Chapter 38 - I Accidentally Learn More About Leo

My mortal friends and teachers were horrified at the state of me and they couldn't even see the worst wounds - the arrow wounds in my side and thigh were covered by each outfit I wore, as was the axe wound on my chest. Only the ones on my forehead and arm were readily apparent. I stuck to Will's story - I'd been mugged while visiting my dad in San Francisco. I gritted my teeth as some of my hallmates made snarky comments about my boyfriend not coming to visit me when I was injured. It was hard for me to just get from class to class, and I didn't have the energy for anything more than the basics. The Wednesday after classes had started again I was getting ready for bed when an Iris message appeared in my dorm. Rachel.

"Wise Girl, Chiron said you tried to go to the Wolf House. This wouldn't have anything to do with the vision I had of Percy there, would it?"

I blushed. "Uh. Maybe."

She shook her head at me. "Annabeth, I didn't mean that as a suggestion for you."

"I know, but I wanted to leave him some notes, maybe he could reach me for help."

She just smiled and shook her head again. Finally, she took a shaky breath. "Annabeth, I…. I had another vision."

I sat on the bed. "How bad?"

She smiled. "I think you'll like this one. It was of you and Percy, back together."

My heart thumped. "Really?" I squeaked.

She smiled. "Yeah. You're on board the Argo II. He has an arm wrapped around you. That's all I got."

I fell back onto my bed in relief.

"Now stop trying to get yourself killed!" Rachel demanded.

"I wasn't trying to!" I protested. "I was trying to find Percy."

She laughed. "Just…. Focus on the ship, for now. Ok? Because we know that's in the vision when you and Percy are back together."

I sat up, looking at her. "Thanks, Rachel. Anything else you can tell me?"

She thought about that for a long moment. Finally, she took a deep breath. "I… I got a message. A fairly clear one. It's… not good."

"Ok…. about Percy?"

She shook her head. "About you."

My heart beat so hard it threatened to come out of my chest. "Uh…."

"The message was simple. But it was from Hera."

My hands tightened in the covers of my bed. "What did she want?" I growled.

Rachel took another breath. "She said…. You are one of the Seven. And…. and that your role might be different than you imagined. Harder."

I thought about that for a long moment. "Did she… give any clues as to what that could mean?"

Rachel shook her head again.

"And the award for least helpful goddess goes to -"

Rachel laughed, long and hard. When she stopped she gasped out, "So you aren't worried, or changing your plans?"

I shook my head. "It's nice to know I'm one of the Seven, officially. That I'm not screwing up anything by insisting I go with Jason. But that my role would be different? That could mean literally anything. I'm preparing for so many roles right now. I'm learning a healer role from Will, practicing other weapons with Clarisse in case we need them, working on the ship…. I've got so many roles, Rachel. Go ahead, throw another one on top."

Rachel grinned. "Fair enough."

"As for my task being harder -" I shrugged. "This is another Great Prophecy. I was part of the first one. I… I know this is going to be hard, that we might die. I know this is crazy. But I'd still choose it anyway. Because there is no chance I'm letting Percy do this alone, even if he can't remember me."

Rachel gave me a small smile. "He's lucky, to have someone like you."

I smiled back. "I think we're both lucky."

The Iris-message blinked out.

I couldn't stop smiling. I pulled out my journal.

Dear Percy,

Rachel had a vision. You and me on the Argo II. I hope that means you remember me. Even if you don't, I'll be there for you. I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to help you.

Remember the cannibals that came to kill you during gym? And I met Tyson that day…..

On Friday after school, Blackjack took me back to Camp. The first thing I did was check in with Will. He checked over my bandages.

"These look fresh. Did you do them yourself?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I cleaned and re-did them like you showed me."

He grinned. "It's looking really good. As good as I could have done without the gift of Apollo. You'll do well as the healer on the Argo II."

I smiled at him. "That… means a lot."

He shrugged and looked at me. "I've got some more advanced practice for you today. One of the Ares campers got an arrow wound similar to yours. I want you to get some practice in surgery, just in case."

I will not explain the details of that. While I was happy with the practice in case the crew of the Argo II came against something like that, I was also sure that I did not ever want to be a surgeon. Ever. I prayed to every god and goddess I knew that I would not have to repeat that experience on someone I knew and cared about.

After I helped Will with the Ares camper I got back to my bunk and crashed. The next morning, I decided to go check on the Argo II.

Leo bounded up to me. "Annabeth! Looking good!"

Since I still had the marks of my wounds on my forehead and arm visible, and I was still on crutches, I figured this was one of Leo's jokes. I let it slide.

"Leo. What's the news on the ship?"

His smile faded. "Right. Uh, so it's going well. We got the masts up, we're working on magic sails. The crossbows are working. But, ah, Will said you aren't cleared to help on any projects right now."

I ground my teeth in frustration but knew he was right.

"So -" Leo continued. "I thought, maybe you could work with him on what supplies we'd need in the infirmary. And like, what we need in there. Bunks, and, like, medical stuff."

I grinned. "Fair enough." I sat down on a bench and pulled out my laptop. Will joined me shortly after and we began to discuss what kind of bunks and supplies we'd need for a very deadly journey.

That night, I found Grover and Clovis and insisted we try another dreamscape session. They both seemed skeptical, since I had to be propped up with pillows, but agreed to try. I sunk into the dreamscape faster than I had before, and I found the forest where there were dreams of other people. I saw one, flickering with lights and colors, and walked into it.

Suddenly, I was somewhere I didn't recognize. A machine shop. I heard voices and walked towards them. Two figures were working at the back of the shop. One was a Hispanic woman, clearly used to the work, her hands moving with the skill of long practice. She was focussed on whatever project she was working on, but would grin and smile at the small boy beside her. He had an infectious smile, and was swinging his legs back and forth as he sat on a crate. With a start, I realized I was looking at Leo. He was a little kid - about the age I was when I ran away, maybe seven or eight. I ducked behind another work station so they wouldn't see me.

"Alright, Leo. This will have to be it for tonight. I'm too tired to focus. Help me put everything away, mijo." The woman said. She sounded tired, worn to the bone. Leo hopped off the crate and walked around the work station, clearly knowing where the tools went as he put each one in its place. Leo's mom, I guessed, went around the rest of the shop, ensuring some of the larger machinery was put up. As they headed out of the shop, I followed, still trying to keep out of sight. I wasn't sure if they could see me or not, but I didn't want to freak out Leo. I assumed this was a dream, a memory from his past life. If it was a good one, well, I had no business being here. I wanted to leave, give them privacy, but this was my first time being in someone else's dream. I had no idea how to leave it.

I ducked under a work table as I heard Leo's mom say, "That's funny. I knew I had them. Wait here, mijo. I'll only be a minute." She came back into the room. I peaked around the doorway and dashed around tiny Leo. I made it under a break room table without him seeing me. The door to the machine shop slammed shut behind me. Then, the exterior door.

"Mom?" Leo called out, sounding frightened. A large crash came from inside the machine shop. Leo ran to the door, pulling at it in desperation, kicking at it, yelling. "Mom!"

He tapped out a message in Morse code. I understood it - You Okay?

"She can't hear you." A creepy voice said. A chill ran down my spine. It was the first time I had heard Gaea talk. I peered out the other side of the table, looking to spot her. She was the size and shape of your average mortal woman. That wasn't the scary part.

"Tia?" Leo asked.

"I'm not your guardian." Gaea said with amusement. Her voice was cold, deep, and filled with evil. It sent waves of fear over me, just listening to her power. "Merely a family resemblance."

"Wh-what do you want? Where's my mom?" Leo stammered.

"Ah, loyal to your mother. How nice!" Gaea said, but she didn't sound happy. More… cruel. Calculating. "But, you see, I have children too. And I understand you will fight them someday. When they try to wake me, you will prevent them. I can not allow that."

"I don't know you! I don't want to fight anybody!" Leo protested.

"A wise choice." Gaea muttered, swaying on her feet. I wanted to jump out, grab tiny Leo and run. But I knew that wouldn't help. This was a dream. Whatever had happened, had happened in Leo's past. I couldn't stop it - I was already years too late to protect him.

"I can not destroy you yet. The Fates will not allow it. But they do not protect your mother. And they can not stop me from breaking your spirit!" I covered my mouth with my hands to stop myself from gasping. "Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose me."

"Leave my mother alone!" Leo said fiercely.

I looked at the door of the machine shop. I wondered, briefly, if I could help tiny Leo break it down. This is a dream, Annabeth. I reminded myself. You can't change the past.

Suddenly, I was encased with dirt. It passed and I realized Gaea had walked straight through the table I was crouching under, heading for Leo. "How will you stop me?" She whispered. But it was a threat. Leo's hands caught fire, but I could tell it was out of fear. He wasn't able to control it. He let loose a feral scream, and flames washed over the entire room. I woke with a start.

I was in the Hypnos cabin. Clovis and Grover looked at me.

"Did you get into someone's dreams?" Clovis asked, curious. "You were gone a lot longer this time."

I licked my dry lips, still feeling that fire. "Yeah. Yeah I did."

Clovis and Grover both grinned at me. "That's good!" Grover said. "That means we're closer to finding Percy!"

In the morning, I got up before the other campers and hobbled to Bunker 9. I found Leo there, as usual. He was already awake and working on the engine. I sat on a stool near him and put my crutches beside me.

"Leo? Can we talk?"

He slid out from the engine and looked at me. "Annabeth! What's up?"

I looked away. "You…. have you heard about the dreamscape stuff I've been doing with Clovis?"

He nodded, pretending to be solemn. "Yeah. Sounds super helpful. Totally going to help us build the ship."

I ignored him. "Well, last night, I… I had a dream…. About you and your mom, and Gaea, at this machine shop…."

The sentence hung in the air. Leo's eyes looked panicked and pained.

"I-I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't mean to see it."

Leo fiddled with something in his hands. "That was a bad night. I-I lost control. I had promised -" I saw a tear fall into his lap. "I promised her I wouldn't use fire. But I couldn't think of anything else that would hurt Gaea. And…. and I killed my…."

I shook my head. "Leo, you aren't at fault. Gaea forced that to happen. If you hadn't used the fire, she'd have killed your mom another way. She'd have caused an earthquake, or dropped a machine on her. Heck, she could have just lit a match and tossed it into the gasoline at the shop. You aren't at fault."

He took a deep breath. "I still feel like I am."

I thought about the things I had done that I still felt guilt for. Not finding a way to stop Luke without killing him. Leaving Percy at Mount St. Helens. Letting Grover and Tyson go off on their own during my quest. Silena's death. I shook my head to stop the list there.

"I get that." I admitted. "I've got a lot of decisions like that. Things I wish I could undo. Things I wished I had the power to change."

He nodded, looking at his hands.

"Anyway, I just didn't feel good about you not knowing, uh, that I knew." I explained. "And I wanted to say, uh, that I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk."

Leo looked at me and nodded. "Thanks." He took a deep breath. "Will said no heavy lifting, but want to help me work on the wiring for the mess hall? I'm going to make the main wall show a video feed of Camp so always know what's going on."

I smiled at him. "I'd love to help. Thanks, Leo."