Disclaimer: I am quite sure Rick Riordan is a 40-year-old American man. He is probably NOT a teenage European girl. So, I don't own PJO. Or Rick Riordan, BTW.

PERCY

IV

I woke up, refreshed and rested and ready for a long break from saving the world. And I mean that literally.

I climbed out of bed and got dressed, heading up to the mess hall. The sun was up already and I was looking forward to a day at sea. I could sense the water roiling a few miles under my feet as we sailed high through the air.

It felt nice, I admitted, to have saved the world and lived to tell the tale. I had survived Kronos. I had survived the giants. I had survived Tartarus. And yet, there was still that lingering question: What if I hadn't gotten lucky? What if Polybotes hadn't fallen? What if one of us had died at the hands of a cruel fate so twisted not even the fates could think up such torture?

(Hint, hint: See what I did there?)

Troubling thoughts, but those vanished like snow in the ocean breeze when I came into the mess hall. Annabeth and Piper were sitting at the table already, having a go at each other's breakfast, while Hazel was helping Frank set out extra dishes.

I smiled, remembering how Frank had changed while I was in Tartarus. He had become larger, bigger, broader. He seemed to have finally settled comfortably into his body. He was now, in all sincerity, a beast, as I liked to call him. Frank hated the nickname, of course, so I called him that 24/7, at least until Annabeth kissed me and told her seaweed brain to shut up.

Annabeth… I sat down next to her and put my arm around her. She turned around and smiled at me, then kissed me. "Morning, seaweed brain."

"Good morning. What's for breakfast?" She laughed, her silver-grey eyes sparkling with happiness. "I don't know. What about blue pie?"

A blue pie appeared on my plate. "Blue pie it is," I told her. She smiled and batted Piper's hand away from her plate. "Bad Piper. Bad daughter of the love goddess."

Piper retracted her hand and took another bite of her no doubt organic and gluten-free pancakes with strawberries and apricots. The daughter of Aphrodite was in a good mood today, though I couldn't imagine why. I studied her curiously for a moment. "Piper?"

"HmmMMMhhmph?" Her mouth was full of pancake.

"Why are you so happy?"

She winked. "Oh, no reason. I just have this feeling that something really good is going to happen today…"

I wrinkled my brow. "Do you think it might have something to do with Leo's mysterious wish?" I had forgotten it in all the excitement yesterday evening, but it came back to me now.

"Hmm, my love sense is tingling," she joked. "Do you think he found a girl? Maybe that's why I'm so cheerful…"

The door opened and Jason walked in. He sat down next to Piper and they kissed. The daughter of Aphrodite smiled. "Strike that. The really good thing already happened."

Jason looked confused, until we explained it to him. He laughed. "Thanks, Piper. So, I was saying last night… We can stay at Camp Half-Blood from now on. I'm thinking of going Greek…" I didn't pay much attention after that, because I was trying to convince Annabeth of the virtues of blue pie.

It was then that Leo entered, looking visibly more groomed than normal. I mean, his hair was wet, and he had a fresh Camp Half-Blood T-shirt on and all that. I was starting to wonder about Piper's theory… Maybe Leo had found somebody.

The son of Hephaestus glanced around the room, taking in the scene with an apprehensive expression. Okay, if Leo was worried, I was worried.

Leo grabbed a plate. "Did I sleep in? What did I miss?"

Hazel laughed. "Relax. I think we woke up early." I seriously doubted that. I never woke up early. Hell, it took my mom like half an hour to wake me up in the morning for school. Leo smiled, though, and dug into some tasty-looking scrambled eggs. I continued to try and get Annabeth to like blue pie.

"So, Leo," Frank suddenly asked. Leo scraped onions off his plate. "Yeah?"

"Uh, I guess I'm speaking for everybody here when I say, what did you wish for?"

Leo chewed his onions longer than needed. He drank from his goblet. He sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna be straight with you guys. I wished -"

The intercom crackled and Festus voice creaked and clanked through the speakers. Leo cracked a grin. "Why don't you go out and see for yourself. Five minutes till our arrival."

Everybody rushed out into the corridor, excited to see where Leo had steered them. I walked to the railing, but all I could see was white, since we were flying above the clouds. I looked up as Leo arrived with a Wii controlled in one hand and a megaphone in the other.

Leo grinned. "So, Jackson, ready to see the island again?"

I was mystified. "What island…?" Annabeth frowned at Leo.

Leo waggled his eyebrows, grinning nervously, and made a golf-swing motion with his wii controller. The Argo II banked to the side and sailed down, breaking out of cloud cover.

And there, right in the middle of the clean, iridescent blue ocean, sat the green, heart-shaped island of Ogygia. Leo grinned like a maniac.

I gasped and stumbled back from the railing, my eyes wide. What the hell? How in Hades did Leo even get us here?! "No. This can't be. It just… Leo, how… What…?"

Leo turned to me, an expression of anger on his face. "She missed you, you know. She cried and thought she would be released, but, no, you walked off and never checked on her again."

My eyes widened until I thought they would pop out. Our friends stared at me as my mind whirled furiously, no doubt wondering if we were crazy. "Your wish… Oh, gods. And when you got marooned by Khione and wouldn't tell us… Hades, I am such an idiot."

"Yeah, seaweed brain, we all know that. Now, would you please explain what island this…" Annabeth's grey eyes suddenly narrowed. "Oh. Oh. This is… her island. Isn't it, seaweed brain?"

I stared shakily at the rapidly approaching island, not even offended by Annabeth's hostility. "Yeah. This is Ogygia. Guys," I made a half-hearted gesture. "May I present the home of Calypso."

Hazel frowned as the Argo II sailed through the air. "Ogygia… I've heard that before."

"Yeah," Piper said. "Remember, I told you about that just last week after sparring."

"Wait," Annabeth interrupted. "You mean, you told her?" I frowned. Annabeth told Piper?

Piper looked guilty. "Uh, yeah, sorry. But I did tell them not to tell anybody else!"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Them?"

Piper gulped, and her eyes just happened to slide over to Jason. Annabeth growled like a dog. "And I suppose somebody told Leo and Frank, too!"

"Well, I told Leo," Jason admitted, unrepentant. I almost groaned. Now, all of my friends knew my most embarrassing secret. I cast a guilty look to Ogygia.

Frank looked around. "Okay, could somebody please tell me what in Mars is going on?"

Leo grinned. "In a while, Doctor Dolittle." He raised the megaphone to his mouth a switched it on, climbing into the rigging. I stood behind his, stupefied into stunned silence. His voice blasted through the air, magnified a thousand times. "HELLO, OGYGIA! GUESS WHICH ANNOYING LITTLE SON OF HEPHAESTUS CAME BACK TO ANNOY THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!"

The Argo II sank into the waves and Leo jumped off, just as something orange burst out of the jungle.

And cut! Another wonderful cliffhanger! How did you like our Seaweed Brain's view of the circumstances? Remember to READ & REVIEW!