Hey guys! We passed 100 reviews! Woot woot! I am totally shocked. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers this chapter, especially (once again) Guest Demigod, I am so excited to see what you come up with hon! I'm so honored you want to do this ^u^ Thanks again!
Late update :/ I'm sorry! My muse was on vacation and school is trying to bury me alive with homework, tests, quizzes, worksheets, and even more tests. It suuuucks.
And to ClaraOfTheSea: I apologize :/ School is going to make updates...interesting, but I promise to never abandon a story I'm writing until it's complete :) And to the rest of you readers, you should thank Clara for guilt-tripping me into writing faster...^^'
I finally realized I have been neglecting our favorite repair boy so far (I'm sorry! :/ so many things to apologize for), so here it is with a Leo POV! Enjoy everyone! :)
Leo had never felt so useless.
Even when compared to the others, he always felt that sure, he didn't have some flashy moves with lightning and hurricanes or something, he was a son of Hephaestus. His forte was building, not combat. Plus, he had fire manipulation. A handy tool.
But the stupid snake tracker JUST WOULDN'T WORK!
The idea was simple. Similar to examining for radiation, Leo's hypothetical 'snake tracker' would simply scan the area for traces of DNA, specifically snake DNA. If the strands of DNA matched what he was looking for, the tracker would glow green.
Simple.
Leo sighed bitterly as his fingers fumbled with some wires and scraps of metal, his typical stress reliever. The table before him was covered in similar scraps, and in the very center of the mess was a small metal device, similar to a Nintendo or a hand-held game pad.
But sadly, nothing involving demigods was EVER simple.
Leo, for a lack of words, felt like crap. A stupid snake tracker that wouldn't even work and he didn't know why!
Everything was as in working order. The sample DNA inserted into the tracker was an exact replica of normal DNA (thanks to some help from his Hermes' internet network) and should synthesize with any matching DNA strands! And yet the tracker never went off!
The DNA should match up!
...
...
Leo almost cracked his head open slamming it into the hotel table.
He. Was. An. Idiot.
Of COURSE it wouldn't go off. He was looking for the incorrect type of DNA!
DNA was individual. While dracanae DNA might have some components of snake DNA in it, the two wouldn't be a perfect match.
How could he have been so dense!?
He could blame it on worry for Hazel (the others, at the moment, were trying to figure out a way to contact Apollo) but he knew that wouldn't be fair on her. It wasn't her fault, it was his own.
Speaking of Hazel, the son of Hephaestus snuck a glance behind him, where Hazel was sleeping on a bed, Piper dutifully looking after her while the others were tring to think of a way to summon Apollo.
Leo sighed.
They had to get stinking dracanae DNA for it to work...
Grabbing a notepad and a pen, Leo scribbled down 'get dracanae DNA' and underlined it boldly. His nearly-unreadable handwriting was all over the first eight or so pages, filled with construction details, notes, and test run theories.
Ugh.
Sometimes, Leo hated being the repair boy.
Sometimes, he wanted to crush his head into a wall.
Why couldn't he do anything right?
For the first time since his imprisonment, Percy was having a demigod dream.
He was at some kind of hotel. The place was obviously high-class, with it's glass chandeliers and fancy wooden furniture and loooooong elegant drapes. Percy could honestly say that the curtains could cover the inside of a passenger plane with no problems.
In the back of the room was three fancy four-poster beds, with only one of them occupied. Sleeping on the lone bed was Hazel.
Percy felt concern and brotherly instinct fill him to the brim. She didn't look good; her skin was a sickly white and she was sweating in her sleep.
At least she wasn't dead, Percy tried to reason.
Yet.
On the other side of the bed stood Piper, a washcloth and bowl in hand as she dabbed gently at Hazel's forehead. The girl seemed distressed, and would constantly glance at the doorway, almost as though she was waiting for some horrible monster to come.
Percy, dense as he was, could still tell that she was shaken from whatever happened to Hazel. His stupid jailor had been purposely vague about what had taken place, and the son of Poseidon was sure it was on purpose.
Mental torture. Yay.
At the back of the room, Leo
Suddenly, the door burst open and Percy jumped back in surprise.
Standing in the doorway was a panting Annabeth, with Jason, Thalia, Nico, and Frank right behind her. They burst in like demigods possessed, practically mowing each other down in their rush for the room.
Piper stood up in surprise, Leo dropping two small scraps of metal with a clang.
"We...we did it!" Annabeth panted, excitement in her tone.
Percy had no clue what was going on, but he took in the sight of his girlfriend eagerly. Her blonde hair was as curly as it was before, and her grey eyes were sharp and intellectual. She was wearing a grey tshirt and jeans, and Percy thought she looked absolutely beautiful.
"No way..." Piper rushed to the door, Leo hot on her trail, and they helped the panting teens into the room.
"Surprisingly enough...Apollo...didn't even need that much summoning..." Jason gasped, plopping down ungracefully on one of the empty beds.
Frank nodded in agreement, immediately racing back to his girlfriend's side. He looked at her in concern. "He should be here any moment." Nico soon joined him at Hazel's bedside, the son of Hades staring at his sister worriedly.
"You got that right!"
Gasping in surprise, the seven teens (Percy included) turned to the middle of the room. There stood Apollo in all his glory, wearing a casual Beatles shirt and faded jeans. His typical Ray Ban sunglasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, and his aura was a bright, cheerful gold. "Sup." He greeted.
Percy laughed. Figures Annabeth would summon Apollo...
Then he really thought about it. If Hazel was in such a bad condition they needed to call on the god of healing to save her, things must not be looking good. Much worse then the dracanae had let on.
Then again, the sun god should be able to help her...right?
Thalia sighed. Her hands twitched towards her pockets, where her silver hunting knives were stored.
Leo spoke up. "Wait," he said incredulously, "you're the sun god? The almighty god of healing, music, and stuff?"
"Yeah," Apollo huffed, "And show some respect, kid, I'm only here because I owe Percy a favor. We gods have to stay out of this kind of thing otherwise, you know."
Leo wisely decided to shut up, in favor of inching towards Piper.
Annabeth turned towards the sun god. "That's Hazel," she said, pointing at Hazel. "Can you heal her?"
Furrowing his brow, Apollo approached the bedside, the stunned demigods (having never before seen Apollo up close) made way for the god. "Let's take a look, shall we?"
Waving a hand across her face, he concentrated hard before scowling "My, she doesn't seem to good at all." All the teens in the room gulped. When the healing god says that, things are definitely serious. "I'll see what I can do."
A bright golden light seemed to surround Apollo, the halo encasing Hazel as well. Slowly, the color seemed to return to her cheeks. Percy's heart leaped in excitement.
The thrum of magic was so potent that even the son of Poseidon had to let out a sharp breath. Apollo must be working really hard...but he'll do it, right?
"Oh no."
That stopped him short.
Everyone turned their attention to the sun god's words, fear laced into every gesture.
"This is really bad."
Waving a hand again, the glow vanished. Percy swooped down to Hazel's side, right next to her worried brother, and examined her. Seven of the minor scratches had vanished, and her sickly color was no more. But...
"There's this kind of...hmm. I don't really know how to explain it. Something's off about her life energy. It's almost...contaminated. I've never seen anything like it." He sighed. "It's like someone else's power is poisoning her on the inside. It's so strong, I can barely make a dent in it. Her physical injuries are fine, however."
Hesitation lacing his features, Frank questioned, "Is she going to be ok, Lord Apollo?"
Another sigh was drawn from the sun god.
"...I don't know. This is beyond the powers of the gods. Something's not right here, and I intend to find out what."
Hazel was in a nightmare.
Over and over, she was forced to relieve this hell, this torturous dream that she just couldn't wake up from.
First, it was her mother. Gaea had completely taken her over, just like back in New Orleans, and her mother stabbed her with a knife, over and over until they both crumbled into dust.
Then it was Frank, surrounded by a ring of monsters and unable to transform. His firewood was taken and burned by a dracanae with a torch, and she had to watch as he burned to death in absolute agony.
Next was Percy and Annabeth, sacrificing themselves as two humanoid beings were about to take Chiron's life. Their bodies were crushed underfoot as the humanoid army marched on, heading straight for Camp Half-Blood.
Over and over the cycle repeated, each of her precious people dying a horribly gruesome death at the hands of the monsters.
Reyna being torn apart by hellhounds.
Jason shot down from the sky with an arrow to the skull.
Piper stabbed in the heart with a spear.
More and more people kept dying. More and more people kept gettimg swept aside as though they were nothing, their bodies forgotten in the bloodshed.
It just kept going.
And she couldn't do a thing.
That, Hazel supposed, was what made it all the more agonizing. She was powerless; her voice went unheard no matter how much she screamed at them to move, to run, to do ANYTHING but sit on the sidelines and watch as they died, again and again.
It was slowly killing her inside.
After the - what felt like - hundredth time she watched her friends die, this time suffocating in a burning building, she felt a presence behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked up.
"Hello Hazel Levesque."
She turned with a start. Her golden eyes widened.
It was another one of those horrible demonic creatures, the one who stabbed her through the stomach and was the reason why she was here. Hazel felt anger and hate build up inside of her.
"I've come to offer you a deal."
I think that's a good ending spot, what about you all? ;)
...Yeaaaah, don't kill me please.
So we have Apollo being stumped, Percy having a demigod dream, and Hazel in this kind of mind torture? Daaaaaayum. I've really layered on the tension, haven't I?
Hahaha.
Also, I haven't proof-read this. It probably sucks but meh.
So there you have it, update on a golden platter. Happy now people :P lol.
Review!