Well hello my guys- I hope you enjoy this chapter- and just so you all know I will be going on holiday tomorrow so I don't know what's gonna happen with my updating but we will have to see- I will update if I get time and chance but I make no promises. Anyways, please please please keep the reviews up them make me smile.
Replies to reviews:
Undeath9087: Yep, Midas comes before Aeolus, and so does Lyacon and the Hunters- so you have that to look forward too- I'm sure we've all missed Zoe. And yes with option 2 Octavian would still be a bit of an ass- just not in the same way as he is in cannon- you can be a decent person and still be a total asshole to most people. And I am very sorry that you have to wait at all! But I feel like if I update too much and then something happens and I can't write I could end up in trouble.
Annonymously96: Yeah, he and Percy are gonna know each other from a young age for option 2 so he's gonna grow up slightly different from canon- let's face it with Percy around it'd be hard not to!
Guest: I mean I'd be open to doing Male Annabeth but I'm not sure at this stage- I'm curious as to why you want male Annabeth.
Lunar-212: Your vote has been counted!
The Official Clarisse: Oh don't worry Percy won't be poisoned- Octavian would be the one being influenced by Percy more than the other way around- and I have plans for how to introduce the Greeks and Romans to each other but obviously I can't say too much 'cause that would be a spoiler- though that'd be roughly the same in either fic. And yeah it is Mellie- but we have Midas, the wolves and the hunters to come before we get to him.
Weirdhead: Yeah, yeah she is a bit of a bitch too, let's be honest. And honestly I have no clue, never thought about it before.
Guest22123890: Your vote has been counted!
Guest598: Your vote has been counted!

Poll:
Option 1: 22
Option 2: 24

It didn't take Leo long to fall asleep- though he wouldn't admit it he was exhausted- whatever the potion Medea had used on him was it had left him with what he imagined a hangover felt like based on the way Thalia, Like and Ethan had acted after that time they'd all gotten drunk- Ethan had stolen Luke's bottle of vodka and the rest of them had complained about being left out until the next day had come and they'd witness the glorious sight of Luke, Thalia and Ethan all suffering from hangovers- Leo had filmed it and sent it to a group chat- he'd then had to run away from the pissed off daughter of Zeus, son of Hermes and son of Nemesis. They'd all been out for blood and Leo had just cackled madly as they'd tried to brutally murder him.

In any case, the potion and the blood loss had him out like a light very quickly, and he quickly found himself in a dream.

In his dream, he heard a voice full of static, like a bad AM radio: "Hello? Is this thing working?"

Leo's vision came into focus—sort of. Everything was hazy and gray, with bands of interference running across his sight. He'd never dreamed with a bad connection before.

He seemed to be in a workshop. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw bench saws, metal lathes, and tool cages. A forge glowed cheerfully against one wall.

It was familiar even if Leo hadn't seen it before.

Then Leo realized something was blocking the middle of his view—something large and fuzzy, and so close, Leo had to cross his eyes to see it properly. It was a large ugly face, one he recognised.

"Holy dad!" he yelped.

The face backed away and came into focus. Staring down at him was a bearded man in grimy blue coveralls. His face was lumpy and covered with welts, as if he'd been bitten by a million bees, or dragged across gravel. Possibly both. It had been around six months since he'd seen his father- and even then they hadn't really talked- not since the god had visited him on Calypso's Island, and that hadn't been much of a talk really.

"Hmph." Hephaestus' gaze focused on Leo, "You're hurt."

"I've had worse." Leo gave a tight little smile, feeling oddly nervous- his dad had to be breaking some rules- Zeus had shut down Olympus this wasn't allowed- that- was kind of a comforting thought weirdly enough, knowing that his father cared enough to defy Zeus' orders. "So, what's up dad? Please tell me you don't want me to do something crazy again like scope out one of your forges for you-"

Hephaestus let out a laugh, throwing his head back as he did. "No. No son, I don't think either of us want that. You don't want to blow up another volcano now do you?"

"Of course I don't." Leo's lips twitched, "I don't have a magic island with a beautiful angel waiting for a hero on it that I can recover on anymore."

"Alas the girl will be waiting for you back at your camp. You won't be nursed back to health this time if you did blow up a volcano."

"Good thing I don't plan on it." Leo looked around, "As much as it's nice to see you dad, why am I here? I thought you guys were all on lockdown."

"We are," Hephaestus grumped. "Zeus's orders—very strange, even for him. He's blocked all visions, dreams, and Iris-messages to and from Olympus. Hermes is sitting around bored out of his mind because he can't deliver the mail. Fortunately, I kept my old pirate broadcasting equipment. "

Hephaestus patted a machine on the table. It looked like a combination satellite dish, V-6 engine, and espresso maker. Each time Hephaestus jostled the machine, Leo's dream flickered and changed color.

"Used this in the Cold War," the god said fondly. "Radio Free Hephaestus. Those were the days. I keep it around for pay-for-view, mostly, or making viral brain videos—"

"Viral brain videos?"

"But now it's come in handy again. If Zeus knew I was contacting you, he'd have my hide. "

"Why is Zeus being such a jerk? We all thought he was getting marginally better after the war."

"That's why son." Hephaestus shook his head, "That's what got Zeus upset. We gods were … well, embarrassed. Don't think there's any other way to say it."

"But we won! That doesn't make sense dad. And the price we paid-"

The god grunted. "We won because the demigods of"—again he hesitated, as if he'd almost made a slip—"of Camp Half-Blood took the lead. We won because our children fought our battles for us, smarter than we did. If we'd relied on Zeus's plan, we would've all gone down to Tartarus fighting the storm giant Typhon, and Kronos would've won. Bad enough mortals won our war for us, but then your sister- Percy Jackson- the oath your brother, made us make, he had the nerve tell us to pay better attention to our children. Er, no offense. "

"Oh, how could we take offense? Please, go on ignoring us. "

"Mighty understanding of you …" Hephaestus frowned, then sighed wearily. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it? Machines don't have sarcasm, usually. But as I was saying, the gods felt ashamed, shown up by mortals. At first, of course, we were grateful. But after a few months, those feelings turned bitter. We're gods, after all. We need to be admired, looked up to, held in awe and admiration."

"Even if you're wrong?"

"Especially then! And to have your brother tell us how we'd failed, well, that stuck in Zeus's craw. He decided it was high time we got back to traditional values. Gods were to be respected. Our children were to be seen and not visited. Olympus was closed. At least that was part of his reasoning. And, of course, we started hearing of bad things stirring under the earth. "

"The giants, you mean. The dead rising again, messages from a bitch in porta potties. Little stuff like that?"

"Aye, boy. " Hephaestus turned a knob on his pirate broadcasting machine. Leo's dream sharpened to full color, but the god's face was such a riot of red welts and yellow and black bruises, Leo wished it would go back to black and white. He did love his dad but still, it wasn't a nice sight.

"Zeus thinks he can reverse the tide," the god said, "lull the earth back to sleep as long as we stay quiet. None of us really believes that. And I don't mind saying, we're in no shape to fight another war. We barely survived the Titans. If we're repeating the old pattern, what comes next is even worse. "

"The Giants." Leo grimaced, "Zeus does realise that we'll have to join forces to defeat them right?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Hephaestus shook his head. "Those giants are tough to kill, boy. They're a different breed. "

"Breed? You make them sound like racehorses. "

"Ha!" the god said. "More like war dogs. Back in the beginning, y'see, everything in creation came from the same parents—Gaea and Ouranos, Earth and Sky. They had their different batches of children—your Titans, your Elder Cyclopes, and so forth. Then Kronos- well you know what happened with Kronos, of course you do. But that wasn't the end of it. The earth bore a new batch of children, except they were sired by Tartarus, the spirit of the eternal abyss—the darkest, most evil place in the Underworld. Those children, the giants, were bred for one purpose—revenge on us for the fall of the Titans. They rose up to destroy Olympus, and they came awfully close. "

Hephaestus's beard began to smolder. He absently swatted out the flames. "What my blasted mother Hera is doing now—she's a meddling fool playing a dangerous game, but she's right about one thing: you demigods have to unite. That's the only way to open Zeus's eyes, convince the Olympians they must accept your help. And that's the only
way to defeat what's coming. You're a big part of that, Leo. "

And Leo closed his eyes, "This is to do with Jason." Leo said quietly, "I'm right aren't I? There are two camps, Greek and Roman, Jason is a Roman Demigod, and for some reason we've been kept apart."

The god's gaze seemed far away. Leo wondered if really could split himself into different parts—where else was he right now? Maybe his Greek side was fixing a car or going on a date, while his Roman side was watching a ball game and ordering pizza. Leo tried to imagine what it would feel like to have multiple personalities. It wasn't something Leo would enjoy he was sure. "Greece and Rome- are complicated- I don't do well with people- they're too... organic. But you're right. And you must learn to work together now son. For the sake of the world. I have faith in you my boy. Never doubt that. You are capable of greatness just as much as your sister was."

"Dad-" Leo's voice caught, and as it did his dream went fuzzy. Just for a moment, it turned into a rerun of Wheel of Fortune. Then Hephaestus came back into focus.

"Blast," he said. "I can't talk much longer. Zeus is sensing an illegal dream. He is lord of the air, after all, including the airwaves. Be careful son, and be warned. Along the way, you're going to lose some friends and some valuable tools.

But that isn't your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines. And everything can be reused. "

"What do you mean? I don't like the sound of that. "

"No, you shouldn't. " Hephaestus's image was barely visible now, just a blob in the static. "Just watch out for—"

Leo's dream switched to Wheel of Fortune just as the wheel hit Bankrupt and the audience said, "Awwww!"

Then Leo snapped awake to Jason and Piper screaming.

He didn't have much time to collect his thoughts, but then, Leo could, when the situation called for it, think very fast indeed. Within a matter of seconds understood what was happening. Of course that didn't actually help at all but at least he did know what was going on. It was a small comfort but a comfort nevertheless.

They were spiralling downwards through the dark in a free fall, still on Festus' back, thanks to the straps holding them securely in place, but Festus's hide was cold, his ruby eyes that usually shone with life were dim- and he felt his heart sinking at the sight, "No- no no no." his breath caught, "Please no Festus not you. I can't lose you." He could barely hold on. The wind stung his eyes, but he managed to pull open the panel on the dragon's neck. He toggled the switches. He tugged the wires. The dragon's wings flapped once, but Leo caught a whiff of burning bronze. The drive system was overloaded. Festus didn't have the strength to keep flying, and Leo couldn't get to the main control panel on the dragon's head—not in midair. He saw the lights of a city below them—just flashes in the dark as they plummeted in circles. They had only seconds before they crashed.

"Jason!" he screamed. "Take Piper and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him—"

"I'll be fine," Leo yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

Jason grabbed Piper around the waist. They both unbuckled their harnesses, and in a flash they were gone—shooting into the air.

"Now," Leo said. "Just you and me, Festus—and two heavy cages. You can do it, boy!"

Leo talked to the dragon while he worked, falling at terminal velocity. He could see the city lights below him, getting closer and closer. He summoned fire in his hand so he could see what he was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it.

He pulled a wire that he thought connected the dragon's nerve center to its head, hoping for a little wake-up jolt.

Festus groaned—metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.

"Good!" Leo said. "Come on, big boy. Come on!"

They were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. Leo needed a place to land—fast.

There was a big river—no. Not good for a fire-breathing dragon. He'd never get Festus out from the bottom if he sank, especially in freezing temperatures. Then, on the riverbanks, Leo spotted a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence—like some rich person's private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field. He did his best to steer the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life. They could make this!

Then everything went wrong. As they approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding Leo. He heard bursts like tracer fire, the sound of metal being cut to shreds—and BOOM.