Hello readers!

Hang on... is that... is that a post BEFORE August!?

Why yes, yes it is. I'm just as surprised as you all probably are that I managed to get another chapter worked out before my self-imposed one-month deadline. I guess it helps that whenever I attend national guard drill there's usually not much else to occupy my free time :P

But hey- that means a new chapter so yay!

Shoutouts to justapercyjacksonfan, J-fandoms, and SuperPotatoMan for favoriting AND following this sporadically updated story :)

I hope you are all staying safe and doing your best to enjoy what little amount of summer remains. Or, for those of you working, I wish you all the best during these uncertain times. Hang in there- tough times don't last, tough people do :)

And now, please enjoy the early installment of Leo's Logbook!

-Ardoa88

Entry 19: From Bad to Worse

His return to consciousness was slow. Much too slow for his liking. There was a pressure in the side of his head that hadn't been there before, and he shook it vigorously from side to side as if that would dislodge the annoyance.

It didn't.

Sound returned first, ears picking up on the unsteady hum of the ships engines (the right turbine was spinning slower than the left for some reason), then sight; the endless expanse of blue skies tinged an off shade of the color as it was filtered through his polycarbonate lenses. Gradually, he felt the other systems in the ship reconnect themself to his central hub as he regained his full sentience: and with that sentience came a cold, singular fact.

His mechanic had turned him OFF.

The clarity made Festus snap his metal jaw shut, teeth grinding as a hiss of steam exited one of the exhaust ports on his neck. Never had he felt this strong a rage; not even when his circuits had shorted out all those years ago, prompting him to hide away in the forest so as not to harm the godlings. But this? This was a betrayal.

He'd been turned OFF.

Intentionally.

The swell of emotion receded temporarily as an overload of incoming information bombarded his central processing unit. Festus instantly began cataloguing the messages by their level of severity: an overpressurization in the fuel storage unit would need immediate attention, many of the stabilizers had been damaged (how, he didn't exactly know) and the tandem syncopator would need to be adjusted but that could wait. Six blown fuses indicated electrical shortages although none were related to critical systems, the right engine had suffered ingestion damage (ingestion of what?) but was functioning within limits for now; he would have to monitor the rising turbine inlet temperature as they flew to ensure it remained out of the danger arc. The supply of ballistae ammunition had been depleted somewhat and would eventually need to be restocked with the reserve bolts they had stored down in the hull- which was currently underperforming in aerodynamic efficiency, hinting that the framework had been compromised in multiple places.

Festus compiled and categorized the list of repairs in under a minute, storing the information away in the back of his memory chip. With that out of the way, there was room for nothing else but his acrimony, which returned in full force as he craned his head around, looking for the one who had turned him OFF. He couldn't see the full deck, however, the constraints of his position at the bow of the ship restricting his field of vision, so he reached out with his sensors instead.

There were multiple people walking down the hallway on the lower floor, the one with the box-like compartments his mechanic had called 'rooms' during the ship's construction. Two of them he recognized. They had been the ones who had ridden on his back when he'd still had a back to carry them on and wings to lift himself in the air under his own power. However, the light-footed one wasn't truly walking, the godlings feet dragging along the floorboards as if he was being supported.

The hooved one- satyr, his mechanic had called him- was stomping his way back towards the top deck, banging his curved feet against the metal in a way that made Festus' gears whir (it had taken time to get used to that ones presence on the ship). A steady, sure-footed stance stood at the helm, the godling fumbling with the controls; she'd visited the bunker a few times to his knowledge, and her appearance never failed to upset his mechanic in some way. Festus didn't like her. From the levers she was manipulating, it seemed like she was trying to correct the ship's port slant.

Festus snorted. The godling was very much not proficient with the ship's controls. He reached through his connections, adjusting the necessary components to correct for the slight list in the ship's forward tack himself. Hands retreated from the controls (good- the Child of Wisdom had no business touching them) and after a hesitant moment, her footsteps descended from the bridge to the main deck where-

There he was.

The gears in his jaw ground together as he felt the increased heat from where his mechanic sat, propped against the mast. The Child of Fire's heel was bouncing against the floor rapidly, only stilling when the other godling reached him. Someone shifted and Festus realized there was a third godling on the deck- another new one that hadn't been on the ship originally- one with a weighty stance that pressed deeper into the metal than the others. Disregarding the information, Festus returned his attention to his mechanic, snarling out a demand of reasoning for his betrayal.

The snarl devolved into a cough of smoke as Festus realized he had some internal damages as well.

Luckily, the Child of Wisdom was asking his mechanic much the same question. "One more time," she said, voice tight and measured. "Exactly what happened?"

A slight increase in the presence of heat told Festus that his mechanic had slumped back against the mast. "I don't know." The words were choked out after a beat of silence. "It's fuzzy."

"You mean you don't remember?"

"I… I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

The satyr had joined them, the clomping of his hooves audible now to Festus' ears. He tapped something against the deck. "Look, kid, you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."

Was that ESSENTIAL? Festus whirred curiously as he brought up the list of repairs, noting that the damaged satellite dish had been categorized as NON-ESSENTIAL. He decided to bump it up to NECESSARY just in case. When he turned his attention back to the godlings, the satyr was retreating below deck once more.

The Child of Wisdom was speaking again, calmly this time. "Leo, did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or-"

"No-" Festus could feel his mechanic's internal heat signature skyrocket on his infrared scanners. It was something Festus had noticed and come to understand about the Child of Fire over the time spent with him: his control over the element waxed and waned with his emotions.

"No," he repeated, softer this time, voice tinged with a heavy air. "The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."

A low growl that was not his own emanated from where the heavy-footed godling stood. "On purpose?"

"No! Well, yes… I mean, I-I didn't want to." His mechanic flustered, the words accompanied by a rise and fall of temperature where he sat. Festus felt his anger abate somewhat at how confused his mechanic sounded. "But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to? Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me and-"

"A cold feeling." The Child of Wisdom's tone had changed yet again, sounding more wary and… scared.

"Yeah. Why?"

Silence. It only lasted for a few seconds however as Festus felt the fluid gait of one of the godlings below deck approach. "Annabeth, we need you." A voice yelled up from the stairwell.

At the call, his mechanic's temperature flared, fingers trembling against the metal structure with an emotion Festus had easily come to know as worry.

Worry over the injured godling below decks, no doubt. The dragon himself had to admit he didn't feel the need for such concern over the Child of the Sky. Festus' lack of care was not borne from a place of malice, but despite having spent time with both him and the Child of Beauty, it had been the Child of Fire who had repaired his circuitry. Who had performed routine maintenance on his faulted components, who had refused to abandon him even as they had plummeted towards the God of Gold's compound. Who had revived him as the figurehead of the most ambitious undertaking the Children of the Forge had ever embarked on.

Yes, the Chid of Fire, his mechanic, was the only godling on the ship who warranted Festus' unending gratitude and unwavering loyalty. Which is why it hurt all the more to know that his trusted friend had been the one to shut him down.

His mechanic was no longer sitting on the floor, having stood and begun a dialogue with the new godling. Counter to the friendly tone, his toes were tapping against the deck in a way that would suggest his mind was still on the wounded one, and with a huff of smoke Festus decided to check on the godling: if for no other reason then to prove to himself he was right and there was no reason to fret. Based on the readings from the EKG and pulse monitor in that room (each bed had one installed so that any room could double as a temporary infirmary: a suggestion implemented by one of the other Children of the Forge), the godling was stable, if still unconscious. In other words, he was fine. As expected.

The echo of footsteps reverberated through the celestial bronze deck and Festus turned his head fully to stare at the two approaching godlings. Heavy steps stumbled back in surprise and a yelp was drawn from the lips of the new godling.

"It's alive!" He said.

Festus snorted. How observant. No wonder his gait was weighing into the ships floorboards- the godling who'd spoken bore a wide girth, resembling a build closer to that of the satyr. He smelled of smoke and iron- a Child of War, no doubt (Festus wasn't exactly favorable to their kind at the moment, given that two Children of War had assaulted his mechanic only a month earlier)- and… and something else. Something ancient, not dissimilar to the other godlings, but slightly off from the scent he was used to smelling on his mechanic and the other Children of the Forge. Whatever it was made Festus' dual sensory ports tingle, so he opted to ignore the strange Child of War in favor of leveling a glare at his mechanic.

There was a droop in his mechanic's shoulders, and he watched them lift minutely, as if he was going to laugh, before they sunk lower. His tone mirrored his stance as he said, "Yeah, Frank, this is Festus. He used to be a full bronze dragon, but… we had an accident."

"You have a lot of accidents." The Child of War commented with no small amount of spurn.

It was brief, but Festus knew to look for it, seeing his mechanics face twist with a grimace, his heat signature lowering in shame before the emotion was covered up with a wry smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well, some of us can't turn into dragons, so we have to build our own." The attempt at humor was half-hearted but the Child of War didn't seem to notice. "Anyway, I revived him as the Argo's figurehead. He's kinda the ship's main interface now. How are things looking Festus?"

A spark of residual anger flared in his wiring at the question. What, not even an apology?

His mechanic had the grace to look ashamed as his gaze dropped to the floor. "You're right, buddy, I-I'm sorry. I don't…" He raised a hand and pressed it to the side of his head with a wince. "I don't know what I was thinking. But I swear on the River Stix that I will never turn you off again."

Hmm… It was a start. Festus let out a huff, steam curling from his nostrils. His mechanic wasn't completely off the hook, but the apology was sincere (even if he had to be reminded to give it). The dragon waited another moment to allow that to sink in before providing the list of repairs he'd compiled in order from CRITICAL to Non-ESSENTIAL. His mechanic listened astutely, nodding every so often and only frowning in disagreement when he heard that the satellite relay was included in the NECESSARY category.

"Ugh," He groaned when Festus had finished. "Could be worse, but the hull is compromised in several places. The port aerial oars and the starboard engine have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime-"

An alert from the anterior sensor made itself known to Festus and he turned his attention to the warning signal, fully prepared to readjust their course if monster activity had been detected. Instead, he saw that someone was following along below them, another godling perhaps? Whoever it was was moving fast, far faster than any normal mode of transport would allow.

He said as much to his mechanic.

The Child of Fire frowned for a moment before his expression cleared. "Oh… Hazel. She's the one with the curly hair, right?" He directed the question to the other godling.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. According to Festus she's following us, probably on that horse of hers."

"We've got to land then." The Child of War said, his words issued as more of a command than request.

Fetus' gears whirred in a mocking laugh. Idiots, the lot of them. First the Child of Wisdom, and now the Child of War. Anyone with even a basic grasp of machines could see that, with the engines compromised as they were, their next landing would be their last until repairs were completed. So why any of the godlings (aside from his mechanic, of course) believed they could command the ship with any semblance of competency was beyond him.

"The problem is," his mechanic said, echoing the dragon's assessment in a less degrading tone than Festus would've opted for, "we can only manage the one landing. We wont be able to lift off again until I've had time to work on repairs so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."

The Child of War scratched his head, looking confused. "Where are you going to get Celestial bronze? That's not something you can just stock up on at Home Depot."

Festus was already beginning a scan of the immediate area before his mechanic opened his mouth to ask.

"He can scan for magic bronze?" The note of awe in the golding's voice encouraged a smile from the dragon. "Is there anything he can't do?"

And now Festus was practically preening at the praise. Okay. So maybe this Child of War wasn't as bad as he'd initially judged. Honestly, the dragon was partially offended that the other godlings didn't appreciate his skills more (sans his mechanic, who always had a ready compliment for Festus and would loudly crow about the dragon's general amazingness to the others at every chance).

Movement below decks. The fluid footsteps of the new godling were accompanied by the sure-footed footfalls of the Child of Wisdom as they made their way up from below. The stairs creaked as they reached the top, the two godlings making their way over to the bow where his mechanic and the Child of War still stood.

His mechanic's temperature fluctuated again with worry at the sight of them. "Is Jason-"

"He's resting." The Child of Wisdom answered. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."

The rise of heat faded with his mechanic's worry, only for the temperature to increase once more when the new godling took a step forward: this one smelled of salt and ocean spray- a Child of the Sea.

"Annabeth says you did fire the ballistae?" The words were harsh and direct, the accusation matched with a stormy green gaze directed at Festus' mechanic.

A low growl worked its way up the dragons throat.

"Man, I- I don't understand how it happened." The Child of Fire stumbled over his words. "I'm so, so sorry-"

"Sorry?"

His mechanic was afraid. If it wasn't obvious from the sudden spike of heat, the tremble in his stance and the hunch of his shoulders told Festus all he needed to know. And what he knew was that the Child of the Sea was currently threatening his mechanic: an action Festus would not stand for.

With a harsh grinding of his internal gears, the dragon turned and leaned as close as he could get to the Child of the Sea, snapping his jaw mere inches away from the older godling's face. To his credit, the Child of the Sea was only marginally intimidated, taking a surprised half-step back initially before meeting the eyes of the masthead with the same stubborn, stormy glare. The dragons' motion positioned him between the godling and his mechanic so that the celestial bronze plates of his neck curled around the Child of Fire in a clearly protective manner.

"Easy, Festus-"

A hiss of steam cut off his mechanic's placating address, the dragon refusing to back down. This scenario was too much like what had happened a month ago: with his mechanic outnumbered and with no means of escape. That night, Festus had been powerless to protect the Child of Fire, his stationary position at the front of the ship hindering his range. But here, by the bow of the ship, Festus could intervene; and he would not sit idly by while his mechanic was threatened. Not again.

Sea green eyes sparked with indignation at the aggressive posture of the dragon and the godling shoved a hand into his pocket with purpose. Festus himself felt his insides warming as he readied a jet of fire. Before either of them could act, however, the Child of Wisdom stepped in, stopping her fellow godling with an arm across his chest. Her grey gaze was focused warily on the masthead.

"Let's all take a breath." She said in a deliberately slow, calm voice. "We can figure out what happened later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"

Festus waited until the older godling relaxed his combative stance, watching as the Child of the Sea crossed his empty hands over his chest, before moving out of the way. He kept a careful eye on the older godling as his mechanic relayed the list of damaged components, noting that the hostility in the Child of the Sea seemed to be receding- slowly, like the changing of the tides, but receding all the same.

A completed report of the immediate area passed into Festus' mainframe as his mechanic was just starting to bemoan the shortage of Celestial bronze. Filtering through the data, Festus found that they weren't far from a place that contained all of the materials they would need.

The Child of Fire sighed with relief as Festus relayed the good news, the tension in his shoulders lessening slightly. "Perfect."

"What's perfect?" The Child of Wisdom shifted her weight as she spoke. "I could use some 'perfect' about now."

His mechanic managed a smile; a forced one, but a smile nonetheless. "Everything we need is in one place."

He flipped down the secondary control panel from it's compartment at the base of Festus' neck. It was only a fraction of the size of the main control panel, with only a few buttons and levers used to manage the critical ship systems. His mechanic reached for the directional levers to change their current course, but his hand stilled before it made contact. It hovered there, an inch above the control, and it took a second for Festus to realize the appendage was shaking slightly.

The most direct course is north by north-east.

At Festus' instruction, his mechanic flinched out of his hesitation, nodding as he manipulated the controls to correct for their new heading. He flipped the panel back into it's hidden space, flashing a quick smile of gratitude up at the dragon before turning to the godlings once more.

"Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."

The Child of War nodded. Festus creaked in surprise when the godling morphed into a small avian creature- he was a therianthrope! He hadn't encountered a godling blessed with such a power since the days of his early existence. Twisting his serpentine neck, Festus watch the godling-turned-bird descend with a twinge of envy. He could still remember the- albeit short- time when he too could command his trajectory through the skies with such a grace. Not that he regretted his current form, the power of his new split-spool engines propelled him through the skies at speeds faster than any wings could match. Still...

"What's a 'throw-in-trope'?" His mechanic asked, drawing the dragon from his thoughts.

It was the Child of Wisdom who answered, her attention having also followed the now departed Child of War. "A therianthrope is another word for shapeshifter. But they can only turn into beasts or other animals." She watched after the bird for a moment longer before snapping her focus back to the Child of Fire. "How long until we land, Leo?"

"Good question," his mechanic said, redirecting the question to the masthead with a glance.

Festus did a quick calculation based on their current rate of speed and the remaining distance they had to cover. It would take a few hours to arrive- the decreased power output from the damaged engine was slowing them down more than he'd initially predicted, and the temperature of the exhaust gasses was higher then it had been before, meaning the problem was getting worse.

He said as much to his mechanic who relayed it to the other godlings in their perpetual game of telephone. Festus creaked his jaw. On the one hand, it was no small annoyance that none of the other godlings could understand him. On the other, he cherished the exclusive means of communication with the one who'd fixed him: it made the dragon feel like he and his mechanic shared a unique element to which none of the others could intrude upon.

Once he'd informed the other godlings of the timetable, his mechanic turned back to Festus. "What's the oil pressure in the right turbine looking like?"

Festus checked the gauge. Still in the green. He said. Lower than normal, but not critical yet.

"Mmm," His mechanic rubbed his chin thoughtfully, brows pulled together in concentration. "Probably a fault in the thermostatic expansion valve, then. If it's not getting cooled properly…" the audible musings trailed off when the Child of Fire saw the other godlings were still present. He cleared his throat. "Uh, look, why don't you guys go chill in the lounge while I see about the engine. I'll tell Pipes to meet you there that way you can start planning."

The Child of Wisdom frowned for a moment, looking as if she wanted to say something. Ultimately she decided against it, nodding her head and turning, her hand tugging on the shirt of the Child of the Sea as a way to prompt him to follow. He did so, but not before leveling another scathing look at the Child of Fire, some unspoken message passing between the two godlings.

When they had finally disappeared below deck, his mechanic sighed out a wavering breath, running an unsteady hand through his hair. His eyes were closed as he took another steadying inhale, the air hissing past tight lips.

Festus' ire towards the older godlings resurfaced. The dragon himself may not have approved of his mechanics actions, but he understood that godlings, like all creatures, were flawed, and that they all made mistakes from time to time. So while he was still upset about being shut down, he no longer felt the need to berate the Child of Fire for actions that had already passed. Unlike the other godlings: who continued to remind him of his failings and his mechanic did not deserve such unbridled animosity from the ones he called his allies.

Especially ones so incompetant.

"They're not incompetant." His mechanic rebuffed quietly, opening his eyes and glancing at the sky. "If anyone's to fault it's me. The engine's messed up because I attacked the camp. They have every right to be angry with me."

The words were stated bluntly, as facts, but Festus could feel from the way the Child of Fire's heat signature decreased that the implication behind the words had a deeper impact on the young godling. He knew his mechanic was fireproof, but Festus was seriously considering sending a jet of flames at the Child of Fire anyway; if only to snap him out of the spiral of self-doubt he was currently falling into.

Regardless, Festus creaked, feeling the need to stroke his mechanic's internal fire, they should not begin a quest of this magnitude with mistrust. Without you, none of them would be here. They are in the wrong for-

"Well, no time like the present. I'd better go see what I can do about that engine." His mechanic said in a louder voice, cutting off the dragon as he stretched his arms above his head.

The deliberate interruption was not made with malice, but rather unease, so Festus gave it pass with only a quiet grinding of gears in acknowledgement.

Just don't blow anything up this time.

His mechanic blinked, then laughed. It was a genuine sound, and Festus whirred as he felt the warmth of the Child of Fire return to normal. "No promises." He said with a wry grin as he began moving towards the stairway, adding, "keep me updated on our location, I want to be at the helm when we go in for a landing in case things go wrong."

In other words he wanted to be there, wanted to be with Festus, working at his side when they brought the ship down.

Of course.

Festus wouldn't want it any other way.

Fin! Thanks for reading!

Gotta give a HUGE thanks to Ensis96, my unofficial-yet-ever-patient-and-ingenious beta for suggesting this amazing POV!

Festus has always been one of Leo's biggest supporters and their bond is so unique that I love to highlight it when I can. And yet somehow I never thought to write a chapter from Festus' POV. Needless to say it was a refreshing change of pace that I will most definitely see about incorporating into the story more. I hope you liked the change-up as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Final things:

First, to gachawolf 11: You have no idea how happy it makes me to know you're still enjoying this story :) I love writing for myself, but to see others derive joy from something I've written makes rereading my works all the more satisfying. Thank you for the continued enthusiasm! I hope you have a great rest of the week :)

That's all I've got folks. Again, the tentative schedule for updates is a month (I'll have to update that in my profile... I am REALLY bad at keeping that accurate :P) but if by some miracle pigs fly and I get the chance to post another chapter in August I most certainly will.

As always, please leave me a comment or review down below if you enjoyed a part of the chapter or just want to share your thoughts on the events of the book :) I love hearing from you all.

Until next time,

-Ardoa88