Hi, chapter six is here! This chapter is starting from the first camp-half-blood scene from the lost hero. It won't be word perfect, and I probably will get things wrong, as I won't be referring to the book. The credit goes to Rick Riordan!


I was firing at the archery range, arrow after arrow, each splitting the last, when I heard a massive splash from the lake. Shouldering my quiver and arrows, I ran to the source of attraction. Pushing my way through the crowds, my face fell when I got to the front.

"Annabeth! Will said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!" I yelled.

"Sorry, Alex. I promise, we'll get it fixed." I nodded, wondering what my bro would say if he saw this. Will Solace was generally more laid back that me, but when it came to the chariot, he was a fu- kindly one. I scanned the chariot, or what was left of it. Annabeth was with Butch, but there was no sight of that green-eyed dork.

"Didn't find Percy?" I guessed. Annabeth nodded, nearly on the verge of tears. I was really worried by now. The first few days, oh come off it, he'll find his way back. But he never showed up. I was starting to doubt if he was alive, even. There were three other people on the bank of the lake, being wrapped up in fluffy towels. One had blonde hair, with blue eyes, really shocking blue. There was a familiarity about it that I couldn't place my finger on. A girl was next to him, with choppy brown hair. I couldn't get a good look at her face, though, as it was covered by the towel. My eyes flicked to the third boy. My chest tightened. Those black curls, the pixie shaped ears and turned up nose... my hand went straight to the hand drawn sketch in my pocket. Before I could get a good look at him, Will pushed his way to the front. His face fell.

"Hey, Annabeth, I said-"

"Don't worry, Will, I've told her. They're getting it fixed."

"And Percy?" he whispered to me under his breath. I shook my head.

"Still no sign. I'm really worried Will." Suddenly there was a collective gasp. I glanced up, and the third boy had a symbol on his head. It was a flaming hammer, the symbol of Hephaestus. There was no doubt about it. He was exactly who I though he was. Leo. It was Leo. I turned around, taking a few breaths, before walking to the lake, and sitting with my legs dangling in the water. My shoes were off, and the cold sensation of rushing water enveloped my toes. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my sketch. It was a bit smudged, and the paper was slightly brown over the years, but the sketch was clear enough. I let the feeling come over me. After 9 years, I would be seeing him again. 9 whole years. I closed my eyes, and let the realisation sink in. Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me.

"Hey, Alex!" Will's voice drained over me. "Son of Hephaestus, Leo Valdez. I've done most of the tour, but I've gotta bandage Butch up. He has a scratch on the thigh. Leo just needs to see his cabin, and then that'll be good."

I got up, and faced him. "Yeah, sure. I'll take it from here." Will beamed at me.

"Great!" he rushed away, in the direction of the infirmiry. I turned and faced Leo. He stared back at me, realisation dawning on his face.

"Alex..." I threw my arms around him, and whispered in his ear,

"Leo." He returned the hug, and then it felt so good to be with him again, and just know we were back together, after 9 years, the relief spread through me. We broke apart, and I studied him, my arms on his shoulders.

"You've changed." I decided, finally. He relaxed, and replied,

"Yeah,I didn't recognize you at first." I understood what he meant. I had changed. Not just emotionally, but physically, too. My blonde hair was more of an aubern , and instead of my old straight planks, I had waves. I was still short, though, for demigod standerds. I was only 5'6, the same height as Leo now.

"I can't believe it. The Gods are real, and I thought I would never see you again..." I nodded.

"I thought you might be a son of Hephaestus, you know with your fire and everything." I sat down, and he sat next to me.

"But there's one thing I have to tell you-"

"Yeah, the curse on Cabin 9, I know, Al," He broke in. It felt so good to hear him call me Al again, so familiar, something I could grasp.

"Not that, Leo, well sort of, but don't let anyone know you're a fire user. Your power with fire, people shouldn't know just yet. When ever a fire user turns up, something bad usually happens. Cabin nine won't take it well, they'll think it's part of this 'curse'..." I trailed of. Leo looked at me, and then burst out laughing.

"What," I asked him.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that, we haven't seen each other for nine years, and this is probably the weirdest way to meet up again." I sighed, relieved that the ice had broken.

"Yeah, I just don't know where to start," I replied.

"How about at the beginning, or...the middle?" Leo suggested. I nodded, and started to explain.

"After you got kidnapped by the authorities, oh gods that sounds weird...well I crept onto the back of a bus to New York. Once I arrived, I met Annabeth, Luke and Thalia. They got me to camp, and I've been here since, really. You know the sword," I pulled it out, " Well turn out I'm a child of Apollo." Leo looked at me.

"Wait, Annabeth, as in really scary, i-will-gut-you Annabeth?" I snorted and said,

"Cut her some slack. Percy's been missing for months now. She was really upset, Leo. They had started dating a month and a bit before Percy disappeared."

"What happened to the others?" Leo asked, "You know, Luke and Thalia?"

"Thalia died and got turned into a pine tree, by her dad Zeus. That's the first bead on my camp necklace, see," I showed it to him, "The next year after Percy arrived, we were on a quest, to retrieve the golden fleece, to cure Thalia's poisoned tree. The fleece did it's job too well. It brought Thalia back to life. She joined the hunters of Artemis the next year, and now she's the head of the lineuents."

"And Luke?" Leo asked. I bowed my head.

"He'd always had a grudge against the gods. He blamed the Gods for all his problems. Eventually, he went against the gods, joining Kronos and his forces to destroy them. At the very end, he allowed kronos to posses him, but he realised that he was being brainwashed. To dispel the spirit of kronos, he stabbed himself, and the spirit of kronos scattered so far that it will hopefully never come back." I stared back into the distance. Leo looked thoughtful, then said,

"Is that the sort of stuff that happens on a day-to-day/month-to-month basis?" I smiled bitterly, and replied,

"Yeah. What about you?"

Leo took a breath, and then started. "They put in a home again. I ran away. They put me in another. I ran away again. That's what I've been doing all this time. Running. I came to the wilderness school, where I met Jason and Piper." I held my hand up, and said,

"Wait. Wilderness school?!" Leo grinned and said,

"Where the children are the animals. Anyway, I was at that school, when Annabeth and the Rainbow Pony dude found us. I think you can guess what happens from there." I shook my head.

"Rainbow pony dude?"

"Hey, he had a rainbow on his arm, he was petting the ponies, and he was a dude! I can't say more than that!" Leo laughed, with his head thrown back, like a familiar tugging memory. I pulled out the brown paper, and studied to differences. Leo looked over my shoulder. He raised his eyebrow, and said in surprise,

"You drew that?". I nodded, and replied,

"Yeah. When I was seven, my first night here. People say I have a photographic memory." He just stared in silence at the picture, and said finally,

"You actually kept it? All these years?" I smiled and said,

"You were the first friend I actually had, Leo." He stared into space, not knowing what to say, when I jumped up.

"Hey, Will told me to continue the tour, so are we going, or not?" Leo grinned, and said,

"Lead the way."