Chapter 1- A Hero Returns (With His New Girlfriend)
Percy's P.O.V.
It'd been three months since Leo Valdez went out in a blaze of fiery glory to defeat Gaea. We'd always mourn and remember the self proclaimed "Supreme Commander of the Argo Ⅱ", but the edge of the pain had begun to lessen with time, and would probably continue to do so.
It was after dinner at Camp Half Blood (Annabeth and I were skipping campfire), when this Iris Message came. Annabeth were sitting on the beach, her head on my shoulder, my arm around her waist. We weren't doing anything in particular, just looking at the stars and listening to the somewhat distant sounds of the campfire.
Suddenly an Iris Message shimmered into existence. The god Hephaestus looked out at us. Annabeth and I jumped about a foot in the air. Naturally, Annabeth recovered before I did, because she's just awesome like that.
"Lord Hephaestus," she said formally with a bow (how she did that I have no idea because she was still sitting)," This is quite an honor, of what purpose is this call?"
" I come with a message," Hephaestus said gruffly, "I was told to deliver it in these words. 'Get together with the rest of the Seven peeps, and come down here to this beach ,same place, same time. A sizzling hot surprise will be waiting for ya here in three days. Be there or be square. Ciao!' Again, not my words."
With that, oh so revealing massage, Hephaestus waved his hand through the message, and it dissipated. For a few minutes we just sat there. Then, breaking the silence Annabeth said, "Well Seaweed Brain, I guess we need to send an Iris Message to Camp Jupiter."
Three days later
Percy's P.O.V.
Hazel, Frank ,Jason Piper, Annabeth and I stood at the beach waiting for the surprise. Hazel and Frank 'd gotten here yesterday on Arion, four hours before Jason and Piper on Tempest. While we waited, we talked about random stuff. Then, coming over the horizon, flying fast, we saw the surprise. Whooping in jubilation, came a very loud voice. "The Super-sized Mcshizzle is back in business! Wooo Hoooooooo!"
A huge bronze dragon was flying toward us over the water. And sitting astride Festus was the real surprise. Grinning like the ADHD maniac he was, his hair and arms on fire from excitement, whooping as loudly as he possibly could was...
"Leo!" the girls shrieked, as he came in for the landing.
"Dude, Leo," the guys echoed in awe. And indeed it was. Fetus landed on the beach, Leo dismounted, and it was only as he turned around to help her off that we realized that he hadn't come home alone.
Calypso, I realized in shock, then overcoming my surprise, I walked over to Leo and clapped him on the back. "Dude, You're alive! And not only that you found Calypso again. You've accomplished what no hero has ever done before. Welcome home Leo."
As soon as the words left my mouth, barrage of questions arrived from the others.
"How are you alive?", Who's she?", "Do you have any idea how long we thought you were dead?",and "where the heck have you been?"
Then everyone was hugging him and clapping him on the back and sobbing from joy and relief that Leo was alive (After Piper slapped him for worrying her to death).
"Whoa there," Leo said, looking a little overwhelmed, "One question at a time! I'm alive because I'm the super sizzling flaming hot Leo Valdez. ("Festus injected the physician's cure into him", Calypso corrected). This is Calypso, my girlfriend, no I don't know how long I've been gone, and where I've been is a long story."
It took a minute for everyone to calm down. When we had Annabeth said, "We need to go to the Big house and tell Chiron. Then we can swap stories."
This was a good suggestion, so all eight of us turned and walked off the beach, the rest of us surrounding Leo and Calypso, blocking them from view so as to avoid a huge crowd of happy Half-Bloods and get to the Big House.
