It had finally worked. Leo had found the ingredient he had needed to make the tracking on his ship to calypsos island work. The ingredient was so stupid, so simply complex that he had never considered it before. The ingredient; love.
And it had worked. He had loved his ship, he had loved his friends, and now he loved an idea, a concept that would soon be reality. He wanted to see her, and the trepidation of doing so was almost too much. The ship was working, and he was packed. There would be any use telling his friends, they would want to come with, and this is something Leo had to do alone. So he did
He left a little past midnight, and he knew what he needed to do. He put the sphere that he had used in Calypsos Island with the astrolabe and the crystal all in the engine, and went into his bunk. Dreams had always had power, so he laid down for hours trying to sleep, wishing for them to guide him to where he needed to go.
He woke up to the sounds of waves crashing against a shoreline. He ran outside, and nearly passed out. He was docked on a beach, and there was a massive crater next to him with picnic tables. He ran down, ready to run into her cave, when he heard her scream.
It had come from her garden. Once he had gotten over his shock, he sprinted as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him. as he entered the garden, he saw calypso, being held down by someone he didn't recognize.
"So you're the famous Leo she keeps talking about, saying you will come to save her. Well, if that's the case, this is a rather pathetic rescue." He said with a snarl. The boy looked collage aged, maybe older, with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes, just like Percy's. And his expression… It made Leo want to run far away and hide.
"Who are you," Leo said shakily. He had meant to sound intimidating, but it hadn't quite worked. "You know, I don't even care. Let her go, now."
"Tut tut, always in a rush. Let's start with introductions. My name is Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. I am the host of Kronos, I have cheated death, and I the best swordsman to live in 200 years. And this here, as you know, is my friend Calypso, daughter of Atlas."
Leo paled. He had heard enough about Luke to be scared. And cheater of death… "I don't care who you are. My name is Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, Captain of the Argo 2, and bane of Gaea. And you, sir, have hurt my friends. And For that, you need to die." He drew a hammer from his tool belt, as well as a dagger.
"You wish to fight, boy? So be it." He let go of calypso, and drew his sword, Backbiter. Luke twirled it once, and before Leo could even react, lunged towards him. Only by sheer luck did the blade glance off of his hammer, but Luke raised his blade once again. He slashed, stabbed and thrusting, keeping a constant onslaught of blows going, giving Leo no chance. He could just barely block and back up before the next attack.
But then Leo made a mistake; he tripped, dropping both his hammer and his dagger. Instantly, Luke's foot was on top of him, keeping him pinned down.
"What a pathetic excuse of a demigod. Well, tell my Hades that I send my regards." And he swung. Time seemed to slow down, and Leo closed his eyes, waiting for impact. He heard the blade sink into skin, but it wasn't his own.
Leo looked up to see Calypso, holding a dagger, with Backbiter cutting through her body. She screamed louder than Leo though possible, and jumped forwards, plunging the dagger into Luke's heart.
Leo could only watch as both of them tumbled to the ground, both lifeless.
~Zed
