VIII. Leo Valdez

Hey guys! I'll try to stay true to my promise, but since I want to publish a real, actual book, I'm busy writing and editing it. So I'll try to update any time I can (half the day on my story, and half the day on this). Review, please. On to the chapter!:

LEO GRINNED AS HE TALKED TO FESTUS. He hadn't had a convesation with his mechanical friends in a long time. "How's it going, Festus?" he asked, gently stroking him on the snout.

"TICK, TICK, WHIRR, CLACK!" Festus shouted. "TICK, CLACK, CLICK, CLACK, WHIRR!" (Translated into English: MONSTERS ARE AHEAD! BE PREPARED FOR A FIGHT!) Leo immediately scanned the area, on alert for monsters.

"We are under attack! Please report above deck with your weapons." Leo said through the intercom. Soon, the six other demigods joined him above deck with their weapons drawn.

"What's going on? Who's attacking us?" Piper asked, over the beeping of Festus's alarm.

"No, it can't be. It can't be!" Annabeth muttered, shaking her head.

"What? What is it?" Piper asked, having to shout because the air around her began to swirl. Then realization dawned on him. It was her. It was obvious, the deck was frozen, snow was falling, and it was a huge storm. In the middle of September! It had to be her.

"Well, well, isn't it the old seven. Gathered nicely together." she said, chuckling softly. "Too bad my master wants all of you dead and chained at his feet. You may have beat Gaea, but you can not beat my master, for he is stronger than Kronos and Gaea combined." She continued laughing, her beautiful face showing an evil grin. "Zethes, gag the Aphrodite girl. Cal, you bind the fire with fireproof cloth so he can not burn." she commanded.

As Cal moved toward Leo, he shot bursts of fire at the three siblings, causing them to be distracted. Meawhile, he freed his friends to help him fight. Piper moved up front, in attempt to distract Khione and her brothers, so the others could sneak around and attack. However, Khione gave Piper no chance. She struck her in the face, freezing her mouth. Leo got close enough to her to melt the ice of her mouth. The other demigods were having bad luck as well. Annabeth and Percy were fighting up front, directly at Khione. Piper and Jason were attacking Zethes, and Hazel and Frank were fighting Cal. Leo hated to admit it, but the ice siblings were good fighters. He ran towards Festus. "Hey Festus, can you shoot some fire at those guys? My power's kind of weak right now."

"Click!" he said. (Okay! in English) Festus blew fire towards the siblings, while Leo ran down to the storage room for some Greek Fire . He ran back up the stairs, holding the vials. Leo quickly tossed them at Khione and her buddies, praying that his friends would be safe. "Look out! Hit the deck!" he shouted, hitting the deck. Luckily, his friends had heard his warning because when he looked up, his friends were safe and all that was left of the snow goddess were a few flakes of snow.

"Nice going, Leo!" Jason said, clapping him on his back. The others crouded around him and thanked him for saving them. Suddenly, Festus started sounding an alarm, warning that there were some more monsters ahead.

Piper groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

Annabeth sheathed her dagger once more and stared straight ahead, determination and fury in her eyes.

"Alright, once we know what they are, we can determine how to kill them. Annabeth, tell us what it looks like so we can decipher what the monster is as well." Percy commanded.

Annabeth squinted through the fog. "They have wings, are like bats... Oh! They're Symphalian Birds! Which means we need terrible music to scare them off. Oh gods, there are so many."

Frank immediately drew his arrow, Hazel unsheathed her spatha, Percy drew Anaklusmos, Jason had his gladius out, and Piper had unsheathed Katropis. Leo ran down the stairs and grabbed The Greatest Hits by Dean Martin and a CD player and ran back up. He hooked the CD player up to the speakers and inserted the old disk. He hoped the dust on the CD wouldn't cause any problems, since he had borrowed it from Chiron's nightstand. The player roared to life and Leo turned the volume up as loud as he could possibly could. The birds, hearing the music, scattered and dispersed everywhere.

"Oh, no. There's another flock of Symphalian Birds! Leo, keep the music up!" Piper said, staring at the fog. Leo couldn't see anything, but as time passed, he began to see dark shapes similar to birds. He checked to make sure that the sound was up all the way. As the birds got closer, the horrid music reached them and they screeched, flying away. Flock after flock came, the terrible music driving them away. Soon, the Argo II had left the birds behind.

"You guys should get some rest. Jason and I will keep watch. Don't want any more Shrimpzilla attacks." Leo said. The others grumbled their goodnights and went below decks to get some rest.

Jason grinned. "Just you and me buddy." he said. He then walked to the railing and circled the deck, staring at the deep waters. Leo focused on his task. When he was satisfied, he set his focus on his crystal he managed to get from Calypso's island. Gods, he missed her so much. As a gift from the gods, he could go free her from her island. He couldn't wait until the quest was over so he could go to rescue her.

That was the 8th chapter! Please review guys! If I publish my book, I'll tell you guys. Until next time.

-Chloe