"Thalia? Nico? What are you doing here?" Thalia smirked and nudged Nico.
"You want to tell her death boy?" he scowled.
"I was worried about you." He muttered. "I heard from Percy about that Leo monster-
"It wasn't a monster! It was the real Leo!" she exclaimed. They believed her right? Thalia nodded solemnly.
"We know. That's why we're here. Nico told me the death felt weird that day. Like…Leo went to the underworld, but somehow wasn't fully there. Like that expression one foot in the grave." Nico raised one eyebrow.
"I don't think you know the meaning of the things you say Thals."
"Don't call me Thals Neeks." Thalia retorted, messing up Nico's hair. Nico scowled and fixed his hair before turning back to his sister. Somethings would never change.
"Anyway, we need to track down Leo, find out how he managed to come back, where he's been, and bring him back to camp." Hazel sighed.
"One problem with your plan Nico. They think that I'm being controlled by some monster. And Thalia, what about the hunt. You can't just up and leave." Thalia shrugged.
"I don't know about the whole being controlled problem, but the hunt thinks I'm tracking down some new monster. I left someone else in charge temporarily. It'll be fine." Hazel smiled, grateful that her cousin had her back. Fishing a drachma out of her pocket, Hazel grabbed a spray bottle and opened the window. It was time to contact Leo.
Leo almost fell off Festus when an IM appeared in front of him. It showed an aged Hazel, an aged Nico, and a still fifteen Thalia. Calypso was still driving and didn't look away from the cloud filled sky in front of her.
"Whoa Nico! You look old!" Leo exclaimed. Nico scowled.
"Oh sure. Call the thirty five year old man old, but not pregnant woman?" Leo laughed.
"Well yeah that would be rude. Duh." Hazel giggled but Thalia still had a poker face.
"Is it the real you Leo? Honestly?" he patted his legs and pinched his arms.
"Yep, I think I'm me."
"Then answer this; what did you do shortly after we met that angered Jason?" Leo squinted his eyes in thought, before groaning and covering his face with his hands. He had felt horrible after that.
"I accidentally melted the ice bridge we were walking on, leaving you stranded on the other side." he mumbled. Thalia nodded.
"And what was the name of the girl who helped us distract the nymphs, and what did she look like." Hazel asked. Leo grinned.
"Her name was Echo, and I have no idea what she looked like because she blended in with her surroundings." Hazel was beaming.
"Okay we believe you." Nico said. Leo opened his mouth to respond when a loud groan was heard from the IM.
"What was that?" he asked. Hazel sighed.
"That…was Frank. Thalia would you deal with it." she smirked.
"Yeah, and I think I'll have some fun with it." she waved her hands in front of her face and suddenly it looked like Leo's. with a quick snap her body changed to resemble that of a boy wearing a camp half blood outfit and tool belt. A thin smile crossed Nico's face, while Hazel looked absolutely stricken.
"You wouldn't!" she gasped. Thalia/Leo smiled evilly and crept down the stairs. There was a tiny sound of surprise followed by a quickly muffled scream. Thalia, now just Thalia, came back up stairs with a satisfied smile on her face.
"He won't be bothering us anymore." Thalia stated.
"Thalia." Hazel said in a warning tone, and the hunter rolled her eyes.
"I just gagged him and tied him to a chair. Plus I hid a nice note for him to find whenever the ropes release him. Which is set to be…two hours or so from now." Nico snorted.
"What did the note say? 'I O U one demigod. If you don't go looking for us she will be returned safely. XOXO Hunter of Artemis'?" she rolled her eyes.
"No. I wrote 'I O U one pregnant wife. She will be returned when we deem fit. She came willingly. XOXO Leo…or am I Leo?'" Hazel face palmed.
"Right. That won't make him concerned at all." She said sarcastically. Leo grinned.
"Wow Hazel. I didn't know you had it in you to be sarcastic." He felt like he was on cloud nine. These were his friends! They believed he was the real him! What she said next surprised him.
"Well, I've had twenty years to work on my skills, so I hope they would be better than when was thirteen." His smile dropped suddenly.
"You mean it has been twenty years?!" he exclaimed. Hazel nodded shyly.
"Yeah. I thought you knew." Leo was dumbstruck, all euphoria leaving him. It probably wasn't the end of the world but…his friends had changed, they had moved on without him.
"Didn't you realize how long it had been when I told you I was thirty five?" Nico asked. Leo shook his head.
"I guess I was just too excited to see you guys." He said somberly. Leo sighed. "We need to focus. I need to get back to camp." The three exchanged looks.
"Uh…about that. we're er… the only ones who believe that you are…you." Hazel said awekwardly. "The rest think that you're a monster that's controlling me."
"Surely there is somebody who would believe that Leo is a demigod and not a monster." Calypso said hopefully. Leo was startled. He had almost forgotten she was there. It was the first time she spoke sense the conversation had started.
"You! You're the one who cursed Annie in…downstairs!" Thalia exclaimed. Calypso sighed.
"You've had twenty years to get over that! besides its not like it was permanent." She protested. Thalia scowled.
"You had no way of knowing that." calypso opened her mouth to respond when Leo decided it was time to intervene.
"You guys can rehash this later. Right now we need to focus. What's the plan?"
"We need to find proof that Leo's really Leo. We might be gone for a while, but we need to make this right. It's my fault that we're in this situation. If I had told them years ago that your death felt strange, then they might be open to the idea that Leo is alive." Nico said. Hazel gave him a one armed hug.
"First things first. We need a prophecy."