Hey people! I'm sure you'll be happy to hear, I read over my previous chapters, and boy, were they a mess! Guess grammar mistakes are bound to happen when you publish everything on the first draft. Never the less, I've gone through and edited each to the best of my ability, but if you spot any more errors, could you PM me or tell me in a review or something? Thanks for you're support.
And now back to our previously scheduled fan fiction.
It's been over fifteen minutes and I'm still staring at Leo sputtering "What?... How!?" Probably because he's been yakking my ear off for the past fourteen of those. After Hephaestus told him to go to the storage room and pick up Ariadne's string along with a few other "special items, he dragged me down a flight of stairs and into a jam packed basement below, and has been talking the whole time.
It's strange that he's treating me like an old friend, but also kinda nice. I knew Leo Valdez well, and not just because he was one of the Seven. Leo was beloved by the Hermes cabin for his brilliant pranking skills, and was declared an honorary member, even if he never slept a night there. He used to plan pranks with me and the other senior members all the time. I just never figured he'd remember me.
"Okay seriously, what the heck? Dude, in case you've forgotten, you're dead. Like, you know, dead. How are you here right now? How long have you been revived? And why haven't you contacted us yet?"
Leo holds up his hands. "Whoa, girl, slow down, one at a time. First of all, I came back via magical potion, I've been alive for months, and, well..." Leo's cocky grin, which up until now hasn't left his face falls. "I don't really know. I mean, I've been showing Calypso around the world, and Festus is totally wrecked..." I know all about 'Caleo', thanks to being best friends with a child of Aphrodite. And if the familiar looking metal thing downstairs is part of Festus, then that would definitely put a hitch in his travel plans. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out the Leo's just making excuses to stay away.
As I'm about to question him further he spots something in a piles of old metal. "Aha!" He digs through it like a madman, then pops up, holding it triumphantly.
"Here it is! One Ariadne's string, comin' right up!" I stare in disbelief at the ball of twine in Leo's hand.
"You can't be serious. This can't possibly be it."
He shakes his head. "Nope, that's it all right! You got the compass?"
I fish it out of my pocket and hand it to him. He takes a minuscule pair of pliers out of his pocket, pops open the back and begins working on it, winding the string around a mechanism inside.
"So, this is something of an interesting model. See, it's designed to navigate the Labyrinth, but an expert mechanic can shift some of the gears and use it for another purpose."
"Too bad I got you instead of one." I joke. He gasps in mock hurt.
"Ahh! My ego!" I roll my eyes while laughing with him.
"Don't you miss this? I mean, I'm sure that Calypso's great and all, but when's the last time you've had a conversation with another person? And the camp really misses you Leo. I don't know anyone else who can pop out of the sink and scare the crap out of the poor souls on kitchen duty."
He sighs, and then sits down dejectedly. "At first I... didn't want to come back. I'd always thought, in the back of my mind, that I didn't really belong there, that no one really cared about me. Then, by the time I did realize it, it had been a long time, and I was afraid to come back. To face the people I'd hurt by staying away from. It's better if they think I'm dead. Then I'll be remembered as a hero, instead of the guy who ditched everyone for no good reason."
I stare at him in silence. I don't know what to say to this. I never realized Leo felt unwelcome. And I never realized how guilty it must feel to realize you let down everyone you knew and cared about.
I should probably tell him he's wrong. That the camps will forgive him. That I should realized how alone he must of felt.
Instead I say; "So, what were the 'special items' Hephaestus mentioned? I'm kinda hoping they involve food somehow. Haven't eaten since lunchtime..."
This doesn't exactly solve the problem. But it provides us with a distraction from the serious issues.
Leo leads me into another room, which appears to be his workshop/ bedroom. I mean, I can't really tell, because pretty much every piece of furniture is buried under three feet of random parts and dirty laundry. He opens a cabinet and takes out two items. One I don't recognize. It looks a lot like a little container of breath spray, but when he hands it to me, I see it's labeled "Insta-Mist".
"This stuff is perfect for hiding all sorts of demigod-ness. Just spray a generous amount on anything, and try to imagine what you want said thing to look like. Or, you can spray it someones face and say something like 'you don't need to see my identification' and voila, they'll believe it! It doesn't work to well on demigods or clear sighted mortals though, and there's only so much it can cover up. But I think you'll really like this next little gadget, Detective Drebin." He holds it out to show me and I gasp in joy.
Leo is hands me one of the most beautiful pairs of flying shoes I've ever seen. At first glance, they look like low wedge sandals with a strap around the foot and ankle, but upon closer inspection I realize that instead of leather they're made out of some very flexible form of celestial bronze.
I'm not a shoe person. I own two pairs, and I've had them both since I was 13. But I want these sandals. I need these sandals so, so bad.
"They're, they're beautiful!" I exclaim.
Leo bows. "Thank you. They also fly. Since I Leo-fied them, these babies can go ten times faster and handle 11 times better then anything you can find in the Hermes cabin."
"How do I activate them?"
"The shoes respond to however owns them. Eventually you'll just have to think to activate them, but since they're new, I the code word is 'Ananke'."
"Ananke*?" I say hesitantly. Instantly, tiny, feathered bronze wings pop out of the sides of the shoes, and flutter expectantly.
"What do you say to stop them?"
"You don't say anything. You just will it."
I tried this out. The shoes slowly began to stop flapping their wings, like a fan being turned off.
"Wow Leo, this is... amazing." I say, reaching to put my newfound tools in my backpack, then realizing I left it by the spring...
The spring! I've been gone so long, Luca and Skylar must be freaking out by now!
"Leo, I've got to go, my friends are waiting for me." I hug him awkwardly.
He nods. "The entrance is up that flight of stairs, the second door you see. It'll bring you out in the woods. Keep straight and you'll see a hiking trail soon enough. One more thing; you now owe Dad a favor, and someday he's gonna use it." I start to leave, but he grabs my arm.
"Please don't tell anyone about me. Swear on the River Styx you won't tell anyone about me."
"I swear." Somehow, thunder rumbles underground as agree to this promise. As I follow Leo's instructions up the flight of stairs, I wonder if I'll ever see him again.
Somehow, I know the answer is yes.
*Ananke was the goddess of impulsivity. Her name is pronounced like "a monkey", but with an n instead of an m.
Yes, Leo Valdez will be a reoccurring cameo in my series. As will Travis Stoll. I hope I didn't make them OOC, please tell me if I did.
As usual, reviews are very much appreciated.
T-That's all folks!
- Sage Nicholson