So Six has been kidnapped, Eight has just had a nightmare and Annabeth is becoming a mother bear whose cub has been taken. Yay. Oh, and I'll explain my choice of the goddess' identity at the end of this chapter. Thanks to everybody who faved or followed, and an extra special thanks to Otaku1325 for helping me out with the Spanish.
Skyfir3S4kur4 : I'm happy to hear that you love it, even though I'm cruel and have forced you to wait so long for an update.
Lyra : Percy and Annabeth's children would be terrifying. The personality of Percy combined with Annabeth's intelligence. *shudder*. And I'm going to try and remember to call you Lyra, but I have a terrible memory so...
Lord of Potatoes : I think that I might have to take you up on that, I've been awful with updates lately.
L120Writer : You're welcome, and thank you for your review. I hope that this chapter will be slightly longer, and I'll hopefully keep it to the same standard. And I will continue to write even if it is more sporadically.
Kris Awesomeness : Yep, Annabeth's inner mother bear has been awakened. All monsters who intend to threaten Leo should beware the wrath of an overprotective horde of demigods.
Calefe : Thank you, I'm glad to hear that you think that I'm getting his character right.
Red Raven05 : Hehe, you'll get the answers to your questions this chapter. And I'm sorry for taking so long.
Melancholy's Sunshine : Oh yes, there is going to be a lot of very angry, very dangerous demigods going after him. If they are bad when normal Leo is hurt, think of what they will be like if Six gets injured.
Connwaer Heap : You'll find out this chapter :)
Zoethezany III : I don't mind that your not logged in. And is she does anything to Six then there will be Hades to pay. Do you think that Annabeth should tell more stories?
Faltercloud : Thank you, I'm happy that you think my story is amazing.
Florence23 : Poor Leo, I do enjoy hurting him.
Sidda : No, I suppose I don't own you. Or do I? ;) And that makes me feel sad, as Leo teaming up with Blaze would have been amazing (if terrifying). And I do plan to watch Hetalia at some point, I just have a lot of other anime to finish first.
Killua minamoto : Well if you remember then feel free to tell me. And, yes, it has been quite a while. I loved writing the little story so I'm glad that you enjoyed reading it, and you'll see what happens to Six this chapter. I'm sorry for making you wait so long, my schedule has just been everywhere lately.
ObsessedwReading : You'll find out if what you hope for comes true this chapter :)
OtakuNewWorldOrder : I really do have a habit of making people cry. Though as it's because you think that it was cute then I guess it's not a bad thing.
Koolkat0207 : Poor Six indeed. And I'll just have to wait and see if I can change your opinion on Fourteen :)
Koolkat0207 : I did enjoy writing chapter 6, so I'm happy that you thought it was a good chapter. And to answer your question, because I am evil and like to see my favourite characters suffer :)
Disclaimer : Yeah, still not mine. Yes I'm still sad about this.
Piper's P.O.V
A scream of pure rage radiated from the deck, and the demigods all looked at each other in shock and horror. The scream had sounded like Annabeth, and Annabeth wasn't one to make a sound like that without good reason.
That thought was enough to force Piper and the others into motion. Their feet pounded on the wooden floor as they hurtled towards the deck.
They reached the open air just in time to see Annabeth bury her head in her hands, sobbing wholeheartedly.
Percy was first to reach the distraught daughter of Athena, practically sliding across the floor before thumping to the ground in front of her.
"What's wrong Wise girl?" His voice was frantic, and Piper felt her worry slide up a notch as Annabeth's hands clenched, knuckles white and almost straining against her skin with the force of the fist she was making.
"She took Six!" Piper felt paralysed with horror, a chill colder than Khione's magic sweeping down her spine. The youngest, purest, most vulnerable Leo had been kidnapped.
"Who's this she?" Jason's voice was stern, but Piper knew that he was just trying to cover up how worried he was about the child version of his best friend.
"I don't know." The anguish in Annabeth's voice was almost painful. Not only had she apparently witnessed Six be taken without being able to stop it, she also didn't know who the perpetrator was which must be making it even worse for her.
"What the hell is going on?!" Piper whirled round to observe the other Leos skidding up top, and almost falling into pile in their haste.
Fifteen's eyes were wary, and Piper didn't blame him. Since the young Leos had been on-board, so many things had gone wrong and Fifteen was trying to be the responsible Leo in order to look after his younger selves. The poor kid must be exhausted and just anticipating the next problem.
Fourteen was holding Eight whose head was buried in the shirt of his older self, still in his pyjamas. Piper felt a pang as she realised that Six was in pyjamas as well, wherever he was. At least his ability would stop him getting too cold, as the flimsy material of his pyjamas wouldn't block out the chills nor protect him from whatever this mysterious lady was planning on doing to him.
"Six has been kidnapped." Percy was probably aiming for a matter of fact tone, but the hitching of his breath belied any sense of calm leadership that the older demigod would otherwise be radiating.
Fourteen blanched, subconsciously holding Eight tighter. Eight's head also rose, and his tear streaked face now had a look of utter terror.
"But... but he's only little." His voice trembled and it felt like a punch in Piper's stomach. All of these Leos were too little, even Fifteen. For Hades sake, even the modern Leo was too young to be dealing with everything that he has to handle. Everything that he had had to handle in the past as well.
Although Piper was concerned about those two, Fifteen was the one whose reaction was the most worrying.
His head was angled downwards, hair flopping over his face and flames almost forming a crown around the dark curls.
Then he was looking up and his eyes held a determination and darkness that struck Piper to the core. Fifteen was deadly serious and also terrifyingly furious. Of course, they were all furious, but there was something incredibly dangerous radiating from Fifteen at this moment.
"Of course Six has been kidnapped. As if we didn't have enough to deal with." His words were laced with sarcasm. Everyone was now openly assessing the oldest Leo, yet he didn't seem to care.
"Six is in trouble, must be Tuesday." Fourteen mumbled, clearly trying to ease the mood with a quote. Suddenly, Fifteen's blazing eyes were turned on Fourteen.
"Now is not the time to be making stupid references! If anything happens to Six then we might never be able to become our real age again. We might not be able to be fixed. Instead of making stupid jokes you should be thinking of ways to track him down!" Fifteen turned and stalked downstairs, smoke curling behind him in an almost taunting manner, beckoning them to follow the enraged demigod and confront him for his harsh words.
Fourteen was left looking shell-shocked and seemed to be on the verge of tears. Eight was crying again, though his sobs were silent.
Piper felt the situation beginning to overwhelm her. Six was missing, Eight had just had a horrible nightmare, Fourteen had been chewed out for no real reason and Fifteen was flipping on his allies. It was a hellish situation.
"Ignore him Fourteen, we'll sort him out later. The immediate problem is Six." Jason advised as Percy pulled Annabeth to her feet gently.
"It's probably best if you tell us what happened." Hazel voice was fraught with worry, hand tightly laced with Frank's. Usually Piper would have been happy to see romance between her shipmates (though she would never admit to such a thing), but despair over the situation overcame even her ingrained Aphrodite-esque instincts.
Annabeth began regaling what she had witnessed. When she got to the part about the massive wave of hate and anger, the colour drained from Frank's face.
"That sounds kind of like the effect that my dad has on most people." Percy nodded, but Piper frowned.
"Annabeth said that it was a woman." Annabeth wiped the tears from her cheeks, eyes vacant for a moment. And then she gasped.
"Enyo.* Sister of Ares, Goddess of strife. She's must be the one who took Six!" The knot in Piper's stomach got worse.
"A Goddess of strife... how are we meant to find a Goddess of Strife?"
"We don't have to track the Goddess; we just need to track Six!" Frank exclaimed. They all turned to stare at him, baffled, and then Annabeth's eyes lit up.
"The trackers!" Fourteen raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you only put trackers on me and Fifteen?" All of the whole demigods shifted awkwardly, and Eight proudly displayed the tracker on his skinny wrist. It had previously been covered by his sleeve.
"When we made them for you and Fifteen, we agreed to put some on ourselves so that we don't get lost." Fourteen's mouth tipped up wryly.
"Well I guess your over protectiveness is going to come in handy. Eight, where is the locator?" Eight wriggled out of his grasp and padded over to the computer.
"We hooked them up to the computer whilst you and Fifteen were too busy taunting the others." Fourteen had the grace to look embarrassed, but only for a millisecond.
"Wait, we need a plan for when we discover his location." Piper stared straight into Annabeth's eyes.
"We go in, we kick that hag's ass and we rescue Six." Percy and Jason looked at her approvingly, but Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"We can't all go." Everyone instantly began clamouring about how they wanted to go.
"Right, if Percy goes then Jason can't. Neither should Nico or Hazel. Only one child of the Big Three should go or else there'll be anarchy." The four children of the Big Three all glared at each other.
"It makes the most sense for me and Hazel to go. That way there'll be no rivalry and there will be two children of the big three present." Nico's words made sense, but that didn't stop the sadness that crossed over both Percy and Jason's faces at the realisation that they won't be able to go and help Six.
"Fourteen should come. Who knows what's going to happen to Six? He may need his help." This was again accepted by the demigods.
"Piper and I should probably stay and try to figure out what's up with Fifteen." Piper turned to glare at her boyfriend, but his idea was logical. Her hands clenched into fists, but she nodded in acquiesce.
"Frank, do you think that you'll be less affected by Enyo's aura than the rest of us?" Frank shook his head, eyes dark.
"It will probably make my war like instincts act up, especially if I'm with a Leo. No offence." Fourteen waved this off, and Annabeth nibbled her lip contemplatively.
"Three is the best number for demigod quests; shouldn't Nico, Fourteen and I be okay?" Hazel looked incredibly nervous, and Piper's heart ached for the younger demigods who were being sent off to face a Goddess of strife.
"Well, we could send Hedge…" All of the demigods considered that option for a moment. Images of a crazy satyr under the influence of a war Goddess made them all shiver in unison.
"We can handle it." Nico stated firmly.
"But Fourteen hasn't had any training." Fourteen shot Annabeth a dark look at that statement.
"I can handle myself in a fight."
"Yes, but can you handle yourself when you're up against monsters and a Goddess." Annabeth probably didn't even mean to sound condescending, but Piper could see Fourteen bristle at this perceived patronising.
"I'll be with Nico and Hazel. We'll be fine." Piper was amazed at this statement. Fourteen, the Leo who had been the hardest to deal with, apparently trusted Hazel and Nico. She wondered if this was due to the resolution of Nico and Fourteen's argument and how Hazel had comforted him during the retelling of the incident.
Eight turned towards them and gestured towards the blinking red dot that indicated where Six was located.
Piper observed as Nico studied the flashing symbol intently. He then nodded.
"Fourteen will need the tool belt if he is coming. You should fetch it from Fifteen before we leave." Piper inhaled deeply.
"I guess that is our cue." She slid her hand into Jason's and tugged him towards the lower decks.
The first place that they checked was the engine room, the area where Leo naturally gravitated when he was upset. But there was no sign of Fifteen, and Piper had to wrack her brain for other places that Fifteen could have gone to.
The deck was out as that was where they had previously been gathered. And Piper didn't think that the Parthenos would draw Fifteen in the same way as it drew older Leo.
Her thoughts flashed back to the memories that they had watched, and she instantly span around, pulling Jason with her.
"The training room!" Luckily her boyfriend caught on to what she was saying, they didn't have much time to waste. Six was in danger, and his situation was growing more and more precarious with each second lost.
As soon as they arrived at the doors, Piper was almost knocked over by a wave of heat.
She exchanged a troubled glance with Jason as he carefully nudged the door open.
Fifteen was pacing up and down, similar to the way he had been pacing when Fourteen ran away.
However, this time the heat was incredible. Piper felt sweat immediately begin beading one her forehead. She wiped it away absent-mindedly as her eyes remained glued to the boy in front of her, his body cloaked in flames that thankfully weren't reaching the floor.
He was also grumbling under his breath, but Piper couldn't make out any of it.
"Fifteen?" Jason called tentatively, and the younger boy pivoted around. His eyes were hard and angry, and Piper found herself recoiling.
"What?" He spat, and Piper's hand once again found her boyfriend's. Fifteen noticed the gesture, and an expression close to a snarl crossed over his tanned features.
"Come to flaunt your relationship in my face, right? Just leave me alone. Go and pander to the younger versions of me." Jason's hand gripped her own with more force.
"Geez Fifteen, what in the name of Hades is going on?" The Latino's glare intensified.
"Just tell me what you want and then leave me alone." Piper desperately wanted to sort out whatever was going on with her little brother figure, but Six's situation was the more pressing matter.
"We need the tool belt." Piper knew that her tone was blunt, yet she was hoping that the fact that she had refrained from using charmspeak would remind Fifteen that they were his friends.
Fifteen scoffed, and his hand drifted to his tool belt.
"Why?" His tone was insolent as he moved back, putting distance between himself and the other two.
"Fourteen needs it to help save Six." Piper loved Jason, she truly did, but at that moment she just wanted to smack him. Fifteen's eyes turned even harsher, but he undid the belt and chucked it to Jason anyway.
"So you're trusting him with it now, after he ran away once already? Great plan." A spark of irritation flared in Piper's gut.
"Apparently unlike you, Fourteen recognizes how important it is to get Six back. If you want to stay in here and sulk instead of talking to us, whatever. But don' try and turn things on Fourteen when you are being the difficult one here." A slight flicker of hurt in Fifteen's eyes caused Piper to regret her words, but they had been stalled here long enough.
They would return after seeing the others off to check up on Fifteen.
Nico's P.O.V
Nico had been pleasantly surprised at Fourteen's willingness to head on this quest with him and his sister.
It seemed that they had really made an impression on the fire wielder. And Nico was secretly delighted to have the other boy trust him after the argument that they had had. Though this was muted by the fact that Six was missing and Fourteen was about to be dragged on a dangerous quest to retrieve him. Plus, even though Nico had been the one to suggest that Hazel come along, he was worried about her as well.
She was his only true family and he wanted, no, needed to keep her safe.
Nico tuned in to the conversation after that grim thought. The others were giving Fourteen some quick advice about monsters and Goddesses. Nico prayed that they wouldn't have to fight any monsters, a Goddess was already a huge challenge.
Though Fourteen was taking the information in well, and Nico was reminded that the boy had confessed to previous fighting experience. They wouldn't be totally throwing him in at the deep end with no experience at all.
It was quite tense as the Fourteen year old Leo was given this quick talk on just how dangerous Enyo really was. Nico felt admiration for the fire user, although he was a lot paler than usual, his eyes held a steely sense of resolution.
Coach Hedge had been fetched and filled in about the situation. He was currently munching a can as he created more and more creative threats for the lady who had endangered on of his charges.
Eight was sitting a little further away from the group of older demigods, and Nico felt himself drawn over by the plainly miserable face.
The child looked up at Nico's approach, and his eyes were filled with despair. It made Nico sick to see such an expression on the usually gleeful face. The nightmare before had been bad enough, this little Leo looked about ready to curl up in a hole and disappear.
"It's my fault." The kid's voice was filled with muted horror, and Nico instantly knelt down to comfort the boy. Sure, he wasn't the best at dealing with emotions, but even he couldn't help hugging the boy in an effort to console him.
"Why would you think that?" The boy shuddered in his arms.
"If I hadn't had a nightmare then Six probably wouldn't have ran off."
"How did you know that Six ran off because of your nightmare?" Nico held the warm body as it trembled.
"Because he was so scared. His instinct when scared is to run away from the problem." Nico hadn't know that that particular characteristic had been ingrained even from the early age of Six. He mused silently about whether or not the others were aware of this, when his mind was brought back to his duty to Eight by a quiet hiccup.
"Eight, if Six was truly a target for the Goddess then she would have gotten him one way or another. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're going to get him back one way or another. I swear to you that we will bring him back." Nico just about held himself back from making an oath on the River Styx. He was tempted to, but oaths were a tricky business and Nico wasn't sure how wise it would be to engage in one.
He was sure that his words would ring true though.
Eight's tiny face was staring at Nico's, as if it would divulge the level of honesty behind Nico's words. At that, Nico's defence crumbled.
"I swear on the River Styx that we will bring Six back." A crack of thunder on an otherwise clear day signified Nico's oath, and drew the attention of the others whose eyes swivelled to Nico instantaneously.
Nico ignored them in favour of smiling softly at Eight. The young fire demigod hugged him again, his warmth matching the warmth in Nico's heart.
"Thank you."
"We've got it!" Piper bounded up from the lower deck. Jason followed behind her, clutching the tool belt and staring up at the sky suspiciously.
Fourteen took the tool belt when it was proffered, gaze serious as he knotted it around his waist.
Nico stood up, hauling Eight with him. He gently deposited the no longer crying child in Percy's arms. The son of Poseidon instantly cuddled the child close, and Nico had to smile at the big brother instincts displayed by Percy. It was ironic really, considering that Percy's dad had made a pact to have no more children, a pact that meant Percy would probably never have and actual demigod blood sibling.
Then he took a deep breath to steady himself. As a chorus of good lucks rang out, he stepped forwards and grasped the hands of Hazel and Fourteen (they had explained shadow travel and its effects along with the monster fighting advice) and the shadows absorbed them.
They were spat out in front of what looked to be a war museum. Both Nico and his sister cringed away from the museum dedicated to the memory of World War Two. Fourteen shot them a concerned glance (though his face revealed hints of nausea) and Nico simply muttered that it was a long story.
They all stared at the museum.
"We should have guessed that a Goddess of war and discord would enjoy a museum dedicated to one of the worst parts of human history." Hazel stated bitterly. Nico drew his sword, and Hazel followed his example. Fourteen fumbled around in his tool belt before pulling out one of the hammers that normal Leo used as a weapon.
Cautiously, the trio entered the building. Despite the fact that the sign clearly said 'closed', the door was unlocked. Nico suspected that Enyo was looking forwards to a confrontation with the demigods.
The museum was filled with all sorts of artefacts from the time of the war, ranging from army uniforms to weapons. Nico loathed to be in such a place, although his memories of his past were fuzzy, he vaguely remembered the terror as the war began.
They ventured further into the museum, all the while keeping an eye out for monsters. As they got deeper into the building, the demigods became aware of a terrible sobbing. Nico shot a quick look to Fourteen who nodded grimly.
The sobbing was Six, or at least it sounded like him.
Nico was aware that a cyclops could easily be mimicking Six in order to lure the trio into a trap. And damn was the method effective. Nico could already see Hazel wavering, clearly wanting to ditch their stealth in order to check whether or not the heart wrenching noises were coming from six.
He caught her free hand with his own, squeezing it in a (hopefully) sign of solidarity. Fourteen seemed to be straining to hear the cries properly.
"If that's an impersonation then it's pretty impressive." He stated darkly. Nico just motioned that they should continue walking towards where the sound was coming from.
They reached the end of a long corridor and were left standing in front of a set of double doors that must have lead into an education room.
Steeling himself, Nico checked to make sure that the other two were ready. They had no idea about what they were going to face when they got into this room.
Once they were all ready, Nico swiftly opened the doors, and the three of them dropped into defensive crouches. Only, nothing attacked them. Nothing happened.
For a moment, Nico was thrown of guard. Then Fourteen was at his shoulder.
"I can't sense any mechanical traps. Though that doesn't mean that there aren't any magical ones." It was at that moment that their eyes were drawn to the figure sitting on the floor and watching a huge projector screen.
Six was rapt with attention, not even turning around to see who was entering the room. His tiny body quaked and quivered as the sound of his whimpering echoed around the room.
"Six?" Nico tentatively edged into the room. As the trio entered, the screen grew louder. Nico could hear Gaia, taunting someone. Beside him, Fourteen's breath caught. He then swore emphatically.
"¡Esto no suena nada bueno, absolutamente nada bueno! (This doesn't sound good at all, absolutely not good at all!)" Fourteen's eyes appeared abnormally wide, and he was blinking rapidly.
All of a sudden, Six whirled round. His face was more furious than even Fifteen's had been before, and his eyes were reddened from crying.
Nico looked at the screen, and it was as if all of the breath had left his lungs.
Eight year old Leo was on the screen, and he was standing off against Gaia. The camera panned to a beautiful Latino woman who was trapped behind the warehouse door. Her eyes were wet and she was quietly repeating apologies to her son. Gaia and eight year old Leo could be heard in the background.
Fourteen's breath hitched, and Six's eyes had turned back to the screen.
"Six, you shouldn't watch this!" Hazel pleaded with the child, but he didn't even turn around.
"¡Ya cállate! I've already seen it.(Just shut up already!)" Six barked, eyes swivelling back to the son of Hades and the daughter of Pluto.
Fourteen had staggered over to his younger counterpart, eyes still on the screen. He reached an arm out to comfort his child self, but Six darted away.
On screen the terrible event had played out. Leo's mother had burnt to death as a result of Gaia's attack. The memory started over, as if on loop, and Nico realised with a mounting sense of dread that Six had most likely been watching this over and over again since he had been taken.
"¿Por qué no me dijiste? (Why didn't you tell me?)" He wailed as Fourteen also began weeping.
And constantly behind them, the film showing his mother's death played on.
So what will Nico and Hazel do next, and just what is up with Fifteen? You'll find out next update.
* This is probably going to cause some controversy so I thought I'd explain it here. Ares is occasionally pictured as having a twin sister, either Enyo or Eris. In some interpretations, Enyo is Ares wife and the mother of Eris, but in others they are one and the same. As Rick Riordan had Eris being a daughter of Nyx, I decided to have Enyo as the twin of Ares. This may no be completely correct, but it fits with certain interpretations of the myths so I'm sticking with it.