I'M BAAAACK!

Did you guys miss me?

To all of you who have reviewed asking me to tell you about Anni and who she is, I promise that's coming up soon!

Seriously, you guys are the best.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. I do own a bunny.

"You have got to be joking."

This is really not something people generally want to hear from Leo Valdez, especially when he looks like death warmed over after coming out of the engine room.

"Festus, come on. I need some good news!"

The dragon head creaked at him indignantly.

"Well, that's rude."

The ship was currently sitting in a park by Houston, Texas. Leo had been down in the engine room for the past few hours. Banging, steam, and quite a lot of colorful cursing had come from the room. When Leo had finally come back on deck, he had been excited, declaring that the engine was fixed and they would be flying again.

Unfortunately, it looked like that wasn't happening soon.

Leo sighed and turned to them. "Here's the deal, guys. The engine is fixed, but Festus says that there is no possible way to get into the air tonight. And as if that wasn't bad enough, apparently the smell of seven demigods is being magnified by the ship, so we can't sleep here tonight."

They all exchanged tense looks.

"Where would we sleep, then?" Jason asked.

Festus made another series of creaks and clicks. Leo gave him an incredulous look, then sighed.

"In the city."

…

Leo was clearly nervous as they walked into the city: his hand kept twitching toward his pocket every time someone glanced at them. He had insisted that everyone carry a knife that could hurt a mortal, seeing as they could end up sleeping in some pretty dangerous places.

They had made it pretty far from the park when a hoarse voice hailed them from an alley.

"Valdez?"

A teenage girl about their age with brown hair cut short came towards them, a joint dangling from her fingers. She smiled, showing teeth that had obviously not been brushed for a while, and nodded to him. "Nice to see ya back, Valdez. Who're these people?" She gestured with her chin towards the other demigods.

"Hey, Jade. Friends of mine." Said Leo tightly.

Another young woman wearing a very low-cut red top and a tiny pair of blue jean shorts came up behind Jade. Her blonde hair was very long, lank, and dull, and she was wearing lots of very flashy makeup with very red lipstick. Her bleary brown eyes took in the group, Percy and Jason in particular, before those red lips curved in a seductive smile.

"Hey, sugar." She purred, running her fingers through her hair and slowly licking her lips, pushing her rather sizable chest out. "Y'all got a joint? I'll give ya a little somethin in return…"

"Back off, Scarlett." Leo snapped. "We don't got nothing."

(No offense to anyone named Jade or Scarlett, I just pulled the names out of my butt, sorry if I offend.)

Scarlett shrugged and leaned against the wall. Jade eyed them again, taking a long drag from her cigarette, before she said "There's an old apartment buildin, just down there." She nodded her head down the street. "No one's been there for ages. If y'all lookin for someplace to sleep, that's a good spot."

Leo raised an eyebrow at her. "That's unlike ya, Jade. Who told you to tell me that?"

Jade gave a sweet smile. "An old friend of yours, sweetie. What's his name… big guy? Dark hair? Leopard tattoo?" She indicated her bicep, her smile becoming a smirk.

Leo tensed ever-so-slightly, but shrugged. "Eh, can't hurt. C'mon, guys."

Jade and Scarlett had faded out of sight by the time Leo's shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit.

"Gods, I hate those girls." He muttered. Seeing everyone's quizzical looks, he sighed. "Jade will do literally anything for a joint and Scarlett will do anyone for one. They hate me and the feelings mutual."

He sighed again before continuing down the street.

Just like Jade had said, there was an old apartment building in a slew of other abandoned buildings, and sure enough, when Leo cautiously opened the door and peeked in, there a few people sitting in the hallways who glanced up with blank faces before sinking back into a stupor… all except for one young woman holding a baby, who saw them and blinked in recognition.

"Leo?" the hoarse whisper carried across the decrepit lobby.

Leo blinked before whispering back "Riley?"

Sure enough, the young woman holding the baby turned out to be an older version of the girl from Leo's memories. She came forward, eyes flicking over the group of people. The baby fussed a bit and she rocked it gently, humming in a soothing manner.

"What's his name?" Leo asked, gesturing to the baby.

"Nathan." Riley whispered. Having successfully calmed down the baby, she gestured with her head towards the door marked STAIRS.

"Let's head up." She whispered. "Too many ears down here."

The stairs were dark, narrow, and smelled heavily of cigarettes, body odor, and cat pee. They headed up a couple floors before Riley actually stepped out of the stairwell into the mercifully less smelly hall.

"Only one person lives up here." She said, "and she's at work right now, tryin to make somethin better for herself. Wish I'd done that, but I'm doing it now, for Nathan."

"So, Leo." Riley said, settling back against the wall and sinking to the floor. "What're you doin here again? It's been a couple years. Thought you and Anni skipped town."

(Just to clarify: Leo and Anni split up just before Leo was sent to the Wilderness School, where he spent about six months. Then he went to camp, and during the eight or so months Percy was missing, he found out Anni was dead, then he was busy sailing the Argo 2, so it's been about two years since he last saw Anni)

Leo winced slightly at the sound of her name, but shrugged. "Eh, just passin through."

From below, the street door opened and footsteps sounded. One of the men downstairs whistled.

"Nice jeans!"

"Fuck off!" came the response, and as laughter resonated from downstairs, the footsteps started up the stairs, moving quickly. Nathan had begun fussing again and Riley was singing softly to him, rocking him back and forth, trying to calm him down. A soft laugh was heard from behind the door.

"Whatsamatter, Riley, kid givin you trouble again?" asked the owner of the voice as they pushed open the door… then they froze, eyes locked on Leo, who was doing the same.

Up on Olympus, watching the whole thing unfold, Hera winced. Dammit. This would take some explaining.