yall, i am so so sorry it's taken me so long to update this fic! life got busy, and unfortunately i just didn't have the time! i apologize and thank you for your patience! and my apologies if this chapter isn't the best, i'm trying to get back into the groove of things :)


Silence.

Leo woke up and it was silent. It was what he had gotten used to these past months, silence in the early hours of the morning when he had realized he was very much alone.

Except...he wasn't alone now.

He shot up like someone lit a firecracker under his butt, stumbling out of bed, throwing the covers off.

Shit.

Max's bed was empty, and he cursed his own stupidity. He should've stayed up all night, watching him. A son of Poseidon was probably a three course meal for most monsters. Now, Leo had come all this way for nothing! Max was probably dead, and everyone would hate him, and his life was effectively over-

"Morning."

Leo jumped, feeling like he was back on the Argo II, getting scared out of his mind everytime Nico DiAngelo spoke up. This kid really was a conglomerate of everyone that was on that ship.

Max stood sullenly in the corner of the room, scowling at Leo.

"What-" Leo broke off with a pant, placing a hand to his rapidly beating heart. "What are you doing? Were you watching me sleep? Because, dude, that's creepy."

Max shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing. Can we eat? I'm hungry."

"Hold on, Mini-Reiger," Leo swayed with a gulp, placing two fingers up to his neck. "I think I'm dying."

"I smell pancakes," Max muttered, heading for the door.

Leo's pancakes went untouched as he peered down at the map flattened out before him.

Max, on the other hand, scarfed down his pancakes hungrily, chugging orange juice as he went.

"I was reading about the Bay of Bengal this morning," Max said, glancing at the map. "In ancient times, they called it Mahodadhi….it means great water receptacle."

"Mhmm," Leo muttered noncommittal, tracing his fingers on the map.

"It can also mean terrible listener."

"That's interesting…" he muttered, taking a pencil out of his pocket.

If they could just find a monster-free route. Or better yet, an expressway in the sky!

"Leo!"

"Huh?" He looked up at Max. "Oh, sorry, did you want these?" He shoved the plate of pancakes towards Max.

Max scoffed, annoyed. "What's with you?"

"Nothing. Planning our route," Leo muttered distractedly.

So many things were in his head. Their trip, his friends, dreams…

"Oh, cool," Max said, craning his head towards his map. "Could we maybe check out the Sahara desert? I've spent so much time underwater I think I want to see completely dry land."

"What?" Leo asked, looking up at him. He shook his head. "No. Sorry, Maxipedia- we have to stick to the route. We want to get back to camp as soon as possible."

The thought of being on this trip for too long made him ansty. So much was probably changing...

Max's face fell flat. "Right. Camp Half-Blood."

"The very one."

Max poked the scraps of his pancakes with his fork. "Right. No sense in dragging it out, then...can we leave?"

Finally, Leo was on board with something Max said. He hopped up eagerly, crumbling the map into his fist.

"Co-captain, Reiger," Leo said dramatically. "That's a splendid idea."

"Max works too, you know," Max mumbled as he got up, no doubt tiring from Leo's barrage of nicknames.

Max was a silent passenger for the most part, so quiet Leo would forget time from time that he was sitting there, clutching onto him gently. It was a stark difference from having Rosie, Piper, and Jason behind him, all loudly voicing their opinions and talking over one another.

He didn't want to dwell on last night's dream, but there it was, stubborn and sticking in Leo's mind. He had this perfect, idyllic picture of his friends at camp, waiting for him. And yet, it was only now that it was hitting him- he didn't actually know what was going on.

And maybe he wasn't ready to find out.

The thought made him sick, so he glanced down below, a sprawling town beneath them, the people as tiny as ants. They needed to get to the Atlantic- he hoped that once they were over the ocean, they would be less likely to incur Zeus' wrath.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"A weird bird is trailing us."

Leo sighed. "Yeah, Max. Welcome to the world of birds."

Max scoffed, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, I know that. But...it doesn't look...right."

"What do you mean-"

Leo's words were drowned out by a metallic sound whizzing past his ears. He felt a sharp pang in his arm, and looked down to see a metallic feather embedded in his arm, a trickle of blood dripping down.

Leo yelped, as he jerked Festus sharply to the left. Max gripped on tighter.

"What is that?" Max exclaimed.

Leo didn't respond, instead taking Festus for a nosedive. The sound of the wind drowned out Max's screams, as Leo heard a faint squawking. Leo blindly groped for his arm, wincing as he pulled out the feather.

The sun richocheted off something metallic, blinding him. Leo winced, briefly losing control of Festus, who spewed smoke angrily.

Stymphalian bird.

Leo knew them well- they were an often occurrence during the night watch on the Argo II. He hated them- their sharp beaks, the squawking, the metallic feathers they would spew at you.

"Hold on!" He told Max, grabbing onto Festus' reins.

They swerved to the right, colliding right into the bird. Metal scratched metal as sparks flew. The bird snapped its beak dangerously close to Leo.

"Not cool!" Leo yelped, jerking back.

"Leo!" Max said, a barely detectable note of panic in his voice.

"I know!" Leo said, dodging the bird once again.

He was struck with an idea. After all, he was a fire user- honestly, it felt like he was losing brain cells on this quest.

"Max! Take the reins!"

"What?"

"Take the reins!"

"I'm good, thanks!" Max responded in a panicked tone.

A metallic feather whizzed over their heads- two inches closer, and Leo would've been getting a haircut.

"Max!" He yelled sharply.

"Alright!"

Max scooted up, maneuvering gracefully to gingerly take the reins from Leo.

Cautiously, Leo stood on top of Festus, holding his arms out and gesturing wildly to balance. Concentrating as much as he could with everything going on, flames sparked up and down his arm, flickering wildly.

With the strength he had, he threw the flames. The bird was consumed by flames, as it squawked angrily. The smell of burning metal filled the air, as the ball of metal started to plunge.

Unfortunately, the bird wasn't the only one to plunge.

Leo watched in horror as Max dropped the reins, nervously leaning back. Festus began to nosedive, and Leo was almost thrown off at terminal velocity.

"Shit!" he cursed, falling back onto Festus. He gripped tightly to prevent himself from slipping, gritting his lips as he grasped for reins.

Leo wrapped them around his hand twice, pulling back and attempting to regain control of Festus.

Festus, on the other hand, protested angrily, spewing smoke into the air.

"Come on, buddy!" Leo complained.

Festus sputtered weakly, making Leo have a pang of guilt. He had been pushing Festus too much lately- his boy didn't deserve that.

"I have to land him," Leo muttered to Max. "He needs a break."

"Seriously?" Max complained from behind. "Is that even safe to do, after we watched that thing be incinerated?"

Leo ignored Max, instead steering Festus down, into a thick canopy of rainforest. There was no telling where they were, but Leo could already feel sweating pooling under his shirt and on his skin.

As Festus was grounded, Max quickly got off, brushing his pants with an annoyed expression. He gripped his duffel of books fiercely, shooting Leo a glare.

"What?" Leo asked, distractedly glancing at Festus, using his knuckle to shine part of his scales.

Max gulped, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I think I miscalculated."

Leo still couldn't get over the way Max talked- it was like communicating with a freaking robot, except Leo was good with actual robots.

"What?"

"This," Max snapped, gesturing around. "All of this, I made a mistake."

"Max-"

"I want to go home."

"Max," Leo gritted through his teeth, realizing he was very much an impatient person.

"That thing almost killed us. I-I knew it was dangerous out here...but I-I didn't think it was like this."

Was Max...scared? Was he actually capable of showing human emotion?

"It's like that for every demigod," Leo said with a slight chuckle. "Trust me, you'll very much get used to it."

"It's not funny. I want to go back to my Dad….I don't want him to get into trouble for this."

Leo winced, plopping down next to Festus on the ground. He pushed a button on Festus, retracting him into a carry-on. "That's the thing though, Max. Poseidon won't be the one getting in trouble for this or getting tracked by monsters. That's all on you, Rosie, and Percy."

If Zeus found out….Leo shuddered at the thought. He already hated Rosie and Percy enough.

"Why should I care about them?" Max questioned. "I may share DNA material with them but they mean next to nothing to me."

That was Max- analytic, blunt, scientific.

"Come on, Max," Leo begged. "Think of your mom and Rosie-"

"I barely remember them."

"But you said-"

"I remember bits and pieces," Max said impatiently. "I...they're basically ghosts. I was six, remember?"

"That doesn't change anything," Leo argued. "They were your family, and they still are."

"You don't get it," Max scoffed. "Trying to see before...it's like trying to see through fog."

"That's why I'm trying to get you back to Rosie, Max," Leo said. Why was it so difficult to convince this kid that he was trying to help him? "It'll make sense then."

"I don't want to meet her."

"Max-"

"She's not my family, okay?" Max said, showing the first true flash of anger Leo had seen from him. "Dad and Aloysius- that's it, they're my family. Nothing will change that."

Leo fell silent, picking at some dirt underneath his fingernails.

"You may regret it one day," he said softly. "But, listen, it doesn't matter to me, okay? Forget about Rosie for a second. What about this, Max?"

Leo gestured around them, where a beautiful rainforest surrounded them. It was alive with energy in the air. It was the world, plain and simple. Max didn't have any of the world back in his sanctuary.

"There's alot out there," Leo continued. "Stuff you won't find in a book. Stuff you might want to experience?"

Max's face fell flat. "Let me choose the route, then. I...I want to see things, and you completely shut me down, just because you want to find Rosie. It's like that's all you care about."

Leo couldn't argue with that. He did want to find Rosie….Max was just the way to do that. And honestly, he had shut down Max's attempts to see the world.

"I'm sorry, okay? You're right. Let's make a deal then, Mini-Reiger," Leo said, pointing to him. "You let me take you to see your sister, and I'll let you see the world."

Max gulped, a visible lump in his throat. He crossed his arms. "It's dangerous."

"Welcome to the world, Maxipedia."

Max paused, lingering on Leo's words.

"Okay," he finally said with a sigh. "We'll find Rosie...and see whatever the heck I've been missing out on."

"Fair enough," Leo said, cracking a grin at Max. "Now, we should-"

Max cut his words off with a hand raised. "Are those-" Max paused, scrunching up his nose. "Christmas carols?"

Leo laughed, caught completely off guard by the Non-Christmas fan's words. "What?"

"Listen."

"We're in a rainforest, Max, there's going to be alot of sounds-"

"Listen."

Leo rolled his eyes, but shut up, straining to hear what Max was talking about. After a few seconds, he could make out a faint….bleating?

Sure enough, the bleating-like noise vaguely sounded like 'Away in a Manger'.

"Let's go see what that is," Max continued, eagerly stepping forward.

Leo quickly grabbed his arm, gently yanking him back. "Whoa there, mini-Reiger! Let's maybe not head in the direction of the creepy, ominous-sounding bleating..."

If you asked him, Max had taken his words a little too much to heart and was suddenly a little too eager to see the world.

Max rolled his eyes. "If you're scared, you can stay here."

"I'm not scared, I'm just saying-" Leo retorted, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Holy Holidays, how did you get in here?!"

The two of them jumped, aware that someone had joined them from out of the thick brush of the rainforest.

He took in the details one by one: the coarse, black curls with a Santa hat placed dangerously on top, thick woolen sweater and thick glasses, with two beady eyes peering at them. And most distinguishing of all: two tiny horns peeking out.

"You're a satyr," Max said, tilting his head in curiosity at him. "I've never seen one before."

"Of course I am!" The satyr replied angrily, adjusting the green scarf around his neck. It reminded Leo of Rosie's knitting, which made his heart jump. "I could smell you two from a mile away! Two demigods..." He leaned in, sniffing Max, who raised his eyebrows at him. "A son of Poseidon...sweet sleigh-bells! And..." He turned towards Leo.

Leo winced. "Please don't sniff me, man."

"Don't have to, Son of Hephaestus."

"Hm, cool party trick," Leo snapped sarcastically.

"Were you singing Away in a Manger?" Max cut in.

The satyr paused. "Of course I was! Did it not sound like it?"

Max shrugged. "It's just an okay song."

The satyr gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Just okay?!" He exclaimed. He gripped some of his hair with his hands. "Was it me? Maybe I should've warmed up longer...do you want another song? Frosty the Snowman? Little Drummer Boy?"

Max shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "I'm not a Christmas fan, I guess."

The satyr blinked at him. "I think I just blacked out for a second."

Leo quickly jumped in. "Sorry for interrupting your rehearsal. We'll just be on our way-"

"No!" The satyr grabbed Leo. "Who are you two? Why are you here?"

"I'm Max." Leo silently cursed Max's nonchalance. "That's Leo. We're kinda in the middle of something."

The satyr perked up. "Something?" He asked hopefully. "It's been so long since I've been in the middle of something."

Leo jerked back. "Uh-"

"I'm Bing, Protector at your Service."

Max let out a short laugh. "Bing? Seriously?"

Bing paused. "Yeah. Why?"

"Bing Crosby?" Max asked with raised eyebrows.

Bing had no reaction to this, his eyes growing in confusion.

"Singer?" Max tried. "Covered tons of Christmas songs?"

"I thought you said you weren't a Christmas fan," Leo muttered.

Max rolled his eyes. "I still know who Bing Crosby is-"

"I do not know, who is this Bing Crosby?" Bing asked, leaning forward.

"It doesn't matter!" Leo exclaimed, aggravated in tone. "Again, Max and I were just leaving..."

"Perfect, I'll come!"

"Uh, no. That's okay. Thank you, though." The last they needed was a Christmas-obsessed satyr on their journey.

"No, no, I insist!" Bing waved his hands excitedly. "You two are demigods- Demigods need protection-satyrs! Protecting-satyr present!"

"See, I'm already kinda this little guy's protector," Leo said, gesturing to Max and shooting Bing a fake apologetic look.

Max gave Leo an incredulous look. "I'm sorry, who was the one that was scared of the bunny?" he said, citing an embarrassing incident that happened a few days earlier.

"You promised we would never speak of that!"

Of course, Max was going to throw him under the bus and make him seem like the fearful one.

Max rolled his eyes, glancing over at Bing. "We do have an extra seat on Festus..." he mentioned.

"Festus?" Bing asked.

"Our dragon," Max said.

Bing's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Dragon?!"

"We really have a strict agenda," Leo said, shooting Max a glare.

"Which is?" Bing asked.

"Ah, you know, your classic, life-threatening situations-"

"We're going to find my sister," Max interjected.

"Your sister?" Bing asked.

"Yup."

"And what do you have to do with that?" Bing asked Leo.

"Ah, well, Rosie is...I'm her...she's my-"

"Leo loves-" Max started.

"She's my best friend!" Leo quickly exclaimed, figuring a satyr didn't need to know his life story.

Bing went pale for a second. "Your best friend?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"I'm coming," Bing said with a note of serious finality. "I'm coming to find your best friend, this Rosie."

This was slowly becoming the clown brigade. Leo quickly flipped through his mind, trying to come up with a suitable excuse.

"You see-" he began.

"I want him to come," Max announced.

"Dude, why?" Leo asked him.

"Hey!" Bing complained, looking hurt at Leo's words.

"I want a democracy," Max said to Leo, crossing his arms. "I want to be able to outnumber you on disagreements." He looked at Bing. "Can you do that for me?"

Bing excitedly jumped up and down. "Oh, I sure can!"

"That decides it, then," Max said, looking back at Leo. "Bing Crosby wannabe comes along. Or…" Max hesitated. "The deal is off."

Leo looked at the ten-year-old and satyr before him, realizing he was now unofficially and unwillingly the leader of...whatever this was. He couldn't suddenly hide in the engine room or crack stupid jokes instead of making decisions.

Now, two people on the back of Festus were counting on him.

"Fine," Leo said, standing up. "Rule number one, though- I have the monopoly on all of the Bing Crosby jokes."

Things just got interesting.