Here, have some Leo! I will reply to all the reviews next chapter- I'm in a rush today.
Leo was willing to admit that things had not been going well for him all day- though his conversation with Hazel earlier hadn't been so bad.
He'd been shaken- seeing his sister crumpling up like that, bleeding so heavily, after they'd gotten her to the infirmary-and after he'd programmed in the coordinates she'd managed to gasp out before collapsing, he'd found himself sat on the deck, shaking slightly as he stared out at the sea.
And then Hazel had found him, had taken pity on him and distracted him from worrying about Percy by talking to him about Sammy.
She'd even shown him a weird black out vision thing- and he had to admit that he did take after the man- well, he was a boy in the memories, a lot- and he'd not hidden his tears when he'd seen his mama handing him to the old man version of Sammy. And he'd squeezed Hazel's hand comfortingly as she'd hopefully gotten some closure, and he'd silently promised the old man that he'd be there for her- just like he'd asked.
And then, just as the vision ended the attack had begun- a tentacle sea monster of some kind- and it was Leo's fault- he'd not switched the sonar from air mode to water mode. The last thing he'd remembered was the explosion of green fire, heat and the painful impact with the water- not for the first time he was jealous of the fact that his big sister didn't ever have to deal with anything like that.
When Leo came too he was floating weightlessly and he blinked slowly as his eyes adjusted to the dim light around them.
"About time." that was Franks voice- Leo turned his head, letting out a relieved breath when his gaze focused on Frank as he drifted upright.
They were underwater, in a cave of some kind, about the size of a two-car garage. Phosphorescent moss covered the ceiling, bathing the room in a blue-and-green glow. The floor was a carpet of sea urchins, which would have been uncomfortable to walk on, so Leo was glad he was floating. He didn't understand how he could be breathing with no air.
Frank levitated nearby in meditation position, and he shot Leo a strained smile, "I was worried for a while there."
Leo looked around again- the only exit to the cave was blocked by a massive abalone shell—its surface glistening in pearl and rose and turquoise. If this cave was a prison, at least it had an awesome door.
"Where are we?" Leo asked. "Where is everyone else?"
"Everyone?" Frank grumbled. "I don't know. As far as I can tell, it's just you and me and Hazel down here. The fish-horse guys took Hazel about an hour ago, leaving me with you." Frank sounded more worried than anything else- he didn't look injured at least Leo realized that he no longer had his bow or quiver. In a panic, Leo patted his waist. His tool belt was gone.
"They searched us," Frank said. "Took anything that could be a weapon."
"Who though? Last thing I remember is hitting the water."
"They were Fish-horse guys. Don't ask- they must have grabbed us when we fell in the ocean and dragged us... wherever this is."
Leo nodded slowly, "Well the fact that we're alive is good. I think." he pulled a face, "Percy will come rescue us soon if we are prisoner-" he froze- remembering the green flash, the fire- "T-the monster- the Argo II- did- are they-" his voice shook slightly and Frank's expression turned sympathetic.
"I don't know." he admitted quietly, "The others- I hope they're okay but I didn't see what happened." he shifted slightly, "Uh- I know it's none of my business and I feel bad for even asking but- you and Hazel- you two were-"
"Hazel shared a vision thing with me." Leo admitted, "I was really upset about-" he took a deep breath, "Seeing Percy like that really fucking sucks- reminded me of-" he shook his head, pushing back the memories- the sound of screams which had filled his ears as Percy had fallen into his and Nico's arms, the blood- it wasn't in the same spot but- but it had brought back the memories nevertheless.
"Anyway." he let out a little cough, his voice cracking slightly- and Frank didn't say a word- Leo was grateful for that kindness- it was never nice being watched in a moment of weakness like that. "She shared a vision with me- one with Sammy. He was my great grandfather. Which was weird as Hades I gotta say- like, I look just like him and- we're ridiculously alike. And then we saw a vision of him when he was older- when he met me when I was a baby." Leo's smile was faintly sad as he said that, "He knew- he knew I'd meet Hazel again someday. I think it gave her some closure too."
And Frank looked incredibly relieved at that.
"I'm glad. That she got that- I.. like I know you have a girlfriend and all and I didn't think that Hazel would but-"
"But you were scared?" Leo gave a very faint smile, "I get it dude. Hazel seems pretty awesome and you two only just got together right?"
"Did you- did you feel like that with Calypso?"
"Uh-" Leo paused, "Calypso and I were a bit more complicated- like, she spent a really long time stranded with occasional hero's visiting and they always left her. I was the only one who ever came back for her." he shrugged, "None of the others would have been able to. Saving her was my reward- that- that makes things pretty-" he paused, searching for the words, "I mean- I was the only person she knew- it's changed now but- with how our relationship started I didn't really have any of that insecurity in it. She stuck with me even though I wasn't the boy she fell in love with anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I met Calypso Pre-Percy's death." Leo told Frank, "I rescued her after. I was a fucking wreck for a while. All of us were. I only really started to be myself again after I met Jay and Pipes and went on a quest. I guess it forced me to get out of my rut- Calypso made life bearable but not good, whereas the quest-"
"You had no choice." Frank nodded, "That makes sense I guess."
"Listen." Leo gave a small grin, "I'm not an expert on relationships but- Hazel really seems to like you dude- we already did the whole awkward 'you look like my old crush' thing before the vision and we straightened up that neither of us are interested in each other like that. You just gotta have faith. If she likes you she's not gonna be interested in any other guys- not even one as dashingly handsome as me." Leo winked and Frank laughed louder.
"You're right." Frank relaxed, "Thank you. I've never- I'm not used to all this relationship stuff."
"You'll get there." Leo stated firmly before pausing, "I gotta ask, did Percy meddle?"
"Yes." Frank nodded, "I assume she's always like that?"
"Oh yeah, she meddled with Luke and Thalia, and she meddled with Nico and Will too, made those dumbo's get together. She enjoys it. And she's got a good track record."
"Except for with herself."
"Yeah, well-" Leo pulled a face, "Percy's life is never simple." he looked around. "We should probably try and find our own way out of this- she was pretty hurt. As much as I like to think she'll rescue us, she might not even be awake right now."
"Right." Frank nodded, "We need an escape plan then right?"
"Yeah," Leo paused, "How did- the fact that I didn't even think about it until now is insane but how are we breathing. Shouldn't we be crushed by the pressure right about now? It's different with Percy but this- she's not here so we should be crushed."
Frank shrugged. "Fish-horse magic, I guess. I remember the green guy touching my head with the point of a dagger. Then I could breathe."
Leo studied the abalone door. "Can you bust us out? Turn into a hammerhead shark or something?"
Frank shook his head glumly. "My shape-shifting doesn't work. I don't know why. Maybe they cursed me, or maybe I'm too messed up to focus."
"Hazel could be in trouble," Leo said. "We've got to get out of here."
He swam to the door and ran his fingers along the abalone. He couldn't feel any kind of latch or other mechanism. Either the door could only be opened by
magic or sheer force was required—neither of which was Leo's speciality.
"I've already tried," Frank said. "Even if we get out, we have no weapons."
"Hmm…" Leo held up his hand. "I wonder-" he paused, giving Leo a sidelong glance, "You might want to move back. You don't like fire right?"
Frank gave a quick nod, his eyes wide as he backed away, "Thanks for warning me."
"No problem, if I ever forget just yell at me. I get that fire's pretty scary sometimes."
Leo held up his hand and he concentrated- fire flickered over his fingers. For a split second, Leo was excited, because he hadn't expected it to work underwater. Then his plan started working a little too well. Fire raced up his arm and over his body until he was completely shrouded in a thin veil of flame. He tried to breathe, but he was inhaling pure heat.
"Leo!" Frank's eyes widened in horror- he clearly could see that Leo was struggling to breath- he looked petrified, gaze flicking around rapidly- probably trying to find a way to put the fire out.
Leo forced himself to stay calm. He understood what was going on. The fire itself couldn't hurt him. He willed the flames to die and counted to five. He took a
shallow breath. He had oxygen again.
Frank let out a breath, "Holy Jupiter- are you okay Leo?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded, only slightly shaky. "Yeah I'm fine."
"I- I didn't know what to do-"
"It's fine." Leo shook his head, "I don't blame you- I feel like putting out fires underwater is not something most people ever imagine doing."
"What just happened Leo?"
"Clever magic," Leo said. "There's a thin layer of oxygen around us, like an extra skin. Must be self-regenerating. That's how we're breathing and staying dry.
The oxygen gave the fire fuel—except the fire also suffocated me." Leo paused- Frank looked more shaken than Leo felt. "Are you okay dude?"
"I just- I really, really don't like fire."
"It's okay." Leo's voice was gentle "For a long time I was terrified of myself because of my powers. You don't need to justify it dude. It's a powerful force."
"Thank you." Frank's smile was faint but genuine, "Listen I-" but the abalone door was rolling open, and Leo turned to look, blinking as he saw a man. At a first glance he reminded Leo of Chiron.
He had the same curly hair, shaggy beard, and intelligent eyes—a look somewhere between wild hippie and fatherly professor, except this man's skin was the color of a lima bean.
On second glance Leo decided he didn't look so much like Chiron. He looked more like the poster Leo's mom used to keep in her workspace—that old Mexican bandit Pancho Villa, except with seashells and lobster horns.
He was a thin bare-chested dude with a dagger in his belt and a band of seashells strapped across his chest like a bandolier. His skin was green, his beard scraggly brown, and his longish hair was tied back in a seaweed bandana. A pair of lobster claws stuck up from his head like horns, turning and snapping at random.
From the waist down, the guy was more complicated. He had the forelegs of a blue-green horse, sort of like a centaur, but toward the back, his horse body morphed into a long fishy tail about ten feet long, with a rainbow-colored, V-shaped tail fin.
And yeah, Leo got what Frank had said about fish-horse guys now." "I am Bythos," said the green man. "I will interrogate Frank Zhang."
His voice was calm and firm, leaving no room for debate.
"Why did you capture us?" Leo demanded. "Where's Hazel?"
Bythos narrowed his eyes. His expression seemed to say: Did this tiny creature just talk to me? "You, Leo Valdez, will go with my brother."
"Your brother?"
Leo realized that a much larger figure was looming behind Bythos, with a shadow so wide, it filled the entire cave entrance.
"Yes," Bythos said with a dry smile. "Try not to make Aphros mad."