Aaaannnddd... we're back at the Argo for the next little while! These chapter have got me pretty excited- I actually researched for these, and the details just clicked! There's a semi-cliffy at the end of this one- see if you can guess who it is. ;)
Infinite thank you's to everyone who reviewed, you're all the reason this story keeps going! Enjoy this next installment, and see you soon!
Ciara
It had to be Frank that he crashed into.
Leo had turned the corner without looking, colliding with what felt like a statue. Of course, it was Frank.
Of course.
The papers Frank was holding flew into the air, and Leo regained his balance.
"Sorry, man." Leo said in a would be casual tone, bending to pick up the papers. Frank did the same, grabbing them out of Leo's hands.
"I got it."
"No, really-"
"I said I've got it!"
Leo recoiled at Frank's unusually harsh tone. He straightened up, looking warily at Frank- who, he was surprised to see, was glaring back at him. The look seemed out of place on his baby face, but the guy was at least a foot taller than Leo, so he let it slide.
Leo looked at him rather weakly. "Look, I didn't... I just crashed into you, I wasn't-"
"You've done enough." Frank said, and for a second, the odd, angry look flickered into sadness. He picked up the last few pieces of paper, then turned to walk away.
And there was Leo's problem.
Sometimes, people didn't like him- be it because of his humor, his hyperactivity, or his devilishly good looks. Okay, maybe not the third -but the point was, he could deal with people not liking him, because those were all mostly valid reasons. Whether he liked it or not, Leo Valdez had some pretty bad qualities.
Being a liar was not one of them.
"Frank."
The big guy stopped, and Leo held out his hands in surrender. "Nothing ever happened with Hazel and me." Frank stared, stony faced, at the ground. Leo insisted, "Look... Hazel is... she's amazing, okay?" That was a safe enough word, right?
"She's amazing," Leo repeated, "but she's amazing with you. Yeah, maybe she loved someone else before, but not now. It was Sammy, then it was you. Not me."
Slowly, grudgingly, Frank met Leo's eyes. He seemed to be forcing some words. "She... It seems like she lo-"
"No." interjected Leo, not letting Frank finish. He knew what he had been going to say, and he didn't think he could stand to hear it; because, as he'd been talking, Leo had realized something: He really, really did have the worst luck with girls. Ever.
Leo looked earnestly at Frank, trying to push back his thoughts. "She loved the guy I look like. Not me. Now she loves you- and I'm telling you, man, I would never go near another guy's girl." Leo smiled in a would-be confident way. "That's against the bro code."
Frank half-smiled. He looked at Leo almost sheepishly, and when he spoke, it was hesitant, like he was revealing something important. "I've never had someone like Hazel. I never thought I would. So, I guess I react-"
"Hey, guys."
Leo jumped at the voice as Jason stepped out of the door behind them, his bunk. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Frank straighten almost imperceptibly. He realized that Frank still thought of Jason as his praetor, someone who you always had to be on your best behavior in front of. And as much as Leo knew otherwise, he had to admit: Jason was a little (read: incredibly) intimidating. At this moment, though, Leo could have hugged him- the dude really picked the best time to interupt a conversation, and thank the gods he had. It probably wasn't a good idea for Leo to talk about Hazel for any length of time, because, well, come on; he was seriously ADHD, and was on the verge of blurting something really, really stupid.
"Hey!" he responded, with a bit too much enthusiasm. "I was just coming to get you."
"Yeah," intoned Frank, looking at Leo a bit oddly. "Me too."
Jason, though unaware of what he had interrupted, knew of the tension between Leo, Frank, and Hazel. Maybe it was because of that that he nodded, stepping subtly between the two. He gestured towards the disorderly papers in Frank's arms. "What're those?"
Frank shuffled them around, showing them nervously to Jason. "Uh, Piper and I, we were talking about the camps, and the attack. I said that- that I didn't think Reyna would do something like that if you were so against it." He winced, as if remembering a painful memory, and Leo was momentarily relieved that all he had to face was a noisy engine room instead of a jealous Piper.
He tuned back in, and realized Frank was still talking.
"She uh, she kicked me out after that. But we're pretty sure that the attack won't be happening immediately." He paused awkwardly, then trailed off, glancing nervously at Jason as if awaiting judgement.
Jason, clueless, clapped him on the back. "Awesome. Did you try contacting them?"
Frank nodded rapidly. "She said she'd Iris message them."
It was quiet for a second, then Leo spoke.
"I rigged the ba-"
"We've got something."
Leo turned, ready to chew out whoever had interrupted him (why was that happening so often today?) but stopped when he saw Nico DiAngelo. His normally pale cheeks were flushed, and his eyes held a kind of burning excitement. It almost gave Leo chills- everything about this kid was intense somehow, but not like Percy was; the son of Hades was all jutting angles and flares of emotion breaking through the small expressionless facade.
Jason was looking intently at the younger boy. "What do you mean, Nico?"
He continued, almost cutting Jason off. "Hazel and I, we were thinking about the Doors of Death, and then I remembered something my father had said."
"Which is what, exactly?" Leo interjected.
"We have to check it, first. We need to see if we're right." he turned to Leo. "How close are we?"
Leo thought fast. "I can dock us in ten minutes." There was an undercurrent of excitement, now, of a new task, new hope.
Jason nodded to himself, seeming to formulate a plan. "Okay," he said, and the familiar ring of authority was back in his voice. "Frank, you and I'll do a flyover, look for any threats, keep watch. Nico, you and Hazel need to follow up on your lead. And Piper can contact the camps, brief them on what happened."
Something clicked in Leo's brain. "Hey. What do I do?"
Everyone's eyes turned to him, Nico's glinting thoughtfully. "We could use someone else. It's dangerous."
Leo's eyes immediately went to Frank's. The taller boy looked like he had just tried to swallow a lemon- and that convinced Leo. He knew what he had to do. Before Frank could protest, Leo started talking rapid fire. "Frank, I'll go with them. I'll show you that-" he stopped, looking awkwardly at Jason and Nico.
Frank was looking between Jason and Leo, evidently debating his options. He locked eyes with Leo, staring at him as if making a decision. Leo did his best to look trustworthy, to show his sincerity on his face. Frank stared a moment longer, then seemed to decide. He exhaled, then looked at Jason. "Fine. Let's go." He seemed to realize, then, that he'd just talked casually to the praetor, because he flushed.
And so the groups started to disperse, heading one by one up the ladder to the top deck.
Leo knew he had something to prove. He also knew he had friends to save, not to mention the world.
But hey- he was the super sized mcshizzle. He had this in the bag.
Probably.
He thought.
Maybe.
Right.
Other than that word, It was hard to explain, what flying felt like to Jason.
It was just... right. It filt as natural as breathing, yet so much more exhilerating.
Heart pounding rapidly, he soared downwards in a dive towards Frank- or rather, the giant eagle that was currently Frank. Together, they looped sideways, heading to the left side of the city.
Jason had never been on a formal tour of Greece, but he was pretty sure now: there was no way to see the city but in the air. Even then, he thought, it couldn't capture the real power of the small country underneath them.
He loved Rome, but there was something about this place that was older, somehow. Despite the renovated buildings and shorelines, it was painfully and beautifully obvious that in this city, the old and the new were so tightly interwoven, they could never be unravelled. From the tallest building, to the glowing ocean below, it was impossible to be in this place without feeling it.
This was where it had began. Maybe it had been dimmed, maybe Rome had defeated them, but this- this was the home of the gods.
He should have known, by now, not to get distracted.
A loud, obviously pained shriek echoed through the sky under him. Jason whirled around, and saw Frank hurtling towards the ground, as a large shadow flashed overhead. Sparing barely a thought for the - whatever it was - Jason sped downwards, grabbing a now human Frank's arm. It barely slowed their fall, though, because wow, the guy was as heavy as he looked, unconcious, dead weight.
Jason channeled his energy, using the wind under him to toss them onto a shingled rooftop. He tumbled painfully across the tiles, keeping a hold on Frank. He skidded to a stop, panting heavily. He rolled Frank off of him, checking his pulse as he did. It was there, definitely, but the guy was out cold, with a giant bruise on his forehead.
All of a sudden, the hairs on the back of Jason's neck stood up. Already on edge because of what had happened to Frank, Jason whirled around instantly, flipping his coin and catching the javelin in one swift motion.
At that moment, two things things clicked.
First, the bruise on Frank's head had been shaped like a hoofprint.
Second, he was most definitely not the most powerful one in the skies.
And this, he thought, staring wide eyed at the creature in front of him, this entire thing, was most definitely, entirely, wrong.
