At Camp Half-Blood

"Guys!" Nico yelled, running into the amphitheater. They had been about to burn Leo's shroud. "He's not dead!"

Hazel closed her eyes and searched for Leo's presence. There it was, not quite as strong as it had been originally, but stronger than before. And it wasn't in Tartarus. Her eyes snapped open and filled with tears. "It's true." She whispered. "He's not dead..."

The other Hades and Pluto kids who were there tried as well, and all found the same answer. Leo Valdez was not dead.

A cheer came up among the crowd. Everyone was rejoicing at the news. Nico got a lot of hugs, along with all the other death god kids. They weren't used to so much affection, so it was a bit weird for them.

Nico was the happiest of all of them. His friend, previously thought as a dead man, was anything but. He was alive and kicking.

He smiled as he stared at the campfire. It was red, kind of like Leo's.

Now Nico had something to believe in. His friend wasn't gone.

With Leo

His eyes opened slowly. He was in a bed, in a cave. Another bed across the room from him was empty. He stood up and stretched. Multiple joints popped.

As he started walking out, he caught a glance of himself in a mirror propped up against the wall. He flinched.

His shirt was torn, bloody, and burnt from the non-stop battles. One of the suspenders he always wore was also torn, and his tool belt was black. His pants were shredded and burnt mostly, so instead of a normal length, they reached to just below his knees. His shoes didn't exist anymore. He had a bandage around his head, one on his stomach, one on his right calf, one on each of his wrists/hands, one on his upper left arm, and he could feel one on his left leg as well, although his pants kept that from view. His hair was a total mop, it had grown really long. He also had a stubble.

So, he looked like a homeless person. He sighed and wondered how long it had been since he entered Tartarus. He was glad that the Doors weren't opening again any time soon. Welding them shut might have been a bit too much, but he wouldn't have to worry about it ever again in his lifetime.

He walked out and didn't see Calypso, but he did spot the little girl who had saved him.

Then he remembered the myth about Calypso and how she couldn't leave her island, and how the Fates always sent someone who could never stay. He hated it, because he couldn't stay...

"Hi Leo." The little girl whispered. Leo wondered if she ever talked loudly, and how she knew his name.

"Hey." Leo smiled at her. "Thanks, by the way. You really helped me out down there."

She blushed and hid her face behind her hair. "It's...it's no problem..."

"By the way, what's your name?" Leo asked, crouching down. She was only about 3 feet tall, so he felt tall whenever he stood next to her.

"Silena Grey. I'm... I'm a daughter of Hades." She looked at him through her hair. "Nico really missed you. Everyone thinks you're a hero at camp."

"How long has it been? Since I got trapped in Tartarus?"

"Um... Four months." She whispered.

Leo whistled. "That's a hell of a long time." He sighed. "I'm just glad to be out of there."

She smiled. "The people at camp proclaimed you dead. Nico didn't believe them, but he was having trouble sensing you. But I knew." She said, staring at the ground. "I knew you couldn't be dead. So I left camp, and shadow travelled into Tartarus. And that's when I found you." She smiled at him.

Leo grinned. It felt weird, to smile and talk, because he hadn't in so long. "That's really a brave thing for you to do, especially since you didn't even know me. I really appreciate it."

"What... what was it like in there?"

Leo smile disappeared. Silena became instantly flustered. "You, you don't , y'know, have to answer..." Her voice faded into nothing.

He smiled a little. "It's fine. C'mere." He sat down under a tree and Silena sat in his lap. He was a bit surprised at that, he wasn't used to anyone other than Nico being comfortable around him, but he relaxed, leaning against the tree.

"It was dark. The only light was my fire and that lava that wasn't too far from me. Monsters were always around me, and I was constantly fighting for my life. I only got short breaks when the monsters got bored of me. Those breaks were few and far inbetween. You're lucky you came in during one of them. I was always dead on my feet, and the monsters just wanted to see me suffer. They didn't want to kill me quite yet, because that would be boring. For them. I'd rather be dead than keep living in that place.

"I felt like my soul was slowly being pulled from my body. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered trying to go on. I never talked, because monsters don't really make the best conversations." He smiled when Silena giggled. "I only slept for about an hour at a time. I always got nightmares, and when I woke up, I would be living one. Really lost my resolve sometimes. But I knew that if anyone missed me, anyone at all, they would somehow get me out of there. So I decided to hold out until they came for me."

Silena turned to face him, a serious look on her face. "Everyone missed you. Even the people who had never met you heard about your story and tried to figure out a way to free you. Some even thought of going down there so you wouldn't be so alone." She told him. "The Hades and Pluto kids were constantly checking for your presence. It's practically the first thing I learned to do, look and make sure you were alive."

Leo's eyes were wide. He stared at the sky, a brilliant blue. "Wow. People care that much?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Nico was almost going insane. I bet you he knew the second you got out of Tartarus."

"Really?"

"Yep. When I left, he had gone into a trance, searching for you. He wouldn't eat or sleep, and that's when I knew that you couldn't be dead. If you were, he would have known it firsthand." Silena said with utmost sincerity.

Leo smiled; Nico was a great friend. They had a lot to talk about when he got back. "Random question; when are we heading back?"

"Calypso says you're not going anywhere until you heal totally. And I mean completely." Silena said. "So I'd say about a month or so."

Leo whistled. "Let's hope I heal fast."

Silena nodded. "Let's hope."