Thanks for all the reviews you lovely people!
So there might be some hope for Lenelope after all...
But I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a bit to find out if
the plan works out. In the meantime, enjoy reading this chapter
whose characters I don't own!
(::) cookies to make up for the last few chapters! (::)n

Chapter forty-nine: The Plan
~Leo's POV~

"Guys? I have to talk to you."
Piper and Jason both looked up at him. "What's up?" Jason asked, half way through cleaning the stables. It was amazing how dirty they could get even without any horses or pegasi in them.
Leo walked into the room and sat down on a little stool. He wasn't sure how he should tell them.
Hi guys. I'm gonna have to leave you and go on a dangerous quest on my own to save the girl I love
What's for dinner?
Maybe not like that.
Piper had sat down on the floor in front of him. "What is it, Leo?" she asked, and Leo knew she could tell something was wrong. Besides the obvious wrong that is.
Leo gave a deep sigh. "There's something I have to tell you"
Jason came over as well, and his two best friends sat there, looking at him expectantly.
Here goes, Leo thought, and after taking a deep breath said "I have to go somewhere."
Piper and Jason simply looked at him, expectantly, with a little confusion on their face.
"Where?" Piper asked.
"Turkey."
"What?!" Both of them burst out. "What do you mean, Turkey?"
Leo knew they would act like this, but he had to tough it out.
"There" his voice caught a little, and he had to swallow before continuing "There might be a way to bring her back."
Silence followed as his friends processed this information.
Leo was sure they would stop him, sure they'd ask him not to go.
When Piper stood up, he'd already prepared his explanation in his head, ready to argue through this.
But she didn't tell him not to go, she didn't ask him to stay.
Instead, Piper hugged him, and whispered "Then you have to go."
Behind her, Jason nodded.
Leo was stunned. Here they were, all of them knowing perfectly well that the others might not make
it with another one of their number gone, but still they were willing to let him go.
Leo thanked the gods then. There might have been some of the most rotten luck in his life lately,
but he had friends that he could count upon, and that was worth more than he could express.
"When?" Jason asked.
"As soon as possible." he answered. "Meeting in the mess hall in half an hour, okay?"
They nodded, and Leo went out, before they could see his face. The truth was, he was scared as Hades of what was about to come, and he was pretty sure he might just end up getting himself killed along the way. But if there was a way to get Penelope back, then he would do it.
Half an hour later, Leo had packed. It was surprising how his whole life seemed to fit into his tool belt and one backpack, but then again he guessed that was an advantage.
He'd spoken to Festus, as well. The dragon had been obviously upset when Leo had told him of his
plan, but Leo knew the machine could understand. Festus was now under the order to obey any command one of the crew gave him, and Leo had used the Archimedes sphere to build a small screen which could translate the figure head's wiring and squeaking into English.
When Leo gave Festus a last pat on the neck, the board blinked: Good luck.
"Thanks, Festus" Leo whispered, before turning away and heading down to the mess hall.
They were nearing the mountains now, and Leo could only hope the others would have a safe journey.
Everybody else was already waiting for him in the mess hall, and Leo felt a pang at how much their number and decreased.
Nico di Angelo was sitting in Percy's usual place, looking pale and ghostly. The guy gave Leo the creepy jeepies, but if his plan worked, Leo knew he would be forever in his debt.
When he'd sat down, Leo looked at his friends. Piper and Jason nodded and Nico gave him what might have been an encouraging smile or maybe a tick in his jaw muscles.
"So." Leo said. "I have something to tell you all."
The only people he had to tell were Frank, Hazel and Coach Hedge really, but he didn't feel like singling them out.
"You know what happened to Penelope." Leo continued, using all his effort to keep his voice level.
Hazel looked sadly at the table, Coach Hedge gripped his bat and Frank looked at Leo with a look that plainly said Why are you bringing this up?
"Well, there might be a way to get her back."
This got their attention, and they all looked at Leo with shocked expressions. Now Piper and Jason were leaning in as well, as Leo hadn't told them yet how the whole thing would work. Or was planned, anyway.
"Okay, so you all now Penelope's, er, mother, is Hecate, right?" A few nods. Leo's voice caught a little on the word is but he just couldn't bring himself to use the past tense. It's not over yet, he reminded himself. There's still a chance.
"So in Ancient Greece there was this town, Lagina, that Hecate was the main patron of. She had a temple there and everything. Nowadays the town's near a place called Turgut, in Turkey."
He paused, drawing breath. Hazel was watching him with a guarded expression, and Frank was openly confused. Slowly, Leo continued.
"Right. People used to believe that Hecate was the Cosmic World Soul, and that all souls came from and returned to her. We don't know if that's true, but if it is, then Nico thinks" Leo shot a glance at the son of Hades, whose face was unreadable. "I mean, Nico and I think, there might be a chance that Hecate called Penelope back to her. She created her after all, so it's possible she reclaimed her, or her soul or life force or whatever. And that's why"
Leo saw his friends' faces look completely perplexed, but he continued, rushing the last few words.
"That's why I have to go to Lagina and ask Hecate to give Penelope back."
There, he'd said it. Now all he could do was wait for the others to say no.
"What do you mean, you have to go?" Frank asked, and Leo thought how could anybody be so stupid but Frank was already continuing "If you go, we all go. We're a team. That's how it works."
Guilt shot through Leo. He apologised silently for having thought bad of him.
"Thanks, Frank. But you can't. This is something I have to do alone. I can't explain it, but I just know I have to."
There was silence. Then Hazel said "But we need you, Leo."
Leo was about to explain that he'd already taken care of everything, that Festus would get them to
Athens safely, but Jason cut him off. "We'll be okay. Leo has to do this, and when he succeeds, we'll have Pen back as well, which will be even better when we're facing Gaia. We have a month before
the date the giants said she would awaken, so I say we meet up in Athens then. Do you think you can make it until then, Leo?"
Leo was so grateful to Jason that he couldn't speak for a moment. Jason had said when and not if he succeeds, and he was supporting him in this, just like a real friend.
"Yeah. I can make it."
"Okay then." Jason looked around, as if daring anybody to try to stop Leo. "Are we all agreeing on this?"
Nobody objected, though Leo knew he was putting them all in danger.
"I'm sorry guys. I really am. But if there's a chance to get her back" he couldn't continue. But he knew the others understood. They were his family, after all.
"How will you be getting there?" Frank asked.
A smile crept onto Leo's face, despite the serious situation.
"Oh, I've already thought of a way."
Let's only hope it works.