I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY EVERYONE! I really am, it's just my computer started not turning on the day after I made my promise to you guys! I really wish there was something I could do to make it up to you guys, so I decided to progress in my story very far! ENJOY!

Chapter 26

Leo

Leo scanned a plan through his mind and smiled devilishly as he looked down at Reyna. "Come with me, or you burn to death."

Reyna scowled at him and she stood up carefully, and Leo held a fireball up to her face. "Now start walking."

Leo lead Reyna all the way to Percy, and Leo used his other hand to chuck fireballs and anyone who came near them, giving Percy a little break.

"Percy, I thought of a plan to get us all out of here!" Leo said as Reyna growled.

"Whoa, is that Reyna?" Percy asked, utterly shocked.

Leo rolled his eye. "Yes, it is, but that's the first part of my plan. Get Piper. Just, sneak up behind her and throw her over your shoulder. The boulder's been blown up. We can get out of here."

Percy smiled and nodded, and Leo believed his plan would work.

Leo turned back to Reyna as he growled at him and he whispered, "Now, I'm going to try a more convenient way to carry you."

Leo swiftly bent over and grabbed Reyna by the hips and picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder.

"Leo Valdez, release me at once!" Reyna hissed viciously as she struggled.

"Why should I?" Leo asked, as he started running back to round up Frank and Hazel.

"What's the news?" Leo asked Hazel, who had somehow managed to drag herself over to Frank, who was mumbling.

"He's fine, nothing broken, he can get up and walk around if he tried," Hazel said.

"Do you think he can carry you?" Leo asked, worried his plan would fall apart right here.

"No," Hazel said, defeated.

Leo heard Reyna snicker, and, frustrated, sent a fire ball running up her pant leg.

She screamed and kicked, trying to escape the pain, so Leo patted it out before it turned her right side into booty-shorts.

Leo started thinking of a new way to get Hazel out of here, because there was no way she could run.

His thoughts were disrupted by Percy, who shouted, "I've got Piper! Let's go!"

I thought clicked in his head and he shouted, "Send Annabeth over here!"

Annabeth came running over and asked, "What?"

"Can you carry Hazel?" Leo asked hopefully.

"I can try," Annabeth whispered reluctantly. "Why can't Frank do it?"

"Because, the can walk, but he can't carry another person. He hurt his back," Leo explained quickly.

"Okay," Annabeth bent over and picked up Hazel, and gingerly placed her over her shoulder. "Let's go. Get Frank up. I'm going to get Percy and Piper."

Leo nodded, and he bent down to shake awake Frank. "Hurry, Frank! Wakey wakey, escape is HAPPENING!"

Frank nodded awake and sleepily said, "Dude, that didn't even rhyme."

"Oh well, I'm not a poet, but GET UP! We're leaving! You don't have to carry anyone, so get up!" Leo whispered harshly.

"Where's Hazel?" Frank sat up suddenly, and looked around, worry written all over his face.

"Don't worry, she's with Annabeth," Leo said as he helped up Frank.

"Okay, but if she ends up getting hurt worse, it's on your head, Valdez," he snarled viciously as he jumped off of Leo.

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" Leo said as Frank ran off toward the exit. And it's already bad enough that I have Reyna on my shoulder!

Suddenly, a loud boom rattled the entire cave and Gaea shouted, No! You will not take them! They are mine! Fight, girls! Fight for our purpose! Fight with your lives!

Reyna began to struggle violently as began screaming and crying, making it hard for Leo to not put her down, but he knew he was doing the right thing.

He started running toward the hole in the cave, gritting his teeth, trying his best to ignore Reyna's screams of, "No!" and her violent thrashing and her constant sobbing.

Reyna really became a difficulty to hold onto, so Leo shouted, "I need help from someone over here!"

Jason quickly ran back to him and said, "What to I do?"

"Just grab her arms and hold tight to them. We can get out of here quickly if we run in unison." Leo rushed as Jason grabbed and held onto Reyna's arms as she tried to wrench her helpless body away from the boys' grasps.

Soon, Reyna started kicking Leo in the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

He went down on one knee and Jason knelt down beside him. "What do we do?"

The shouts of, "Hurry up guys!" from Annabeth and Percy and the sweet and gentle, "You can make it!" from Hazel and the rather awkward, "Just don't get too comfortable!" from Frank made Leo's brain go numb as he tried to think of a new plan.

Out of the blue, something just clicked, and Leo whispered, "Come in front of me and grab her legs."

Jason grabbed her legs, and Reyna began punching on his back, then Leo said playfully, "Oh no you don't!" and told Jason to stay put while he ran backward until Reyna fell off his shoulder, and stretched out her arms to grab onto his shirt.

Leo grabbed her by the wrists and shouted to Jason, "Now let's just turn her over nice and slow!"

They worked together and turned Reyna so her face was facing up instead of down like before.

She struggled uselessly against the boys' strength, but Leo just held on tighter and said, "No matter what you do, we are not letting you go!"

Reyna began to cry and she whimpered, "But, Leo, you're hurting my wrists. Please, just loosen your grip a little! Don't you have a heart?"

Leo gritted his teeth, and just to make a point, tightened his grip and whispered viciously, "You can trick me no matter what you do! I won't let go!"

Reyna cried out in pain, but it hurt Leo, too. He liked his girl, and putting her through pain made him feel terrible. He just couldn't let his emotions get in the way of their escape.

"I guess you don't have a heart, you cruel beast!" Reyna snarled, and Leo squeezed her wrists even harder and she cried out and whimpered, "You're crushing my wrists!"

"GOOD!" he shouted, but he didn't mean to shout. "You're crushing my heart!"

Leo hadn't realized he'd said it until it was too late, but thankfully Jason and the others were too far away to hear him, but Reyna whispered, dumbfounded, "What?"

"I'm not going to explain, just because you might remember it when we fix you. But, if you don't I would be so happy I could die! Wow, I sound like a girl right now," Leo whispered in the end, talking mainly to him.

"Leo, I'm honored!" Reyna batted her eyelashes innocently. "Want to talk about it? I'd love to talk about with you."

"But you haven't said you like me back, Reyna. I can't trust you with my heart, because you won't trust anybody with yours. Plus, you're under the influence of Gaea, and your in love with Jason, so really, I just can't win here, so why should I try? Every single girl I like is taken or in love with somebody else! I just can't compete with anybody! I'm going to die alone, aren't I, Reyna?" Leo asked pathetically, jogging in time with Jason as they quickly closed the gap between them and the exit of the cave.

Surprisingly, Gaea was silent as they jogged out of the cave, taking Reyna and Piper with them as they thrashed around as best as they could.

Leo complimented himself in his head for the great plan, and got out of the cave with everyone else.

They stepped out into the hard rain that immediately soaked through his clothes, as he tried his best to look around.

When he still couldn't tell where they were, he looked over to Annabeth and shouted, "Hey, where are we, anyway?"

"Rome."

TA-DA! Again, I'm really sorry, another chapter will be up TODAY! Sorry.