The camp fire was empty now. Me and Will were packing up the microphone and speaker set, when a whirl of blazing light started to form. Instinct told me to shut my eyes tight, and I put my hand in front of Will. I counted to ten, before opening them. Standing in front of us was a blonde dude, around 21, in a white tank top, pencil jeans and ray-bans. I mentally rolled my eyes, before saying,
"Lord Apollo, " at the same time that Will said, "Dad,". He chuckled, before saying,
"Drop the formalities. Now if you don't mind, William, I've got to talk about something with Alexandra. Now, run along." Will started to say,
"But the mike hasn't been-" Apollo clicked his fingers, and the microphone set packed it's way into it's black case.
"You were saying?". Will shook his head, and carried the bag to the store room.
"Now, Alex, I hear you're going on a quest to save Hera." I was half tempted to say, 'And you can't come!' but I kept my mouth shut.
"I have some toys for the ride." He continued.
"Toys?" I asked. Apollo handed me a quiver, full of arrows, each with different colors.
"Pick out the green ones," he said. I complied. There were five.
"These are exploding arrows. You can use them only once. The blue ones?" I counted them. Seven.
"Those are enchanted arrows. They will always hit their target, even if they have to chase them around a tree. They will always return to you, and they can never be broken. Now the red." I pulled them out. Suddenly, a horrible track played, making me want to run away.
"What are these?!" I yelled, while trying to cover my ears. Apollo smiled dreamily into the distance.
"Those, Alex, are my best recordings. Sweet home Atlantis, Daphne on my mind...Use them, whenever you need. If you concentrate hard enough, they will return to you. Farewell, my daughter." And with that, he disappeared. I put the screaming arrows back in my quiver, sighing. That was incredibly random. But Apollo was the god of the future. If he thought I needed them, then there was a reason he gave them to me, so I had to keep them safe. Shouldering my guitar, and the new quiver, I walked back to my cabin. I went into the councellor's room (I forgot. I never told you. I'm head councellor.), and I put my stuff down on the bed. I went over to my cupboard, and pulled out my magical first aid kit. It was one of those belt ones that you clipped around your waist, and it had endless medical supplies, but 2 years ago, I realised that I could store as much stuff as I wanted in there, and I could carry it all, without making it heavier, or larger. Laying it flat on the bed, I went over to my cupboard again. I pulled out my normal quiver. It was filled with celestial bronze and imperial gold arrows for fighting monsters, but it also had normal wooden and metal arrows for practice. I put both quivers into the belt, and then I pulled out my bow. I didn't put it in the belt, as I would need it in the morning, but I left it lying on the side. Now packing my clothes, I wondered if I was doing too much. But then I convinced myself that how ever much I prepared myself, things always went wrong.. Grinning, I was just about to lie down on the bed, when I heard a tapping on my window. Walking up to it, I saw Leo's face glowing in the moon light. His face was wearing that impish grin I'd always remembered. He gestured for me to meet him outside. I clipped the belt around my waist. Shouldering my bow, I opened the window, and climbed out of it.
"Oh, good, you've come armed." he said. I raised my eyebrows.
"What the hell are we doing, Leo?" He just grinned.
"You know Nyssa was talking about a loose bronze dragon?"
I felt my heart sink. "Why do I have the feeling this is something to do with transport?" He nodded at me, then ran into the direction of the woods. Clutching my bow for comfort more than anything, I followed him into the unknown.
The trees were dark. No light was coming through them. The only source of light was the reflection of my sword, which I had taken out. Leo lit his hand. There was a comforting glow, enough for me to take my hand of my bow, and to put my sword back in pendant form. Leo looked around, like he was looking for something.
"What are you looking for, Leo?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"Traps. Nyssa said they would be setting up traps, so the dragon could get caught in one." We didn't talk anymore, but Leo was constantly feeling around to search for anything that might help catch the dragon. I was helping, picking my way in the darkness. Suddenly, I got the whiff of something familiar, yet not so familiar.
"Hey, Leo, I think I've caught something." There that scent was, stronger than ever.
"Where?" he asked. I pointed diagonally infront of me to the left, and then I took off. I could hear Leo's feet scuffling behind me in the leaves. I smiled. This was a bit like old times.
The trap was set, and dang it was good. There was a fifty-pound tin of motor oil, with a little bit of tobasco sauce. A fan was working on all four sides, blowing the scent of the mixture in all directions. There was a a pressure plate on the bottom, so as soon as anything as heavy as the bronze dragon went onto it, an unbreakable net went over it, trapping the dragon in. Cabin nine could then come in with acid lasers, and metal cutters, and finish the impossible job of destroying the dragon once and for all. Ingenious. But then, this was the children of Hephaestus we were talking about. They could literally do anything, give or take. Leo walked forward. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, Leo, it might be dangerous." He shrugged, and said,
"You are looking dangerous in the face," before he took off. I had no choice but to follow him. He walked over onto the programming. It was simple, but deadly. I decided not to walk onto the pressure point, in case both of us being on there triggered the trap somehow.. Minutes passed, and nothing happened.
"So...Leo. Why did you bring me along?" I asked. Leo shrugged.
"Oh, you know, just so I could have someone who knows how to use a sword." I raised my eyebrow, and said,
"Jason can use a sword. I don't see him here." Leo grinned, and replied,
"Ah, you got me. I guess I just miss hanging out with you, even though it was for two and a half months, on the streets, and that too nine years ago. But when you're a runaway, you sorta have to cherish the friends you get. You, J ason and Piper are really the only ones who understand me. Ah, not even Jason, I guess. He's got amnesia. And Piper doesn't know about me really. You know, Al, I think you're the only one who even knows about my past."
"Leo, how many times did you run away?" I asked him, concerned.
"Six." I frowned.
"That sounds a lot like Percy-"
"Jackson?" Leo cut in. "Yeah, Al, I've heard about him, but if you don't mind, who is he?"
"Percy Jackson, " I said, flourishing my arms. "The son of Posiedon lord of the Ocean, Saviour of Olympus, and The biggest dork you will ever find in the seven seas. Oh, sorry, bad pun. But when he went missing 4 days ago, it was really hard on Annabeth. They had started dating in August, and she's been spending every waking hour searching for him." Leo nodded, and then commented, "You sound like you know him well."
"Percy was like a brother to me. I've known him since he arrived at camp, 5 years ago." Suddenly, the grip on my sword became tighter. "Leo, something's coming. Stay on guard." I got into my brace. That's when I felt it. A metallic ringing. Every time there was a loud thud, the earth below us shook. I braced my self further. Then I saw it. Aproximately 50-tons of bronze machine, with large polished scales, and ruby eyes. I could see Leo's face fall.
"It doesn't have wings...". The dragon snorted, and fire spewed out of it.
"Uh, yeah, I'll stay back, just cause I'm not fire proof." Leo rolled his eyes, and said,
"Oh light of my day." Then the bronze dragon spewed fire dousing Leo completely.
"LEEEOOOOO!" I yelled at the same time he yelled,
"Hey, Man!" from within the flames. So that was alright. When the flames cleared, Leo was left intact and unscathed, except for some charring on his t-shirt. His eyes lit up.
"I think I know what's wrong with it!"
"What?" I asked.
"I need to get onto his back, though." I thought for a moment, before pulling out an enchanted arrow, and a long reel of bandages.
"Keep him distracted for me, Leo." He complied, by waving his arms about in the air. I snorted, and then got to work. Tying one end of the bandage to the arrow, I fired it, and caught onto the end. As I suspected, the magic of the arrow was able to keep me in tow, without bending or sagging. Once I was directly over the dragon, I let go, which landed me in the middle of the dragon's back. Grinning, I pulled the arrow out of my quiver (It had returned to me) and then I untied the bandage. I put my hand down.
"Hey, Leo. Are you coming up?" He ran over to me, before taking my hand. I pulled him up, while he said,
"Those were some skills, Al!" I nodded back to him, and then he climbed onto the front. Leo started feeling around the scales on the dragon's back, until he found one that moved.
"I've found the control panel!" He yelled, elated. Then his brows creased
"What's wrong?" I asked. He turned around.
"See this control disc? It's corroded. I don't know how to fix it, and I can't make a new one in time for tomorrow."
"How about you try and clean it up a bit? That way, we can use it until we get somewhere where we can fix it properly!" He gave me a grateful smile, and then got to work.
Hey! Sorry there was no author's note at the start.
Leo Parry-By the time Leo gets sent to calypso's island, They would be well away from Canada, and it would take them ages to get back. But I like the idea. Thanks!
Could I please have more replies? So I can try and solve this query before I get to it!
yours,
MilkandCheez
