Okay, so I know this is kinda depressing at the moment,
but I swear next chapter will be better!
Just hang on in there with me.
And I'm really sorry about what happened to Penelope, but it was
important for the story, and I hope you can understand!
IDOA

Chapter forty-seven: A Life Explained
~Leo's POV~

After what felt like days, but which was probably only a few minutes, Leo felt a firm hand on his
shoulder. He looked up to see Jason, whose face was sad yet composed, kneeling next to him.
"Leo." he said, his voice low and firm "We have to get going. We have to help Annabeth. It's what...
it's what Pen would have wanted us to do."
Leo felt hollow, as if his whole life had been sucked out of him. He couldn't get rid of the image of
Penelope, disappearing into nothingness, leaving him here alone. But he knew that Jason was right.
Annabeth still needed their help, and Leo would be damned if he let anybody else get hurt today.
Silently, he let Jason pull him up, but just as they were about to continue walking towards the street,

they heard a cry behind them: "Guys! Guys wait up! The ship's working again!"
Leo turned around to see Hazel jogging towards them, her hair flying behind her.
"What?" Piper asked, tears still glistening in her eyes.
"The ship.." Hazel panted "The engine, Festus, everything, it's turned back on! Coach Hedge's coming now!" Hazel looked at them all happily, until she seemed to notice that none of them were
smiling. "What...what's happened?" she asked, fear in her voice. Then she looked around "Wait, where's Pen?" confusion and fear mixed on her face, making the smile slide off.
Nobody answered. Leo could feel Piper shaking with sobs next to him, and Percy staring into the distance, his face white with shock.
It was Frank who answered, speaking quietly and taking Hazel's hand. "Hazel, listen. We met this...this weird spirit man, who called himself Moros. He tried to kill Percy, and made his powers go away. And then" Frank drew a breath "and then Penelope, she stopped him somehow, but it...it was too much. She's gone" the big guy's voice broke, and Leo, through the numbness, felt a twinge
of sympathy for Frank, who sounded incredibly sad even though he'd never had that much to do with Pen.
Hazel simply looked at them, until her eyes started to glisten "No. No Frank, that can't be right. If she's gone, where's the-" Hazel stopped herself just in time, with a frightful glance at Leo. But he knew what she had been about to say. If Penelope was dead, where was the body?
It was Piper who answered "It disappeared. I've heard of that happening before. Sometimes, the gods recall a hero's body, why I don't know." she choked and Jason put an arm around her.
Just then a rope ladder dropped down next to them and Leo looked up to see the Argo II sparkling in the sunshine. They climbed up, one after the other.
When they were aboard, Jason took Coach Hedge to the side, probably to explain what had happened. The satyr didn't cry, but Leo knew he was upset, as he swung his bat repeatedly against
the railing, cursing.
"Leo." he heard a voice behind him, and he turned around to see Percy, still white in the face, standing there. They shared a look of understanding, and Leo walked to the helm, Percy telling him
where to go. Then, for a moment, Percy put his hand on Leo's arm. "I'm so sorry" he whispered
"But maybe she's not dead. Maybe Piper was wrong, and she disappeared for a different reason."
The words were meant well, yet Leo tried not to hear them. Hope was the last thing he could use right now, hope would only make it worse. But of course they did float into Leo's mind, and an idea
came to him, a way to check if Penelope was really dead.
"Take this" he told Percy, giving him the controls, his voice hoarse.
"Where're you going?" Percy wanted to know, but Leo was already half way down the stairs.
He ran to Penelope's room, his heart thumping painfully fast in his chest. For a moment he paused
in front of the door, praying to every god and goddess he knew. Please. Please don't let it be there.
Then he pushed open the door, stumbled in and saw...a purple shroud lying on the bed. Ironically, it was a beautiful thing, rich purple satin with twin torches of gold embroidered on it, their flames woven from different shades of blue and green so that they looked almost real.
Seeing the shroud was like a punch in the gut. Leo sank to his knees, staring at the cloth, a memory
surfacing in his mind.
"The odd thing with Sam was, they never found her body, or found out how she died."
"Then how do they know she did?" Leo asked.
Penelope looked at him. "Her permanent enchantments stopped working. One day, every spell she'd ever cast just ceased and a purple shroud appeared on her bed. Chleo said that was a definite sign that Sam had died."
Penelope's death was eerily similar to Sam's. And Pen had said that if a shroud appeared on the bed,
it was a definite sign.
Leo's last hope had been crushed, and he felt new pain inside him. He wasn't sure how much more he could handle. He definitely couldn't be here now, the room reminded him too much of Penelope, so he closed the door and was just about to walk up on deck when there was a huge BOOM.
Running, Leo came up on deck and saw they had stopped over a parking lot. Or rather, what used to be a parking lot. Now there was a gaping hole in it, with Italian cars tumbling into the darkness.
Coach Hedge was at the ballistae, and about to fire again when Piper stopped him. "I think that's enough, Coach."
Leo walked over to the wheel and started to steer the ship into the hole. What the people on the ground saw he had no idea, but frankly, he didn't care.
Finally they arrived in a huge cavern, held together by weird threads of fabric. There, on the ground, between rubble and cars, was Annabeth, looking pretty worse for wear and standing in front of a huge statue, the Athena Parthenos.
It was amazing, and Leo was glad Annabeth was okay, but he couldn't bring himself to smile, or feel any proper glee. Everything just seemed so pointless with Penelope gone.
They all got off, and joined Annabeth in the cavern, even Nico di Angelo. Percy immediately wrapped his arms around Annabeth, who was sobbing, but managed to tell them her story more or less. When she'd finished, she looked at them properly and her brow furrowed.
Here we go again Leo thought sadly.
"Where's Penelope?" Annabeth asked. Percy tightened his grip on her, and quietly said "She's gone,
Annabeth."
Annabeth shook her head. "What do you mean gone? She's lost?"
"No" Leo suddenly spoke up, and he could feel all eyes on him. "She's dead."
Annabeth gasped, her eyes wide in horror. "B...but she can't be!" she cried, looking up at the ship, as if Pen would suddenly swing down, crying "You just got punk'd!"
"I found her shroud" Leo whispered, and he heard a sob, probably from Piper. Annabeth swayed, and Percy steadied her. "Dead." she whispered "But how?"
They told Annabeth what had happened, and for a moment she didn't say anything.
"It doesn't make sense!" Percy suddenly said, his face full of anguish. "Why did giving me her necklace kill her?"
But it did make sense, Leo thought. He met Annabeth's gaze and understanding passed between them. Slowly, Annabeth opened her mouth. "There just one thing I don't understand." she mumbled,

making the others look at her in confusion. Leo, however, got out the little black scroll Pen had given him and held it out to Annabeth, who read it, and closed her eyes, understanding and hurt plain in her face.
"What?" Percy asked.
Leo knew he had to answer. Taking a deep breath, he began:
"You all know that Penelope arrived at Camp Half-Blood with no memories whatsoever of her life
before right?" They all nodded.
"Well," Leo continued, trying to keep his voice steady. "Pen couldn't remember anything because there was nothing to remember. Camp Half-Blood was the first time she ever lived. "
"What?!" several voices said. Leo closed his eyes.
"Annabeth? Can you read them the prophecy?"
"Yes... To keep the greatest hero of all
from reaching the power to make the world fall
the fates shall withdraw it when facing death
and thus bring forth his final breath
Without the spirit resting nigh'
the hero's sacrifice will make the hero die."
Silence followed these words, and Leo found it difficult to speak. Thankfully, Annabeth did it for him. "The hero the Fates cursed is Percy. They feared he would become too powerful, so they withdrew his powers when he was facing Moros, who is an ancient force that drives people to their fatal destiny. That's why it says facing death. But if Percy died, we all wouldn't stand a chance against Gaia, and Hera knew this. So she must have asked Hecate, the goddess of magic, to create a
way to give Percy back his power, but the problem is that they couldn't have used a normal hero, as
the Fates would have known about him. All those monsters that didn't recognize Pen, that was because she should never have existed. Hera and Hecate went against the Fates themselves by creating her. But they did anyway, and my guess is that Poseidon gave Pen his blessing somehow,
so she would be a resource for Percy's power. Leo?"
Leo nodded, his eyes still closed. "Pen told me Circe said her necklace was a symbol for the alliance between Hecate and another god, probably Poseidon. That's why her claim mark was blue, and not purple. It had to represent a little of her other godly side as well."
"So what you're saying" Percy said, slowly "is that Penelope sacrificed herself to keep me alive?"
His voice was full of horror, and Annabeth tried to calm him "She did it to save all of us, Seaweed Brain. My guess is that only she could have taken that necklace off, that this was how Hera and Hecate wanted to protect the power. It wouldn't have worked any other way. The power that Penelope gave up wasn't just control over water. It was pure life energy, and that kind of energy could only be guarded by a living thing."
Nobody spoke. They were all too shocked to utter a single word.
After a minute, Piper whispered "So Pen knew all of this?"
Leo opened his eyes again. He was sure Penelope had known this, but not for long before she died. This was what she'd been trying to tell him, before Moros had appeared.
He was about to answer Piper when Nico di Angelo stepped forward, looking pale and sombre.
"Yes, she did."
Everyone stared at him "How do you know that?" Frank asked, disbelieving. Nico had only been with them for a few hours.
"I told her the rest of the prophecy." Nico said quietly, and Leo's eyes widened.
"Tell us." he said and Nico obliged.
"The second part of the second Great Prophecy. I heard it in a dream, while I was in that jar. It said:
The lost one shall join the seven
a child of the light in heaven
Although the source of mighty power,
before the goddess she will cower.
And in time will gladly die,

as in the arms of fire she will lie."
This explained it all, Leo thought, and he realised all the others understood as well. Penelope had sacrificed herself willingly, had gladly died, so they could stop Gaia and save the world. She'd been used by the gods more than any of them, and still she helped. Leo felt like he'd had his heart removed. There was no way his life could get any worse. Sadly, as so often lately, he was wrong.