AU: Hey Folks, next chapter up, I know I was asked for longer chapters, and I know I said I would do them, but this chapter required me to stop at a particular point, so I have a rather lovely cliff-hanger for you folks... What will happen next?

EmpressLupin Travis and Conner? We shall See... ( Just struck with an Idea for a T&C centered fic...)

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise, much as I would like too...

Chapter 9:

In Which Leo Falls Back On an Old Habit.

Mrs Dodds lead them back through the museum, till they once again had reached the Greek and Roman section. Percy didn't seem all that worried, well not nearly as much as Leo. He didn't know that their teacher was a fury who was planning on killing the both of them, then sending their souls to be tortured by Hades. It was alright for some...

Leo was freaking out. This was a very bad situation to be in. He couldn't say it was the worst; he'd been through world war three, but still... Stuck facing a fury, who might or might not have backup, with no weapon save his fire (which might not work), and a very powerful demigod, who didn't know he was one. Not good.

"Why are you freaking out man? It's just Mrs Dodds." Percy looked relaxed, too relaxed, even though he couldn't know about Mrs Fury. Leo absent mindedly wandered how many times Percy had gotten told off, to be so casual about it. The fact that normally Leo would be like that crossed his mind, and then was thrown aside by his ADHD brain when they reached the room with the stele. Dead end.

"Percy, this is worst than just Mrs Dodds. If I die, run!" The look Percy gave him would have been hilarious, had Leo been joking. But he wasn't and this was serious. Chiron had turned up last time around, with riptide, if Leo remembered Percy's story right. But what if, by being here, Leo had prevented that happening? What if Percy died because of Leo? What if...

Calm down, Leo told himself, panicking won't help anything. Percy needs you to protect him right now, and kind of owe him for the amount of times his older self has saved you. Leo looked round the room for anything he could use. He remembered the room behind Mrs Dodds had a load of wires in. It was locked, but that was really no problem for a son of Hephaestus, all he needed was a distraction.

Mrs Dodds was yelling at Percy now, "Did you really think you would get away with it..." So Leo began edging around her, one foot, two feet, shuffle. Eventually he reached the cupboard, and began to pick the lock, no longer registering what was happening behind him. That was his mistake.

Percy's shout of "Leo" was all the warning he had, before he felt something swoop at him, and dived to the side, just in time for black claws, that seemed to be coated in some sort of poison, to slash the air where he had just been standing, then get caught in the wooden door.

While the fury was trying to free herself, Leo ran back to Percy, "Thanks for the warning man, any longer, and I'd have been monster chow." Then Leo stood in front of him, a gesture, which seemed to be innocent, but which the fury defiantly understood, judging by the widening of her eyes, and the scowl on her wrinkled face.

"So you would stand by him, Son of Hephaestus, even after his great crime?" The fury was advancing faster now, her scowl becoming a snarl. "Even after his crime agaist the gods?"

Ignoring Percy's confused questions, "Son of who? What... Leo?" Leo squared up to the fury.

"He didn't do it! He hasn't done anything; he doesn't even know what he is. He hasn't got the bolt, or the helm. He doesn't know... It wasn't him."

The fury stopped in her tracks, and turned her attention off Percy, and onto Leo. "You know of the helm's disappearance. That knowledge was not made known even to Olympus. Only the thief would know."

Well schist! Leo knew he was going to make mistakes... But that was terrible. He'd gotten the suspicion off Percy, and onto himself. Good going Leo. Leo decided he had a bad habit of being unduly sarcastic when he was a about to die. It was rather worrying that he had almost died enough to know that.

Again the fury dived at him, and again he managed to just leap out the way. Mrs Dodds, (who wasn't quite the old maths teacher from Georgia) kept diving at him, and he wasn't quite fast enough to dodge every time. His hands began to heat up, and sparks began to show in his eyes. The next time the fury dived; Leo stood still and flamed on.

The fury couldn't pull out of the dive in time, and ended up bowling into him, and hitting him into the painting of his father, which surprisingly, didn't go up in flames, but did have a very hard frame. Leo's flames died, and he stood up, his head slightly bleeding from the fall. The burnt fury was growling at him again, but she couldn't fly any longer, her wings were badly scorched. She howled in pain, and lunged again, madness glinting in her eyes, her claws outstretched, and moving so fast, that the disorientated Leo didn't have time to move, or flame on.

Then a bronze blade erupted from her chest, and golden powder rained down on Leo. He looked up and saw Percy, with a celestial bronze sword in his hand, and a strange expression on his face. Looking behind him, he saw Grover, with a accusing look on his face. Then Chiron his face carefully blank. Leo was honestly surprised he hadn't been sucked down to the underworld; then again Hades was probably preparing a specific spot in the fields of punishment first.

Leo moved forward warily, and almost fell over; maybe the head injury was worse than he had thought. His movement had opened the flood gates on all of Percy's questions though. "What was she? Why was she here?"

Leo decided that since Percy had been attacked and he was going to be plunged into a world of gods and monsters, he deserved the truth first. "That was a fury, a type of monster, and she was looking for someone."

"She came after me first, but then you said something, said the helm was missing too. What helm? And why did she call you the thief? And a son of Hephaestus?"

"Because I am. Well, I am a son of Hephaestus, a demi-god, I'm not the thief." Yeah thought Leo like they'll believe me now. He looked at the faces in the room, Grover's accusing look, Chiron's disgusted and disappointed one, heck even the statues seemed to be looking down at him. But worse by far, the look that made Leo stumble back was the look of utter betrayal on Percy's face, and his whispered words, "Why didn't you tell me?"

The looks were burning him, the emotions were overtaking him, the hatred and disappointment was making him feel sick, and his head was throbbing so badly it looked like the room was growing and shrinking with every breath. It was too much, it was all too much. A long forgotten part of Leo arose in him again. An instinct left over from his days on the streets, back before he knew he was a demi-god, plan B...

Run

Ok: I'm done for this chapter. I would like your answer in a review, or Pm, if you're bothered. Should I do a separate story of Percy's P.O.V of this entire thing, or should I leave it? Your choice.