Leo's Pov

I've never seen so much vomit in my entire life. Jason puked like a broken fire hydrant for like 30 minutes and it was totally gross. It also really freaked me out not knowing what'd caused his sudden sickness. Piper was even more terrified than me as she rubbed Jason's back, trying to soothe him. Neither of us knew what'd happened but we agreed to find out later. Right now we needed to focus on Jason.

After his puking finally turned into gagging I fully expected him to pass out from exhaustion. However, I thought he'd at least make it to a bed before knocking out. Naturally I was mistaken as he fainted pretty much the second I pulled him to his feet. I gotta admit it was scary to see his eyes roll back in his head and watch his legs turn to jelly as he collapsed.

Luckily he wasn't too heavy so Piper and I managed to hoist him up between the two of us and drag him onto the bed next to Percy. Piper went to work, taking Jason's shoes off and changing his shirt while I wiped his face clean with a damp rag. We laid a few blankets on him and tucked him in comfortably. I attached a heart monitor to him so we could make sure he was okay throughout the night. When he seemed to be sleeping peacefully and I felt comfortable with his arrangements, I turned to my next patient who I'd almost forgotten in the chaos.

Thalia was sitting in the same chair she'd woken up in, her legs hugged tightly to her chest tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face was otherwise devoid of emotion as she stared numbly at Percy's face, her teeth chattering subtly as if she was freezing cold.

I looked over to Piper with concern but she appeared to be just as worried as me. I slowly made my way to Thalia not wanting to spook her if she was stuck in some sort of trance. Sitting in the chair next to her, I used the softest voice I could manage as I asked, "Thalia? Do you think you can you tell me what happened when you were with Percy?"

Her eyes flicked up to mine briefly before returning to Percy. "I-I can but only once. Please don't make me say it again after that." She said with a sniffle as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. With understanding I nodded gently, "Of course, we can wait until everyone gets here so you don't have to repeat it ever again." Thalia seemed to take to the idea so I moved my focus back to Piper, "Pipes can you please get the other's? Tell them it's important." Piper gave Jason's sleeping form a nervous look before rushing out of the room to gather the team.

After a few minutes everyone filed into the med bay one at a time a few seconds apart. Annabeth looked panicked as she entered but made a bee line for Thalia, holding a huge blanket in a her arms. She wrapped the blanket around Thalia's shoulders then took a spot on the other side of Percy. Hazel followed suit with a cup of hot tea, gently placing the steaming mug into Thalia's shaking hands. Thalia tried for a smile at the kind gesture but only managed a slight grimace as she brought the drink closer to her chest.

Once everyone was seated in either a chair or on a nearby bed, Thalia set her tea down and pulled the blanket more tightly around her shaking frame as she retold her tribulations. The things she and Jason saw were truly horrible to hear. I can't imagine how much worse it must've been for them to actually witness it. That explained Jason's barfing.

From both her and Jason's reactions when they woke up I knew it had to be bad but this was something else entirely. I don't really know what I'd been expecting her to say but torture by poisoning wasn't even close to something I'd have guessed.

Thalia explained everything they'd seen without going into too much of the gory details. She didn't want to make it any harder on us than she had to which I thought was very thoughtful of her. Though it all was still very hard to hear even without the specifics included. At least we now knew why Percy's heart'd stopped earlier, although that knowledge didn't make me feel better in the slightest.

Throughout the retelling Thalia had to stop a few times as she'd stutter or choke up at the particularly gruesome parts. By the time she was done every person in the room looked just as devastated as I felt. We'd been through so much together but this was so bad that it didn't even seem real. Percy was right in front of us, how could he be getting tortured right now without us knowing?

For a while no one spoke. We all just sat and listened to the various sounds of crying, not judging anyone since we were all in the same depressing boat.

It took a long time for someone to work up the strength but eventually Frank spoke up, face still full of sadness and resolve but tears no longer slipping down his face. "I think we know what has to happen next. Nico, you need to talk to your father and get his blessing by tomorrow night at the latest. I don't think Percy can afford to wait any longer. We need to get him out of there before anything worse happens. I think you should take someone with you for support, it's better to have a partner."

Nico looked awful as he lifted his head and scanned the room for a victim, er I mean someone to accompany him. Of course he had to look at me, his eyes burning a hole into my very soul, "Leo? Will you go with me?"

So you could say I was a little shocked that the king of gloom chose me, the king of goof, to go with him on the extremely important mission. I was flattered but also drastically unprepared for the immense responsibility that went along with the trip. Don't get me wrong I really did want to help, I missed having another funny person on the ship and no one was anywhere near my level except for Percy. Even though I was sad and disturbed from Thalia's story just like everyone else, I seemed to be handling it the best. Or at least I'd mastered the art of shoving my emotions into a box and throwing away the key. Therefore I could handle the task at hand without losing my cool.

Getting over my stun at his request I gave him a classic grin, "Of course buddy. We'll get that blessing in no time don't you worry. Leo Valdez is ready go rock this mission."

Nico didn't look nearly as optimistic as I sounded. He stood from his spot with his head down mumbling, "I'm gonna go try to contact my father now. I'll let you know when I hear something."

We waved goodnight to him and almost immediately Annabeth got up from her chair. She went to Percy's bedside and pressed her forehead against his, shutting her eyes. She whispered in a broken voice, "Please come back to me soon. I need you here seaweed brain, I need to see your smile and hear a silly joke. Nico and Thalia came a long way to be with you so have to wake up for them okay? For all of us." She opened her eyes and placed a gentle kiss to his cheek, a single tear landing on Percy's bare chest.

Thalia let out a small sob from her chair, pressing her fist against her mouth to try and suppress her loud cries. Annabeth turned to her and smiled sadly, "Everything'll be okay. Percy survived Akhlys before so he can do it again. I know he'll be up and pestering us again in no time. Come on Thalia, why don't we get you to bed. Hazel, do you want to come with us? We can crash in Percy's room tonight, I'm sure he won't mind. Piper I'd love you to join us if Jason wakes up and you want some girl time."

Piper thanked her and confirmed that she'd stay with Jason but might join them if he showed any improvement. Hazel gave Frank one last hug and kiss before helping Annabeth take Thalia to Percy's room.

Once they were gone Frank took a deep breath and moved seats, taking the spot on Percy's left and putting his feet up on a chair in front of him. He folded his arms over his chest and met my gaze. "You okay going with Nico? You looked a little freaked out when he asked."

I shifted in my seat, feeling restless with both his and Piper's eyes studying me with sympathy. "I guess I am little freaked out. But it's my turn to help get a blessing. We've got a time crunch now and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to heal water boy. Even if the thought of meeting Hades gives me the creeps. I'll be fine though, nothing I can't handle."

Frank snorted and rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say Valdez. It's okay to be scared but you're right. You'll be fine, you're a smart kid."

Hmm Frank Zhang giving me compliments? I'm not sure how I feel about that. We're supposed to have a mutual tolerance of each other. That didn't include giving compliments. Though I did appreciate his support.

The next few hours of the night consisted of checking on Percy, making sure Jason was alive, and chit chatting with Frank and Piper. We kept the conversations light, figuring there was enough stress going around and none of it was fixable right this second.

At around midnight we were all yawning every five minutes and I was getting real tired. I decided it might be a good idea to get some sleep and when I asked the other two what they thought, they agreed that bed time might be nice.

As I was about to turn the lights off the rustling of sheets drew my attention. I looked over to see Jason shifting in his bed with a slight whimper. I moved from the light switch to his bedside in an instant and took a place next to Piper who'd jumped to her feet at Jason's stirring. We watched as he opened his eyes which were still swollen from how hard he'd been crying earlier. Piper and I talked to him briefly, giving him some water while we made sure he was okay. After a short check up, Piper charmspeaked him into a deep sleep. When I looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow, questioning her methods, she just shrugged, "He needs to rest. He's been through a lot and now he'll sleep through the night without a problem."

Unable to argue with that logic I watched her kiss Jason's lips and turn to Frank and I, "Will you guys watch him? I think I'm gonna go do the whole girl time thing." We nodded, told her to have fun, and with our consent she left in the direction of Percy's room.

Now alone with two unconscious demigods I made eye contact with Frank who looked at me as if I could read his mind. I assumed we were on the same page so I took the chance and flipped the lights off. I made my way to the chair in between Percy and Jason's bed being careful not to trip on anything along the way since it was now dark. I settled into the chair with a blanket and pillow for support, thinking about what visiting the king of the dead might be like. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep as the steady beeping of the heart monitors lulled me into peaceful dreams.

No sooner had I gone to bed was I woken up by a insistent whisper. It took me a minute to understand that the sound wasn't apart of my dreams and instead trying to pull me out of them. When I realized someone was trying to wake me up I got kinda irritated. With an annoyed groan at whoever was intruding my nice rest, I opened my eyes and found the room was still pitch black.

Nico stood next to me, barely visible in his all black outfit, the only identifying feature was his pale skin, shining almost as bright as the moon. He looked like he was dressed to go on an adventure as he'd slung a small backpack across his shoulder and had his stygian sword at his side. He stared at me with patient eyes, waiting for me to fully wake up.

Shoving my blanket off, I stretched my arms up and yawned quietly. Why was I so tired? How long was I asleep? I looked up at Nico and addressed him groggily, "Dude what time is it?"

His face hardened at my question, "5:00. I'm sorry but Hades said we have to come now. Oh and we can't tell anyone else where we're going so we should leave now before anyone wakes up." He pointed a finger at Frank who was snoring softly in his chair.

Wait 5am? Not cool man, Leo needs his beauty rest to stay this good looking. If I resemble a zombie tomorrow than you'd better bet I'm blaming him. With an irritated moan I stood and rubbed my aching neck which was sore from sleeping in the uncomfortable chair all night. "Lemme go change first then we can go. I'll meet you by the mast in five minutes."

Once Nico agreed and headed upstairs, I went to my room to change. On my way I passed by Percy's room and saw that the door was ajar. I peaked my head in and saw that all four girls were all laying on the bed curled up next to each other and sleeping soundly. It was honestly pretty adorable and made me wish I had a camera to capture the cute moment.

In my room I changed into fresh clothes for the long day I knew it'd be. I laced up my shoes and fastened my tool belt around my waist, making sure the flower I'd made for Calypso was safely stowed in one of the inner most pockets. Ready to face the day, I trudged upstairs, eager to get the interaction with Hades over with. Making my way onto the deck I found Nico resting against the mast casually holding a cup of coffee in each hand, taking a swig out of one of them unenthusiastically.

He saw me walking toward him and promptly held a mug out to me. "Here, you'll need the caffeine. It's important that we're awake and ready for anything that might happen. We also have to be alert so we can convince Hades to help. So hurry up and drink, we need to get going pretty soon." Nico sipped his coffee again, handing me mine insistently.

Reluctantly I took the cup and stood next to him. We drank our drinks and relaxed as the sun began to rise on the sparkling blue water with an array of beautiful colors. It was pretty quiet since neither one of us had said anything and while most people thought of that as calming, it just drove me nuts. I didn't like the silence one bit so I accidentally blurted out the first thing that popped into my head, "So you kissed Percy yesterday, how was that?" Nice one Leo, great conversation starting.

Nico practically spit his coffee at my random question. He coughed as he choked out, "I'm sorry, what?!?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his dramatic reaction, only feeling slightly bad for startling him. "Look I know you saved him with cpr but your lips still touched. I'd call that a kiss."

The poor boy turned bright pink as the first sun rays lit up his flushing face. He was clearly uncomfortable with the topic but still attempted to defend himself. "I-I only did it to save him. I wasn't really thinking about anything else at the time. I mean his lips were really soft and tasted a little salty which was kinda nice but-" He caught sight of my smirk and stopped his rambling. "Shut up Leo! You're so stupid! Are you done with your coffee yet? You know what I don't even care if you're ready. It's time to go."

With amusement still showing on my face I downed the rest of the potent liquid and set down my cup by the mast. "Ready when you are Mrs. Jackson." I teased playfully, enjoying the way it rattled him.

Nico was fuming at my comment and didn't look eager to be anywhere near me but he sighed in exasperation and grabbed my arm a little too roughly. "Come on then." With a firm tug he pulled me forward and we stepped into a literal shadow.

The shadow traveling only lasted a second but within that second it felt like my face was being blown by the world's strongest fan. I had to close my eyes for fear that they'd fly out of my head from the speed alone. Then just as quick as it started everything stopped.

With a start I felt Nico crumple to the ground. My eyes flashed open and I instinctively caught him around the waist, lifting him back to his feet, "Whoa bro you okay? What's goin on?"

Examining him for injuries I realized it was pretty hard to see his face as wherever he'd brought us was dark as if the sun had gone back to bed. Even in the poor lighting I could tell that Nico was exhausted, his forehead was lightly covered in droplets of sweat and he was breathing shallowly. He held onto me for support as his legs wobbled dangerously underneath him.

He managed to faintly say, "Shadow travelling takes a lot out of me. Guess I wasn't as rested as I thought I was. I'll be fine just a little dizzy..." His eyes started to close and his body grew heavier against my arms. I pulled him back up again and he blinked hard, trying to stay awake.

I cursed at his weakened state, "We gotta get you some help buddy. Is there anything in your backpack that could help? Where'd you bring us anyway?" Looking around I noticed that we were in the middle of forest of black poplar trees. In the back of my head a voice reminded me that poplar trees were important to Hades but I couldn't remember why. While it was hard to see because of the darkness I could still feel a sense of power looming in the clean brisk air that surrounded us.

Suddenly slick, oily voice snaked into my ears from somewhere nearby, "You are in Ayrshire, Scotland." A man I assumed to be Hades stepped out from behind one of the thin, tall trees and I wondered how long he'd been waiting for us to arrive. Did he say Scotland? That would explain the reappearing night, there must be a time change. When Hades moved closer I saw that he was wearing dark flowing robes that clashed drastically with his stark white skin. The folds of his robe continuously shifted as if it contained restless souls within the fabric. You know what, there probably were souls trapped in there. It made sense, he seemed pretty extra.

Hades slowly made his way over to us, stopping in front of Nico and looking down at him with an almost mesmerizing purple flame flickering within his cold black eyes. "You should have known your limits child. You could have died." With a wave of his hand a golden goblet sprouted up from the ground like a daisy. Hades bent down and scooped it up, bringing it to Nico's lips and encouraging him to drink.

When the goblet was emptied Nico cautiously let go of me, standing on his own and wiping the sweat off his face. He took in an easy breath and looked up at Hades. "Thank you." He bowed to the lord of the underworld and when he saw me standing upright he whacked my leg forcefully, wanting me to mimic his action.

Shooting him a glare for the sharp stinging in my thigh I lowered my head in respect, "Yes, thank you for coming sir. It's very nice to finally meet you." I moved back into a normal stance, offering a smile to the stern looking god.

Hades set an intense gaze on me for a solid minute, making a 'hm' sound before turning back to Nico unimpressed (How rude), "I know why you've come though I'm not sure why I would give Perseus Jackson my blessing. Tell me Nico why should I help my insufferable nephew instead of letting Akhlys pick apart his mind and destroy his soul. That sounds much more entertaining than saving whatever sliver might be left of his sanity."

The way Hades implied that Percy might not be mentally okay even if we did save him crushed my optimism and made me want to burst into tears. It was hard to explain but a strong urge to fall to my knees and give up all hope threatened to overcome me. I knew the god's presence must effecting my emotions and causing these thoughts but even if that was true it's still pretty depressing to think that Percy could be anything but his cool, funny self when he wakes up.

Nico straightened himself and spoke in a confident voice that was very unNico like. "Father he's been through more than most of the souls trapped in the fields of punishment. He doesn't deserve to die in there. He's helped you multiple times like when he returned your helm of darkness and retrieved your sword on behalf of Persephone. Or most importantly he was the sole person responsible for getting you a position with full rights and privileges on the council. Not to mention he saved mine and Hazel's lives more times than I can count. Look dad, I know you can't stand him but that shouldn't warrant his death. Please help us save him, I need him to live. We all do."

Although his words were strong I could hear the underlying tone of desperation hidden in every syllable. I could tell that Nico was close to tears as he waited for the verdict.

Hades scrutinized Nico without emotion, seeming to weigh all of his options with keen focus. You could hear a pin drop in the woods as no one dared say a word. I held my breath in suspense of his response, crossing my fingers mentally for luck.

Five minutes passed before Hades sighed irritably, "Fine. I will give it to you but only because it means that I no longer owe him anything. My debt is repaid." Nico's eyes lit up and he looked at my with a brilliant smile, one brighter than any i'd ever seen from him. I returned it with two thumbs up.

During our celebration Hades lifted his boney fingers into the air and let out a sharp whistle through his teeth. I flinched as the sound pierced my ears and watched, wondering why he'd made such a loud noise. A few moments passed before a large screech owl swooped out of the dark sky and landed on Hade's hand, its talons wrapping around his fingers for balance.

With a sharp tug Hades plucked a single feather from the bird who let out a small sound and pecked at his knuckles in protest. Hades didn't seem to mind as he acknowledge the creature with a certain fondness, "Thank you." The owl let out it's named sound (a hideous screech) and took off from it's pale perch and disappeared into the trees.

Hades held the feather up to his lips and took a deep breath in. He held the breath for a few seconds then as he released the air, he blew lightly on the feather. I watched in awe as the object became encased in a black shimmering light, similar to the other blessings.

Hades turned to Nico and spoke in a silky tone. "Your love for the boy is admirable my son and although he belongs to another I see that he holds a special place in his heart for you. To spare you and Hazel any more suffering, I sincerely hope that he lives." With that embarrassing speech he held the feather out to Nico who took it with wide eyes and a bright blush that was growing on his cheeks.

After handing the feather off to Nico he swiveled so he could speak to both of us at once, "I can sense that he will die by midnight on this day unless he receives the cure before then. The feather must be taken to the Tartarus in which he currently resides. While Akhlys is away you will have to trace the cursed wound with the tip of the feather, reopening it so that he may be cleansed both physically and mentally. Make sure he does not make noise while you do so or Akhlys will return. If you can accomplish this, take the feather and crush it with Poseidon's blessing, combining them with a spoonful of nectar and then pouring the liquid gold from Zeus's gift over the entire mixture. The gold will bind the cure into one potion which he must drink no matter the torture it brings."

While I tried to take mental notes of his specific directions, Nico stepped closer to me and asked, "How do we wake him up to drink it if he's trapped there?"

Hades looked at him with subtle pride, "I believe the charmspeaker can wake him but only for a short time. If he is awake for more than ten minutes I'm afraid his mind will start to deteriorate."

Nico looked to me as if making sure I'd heard and understood everything. I gave a short nod while Hades continued speaking, "Be prepared for whatever may happen once the curse is lifted. It's impossible to know if he will be the same after the taxing ordeal. I wish you both luck on your endeavors but the sun is rising and your time is running up. I will create a portal so that you may return to your ship without losing strength. I believe you will need all of it when you venture into Mr. Jackson's mind."

Hades walked up to one of the poplar trees and touched the bark with two of his fingers. The trunk made a loud cracking noise and immediately split apart at the base, creating a tall archway. Between the two halves a veil of shadows appeared, shifting around restlessly like a thin cloth blowing in the wind.

We thanked Hades for his help to which he waved us away with an unbothered hand, a glint of something almost happy lingering in his eyes. With a forceful shove from Nico I stumbled into the void and became engulfed in darkness.

After a rush of speed and a pop of my ears I fell onto the wooden floor of the Argo II, scrambling to my feet to avoid getting stepped on by Nico who gracefully appeared after me.

Amazed and slightly nauseous from the weird transport I walked to the railing and leaned against it, facing Nico as I inhaled the fresh ocean air. "Good job dude, that went surprisingly better than I'd expected. It was actually kind of easy."

Nico startled me as he shot daggers with his eyes, "Easy? I have to go jab a feather into Percy's injured side and add even more to his torture! Then we have to force feed him something that might kill him from the pain before it can heal him. If he lives through all of that he still might not be the same person I...I mean we love...What the heck part of that sounds easy to you Leo?!?" His hands were balled into tight fists as they shook from his anger. He looked about one second away from stabbing me so I raised my hands in surrender.

"Hey I'm really sorry. You're right, I didn't think about that. I just thought it was good news that today's the day we finally can get him back. I'm just trying to be positive. Maybe you should get some rest. How much sleep did you get last night? You could probably use a break." I said softly, trying to diffuse his anger.

He rolled his eyes, still fuming, "No Leo. I'm not gonna rest while he's suffering alone in there. I'm gonna go right now and get it over with. Can you keep everyone out of the room except Frank? I think I'll need his help in case things get dicey in there. I'll also need you to update the rest of the group on the current situation."

I didn't love his attitude but I tried to chalk it up to worry and not just him being an outright jerk. "Alright bud I can do that. Just be careful in there."

When Nico nodded with a defeated 'thank you', I went to walk past him but he caught my shoulder before I could get away. "Look Leo I'm sorry...I'm really scared. I know we all are but I just can't lose him. He has to survive this. I'm sorry for taking my stress out on you...but um Leo, If you don't mind could you not tell anyone about what my dad said...about me and Percy?" I smiled at him and promised to keep his secrets safe. With a relived sigh he let go of me and muttered a more relaxed thanks.

Going to Percy's room, I prepared to have to struggle to wake everyone up. However when I knocked on the door and peaked in I found that girls were already wide awake and talking on the bed like they didn't know it was 7 in the morning. When I asked why they weren't still snoozing they claimed that it was too hard to stay asleep any longer.

Deciding it wasn't that important to keep questioning I looked to Piper and asked her to get Jason from the med bay and then meet us back in here for a meeting. For some reason it felt right to have the meeting in Percy's room as it was hopefully one of the last one's we'd need before bringing him home.

Piper didn't ask why we were gathering or even about the strange location. She just climbed off of the bed and left without a word. I didn't answer any questions about the subject matter until Piper came back, supporting an awake but peaky looking Jason.

Once everyone was seated on the blue bed I revealed that Nico and I had just returned from a visit with Hades. I told them what happened and they listened with such attentiveness that my hands itched for something to fidget with. Even though I was uncomfortable with the bright spot light of their eyes, I made sure to explain everything Hades had told Nico and I about the cure and specific handling when the time came to make the brew. At the end of my spiel I looked at each of their varying expressions and cracked a smile, "Any questions, comments, or snide remarks?"

Annabeth got out of bed, still in her pjs and announced, "I-I think I'm going to change and place a few iris messages. If I'm not back before Nico and Frank complete their quest can someone please come get me?" Piper volunteered to retrieve her if need be and Annabeth smiled in thanks. Before Annabeth left Thalia asked if she could tag along, claiming she understood who needed to be called. Annabeth agreed, seeming happy that she didn't have to talk to the mystery people alone.

Once Thalia and Annabeth left I looked to Jason, worried by his dull eyes and lack of smile, "How're you feeling man?"

Jason took Piper's hand in his own before meeting my eyes, "I'm a lot better...I'm really sorry for last night. I didn't mean to lose it like that I just-...it was so awful to watch that. Hearing the plan for today gives me hope though. I'm glad we're finally getting him out."

His words struck a cord as I knew that's what we were all thinking. Today was a big day and one way or another we'd bring Percy home.

So I really wanted to post this on Percy's birthday yesterday but I honestly struggled so hard with this chapter and I just couldn't finish in time. I'm not kidding guys I felt like I couldn't come up with anything and I seriously considered taking a break out of shear frustration with myself. However! I am no quitter so after spending literally my entire day off yesterday trying to put it together and part of today editing, I present to you Ch. 28. Side note reviews help me so much during the process and give me strength during my writer's block moments. Everyone can thank Mika1303 for the amazing review that gave me the final boost of motivation to finish this chapter. You are so sweet and kind and thank you for inspiring me when I was struggling to feel good enough. This is getting super long so Imma finish my shout outs in the next chapter which I will try to write soon. :)