A/N: Woah! I need to start putting conditions on the next chapter again, this was the most reviews I've gotten for one episode. It made me so happy :')
I did mean to post up this chapter yesterday, but I had a 20 page paper due today…so I prioritized. Oops. Sorry?
Also 50 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN for EmberLafonte and DemiGod lover488 (and an unnamed ~mysterious~ guest), who guessed correctly!
Anywas I'll stop rambling, I'll have some notes/replies for you at the end. Enjoy!
"Right, so dinner should start around 6:00, and after that we'll have the celebratory bonfire to mark the beginning of the War Games. Everything should be ready to go to start the first battle at 9:00." Annabeth was speaking firmly as she read from the clipboard in front of her, "Any questions?" she asked as she looked up to the crowd in front of them.
Piper, along with everyone else, shook her head in response. All the cabin heads from Camp Half-Blood and leaders from New Rome had been holed up in the Big House for about four hours; you didn't need to be a child of Aphrodite to sense that everyone in the room was ready to get out.
Annabeth nodded and smiled at the group, "Alright then, I guess we have some downtime before everything gets started!"
The assembled group immediately burst into conversation, everyone began speaking animatedly and making their way out the door in unison. Piper was about to chase after Hazel to catch up with her and Frank when she noticed Reyna still sitting with a peculiar expression on her face.
"Reyna…" she said as she approached the girl, "are you okay?"
There was a ghost of a smile on Reyna's features, but it seemed to vanish as she snapped back to attention and focused on Piper, "What? I'm sorry. Is the meeting over?"
Piper was surprised, she'd never known Reyna to be absentminded…something was up, "Yes it ended a couple of minutes ago…are you doing okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, just…I was just thinking of something," the girl's cheeks reddened slightly, "let's head outside, it's so stuffy in this room."
'Did Reyna just try a diversion tactic on me? And is that a blush?' Piper followed after the girl incredulously, something was definitely going on.
"Hey Reyna…I heard you took a little side trip before making your way over here," Piper watched the girl closely for a reaction, "did you happen to…meet someone?"
Reyna stiffened, and the blush vanished from her face, "What? No, I don't know what you're talking about." She seemed flustered.
Piper grinned, "Reyna did you go somewhere to meet a boy?"
This time Reyna seemed to gather her wits about her and rolled her eyes, "I went to Puerto Rico. I had some things to settle there."
"…And?"
Reyna glared at her, but her face softened immediately, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you right now. I promise to tell you everything…after."
"Tell me what, Reyna?" well this girl was just a roller coaster of emotions today!
But Reyna merely bit her lip and looked away, "You're right. I met…someone. You'll learn about it soon enough." She looked down at her watch, "I need to arrange some things at the Roman camp. I'll see you at dinner."
Piper nodded incredulously, "Sure, of course."
Reyna was halfway out the Big House when she hesitated at the door and looked back at Piper, "I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you everything. But I made a promise." She made to leave, but turned once more, "The boy…his name is Remus." There was a small smile on her face.
Then she vanished out the door.
'Well this is new,' she thought idly. Meeting boys in Puerto Rico? Reyna's head in the clouds because of some boy? Piper couldn't remember the last time that happened.
She was still shaking her head in confusion by the time she reached Jason's side. Predictably, their rather large group of friends had all gathered together: Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, Frank, and Nico (Will had probably gone off to prepare the infirmary for tonight, there were bound to be a lot of injuries). It always struck her when they all gathered together. There was always someone missing…Leo's absence was felt all the more strongly when she looked at all their faces. He had always been the one to keep their group in high spirits, without him around things always felt a bit more…strained.
"You alright, Pipes?" Jason, as always, was very perceptive of her mood.
She smiled at him and waved a hand, "Yeah, Reyna's acting a bit weird, but I think it's all good."
"She did look out of it during the meeting…." Spoke Annabeth, "I wonder what's up."
Piper tried to hide her grin, but failed miserably, "I think she met someone."
"Reyna met someone?" Percy, as always, spoke way too loudly, Annabeth whacked him in the back of the head with a frustrated roll of her eyes.
Piper laughed, "I'm not sure, but I think so. She said she'd tell me after the War Games."
Frank chuckled, "Probably wants to keep her head clear for the Games. Can't go off giving you Greeks an edge."
"Not that it would better your chances anyways," Hazel chuckled.
"Ha! Fat chance! The only reason you won last time is because you had home court advantage!" said Jason.
"Yeah, you're on our turf now!" Percy and Jason high fived, Piper was sure she and Annabeth rolled their eyes in perfect unison. Well, some things never changed.
"So….to the lake?" Nico, ever the silent one, finally piped up.
There was a general agreement amongst them and they began to make their way down to the lake in a strange coagulated group. When they finally all settled down around the lake, Piper finally decided to bridge the conversation that they'd neglected to address since the night Nico had visited his father: Leo Valdez. They had resolved not to spread the news of Leo's "rise from the dead" (thanks Percy, Leo would surely love that) until they could gather more information, but had agreed to broach the subject again once Frank and Hazel came to Camp.
"Nico…" she began as gently as she could, "I know we've kind of dropped this for a while, but I was wondering…do you know anything about Leo?"
Hazel and Frank perked up, "What do you mean about Leo?" Hazel said quickly.
Nico frowned, "Nothing more than what I told you last time." He shook his head and turned to Hazel, "About a month ago, I felt Leo's soul cross into the world of the living," he said slowly, "I checked with my father, he said that Leo was alive…but something kept me from knowing for quite some time…"
"So, what? Does he need help? Where is he?" Frank was leaning forward, his hands gripping his knees tightly.
"No, we haven't heard anything from him," Jason spoke up. "All we know is that he's alive."
"He hasn't contacted anyone?" Hazel had relaxed somewhat, but her hand now reached for Frank's in support.
"No, and we can't seem to reach him either," spoke Piper, "We were hoping he'd find his way back to us, but it's been over a month already…why is it taking him so long to get here?"
Annabeth, ever the blunt one, spoke up, "He could be injured somewhere. It's my understanding that he did die at some point. That can't be easy to come back from."
Piper's heart dropped, she'd entertained the idea of course, but hearing it spoken out loud only seemed to solidify the idea in her mind.
"I just don't understand where he could be…I mean…he died here, wouldn't it make sense to come back to life in here?" Percy said.
Hazel shook her head in thought, "Not necessarily, I didn't come back to life in Alaska."
Nico sighed, "I wish I knew more. All I can tell you is that he's not dead or dying. That's it."
"Well then, maybe we should go look for him…" Frank said slowly. Despite what differences Frank and Leo had had in the beginning, Piper knew that Frank cared deeply for their lost friend.
"I've been thinking the same thing," said Piper, "I just wouldn't even know where to start looking. Leo didn't really have a home outside of Camp Half-Blood…where would he go other than here?"
Annabeth sighed, "I still feel like we should wait here. Like you said, there's nowhere else for him to go. He'll find his way here eventually. All demigods find their way here, somehow."
Something must have shown on Piper's face, because Jason gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he spoke, "How about this: if we still haven't heard anything by the time the War Games are over, a group of us can go out and start looking for him. Maybe we can check in Texas, or track some of his old foster homes."
Frank nodded, "It's as good a place to start as any…"
Piper smiled at Jason and breathed a sigh of relief. Now that they had a plan, she could at least feel a bit better about waiting.
"So in other news….did anyone catch that new Avengers movie?" Percy asked tentatively.
It was the perfect distraction, ever since the boys had learned one of the actors was of Roman descent (his great-grandfather had been a son of Mars) the boys had become overnight fanatics of the movie franchise. Piper rolled her eyes at their antics, and was merely glad that her father had turned down a role in that movie.
In a surprising move, Tristan McLean had recently decided to take a break from acting and become more active behind the camera; he's finally decided to write his own screenplay, one with real Native American stories. Piper couldn't wait to read the finished work.
She gave Jason a final peck on his cheek before moving closer to Annabeth and Hazel, who were also shaking their heads at the boys' excitement. In a way though, it was nice to know some things would never change.
Piper was having a pleasant conversation with Annabeth and Hazel about the future plans of a New Athens when she heard the first cries of alarm.
"What is that?"
"Is it a monster?"
"It looks like a giant dragon!"
'A dragon?' Piper's gaze snapped up, 'No…it can't be…' but the closer it got, the more obvious it became: a giant bronze dragon was headed straight at them.
'Could it really be—' Piper made a loud (totally attractive) squawk as she felt Jason drag her out of the way. The dragon really was headed right at them…and it didn't look like it would slow down in time.
"Everyone back up!" she heard Percy yell as they all scrambled out of the dragon's way. It was only a few hundred yards away now, and there was no mistaking it.
"Festus?!" she heard Frank cry.
Piper tried to squint at the back of the dragon to see if her friend was sitting there, but the sun was doing a lovely job at blocking her sight. She felt a bubbling excitement rise up within her, it had to be Leo! After all this time….
At the last possible moment before impact, Festus's long wings spread out to even out the landing, but the swoop must have come a bit too late, since Piper still felt the ground shake. A cloud of dust billowed up around the dragon as it moved around and settled itself on the floor, and there was smoke and random sparks emitting from the giant machine. Obviously, it had a close fight with some monsters before getting to Camp.
'Leo never was the best at landings…' she almost rolled her eyes, but an overwhelming part of her just needed to see Leo. She needed to make sure it was real.
She hadn't realized she was gripping Jason's hand until she took a step forward, but she was glad to feel it there. They locked eyes and he nodded with a smile on his face as they, and the rest of their group, began to make their way towards the giant dragon.
Piper's heart nearly stopped when she heard his voice, "See, Sunshine? Another perfect landing!" It was deeper, somehow, but there was no mistaking it.
'Wait…who's he talking to?' she quickened her pace.
"Perfect landing?" a female voice scoffed, "You nearly crushed all those people to death!"
She heard Leo's deep chuckle, "But I didn't!"
"But you could have!"
"But I didn't!"
The smoke and dust had cleared out by now, and Piper stood no more than 10 yards away from the giant dragon. And there was Leo Valdez.
With a shock, Piper realized that this wasn't the skinny little Leo they'd known before. This was a full grown Leo. He stood as tall as Jason now, his chest was broader and his muscles had finally filled in. He looked strong, sturdy. But he still had that curly hair, those strangely pointed ears, that wicked smile, those shifty eyes.
With a grin still lingering on his face, Leo's gaze swept over the entirety of the field, passing briefly over Piper and their approaching friends and finally settling on the girl behind him. His smile softened somewhat, and he jumped down from atop Festus's back swiftly before turning around to help the girl down.
'Leo brought a girl…?' but that didn't matter now, because there was Leo Valdez, just a few feet in front of them. Piper lunged at him, "LEO!"
She hugged the boy fiercely, needing to make sure he was really there. He stood stock still, probably shocked at Piper's sudden PDA. But so what?! Leo Valdez was back at Camp Half-Blood. She released the boy and meant to take a step back to let him breathe, but immediately she felt Jason's arms wrap around the two of them, "Leo!"
And somehow, moments later, Piper found herself near the bottom of a dogpile of demigods. Some heroes they were. But it didn't matter. Leo Valdez was back from the dead! She laughed heartily with her friends, all of them holding Leo tightly.
"NNNGH need….air…" she heard Leo's strangled cry.
"Alright come on guys, get off!" she tried nudging away, but they didn't budge, "I said GET OFF!" she laced some charmspeak into it for good measure.
Hastily, they all crawled off Leo and helped him stand, but as soon as he was upright Jason threw his arms around him and patted him firmly on the back, "Good to have you back, man."
"Uh—" but Leo didn't get a chance to speak because once more Piper threw her arms around him.
"I can't believe you're finally back," she spoke into his shirt, tears leaked out her eyes, "I knew you weren't dead, I just knew it!"
She sniffed and pushed him away gently, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?!" she tried to lace some anger into her voice; after all, he'd kept them waiting a hell of a long time!
But Leo just looked at them blankly, "Umm…" he swept his gaze over them once more. All seven of them were staring at him eagerly, waiting to hear his explanation, but Leo just turned back to the girl who had stood there patiently the whole time. He tilted his head as if saying, 'What do you make of this?'
Confused beyond belief, Piper's gaze zeroed in on the girl. The first thing that struck Piper was her beauty. Piper had met with her mother Aphrodite several times and knew what the most beautiful woman in the world looked like, but this girl could give her mother a decent run for her money. The girl had a more muted beauty, like she wasn't consciously trying to look nice and it just happened by accident. She looked very petite, and yet carried herself proud, like she knew her own strength well.
As she stepped forward, Piper heard a strangled gasp from her right, "Percy Jackson," spoke the girl, a small, wistful smile gracing her features, "how you've grown."
Everybody's heads swiveled to Percy, his eyes were wide and his jaw hung open for a moment, "Umm…You look—" he cut off as he glanced sideways at Annabeth, but he wasn't quite able to hide the reddening of his cheeks 'What in the world…?' "It's been a long time…" he swallowed, "Calypso."
All eyes snapped back to Calypso, so this was the famous goddess trapped in an island. Seeing her in the flesh, Piper could somehow understand the allure the girl had, it was clear that this girl's memory would stay with anyone that got close to her.
Calypso laughed without real mirth, "A long time…Yes …I was happy to hear that your quest was successful."
Percy's face reddened even more, he lowered his eyes, "I asked them to bail you out. When it was all over. I thought you were free. I didn't think…I'm sorry…" The tension between the two was so thick Piper was afraid to move for fear of it snapping.
Calypso gazed at Percy for a moment, her face betraying nothing. Then, she turned her attention to Leo and took his hand, the happiest of smiles gracing her features, "It's of little consequence now, what's done is done."
Leo smiled at her, the look on his face one that Piper never dreamed she would see on him. It was a look of pure adoration, like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Was this really the Leo Valdez they'd lost so long ago…?
"So this whole time," spoke Frank, an edge to his voice, "you've just been living it up with some girl?!"
"Woah, Frank…" Jason tried to calm the bulky son of Mars.
"Frank's right!" Hazel's voice was angry as well, "Do you have any idea what it felt like, knowing we were the ones that helped you with everything? Would it really have been so hard to let us know you were okay?"
"Hazel…!" Nico looked at his sister in shock; none of them had ever seen her lose her temper like this before.
"We had to live with the fact that we helped you die, Leo!" yelled Frank, "Do you have any idea how that—"
But Calypso's voice, sharp and agitated, cut him off, "Stop it!"
"Oh gods, Leo!" Leo had collapsed on his knees and was holding his head between his hands, his face entirely hidden from view. It looked like he was shivering, and Piper noticed a trail of sweat rolling off his back.
Piper felt a cold stab of fear pierce her heart, what was wrong with Leo? She tried taking a step towards him, but Calypso stood in her way and shielded him from them.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Nico as he glanced suspiciously at Calypso.
A muscle twitched on Calypso's face, but she did not move aside. "I understand that Leo is your friend, but you need to be a little more patient."
"Patient?" spoke Percy, "Calypso, we've waited three years, he's our friend and we've missed him!"
There was that smile on her face once more, "I am well aware of how painful it is to wait for those you love, Percy Jackson."
Percy stumbled backwards, looking as if he'd been struck. Annabeth looked as if she'd just swallowed something particularly nasty as she gazed upon the newcomer.
"Please…just tell us what's wrong," Piper, attempting to play peacemaker, tried to keep her voice even, "we all care about Leo here, we just want to help." She allowed just a little bit of her charmspeak to bleed through her tone, just enough to calm the girl down.
For the first time since she'd arrived, Calypso's eyes met hers. Piper felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge: there was something about this girl that just screamed power—charmspeak would not work on her. There was a sharp, raw look about her eyes, a fierceness that spoke volumes of her character. Her gaze was knowing and wise, like she'd seen kingdoms rise and fall and remained standing. This was not a girl to cross.
After seeming to find whatever she was searching for in Piper's eyes though, Calypso broke her gaze. Piper tried to suppress her shiver. 'This girl…she's lived for millennia. What must we look like to her? She's a goddess…she could kill us all if she wanted to.'
But Calypso merely sank down and murmured something into Leo's ears. He seemed to nod, and slowly eased himself into a sitting position. Shaking off whatever it is that was ailing him, he grinned up at them from his spot on the floor.
"Well that was a lot of fun," it was that same sarcastic drawl he'd used before, Piper's heart warmed just hearing him say that, "but next time let's do it without all the explosive tempers and the collapsing bit, okay? But great job with the whole 'Leo is a heartless ass' bit, purple shirt!"
Frank looked down at his shirt in confusion, but Leo kept speaking, "Oh and you, Jackson, is it? We're gonna have a nice long chat about how you abandoned my girlfriend on a deserted island, not cool man."
Percy looked even more confused than before, "Wait, what? We talked about this at the arena when we were trying to capture Nike! I promised you I'd help you find your way back to her…" he trailed off as he looked at Calypso, "but I guess you didn't really need it…"
Leo frowned thoughtfully, "Hmm. Maybe. I wouldn't know, would I?"
"What do you mean you wouldn't know?" Annabeth, sharp as ever was scrutinizing Leo closely. That stab of fear clutched at Piper's heart once more.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Leo smiled up at them and held his palms facing upwards, "I've lost my memory. I have no idea who any of you are."
A/N: Dang it, Leo, you can't just drop bombshells like that like it's nothing! Smh -_-
Hahaha in all seriousness though it was really strange writing from Piper's point of view. I guess I never really connected with her character, but I hope I stayed decently loyal to her personality. Y'all feel free to let me know _
I was trying to decide which Avengers actor should be of Roman descent but I couldn't pick one. I'm leaning towards Mark Ruffalo though….
OOH because y'all were nice I'll answer some reviews as well :)
HoOisawesome: that is exactly what I had in mind! ;)
titan616: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wrote some passages from his point of view as well, those were a lot of fun. I will hopefully post them sometime in the future :D and OH MY GODS that would have been so funny! Hahaha
Dear sleep deprived Guest: sorry to contribute to your sleep deprivation. Maybe some caleo next chapter will make it better?
EmberLafonte: I HAVEN'T HEARD IT BUT I'LL LOOK IT UP
~mysterious~ guest: (lol) thank you so much! I'm glad you think it works out :) I was initially afraid the memory loss concept wouldn't take, but I have to admit I'm really happy with it now
Vicky: Glad you liked it! I need everyone to know that their relationship is perfect, obviously. Hahaha
Zoo Crew: there is currently no Romulus. But now I have ideas….mwahahaha
kittehx1: OKAY FINE I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY :D
iceandfire105: Thanks! I figured you would all get sick of just Caleo for too long ;) drama will come…in the next few chapters
JKlondy : this fanfic will heretoforth be referred to as the ludicrously entertaining story of the amazing leo and his faithful companions exclusively. I'm changing the title! Lol
ObsessedwReading: thanks love!
Blacksmith8240: you know my girl Reyna, she's a go getter ;)
Winekita :he'll power though ;). && I'll definitely take a look over the weekend when I have some free time! :D
DivergentWeStand : =D thanksssss
ruwaydahzara : mwahahaha fear not, dear reader, a percy chapter approaches….
hilmaval : no worries, I'm not American or British either ;) I'm so very glad you like it! & unfortunately I do not, I deleted most social media accounts a while back, but you're more than welcome to message me here!
Annabeth616 :THANKS! I squeal with excitement when I get a review ;)
Hahaha well if I missed you I apologize, but I meant well!
Anyways the next chapter is halfway done, and yes all reviews speed up my writing, it's a scientific fact, I swear! Not telling you whose perspective it's from but know that a Percy POV is coming soon :D and yes, I'm very excited.
As always, thanks for reading a drop me a line to let me know your thoughts!