SURPRISE! YOU GET A SURPRISE IN THIS CHAPTER! YAY!
Replies:
Undeath9087: We shall! We certainly shall.
Guest: Eh, they are kinda similar I guess. And his jacket was given to him by Hades as his reward after they stopped the Titans, it's not big enough for them to share and Leo and Nico both refuse to use it without the other.
Jubby1905: Mama bear Percy is wonderful and we love her.
Hazel was... confused, to say the least as she stared into the distance as the Argo II moved onward. She'd volunteered to keep watch, mostly because she was working on using the Mist- it wasn't easy and she knew that there was going to be a lot of pressure on her once they reached their destination.
There had been an attempted attack by Khione and her brothers- who apparently Jason and Piper had faced before with Leo, they'd been blown somewhat off course, but the combined planning and powers of Annabeth, Jason, Luke, Thalia Bianca and Hazel herself had given them an edge and they'd managed to fend off the attack, though they'd been blown off course- which was causing a delay- that had pissed off Annabeth a lot- the daughter of Athena had nearly had a break down, Thalia had needed to drag her to her rooms to calm her down.
Everyone knew why of course- the longer it took them to get to the House of Hades the longer Percy, Nico and Leo would be
in the pit.
It was taking a toll on all of them. Luke had bags under his eyes and he was becoming gaunt- Thalia had to coax him to eat and sleep- but he kept his cool better than Annabeth did- while she was angry at everything now that Rachel was gone too, Luke looked like he'd shattered inside. Which made sense, he'd lost three of the most important people in his life.
The only time he'd seemed as alive as he used to had been during the attack- and Hazel had been stunned by how brutal Luke had been when he'd fought the Boreads- one of them had managed to scratch Thalia and Luke had responded as if they'd killed her.
In any case, the last thing Hazel had expected whilst on watch had to be a girl she'd never seen before flying towards them out of the night on the back of a Pegasus.
Hazel straightened up from where she was leaning against the railings, hand moving to rest on the hilt of her sword as the girl came in for a landing.
Still, Festus didn't seem to think she was a threat- their figurehead dragon was usually pretty good at telling who was a friend or foe- and he didn't seem concerned.
And the girl was beautiful- that was something Hazel noticed instantly, with long caramel hair pulled up into a high ponytail, with pale skin and almond shaped eyes- she was wearing a pair of jeans and a familiar orange t-shirt. A Camp Half-Blood Tee.
Did that mean she was a friend? If she was from Percy's camp then the chances were she was a friend right? The Pegasus was beautiful too, it had a dappled tan coat- and the girl was dismounting almost instantly, moving across the deck towards Hazel.
"Excuse me- you're one of the Roman's yes?"
"Uh-" Hazel blinked, "Yes?" it was almost a question and she shook herself slightly, "I mean, yes, yes I am- I'm Hazel Levesque."
"It is nice to meet you." the girl came to a halt a few foot away from Hazel, and Hazel noticed that she looked tired. "It was harder than I expected to track you- but I managed with some help from Lou Ellen."
"Are you a demigod from the Greek Camp?" Hazel couldn't help but ask the question- though she knew the answer seemed to be pretty obvious. "What are you doing here?"
"Not exactly." the girl looked hesitant, "I- I shouldn't really be here I know but I was worried and Mellie told me I should come-"
"Who exactly are you?" Hazel blurted out, "I'm sorry but I don't understand-"
"I-" the girl raised her hands slightly, clearly trying to calm herself, "I'm sorry Hazel. My name is Calypso-" and Hazel felt her heart sinking at that, "And- I need to know. Where is my Leonidas?" there was a terrified look on Calypso's face- because it was very clear that she knew what ever the answer was she wouldn't like it.
"You're- oh gods." Hazel blinked rapidly, "You're the Calypso who Leo-"
"He's my Leonidas." Calypso's voice sounded almost fragile. "He- I managed to connect to him once in our dreams and he said that he got separated from the others-"
"You've spoken to him?" Hazel gasped the words, her eyes going wide, "Gods you've actually- that's amazing!" she suddenly felt the urge to cry- because as much as she was pretty sure she or Bianca would sense it if the others did die, there was always that chance that they wouldn't, and Hazel didn't enjoy dwelling on that thought. It scared her.
But if Calypso had spoken to Leo? That meant that he was alive. "How did he seem? What did he tell you?"
"Not much." Calypso shook her head, "I know him- I know that he was hiding something from me." she looked so anxious that Hazel was half tempted to hug her. "He didn't want to talk about what was happening with him. He looked rather dirty and tired but- I've seen him worse. When I first met him he was much worse. And then- before he woke up he told me he needed a spot of sunshine in the dark." she tucked a lock of hair that had fallen out of the ponytail behind her ear.
Hazel could see why Leo was so smitten with her- she was certainly beautiful. And from the look on the girls face she was just as in love with Leo as Leo was with her.
Which whilst being incredibly sweet wasn't actually comforting to Hazel, since she did not want to have to tell the other girl where Leo was. But she got the feeling that she wouldn't have much of a choice.
"The fact that you talked to him is amazing news." Hazel tried to sound upbeat, even if she wasn't sure she actually felt that cheerful. "Really, it is."
"What happened?" Calypso tilted her head, crossing her arms over her chest, "I- I couldn't stop myself from worrying and Mellie told me I should come and find my love. And Drew let me borrow Lady." she gestured towards the Pegasus. "So I need to know where he is. And how you got parted."
"It-" Hazel took a deep breath, "It's a long story." she admitted, turning her head away, unable to meet the other girls eyes as she traced her fingers over the railings again- and she flicked a diamond that appeared on the railing into the ocean.
"Please- Hazel, that was what you said your name was yes? Please. Would you not want to know in my place?" and gods but Hazel couldn't even imagine it- losing Frank like that. It would be horrifying.
"Percy fell into Tartarus." she said after a long moment of silence, and her words earned her a horrified gasp from Calypso "She fell into the put while saving Annabeth from falling. And the boys- Leo and Nico-"
"They followed." Calypso's voice wavered slightly- and Hazel forced herself to turn her head and meet the other girls gaze- and those dark eyes were shining with tears. "Oh my foolish Leonidas... of course- I saw what losing his sister did to him the first time." her voice was tight with pain. "Of course he followed her." she closed her eyes- pressing her hand to her mouth to stifle the little sob that slipped past her lips. "My brave Leonidas. He's in the-" and it was a good thing that Hazel was looking- if she hadn't been then Calypso would have probably hit the deck hard when her legs gave out.
As it was Hazel managed to dive towards her, catching her before she could get hurt- and Calypso automatically latched onto Hazel, her face pressing into Hazel's shoulder as she sobbed.
Hazel faltered- she felt incredibly awkward, after all she didn't know this girl, but her empathy won out over the awkwardness and she gently wrapped her arms around the other girl.
"They'll come back." Hazel said quickly, "Rachel seemed sure of it. They'll come back, we'll see them again Calypso."
"I cannot lose him." Calypso's voice shook, "Leonidas is- my Leo is-" she shook her head slightly, her voice muffled. "I love him. I love him so much. He is my heart. He swore. He swore that he'd always come back to me- but-but no mortal has ever gone there. No mortal could survive the pit-"
"It's him, Percy and Nico." Hazel pointed out gently, rubbing the other girls shoulder as gently as she could. "Those three can survive it I'm sure. If anyone can it's them. I- I don't know them all as well as I'd like but I know Leo's smart and brave and fierce and I know Percy well enough to know that she'll fight tooth and nail to get him out. And so will Nico for that matter. The three of them- I know they're in danger but the three of them will get through it. I believe that."
"A-at least he's with her." Calypso's voice wavered, "I know how much it hurt him losing her. I- I don't blame him for following her."
As Calypso spoke Hazel shifted, moving them both so that they could sit down by the railings, their backs against the cold metal of the rails.
"They do seem pretty close." Hazel spoke after a moment. "I know they all love each other."
"Yes." Calypso nodded "I met Leo before- before Percy passed."
"Do you want to talk?" Hazel asked almost hesitantly.
"I- he came to my island after blowing up Mount St Helens." Calypso said after a long moment, tilting her head to stare up at the stars, "I thought it was a terrible joke at first- he was- infuriating." A soft sad smile played across her lips, "So different from the others who had washed up on my shores. Not handsome- not back then but- cute. He talked so much that I wanted to strangle him at first. Babbling at me about how he needed to get home. I didn't understand why he was sent to me but- but it didn't take me long to fall for him. There's something special about my Leonidas. He-" her voice caught, "He's braver than he knows- better than he knows. So smart- and funny too."
Calypso closed her eyes- and Hazel had no doubt that she was thinking about Leo. "So full of life, vibrant and happy even though he was stranded. So different from anyone I'd ever met- not that I'd met many people. It hurt when he left- I remember seeing her- Percy, on that stupid boat- I hated her when I saw her. I didn't know who she was but Leo lit up and I was jealous, and she stole him away from me. I thought that I would be alone again." she paused for a breath before speaking again.
"I didn't believe they'd ever send another hero- after all, I don't think I could have fallen in love again- I cared for Francis Drake-and or Odysseus. I called what I felt for them love but- it wasn't the same as what I felt for Leo. I idolized them- Leo- it was so very different with Leo. I didn't idolize him. I saw him as he was and I loved him all the more for it."
"That- that must have been horrible." Hazel breathed the words. She couldn't imagine that fear, the fear of being alone for all eternity. How lost she must have felt.
"And then he came back." Calypso's expression shifted, becoming distant. "He came back for me despite everything." she smiled faintly, "He bargained with the gods themselves and he came back for me. He was- he was broken and grieving but he came back to me still, he came and stole me away from my island- I lost my magic and my immortality but I have never for a moment regretted it." she took a deep breath, a sudden determined gleam in her eyes. "And he'll come back to me again." she turned her gaze to meet Hazel's. "I will stay here. And I will help you reach wherever you must go. And I will come with you and I will get my Leonidas back and bring him home. Now tell me Hazel Levesque, what can I do to help?"
"I-" Hazel hesitated before smiling slowly, she felt wide awake, filled with energy suddenly, "You mentioned magic." and when Calypso nodded.
"Yes, I'm slowly regaining it."
"Oh I think you'll be able to help me a lot." Hazel declared, hope blossoming in her chest.
