Chapter 9 in the running! WOO! I just ate pizza, so I'm happy. Pizza always makes me happy. That and ice cream...and frosting, and cookies (without raisins), and spaghetti, and buttered noodles, and granola, and dark chocolate, and...well, you get the point. ^-^ I love music, too. (Preferably rock/alternative and instrumental. I hate all that bubblegum pop and boy bands and country. Except Taylor Swift!)

Disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, I am not in possession of the rights to the Heroes of Olympus series. Sorry. Stinks, I know. You obviously thought I was Rick Riordan, with my incessant freaking out about Leo Valdez. Yeah, definitely.

Piper's P.O.V.

When I woke up, my head felt completely healed. I turned on my side and looked at Leo, who was clutching the Master Bolt and...Poseidon's Trident? He was still fast asleep, but I noticed something different while he was sleeping. He surprisingly wasn't fidgeting like he usually is. His curly brown hair looked especially untamed, and his skin looked slightly clammy, as if he hadn't showered in a couple days. Come to think of it, he probably hadn't.

He coughed a little, and then his eyes fluttered open. He grinned. "Pipes, Zeus likes me."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Zeus totally just gave me his brother's trident."

"Ooh. Fun," I replied.

I sat up. "So, we have the trident, the bolt, the girdle, and the bow and arrows. We still have two more things left. Um, the helm and the armor. Any ideas as to where they might be, Leo?"

Leo started to shake his head, and then changed his mind and nodded. "I believe I know where the armor is."

My eyes widened. "You do?"

He smiled. "Yep. Come on, follow me," he said. He slowly pulled himself out of bed, his mechanical brace freezing up in the process. He reached down and loosed it, and then he continued on toward the door. I quickly swung myself out of the cot and hurried to Leo, as he nearly fell. I squeezed his hand as he led me to wherever the armor was.

He waddled on, leading me into the woods after ten minutes of walking. We walked for what seemed like forever in silence, until we came to a stop in front of a limestone cliff. Leo pressed the hand that wasn't grasping mine against the rock. A doorway opened and led us into Bunker Nine.

"What are we doing here, Leo?" I asked him.

He said nothing, and let go of my hand. He struggled and stumbled to get over to the other side of the room. When he got there, he traced his right index finger on the concrete wall, making a square outlines in flames. It opened up to a small crevice, where some pretty intense bronze armor looked like it had been sitting there for centuries.

Leo pulled the armor out, setting his other hand on the wall for support. He made his way back over to me. When he got to me, he handed me the armor. He nodded curtly, and then he walked out the door of Bunker Nine.

When we got back to the infirmary, Leo plopped down on his bed. "Well, that was a fun fieldtrip!" he exclaimed.

I smiled. "Well, I guess I'm not dying, but what about you? How do we find Hades's Helm of Darkness?"

He shrugged. "Ask Hades."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, gee, never would've thought of that."

"That's why I'm here, Pipes," he said.

"Wait a minute...if we don't get Hades's helm, you die. Why are you so laid back?"

He looked at me in the eyes. "Beauty Queen, you're going to live. As long as you're still here, my life is complete. It doesn't matter if I die, because no one would care anyway. Other than you. But if you died, everyone would be devastated. You have a family and a life. I don't. You deserve life."

I could've both punched him and kissed him at that moment, there were so many mixed feelings in my head. "You deserve life, too."

He shook his head. "No, I don't."

I gave up, knowing it was no use to argue. I checked the clock, startlingly realizing that it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. "How did that happen?" I asked Leo, pointing at the clock.

"I dunno. I'm guessing we woke up around two. Spent an hour finding the armor, probably," he explained.

"But...but that means we only have nine more hours to get the helm!"

He bit his lip. "Oh, well."

I sighed deeply, trying to calm down. "Well, I guess we'll have to Iris-message Hades. We should try to persuade him. Even if it takes three hours."

*nine hours later*

"Well, that backfired horribly," Leo said weakly. He hadn't talked the entire time. I had used every ounce of charmspeak magic I had to persuade Hades, and it still hadn't worked.

His sudden noise caused me to turn around and look at him. His face was as pale as it was those couple weeks ago. His skin was sweaty and clammy, his eyes glassy. His dark curls were splayed across his forehead with perspire weighing them down. The usual mile-wide grin was down to a centimeter-wide smile. His breathing was beginning to be labored, and he struggled to keep eyes open.

I walked over to his bedside and sat down next to him, putting my hand up against his forehead. It was terribly heated with fever. "Leo, are you feeling okay."

He shut his eyes. "I feel...just fine, Pipes."

"You're lying."

He tried for a smile. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I should know." I glanced at the clock, suddenly realizing it was midnight, the deadline for Tityos.

"Piper..." Leo whispered.

"What?" I asked him.

"Don't worry 'bout me."

"Leo, you're going to die."

"Whoever said that was a bad thing?"

"Uh, me?"

He grinned sadly. "No, you didn't..." He shut his eyes one last time, and his heart stopped. Literally.

"Valdez! No...Leo..." I cried. A tear dropped on Leo's shirt, and I realized it was mine. How was I supposed to live now? Living without Leo is like being alive when there's no sun. The tears came down faster than ever. I counted the seconds.

When Leo had been officially dead for about two minutes, Hades, Lord of the Dead, walked into the room. He frowned at Leo's limp form. "Oh, no. That won't do. He won't stop annoying and pestering me in the Underworld. How am supposed to live with that?"

I glared at him.

He sighed, and handed some sort of helmet over to me. "Take it. Get him out of my life."

"It's too late–" I started to say, and then Tityos surprisingly walked in.

"Ooh, goody. Thanks," Tityos said, grabbing the items.

When they both walked out the door, minute after hour passed.

But Leo was as still and silent as before.

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN. Yeah, I JUST RIPPED YOUR HEART OUT! (possibly.) THAT'S WHAT A GOOD AUTHOR ALWAYS DOES! WOO! (Okay, hold on, guys. There are still a few more chapters left. Don't lose faith. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT STOP READING THIS. I'm serious. I will not disappoint. ^-^) Please review, all you silents!