Oh no, it looks like poor little Six is in trouble! Whatever shall the demigods do, and what does this new Goddess want with Six? I guess you'll just have to wait and find out J Thank you to everyone who faved or followed.
Bearah cubecars : Heehee, you'll find out soon enough.
Melancholy's Sunshine : It would be hilarious if he didn't remember and he is just randomly accosted by hugs whilst some of the others take to camping out wherever he chooses to sleep. Can you imagine him waking up to see Frank, Percy, Nico and Jason all hovering over him?
Zoethezany III : Sadly the cliffhangers are permanent fixtures in my fanfictions, no amount of shooing can get them to leave ;) And I hope that you enjoyed the link.
Connwaer Heap : I'm glad that you understand, just think of it as the Leos' last ditch attempt to prevent the others finding out about the worst part of the incident. And the identity of the Goddess will be revealed this chapter.
Alvin6299 : Thanks, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
PhilyraRaven : All will be explained J
Sidda/Phoenix heart : I guess it was a little bit similar. And I love Blaze as well. I keep meaning to watch Hetalia but I've never gotten round to it. Oh, and I'm not sure if I can get you in this story, but you will be in one so keep your eye out ;) And, oh no! Did Jeff kill Leo? And lemons probably aren't a good idea if you're twelve…
Kris Awesomeness : Is that a good reaction or a bad one?
Cecld16 : I was tempted to have him kill someone, but I think that if one more person lost their life due to Leo's flames then I don't think he would have been able to cope. It would have been more dramatic but I just don't think that Leo would have recovered from it.
Skyfir3S4kur4 : I'm glad that you're so happy (the Physician's cure works wonders). Though I made you sad again straight afterwards J And I'm glad that you have stuck with this story despite my erratic schedule, it's always nice to see a reviewer who I feel like I've gotten to know through my fanfictions.
L120Writer : Thank you for reading and for saying that I understand what Leo is about. I'm so happy to know that you think I portray him well, I love his character so much and I'm honoured that you think I get him.
ObsessedwReading : Thank you, I love writing Frank/Leo bonding as they could get on so well if it wasn't for the Hazel tension and Leo's powers. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
Matt : Uh-oh indeed, it looks like someone has set her sights on poor, little Six.
Guest : I am never going to give up on any of my stories no matter how long it may take me to update so don't worry.
Disclaimer : For some strange reason, the rights to own HOH have not been sent to me yet. How weird is that?
Annabeth's P.O.V
Annabeth really hoped that they would get their Leo back soon. She thought that it had been bad enough keeping tabs on just one hyperactive pyromaniac Latino. Now she was seriously reconsidering the meaning of hell. They'd only been here for a day and one of them had already tried to run away. It was going to be a nightmare keeping track of them all.
At the moment everyone had gathered in the dining room. Sleeping arrangements had already been settled, but the little Leos may have some questions for the older demigods. They were obviously going to try and avoid subjects that would scare the poor kids.
She was glad to see that Fourteen and Fifteen had cheered up a bit. After everything that they had confessed to, Annabeth had been worried that they would be withdrawn or overly emotional. But Fourteen was smiling more than he had in all the time that he had been on board.
Fifteen was chatting with Six who was giggling crazily. Piper and Hazel (and Annabeth was pretty certain that Percy had the same expression) were staring at them dazedly, clearly thinking that Six's laugh was adorable.
It was then that she realised that Eight was sitting by himself at the end of the table. His expression was not sad but he definitely wasn't happy either. He looked more as if he was in a dream, lost to the world. It was so unlike any normal Leo that Annabeth found herself walking over to him.
Gently she nudged Eight's shoulder, hoping to snap him out of this state. The child jumped, and then flushed when he noticed the older girl. He flashed her a sheepish smile, hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Are you okay?" The boy lowered his head in a quick nod.
"I'm fine, I was just thinking." Annabeth smiled softly. It was probably a good time to start the meeting.
"Okay everybody, listen up. If any of you Leos have any questions then now is the time to ask them." Looks like Percy had the same idea as he stood up and moved to the head of the table. Annabeth smirked at the slightly frustrated look on Jason's face as Percy took the lead. Their rivalry wasn't dangerous anymore, in fact it was sort of cute the way they had a brotherly rivalry.
"What monsters have you fought?" This was Six, and expectant look of excitement on his elven face. Annabeth noticed the way Percy was taking a deep breath, ready to start on his long list of vanquished monsters, and decided to intercept before he took all day on just his list.
"We've fought the Titans, the Minotaur, the Furies, Charybdis and Scylla, Polycrustus, Ares and many others." Six's eyes were wide and Annabeth could tell that he was going to request extra detail, so she held up her hand.
"If we described every fight that we've been in then we'd be here all day." Jason nodded at her; after all, he had been in just as many battles.
"Can I go to bed now?" Annabeth felt her brow furrow in confusion. She didn't expect Eight to get tired so quickly, even with all of the excitement that had occurred earlier. Apparently her friends were confused as well as they just gawked at the child.
The young Leo wiped his eyes tiredly, and yawned as if to accentuate his point.
"Sure, if that's what you want. Six, do you want to go as well?" Six pouted, but then he studied Eight and nodded enthusiastically. Annabeth was slightly concerned that they were planning another trick, but Eight looked sincerely exhausted so she let it go.
"Come on, I'll show you to the room where you'll be staying." The youngest demigod got up to follow her. Six even laced his tiny hand together with hers.
Annabeth found herself smiling warmly as she led the two boys to Leo's room.
However, when she opened the door it was almost apparent that the room wasn't suitable for two young children.
Parts and shards of metal lay all over the floor, along with half-finished machines that were scattered over the beds. Annabeth was about to suggest that the kids share a spare room like their older counterparts when Six squealed and launched himself at one of the more complicated piles of gears.
"I thought that you were going to bed now, not tinkering with your older self's messes." Six's head whipped round.
"What do you mean mess? This is awesome!" The Latino child sounded outraged. Eight rolled his eyes and swept the majority of the cogs off of the bed before clambering onto it.
"Do you have the clothes that we were bought earlier?"Annabeth shook her head.
"No, I'll go and get them." She left quickly and both boys muttered thank you, distracted by their individual projects.
She returned after fetching the shopping bags that had been labelled "Eight" and "Six". Surprisingly, the little Leos hadn't moved much. Six was still playing around with the small pile of parts on the floor whilst Eight was sprawled out on the bed, fiddling with a thin collection of wires. They both looked up and smiled when Annabeth entered.
The bags were handed over and Annabeth stepped out whilst they changed into their pyjamas. A messy head of black hair popped out.
"Are you going to be reading us a bedtime story?" Annabeth froze. She had never had to tell a child a bedtime story to help them sleep before. But she couldn't say no to an adorable little Six who was wearing Iron man footsie pyjamas.
"Sure." Six beamed and tugged her inside. Eight was already tucked up in bed, the duvet reaching up to his chin. Six scrambled up to join him and there were a few minutes of fidgeting whilst they tried to get comfortable. Once they were finished and gazing at her expectantly, Annabeth sat down on the end of the bed.
This was a new area for her, and she desperately racked her brain for a suitable tale to tell the child Leos.
Eventually she settled on an idea about a dragon, Leo loved dragons.
"Once upon a time, in a land faraway there was a beautiful dragon named Festus. But this was no ordinary dragon. This was a bronze dragon." Both of the kids' eyes had lit up.
"Like our Festus?" Annabeth nodded, and Six's smile grew.
"Now, this dragon may have been one of the most glorious dragons in all of existence, but he was still a very lonely dragon. You see, he was the only bronze dragon, and as such the other dragons shunned him for being too unique." Twin sets of chocolate eyes were riveted upon her; the boys were seemingly enthralled with her tale despite the fact that Annabeth was basically stealing plots from numerous novels.
"So every day, the poor lonely dragon flew all alone. The sun would glint of his stunning metal back, but he was unable to feel its warmth like the other dragons did. And every day he would find a remote spot in the nearby mountains to curl up and contemplate just why he had been born so different. But one day… well, one day Festus met a very special boy." She could see the tiny fists clenched into the sheets with anticipation, and felt a gentle smile creep onto her face.
"This special boy's name was Lion. Lion was a very hyperactive boy, and he was also very, very clever. He was sitting up in the mountains because his friend's from his village were unable to play with him on that fateful day. When Festus saw the boy sitting in his usual spot, he was angry and scared. He thought, who is this human, come to laugh at me for being a freak." Eight wiggled around a little bit.
"Freak's not a nice word." He muttered. Annabeth placed a hand on his head and ran her fingers through his static collection of curls. She repeated the motion with Six. The two boys shuffled so that she could sit in between them, though they were still wrapped up in covers. They each lay their heads on her lap, shimmering brown orbs looking up at her.
"Well, Lion thought that as well. In fact, Lion thought that Festus was amazing. You see, Lion loved dragons and he loved machines, so Festus was like a combination of his two favourite things. So when Festus settled down on the ground, instead of mocking him like all the other dragons and humans did, Lion ran up and introduced himself." Annabeth noticed that the boys were beginning to look increasingly drowsy, so she decided to wrap the story up.
"On that day, Festus and Lion became the best of friends. It no longer mattered what anyone else thought because Festus had the best friend ever. Lion and Festus became incredibly close, and together they embarked on many wonderful adventures. But those adventures are a story for another night." Eight was fast asleep; his head nestled into Annabeth's hip. She thought that Six was also unconscious so she gently disentangled herself from the children and slid off the bed.
"Machines and dragons aren't my favourite things." Six muttered exhaustion evident in his voice, along with the contentment of a child about to drift into slumber.
"My mami is my favourite thing." After this line was spoken, a soft snore slipped out of Six. Annabeth felt her eyes well up at that innocent confession. Six still thought that his mother was alive, and clearly still adored her.
"I didn't think that you were one for making up stories, Wise girl." Annabeth jumped slightly, hastily removing any lingering trace of tears from her cheeks. She hadn't heard Percy enter the room, and she had been so caught up in telling her tale that she hadn't seen him either.
Her boyfriend evidently had not caught Six's last utterance.
Spinning around, Annabeth sent Percy a hesitant smile. His eyes were locked fondly on the boys in the bed who had scooted over in Annabeth's absence to curl up together like young puppies.
Then his eyes met her's. He frowned .
"You okay?" Annabeth moved away from the bed, grabbing Percy's wrist and tugging him into the hallway so that they wouldn't disturb the snoozing Leos.
As soon as they were out of the room, Annabeth span on her heel and virtually launched herself into Percy's arms. She could almost feel his surprise; she wasn't one of the most physically affectionate of people so this was probably slightly out of character.
"They are both so young. And Six is so pure, so innocent and sweet yet Eight has lost his mother. What are we going to do?" Percy sighed, holding her closer.
"There's nothing that we can do about the death of Leo's mother. It happened a long time ago. But we can be here for all of the Leos, and for our Leo when he gets back to normal. And we just have to protect Six from that knowledge." Annabeth chuckled.
"I think I might have to start calling you Wise boy instead of seaweed brain." Percy laughed as well, under his breath so as to not stir the children.
"That would really confuse the others." They both pulled away from the hug, and Annabeth grinned.
"Well I guess we better head back and see what's happening with the teens. Percy agreed, and they headed off to the dining room.
They spent a few hours in there, filling in the older Leos with the most relevant information that they needed right now. Hazel and Frank went up on deck to keep watch.
Suddenly, the door was flung open. All of the demigods tensed, hands stealthily reaching for unconcealed weapons.
Six was doubled over, panting, frightened tears sliding down his cheeks. A piercing scream could be heard from the other side of the boat.
"It's… Eight!" the child gasped out and all of the demigods launched themselves out of their chairs and hurtled towards the room where Eight had been staying. Annabeth swept Six up as she passed, holding the trembling child to her chest.
She could feel her top becoming damp with tears, and her level of concern rose. Reaching the hallway in time to see Piper flinging the door open, Annabeth put on a burst of speed. She almost tumbled as she skidded into the room to see all of the demigods crowded around a screaming Eight's bed. They were trying unsuccessfully to wake the distraught child up.
Shifting Six to her hip, Annabeth charged forwards.
"Guys, give him some space. If he wakes up to all of us gathered around him then he'll panic." Her friends all moved back, but they remained hovering in the room. Annabeth gently put Six down, and the boy darted to the door where he hovered anxiously.
Fifteen joined Annabeth, frantically trying to wake up his younger counterpart. Fourteen was attempting to comfort Six.
Unexpectedly, Eight lunged upwards, whimpering and sobbing. Fifteen pulled him into his arms and began muttering to him in Spanish, but the kid was still freaking out.
Fifteen's dark eyes snapped up and met Annabeth's.
"You all need to leave now." He hissed lowly, and Annabeth nodded, dumbfounded. She gestured to the others and they all piled into the hallway.
Fourteen had picked up Six and brought him into the hall, but the youngest demigod squirmed out of his older counterparts arms and raced away.
Jason went to follow, but Fourteen held him back.
"He's never seen a nightmare like that before. Let him have some space." The blond demigod nodded, but Annabeth could see that he still looked as if he wanted to sprint after the terrified child. Muted wailing could be heard from behind the door, and all of the demigods flinched.
Fourteen sighed, leaning against the wall and placing an arm over his eyes.
Hazel stepped forwards and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as the crying from inside Leos room intensified.
Annabeth was horrified that this had happened. When they had watched Leo's memories they had all seen that Leo had been miserable after the loss of his mother, but this was up close and personal. This wasn't just a memory, this was an actual child Leo sobbing from a nightmare.
The door suddenly swung open and Fifteen exited, holding a drained Eight in his arms. He sent them a look that broke Annabeth's heart before he set of in the direction of the engine room. Evidently Eight needed to calm down and working on a ship like the Argo would definitely distract the boy.
Fourteen trailed after them, leaving the older demigods behind feeling helpless.
If there was one thing that Annabeth truly despised (beside Hera and spiders) it was feeling helpless.
So she decided to take action.
"I'm going to look for Six." Piper turned to her.
"Fourteen said that we should give him some time." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Fourteen doesn't understand the danger of living on a ship like this. Six is only little and he might get hurt." The others exchanged a look.
"Fine, if you want to go and find him then go and find him." Annabeth nodded, spinning on her heel and striding away. She didn't understand why the others were unwilling to look for the boy with her. She ignored the niggling voice in the back of her head that complained that maybe her friends were right not to look for him at this moment. She shoved that voice down as far as she could, surely it would be better to track down the child before he got in to trouble.
Annabeth decided to try the deck first, and she increased her pace as she fixed a plan into her head. Annabeth always worked best when she had a plan.
Reaching the stairs, she hopped up them two at a time, unsure of why a bubble of fear had settled in her stomach.
The reason for her fear was revealed to see an unknown woman with her arms tightly wrapped around Six, one hand clenched over the Latino's mouth.
Her wicked eyes latched onto Annabeth's, and Annabeth felt a bolt of true fear flash through her.
"Annabeth Chase. You have brought me much amusement child. I'll see you again soon sweetie." Sarcasm oozed from the last word, an Annabeth shivered, a familiar feeling of hate and anger rearing up inside of her.
She didn't have time to analyse why the feeling was so familiar, she simply lunged forwards in an effort to save Six from this evil looking woman. But it was too late, the woman disappeared with Six still in her clutches.
Annabeth felt her knees hit the deck harshly, her sword falling from her hand.
Six had been taken.
So here is the tenth chapter of Knowing Leo. I hope that you enjoyed it and I'll see you soon :)