"Beware the ides of March."
Annabeth pursed her lips, trying to ignore the whispered ramblings of her boyfriend as she attempted to read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. She liked to be ahead of the readings in class, so reading the entire play the day before they started discussing Shakespeare in class was something she would defiantly do. Unfortunately, Percy was also reading the play, and he had latched onto one thing in the entire play.
"A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March," Percy leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Did you even make it past the second page?" Annabeth snapped. Percy had been whispering about the ides of March for close to an hour, and it had worn its way down to Annabeth's last nerve.
"Annabeth, it is the ides of March," Percy responded holding his copy of Julius Caesar up in front of his face.
"So?" she tried to refocus her attention on the play, muttering the lines under her breath.
"Beware the ides of March," Percy repeated, slamming the thin play booklet on the table beside Annabeth. "Something wicked this way comes."
"And that's Macbeth," Annabeth looked at him from the corner of her eye, waiting for him to continue with another quote.
Percy frowned, "Mc-who?"
"It's another one of Shakespeare's plays," Annabeth answered holding up the reading list for the Shakespeare section in their English Lit class at school. "We're reading it after Caesar."
"Wasn't Shakespeare a demigod?" Before Annabeth could respond, Percy started talking again. "He's left us these messages. Annabeth, something is going to happen today."
"Right," she sighed closing her play book and standing up. "I'm hungry. How about we go get Frank and Hazel and find something to eat?"
"Yes," Percy's eyes grew wide as he stood, leaving his school work behind happily, and started for the door. "I'm glad you got hungry, this studying outside of classes thing is exhausting," he smiled holding Annabeth's jacket up for her.
She smiled, sliding into the jacket. "If you just tried, it wouldn't be so bad," she waited by the door as Percy pulled a hoodie over his head. "And you don't have to read ahead."
"But if I read head, I might be less confused with we talk about it in class," Percy protested, trailing after Annabeth as they left their small apartment in New Rome.
"Or you'll just not pay attention to anything Professor Hodgens says," Annabeth laughed as they stepped out onto the street leading toward Camp Jupiter.
"If he was a bit more interesting," Percy began, slipping his hand in Annabeth's as they walked, "I would listen to him."
"So you want him to make dumb jokes at someone's expense?"
"If he just made a joke, or gave some sign that he's in touch with the current trends," Percy corrected. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing, but Shakespeare is so—unrelatable."
"Didn't you ever read Shakespeare in high school?"
Percy's brow furrowed in thought. Surely he had been forced to read something of Shakespeare before. But he suffered through several different schools in New York, before just dropping off the face of the planet thanks to a certain goddess. He found it hard to remember what they ever talked about in something as boring as English Literature.
"No, don't think so" he finally answered.
"Percy! Annabeth!" Frank was running down the road. "You're never going to believe—you won't believe what we just got," Frank came to a staggering halt in front of Percy and Annabeth, holding a rolled paper in his hands. "I thought Hazel was going to bury us in gold when she saw this."
"What is it?" Annabeth held her hand out for the paper.
Frank shook his head. "You're not going to believe this," he gasped, unrolling the paper to reveal a small screen, similar to the one Annabeth had sent ahead to Percy before they sailed to New Rome. "It's Leo. He's Alive!"
"And he needs our help," Hazel appeared beside Frank. She had most likely run up behind him, but they had been so focused on the letter they missed her approach.
"I told you," Percy looked Annabeth in the eye.
"Beware the ides of March," Annabeth agreed as the video started playing.
It opened on a shot of a beach, the waves crashed on the shore on a bright clear morning. Leo's face appeared, his grin stretching from ear to ear as he leaned down over the recording device.
"Hey guys. Long time no see huh?" he laughed, his smile managing to grow larger. "I know I kinda just vanished, last year. But no worries, I'm fine. And I managed to find Ogygia again, and—" Leo stepped aside, and Calyspo joined him in the shot.
She waved at them, and Percy's breath caught in his throat. He never thought he would see Calyspo again. And there she was, with Leo in regular clothes on a beach somewhere.
"We've been traveling, a lot, and we've made our way back to the States," Leo continued. "And I was sorta hoping, we could maybe crash with you guys. I mean, I'd love to see New Rome, not being destroyed," he chuckled nervously at his own joke. "So if it's cool, we'll—"
"Leo, look out!" there was a bright flash, Calyspo screamed as the video went dark and ended.
"Something wicked this way comes," Annabeth whispered staring at the video player.
"We have to go find them," Hazel grabbed Percy's arm, shaking it frantically to fully express her agitation. "Something's happened to Leo, we have to go find him!"
"We will," Percy took the video from Frank and replayed it, pulling his arm free from Hazel's grip. Leo and Calyspo were on a beach somewhere, he could find them using his abilities from being a son of Poseidon. Something on the beach could have seen what happened to them, and that was all he needed to begin his search. "Come on, we have to get to the beach."
Percy, Annabeth, Frank, and Hazel stood huddled against the cool breeze coming in off the ocean, staring out over the desolate beach. It had taken most of the day, but Percy finally found the beach where Leo had recorded the message. And it looked exactly like it had in the video.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Hazel looked around the white sands, glowing in the last rays of the setting sun.
"Positive," Percy nodded, stepping away from the group. This was the beach where it happened, whatever it was that happened.
"Spread out and look for clues," Annabeth gave Hazel a small smile before moving across the sands looking for signs that Leo and Calyspo had been there.
"Over here," Frank knelt beside a small rise in the sands. The others ran to him, looking to see what he had found.
"It's Festus' head," Hazel breathed.
"Only, tiny," Percy narrowed his eyes at the small replica of the bronze dragon's head. "Why would he have a mini Festus?"
"So he could do this," Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy all jumped hearing Leo's voice behind them.
"Leo! Gods, you gave me a heart attack!" Hazel smacked Leo repeatedly on the shoulder. "Is this your idea of a joke?!"
"Come on Hazel," Leo laughed, "it was just a joke."
"It was mean, that's all it was," Annabeth gave the boy a swift smack on the back of his head. "We thought something had really happened to you."
"I couldn't resist," Leo gave a goofy grin, rubbing the back of his head. "And Calyspo thought it would be funny."
"Et tu, Calyspo?" Percy sighed, looking over the girl standing just outside the circle of friends. She smiled, shrugging.
"Beware the ides of March," Frank sighed, wrapping Leo in a hug. "Come on. I have to hear about what happened after Festus blew up."
"It's a long story," Leo smiled, taking Calyspo's hand in his own.
"But we've got time," Calyspo smiled.
"Beware the ides of March," Percy whispered to Annabeth as they trailed after the others. "A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March."
"Shut up Seaweed Brain," Annabeth kissed him and smiled.