Hello my guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter in which Calypso is adorable and protective and Fungus is explained- Leo's very proud of it actually. Zoe's just exasperated at this annoying boy who her sister is so deeply in love with. Also, bit of sadness, talking about Percy is fine sometimes, talking about how she died is not.
Undeath9087: Calypso is ready to throw down for her idiot boyfriend and I love her for it. And believe me none of you would believe I'd break the couple up permanently even I'm not that evil. Though, then again the shit I plan on putting through maybe I am. I haven't even gotten to the breakup scene but I'm all sad thinking about it.
They settled down after that, Calypso peeling the bandages away from his skin, tutting and muttering under his breath as she pulled a jar from her pocket- and Leo wasn't surprised that his girlfriend had something she could use on his wounds- she clearly knew him pretty well. She knew he was liable to get himself hurt so she'd brought it to help him- it just made him love her even more than he already did, which he hadn't thought was possible.
He personally thought that he was very brave- he didn't even complain when she started to apply the balm to his wounds- it tingled slightly and he wasn't even surprised to realise that it started hurting less.
And of course, given the fact that Leo had experience with Zoe, he took the lead, explaining the quest to the lieutenant, though she already knew about the quest and the prophecy thanks to Calypso.
He explained everything that had happened- though Calypso interrupted when he explained about Medea- her eyes flashing with fury as she started cursing in ancient Greek. And Leo blinked, staring at his girlfriend as she stood up, a furious gleam in her eyes before he swung his gaze to Zoe, who looked equally startled. Sure he knew that Calypso had a temper but he'd never seen her get quite this bad.
"Uh, Cal, Sunshine, angelface, cielo. Can you maybe slow it down please?" sure he could do Greek but she was speaking so fast that it was hard to keep up with it.
And Calypso paused, taking a slow deep breath, stopping her pacing and closing her eyes as she did, "Sorry." she moved quickly and sat down next to him, grabbing his hand and lifting it to press her lips to his knuckles, "That woman is a monster." her voice was firm, "Her and Gaea both. You deserve so much better than that-"
"Calypso I don't understand-"
"You do." Calypso's voice was fierce, "I love you my Leonidas. No one is allowed to hurt you like that."
"That-" Leo's breath caught very slightly and he smiled softly,. "I love you too sunshine. Seriously."
"Hmph." that came from Zoe, who looked away- though- was that a hint of a smile on her lips- why was she smiling? That was honestly scarier than anything else Leo had dealt with on the quest. "Perhaps we should focus and thy should finish your story- sister I know you care for the boy but can we finish the story?"
"Sorry." Calypso's lips twitched and she smiled slightly, giving Leo a sidelong glance before looking towards Zoe, "I shall try to control my temper."
Admittedly when he got to Festus' crash and the whole Midas situation Calypso squeezed his hand so tight that it was actually painful, but all in all Leo felt that she managed to hold it together pretty well. And once he was finished with the story Zoe nodded, her eyes flicking to Jason, "I admit that I have known of the Roman camp for some time- but I couldn't have spoken of it to any of thou before- though under the circumstances I believe that has change- though I know not where it is."
"Well we're gonna have to figure it out eventually." Leo declared, "We're probably going to have to work together."
"Thy shall look into it." Zoe promised, "And the hunters and myself shall get you to Aeolus' palace."
"Really?" Piper's eyes widened, "That would be amazing-"
"It wo-" Jason started to speak but Zoe cut him off.
"Yes, we shall help, if only because your quest is important and my sister cares about Leonidas-"
"Oh come on-" Leo winked at Zoe, "You know you like me really, no one can resist the Leo Valdez badboy supreme charm-"
That made Calypso laugh loudly and Zoe gave him a withering look, "You are annoying- like a bug that cannot be squashed."
"I like to think of myself as a fungus that grows on you." he declared lightly, "No matter how hard you try you can't get rid of me that easily."
"Or ever." Zoe huffed, an amused look on her face, "You do grow on a person I suppose. Just a little bit."
"Yes!" Leo let out a cheer, "And the fungus is victorious! I actually got Zoe Nightshade to admit that I've grown on her-"
"You're ridiculous." Calypso kissed his cheek.
"Uh." Jason's voice was hesitant, "As nice as it is talking to someone who doesn't want us dead- you're really going to help us?"
"Of course." Zoe looked Jason up and down, narrowing her eyes very slightly, "So you are Jason Grace-"
"Uh- yeah I guess-"
"I see." she stared at him, "You are the boy Thalia Grace tried to attack me over-"
"What?" Jason's eyes widened, "I have no clue what you're talking about."
"I tried to recruit your sister years ago. I made the mistake of saying that it was better than she had no boys dragging her down-"
"Oooh." Leo whistled sharply, "As a baby brother I happen to know that any decent big sister would take offence to that."
"She-" Jason shook himself slightly, "I never knew that. But then I guess I haven't had that much time with her. Though- that does sound like the sort of thing she'd do based on how well I know her-"
"Oh it is totally the sort of thing Thal's would do." Leo declared with a grin, shaking his head, "I didn't know about it though, you two seemed pretty cool every time I saw you two together-"
"Yes. But you saw us after the quest to rescue you, your mother and Lady Artemis." Zoe pointed out. "Before that Thalia and I put our pasts aside- I also didn't get along well with your sister when we first met."
"Yeah that doesn't surprise me." Leo's smile was sad, "Percy was never the type of Percy to leave her family behind. Not if she had a choice."
"Leo-" Calypso's voice was soft, worried.
Then Zoe let out a breath. "She was a true hero. She deserved better-"
"I don't want to talk about that." Leo stood up, pushing away from Calypso, he knew Zoe was trying to be nice but- he didn't need her to tell him that she'd deserved better. He knew that she deserved better.
"Leo-"
"Not right now okay." he let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes, "She's gone. Talking about how much of a hero she was and how she deserved better isn't going to change things okay?" he blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, "I- I don't need people reminding me of that okay?"
"Of course." Zoe gave a little nod, a look of understanding crossing her face. "I misspoke. I apologise Leonidas." she stood up too. "We should leave, Pheobe. We must move out now."
And soon enough they were all packed up and ready to go. Zoe giving them all a drink of something- Leo had to assume it was a potion that the hunters used to perk themselves up when a hunt was dragging on for a long time because once he drank it he felt a lot better than he had in days- and he was pretty sure the poultice that Calypso had used had done it's work well because the pain he had been feeling had almost completely disappeared.
Zoe and Piper led the way, the demigods and Calypso following fairly close behind her, with Coach Hedge bringing up the rear crunching away on a metal thermos that Zoe had given him as they headed up a tiny little path on the side of the mountain, Zoe leading the way with ease, clearly eager to re-join her hunters.
Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he had done on track day at school. "Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo—"
"Thy should remember who you are with before coming up with foolish chants Satyr." Zoe called back, her expression one that was filled with warning, and they slipped into silence again.
Soon enough they'd re-joined the rest of the hunters- several of whom shot Leo and Jason distrustful looks.
Leo stuck close to Jason as Calypso drifted towards Piper.
As terrified as Leo was of his girlfriend and the girl who, to be honest was definitely one of his best friends, becoming friends- he kinda liked the idea of it if he was being honest. It would be nice for Calypso to have more friends and he did want her to get along with the people he cared about- she was friends with
Annabeth and Rachel now after all.
They moved together, sticking fairly close to the hunters even if they were clearly not a part of the group.
As they walked Leo gave Jason a nudge and a smile, "You were pretty good earlier-"
"You mean when the wolves nearly killed us, and you- while very injured, had to take control and buy us time and then we had to get rescued by the hunters?"
"Uh- okay so you might not of shined during that bit." Leo conceded, "But you got us away from Midas, sounds like you were pretty badass."
"I just-" Jason's face flushed, "I couldn't let you guys down."
"Well you definitely didn't." Leo laughed, "You kicked ass, took names and saved the day." he paused, "Bet Piper agrees-"
"Suddenly I want to shock you." Jason's lips twitched slightly. "You really think so?"
"Of course dude. You did great." his gaze drifted over to Piper and Calypso- who were deep in conversation, "Speaking of, she's hitting it off really well with Calypso. I'm glad, they could both do with more friends- and don't tell either of them I said that they'd probably both hit me-" he cut himself off, pausing, his eyes going wide, because the hunters had stopped- he'd nearly walked into the back of one of the girls, and his gaze moved to Zoe quickly, who was looking towards them.
She gave him a little nod before pointing upwards, and Leo followed her gaze.
They stood near the summit of Pikes Peak. Below them the world was blanketed in clouds. The air was so thin, Leo could hardly breathe. Night had set in, but a full moon shone and the stars were incredible. Stretching out to the north and south, peaks of other mountains rose from the clouds like islands—or teeth.
But the real show was above them. Hovering in the sky, about a quarter mile away, was a massive free-floating island of glowing purple stone. It was hard to judge its size, but Leo figured it was at least as wide as a football stadium and just as tall. The sides were rugged cliffs, riddled with caves, and every once in a while a gust of wind burst out with a sound like a pipe organ blast. At the top of the rock, brass walls ringed some kind of a fortress.
The only thing connecting Pikes Peak to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice that glistened in the moonlight.
Then Leo realized the bridge wasn't exactly ice, because it wasn't solid. As the winds changed direction, the bridge snaked around—blurring and thinning, in some places even breaking into a dotted line like the vapor trail of a plane.
Leo swallowed hard, his eyes wide, "Oh you have got to be kidding me."
"We-" Jason swallowed hard, "We have to cross that."
"Yes." Zoe nodded, her gaze focusing on them, "'Tis the only way to get to Aeolus's fortress."
"Is the fortress always hanging there?" Piper asked. "How can people not notice it sitting on top of Pikes Peak?"
"The Mist," Zoe explained. "some mortals may notice it indirectly. Some days, Pikes Peak looks purple. People say it's a trick of the light, but actually it's the color of Aeolus's palace, reflecting off the mountain face."
"It's enormous," Jason said.
And Leo gave a grim smile, clapping him on the back, "You should see Olympus dude. It was impressive- and last time I saw it it was in ruins."
"I- you really have been there." Jason sounded stunned, as if he hadn't really understood that before.
"Yes." Zoe let out a cough, "In any case, I suggest that we go across in two different groups. The bridge is fragile."
"Oh yeah." Leo let out a breath, "This is gonna be super fun."
"Can't you just fly us up there?" Piper focused on Jason, her expression hopeful.
"You can fly?" Zoe raised an eyebrow and Jason hesitated, gazing up at the floating fortress.
"Well, sort of. More like I can control the winds. But the winds up here are so strong, I'm not sure I'd want to try."
"Bridge it is then." Leo spoke firmly, "Let's get this over with."