I'm sorry for making you go through this, my friends.
Your reviews are killing me. And I'm killing you. So I guess were even, haha.
No seriously, I'm sorry.
But read this chapter anyway, kay?
And remember I only own Penelope (or is it owned?)
Please tell me what you think!
Chapter forty-eight: The Darkest of Times
~Leo's POV~
What. Have. I. done.
Again and again these words swirled around Leo's head, as he stood at the helm of the ship, sailing
through the evening twilight.
It was all his fault. Nemesis had said there would be a price. But did it really have to be this big?
Losing Penelope was the worst thing that could have happened to Leo, but the goddess of revenge
hadn't been satisfied yet apparently. No, they had to lose Percy and Annabeth as well.
Leo's mind was still full of images of the last few hours.
The Athena Parthenos starting to wobble. Annabeth yelling to secure it. They did, but when they'd
returned to get the others, they had found only Nico and Hazel, hanging onto the rope ladder for
dear life, horror in their faces. Percy and Annabeth had fallen to Tartarus. They were gone, just like
Penelope. And it was all Leo's fault.
"Hey" a hand touched his shoulder, softly. He didn't need to look to know it was Piper.
"Leo, you've been steering for hours. Let Coach Hedge do it for a bit." her voice was soft and sad,
and Leo imagined her kaleidoscope eyes were pained.
"I'm fine" he whispered, unable to speak any louder. He hadn't spoken at all since explaining what
had happened to Penelope. He had nothing to say.
Piper started to say something, but then apparently thought better of it.
"Okay. Just...get some sleep later, right?" she said, and squeezed his shoulder before walking away.
Sleep. The idea almost made Leo laugh. As if he could sleep now. All he could do was stand here,
steering the ship to Greece, where they might be able to save Annabeth and Percy. Maybe. But even
then, somebody would have to stay behind. And Leo didn't think he could bare to lose anybody else.
Evening passed into night, but nobody came to talk to Leo again, and he was glad. Words were meaningless right now. I'm sorry didn't help, even if it was truly meant.
The thing that Leo couldn't get out of his mind was how unfair the whole situation was. For the first
time in his life since losing his mother, Leo had felt whole again. A part of the crew, sure, but also
loved by another person. He felt kind of bad for thinking this, but at least Percy and Annabeth still had each other. And the others still had the people they loved as well.
Not him.
Penelope had said she loved him. But he hadn't had the time to say it back. And now she would never know.
Anger bubbled up in him suddenly, as he realised Penelope would never know he loved her. She'd
never smile at him again, or smirk in that annoyingly ironic way, or braid her hair down her side,
while it glinted purple or red, depending on the time of day. They would never return to Camp Half-Blood together, train, have pick nicks at the lake, talk for hours about anything.
Hera and Hecate had made Penelope live, but could you call it a life? She'd barely been here for three months before her so called destiny had been fulfilled. Did the gods really think that was okay?! Making a person live, making them find friends, family, a home and then just taking it all away again?!
Leo could feel his hands burning as the rage raced through him, rage at Moros, rage at the gods, rage at everything. But most of all, rage at Penelope.
And suddenly he couldn't bare it any longer, and he yelled into the darkness before him, his voice getting lost in the endless void.
"You promised you'd always be there for me!" he cried, his voice ragged and tears running down his cheek. It was easy to imagine Penelope hearing him right now, the night always reminded him of her.
"You promised me! And then you give yourself up! You give us up! Why did you leave me?! I need you!" he couldn't, he just couldn't cope with the pain anymore. With a yell he sank to his knees, feeling as if somebody was stabbing his heart. Damn you Aphrodite. Damn you Hera. Damn you Poseidon. Damn you Hecate.
There was no way this would be okay. It would never be okay again. Never.
"I need you" he whispered, taking out the Amazonite Penelope had used to heal him, what felt like a million years ago. She'd wanted him to keep it, as a reminder.
Only of course she hadn't realised what it would remind Leo of.
The wind blew around his face, making him shiver.
Slowly, he raised his face out of his hands, and saw that the moon had come out behind the clouds.
A child of the light in heaven.
He remembered Penelope's last words to him.
As in the arms of fire she will lie.
The stone was cold in his hands, the fire had gone, leaving him feeling empty.
Suddenly, there was a creak behind him, and footsteps neared. Leo didn't want to see anybody right now. Yet when the person knelt next to him, he saw to his surprise that it was Nico di Angelo.
"Leo." the boy said, and there was something odd about his voice.
Leo didn't answer. Nothing was important right now. But Nico didn't go away, and so Leo raised his
head, wiping away the tear tracks, trying to look pulled together.
The son of Hades gazed at him with an expression Leo couldn't read. It wasn't pity, but it wasn't
compassion either.
"I wanted to talk to you." Nico said, and Leo realised what the expression was. Hope. Not a burning hope, more like a crazy idea.
When Nico opened his mouth again, Leo was holding his breath.
"It's about Penelope. I think there might be a way to get her back."
Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times. If one only remembers to turn on the light.