Hello readers!
HAPPY NEW YEARS! (Belated)
It was slightly longer than a week, and I do apologize. I am now officially back in college for the spring semester. ...Yay...
That being said, there are quite a few shoutouts so I'll get right to it :)
Shoutouts to: erinocean7, LunaKim07, Cellorules, LordDeadwing, Lexiland1234, roy23, XxxLil'MunchkinxxX, CharneX, and Perseus101 for favoriting the story!
Shoutouts to: Bubblesrcool55, Cellorules, LordDeadwing, LunaKim07, roy23, XxxLil'MinchkinxxX, CharneX, Perseus101, rb677112, PumpkinPie18, avidreaderoffics, and wackydust3061 for increasing the following to a whopping 2-hundred-and-39! Woww... I am speechless :0
Authors Notes at the end, thanks again for your patience :)
Please enjoy the 29th chapter in the PJO/TKC crossover: When Worlds Collide!
-Ardoa88
Chapter 29: There's a Plan?
(Leo POV)
Leo still couldn't believe it.
Festus was back: actually back from his lifeless state. Leo hadn't the faintest of clues as to how the dragon had managed to come alive, nor did he really care at the moment. He was too ecstatic about his reunion with his best friend, and promptly celebrated by cleaning every bit of grime that dared marr Festus's finer gearwork.
That explosion had really been something- there was a piece of a broken torsion stud that had even managed to wedge itself deep into the inner cogs of the rudder. Leo had to twist and turn in a particularly uncomfortable manner to reach it, and emerged with as much grease and grime on himself as sweat. The demigod barely had time to rinse himself off in a shower before Festus told him- Festus told him!- that the rest of the group was coming back.
Leo made his way towards the deck, still euphoric that he could finally talk to the mechanical dragon again. He would never admit it aloud, but flying the Argo III without Festus' presence was tragically lonely. The Son of Hephaestus had dearly missed the whirring and creaking of his friend's voice- and to have it back was like Christmas coming early.
Percy and Annabeth were the first to return to the roof, both of the demigods looking refreshed and ready for another night of good old-fashioned monster fighting. Annabeth nodded to him while Percy flashed him a quick smile and a thumbs up, to which the Son of Hephaestus reciprocated. They hung back by the stairwell, watching as Sadie and Walt made their way to the bottom of the gangplank. The two magicians stopped at the bottom, sharing a kiss and pulling each other into a long embrace.
Walt stepped back first, holding Sadie at arms length. "Be careful. I mean it this time."
"You too." Sadie smirked. "Don't have too much fun without us, yeah?"
"No promises."
Sadie's ascent onto the deck of the Argo III was closely followed by Carter. Zia approached with her boyfriend, and Leo silently gagged at the idea of watching another doting couple say their goodbyes. So it was a surprise when the fire elementalist didn't stop at the bottom of the ramp, but rather placed a sneakered foot onto the celestial bronze incline. By the time the two crested the side of the ship, Leo had found his voice again.
"She's coming?"He asked, eyes darted over to Carter questioningly.
"I'm coming." Zia was the one to answer, her tone brokering no room for argument and her gaze hardening like steel.
The demigod smartly chose not to argue the point, raising his hands in surrender and allowing a wide grin to crease his face. "Hey, I'm not complaining! The more the merrier: welcome aboard, Torchic!"
Zia's fiery determination petered out at the nickname, her brows pinching with genuine confusion. "What did you just call me?"
No… way. Leo was speechless (and that didn't happen often). Had she never played Pokemon?
Carter understood the reference, chuckling lightly at the comparison. Apparently it was the wrong move, as Zia's thunderous gaze shifted to him.
"What did he call me?" She demanded in a low voice.
"It's… uh, actually, I'll tell you later."
The elementalists' eyes narrowed a fraction, muttering, "You'd better," before making her way over to where Sadie and the other two Greeks were standing. Sadie looked up at the black-haired girl, waving her over and leading her down below deck.
Only once the door was securely shut behind the girls did Leo release the breath he'd been holding. "I thought she was gonna bite my head off! Your girlfriend is scary, dude. But, seriously, why is she coming again?"
Carter shot him an incredulous look. "Weren't you listening? It's all part of the-" The magician stopped, mid-sentence, realization dawning as he groaned, "-plan. Which you haven't heard yet, because you weren't inside with us when we were making it."
"... There's a plan?"
"There's always a plan, Leo." Annabeth commented, having moved close enough to overhear the conversation.
The Son of Hephaestus shrugged. "Point. But… let's be honest, blondie, when was the last time any of our plans actually worked?"
"Trust me." Carter's voice was resolute in his conviction. "This one will work."
Leo very much so doubted it would. Then again, having some semblance of a plan going into a big fight was better than not having one. "If you say so." Leo sighed. "Let's hear it then, Magic Man- how are we going to defeat Evil Elvis?
It wasn't a good plan.
Rephrase- it was a solid plan, Leo just didn't like the plan.
Nevertheless, a few minutes after Festus got airborne, they divided into their groups. Carter and Percy moved towards the center of the deck, each boy drawing their weapon of choice and falling into an easy sparring routine. Sadie and Annabeth hung back by the control panel, deep in conversation, the younger blonde moving her hands animatedly as she spoke while the elder nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't see how this is going to help." The Son of Hephaestus grumbled, wanting nothing more than to be at the helm, piloting his baby. Instead, he was standing by the bow of the ship with a certain hotheaded elementalist.
Zia looked even less pleased by the situation, arms folded angrily over her chest as she scowled at him. "Carter explained that it's all about the balance."
"Yeah, but," Leo gestured aimlessly with a hand. "Your fire magic thing and my demigod abilities are nothing alike. It'd be like trying to mix 100-low-lead gasoline and engine oil. They don't go together at all." He elaborated at the magician's confused expression.
"We don't know that until we try." Zia countered, "Now stop making excuses and show me what you've got."
She proceeded to take a step back, waiting and watching expectantly. Leo sighed in resignation, then he took a deep breath and concentrated. Focused on the spark of fire that resided within him. He stoked it carefully, feeling flames instantly licking at the inside of his palms and dance through his hair. Blowing out a slow breath, Leo held out his hands, palms up, and encouraged the small flame to grow by tapping into the power ever so slightly.
The fire expanded rapidly, growing quickly to the size of a basketball before Leo was able to pull back a bit, attention laser focused on controlling his ability so that the flames didn't get out of control. It was a difficult task, almost like he was trying to defuse a bomb with his eyes closed. If he didn't give the flame enough energy, it would peter out; but if he allowed too much to seep out the fire would become uncontrollable.
A few minutes passed before Leo let the flame die out, sighing with relief once it had dissipated. He felt pretty pleased with himself. Usually when he tried to make a fireball his powers ended up bursting out in an explosive wave of flames.
Zia had the opposite expression, looking for all the world like Leo had offended her somehow. "That's it?" She asked once it became clear Leo was done.
Leo blinked at her. "Um… yes?"
"That was pathetic! You call that controlling fire?"
The Hispanic felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment and he rubbed his arm. Dimly he heard Festus creak in anger, proclaiming that his mechanic was not pathetic and that the Egyptian mage had no idea what she was talking about.
"Well, yeah, I mean- I don't really- I can't-" Leo stammered, eventually finding the right phrasing. "Every time I try and control my power it kinda explodes, so..."
"That's because you're trying to control it." Zia stated. Leo frowned. It seemed obvious to him, but wasn't the idea of controlling fire to… control it? He asked as much, to which Zia sighed and shook her head, reaching up a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "It is, but it isn't."
Well that certainly cleared things up. "What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"Great, looks like it's back to the basics." The elementalist grumbled, taking a deep breath before speaking. "The founding principle of any elemental-based magic is that you do not control the element. You can't control it. You are merely guiding it's way. Think of it like this," Zia explained. "Can you control the flow of a river? Can you control the movement of the earth? Or the direction of the winds?"
Leo thought back to Jason and Percy's impressive display of powers back in Topeka. "Actually-"
"No." Zia interrupted. "You can't. At least, not entirely." The elementalist conjured up a fireball, easily holding it in her hand as if it were a baseball. Oh, how Leo wished his abilities came as easy to him as it did to the Egyptian elementalist. "Take fire, for example; it's wild, unpredictable. I can't change that about the element. I can't stop it from doing what it's meant to do, but I can manipulate it."
Zia raised her other hand, concentrating on the sphere of flames. The fire grew- elongating until she was holding a flame spear. "I changed its shape, but the basic qualities of the element remain." She lectured.
It was true. Even though it was no longer a ball of fire, the flames of the spear weren't contained: the edges of its form still danced in the wind, whipping around her hand wildly and licking into the air. It was still a fire. Leo was entranced by the revelation, listening attentively, eyes wide.
"It's the same with the other elements." Zia continued. "A water elementalist may be able to redirect the flow of the water, a wind mage might be able to alter the flow of the air currents, but neither is 'controlling' it."
Once again, the demigod's thoughts turned to his friends. When Jason had saved Piper at the Grand Canyon, his clothes had been buffeted by the winds swirling around them. And again when they'd fallen out of the sky, Jason's ability had caused the air to slow their descent (both times). But it had still felt like wind; gusty and omni-directional wind.
Even when he himself used his pyrokinetic ability to weld sheets of celestial bronze together, it never felt like he was forcing the fire into an unnatural state. It always acted like a normal oxyacetylene torch when he worked, the demigod rarely having time to focus on the tool when making repairs. Now that he thought about it, his powers always responded the best when he wasn't concentrating on them.
The Hispanic bobbed his head up and down. "I think I understand."
"Good." Zia extinguished the fire spear. "If you can't grasp even this simple concept then you'll never get your flames to do what you want. Now," She placed her hands on her hips. "Let's try that again."
Leo dipped his head, holding out his hands with determination. He took another deep breath, about to reach for his powers when Zia interrupted his thoughts again.
"And- another thing- don't hold your breath."
Taking the critique for what it was, the Son of Hephaestus forced himself to breath normally for a moment before attempting to create a flame. This time, when he tapped into his ability, he focused on the shape he wanted the fire to take, rather than the amount of energy.
In response, a sphere of flames flickered to life above his open palm. Leo stared at the element, seeing it- really seeing it- for what it was for the first time. With the same mindset, he focused on shaping the fire, the flames elongating and widening until he was holding a small hammer made of flames. Leo concentrated on enlarging the tool, the handle growing until-
"Breathe!" Zia snapped.
He hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath.
The command startled Leo out of his focus, and the fire hammer dispersed in a wave of warmth. Despite this, Leo couldn't help but grin. "Did you see that!" He exclaimed excitedly. "That felt amazing! I've never been able to do that before!"
Festus whirred happily, joining in on the demigod's elation by declaring that his mechanic was absolutely incredible.
The elementalist looked less enthused, but she huffed lightly. "That's much improved from your last attempt. But you're still too tense, and you stopped breathing when you focused on the fire. Using your power has to come more naturally; feel more instinctive. But a fire club is a good choice to start."
He felt himself droop at her words yet again. "I was trying for a hammer…"
"...key word," Zia looked up to the sky for patience. "Trying."
"'Kay," Leo muttered, scrunching his face as he tried again. It was looking less like a lopsided club and more like the actual tool before he lost his focus, and he grinned at her.
Zia was already holding out a water bottle for him; and once he was promoted, he realized just how thirsty he was (fire-proof didn't mean the same thing as heat-proof) and the elementalist let him chug it as she said, "You're getting the hang of it rather quickly. If you'd learned this a few years ago you might make a decent sparring partner."
"Thanks," he said sarcastically between gulps, then stopped and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Wait- that was an actual compliment? Thanks!"
"I- you're nowhere near my level yet!" Zia huffed, sparks flying from her hand as she waved it for emphasis.
"But you think I can be! Someday." Leo added with a grin, not sure why she was pulling out but never one to back down from some good, friendly ribbing. "Sounds like a compliment to me."
"Well it wasn't." The elementalist all but growled, pushing past the demigod and stomping her way towards the stairwell.
"Could've fooled me!" Leo called after her, chuckling even as she slammed the hatch to the staircase shut with a clang.
A second voice joined in on the laughter. "Zia doesn't praise people often- or ever if you ask her- but she gives credit where credit is due." Carter commented from the helm.
"That so?" Leo looked up at the younger boy. He absently wondered when Carter and Annabeth had traded places, the Daughter of Athena and the younger magician nowhere in sight. Percy was gone too. "Where are the others?"
"They went below." Carter answered, gesturing towards the staircase Zia had just disappeared down. "Sadie said something about, quote, 'not wanting to smell like a gym before a battle' which is just silly if you ask me."
"I'm sure she didn't." Leo said with a smirk, ascending the short flight of steps to the top deck.
"Truer words have not been spoken." The magician said solemnly, before cracking a grin of his own. Carter moved over, making room for the demigod to stand beside him at the control panel.
"How was your stick-whacking lesson?"
Carter raised an eyebrow. "Stick-whacking? You mean the sword practice?"
Leo shrugged, taking another sip of water. "Swords, sticks... same thing, really. How'd it go- did you beat Aquaman?"
Carter hummed thoughtfully, massaging his shoulder. "We weren't really keeping score. It was more… informative. Our fighting styles are different, but the basic moves and stances are pretty similar. Percy's fighting style is incredibly fluid- the way he transitions from one swing into the next…" The magicians voice trailed off as he shook his head in awe. "It's unlike any of the Egyptian styles I've studied."
It was perfectly fitting, Leo thought, that Percy's techniques flowed like the water he controlled. As opposed to the Ares brutes who just tried to muscle out their opponents, the Son of Poseidon had always been very agile during fights; dancing around his enemies before landing a solid strike. Leo himself favored the unique style of hit-everything-around-you (he still held the record for Camp Half-Blood's 'Whack-a-Gnome' competition).
" And, for the record," Carter added, drawing the demigod from his musings. "Swords and sticks- very different things."
Leo huffed out a laugh. But before he could respond, Festus interjected with a string of clacks and clicks, informing them that the ship was roughly ten minutes out from the Eternal Flame Falls.
"Festus says we're getting close." Leo translated out of habit.
"I know." Carter responded.
Oh... right. The magician could understand Festus now, too. "While we're on the topic," Leo began. "How, exactly, did they get him to turn on? No offense to the Romans, but I'd been working on Festus for the better part of four months without so much as a flicker from his circuits. But the Romans spend two days with him and suddenly he's back online?"
"The Romans didn't do anything," Carter said with confusion. "If anything they wanted to find a way to turn him off-"
"They what?" Leo balked. How dare they even think about shutting down his baby!
"-as he kept blowing steam at them and demanding they bring you to him."
He felt a blush hiding behind his dark skin, and it only got worse when Festus growled out an assurance he would do so again; that his mechanic was the best and no other one could replace him.
"He's like an extremely loyal dog," Carter mused quietly, possibly hoping that the dragon wouldn't hear him. "An extremely dangerous, flying, fire-breathing dog that was ready to burn the whole camp- uh, Legion- down to get to you."
"Dibs." Leo muttered, realizing that having someone else able to hear Festus's affection for him was actually really embarrassing. "If anyone's gonna torch that camp it'll be me. I can't believe they tried to turn you off!"
Festus whirred contentedly, saying how, even if they did manage to get him offline, he wouldn't stay down for long. Which brought up another question in the demigod's mind.
"Then, if not the Romans, what brought him back to life?"
Carter's face scrunched up a bit. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it had something to do with the errant magic from the botched portal. Current theory is that our magic," He motioned between Leo and himself, "was fused together."
"One problem." Leo said. "I don't have magic."
"It's not really 'magic' in that sense." Carter explained. "More like… your signature, if that makes sense?"
Leo's mind flashed back to the boat ride with Walt and Zia, when he had smeared the pink goo on his eyelids: his body had been consumed by an orange conglomeration of Greek words and symbols. "You mean the colorful soup thing? Like how Percy's is purple and Annabeth's is blue- which still seems backwards to me, just saying."
Carter nodded his head emphatically, drumming his fingers on the control panel. "Yeah, basically your signature got mixed together with my magic when we went through the portal. And that kick-started Festus, bringing him back to life. Festus might have even absorbed my excess energy- which would explain why a destabilized portal didn't combust."
"You're saying the swirling sand vortex would've exploded if not for Festus?"
"Maybe." Then Carter cringed, adding. "Please don't tell Percy- he already has this idea that everything magical goes 'boom'."
"It's just a theory, though?" Leo asked.
The magician shrugged. "Only way to confirm it would be to do it all again, and see if Festus being 'awake' makes a difference. Flying snake, Big Ben, crashland- the whole caboodle."
"... Ya'know, I think I'm good."
"I thought as much."
Fin! Thanks for reading :)
So, the current plan is to update at the end of January, as regularly scheduled. But once classes really start rolling I'll have a better gauge of my updating timeframe. It might not change at all, so this is just a precautionary warning :)
Final things:
First, to Guest (Ch.28): Your plot senses are tingling? Perhaps... who knows what Ihy made them promise? (Oh, right, I do. XP But no spoilers!) Carter is quickly becoming my favorite in TKC too! Thanks for the review!
Secondly, to RadioDog77: I'm glad that you enjoy Sadie's character development! And I love your headcannon as to why she's so snarky :D I hope you enjoy these final "few" chapters (there's still a good 5-6 left) ;)
Next, to Electric Raven: Of COURSE I saved your idea :D I was planning to do something about Leo and Festus anyway and your suggestion just fit so well with his character I couldn't NOT write it that way :) I agree, Annabeth would hands-down win a prank war. And yup! Read my mind- Leo would for sure want to know what happened to bring his best buddy back to life :) Thanks for your review!
To Percy Jackson Rules.11: Haha- you know, I just might send this to Uncle Rick once it's done... It'd be a good laugh in any case, to see what the critically acclaimed author thinks about my little fanfiction. Thanks you for the encouragement :)
To Guest (Ch.28): Hmmm indeed ;) And that's actually not a bad idea! I might do that POV in the next chapter, honestly. If you give me a guest name (it can be a fake name- or something silly) I'll give you a proper shoutout if I do end up doing that :) [I'm gonna do it anyway, but having a name is better than saying 'guest']. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
To WhisperOfTheHeart0925: Thank you :D Me too, 'Beachboy' was inspired! I can't thank you enough for all of your wonderfully in-depth and thorough comments- as much as you loved reading this from the beggining, I loved having a dedicated reviewer :) Thank you!
To surya25addanki: All good points :) Thank you for holding my feet to the fire- I promise, Percy's big moment is coming up soon ;) Thanks again for your review!
To Bubblesrcool55: Correct! Look at you remembering the rules :) Don't worry, they have a plan for that ;P Thanks for reading!
To sjmunshi: As of now I have no plans for a Book 2. There IS, however, an epilogue idea that I want to make into a three-parter once the main story is completed. So... maybe? We'll just have to wait and see :) Thanks for your review!
To Cellorules: Wow... thanks! And haha- yeah, my name only has two 'r's' in it and they aren't at the beginning of my first or last name ;P I am truly honored by your praise. And I will double check on the Kanes ages (chances are I flubbed it somewhere so thanks for pointing that out!). I hope you enjoyed the update!
To Guest (Ch.28): As I mentioned to the other guest reviewer, that is a very good possibility for the next chapter. Her POV is definitely appropriate for what I have planned. If you leave another review with a name (even a fake one) I'll give you a shoutout for suggesting the idea :) Thanks for reviewing!
To Guest (Ch.6): Teeeeaaaammmm Lllleeeoooooooo! All the way! ;)
To Guest05: Oh wow-! You read this all in 2 days! 0.o And people call ME a binge-reader :P I'm flattered that you were so hooked in the story, and very happy that you enjoyed it :D Yes, grammerly is amazing! I should really get it... And yes, the Greek Gods aren't as vocal in this fic, it's mostly an 'Egyptian' problem so the focus leans more heavily towards TKC. I read them around the 4th grade too! But I think HOO is where I truly started to appreciate Uncle Ricks world. I have seen the movies... sadly. And they're not terrible movies, but they are HORRENDOUS adaptations. As for Harry Potter- I'm a fan, but honestly I probably wouldn't be able to write a great crossover for HP/PJO... I'll think about it. But if you want a good HP story that continues with Harry's children at school, try Ensis96. Her story 'Deaths True Hallows' is (really, REALLY long, but also) amazing! Thanks so much for the lengthy review! :)
Lastly, to Guest (Ch.1): Well, there are now 28 more chapters for you to read ;) I hope if you get to this point that you have enjoyed the story :) Thanks for your review!
That's all for today!
As per usual I value any and all feedback! Leave me a comment or critique or what have you- I love hearing from my amazing readers :D
Until next time!
-Ardoa88
