sea air felt like heaven.

It hit Leo like a hammer as he stumbled up the stairs from below deck, the blanket around his shoulders trailing across the floor and catching on his tool belt which he'd buckled hastily over his pajamas. The sky above was dark and cloudless. Each twinkle of the constellations made Leo's heart physically ache along with the rest of his body. If Jason or Piper caught him up here, especially after three seizures in the past five days, he was sure they'd find a way to keep him cooped up in bed forever. But Leo needed to get out of that room. He needed to get away from his own sickness, his own pain.

Although the stairs were substantially steeper than he remembered.

By the time he managed to struggle his way up onto the deck, he practically collapsed against the side railing, trying to calm his breathing. By the gods, Tartarus really had done a number on him, hadn't it? Leo hadn't given much thought before to what life was going to be like after he'd escaped the depths of hell. Actually, he didn't think he'd even make it this far. Now though, with his body seemingly both healing and shutting down at the same time, Leo wasn't quite sure what his role was from here.

CREAK! CREAK! WHIRR

Leo smiled to himself. At least some things never change.

"Alright, buddy, I'm coming," he murmured, hefting himself up from the railing and staggering over to the helm. Another set of stairs met him, but after some careful maneuvering, his managed to haul himself up to the control panel.

WHIRR WHIRR CREAK!

"Calm down, boy," Leo chuckled. "Give me a minute, would ya?"

Feeling the pull on his bones, Leo eventually eased himself down onto the stool by the control panel, leaning heavily against it. He may have been exhausted and hurting and scared out of his mind, but finally being in the presence of gears and wires and his beloved machines soothed his heart in a way nothing else could. "Hey Festus," he whispered.

Whirr click whirr click.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I took so long," Leo replied, closing his eyes and sensing the way the ship responded to his touch. "Thank you for keeping everything going while I was gone. You guided them like a pro."

Click click whirr.

Leo frowned slightly. "Don't worry about me, bud. I'll be fine." Festus fell silent for a moment, and Leo got the sense that he didn't believe him. Leo didn't really believe himself.

Whirr.

Swallowing hard, Leo glanced at his busted wrist, trying to ignore the cold that still iced through his lower arm. "It's not that bad," he tried to say but Festus' rapid fire clicks interrupted. "Okay, okay, you're right. It's...it's not great. My hand is pretty busted. My friend told me- um, I was told that it probably won't get any better, or at least it will take a while. Maybe. I don't know."

Creak creak click.

What happened?

"It's a long story," Leo sighed. "I won't bother you with it."

Whirr click.

Still fix?

Could he still fix things? Or build them? Honestly, Leo didn't know. The question scared him. The answer to it would define the rest of his life. Leo's sole purpose on the quest was to build and maintain the ship to get the others there. He wasn't a soldier or a fighter. He was chosen simply because of his brain. That was it. Tartarus, and anything that happened in it, wouldn't change that fact. Hera would never have picked him otherwise, even with his fire powers.

Whirr creak click.

"Try small?" Leo repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

A series of clicks and whirrs later, Festus had reported that the radar system was slightly off in accuracy. He wanted Leo to take a look. "I- I can try tuning it up a bit," Leo said nervously, his good hand finding the radar on the panel and pressing the button to take a look. Festus was right. The accuracy was ever so slightly off. It wouldn't have been too noticeable if you didn't know what you were looking for, but even a few seconds of extra warning could make the difference.

Leo gently reached into his tool belt, hesitant and worried that it's magic had been wiped away in Tartarus. To his relief, the screwdriver he was picturing came to his hand easily enough within its pocket. Unscrewing the radar screen, Leo grimaced as he lifted it away with one hand, hating how slow and clumsy he felt without the use of the other.

"Oh, I see the fault," he said to Festus, peering into the panel where the loose wire was clear to see. It was stuck upright, away from the connection it need to be in. "Just need to connect it up again." Leo reached into his tool belt again for a spanner, then tried to push the wire back into place so he could tighten the bolt. But as soon as he released it, the wire sprang back up away from the connection again. Leo tried again, this time trying to use his hurt hand to hold the wire to the connection, but even that light pressure sent shots of agony through him. He quickly retracted it, hissing.

"sh*t," he muttered, blinking away tears of frustration.

Click creak.

"Um, I'll try," Leo said. His voice was small and unsure. Reaching into the panel again, he tried to use one finger to hold the wire down whilst attempting to maneuver the spanner into place at the same time. But it was no use. It was just too far away.

His mind was beginning to become clouded with anger. "For f*ck's sake!" he cried, throwing the spanner away. It clattered into the railing with a bang and Leo sat back onto the stool, pinching the bridge of his nose as sobs rose to the surface.

"That's a bit dramatic," a voice said from behind. Leo physically jolted as Nico appeared from the shadows.

"f*ck, Nico, don't do that," he breathed. Nico didn't say anything, only regarded him cautiously. "Seriously, I don't particularly want a heart attack amongst everything else right now."

"What are you doing out of bed?" Nico asked dryly.

Leo looked away. "Needed to get some air," he replied. Nico nodded, moving over to the discarded spanner and picking it up. He handed it back to Leo with a raised eyebrow.

"And what are you trying to fix?"

"Nothing," Leo said sharply. Nico didn't move. "Fine, I was trying to fix the radar system. But it's not going all that well so do me a favour and please just leave me alone."

"What do you need to do?" Nico apparently had ignored Leo's last statement and instead peered into the control panel as if he was looking for ghosts. When Leo didn't move, Nico raised an eyebrow. "Just tell me what you need help with and we'll fix your stupid radar system." Pursing his lips, Leo pointed to the loose wire.

"Hold that down to the connector-"

"The what?"

"The shiny round thing," Leo re-stated. "Hold it in whilst I tighten the bolt."

"Alright then." Nico did what he was told and Leo reached in around him to crank the bolt back into place. Nudging Nico's elbow, Leo moved him back as he picked up the radar screen and placed it back into the control panel, screwing it down once again.

"Um, Festus, could you re-tune it then check please?" Leo asked, nervously glancing at Nico who seemed completely unbothered by everything. He watched silently as Festus conducted his checks, satisfied that the radar had been fixed. "Cool, thanks bud."

Whirr whirr.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"What was he saying?" Nico asked, almost as if he was bored.

Leo licked his lips. "Just that I can still fix things, I'll just need some help sometimes."

"Hmm." Nico turned to the railing, looking out over the dark ocean. "Smart dragon."

"He always has been," Leo said softly.

"It's okay to ask for help, you know," Nico said. He still wasn't looking at Leo, but the awkwardness between them was palpable. "You're still you, even after everything. The others...the others get it. You don't need to hide anything."

Leo snorted. "Rich advice from you, ghost king."

Nico's eyes flashed as he turned, but there was the smallest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "I never said I was a shining example," he said. "Us loners never ask for help. It's why we get in trouble."

"Is that why you ended up in that jar then?" Leo asked. "In Rome?"

"If you want to put it that way, then yes. I was stupid and thought I could take on Tartarus alone."

"Seems like we have that in common too," Leo muttered darkly.

"But you actually did it." Nico had turned now, leaning back against the railing with his arms folded. "You closed the Doors of Death alone." Leo looked away and Nico tilted his head. "Ah. Or did you do it alone?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Leo snapped.

"Of course you don't," Nico sighed. "Neither do I. But the truth is we'll both go insane if we don't. So who did you meet down there? Who helped you?"

"Di Angelo-" Leo warned.

"You can hide all you want from the others but you can't from me," Nico said. "Now tell me, who did you meet down there?"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Leo growled. "Especially you. I don't care if you went through it too. You have no right to make me talk about it!"

"I have every right," Nico hissed. "I am the only one who will actually understand what you went through. And you are the only person who understands what I went through. For Hades sake, Leo, we're going to need each other. And trust me, I hate that fact as much as you."

"We hardly know each other!" Leo spat.

"That does not matter!" Nico's eyes seemed to be getting darker by the second. "We are the only two people in the world who went to Tartarus and survived it. It changed us both, and we both now know things we shouldn't. I really couldn't care less if you want to tell me or not, Valdez. But I have a job to do now. I should have left with Reyna and Coach Hedge days ago but I told them to stay because I needed to talk to you first."

"Why does that matter?" Leo cried.

"You were the one who sent Reyna that message. You were the one who actually saved that blasted statue. You are the key to this whole f*cking quest. Hera was priming you for this war since before you could even talk. Clearly whatever you are supposed to do will change everything. I will not let you put that in jeopardy. Now tell me. Tell me who helped you andwhy!"

"It was Bob, okay?!" Leo yelled. He felt blood trickling down his nose again but he swiped it away. "It was Bob. He helped me. He got me through Tartarus. He is the only reason I'm still alive."

For a moment, both boys stood and stared at each other. Leo's chest was heaving. His head hurt and he knew that usually was a bad thing, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. Nico had pushed him into a place he really didn't want to be. So far, apart from consistent dreams, Leo had done a good job at avoiding any memories of Tartarus, of his past in general. But Nico had cornered him and he didn't know where else to go.

"The Titan," Nico said slowly. "You know who he really was, don't you?"

"Yeah," Leo whispered. "But he wasn't...he wasn't bad. He was good. The best, really."

"I know," Nico replied. "I was there when he lost his memories. I helped him afterwards. I just can't believe he-"

"He's gone now," Leo muttered. "He died getting me through the Doors. He protected me all that way. That's the only reason why I'm here, Nico. Not the gods or Fates or the fact that I'm some sort of key like everyone thinks. It was him."

Nico's face was unreadable. "You planned to die down there, didn't you?"

The question should have shocked him, but for some scary reason, Leo only felt relief that finally someone had said it. He only shrugged. "The quest couldn't afford to lose Percy and Annabeth to Tartarus. It couldn't afford to lose any of you. If someone had to fall, the only logical option was me."

Shaking his head, Nico did something that Leo had never thought possible. He stalked forwards and wrapped his arms around Leo's body. "You still don't see how important you are, do you?" Nico said hoarsely. "After everything, you still see yourself as expendable."

"It was just luck," Leo whispered.

"No." Nico pulled away but remained close, his hands on Leo's shoulders. "I watched you die."

Leo blinked. "What?"

"After you came through the Doors, your heart stopped," Nico explained. "I felt your life force drain away. Your soul was literally on the crossing into the Underworld. But then you came back. Jason brought you back by some kind of miracle. I have never seen that happen before. I have never seen anyone that far from life to crawl their way back to it. That wasn't luck, Leo. That was the Fates making sure you stayed alive. Bob came to you for a reason. You still have a role to play in this quest. The world needs you more than you know."

It was almost too much. The knowledge that he'd actually died was almost unbearable. "I can't, Nico," Leo choked. "Please, I can't do this. I'm so tired. I'm so so tired andI can'tdo this anymore."

"Me too," Nico replied somberly. "I get it."

"I have seizures now," Leo whispered. "My wrist is useless. I can barely sleep. I'm freezing all the time. I don't even know if I can use my fire anymore. How the f*ck am I meant to keep going? How am I meant to stop Gaia?"

Nico was silent for a moment. His eyes regarded Leo with more respect that he'd ever experienced. At the end of the day, they were just two boys who had gone through the unthinkable, and yet they were still here. They werestill here.

"You, Leo Valdez, have a mind that rivals the great geniuses of the world," Nico finally said. "As long as you have that, nothing else matters."

"What's going on here?" It was Jason, frowning as he climbed the stairs to the helm. "Leo? What are you doing? Are you okay?"

Until that point, Leo hadn't even realised he was crying. He quickly wiped away the tears on his cheeks and unsteadily rose to his feet. "I'm fine," he muttered.

Jason clearly didn't believe him. "Nico? What did you do?"

"He didn't do anything," Leo sighed. "Other than help me with something. I'm alright, Jase."

"If you're sure..." Jason said uncertainly. He reached out and wrapped an arm round Leo's shoulders. "Gods, you're freezing. Let's get you back to bed." The two started making their way down the stairs, Leo leaning heavily against Jason's side.

"Hey, Valdez!" Nico called from behind them. Leo turned. "I'll be leaving tomorrow, so remember what I said. You can do this, and so can I." Leo gave him a small smile and nodded. Nico was right. They needed each other now, whether they liked it or not.

"What was that about?" Jason asked him as they made their way across the deck.

"Nothing," Leo replied. "He just reminded me of something important."

"And what was that?"

Leo smirked up at him. "That I'm still Leo Valdez, Bad Boy Supreme, Super-sized Mcshizzle, Supreme Commander of the Argo II."

Chapter 40

Chapter Text

Percy knocked on Annabeth's door, pushing it open when he heard her answer.

He had just come from the dining room where he had left Leo, Reyna, and Nico talking. Both Reyna and Nico were set to leave that evening with Coach Hedge, escorting the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half Blood and hopefully holding off Camp Jupiter from launching their attack.

Percy had been fixing Leo a hot chocolate just before they'd come in, worried about the consistent cold tremors shuddering through his frame. The heating had been cranked up high, and Percy himself was only wearing a T-shirt, but Leo had been bundled up in one of Jason's hoodies and a scarf that must of belonged to Piper, so Percy didn't mention that he was practically sweating.

It had been odd, being alone with Leo, but Piper had been on guard duty and Hazel had practically forced an exhausted Jason to get some sleep. Ever since the seizures started, a new unofficial rule of the ship was that Leo could never be left by himself in case one suddenly hit. Someone needed to keep an eye on him.

Leo, whilst accepting that it probably wasn't safe for him to be by himself, was not happy about the idea of being babied. That was something Percy could appreciate, which is why he did his best to act as natural as he could and not bring up the banned topic of his own guilt. Not particularly easy for two ADHD teenagers with crippling guilt and a life time of trauma, but they made do.

"Here you go," Percy said, placing the mug down in front of Leo at the table.

"Thanks," Leo murmured. He took a sip. "Woah, that's so good."

Percy had smiled, easing down into a seat next to him and kicking up his feet on the table. "Mama Jackson's recipe," he said with a grin. "Never fails to make me feel better." Leo looked down, and for a moment Percy thought he'd messed up already. But then Leo smiled and wrapped his good hand around the mug.

"Clearly Miss Sally knows what she's talking about," he said.

"She sure does," Percy said. "You feeling any warmer?"

Leo shrugged. "It comes and goes. Mostly down to this thing." He held up his wrapped up wrist. "It flares up when...when I try to use my powers." Leo quickly glanced at Percy with wide eyes, almost as if he let something slip.

"You can tell me," Percy said softly. "If you want to."

They were silent for several minutes. Percy did his best not to look at Leo, not wanting him to feel pressured. Other than Nico who had cornered Leo last night, this was the closest anyone had gotten to knowing something about what happened down there. Eventually, Leo took a deep breath through the nose, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Akhlys," he said finally. "She...it...did this to me."

Percy wasn't Annabeth. He didn't know who this Akhlys was. But he did know she had hurt Leo enough to cause long-lasting broken bones and hypothermia - deadly to a fire user.

"And she...she attacked you? In Tar- there?" Percy kept his questions tentative and unsure.

Leo nodded slowly. He wouldn't meet Percy's eyes, and his gaze was distant. "To get to the Doors of Death without the hoards of monsters seeing me, I needed something called Death Mist to cloak me," he whispered. "Only Akhlys had it. I had to convince her to give it to me, which she did. But after that, she tried to kill me."

"Leo-" Percy tried to stop him but Leo was too far gone now.

"We fought. I was too weak to put up that much of a fight. She broke my wrist like it was nothing. I felt the cold enter me like it was a poison. I needed to get out of there but I couldn't fight. So I...I used my fire."

"Did it work?" Percy asked.

"I used her own body heat to burn her from the inside out," Leo said bluntly, eyes shining. "I quite literally boiled her blood like some kind of monster."

"You are not a monster," Percy said immediately. "You did what you had to do to survive."

"You don't understand," Leo said, shaking his head. "What I did...no one should have that kind of power. If Jason and Piper found out...they'd- they'd hate me."

"They could never," Percy assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Leo, whatever happened down there, none of it was your fault. Hell, if I was in your shoes, I'm sure I would have done some terrible things too. But you were only defending yourself, nothing more. You can't blame yourself for that."

"Nico said I needed to talk about it," Leo whispered. "I'm trying to. But Jason and Piper are literally everything to me and I can't bear for them to know what I did. I couldn't...I couldn't bear it if they were scared of me."

Percy nodded in understanding, thinking about the times his own powers were beyond anything he thought they should be. "Nico is right, you do need to talk about this stuff," he said. "But I understand if you aren't ready to talk to Piper and Jason yet. You know my door is always open, right? If you did want to get something off your chest." Leo looked up at him in shock.

"You'd do that for me?"

"You saved Annabeth's life," Percy said, his voice low. "You saved my life. That's a debt I will never repay. So yeah, Leo, if you need help, I'm going to do everything in my power to give it. Alright?"

Leo had swallowed hard. "Alright."

It was then that Reyna and Nico had entered the dining room, asking for a word with Leo alone. After checking that Leo was definitely okay after their conversation, Percy had shakily made his way to Annabeth's room, needing to get what he'd learned off his chest.

"Percy?" Annabeth was sitting at her desk, papers and books spread all across the room. Her hair was in a loose bun with strands floating around her hand as she ran her hands through it. The crazed look in her eye was one that Percy knew very well. "You okay?"

"Leo told me something," Percy said. "About Tartarus."

That made Annabeth look up sharply. "sh*t," she said. "Tell me."

Percy shut the door and told her everything. He felt slightly like he was betraying Leo's trust, but then he reminded himself that he hadn't promised anything. And besides, it wasn't like he was telling Jason and Piper.

As he was talking, Annabeth looked more and more disturbed. "That poor boy," she whispered. "I can't even imagine..."

"That was just one thing that happened," Percy sighed. "One moment. He was gone for weeks."

Annabeth looked pensive, rubbing her hands together and glancing at the book on the table. It was only then that Percy realised she was holding a notebook. "What is it?" he asked. "You okay, Wise Girl?"

He moved further into the room, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and gently pulling her away from the book. "Hey, why don't you take a break? You haven't stopped in days." She leaned her head back against his shoulder, taking a deep breath in.

"I think I've figured it out," she replied.

"What?"

"I was going to tell you earlier but I wasn't sure," she said. "But now I am. I think I know what's causing Leo's seizures when he... when he escaped through the Doors of Death."

Percy stilled. "Wait, so that means...?"

"It's all connected," Annabeth said quietly. "The reason why his injuries are taking so long to heal. It took me a while, and there are so few accounts of what really is between life and death, but I think I know why."

Rubbing his eyes, Percy took a seat on Annabeth's bed as she turned in her chair to face him. "Is it to do with the Doors?" Percy asked.

"Partly." Annabeth picked up an open book which was on the floor by her seat, passing it over to Percy and pointing out a diagram. "We've always thought of Tartarus, the Underworld, the Earth, and Olympus as being different layers. In our minds, they're connected and border each other, right?"

"Er-"

"Work with me here, Perce."

"I'm trying!"

Annabeth smiled slightly and rolled her eyes. "Okay, how about this," she said. "It's like building out of Lego bricks. Each brick connects to the next one to make layers."

"That kinda makes sense," Percy said, looking at the diagram. "But I'm guessing that's wrong?"

"Remember what Pasiphaë said about the Doors? If they weren't opened on this side as well, then whoever was inside would just disappear?"

Percy nodded. "She might have said something like that in-between trying to kill us."

"Well it got me thinking," Annabeth said, pointing to the diagram in the book. "The layers of the world, what if they don't actually connect or touch? There's something in-between them, separating them. Otherwise don't you think it would be a lot easier for souls to escape the Underworld? Or for Tartarus to send monsters to our world?"

"Could it be Mist then?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think so. At least, not between Tartarus and our world. I think it's something a lot more evil than the Mist. Like a limbo state but more deadly." Percy pursed his lips together, running a hand through his hair.

"Like an anti-Mist?"

"If you want to name it," Annabeth replied. "It's just...when Leo traveled through the Doors, the strain it took on his body was similar to when we held up the sky. But we never experience the symptoms he's experiencing now. I get that when we were fighting on the mountain, we hadn't made it across the whole of Tartarus, but sudden and violent seizures should not come on like this."

Unconsciously, both Percy and Annabeth reached up and touched the grey streaks in their hair.

"So you think this anti-Mist thing had something to do with it?" Percy asked.

"I think Leo couldn't hold the Doors completely shut when he escaped. I think he may have either seen something of this limbo state or maybe even breathed something in he shouldn't have. I think..." She trailed off.

"Annie?"

"I think whatever happened to him might not go away for a while...if ever."

"sh*t," Percy breathed.

"It sounds insane, I know," Annabeth said, her eyes bright despite the dark bags underneath them. "And without talking to Leo, I can't know for sure. It's just a theory after all."

"I can try," Percy said. "Now that he told me about Akhlys, he might tell me more now." He bit his lip. "He hasn't said a thing to Jason and Piper though."

"Would you?" Annabeth pointed out.

"I don't know," Percy replied honestly. He thought for a second. "I'd tell you."

"Seaweed Brain, I love you, but we both know you wouldn't tell me anything if you think it would hurt me," Annabeth said. "Leo is no different. It's why I've been researching what's been happening to him so I can help. Hades knows he's not going to let us intervene otherwise."

"Is there actually anything we can do?" Percy asked, almost desperately.

"I have one theory," she replied. "But I'll keep looking to be sure. And the moment we get back home, Chiron will surely know something. Will Solace and the other Apollo kids might be able to help too."

Percy ran another hand through his hair. "f*ck, Annabeth, the kid is fifteen years old and he sacrificed himself for us. I can't just sit here and do nothing." She took his hands and squeezed them.

"You're not doing nothing, love," she said. "You and I are keeping everything together whilst he recovers. Remember what we talked about, yeah? We forgive ourselves for what happened by working to help everyone else." Percy nodded and brought his forehead to Annabeth's.

"When are we going to tell them?" he whispered.

"Soon," Annabeth said softly. "They need to know. Leo deserves to know."

"I suppose we should-"

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

Chapter 41

Chapter Text

Reyna had never thought about Tartarus before.

She was a Praetor, a general, born to lead in the world she lived in and not think about the ones below her feet. If she was honest, the Underworld didn't even cross her mind a lot. Her life was turbulent enough - her death was not even on the cards when she had a legion to run.

But then she got a note from Leo in Tartarus. Then she'd flown half way across the world. Then she saw the manifestation of poison, misery, and death itself appear in the Argo II's dining room.

She hadn't even noticed at first, which scared her more than the event itself. Nico had been talking about their route back to Camp Half Blood, wanting to know from Leo if there was something he could build to help them navigate around monster hot zones. Whilst Leo had been answering, Reyna felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. A coldness spread across the room, the lights shutting off with an echoing boom. Dark mist billowed around them.

"What the f*ck...?" she murmured, rising to her feet slowly. "Nico? Please tell me this is you."

Nico shook his head. "It's not me," he replied.

A laugh echoed out, like grinding teeth and groaning metal. Behind her, Leo suddenly cried out, causing Reyna to whip around. The son of Hephaestus was gripping onto his bad arm like it was throbbing. The blood drained from his face.

"No," he whispered. "It's her."

"REYNA MOVE!" Nico suddenly screamed, tackling Leo out of his seat to cover him as a shot of green gas rocketed inches over Reyna's head. She instinctively ducked, rolling away from the table and turning to face the room. Across from her, Nico had already gotten to his feet, dragging a near catatonic Leo into the corner where he would be protected better. His sword was in his hand, glowing eerily. Both their weapons about the only light in the room now.

"What in Jupiter was that?" Reyna hissed, slowly making her way around the table to regroup with Nico. She kept her eyes trained on the blackened fog that surrounded them, waiting for something to attack.

"I don't know," Nico replied through gritted teeth. "Valdez? You with us?"

Leo was most certainly not with them. Reyna allowed herself one glance back to assess him. His pupils were blown wide, body trembling as he pressed as far as he could into the wall. His chest was heaving and stuttering. Fear. Complete and utter fear. At least he was on his feet, even if he didn't seem all there.

"Valdez! Snap out of it!" Nico exclaimed. "Who is this?!"

"C-cold," Leo muttered, eyes frantically searching the darkness. "Ni-night. Death Mist. P-poison. She...she's here."

"sh*t," Reyna murmured. "He knows what this-" Before she could finish her sentence, something from across the room shrieked and launched itself at one of the chairs, shredding it to pieces instantly. It was vicious, snarling and screeching like an animal as the chair practically disintegrated. Reyna's heart thudded against her ribs, her mouth dry. It wasn't often she felt fear on this scale, but something about this felt scarily like the old horror movies she used to watch with sister. She did not want to know what that creature could do to a demigod.

"We have to get out of here," Nico said under his breath, so quietly that Reyna almost missed it. "We have to go now! That thing is from Tartarus."

"How?" she whispered back. "The Doors of Death are closed!"

She wished she hadn't said anything.

"Doors of Death," a voice snarled, like nails raking across a chalkboard. She wanted to throw up. "Thanatos and his Doors. Pathetic. They cannot hold me. Not in the Pit. Not when Gaia rules over this world."

Leo whimpered. "No...no, please not again." He was still clutching his bad arm, actively shivering as the temperature in the room dropped further. Out of the corner of her eye, Reyna watched Nico shift, completely shielding Leo from view. An odd move for a son of Hades who cared for no one, so she knew that whatever was across the room was something evil beyond imagination.

"Monsters and Giants and Titans are so reliant on Doors to free them," it continued. Its voice was so miserable, so cold and cruel. Reyna's skin was prickling. She wanted to run, to collapse, to scream and cry about the unfairness in the world. It took everything in her not to do just that. "They have forgotten the old ways of rising from the Pit. They have forgotten old magic. Gaia has not. My mother, the great Darkness, has not.I did not."

"Who are you?!" Reyna shouted, unable to control her anger. "Show yourself!"

"Oh, he hasn't told you?" it hissed. It was coming closer, claws or feet or something clacking against the floor. "Leo Valdez has kept yet another secret. Interesting..."

"I asked a question!" Reyna yelled. "Tell me who you are now!"

It appeared from the fog, standing upon the table and staring down at them with soulless eyes. "I am Misery," it said. Reyna felt her stomach clench. "I am Poison." The creature before them was grotesque. It's skin was blackened and burnt to a crisp. The fog surrounding them seemed to billow out of the figure, a mixture of white and black and grey. It was hunched over, as if its bones weren't aligned correctly, yet radiated power and pain. "I amDeath."

It fixed its eyes upon Leo.

"Hello, demigod of the Pit," it chuckled cruelly. "Remember me?"

"Akhlys," Leo practically sobbed.

The goddess slowly smiled, teeth baring. "You see what you have done to me?" she wheezed, head tilting as she gestured to her burnt form. "You see the monster you have made me into?" She leaned forward with a twisted smirk.

"Hey, back the f*ck up!" Reyna snarled, leveling her sword at the goddess. "You have no right to be here."

The monster regarded her. "Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. You were not supposed to be here. Move aside before you regret it."

"I don't take orders," Reyna replied lowly. "Leave this ship. Now."

"Reyna, don't," Leo whispered behind her. She paid no attention. Leo may not have any desire to protect himself, but Reyna was born to defend those who could not.

"I will not ask again," she said, taking a step forwards. Nico moved with her. Already she could feel his power radiating, battling against the goddess's mist. Akhlys growled, her gaze fixed against Leo once more.

"You may have escaped Tartarus, mortal," she screeched. "You may have survived the journey through the Doors. But you will not get away from me!"

Akhlys suddenly launched off the table, claws outstretched and jaws wide. Swinging her sword, Reyna managed to connect with the goddess's shoulders, sending her off course and slamming into the wall. "Move move move!" Reyna yelled, grabbing Leo by the shoulder and hauling him behind her. Whilst Reyna was pushing Leo out of the way, Nico advanced against Akhyls as she scrambled to her feet. She shot another ball of poisoned gas at him, which Nico just about avoided, before swiping with her claws. Nico's jacket tore but luckily the goddess didn't catch him.

"Reyna!" Nico yelled, blocking another one of Akhlys' strikes. "Get the others!"

Reyna got the messaged. They couldn't defeat her on their own. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

Cackling, Akhlys feinted left and swept Nico's feet from under him. He landed flat on his back and she pounced on top of his chest. "Hey!" Reyna shouted, diving forwards and shoving the goddess off Nico before she could inflict any damage. She rolled to the side and slashed upwards, managing to nick the goddess' leg and causing her to stumble back.

"You insolent girl!" Akhlys shrieked, clutching her leg as golden ichor dripped from the wound. Nico scrambled back to his feet, glancing at Reyna once to ensure he was okay. Together, they began to press the goddess back, using their combined force to herd her away from Leo. More than once, she attempted to gas them with poisoned air, but they avoided each cloud with cleverly timed dodges.

Reyna was just beginning to think they could defeat her when everything began to go wrong. Akhyls suddenly grabbed Nico by the arm and tossed him away as if he weighed nothing. Screaming in rage, Reyna tried to stab right through her but misjudged her balance, allowing the goddess to pick her up and throw her. She landed with a thud on the edge of the table, crumpling as she felt her ribs crack and the air snapping from her lungs.

Forcing her head up, Reyna could just make out through bleary eyes Akhyls advancing on Leo. She desperately glanced at Nico who was out cold on the far side of the room. Her arms felt like jelly beneath her. She couldn't seem to move, watching helplessly as the goddess stalked towards Leo who had sunk down against the wall.

"The Fields of Punishment await you," she hissed, raising her claws ready for the killing blow -

Only to have Jason Grace's sword slice her arm in half.

***

It was pure luck that Jason was close by.

He had been heading towards the dining room anyway having just woken up from a nap. The dining room was where he'd left Leo last and he wanted to find him just to make sure he was okay. Call it an anxious attachment style, whatever, but after everything both Jason and Piper couldn't bear to have Leo out of their sight for long.

Jason had been making his way along the bedrooms corridor, yawning as he went, when Reyna's cry echoed down the hallway. For a moment, he was so shocked he barely noticed Percy and Annabeth ripping their door open behind him.

"Jason!" Annabeth said. "Was that - ?"

"Reyna!" Jason answered, already taking off at a run.

"She was with Nico and Leo in the dining room!" Percy yelled, easily keeping up the pace next to him as they sprinted towards the ship's canteen. If Leo was with Reyna, and Reyna was in danger, then that meant... Jason ran faster.

He burst through the door to the dining room just in time to see Reyna and Nico collapsed on the floor , Leo crouching in a ball by the wall and -

And the scariest thing Jason had ever seen about to slice Leo into ribbons.

With speed he didn't even know he possessed, Jason had whipped out his sword and swung as hard as he could at the creature. The blade cut through through its arm as if it was made of butter, and the monster reared backwards with a wail that sounded like shattering glass. Not giving it a chance to come back at them, Jason smoothly slid in front of Leo and blocked the monster's next strike, spinning to the right and slashing its back. The creature roared again and tried to spring over Jason's head to pounce on Leo, but Annabeth had seen the move coming and embedded her danger into the monster's shoulder.

"HOW DARE YOU!" the monster screeched, and for the first time Jason realised it was not a creature, but a goddess. "You disrespectful brats!" She surged forwards again, but the tip of Jason's sword pressed against her throat and she was forced to stop.

"Get away from him," Jason seethed, anger flooding into him. The image of Leo curled up on the floor, as if waiting for the end, was enough to send him into a rage that could not be controlled. But in the presence of his friends, in the presence of Leo, he would restrain himself. "Who are you?!"

"Akhlys," Reyna groaned from across the room, struggling to her feet. "She attacked Leo in Tartarus. She wants him dead!"

In the corner of his eye, Jason caught Percy glancing at Annabeth who nodded in understanding. Jason didn't know what that was about, but in the moment he didn't care.

"What do you want?" he growled at the goddess.

"Revenge!" she wailed. "Revenge for what the demigod of the Pit did to me. Revenge for me, revenge for my mother, revenge for Gaia!" Her eyes bored into his soul. He realised the kind of power they were dealing with here was something none of them had experienced before. None of them...except Leo.

"You attacked us," Jason spat.

"The demigod came to me!" Akhlys cried. "You do not know? You do not know the misery and destruction he has caused? He asked for Death Mist and I provided, but he did not pay the price that is required. His sins are wicked, his deeds considered evil. You protect him as if he is innocent, yet lookwhat he did to me!This is only a fraction of what he will do!" She pushed forwards but Jason held strong.

"I don't believe a word," he hissed. "Now leave this ship, or you will regret it."

"You cannot control a goddess!" she shrieked. "I will always haunt him until the day I finally get my revenge!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Piper said suddenly from the doorway. Behind her, Hazel and Frank stood with their weapons drawn, their faces grim and set. Jason watched in wonder as Piper strode forward without fear, her gaze locked to Akhlys. "You will swear on the River Styx that you will never hurt Leo again. You will never try to kill him or speak to him or appear on the Earth for the rest of time. For all I care, you will crawl back into the hole you came from and disappear."

The charmspeak in her voice was reverberating across the room. Jason wanted to obey her command immediately. He probably would have if her words were directed at him.

"You cannot make me," Akhlys; face was twisted in agony. "You cannot!"

"Swear your oath," Piper said. "Swear it or be sent back to the hell you came from."

"I-I- What is this?!" the goddess almost looked conflicted.

"Obey my command!" Piper all but shouted. "Do it now!"

Piper looked almost unhinged as she said the words. The others appeared nervous, but not Jason. All he could think was keeping this creature away from Leo forever.

"I- I swear on the River Styx to abide by your commands," Ahkyls wheezed out, as if it was causing her physical pain. "I swear it, you cruel child!"

Piper smiled. "Jason," she said sweetly. "Run her through."

There was no charmspeak needed in that order.

The goddess screeched as Jason thrust his sword into her chest, dissipating into a cloud of black fog. Instantly, the room began to clear, the lights flickering back on, and the heat turning back up. Percy and Annabeth quickly made their way to Reyna, whilst Hazel and Frank checked on an unconscious Nico. Jason trusted them all to make sure the others were okay. Right now, he had more important things to attend to.

Jason turned quickly, rushing towards Leo who was rocking back and forth on his heels. He crouched down with Piper next to him, neither wanting to touch Leo but desperately hoping he'd let them hold him. "Leo," Jason breathed. "Leo, it's okay. She's gone. She's gone. Piper banished her."

Leo didn't seem to hear him.

"Hey, come on sweetheart, you're okay," Piper said, trying to meet Leo's eyes. "We've got you."

"No," Leo muttered, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "No no no."

"Leo," Jason said softly. "You need to breathe, yeah? Please, just breathe. Nice and slow."

"I should have told you," Leo murmured, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I should have said. This wouldn't have happened if I had told you." His chest was rapidly heaving up and down. It made Jason scared. He slowly reached out, placing a hand over Leo's racing heart and tried to will more oxygen towards him to slow the panic attack down.

"Whatever it is," he said gently. "It doesn't matter right now. We have plenty of time later. Right now, I need you to calm down."

"But it does matter!" Leo sobbed. "It does because now you're all in danger! You all could get hurt because I was too scared!"

"Leo," Piper said, moving her hands up to cup his cheeks. "Love, please trust us. This isn't your fault."

"It is," Leo croaked. "You don't know whatI diddown there." Jason glanced at Piper who remained staring resolutely into Leo's eyes. She was trying to calm him down but nothing was working. There were too many people in here for them to talk properly. Across the room, Percy met Jason's eyes and gestured his head towards the door. Jason understood. There would be time to talk with them all later. Right now, he had to focus on Leo.

"Hey, come on, let's go back to my room," Jason said. "It will be quieter, yeah?" Slowly, he helped Leo to his feet, allowing him to lean against his shoulders as they made their way from the canteen. "That's it, easy does it. Nice and slow."

"It's my fault," Leo groaned. "Bob warned me that Gaia would come after me. He told me it wasn't safe yet." Leo suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor. He looked up at Jason then back at Piper, eyes completely wide. "Oh gods. She's going to send them all," he whispered.

Jason just about caught him as Leo passed out in his arms.

Chapter 42

Chapter Text

Leo didn't speak to them for two days.

Jason and Piper tried, but the moment Leo had awoken he'd kicked them out and locked the door. It scared them both to death, especially with the knowledge that Leo's seizures could hit at any time. Despite Jason threatening a number of times to break the door down, and Piper almost charmspeaking him out, Leo knew them well enough to know they were empty threats. They were scared, but they wouldn't force him.

The only person Jason knew for certain had entered that room was Nico. He, Reyna, and Coach Hedge left the day after Ahkyls' attack, one day later than they had planned to allow them to recover. Once Nico had gotten himself together, he'd shadow traveled into Leo's room before anyone could stop him. An hour had past before he left, via the door this time, and told them all to leave Leo be until he was ready. When Jason had pressed further, Nico glared at him with a gaze as cold as ice. "He is fine," he said lowly. "But for what he's about to do, he needs time to prepare."

"Nico," Jason said, catching the son of Hades' arm. "Please. You know more about this than anyone. What is coming for us? What are we facing?"

Nico's frowned deepened, his eyes dark. "Just wait for Leo," he replied before pulling his arm from Jason's grip and sweeping away. Later, when he and Piper were curled up together outside Leo's room, Jason told Piper his annoyance at Nico's reluctance to talk.

"He went through it too, Jason," Piper reminded him softly. "It's probably just as difficult to talk about it for him as it is for Leo."

When they'd said goodbye Coach and Reyna the next day, Jason made sure to give Nico an extra tight hug despite the son of Hades' protests. "Take care of yourself," he said.

"Take care ofhim," Nico replied.

Nothing more was said after that. They waved the trio off and watched Nico take their hands and disappear into shadow.

It was the next morning when Leo finally made his appearance.

Everyone had been clearing up the dining room after Ahkyls had practically destroyed it. Hazel had announced to the group she wanted the communal space sorted before Leo felt better, which the others had readily agreed to help with. Gods knew they all needed a distraction after the departure of their friends and the knowledge that the hoards of Tartarus were probable coming after them. Whilst Piper and Hazel were sweeping up the broken glass, Annabeth and Percy set about throwing away the broken chairs. Jason and Frank were just sliding the table back into place when Leo suddenly appeared in the doorway, clutching a thick envelope in his hands.

"Um- hey everyone," he stammered, hovering uncertainly as six pairs of eyes turned to face him.

"Leo," Piper sighed in relief, starting forwards towards him only for Leo to take a step back. A look of hurt flashed over Piper's face but she quickly masked it. Jason felt a pang in his heart as he watched his two loves shy away from each other.

"I-I'm sorry about the last couple of days," Leo said. "I didn't mean to abandon everyone. I just...I needed to get everything down before I lost my nerve." He swallowed hard, looking down at the envelope before back up to the group. "I-I'm going to go up to the helm," he said quietly. "You can find me there after if- if there are any questions. I'm sorry I can't be here with you, but I won't lie - this is the last place I want to be when you find out."

"Find out?" Hazel asked, her eyes wide and fearful. "Find out what?"

Jason observed Leo's face carefully, watching as the son of Hephaestus' gaze slipped over to Percy. For whatever reason, Percy seemed to understand Leo's silent message and slowly walked over to him, stopping just a short distance away.

"You told me I could go to you if I needed," Leo said, looking up at Percy. He held out his hand with the envelope. "I need you to read this to the others. It will... It will tell you everything."

"I will," Percy said gently. "But only if you're sure."

Leo nodded. "I'm sure. It has to be done." Jason could feel his heart hammering against his rib cage at the implications of those words. He'd spent the last two days worrying and worrying and worrying, and just when he thought he couldn't take it any more, the quest suddenly hits boiling point.

Swallowing hard, Jason reached over and took Piper's hand in his, squeezing hard. Leo noticed the move and finally met both their gazes. "Forgive me," he whispered. "I know it will be hard to once you hear, but please forgive me."

"Leo," Piper choked back. But he only shook his head and turned on his heel. No one stopped him as he left the dining room, leaving six demigods with an envelope of horrors to read. They all gathered around the table, taking their seats together and facing Percy at the head of the table. Piper did not let go of Jason's hand for a second. Both of them were tense with fear, but also curiosity. Jason would readily admit how desperate he was to know what had happened in the depths of the world. Desperate, but also terrified - both for what had happened to Leo and what he would do when he faced the monsters that haunted one half of his heart.

His hands shaking, everyone watched Percy Jackson open up the envelope and pull out the folded papers within. Glancing at Annabeth and receiving an encouraging nod, Percy licked his lips and began reading the first page...

Everyone,

I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you this. And I'm also sorry I can't tell you the story myself. Writing it down was actually Nico's idea. I guess he understood it all - the things that I can't bring myself to say out loud. I was scared that if I re-lived it, then the nightmares would become real again and I'd find myself back in that place. But now they're coming after us anyway, and I have left you all unprepared. Again, I am sorry. This is all my fault.

Percy's voice cracked at that bit, and Jason could already feel his throat closing up. He was so incredibly aware of Leo's low self-esteem, but to hear his inner most thoughts so raw like this, it was enough to make him want to forget about all of this and grab Leo whilst they still had the chance.

Usually at this point I'd try to make a joke to lighten the mood. Knowing you lot, you're probably all looking pretty miserable right about now. But considering the events of the past couple of days, for the first time in my life I can't find the humour in things. Who knew, huh? A single trip to Tartarus was enough to save you all from my terrible jokes. Well, at least for a while. I hope just a while, anyway.

So, I suppose I should probably get into it. I'm not sure how long it's going to take. I'm sorry in advance, Percy. You might not have a voice after all this.

The first part of the story you already know. I made a deal with the devil, or Nemesis as we all know her, and it led to Percy and Annabeth hanging over that ledge. It was never their price to pay, yet someone had to fall. And I knew it had to be me...

It took almost three hours for Percy to read the letter. They listened in silence as Leo's words reverberated around the room. The story was almost describable. Tales of homemade parachutes and spiders, of shrines and curses and monster blisters, of primordial goddesses and horrors deep in the pit. Jason almost lost it during the story of Nyx and the Mansion of Night. How Leo had escaped that place, with nothing more than quick thinking and his wits, Jason would never know. But it pained him to hear of Leo's guilt over what happened with Ahklys. His ideas of being monstrous and out of control circled the page over and over until even Percy had to take a moment.

Perhaps most shocking of all was to learn of the Titan Bob and their unlikely alliance with a good giant. Bob's sacrifice, his kindness, his determination ensure Leo's safe return to the surface...it was enough to send them all into tears. Jason swore to the gods that if Bob had somehow survived, however unlikely that was, there would be no stone left unturned to save him just so Jason could thank him personally. He felt the oath seal in his soul and knew that he was forever indebted to Bob for keeping Leo alive and with them.

The longer the story went on, the more Leo's words became muddled. By the time he'd reached the Doors of Death, he readily admitted to them he wasn't sure what he had hallucinated and what he hadn't. But one thing was for certain, the God of the Pit had arisen and almost consumed him. Not killed or destroyed. The word Leo used was consumed. It shook Jason to his core and made him clutch Piper's hand tighter.

By the time I made it through the Doors, I was already half dead. Going up that elevator finished me off. Whatever it is between worlds, I couldn't stop it. It's a miracle I ever made it.

"Not a miracle," Frank muttered. "Just Leo Valdez."

I think that's it. Honestly, there could be more that I don't remember. I'm not even sure if what I've told you is true or not. Nothing can be trusted down there. Not even the air.

You probably still have questions. Gods, I would if I were you. I'll try my best to answer them, but things in my mind are still a bit muddled. I'm trying to get better, for the sake of the quest. I promise I can still do this. It might just take me a bit longer. But, as a good friend told me, it's okay to ask for help. I know I have no right to ask you all, especially since it's my fault we're in this situation in the first place. Still, I'm asking. I'm sorry.

Percy placed the last paper down slowly, releasing a long breath. "f*ck," he whispered, slumping back in his seat.

The others sat in silence, all in various states of shock.

"He just kept saying sorry," Hazel croaked, meeting their eyes one by one. "Did you notice? All throughout he just kept saying sorry. As if any of this was his fault."

"He's always blamed himself for everything," Annabeth said, her grey eyes bright but no tears falling yet. "Gods, I can't even imagine the weight he's carrying."

"We have to start making preparations," Frank said, although his voice was tight. "If Tartarus is now involved in this war, we need to make sure we're ready. One primordial god is bad enough, but two on the playing board? Plus Nyx if she decides to have another go at Leo too."

"Then we fight them," Percy stated bluntly. "We fight them all and we win."

Jason rose to his feet abruptly, causing them all to stop and look at him. Without saying a word, he pulled Piper to her feet and marched them both from the dining hall. He knew she wouldn't ask where they were going. It was obvious.

As they ascended up the stairs to the main deck, Jason took a moment just to admire Leo. He sat with his back to them, seemingly messing around with something on the control panel. Even from here, Jason could tell Leo was nervous and simply distracting himself. He climbed the stairs to the helm first with Piper just behind him. Leo had clearly heard them and turned, his lips pursed together and his gaze facing downwards.

"You've finished?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes," Piper said softly.

"And-" He broke off, swallowing hard. "And you're not...angry? With me?"

Jason surged forwards before he could stop himself and pulled Leo against his chest. Piper joined them a moment later, the two of them sandwiching Leo together as if that would protect him from what was coming.

"How could you ever think we'd be angry?" Jason choked, pressing his lips against Leo's head.

"But I'm a mo-"

"No," Piper snapped. "No, you are not a monster. You are not evil. If I ever hear you say anything like that again, I will not hesitate to set the Stoll brothers on you once we get home. I'll even tell Nico and he'll have your head for it."

"I don't understand," Leo murmured. "I thought...I thought you'd hate me. Why don't you hate me?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Jason said. He pulled back and raised Leo's chin to meet his eyes. "We are in this for life. There's nothing you can do that will stop it, especially after everything you've been through. We will not abandon you, alright? Not now, not ever."

Leo opened his mouth but then thought better of it. Slowly, he drew Piper and Jason back in towards him, and Jason all too eagerly took them both in his arms.

"Thank you," Leo whispered. "Thank you for not leaving me."

"Never."

Chapter 43

Chapter Text

"Leo?" Annabeth called. "You in here?"

"Yeah!" Came the reply from the other end of the engine room. Annabeth slowly maneuvered her way underneath machines and over scattered tools. In her hands, she clutched all her research into Tartarus. This was not a conversation she was particularly excited to have. She'd thought about it at lengths and knew it was the right thing to do, but Annabeth was not a doctor. She wasn't like Will Solace. She had no idea how to deliver news like this to someone who had already been given too much bad news in his life.

She reached the back of the engine room, finding Leo sitting cross legged on a pile of blankets, scribbling notes into a journal. He looked up at her as she approached and gave her a small smile. "Hey, Annie. Just give me a sec. Gotta get this down."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, glancing at the mess surrounding Leo. Crumpled up pieces of paper, scattered tools, but more worryingly, bloodied tissues. "What happened to not being alone?" she asked, gesturing to the nearest tissue with her foot.

Leo grimaced. "I haven't had a seizure if that's what you mean," he said. "Just...nosebleeds."

"That's not good either, Leo," Annabeth said. "You know that usually means a seizure is coming."

He shrugged, and shifted slightly. "I know. I just..." He trailed off.

"Do Jason and Piper know you're alone?"

"Percy's covering for me," Leo said, then winced. "sh*t, don't tell him I told you that." Annabeth sighed. Of course Seaweed Brain was part of this scheme. As much as she wanted to be angry at him, at this point she knew Percy didn't make any decisions lightly. Leo must have needed some alone time, and he went to Percy to get it. Smart boy, going for the member of the crew who had the softest heart.

"I won't tell him," Annabeth said. "But I do need to talk to you." Leo slowly put down his notebook, wrapping his good arm around his knees. Annabeth sat down opposite him and gently placed all her research on her knee.

"You won't tell Jason and Piper that I'm in here, will you?" Leo asked uncertainly.

"No, I won't," Annabeth replied.

"Thank you," Leo said, slowly letting out a breath. "I just needed things to be normal for a bit. Nothing has been the same since I... since I fell. The ship needs to be ready for whatever is coming. I'm not sure if it's enough though."

"I understand," she smiled gently. "You and me...we find being with people tough sometimes. I remember when I was younger and something bad happened, all I wanted to do was figure out why it happened and what I could have done. When everyone else was banding together in support, the last place I wanted to be was with people. I've kind of grown out of it now to some extent, but I still want alone time every now and then."

"Dad once told me he found humans too complicated," Leo chuckled. "I reckon I inherited the awkward side of the family too."

"Probably," Annabeth said. She pulled her research towards her, flipping open the first page. "Unfortunately, we got the brains of the family too."

Leo's smile faded. "You've found something, haven't you?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm still not completely sure, but after hearing your story, I think maybe I'm right." She flipped open the first page, spinning it so Leo could see. "I've been trying to figure out the cause of your seizures, and kept coming across theories about what's in-between the layers of the world. Obviously no one knows much about it, but after listening to how you described going through the Doors, I think perhaps I know."

"I didn't see much," Leo said. "Honestly, I was just focusing on keeping the Doors closed."

"But something got in, didn't it?" she pressed. Leo pursed his lips, picking at the wrapping around his blackened wrist. Absentmindedly, Annabeth thought that the bandaging needed replacing, but she filed the thought away at the back of her mind. There were other things to focus on now.

"I- I don't remember much," Leo said quietly. "But I remember the smell of sulphur and..."

"And?"

"And nothing," Leo said. "When the elevator doors opened just a crack, there was literally nothing. Or maybe my mind just couldn't comprehend it. Honestly, I think I've blocked out a lot of it."

Annabeth nodded. She had suspected that. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her notebook towards Leo and pointed to the diagram of the Earth layers. "I think there's something between the layers of Tartarus, the Underworld, and us. Percy called it anti-Mist or whatever, but I think it's more sinister than it sounds."

"I guess that makes sense," he said thoughtfully, examining the diagram carefully. "When I was in the elevator, there was definitely something fighting to get in through the Doors."

"Exactly," Annabeth replied. "That something is the ultimate security guard to keeping the majority of monsters and souls where they belong. Otherwise, our world would be overrun."

"So what? I saw something I shouldn't and that's what is causing the seizures?" Leo asked.

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that," Annabeth said softly. "This anti-Mist, the thing you said smelled like sulphur, I think it literally dissolves anything it comes into contact with."

"Dissolve?" Leo's face scrunched up in confusion. "Annie, I don't know if you're aware of this but I'm literally still here."

"When we were in the cavern,Pasiphaë talked about how we had to press the button to get you out or anyone inside the elevator would disappear from existence," she said. "When you were going up and some of that anti-Mist got in, I think...I think that it's causing your mind and brain to slow, possibly even degrade slightly."

"Degrade?!" Leo looked completely panicked at the word, eyes widening. "But I- I feel fine? I mean, not fine, but I can still do stuff and- and-" He broke off, his breathing rapid. "Annie, what does that mean? Am I- Am I going to go crazy?"

"No," Annabeth said quickly, trying to reassure him. "I'm almost certain you won't get any crazier than you already are."

"Annabeth!"

"Sorry," she winced. "That wasn't funny." She cleared her throat, shifting forwards so she can take Leo's good hand gently. "What I mean, is that this anti-Mist has slowed some of the unconscious functions of our minds. So healing, for example, even with ambrosia is going to be slower for you now. Hence why your wrist doesn't seem to be getting much better. But also, the strain of coming back through the Doors alone was an incredible toll on your body. The anti-Mist only made that worse which is why your seizures started, and maybe even why your heart stopped after you came through the Doors."

"But it'll get better, right?" Leo asked, trembling. "It has to."

"Leo..." she whispered. "I- Listen, no-one has ever come back from Tartarus before, much less know this limbo place between us and them existed. I have no clue if it will ever get better. It might not change, and it might get worse." He dropped his chin to his chest, trying to pull away but Annabeth held firm. "But, I will do everything in my power to find a way to stop this. I swear it."

"How though?" Leo croaked. "f*ck, Annie, you just told me my brain is degrading. I'm a son of Hephaestus, I need my brain to build and design and think! I can't- f*ck, I can't-"

"Hey, none of that changes," she said. "You've not had any trouble in those things since coming back, have you?"

"I- No. Just the physical stuff with my wrist."

"There you go then," she said. "As I said, it's the unconscious things. Healing, for one. And I suspect regulating body temperature too. You're still feeling cold, right?" Leo nodded, gesturing to the several layers he was wearing despite the heat of the engine room. "Okay, that makes sense. There may be other things too-"

"Sleep," Leo interrupted, then blinked. "I've not been sleeping too well, even when I actually managed to nod off." He sighed. "That could also be the nightmares too I suppose."

Annabeth gave him a small smile. "Hey, like I said, we'll figure it out," she said. "Honestly, I'm just thanking whichever God I have to that you didn't breathe in too much of that stuff. Otherwise, I think we'd have a very different conversation." Leo nodded, but looked up at her with scared eyes.

"Thank you," he said. "For all this research and for trying to help. I- Gods, honestly I can't imagine how hard that was for you too."

Biting her lip, she willed her eyes not to well up. "Don't thank me," she said. "It was the least I could do after everything you sacrificed."

"I'd do it again," Leo said. "In a heartbeat."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "As if we'd ever let you."

***

Later, after Annabeth had helped Leo make all the final preparations for any assault Gaia could muster, Jason and Piper found her up on the deck. A few feet away, Percy was tying off the rigging, clearly trying not to eavesdrop but failing spectacularly. He already knew about the conversation in the engine room, but like her, he was wondering how Jason and Piper were going to take it.

"Are you absolutely sure?" was the first thing Piper asked.

"Leo told you then?" Annabeth sighed. She leaned back on the ship's railing, arms crossed. "Yeah. I'm sure."

"f*ck," Jason breathed, running a hand through his hair. "It just doesn't end, does it?" He took Piper's hand, glancing at her worriedly. "We can help though, right? There has to be something we can do to help?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Percy finish tying the last rope with a much harsher tug than necessary. "Honestly, I don't know," Annabeth said. "When we get home, Chiron may know something that can help. Gods, we may even find something on our way to Greece. But for now..." She met Percy's eyes. "For now, I think all we can do is our best."

Piper's face morphed into one of anger. For a moment, Annabeth was afraid she was angry at her, but then she clutched the hilt of her dagger. "Gaia will pay for this," she muttered. "I swear to the gods that we will destroy her. What she did...what Tartarus did to Leo...it's beyond evil."

"We will stop her," Annabeth promised.

"We might get our chance sooner than you think," Percy suddenly said. They all turned to him, only to find him staring out over the sea to the horizon. Annabeth moved towards him, looking over his shoulder to match his eye line -

And then she saw it.

"What the f*ck is that?" Piper asked. She and Jason had also spotted it, clutching the railing.

Sitting on the horizon, was something Annabeth could barely describe. It was dark, almost impossibly black, standing out starkly against the blueness of the sky. At first, she may have thought it was a rain cloud, but the deepness of its colour was unnatural. So was the speed it was approaching, rolling over the sea like industrial smoke at a rate of knots. As it got closer, the air around them began to feel thick.

"Percy..." Annabeth said, her voice unusually high.

"I- I don't know," Percy said, Riptide already uncapped in his hand.

"Jason," Annabeth said, backing away slowly from the railing. "Sound the alarm."

"What?"

"Sound the alarm, do it now!" she shouted, pushing past them all to reach for the consul as Jason flew up and sounded the warning bell.

"Annie!" Percy yelled up at her. "What's going on?! What is this?!"

Annabeth met Piper's eyes and could see the answer dawning on the daughter of Aphrodite. Without another word, Piper darted below deck, mostly likely to get to Leo, Hazel and Frank before the battle begun.

"Tartarus," Annabeth replied darkly. "Tartarus has launched its attack."