Hiya! Raindrop's back with a brand new project. This idea sprung up on me, and I had to get a running start on it. So, as you guys know… here comes the disclaimer!

Leo: She doesn't own me. Or PJO, or HOO or anything really, other than this insane idea.

*Piper POV*

Things had been bad since the war ended. I mean, Jason and I were going strong, he'd decided to come to Camp Half Blood, and Percy and Annabeth were here, but planned to move to New Rome after high school was over. We get Iris messages, and visits from Frank and Hazel frequently, the friendship among the seven is as strong as ever. But, Leo… Leo was spiraling steadily into depression. He had conversations with Festus daily, although the dragon didn't speak back to him. He will never have another friend as close as Festus. So, in the heat of the moment, Percy, Annabeth, Jason and I kidnapped the dragon's head, and took it to Thalia's Tree. It was late, and Leo was already sound asleep. We took the fleece from the tree, and laid it over the dragon's head. If this fleece had revived Jason's sister, it could certainly help Festus. We left the head there, on the ground, and made a pact to check on it in the morning.

*Leo POV*

It was a few weeks after the war had ended, and I had just woken up. I headed out of Bunker Nine in a frantic search for my missing best friend Festus, when I heard a scream that sounded a lot like Rachel up on Half Blood Hill, by Thalia's tree. I ran to the scene, and saw… a girl. She looked about a year or so older than me. She seemed normal enough, she had long bronze colored hair, which shimmered like real metal, and she was wearing a kind of steam punk outfit I guess. She was wearing a metallic dress, bronze just like her hair, and it was plated like scales. She also had bronze boots to go with it. That's when things started getting a bit stranger… I started noticing other things, like how she had a helm on, that looked almost exactly like Festus, the girl also had… wings not large ones, but, they were definitely there. When she opened her eyes though, they were a startling ruby red. Who was this girl? My other friends had arrived at the scene by now also.

"Who… who are you?" Percy asked her. She looked at him, and opened her mouth, confused, but she couldn't speak. She looked at me, and held her tapped in Morse code on the palm of her left hand.

/I am the one you call… Festus? /

I blinked, knowing I would be the only one to understand the girl.

"Wait, what?" I was confused.

/I think that I am the one that you call Festus/

"The tapping… is that Morse Code?" Annabeth caught on.

"Yeah, she says she's Festus…" I trailed off. Piper gasped.

"Guys," she sounded nervous, "I think she is Festus" Everyone took a look at the girl, also noticing her very… dragon-like appearance. I smiled, for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Well, Festus… I'm sure the name I gave you isn't the correct one, so… what's your real name?" I asked her.

/I am Firenze Bronze, Daughter of Athena/ she smiled.

"Firenze, that's pretty, and you're a daughter of Athena you say… please, let me show you around," I grinned, holding my hand out for her to take. Her Ruby red eyes stared back at me in wonder, and she took my hand, allowing me to help her up.

"Wait, you're a daughter of Athena? I am too!" Annabeth smiled at Firenze. She rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth, trying to speak again. Her voice cracked, but she ended up speaking, despite herself.

"I know who you are, Annabeth Chase," Firenze grinned at her sister. Her voice was like tinkling wind chimes, delicate. We all looked at her in amazement.

"You can talk!" Jason smiled. Firenze giggled.

"Of course I can Jason," he blinked.

"Do you know all of us?" Piper asked. Firenze nodded.

"Yes. You are Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. That is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. He is Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon. That is my sister, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. She is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi. Your friends in New Rome are Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, Praetor Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona and Praetor Frank Zhang, son of Mars. That boy, he is Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus who never gave up on me," she said, without missing a beat, looking at all of us with her critical ruby red eyes.

"Firenze, pardon my bluntness, but can we ask you some questions?" Annabeth asked her. She nodded, and we all went to the clearing where Zeus' Fist was. We sat in a circle.

"Why does your hair look metallic?" Percy was the first one to ask a question. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs, and shot him a warning glance. Firenze just giggled.

"My dad was a bronze automaton, created by Daedalus," she answered, "One of the angels who guard the Hoover Dam, Hank."

"I'm guessing that's why you have wings then," Annabeth ventured. Firenze nodded.

"That's right!" she confirmed.

"Your eyes, they're ruby red, not grey like most other children of Athena," Rachel pointed out.

"I think that also has to do with the whole, being a kid of an automaton," she answered.

"Can you fly?" Jason wondered aloud. Firenze grinned an impish grin, much like my own occasionally. She stood, and flapped her wings, proportional, angel wings, with bronze feathers. She lifted into the air, ten, fifteen feet and smiled down at us.

"I think I just might be able to do that," she flew in a circle overhead before landing back at my side.

"Wow," Piper looked amazed.

"You know who would love this?" Rachel ventured.

"Thalia, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Nico?" Firenze guessed.

"Yeah, they would," Percy confirmed.

"I can get them all here within the next two hours," Firenze promised. We all stared in amazement.

"Leo, could you braid my hair? So it doesn't get snagged?" she asked me kindly.

"Um… sure, Metal Head," I gave her a nickname.

"Oh whatever Fire Boy," she rolled her ruby eyes. I separated her hair, and was shocked by the literal metallic quality that it had. It was like bronze trip wire. I quickly braided her hair into an intricate design, even I had no idea I was capable of. She grinned at us.

"So, who am I going to get first?"

So, I hope you guys like Firenze, cuz she's here to stay. Well, R and R, and come back for more!

~Raindrop