Bet you thought I was dead, eh? Just kidding. I do apologise though. Longer chapter!

Chapter 5

(2149 words)

Nico's eyes flew open. Hazel was gone. He could feel it.

Why did those he loved always have to go? First Bianca, then Hazel. Subconsciously, he thought of Will, then shook his head.

Nico's thoughts went back to Hazel. His purple ore older sister who had been nothing but kind and loving to him. Gone. His throat was constricted, and for the first time in years since he learnt Bianca was dead, he cried.

Creak.

The door of his cabin was pushed open, and Will peeked in. Nico narrowed his swollen eyes.

"What the Hades are you doing here at twelve midnight, William Solace?"

"Why the Hades are you crying at twelve midnight, Nico di Angelo?"

"I asked first!"

Will shoved his hands into his pyjama pockets."I couldn't sleep. And may or may not have decided to check on you while I was walking around camp trying to get some fresh air."

Nico was glad it was dark enough to cover the redness in his cheeks.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Will stepped in and Nico shifted over as Will sat beside him, crossing his legs.

Nico looked at his feet, took a deep breath, and then said, "Hazel is gone. She took her own life. I can feel it." Nico told Will about Leo joining Minos.

Will was surprised that Nico was talking unprompted, but gently wrapped his arms around Nico's shoulders in a show of sympathy and comfort. Nico slumped against Will, weary.

"I'm so sorry, Neeks," Will murmured. He didn't know what he was expecting Nico to tell him, but it definitely wasn't this.

Will had met Hazel after she got injured and he helped to tend to her injuries, and she had seemed like the purest kind of human that you could find. To think that she would take her own life… "I know you love Hazel. She was your sister."

Nico felt like he was ten again, relearning that Bianca sacrificed her life to save her friends. "I feel... like I've failed her. I wasn't there for Hazel, just like I wasn't for Bianca. I didn't learn from past experiences. I wasn't enough and it's partially my fault that she took her life. I'm not good enough," Nico mumbled.

"Hey." Will ran his fingers through the raven hair. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You did your best. You did everything you could. You tried. It's really not your fault. You can't control what anyone does, no matter how hard you try. Please don't blame yourself, Neeks."

Rubbing circles into Nico's back, he continued, "If Leo's joining Minos, and they're going to get a powerful army to invade camp, then camp needs you to fight. That means you need your energy. Now get some sleep, okay? You need it. Doctor's orders."

Nico smiled against Will's shirt. He lay down, and Will started singing a Greek hymn to get him to sleep. The charmspeak-like magic in Will's voice worked, and soon Nico was asleep, his entire body relaxing. Will took a (long) last look at his significant other, then rose slowly. Making sure not to disturb Nico, Will slipped out of the cabin.

It was yet another battle - another day of a life of a demigod. The only difference now was that the enemy was their friend, and Will knew that this time, the losses would be even greater than before.

~.~

Leo was in Minos' lair, watching as Minos muttered to himself, floating about back and forth. Minos' lair was a large and spacious cave hidden underground. It was surprisingly near camp.

"You said you were going to help me to become more powerful, sir. How are we going to do that?"

"I know exactly where to take you. Come with me." Minos held Leo by the wrist, and they slipped into the shadows.

~.~

"You have to prepare yourself, as jumping in will burn your mind and soul."

The River Styx. Where Percy had been so long ago.

Leo caught sight of some objects in the river, and on closer observation, realised that they were all broken. All ruined dreams that people had tossed away as they passed from life into death.

Minos continued, "There is one way to stay attached to your mortal life. Concentrate on your mortal point. It keeps your body anchored to the world. Good luck."

"I warned the others not to follow my path, and now I will warn you." Leo turned around to see a green-eyed Greek Warrior. He looked like a god, except for his human eyes, and there was an arrow piercing his calf above his ankle.

Achilles. The greatest Greek warrior of all time.

"Do not do this. It will make you powerful but also weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses will increase as well."

"But it made you almost invincible. Your only weakness was your heel and if it was better protected…"

Achilles stared at the arrow. "The heel is only my physical weakness. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me in the Styx. My own arrogance killed me. Beware! Turn back!"

Leo shook his head. "I have to do this. To avenge her. Cal."

The warrior bowed his head. "The things love makes you do. Well, let the gods witness I tried. Prepare yourself, demigod. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom."

He vanished.

Leo concentrated on his left ear. It was the first place Calypso's hands had touched when she had grabbed his face so long ago. He pictured it being connected to the world by a piece of rope.

He walked into the river.

As soon as his legs touched the water, they collapsed under him, and he became fully submerged in the water. His body felt like it was burning away his skin, dissolving him. He saw the faces his mother, aunt, and all the mean kids at the foster homes who had bullied him into running away.

"You failed to save me." Esperanza said, her face full of heartbreak and disappointment.

"Diablo!" His aunt called.

"What a loser. No one likes you." His childhood bullies sneered.

The faces faded as soon as they appeared, and Leo felt like he was slowly losing himself. Heck, he didn't even remember who he was, why he was here. Where was he? Maybe he should just let go and give up on it all.

"Remember your lifeline, you idiot. C'mon, Mr McShizzle."

Her voice.

The cord strengthened, and Leo wasn't being swept by the current of the river any more. Instead, he was being tied firmly to the bank of the river.

Leo could see Calypso standing on the bank, reaching out her hand to pull him back up. Her caramel hair was in a high ponytail. She was in her red shirt and jeans. She looked really good in those.

Red. His favourite colour.

The memories came back in a burst.

I am Leo Valdez. I'm in the River Styx. I'm here to help Minos overthrow the gods because of the injustice they've done to me.

He reached out to Calypso.

She disappeared, and Leo threw himself onto the bank. But it was too late. She was gone.

And suddenly Leo collapsed onto the bank of the Styx. His entire body was a bright red, and he felt like he'd been boiling in a giant vat of acid.

"You've done it. You're a lot stronger now, and now you are fit to lead my army."

~.~

"Your Majesty… May I ask a favour of you, sir?" Leo asked Minos one day.

"Anything for my most powerful soldier."

"My lord, my request is that you try to revive my lover. Being a judge of the dead, you might have certain powers… Please, sir. Could you try and bring Cal back?"

Minos frowned, then sighed. "I'll try my best."

This made Leo ridiculously happy. There was hope. He might be able to see his sunshine again. "Thank you so much, sir."

~.~

"Calypso, I summon you. Let the dead rise again. Let them take this offering. Let them remember."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Minos was blinded by a flash of light, before the Fates themselves materialised before him.

"King Minos - even as a judge of the dead, you cannot summon her ghost. Those who are meant to be dead in the great prophecy, stay dead."

And as quickly as they appeared, they vanished.

~.~

Leo ducked and punched another monster in the face before strangling and shish-kebabing it.

To train them for the war, Minos had gotten his soldiers to fight one another. It didn't matter if the monsters or the dead got killed (again); Monsters and ghosts could always regenerate with Minos' powers as the judge of the dead - it just drained Minos.

Ever since he bathed in the Styx, Leo noticed that he had changed. Arrows flew past him miraculously, spears broke upon hitting his skin, and if the opponent ever got close enough to stab him (which was rarely), the sword simply broke off.

It was as if he had shed an exoskeleton and got a newer, better, stronger one.

They were going to take Camp Half-blood by storm tomorrow morning. Everyone was ready, in terms of strength, skills and resources.

There was only one problem. He still didn't have a weapon.

He had tried all the swords in the armory. None of them were good enough for him - they were either too light or too heavy, too short or too long.

And whenever he held a sword and swung it, he didn't feel any connection to it, like the feeling that the sword was going to be a trusty, reliable sidekick, able to cooperate with his every thought.

Maybe Minos has a weapon for me... More like he'd better have one...

After Leo had requested for a weapon, Minos' eyes gleamed.

His right hand started glowing and when the glow faded, there was a magnificent platinum sword in his hand. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen at Camp Half Blood.

The hilt was a simple black, with silver stripes criss-crossing across it to make an elegant pattern. The sword itself was quite long, outlined in a dark blue.

"This sword is made such that it helps you to harness your power - though metal, it's as flammable as paper, meaning that fire spreads throughout the metal and burns inside and outside it. It's like you, able to withstand the highest possible temperature. It also helps to expand your flames. Try it."

Minos tossed the sword to Leo and he caught the handle with one hand. Immediately, a warmth spread through Leo's hand. He felt like he was being reunited with Calypso again - finding a long-lost soulmate. He swung it a few times. Not too heavy, not too light. Perfect.

He concentrated and his hand lit up. Sure enough, the fire surged upwards, continuing until the whole blade was enveloped in flames. Leo eyed the tree and struck it.

The blade swung through it like Play-dough, and while doing so, the flames spread to the tree. In less than a minute, the entire tree was burned to ashes.

Leo flipped the blade over and over in awe. He had stopped building ever since Cal left - it reminded him too much of her; Leo and Calypso's Auto Repair. He wanted to mainly focus on fighting, getting stronger and gaining power to destroy the gods.

But looking at the blade made him giddy with excitement and his right ear subconsciously lit up. Even with all his building prowess, he had never seen or heard about anything like it.

"What's it made of?"

"It's made of a special mineral taken from the gut of a drakon - the material that gives the drakon the ability to generate flames. The mineral is mixed with metal stolen from the wheels of the sun chariot itself to make the blade's metal - after all, the wheels can endure the high heat of the sun without melting. The blade is then forged in Tarturus' river of fire. It took months to forge." Minos bragged proudly.

Leo nodded and gazed at the sword. Written in a cursive gold font along the sword was the sword's name.

Ekdikitís. Avenger. Even the name was perfect.

Leo remembered the first time he had asked for a sword - the same day he had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. Will Solace had looked at him as if he found the idea disturbing; probably didn't trust him with one. But now, with that sword in his hand, he felt invincible and more powerful than ever.

Grinning, he swung the sword one more time, before setting it down gently.

He yawned.

"I'm going to turn in now. After all, tomorrow's the big day, isn't it?"