Sorry for the extended wait for this chapter. I had many other important assignments to follow, but it's finally here so hurrah! Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to post more often. As for now, Enjoy!

Gabriel, Son of Apollo, was at the end of many questions. The group, with their natural curiosity pounded him with thoughts and inquired of his ventures in the Greek-Roman world. Hazel and Piper were one of the first to initiate the make-do interview.

"Oh gods, how are you so powerful─"

"Why have I not seen or heard of you before─"

"Have you been to Camp Half-blood?"

"Camp Jupiter?"

Reyna and Annabeth on the other hand, were more reserved and Annabeth even slightly suspicious. Her stormy gray eyes were deep with thought as she pondered on the possibilities of this situation as Hazel and Piper continued their questions, popcorn style.

"So do you like─cook?"

"What is your─"

Annabeth interjected. "Wait,"

The two girls stopped abruptly and looked at her.

"If you are so skilled in the art of battle, you would be a valuable asset of war."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and Annabeth sensed his discomfort.

"I mean, where were you when we were fighting against Gaea and her giants? You could not have been just sitting in this restaurant, casually serving mortals, that would be too ignorant to fit your character."

Gabriel relaxed. "Ah, you seem quite the analytical one. I actually did participate in the war. I was─"

"Gabriel."

Reyna had spoken with a voice of authority, and every head turned towards her.

"Throughout the war, my sources have told me of a warrior of the North, described with similar qualities to that of yourself. Were you─were you possibly fighting for Gaea?"

The older demigod shifted uncomfortable. "No," His tone then changed to that of a dismal, nostalgic atmosphere, full of grief and pain. "The warrior. He was my brother."

"Oh, did you─"

"I was assigned to the Hidden Reinforcements squadron, designed to incorporate the most elite of fighters. The goddess Athena decided to place the strongest in the front lines and the back lines, protecting the vulnerable central squadrons."

Annabeth nodded. "Yes, mother told me of such a strategy, though she emphasized that the back line not participate until the utmost urgency arises."

"Your mother was wise to do so, as we never thought it would come to such high stakes. The Hidden Reinforcements are split into two major groups: the Underworld and the Over-world. I was an Underworld, and we were assigned to protect the Doors of Death on the Earthly side once you demigods denied them free access. We were constantly in contact with what happened on the Tartarus-side of the Doors, but one day, we completely disconnected. Our systems were down, disabled by its only weakness, a godly-high frequency of sound waves. I knew from that point on it was─"

"─None other than your brother." Reyna finished.

"Exactly. Hades, who was leading the frontal defenses in the Underworld, requested immediate help from our group. So we were shadow-travelled to his Palace, where the other side of the Doors of Death was located, but as we arrived, we found the palace in ruins and Hades nowhere to be found. Instead, we found my brother pacing in front of the Doors. He asked us to join him, offering glory and true freedom, but we retaliated against him. Along with his monstrous force, half of our elite were slain. In the onslaught, I discovered the black magic my brother had been practicing in the years he had run away from our family of musicians; his abilities were no longer qualities to be gratefully cared for, but simply tools of destruction and corruption."

"I'm sorry, but, uh . . . I don't know how to put this . . . " Annabeth interrupted, though she trailed off.

"If you're wondering about my brother's fate, I did in fact kill him. We were amidst the final moments of the struggle. They knew Gaea was losing control of the war, and they were losing, however, my brother refused to give up. He led a final assault on the Doors of Death and the remainder of my force was slain, save the ten survivors of our squadron. Nothing prepared us for what he used in the deciding battle. He poured his soul into the deepest and darkest magics to exist in this universe and unleashed the ultimate form of evil: Pure Hatred. It came in the form of a beast, powered by the roots of Tartarus and shielded by the very essence of Nyx. Nothing could stop it and for days, it rampaged, tearing at the spells and barriers we enchanted the Door with."

"How did you stop it?" asked Percy.

"I did not contribute greatly to the defeat of this beast, and if you can recall, it took all twelve of the Olympian Gods to subdue it."

"Oh yeah! I remember the Gods leaving the front lines for a period of time in an emergency gathering." Annabeth said.

"The Beast was the most powerful monster to come into existence ever since Typhon." Gabriel continued, "Some rumored it to be an embodiment of an enhanced, reincarnated Typhon. Regardless, it struck down Ares with ease, and from then on, the Gods were careful. With tiring effort, the remaining squadron worked alongside the Olympians to defeat the Beast. I struck the final blow against my brother and with his dying breath, he apologized for his mistakes and made me promise never to follow the path of darkness. The reinforcements from the Overworld finally arrived and we pushed to victory, at least in Tartarus."

The demigods were all silent as Gabriel finished his story. There was an air of respect they granted him, and for a moment, everyone pondered on their own experience. One thing was for certain though: they all had suffered enough.

. . .

Leo and Calypso sat on the shore of Ogygia and looked out towards the rising sun. The girl leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed contently.

"Today could never get better," she commented, provoking him to speak.

"Did I mention I love you?" whispered Leo in his delicate voice.

"Leo."

"What?"

"You are so, fucking, sexy when you try to be romantic," Calypso laughed. "It's almost kinda cute." Leo tried to suppress a smile but was unable to.

"And you are so beautiful, you don't even have to try," he responded.

"No seriously, when did you become this─romantically mature?"

"Ever since the day I met you," came the soft whisper.

"Oh . . . I don't even know how to respond to that," exclaimed Calypso. This time, Leo chuckled.

"Am I that good?"

"You were always this good,"

"Yeah, I always fancy a challenge," he said. Calypso tipped her head to one side and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Well, how about I challenge with a special task?"

"Bring it on."

She twisted her head to whisper in his ear.

"Set me on fire tonight."

. . .

After warm goodbyes and promises made to keep in touch, the demigods left the restaurant and headed back to Camp Jupiter. As Percy whistled for their pegasus, Annabeth returned from a nearby fountain.

"Thalia will be meeting us at camp," she informed them, "the party's just about to start."

Frank yawned. "I'm sorry, but what are we celebrating this time?"

Hazel patted his cheek to wake him. "The Feast of Fortuna, you sleepy-head. How could you forget?" she scolded him.

"I didn't, I was just─aaaaahh─testing you," he yawned again.

Nico seemed even less enthusiastic about the party than Frank.

"You sure they're not going to judge me?" he grumbled. Reyna put her arm around him and squeezed his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry," she said soothingly, "You're with me, nobody's gonna judge you."

Despite her words, Nico was no less nervous than before.

Oh goodness, it's going to be a long day.

An hour later . . .

The camp was more packed than usual as the demigods from Camp Half-Blood also decided to join in the celebration of Fortuna. Everyone was joyful in this peaceful, friendly environment, and any ancient grudges were either forgotten or ignored. A party was indeed, a party, and who knew how to party better than the half-bloods of this modern century?

Unlimited Foods and Beverages. Check.

Clothes and attire of various shapes and sizes. Check.

Hot chicks from both Greek and Roman legacy. Check.

The Stars of this Party and the center of attention. Uh-oh.

"Wait." Octavian swore loudly, "Aw shit, where are they?"

He held the checklist like it was a list for prisoners on the death row.

"I'd rather be cutting open teddy bears than keeping this party organized," he mumbled to himself. The son of Apollo was possibly the only individual not enjoying himself. The job as "Party Manager" was assigned to him as an award to his service in the Great War. He could not believe it. An Award? Who in the name of the gods would want to be in this position? It was stressful and time-consuming, not the best for his type of personality. It felt more like a punishment. A few drunk girls (already . . .?) walked past and giggled, pointing towards his general direction. He tried to ignore them but they were of greater annoyance than even Percy Jackson himself.

"Would you please move along and scram?" Octavian tried saying politely. The girl who appeared to be the leader of the group stumbled forward.

"Uh, no." she said in the sassiest voice Octavian had ever heard, "Who do you think you are?"

Octavian clenched his fist and shook with anger. Chucking a teddy bear or two at her, he shouted furiously. "Fuck off, would you?"

The lead girl started to become irritated too. She didn't seem more than seventeen years of age, but nevertheless she drew a dagger from her belt and began to stride towards him. The small blade gleamed wickedly and sparked a mini-heart attack in Octavian.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, was all he could think of before the Pegasus suddenly landed on her. Actually, it was more like kicking her a few metres forward, give or take another few metres.

"Oh my gods!" Percy exclaimed. He leaped off Blackjack and jogged towards the unconscious female. Her friends were in utter shock, and when Octavian gave them the best death stare given his similar shaken circumstance, they finally took off. The son of Apollo was not totally fond of Poseidon's legacy, but he had to thank him grudgingly.

"Uhh, thanks Jackson, that girl could've killed me." He said blankly. Percy seemed to hear him but was busy giving the girl CPR.

"Yeah, no problem." He glanced towards Blackjack and the pegasi neighed. "Not your fault? My gods Blackjack, you could've killed her too. I told you not to kick too hard, just a slight push was enough."

The crew began to climb off their pegasus as well. Jason laughed loudly as he slipped off his storm spirit, Tempest.

"Hey, great job Percy, you caused the first casualty of this party," he smirked. Percy grinned too.

"What's a party without action, eh?"

"As true as you can ever be," the son of Jupiter replied, and with that, they fist-pumped and jogged off.

Annabeth and Piper groaned in unison.

"More like as irresponsible and forgetful as you can ever be," said Annabeth.

"Did Percy just run off mid-CPR?" said a bemused daughter of Aphrodite.

"You bet,"

"I don't think we have to clean up after our boyfriends' messes. Come on, let's go before the official Feast of Fortuna starts without us." Reyna commented. Then, as hypocritical as demigods can ever be, the rest of the group jogged off as well. Octavian was appalled by their performance.

"I guess being a great warrior has its perks," he simply shrugged.

. . .

The day on the island had gone by pretty quickly. To Calypso's surprise, it was actually another daily routine, the only difference being Leo accompanying her. They ate breakfast as Leo told her stories of the war, major battles and their various journeys across the Earth. They tended to the rapidly expanding garden, counting hours together. They ate lunch, finished slowly, then played in the shallow waters and in the forest with the abundance of animals, counting their hours together. Finally for supper, Calypso voluntarily cooked a meal for both to share: a simple Lobster bisque, two plates of Greek salad, and one whole Golden Garlic black cod.

Leo licked his lips as he savoured the last bits of the fish. He raised his head to look at Calypso and she stared at him expectantly. After a brief moment of silence, she spoke.

"How was it?"

Leo maintained his poker face for a few seconds as Calypso held her breath. He observed how Calypso's beautiful dark-almond shaped eyes shone at him, and finally sighed.

"It was . . ." He attempted a frown and Calypso's shoulders slumped a little.

"I knew I should've added more─" she began to grumble, when she noticed his signature smile twitching mischievously. He started to laugh and it became contagious. Calypso relaxed as Leo stood up and stretched, his lean arms tensing with unsuspecting power.

"It was delicious," he finally said, placing his hands on her shoulders. Then he kissed her once lightly and whispered.

"But I think I can do better."

Calypso raised her eyebrows, and her expression was that of bemusement. Leo raised his arms towards her and flames licked his fingertips, his eyes filled with a light of burning passion.

"Let me show you what it feels like, to be on fire."

Oooh, Leo getting all mysterious . . . Anyways, how was that for a chapter? Review for feedback or comments, Favorite and Follow if you liked!