I know, I know, I've been neglecting this story for nearly two months, but in my defense, I didn't expect it to be so popular. I'm here now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

WARNINGS: LANGUAGE, NONGRAPHIC CHILD ABUSE

"What the fuck do you mean I have to go with them?"

"Leo, calm down. I'm sorry, but Ms. Wilkes has more power than I do," Piper's dad begged for him to understand. "I've done everything I can."

"Can't Piper charmspeak her?" Leo pleaded, turning to his best friend.

Piper shook her head. "That's not how it works, Leo. I can do it, but it won't be permanent. They'll remember before we even get to camp and they'll come after you. Even if we did make it to camp, you'd never be able to leave camp again."

"So?" Leo practically yelped. "I hardly leave camp anyway."

"Leo, this means no more quests, no more hardware shops, no more dates outside of Camp. You'll practically be a prisoner," Jason pointed out. "We're going to talk to Chiron and make some legal forms to put you in 'Mr. Brunner's' custody. It'll take a few weeks at most, a couple of days at least. You won't be there for long."

"A few days is all it takes, Jason," Leo said.

Jason opened his mouth to ask why Teresa scared him so much when even Gaea hadn't frightened him to this extent when a Social Services man walked up to them.

"Nice to see you again, Leo," the man said with a kind smile. "We meet in the oddest places."

Leo waved, awkward but still friendly. The man obviously wasn't an enemy. "Hey, Mr. Martin, long time, no see."

"Leo," Mr. Martin's expression suddenly turned solemn, "you know I wouldn't let her take you back if I could, but it's out of my hands."

"You remember what she did to me!" Leo's voice reached an incredibly high pitch, making him sound like a terrified toddler. "Hell, the whole court remembers what she did to me!"

"I know, Leo, but there was no evidence to back it up. It just looked like an accident and the teachers told me that you had quite a few enemies at school. There wasn't enough evidence to put her behind bars," Mr. Martin reminded him.

"But-"

"Leo, we must be going. And your friends have already informed me that they are calling your guardian for the papers. If everything goes as planned, then, you won't be there for more than a few weeks."

"One moment, not even one second, was all it took for her to nearly kill me. What's gonna happen within a few weeks?" Leo said, his voice dangerously quiet.

Mr. Martin stared at him, sadly. "Leo-"

"Mr. Martin, Valdez, we must be going. Mustn't keep Ms. Wilkes waiting," a stiff backed man in a business suit said, flatly, glaring at Leo. "She's anxious to be reunited with the little runaway."

"I bet she is," Leo muttered, his eyes darker than Piper and Jason had ever seen them.

"Come along," the man said and with one last wave over his shoulder at his friends, Leo was shoved into at social services car and taken to the house of Teresa Wilkins.

Jason, Piper, and Mr. McLean exchanged glances. "We have to get him back," they said in tandem.

"Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood," Piper spoke clearly, tossing the drachma into the hastily made rainbow.

Chiron quickly appeared, displaying him standing beside the Head Table in a full Pavillion.

"Chiron!" Piper exclaimed, not even noticing her fellow campers. "We need help."

"Why? Has a monster attacked?" He asked in an urgent tone of voice.

"I bet Leo thinks of it that way," Jason responded and Piper kicked him in the shin but secretly agreed with him.

"Tonight at the ball," she began, "Leo noticed a woman standing in the ballroom and he told us that it was his past foster mother, Teresa Wilkes. She contacted social services and they gave her custody of Leo because since the papers were never technically filled out to take Leo out of her custody, she is still his legal guardian."

By the end of her explanation, the camp was in uproar, but somehow, she was able to hear Harley's quiet voice above them all.

"Does that mean Leo's not coming back?" Harley was a pretty tough kid, being only eight, but his bottom lip was quivering and tears brimmed his eyes. Jake Mason held him close, but his eyes were bright with fear as well.

"Not exactly," Jason stepped in. "All we need is for you to make some legal papers that we can give the lawyers. The Athena kids could probably do it with some help from Leo's friends since they have all his information. Chiron could sign the papers and Leo would be in the care of 'Mr. Brunner'."

Chiron nodded slowly. "That may work, but it's still risky."

Percy laughed in the background. "Chiron, we invented risky."

Chiron nodded his head in agreement. "You've got a point, Percy. Alright, I will begin immediately. In the mean time, I want you to contact Jason's sister and ask her and the Hunters to watch out for Leo while he is staying with Ms. Wilkes. Then, you can stay with Piper's dad to be closer to him in case he needs you. We'll keep you posted."

With that, the centaur swept his hand through the image and Camp Half Blood vanished from view.

Jason took a step back and tossed in another gold coin. "Show me Thalia Grace, wherever she is."

The daughter of Zeus appeared and her blue eyes immediately widened in pleasant surprise.

"Jason, what a surprise!" She said with a smile. "What's up, little bro?"

"Thalia, we have a problem. You remember Leo right?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. He's the little elf kid that continuously flirted with me."

Jason nodded. "That's the one, but look, we need your help. Leo's a foster kid and today when we attended the ball with Piper and her dad, one of his past foster mothers noticed him. She's been given custody and Chiron is working on some legal arrangements, but in the mean time, we need someone to check on Leo while he's staying at Teresa's."

"Why?" Thalia asked. "I know he's immature, but I'm sure Leo can take care of himself."

Jason shook his head slowly. "I know he can, but you didn't see the way he looked at her. He looked more scared than when he faced Gaea."

Thalia sighed. "Look, Jason, I'd love to do it, but the Hunters are very busy at the mom-"

"We'll do it," a new voice said and an twelve year old girl strolled up behind Thalia. She could've passed for just another hunter, but there was no mistaking those moon colored eyes.

Jason and Piper hurriedly bowed (Mr. McLean had given them some privacy, so they were currently alone with an IM).

"My Lady, I don't mean to be rude, but it's hunting season," Thalia pointed out. "Usually nothing can pull us away from that."

Artemis nodded. "Usually, yes, Thalia, but I am the goddess of child birth, and in a way that makes me the goddess of children. He may be a teenager, but Leo is technically still a child. And if abuse is occurring in that household, it is my duty to check it out. We will check on him twice a week." She finished by facing Jason and Piper.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis," Jason said and Piper nodded in agreement. "Just make sure he's safe."

Artemis smiled at them. "We will. Now, get some rest. It is getting late where you are at."

She swept her hand through the IM and was gone.

They thought Leo was safe, but little did they know how wrong they were.

"Shut up, boy!"

"Ms. Teresa, I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Thwack! "You shouldn't have runaway, you worthless waste of space!" Thwack!

Quieter, the boy whispered to the floor of the basement, "Please, help me."

Leo Valdez was anything but safe.

What'd you think? I'll be posting more chapters this week, so trust me, I'll make sure it was worth the wait.