Helloo. This is the Leo POV. I hope it doesn't seem out of place or weird.
This is dedicated to my Editor, without whom I wouldn't have gotten past the first two or three chapter. His belief in me has continued to inspire me throughout. I love you
Also I love you all for sticking with me till here
LEO:
Leo didn't think.
They had done their jobs. They had destroyed the rings of monsters with ease. Thanks to the army Nico had brought. Though Leo thought he could've just burned everyone down himself, he didn't like to take all the credit.
As they had gathered around Frank, awaiting orders to go search for their missing friends, Gaea had spoken. Her terrible voice still echoed in his ears.
You've done better than I had expected, demigods. But you won't do anything more. It ends for you here. As soon as my son spills the blood of one of the chosen, I will rise. And I will not spare anyone.
Then she had spoken to Leo herself.
Don't worry, my little pawn. I have a surprise for you. The destruction of the world you know will start with your beloved little island.
That's when he knew he had no choice but to run.
They had been making way to the the top of Mt. Olympus on Thalia's chariot with Frank looking out ahead in the form a large eagle.
He ignored the flames and the destruction. He ignored the thunder. He ignored the monsters and the demigods alike. He ignored the cries for help.
There was only one thing on his mind. There was somewhere he had to be.
He knew he should stay and help everybody, but he couldn't bring himself to. He'd lost his mother and he wouldn't let Gaea take anyone else away from him.
But he couldn't stay. Righteousness was something Percy and Jason had. Not him. Maybe that's why he wasn't the usual 'hero'.
He pressed a button on the remote he had pulled out from his tool belt and he heard a rumble.
"Leo!", he heard Hazel shout but he didn't spare her a glance.
He ignored the blade that stuck out from his stomach. He shouldn't have been able to walk, but he was walking anyway. The pain didn't matter.
He wouldn't have left, he told himself, if he wasn't about to die. And the blade definitely gave him a look that said, hey dude, I'm gonna make your death real painful. Oh, and definite.
Pain is my middle name, Leo told the blade.
And cowardice, the blade seemed to reply.
He was supposed to wait for an Apollo cabin member to look at his wound and treat it. He had promised Frank he would. But now he didn't have time. He damned the automaton who had done this to him.
The rumble got louder and the Argo was right above his head.
It was dangerous to being it this close to Mt. Olympus. If any of their enemies wanted to destroy the ship, they would have a clear shot. The ship would retaliate, yes but if it crashed or broke into pieces, no saying how many demigods it would squish.
A metallic plate descended from the Argo and Leo stepped onto it and almost slipped.
Why did he have to be so clumsy? And that too at this point? Why did he have to bleed like a mere human. He wished he was a machine, capable of much more.
Festus clanged his tongue and blew out smoke impatiently, as if asking him to hurry.
The plate ascended to the deck with Leo sprawled on it, bloody and shuddering.
He managed to help himself to his feet and stumble to the control room.
He found his treasure sitting there, as if urging Leo to use him.
Okay, Odysseus, time to see if you were right, Leo thought.
The crystal glittered flirtatiously and the astrolabe whirred with such life that Leo almost felt energy seep into him.
The astrolabe lit up and the crystal scattered the light across the room. The scattered light danced around the room.
Leo thought he was imagining it but after staring at the seemingly random figures it was forming, he realized there was nothing random about it.
The lights showed a map.
It was just as he had suspected.
Ogygia was in the Ionian sea.
Leo made an attempt to bark a command but he ended up doubling over and coughing up blood.
Buford the table looked at him sympathetically.
"Take us where the sphere says", he sputtered weakly. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.
The whole ship rumbled. If Leo hadn't been hurt, he would probably tango right now. Though it takes two to tango. And he didn't know how to tango anyway.
He had this ridiculous urge to smile. And smile he did. He laughed.
And coughed up blood again.
The ship rumbled again and even though Leo couldn't see it, he knew what was happening.
He put his hands on the floor board and he felt the machinery move, synchronizing like an enchanting dance number.
Better than a dance number actually.
He felt the secret trap door open up from the bottom of the ship and he heard the familiar, beautiful and unmistakable roar of the friend he had built from scratch.
Nobody knew that he had brought extra parts for Festus. Nobody knew that all the time he spent in the engine room was mostly fixing Festus. They didn't know that at first, it was just wishful thinking. All his free time, when he was supposed to be sleeping, he would stay up and put together Festus' body. But ever since he acquired the Archimedes sphere (That was one wicked invention and he was grateful to Archimedes for that. Without it, it would've taken Leo months to build Festus a new body) and landed in Ogygia, his attempts at rebuilding Festus had been desperate. He could save two people he loved by doing this.
He knew it was crazy. But Leo had been doing crazy since forever. Crazy was the essence of Leo.
If the blade in his stomach didn't kill him, the excitement would.
He sent a prayer to his dad, that his model would work, along with the new control disk he had made with the help of his Archimedes Sphere.
He staggered to the railing of the ship and saw Festus pulling his head inside. With a slight creak, the mast head was gone.
The ship shook slightly, like an elevator going downwards and Leo knew that the ship was lighter.
A huge bronze mass rose from below the ship and roared again as it faced Leo.
Looking at the beautiful dragon, Leo wanted to cry.
In the engine room, which was loaded with other machinery, Festus' complete beauty hadn't been done justice. Now that he hung in front of him, shiny and beautiful and so damn alive, Leo couldn't find words.
Festus could've almost been a real dragon, scales gleaming in the sun, hid eyes glowing like molten fire and his roar was heart stopping.
Festus growled and nodded in the direction of the astrolabe which still glittered furiously.
Leo grabbed it and climbed onto the railing.
It was good thing that Festus was there to catch him because if he had fallen to the ground, he'd be Leo flavoured pancake.
Festus roared again and Leo coughed. Was he showing off? Probably.
"Here, buddy", he managed to say as he fitted the astrolabe in the little ledge he had made especially for this cause on the dragon's shoulder.
Festus' eyes lit up, even brighter than before and Leo could swear he smirked, as if to say, we're gonna get your girl, buddy. Just hang on tight.
The safety locks he had made clasped his waist and clicked around his ankles to make sure he didn't fall off.
He saw the little figures below him stop momentarily as Festus roared again, flapping his gigantic wings, getting ready to fly off. He blew fire from his nostrils and did a flip in the air.
Leo would've thrown up more blood if he hadn't expected that.
He smiled slightly, as he thought of everyone's expressions. If he would have been capable of it, he would probably done a cartwheel.
But he didn't know how to cartwheel.
And he had a knife sticking out of his stomach.
He knew it was dangerous to fall asleep, but the humming of Festus' body was like a magical lullaby. His lasts thoughts before he closed his eyes were of caramel coloured hair, the smell of cinnamon, almond eyes and the most gorgeous smile ever.
He probably slept only for half an hour.
He woke up, disoriented.
He forgot why he woke up, though he was sure waking up was very important. His eye lids felt like lead and his head dizzy. The pain from the knife wound had become a dull throb.
Then he realized he had heard singing.
The singing hit him like a wave. A wave of longing, happiness and love. The feelings were so overwhelming that he could hardly sit upright. He wanted to jump off Festus' back, into the ocean below and swim towards the voice that stirred his soul. His gut ached with such longing and it wasn't because of the knife.
He knew it wasn't sirens, but the voice still beckoned him towards itself.
He scanned the sea but found nothing.
Then he squinted as his eyes caught a slight reflection.
He wondered if it was a mirage or some ugly joke played but some cruel god. But the gods were busy so this had to be real.
Festus seemed to know what to do because he was flying straight towards the tiny island.
Leo tapped on Festus' back urgently. The Morse code for I love you, urging Festus to hurry.
The singing got louder and it strengthened the feeling of hope in him. He felt like he could fly.
A feeling of nostalgia hit him as he realized the first time he had crashed on this island.
Festus was nearing the island. They were about twenty seconds from reaching the island.
Leo spotted a tiny figure on the beach and his heart soared. This was the craziest thing he had ever done and that was saying something because Leo Valdez was the demigod king of crazy.
As soon as Festus' feet touched the soft white sand, Leo jumped off. He didn't even wait for Festus to fold his wings. He just made a dive for the beach, at the feet of the girl who had been standing there, still singing.
Calypso stood open mouthed, barefoot in a white shirt and blue jeans as the waves tickled at her feet. Her hair was ruffled by the breeze, a caramel mane around her moon face. To Leo she looked as perfect as she always had.
She rushed to where Leo had landed and sunk to her knees.
She said something but Leo couldn't hear her.
To Leo, her face was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her milky white face was tinged with pink in her cheeks and her eyes were watering. Her lips quivered as she brushed Leo's hair from his eyes. She said something but he couldn't make out the words.
That was okay because her presence itself was more than enough.
"I did come back for you, Sunshine", Leo croaked.
Calypso gently pulled the knife from Leo's stomach but the pain shot through him anyway.
He cried out in agony as he felt his life drain away from him. She must've noticed too because Calypso's tears fell on his face, warm and salty.
An oath to keep with a final breath.
At least Leo knew that Calypso would make it out of her cursed home. She would know how to operate Festus and Festus was smart enough anyway. Calypso deserved it, after all that she had been through.
It made him sad that he wouldn't get time to enjoy the company of the two people so close to his heart. But he was glad Festus could give Calypso company. He knew they would take care of each other.
Calypso reached towards his wound and put a small palm on it.
She started singing again, as her tears continued to patter on Leo's face. It was like a drizzle of the longest awaited rain.
And it seemed to work like that too because Leo felt the tears filling life into him. Though he felt the pain of each muscle being mended, her voice filled him with hope and brought back all his good memories, camp Halfblood, building Festus, working with his mom, and landing on Calypso's island.
He lifted a weak arm to feel his stomach and couldn't find anything.
He pushed himself to a sitting position as Calypso stopped singing and wiped at her eyes.
"That sounds like a good song for the opening night at Leo and Calypso's Auto Repair", Leo commented and winced slightly. His back pained a little.
"You imbecile!", Calypso shouted, pushing him as she wiped at her eyes furiously. "Do not do that, ever again"
Leo laughed and pulled her into a hug. At first she struggled, then she gave in and laughed, as they rolled on the sand and Leo tickled her till she gave in and joined his laugh.
After a while, Leo got up and pulled her to her feet.
"I think I owe you a kiss", Leo told her, hoping he sounded confident, because inside he was going haywire at the thought. His heart fluttered like a hummingbird, rushing blood to his head, making him light headed.
Calypso stepped in closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I think you do, repair boy"
In the fading sunlight, Calypso's hair shone like caramelized ribbons, her eyes like precious stones, her pouty lips turned up in the most gorgeous smile Leo would ever see.
He could hardly believe this was real, he had never felt so alive before. He smiled goofily and kissed her, deciding that he was one of the luckiest people ever.