The book version of Leo returning to Ogygia was not exciting enough, so I wrote this one. I really believe something like this would be more fitting. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Heroes of Olympus series.
Calypso worked diligently, pulling up soil in her garden. She was trying to distract herself from the tense muscles and aching in her gut that wouldn't seem to go away no matter how much she tried to calm herself. The island was peaceful and sunny as always, but the pain and aggravation was ever so apparent in her body and her features. Every time she thrust her shovel into the dirt it felt as though she were digging her own grave, despite the fact that she was miserably and pathetically immortal.
The digging at least was keeping her relatively occupied. Calypso stared fixatedly at the dirt covering her hands, feeling a sole purpose to make sure they became as filthy as possible. At that moment the plants next to her were the least of her priorities.
She was so focused on her activity that she jumped when an almost deafening whoosh filled the air and echoed across the entire island. She gasped as dread instantly filled her gut. Calypso squeezed her eyes shut and willed away with all her might the possibility of what that sound could mean. Not another one, she insisted stubbornly. There is no new hero on my island. I will not allow there to be.
Loud, angry thunder rumbled in the distance, as if in answer. Calypso, refusing to even get up to look for the source of the sound, turned back to her garden to continue digging. What she hadn't expected was for it to come to life.
The dirt she had been digging suddenly exploded. Before Calypso could even comprehend what was happening, the vines had wrapped around her arms and legs and tied her tightly against the wall of her hut. Out of shock and fear she screamed.
She soon stopped, however, remembering no one was there to even hear her. Calypso was now not only completely alone but also at a complete loss of control over what was happening on her island. Was the garden angry at her? Had this happened because she had treated it poorly? Thunder rumbled loudly again. No, she decided. This seemed like the cause of external forces. But if external forces were coming in, did that mean that internal forces were also going... out?
Calypso's breathing sped up. The vines around her arms and legs tightened, and suddenly more plants began pressing her closer against the wall. A vine snaked over her chest and her stomach. As she felt them closing over her mouth and throat, she screamed again out of desperation. The sound was stifled by the branches, and she began struggling to get out.
"Whoa there!" She suddenly heard a voice say— a voice that was much too familiar that she believed it must be in her head. "Did your garden literally attack you?" He let out a laugh, and Calypso stopped struggling long enough to look for where she thought the voice was coming from. It was then that her eyes bulged. In that moment she believed she was seeing a real live Leo Valdez standing in front of her.
I'm hallucinating, she thought to herself. I'm being tortured. She let out another high pitched scream as the vines tightened even more around her neck and mouth.
"Okay hang on," Leo, or the hallucinated Leo, came closer and she saw him pull out a knife.
He's going to kill me, was Calypso's first thought. She screamed even louder and struggled even harder. The vines only tightened around her body.
"Hey!" He shouted over her screaming, and suddenly Calypso felt his hands on her shoulders. She paused and stared at him wide-eyed. "I'm going to get you out of this," he told her, "but I need you to stop moving." His eyes were staring directly into hers, just as intense and as deep as she remembered them. "Stay still."
Calypso instantly listened. Whether it was the touch of his skin against hers, or the piercing reality of his eyes, she slowly began to realize that the Leo in front of her was not an illusion. He was real, and he was using the knife to cut the vines and save her.
Calypso suddenly couldn't breathe. He was right there. How was this possible? It wasn't. He couldn't come back. How could he be here?
Eventually the vines around her neck and around her mouth went slack and slid off. She forced herself to breathe as she slowly turned her head to look at Leo. His forehead was scrunched in concentration as he worked at cutting the vine around her wrist. Just having his body so close to hers made her heart pound loudly. It was as if he had never left.
But he had left, and now he was back. He had come back. Just like he had promised he would. Just like they had all promised they would. Calypso remembered the dread and fear she felt when he had left, when she had known full well that he couldn't come back. That feeling of being left alone, of never being able to see him again— had actually brought her stubborn love for him to the surface. While he was gone she had allowed herself to accept that she really had fallen in love with him— fallen deeply in love with him. She didn't realize how much he had affected her until he wasn't there anymore.
So now that he was here again— standing right there— she didn't look at him and see the same annoying scrawny kid that she had to deal with on her island. She saw the one man in the entire universe who gave a shit enough about her to actually keep his promise. And that only made her love him even more.
Please tell me I'm not dreaming, she prayed silently as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her hand had been freed from the wall and Leo had squatted down to cut the vines from around her legs.
Calypso was in a daze. Instinctively, she gently ran her fingers through his shaggy hair, as though touching him would ensure her that he was really there. "Leo," she murmured almost inaudibly. Tears clogged her throat. She knew him. She already knew him.
Her actions made Leo pause, and he glanced up at her curiously. His expression looked mildly amused, but mostly surprised. "I'm pretty sure I'm the reason your island is attacking you right now," he told her with a small smile. He seemed to be trying to make sense of such unfamiliar behavior from her. Calypso's tears surface more. She vaguely thought that perhaps Leo was trying to make her angry with him, since she was currently being held hostage against a wall by her garden. But that didn't matter to her. He was right. The very fact that he had come back had already disrupted the harmony between herself and Ogygia. His return had broken the curse on the island— the eternal curse on the island. She would take a hero's return and a broken curse over her garden any day.
She let her hand fall and she leaned her head back against the wall. "Yeah," she finally answered quietly. "It is."
By now the entire right side of her body had been freed from the vine. Leo now moved over to the left side to free her other hand. He was close enough to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of his skin, and she could smell his smoky scent. She gently closed her eyes and listened to him work.
I'm being saved, she thought to herself. I'm finally being saved from my prison after three thousand years.
She told herself this over and over, trying to make herself believe it. For the longest time she had been so bitter that any hope of leaving had become moot. But now...
Could my punishment truly be over? She asked herself. Am I being rewarded after all these years?
"Hey, Sunshine."
Leo's voice brought her back to reality and she opened her eyes again. The familiar nickname made her lips curl up in a little smile. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that, Leo?" She replied in a slightly snarky but mostly delighted tone.
"Not nearly enough," he smirked. She smiled widely. "Alright, Calypso," he pointedly corrected himself.
"Yes, Leo?"
"Is it normal for it to look like there is huge sandstorm on the other side of this island?"
"What?" Calypso turned her head in the direction he had indicated. Just as he had said, a huge wall of sand and dust appeared to be growing in the distance, and it was coming closer. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. "Oh my gods," she breathed. "Leo we need to get out of here!"
She shifted away from the wall and tried to rip the vines around her leg and feet. They continued to tighten and pinch against her skin.
"So I take it that the big dust cloud is something I should be worried about?" Leo asked, still calmly chopping at branches around her waist.
"Yes!" Calypso answered impatiently. "Leo hurry! The entire island is trying to kill me!"
"Okay, okay," he moved down to the branches around her leg. "Just clarifying."
Calypso huffed as she watched nervously the storm coming their way. The wind began to pick up, and she shivered. "Leo," she said again anxiously. "I seriously hope you have a plan."
"Ah yes," he replied sarcastically. "I came here again knowing exactly what would happen, so I am fully prepared with all the supplies and equipment we need to survive a sandstorm and whatever else this place throws at us."
Calypso rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten his amazing ability to make jokes at the most unopportune moments. "How did you even get here?" She asked.
"Festus is down on the beach," he answered. "I told you that crystal would solve everything. I just had to figure out how to fit it in with the rest of the navigation."
The storm was getting closer now. The wind was wailing loudly and the trees were blowing, and Calypso was restless. "Come on!" She yelled over the wind. He yelled something back but she couldn't hear.
Her leg was free so she took a step forward. Her foot was still caught though. She saw him mouth 'wait,' and he cut the last vine from her foot. Once she was free she started to run, but glancing back she saw that Leo had tripped and the vine had now wrapped itself around his foot. She paused.
"Go!" He shouted at her as he slashed his knife at the plant. "Run, Calypso! I'm right behind you!"
If she had learned anything from Leo's return, it was that she could trust him. Looking at him one more time, and sending a prayer to the gods, she turned back around and continued running down to the beach. Her heart pounded. The trees were raining leaves and the branches shook in the wind. Calypso's eyes watered from the dust. She avoided getting too close to anything around her, in fear of being caught or attacked again. It was as though the island was pushing her away. It had always been a prison, but it had also always been her protection. Now it had become her enemy.
As she emerged out of the forest, she could see a large bronze contraption on the sand. She approached it cautiously.
The creature indeed was a dragon, with eyes like fire. Steam came out of it's large nostrils made of two metal pipes. As it turned to look at her, Calypso backed away. It clicked and whirred like a machine, but it's behavior resembled that of a human, and its flaming red eyes seemed to read her like a book. She couldn't tell if it thought she was a friend or an enemy. Calypso gasped.
It's head suddenly shot towards her and she winced, putting her hands up in defense. But when no attack came, she looked back up and realized that the dragon was simply watching her, waiting for her to do something. It clicked again, as though it were speaking.
"He-hello," she spoke hesitantly. It didn't move, and she gained some confidence. "I'm Calypso." She carefully placed her hand on its nose and it blew steam again. She continued to look into its firy eyes and slowly ran her hand along the smooth metal. The creature was absolutely amazing. "It's very nice to meet you," she smiled. "Festus."
He whirred and stood up again. Calypso backed up as he raised his chest in excitement, opening his huge metal wings. The joints squeaked and machinery clicked, and yet the dragon seemed to be in full control of his actions. He was truly incredible.
The wind suddenly became deafeningly loud, and Calypso turned to see the massive wave of sand rolling over the trees, approaching the edge of the forest. Her eyes began to water. Her stomach clenched as she scanned the trees, looking for Leo to appear. Where was he?
She let out a breath when a small figure came out of the woods. He was sprinting, but the storm was gaining on him. Calypso waited anxiously. When he finally reached her, he didn't stop, but continued to jump onto the back of the metal dragon.
"Get on!" He yelled. "Let's go!"
Calypso hesitated. She did want to leave didn't she? This was the last time she would ever be on this island. But Leo had come back for her. He had come back for her.
The force of the sand wall was so strong she could barely move without falling over. Leo held out his hand.
You have to trust him, she reminded herself. Taking a deep breath, she took his hand and pulled herself onto the dragon's back.
"Hang on tight," he told her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head tightly against his back, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Go, Festus, go!"
Leo pulled on the levers and the huge dragon flapped it's bronze wings. With it's mechanical power Festus lifted off into the air as the island imploded into the water beneath them.