The Lost Days: The Scar of Hephaestus
Hi everyone! I'm sure we're all well aware that there are many unanswered questions and untold stories in the PJO universe, one of them being what happened to Leo after the events of The Blood of Olympus. We all know he reunited with Calypso, but we don't know what adventures they went on afterwards, or how they reacted to seeing each other again. This story will focus on their relationship, and what happened between the events of The Blood of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo. Enjoy!
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The island was quieter than Leo had remembered. He held his head as he tried to stand, unable to get to his feet. He noticed a syringe stuck in his arm, leaking orange fluid, and yanked it out. He felt like he was dead; or even worse than dead.
The last thing he remembered was a massive fireball rocketing straight towards him, and then nothing. But if he was alive, it meant his plan had worked. He had cheated death; and cheated the prophecy. He smiled, "All in a day's work, baby!"
Leo groaned and tried to stand up once again. This time he was successful. He staggered, but managed to stay on his feet, his right hand holding onto his head. His clothes, surprisingly, were still intact. At least this time he remembered to wear his fireproof clothes. He'd had Calypso to thank for that.
After a minute or two of trying to get his bearings, Leo started taking in his surroundings.
"You know, I could've sworn…"
The island felt familiar. The shape of the valleys, the length of the shore. His eyes widened. Was he actually just dead, or was he where he thought he was?
He kept looking for something; anything that would confirm his hypothesis. Sure enough, after about five seconds, he spotted a palm tree in the distance adorned with vines, and a swing hung from rope attached to a branch; The same one he'd sat on almost two years ago.
Leo smirked. "So much for the no 'no return' policy. I'm coming for you, Cal!" He tried to sprint, but immediately felt woozy. He decided that it would probably be best to walk, unless he wanted a date with Elysium instead of Calypso. That is, assuming she was still into him. But then again, who could resist the "Valdez charm"?
Leo started wandering around the island, and all of the memories began flooding back to him. He kind of missed the place; the smell was a heavenly mixture of perfume and the ocean. Ogygia was truly magical. If it were up to him, he'd stay here forever; living a full life with nobody but Calypso to keep him company.
Hold on a second… Leo backtracked. Perfume? I don't think that comes with the island.
He followed the scent. He was getting closer. He could feel it. His intuition was verified when he found a pathway, which was clearly man made; or in this case, titan-made. Her handiwork was worthy of Athena; perfected from thousands of years of practice.
It was pretty easy to find his way around. Almost the entire island was marked with directional signs. With so much time on her hands, it made sense. In a way Leo almost felt bad for her. It must've been so lonely, living in such a beautiful place, but having nobody to share it with. Leo vowed to change that today.
His feelings were immediately put on pause when he saw a figure in the distance. He could barely make it out, but her silhouette was unmistakable.
His heart started to rise, and Leo had to calm himself down. He already felt like he was on the verge of death as it is. He didn't need a surprise heart attack at 19, nor did he want to look like more of a fool than he already was. He sprinted over to her, waving his arms from afar and yelling, "Guess who's back Cal! Miss me?" In an attempt to alert her to his presence. He realized it probably had the opposite effect, and that it instead made him look like a lunatic, waving his arms around in the air and yelling sudo-aggressively.
He saw Calypso turn in shock, dropping her pail of water directly onto the flowers she was tending to. Her eyes squinted, then widened in what could only have been shock. "Leo?" She gasped.
He tried to yell out to her, but couldn't find his breath. Am I that out of shape? Or is it just that I died and came back to life?
They both started running towards each other, and as he got closer, he could see her eyes. They were full of shock, happiness, and sheer disbelief at the fact that he had actually returned. No demigod had ever found Ogygia twice; not until now, that is. The Fates were devious ladies indeed.
It was too late for him to stop running; in his excitement, he couldn't change his velocity. It didn't help that his brain still felt like scrap metal. He crashed into Calypso, who didn't have enough time to react.
OOF.
They both tumbled over onto the grass, rolling for a couple of seconds before Leo finally got to his feet, brushing the dirt off his shirt.
"My bad!" He apologized, before doing the gentlemanly thing and helping her off the ground. Even in her dazed state, Calypso's appearance took his breath away. She had this aura about her; something that soothed him whenever he was around her. It reminded him of his mom, and when they used to sit down and learn morse code together. Leo snapped back to reality, and realized he had been instinctively tapping the air with his fingers in morse code. I miss you, he translated.
He'd managed to move past her death, but it didn't make the memories any less bittersweet. He blinked heavily and refocused his attention on Calypso; which wasn't hard, considering the way he felt about her.
Once she had recovered, she put her arms on Leo's shoulders and looked at him with wonder.
"Leo… I can't believe it! You're here? B-but how?" A mixture of joy and confusion was written all over her face. Leo couldn't help but snicker. "So you did miss me. You admit it. You didn't think I was coming back," he replied.
Calypso blushed. "Well, of course I didn't. No hero has ever found Ogygia twice. You're the first one to do it in over three-thousand years." There was a brief moment of silence, with nothing but the sound of crashing waves and seagulls as they studied each other. Leo usually had a problem with silence, but when he was around Calypso he didn't feel his usual anxiety. She was just as bad at talking to people as he was, anyway.
Leo listened to the island for a moment, taking a much needed breather, until a look of curiosity dawned on Calypso's face.
"Speaking of which, how did you find your way back here? I've tried everything I could; spells, wards, sailing. The magic is just too powerful."
Leo chuckled. "Boy, do I have a story to tell you. But first, if you don't mind, I need to lie down for a minute. You see, I may have unintentionally died on my way here."
Calypso frowned, a look of concern on her face.
"What do you mean you died? You have some serious explaining to do, Leo."
On their way to her house, Leo started recounting all of the adventures he had since they first met: his battle with Khione, rescuing Hera, discovering a camp with Roman gods, and basically saving the entire world from Gaia, mother mud herself. She perked up when he mentioned Percy, whom Leo knew had met her before. She listened intently, desperate for any information from the outside world.
"I never knew the gods had a Roman personality," Calypso said, lost in thought, "I…I can't believe I missed so much." She looked on the verge of tears. Leo's heart sank. Solidarity might have meant her safety, but it also meant being eternally alone. He couldn't imagine getting a taste of the outside world, with all of its freedom and beauty, just to be told he could never have the full-course meal.
Leo continued, talking about how the gods had kept their promise, claiming all of their children, making sure none of them felt ignored, and that every god and goddess, even the minor ones, were respected. Calypso balled her fists.
"The gods don't even give you magazines?" Leo frowned. "That's just cold, man. Even for them."
"The gods still haven't bothered to free me from this prison. They haven't even talked to me since they put me in here all those years ago," she vented. She tried to mask it with a smile, but failed miserably.
How could the gods do this to her? He could feel what she was feeling now; and her anger was justified. Leo knew what it was like to be a plaything of the gods. According to Percy, if the gods had paid better attention to their children, Kronos never would have had an army in the first place.
"So, where do you want to go first?" Leo asked, a wide smile appearing on his face.
"What do you mean?" Calypso asked, clearly confused.
"I know what it feels like," he said tentatively, "to be ignored; discarded, like a piece of scrap metal. But it doesn't matter anymore. I found a way, Cal. I know how to get us off this island."
She looked at him, bewildered. "Impossible." But even as she said it, he could see the gears in her head begin to shift. Why wouldn't she believe him? After all, he came back to her. He loved her.
He watched as Calypso's eyes slowly lit up, hope returning to where there once was none. The implication of it alone was almost enough to make him tear up.
"Wrong again, Cal." he joked. "-as a matter of fact, all we need is Festus. And as you may or may not have heard, he's currently lying headfirst in the sand outside. It'll take me a few days to fix him up, but after that we're home free."
Leo focused his gaze on Calypso, who was still trying to process what he was saying.
"So, I ask you again: where do you want to go first, m'lady?"
