Ch. 2. In Friendship We Trust

Back at Camp Jupiter…

"Quick! Get her to the Apollo cabin!"

"She's lost a lot of blood-"

"Where's Will?"

"Don't bump her head!"

A cacophony of voices rang out around the camp. Everywhere, people were struggling to save her, to save the life of one of their own. They crowded around her as close as they can as a few kids made a stretcher. They were struggling to get her on it, trying to not touch her wound or any blood around it. A few of the bystanders grew sick and left, offering their moral support.

Only Frank wasn't there. No one knew where he was; only that he'd disappeared after the "Final Hearing," as they were now calling it. Accusing whispers were passed along from camper to camper about Hazel's tragic accident – only, it wasn't an accident.

Only Frank knew. Only he knew what really went down in that court room, during what might as well have been the last meeting of the Seven.

This wasn't supposed to happen, he thought, burying his head in his hands. They felt too rough, too foreign to be his own. He stared in horror as he thought of what could do, what they had almost done.

Too late, he realized he made a horrible decision, exiling two of the Seven and a son of Hades. That sadness quickly dissipated, turning into anger at the trio, and at Percy in particular.

He screamed in rage, thrashing the nearest table. His hands, at the last second, turned to stone, and the table shattered into a pile of rough splinters.

Horrified, he shook out his fists and they returned to normal. This is all because of Percy. He started it. He did this to Hazel. And he'll pay.

Seething with vehemence, he changed, over and over again, just to see how it felt. Copper, Brass, Wood, Sand; he could do it all.

He cried out, a scream of triumph and just a hint of insanity.

I'll find Percy Jackson. And he'll pay for every second she suffers.

Leo stood in the back of the crowd, the only other one of the Seven present. He was anxiously readjusting his tool belt, feeling guiltier with every voice that called out to Hazel, for Hazel, feeling heavier with dread and regret. People were eyeing him when they thought he wasn't paying attention, pointing fingers at the one who didn't try to stop it.

He tore his eyes away from Hazel's pale face and staggered away, heading for nowhere especially, but his feet found their way to Calypso's cabin near the stream. He knocked on the door, harder than he'd like, even as his knuckles turned red. He didn't want to be the one to tell her.

The door opened while he was mid-knock, revealing Calypso's beautiful and stunning face. "Hey Valdez," She said sleepily, smoothing back her hair. "What's up?"

Her expression quickly turned to alarm when Leo didn't answer. "Leo?" She asked urgently, "What happened?"

His face betrayed his guilt and fear, and with one look in his eyes Calypso pushed past him and stood on the sandbank. "Leo. Did something happen that I should know about?" She demanded.

He took a deep breath, and told her exactly what.

"I had a meeting of the Seven this morning," He began carefully, watching her face. She was still glaring at him, but then again, she does tend to do that. Convinced she wasn't going to attack him now, he continued. "There – there was an accident at the library. Percy, he lost control of his powers. There was a flood, and Reyna got hurt.

"Basically, after Percy woke up, we got together for a meeting, and, well, Frank sort of blew up. Not literally, no! But he took it harder than the others. He demanded to see Reyna, and, well, when he did, he went ballistic on Percy." Calypso's mouth was hanging open now with shock and disbelief. She nodded urgently and made a continue gesture with her hand. Leo's mouth was dry, but he wanted her to know every detail. "Can – can we sit down? This might take a while."

They went inside the cabin and sat down, side by side. Calypso put her hand on Leo's and urged him to go on, even though she didn't like to see him unhappy, and, well, not bouncing off the walls.

"He turned into lava, Calypso. Lava. No one knew he could even do that. It was like what Annabeth told me; when she and Percy were in Tartarus, he controlled Misery's poison. Frank can change, more so than before!" Leo threw his arms up to animate his point as Calypso listened ever so intently. "If he can turn into lava, who knows what else he can do!"

At that, Leo fell silent, but Calypso felt that he had more to say. She tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow, but he stubbornly refused to say more.

"Leo, there's more," She prompted, and squeezed his hand in comfort. It was quivering as he talked, but it was full out shaking now.

He closed his eyes, like he was going to sleep, and Calypso leaned closer to hear.

"Hazel tried to stop him," He whispered, his voice soft and airy. "She tried to grab him by the arm, but his body erupted in spikes. It – it –"

Leo's eyes began watering, and he pressed his lips tight. And here he was, thinking the hardest part about this was getting Calypso to listen, but the truth was that he couldn't bear to talk about it. Seeing him in distress, Calypso wrapped him a hug, her fair hair twining itself around his neck. "It's okay. You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

He brushed a strand of wayward hair away from his mouth and took a shuddering breath. "It impaled her. In the heart."

She jumped up in shock, as if ready to defend against an unseen danger, but Leo pulled her down. "Where is she?" She begged. "Is she okay?"

What she really wanted to say was, is she dead? But Leo nodded meekly, and she collapsed with relief. "I have to go help her! I know magic! I can save her!" She replied, but Leo still held her. Surprised, she sat down again, looking pointedly at Leo.

"There's something else, Calypso. Frank banished Percy."

She inhaled sharply, but didn't say anything more. That still wasn't the full story.

"Okay. You know how Jason's over at Camp Half-Blood, and Annabeth's over at Olympus? So there was only me, Piper, Nico, Hazel and Percy at the meeting. And Frank, of course. So when he banished Percy, Nico and Piper tried arguing against him, and now they're all gone. Somewhere out there, alone, at mercy to the monsters…" His voice grew quieter and quieter with every word, trailing off, until he said what he really needed to confess to Calypso about. "I didn't' say anything. I agreed with Frank, because I didn't want to leave camp, to leave you."

Calypso began tearing up, and she shut her eyes tightly, squeezing back the tears. "You probably think I'm a horrible person, saving myself," He continued, but she was shaking her head.

"Leo, it's okay. You stayed, so you can help them from inside! Tell them what's happening! You don't have to feel guilty for choosing a different path."

"You really think so?" He asked hopefully, his body growing warm with happiness.

"I really do."