Uh, so I may have made myself cry when I wrote up the latest chapter because, uh- well, you see, it was the break up and it was painful. So good luck there, though you still have just under 100 chapters until you even get to that stage so hey, don't worry too much yet. Also- Thalia fucks up and says some shit she shoulder because she is a protective big sister who's new to this shit. Also, Piper is a little lost but she's trying to be a good friend to someone who clearly has issues. Anyways- this chapter is where Leo shines, or should I say burns? Mwahahahah.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Oh the effects will last- including PTSD- though I mean, the character already has that it's just going to get like, worse. And I haven't even gotten to writing that stuff yet- jeesh I have a long way to go don't I?
Black' Victor Cachat: Calypso can and will fuck up anyone who hurts her Leo. She might have worries that he'll never be the boy she fell in love with but she will still kick ass for him. And yes it is canon- though I don't believe it was ever shown from his perspective- it was a Jason chapter so it doesn't go into much detail if I remember right.

Leo was moving, his feet pounding on the ground- he could hear the Titan's voice, echoing through the air around them, "The mighty Jason Grace," he taunted. "Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne." and okay, okay that was a lot of information that Leo was going to have to process later, but right now he needed to focus on his friend, who had been knocked to the ground- and even as he got up again and tried to charge the giant Leo was sure he'd be too slow to help- too slow to save him as he watched Jason face a strike- he watched as Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move.

He swept his spear sideways, met Jason's javelin—and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.

Leo skidded to a halt, hand flying up to cover his eyes- though he saw Jason being tossed backwards by a blinding golden explosion.
He could hear Piper screaming behind him- he glanced back and realised that Calypso had gotten Coach Hedge and dumped him next to Piper's dad before grabbing the daughter of Aphrodite to stop her from running towards Jason and Leo.

When he could see again Leo saw that Jason was sitting at the rim of a crater, looking stunned. Enceladus stood at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance.

Leo genuinely wasn't sure how Jason had even survived but his clothes were steaming. He was clearly out of energy. He had no weapon. And Enceladus was still very much alive.

That was not good- and Leo watched as Jason tried to get to his feet only to drop back down as Enceladus blinked at the destruction and then laughed. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod."

Enceladus leaped the crater in a single bound- he clearly planned on landed with his feet either side of Jason, who was helpless beneath him- he'd be easy prey then- but Leo was fast, he wasn't sure how he did it but as Enceladus landed, the ground almost shaking with the force of it, Leo was launching himself at his friend, knocking him off balance and sending them both tumbling down into the crater, skidding down the slick glassy substance as they fell.

And Leo could hear Piper and Calypso screaming his and Jason's names as they tumbled, and Leo protected his friend as best as he could twisting them so that Jason was on top of Leo, Leo's back would complain after this of course but that was a small price to pay to have his friend alive.

He winced as he turned his head and looked up as they skidded to the bottom of the crater, Enceladus was turning around, his eyes narrowed. "I've heard of you too boy. Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, Dragon Rider, hero of the Battle of Manhattan." he sneered the words, "The boy who helped free Typhon-"

"Yeah yeah." Leo rolled Jason off of him as Jason gasped out;

"You just saved my life-"

"Of course I did." Leo staggered to his feet quickly, dipping his hand into his toolbag and pulling out two gloves with metal spikes on the fingers- they could be used to climb better, and he turned his head, tossing them to Jason "Jase get out of the crater now!" and Jason nodded, managing to drag himself to his feet as he caught the gloves.

"What'll you do-"

"Buy us time! But I need you out of the way-" and Enceladus was turning to climb down into the crater- gods but Leo really did hate this. They were so fucked.

Still, at least Jason had listened to him because soon his friend was slowly making his way up the glassy slope on the other side of the crater, using the gloves to get a grip on the slick surface- and Leo let himself burst into flames entirely as he launched himself at the wall on the other side of the crater, the glassy substance starting to melt where he touched it, using the fact that he could melt the glass to get a grip and slowly start making his way up even as the giant started to skid down the side of the crater.

Leo turned his head when he heard yelling, and he saw that Piper and Calypso were rushing around to Jason's side of the crater, Piper reaching down ready to grab Jason's hand and pull him up- his distraction didn't do him much good though, because as Enceladus skidded into the pit he managed to lash out on his way down, foot smashing into Leo's arm, knocking him and sending him skidding down the side of the crater too, though he managed to focus enough to keep the fire roaring around him- and Enceladus let out a bellow of pain when his foot hit Leo- who was burning so hot that even he felt uncomfortably warm.

He managed to latch onto the glassy wall of the crater a few feet before he'd have hit the ground, and he winced as he turned his head and saw that Enceladus was straightening up, his eyes focusing on the young son of Hepheastus, who took a deep breath before pushing himself away from the wall of the crater with all his strength- he needed to move before the giant pulled himself together enough to try and dodge- not that that would be easy, they were both in the crater- and Leo focused, heating himself up even more, until the flames around him were turning white and then blue they were so hot, and he smashed into the giants green dragon leg, the smell of burning flesh instantly filling the air as Enceladus let out a pained scream, but Leo didn't just stay there, he scrambled up the giants leg, until he was gripping the armor- which melted beneath his touch, and he kept climbing, even as molten metal clung to his skin, dripping from his hands and feet as he reached the Giants torso- and Enceladus was still screaming in agony- even Leo being close had to burn- and then the giant managed to snatch at him, grabbing the back of Leo's shirt and ripping him away, tossing him up and away, unable to keep a grip on the son of Hephaestus for more than a brief second- and Leo let out a loud scream as he tumbled through the air.

He'd been thrown high enough and far enough that he was out of the crater at least- and as he tumbled through the air he saw that Enceladus was trying to rip the molten metal of his armor from his skin- and the distraction seemed to be what the others needed because Leo saw Jason leaping onto the giants's back, he heard Jason screaming the words, "Hit the deck!" and suddenly the sky was dark and the air was filled with the metallic scent of a storm as clouds appeared from nowhere- Leo had seen Thalia do something like this but on a much smaller scale and Leo realised with a rush of shock that Zeus was doing it- and he let himself smile even as he fell towards the ground.

A giant could only be killed by a god and a demigod working together.

It was a genius plan Leo had to give Jason that as he saw the lightning arching towards his friend.

Then he didn't see anything else because he was hitting the ground and it was all he could do not to scream as he blacked out from the pain.

…

Piper was terrified, there were no other words to describe it.

She'd helped haul Jason out of the crater when he'd gotten close enough, with Calypso helping her haul him up- and they'd watched as Leo had done a very good job of turning Enceladus into barbeque, and then the Giant had tossed him away and Jason had taken the chance to leap onto the giants head, and the next thing Piper knew Jason and the giant were being struck by lightning- and then Jason went flying and he hit the wall of the crater- only just managing to use the gloves to get a grip on the sheer glassy surface.

The problem was that the crater was cracking open.

The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.

He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. "You've won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with—"

The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice- which would have been very good but it shook again and Piper was screaming as Jason started to fall again, throwing herself forward to try and catch his hand- and she knew with a rush of terror that she wasn't going to manage- she wouldn't reach him in time- and Jason wouldn't be strong enough to use his powers to fly up to them, he looked dazed and weak- and then somehow he was buffeted upwards by a rush of air, and she turned her head, looking back at Calypso- who had her hands outstretched, her face was pale and her eyes narrowed as she focused and Piper realised that Calypso was the one using some sort of powers to control the air- and then she turned back to Jason when he was high enough, snatching his hand and yanking him away from the edge of the crater, stumbling when he crashed into her, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he almost fell.

Luckily she managed to catch him, stopping them both from falling back and hitting the ground hard.

She clung to him tightly for a long moment and they stood together exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet.

For now, Gaea was gone.

The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Piper spotted a helicopter—maybe firefighters or reporters—coming toward them, but she didn't have time to focus on that because Calypso was sprinting away, and Piper let go of Jason when he was standing on his own, and she rushed after her.

"Is he okay?" her voice was panicked.

Leo was led on the ground, his skin and clothes still smoking from the heat of the flames that he'd enveloped himself in.

And Calypso dropped to her knees next to Leo as Piper watched, pulling a bottle of something from her pocket and tipping it into Leo's mouth.

"He's breathing- the potion should heal him- it's a mix of nectar and a special tea that I make." she called back, "He should wake in a moment. But it'll take time to fully heal."

"Fuck." Jason skidded to a halt at Piper's side.

All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Piper figured they would re-form soon enough. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened, especially around the spot that Leo had landed, "Is he-"

"Calypso said he'll be okay." Piper grabbed his hand. "What do we do now?"

They were interrupted then because Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.

He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"

Before Jason could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.

Piper couldn't help the laugh that slipped past her lips at that- and then to make things better Leo let out a loud groan.

Their friend was waking up.