Whatever It Takes

Heroes of Olympus Fanfiction

Leo stared up at the starry sky above him. In Greece, the water was breath-taking, but different. The land itself was different too, though much closer to where he wanted to be than Camp Half-Blood. But the sky was constant, something he could always rely on; and things he could truly rely on could be counted on one hand. With a few fingers missing.

He stood near the head of his bronze dragon, who creaked at him. "Yeah, I know buddy. I think I've almost got it." He studied the parts in front of him: a partially completed, very old compass, and a piece of crystal from a very special place. He'd been tinkering with the compass for days, but the idea of piecing it together with the crystal terrified him. What if it acted like half his other experiments and went ballistic right in front of him? Even with non-flammable things, Leo found a way to make them burn.

Just another specialty, right?

But if he messed up, he might not have another chance. The crystal was the key, he was sure of it. "Stop planning, Valdez. Just do it. Like ripping off a Bandaid." He said to himself. If he planned much more he'd rival even Annabeth.

So he took a deep breath, checked over his shoulder to make sure he was alone (no witnesses, no crime… or accidents), and fused the crystal into the compass by just barely warming his hand. Immediately he held his breath, but there was no change. After about five minutes of staring at it he growled in frustration and set the compass down, raking his hands through his hair. "Stupid technology." He said. A serious insult coming from the son of Hephaestus. He turned towards the door. "I need another way to Ogygia."

He had just started walking when he heard a faint click. Fear gripped him and he froze as he imagined the compass breaking, irreparable. But he found it just as he'd left it. Almost exactly as he'd left it, at least.

"Holy Hephaestus." He muttered. The compass was whirring about, the crystal glowing faintly. After about a minute of spinning it stopped, pointing to the east. Now Leo was so shocked it had worked he forgot how to move. It was only when the crystal started to pulse that he jumped into action. He made sure his trusty tool belt was secure around his waist and grabbed the compass. It was warm to the touch, heated by the magical energy of the crystal.

Holding it in one hand, he hastily scribbled a note to his friends. "Sorry guys." He said into the night, starting to climb down off the Argo II. "But I've done my part in the quest. And now I have an oath to keep."

"Leo. Leo! Wake up man!"

Leo felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him roughly. His eyes snapped open and he saw a blurry shape in front of him: a face high above him with short blond hair. He blinked and Jason shifted into focus, concern clear in his blue eyes. "How long was I out?" Leo asked with a yawn.

He looked around after stretching and realized he was lying on the floor. Well, that would explain the whole 'face high above him' thing from when he'd first woken up. He was as close to Festus as possible. His hand flew to his pocket and he felt the bump that was the compass. He'd been messing with it last night, and must have just crashed. Now he slipped it into his tool belt, where he kept the crystal as well. Did he mention how handy a magic tool belt was?

Then he stood up and his dream came crashing back to him: fixing the compass and finally finding a way to Calypso, abandoning his friends in the process. It made him nervous around Jason. Had his friend somehow figured out what Leo had been dreaming about? Leo would never abandon his friends like that. As much as he wanted to go find Calypso, he had a duty here. His friends needed him. Besides, he'd felt abandoned enough times in his life. He wasn't about to be the one leaving others now.

Jason studied Leo for a moment, his concern faded but still clear. It was morning, and early by the looks of the sky. "No one else is up yet. Just you and me." He gave Leo a wink. "And don't worry. I won't tell the others you stayed here all night. You know how much they worry when you do that."

Man, this kid was not used to breaking rules. Still, Leo found comfort in the small gesture. He knew Jason had his back, whatever problem he had.

"But you were sort of whimpering, saying "no" and shifting in your sleep. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Leo felt relieved. Yeah, it was embarrassing to be seen doing that kind of stuff, but Jason hadn't known about his selfish dream. "Na, I'm fine. Just reliving some of our adventures."

It wasn't a total lie, because Leo had been thinking about an adventure, it just didn't involve his friends. He wanted to tell Jason about his dream, about Calypso and everything… he just wasn't ready yet. He needed more time.

Jason nodded in understanding. Seriously, how the guy pulled this off so smoothly made Leo jealous. He was concerned but still macho, reflecting that leading personality he had, and acting professional and nonchalant at the same time. Not that Leo really cared or anything, but the skill could come in handy in certain situations. Especially those that involved girls, where Jason acted smooth and Leo was… well, Leo.

"Alright." Jason said. He looked at Leo, and Leo could tell Jason knew he needed a few minutes to himself. He tried to put a cocky grin on his face, usually an easy task, but Jason must have seen how strained it was. "I'll be in the dining hall when you wanna join me. We haven't eaten in a while, and maybe we can talk. Man to man."

Leo gave him a quick smile. "Thanks, bro. I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to clean up, and I'm not that hungry yet."

His stomach chose that moment to growl. Loudly. He grinned sheepishly as Jason smirked at him.

"Not hungry, huh? Alright then. You know where I'll be." Jason shook his head and left.

Leo had been up most of the night studying the compass, and spent the afternoon before studying Festus. How much of his dream had been a dream? He remembered looking at the sky and holding the compass, but that was it.

He closed his eyes and ran a hand quickly over his face, forcing himself to wake up fully. He could make up sleep later. He walked over to Festus and put an arm around his dragon, sighing. "You're the only one I've told so far, Festus. Once we get back to Camp I'll rebuild you. It'll be good to have a body again." He paused for a moment. "Once you're rebuilt we're flying to Ogygia."

An oath to keep with a final breath.

Leo knew that part of the prophecy was about him. After they defeated Gaea, which they would, all of them, he would go to find Calypso. An oath to keep with a final breath. Well, he thought. If that's what it takes. He knew in that moment as much as he'd known the moment he said it that he would do whatever it took to get back to her. Whatever it took.

Calypso stood and looked out over the waves. She was standing at the spot her last hero had left her, sailing away on a magical raft. That hero had been Leo Valdez. Not as openly handsome as Percy or others, but that boy had stirred some feeling inside her she hadn't felt in ages. Hope.

She believed the infuriating but charming boy had a chance of finding his way back to her. At least, if anyone could, it was him. He was too stubborn to take no for an answer.

She was dressed in jeans and a white blouse, her hair tied back away from her face. The way Leo had preferred it. She found it suited her. Dirt was impossible to remove from a white dress, and she'd been doing a lot of hands on work lately. A distraction of sorts.

The sky channeled down to meet with the water, the same view she had had for a long time. It was dark out, the starts alight above her. They always comforted her when she felt alone.

That night she camped out right there, next to the ocean and under the stars. When she woke up in the morning the stars were gone, but she knew they would be back.

Leo and Calypso both relied on those stars, on the sky in general. It was one of the only things that remained constant in a forever changing world. That morning they held their faces up to the soft morning light, separated by an unknown distance. But they shared the sky. Wherever they were, they could always see the same sky.

"I await you, Leo Valdez." Calypso said to it. "I will wait for you."

A/N: I just thought about this the other day and couldn't resist writing it. I hope you liked it, and please review!