Leo

I am so screwed.

I grab Calypso's body and drag her inside. I slam the door shut, bolting it, and lean against it, breathing heavily.

I take in my surroundings quickly. There is a table in the centre of the dusty room with a deconstructed Archimedes sphere. There is a barred window that shows the main room.

I rush over to the window and stare through it. Hazel and Frank's bodies are lying practically on top of each other, Vindex and Venator are also slumped on the ground.

So that's our dragon boy, witch girl and guard dogs out of the picture. That leaves me. And like, half of Calypso.

I scan the room for automations. One dog-like robot? Check. One armless human robot? Check. One human robot with a frog head? Check. One bull-like robot? Check. One robot with a broken helmet? Check. One robot with a wolf head? Wait, where'd he go?

"Valdez!" Wolf Head suddenly appears on the other side of the window. "Open the door!"

I jump back and grin at the robot. "Nah, I'm good right here."

Wolf Head disappears from the window and reappears at the top of the door where there is a meshed window.

"Valdez!" Wolf Head howls, pounding at the door. "Let us in!"

I focus on the Archimedes sphere and examine all of the different disassembled parts around it.

"Genius," I mutter as I start to reconnect some of the wiring.

Calypso groans from behind me and I rush over to her, completely neglecting the sphere.

"Holy Hephaestus, Calypso. Thank the gods you're okay!" I rush, helping her sit up. "How do you feel?"

Calypso groans again. "Like a robot with a wolf head just tried to shock me to death. Oh wait, that did happen!"

I grin and hug her. "So you're okay!"

"I guess so. Where is Hazel and Frank?" Calypso asks.

"Valdez! We will kill your friends!" Wolf Head bellows from behind the door.

"That's where," I mutter, pulling Calypso onto her feet.

Calypso immediately unsteadily walks to the window. I join her just in time to see Hazel and Frank's bodies jerk again from two bronze cable connecting with them.

I rush back to the table and continue fixing the Archimedes sphere.

"What are you doing?!" Calypso asks weakly. "We need to go help Frank and Hazel!"

"Calypso," I say seriously. "Those are automations created by Archimedes himself. They are a combination of imperial gold and celestial bronze. Very difficult to forge, and nearly impossible to even dent. Our weapons won't do anything to them."

"What about fire?" Calypso asks, her hand briefly lighting up with a small flame.

"They're fireproof," I say, focusing on the sphere.

"Valdez!"

"Leo?" Calypso says in an unfamiliar tone.

I turn around and look at her closely. That's when I realise, she's scared.

"What do we do?" Calypso asks in that same scared tone.

I try to grin reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. You see this? This is the Archimedes sphere that controls the whole place. I can use the house/room thingy against them."

Calypso smiles in relief, but I'm not focused on her. Behind her Hazel and Frank's bodies jolt again and I have to blink away tears. Calypso catches my glance and turns around just in time to see Hazel and Frank being shocked.

"No!" Calypso yells.

Calypso disappears in a flash of light, but even that seems weak. She reappears next to Hazel and Frank and attempts to stab Wolf Head in his wolf head.

Her knife glances off the automation, thankfully not breaking, and Wolf Head's friend, Broken Helm, shoots a cable at Calypso.

For the second time in five minutes, Calypso collapses to the ground, unconscious.

"Calypso!" I yell uselessly.

It's up to me now.

I turn back to the Archimedes sphere, my hands now flying over the wiring, reconnecting wires and replacing screws.

I curse as the sphere gives off a few sparks and quickly fix my mistake.

Finally I get up to the final calibrations. I fix the last spring and the gears start to turn. I quickly close the top of the sphere and stare at the controls.

The second the sphere closes, the bunker hums to life. I can feel the floor buzzing beneath me and a few unnoticeable lights in the main room flicker on.

The sphere itself is wired through the table and then to the floor, in order to control this bunker-like place.

I grab the sphere and walk as close to the window as the wire allows me. I start small, focusing on a small gold sphere in the corner of the room.

Typically, it explodes.

Calypso, Hazel and Frank jerk uncontrollably again and I curse myself. There's no time to start small.

This in mind, I focus Broken Helm and try to get him to take a step forward.

Broken Helm takes a jerky step forward but whatever Broken Helm really is, fights against it.

I turn a circle on the sphere and Broken Helm becomes easier to control.

He immediately spins to two of his comrades and sends a cable at both of them.

I press a button and the electricity immediately drops the two automations.

"Boo-yah!" I yell, pumping a fist in the air.

Only Frog Head, Armless Hobo, Wolf Head and the guy I'm controlling left.

"What are you doing?!" Wolf Head wails at Broken Helm.

"It's not me!" Broken Helm wails back.

Wolf Head opens its robotic mouth only to be silenced by Broken Helm launching itself at him.

I split the sphere into two tasks, one on controlling Broken Helm and the other on frying Armless Hobo's metallic brain out.

Armless Hobo wails once before crumpling to the floor, catching Frog Head on his way down.

Frog Head desperately tries to free himself from under the inanimate automation but fails as I fry the circuiting in its head.

Wolf Head suddenly becomes No-Longer Wolf Head as with a final clang, Broken Helm punches Wolf Head's wolf head off and onto the floor.

I then kill the remaining automation.

"Yes!" I shout, dropping the sphere and rushing out of the room and towards Calypso.

I drop to my knees beside her and reach to touch her face.

Zap! I immediately recoil, grabbing my hand in my other hand.

Calypso stirs weakly and her eyes flutter open.

"Cal!" I say happily. "I would so hug you right now if I wouldn't get shocked!"

Calypso sits up. "What happened?"

"The evil robots tried to restart your heart when it was perfectly fine," I say, grinning.

"Hazel and Frank?" Calypso asks.

I turn around so that I'm facing Hazel and Frank. "I think they're alive."

As if on cue, Frank groans loudly and Hazel's eyes open.

Hazel sits up quickly and presses a hand to her head. "Ugh. I feel awful."

"Of course you do," I say cheerfully. "I think you might've died slightly."

Calypso rolls her eyes and explains what she knows to Hazel and Frank.

"But I'm not sure what happened after that," Calypso finishes, turning to me.

"I fixed the Archimedes sphere and destroyed the automations brains," I summarise quickly.

I walk over to the table and stuff a few Archimedes spheres in my tool belt. "I wish I could've salvaged some of that metal, though."

I kneel beside Vindex and Venator and fiddle with their control disks. They stand up robotically and I grin in triumph.

"So, where to now?" I ask Hazel.

Hazel points to a wall and an archway opens up. "Just through there."

I pull Calypso up and offer her my arm. "Shall we, my lady?"

Calypso punches me in the arm. "Shut up, Valdez."

Calypso turns to Frank. "Before we go..."

Calypso summons her bow and Frank takes a nervous step back.

Calypso waves a hand over the bow and three green tipped arrows and four red tipped arrows appear. She hands them to Frank.

"The red arrows are explosive and the green ones act as nets. Use them sparingly," Calypso says seriously.

"How come you guys get all the cool powers and weapons?" I complain. "All I get is a dagger and a tool belt!"

"Valdez," Calypso glares at me. "If you keep complaining, you won't even have a dagger."

I gulp. "Never mind. Let's go."

We emerge into a giant car park.

Or a zoo.

Or possibly an evil Giants' lair.

Nah, definitely a zoo.

I look over at Calypso. "Does this sound like the place from Percy's dream?"

Calypso answers by pointing at the giant celestial bronze jar in the middle of the room.

"I guess that gives it away, doesn't it?" I say, not really expecting an answer.

"Do we just-?" Hazel trails off.

Calypso starts towards the jar. "We've got no choice."

"We've got to save Zoé," I finish, picking my way through the cable on the floor.

I keep an eye out for traps, but in this mess, anything could be a trap. Hades, I won't be surprised if that giant statue with the snake feet and green dreadlocks tries to eat us. Wait, what?

"Calypso!" I yelp, grabbing onto her arm. "Giant!"

The giant, taking his cue, steps out of the darkness and towards us.

"At last!" He bellows. "I thought you'd never arrive! I was beginning to think that Archimedes' automations had killed you!"

"Who exactly are you?" I ask.

The giant turns his head to me. "Ephialtes, of course!"

"Oh, Ephialtes," I say. "Of course it's you! How could I forget?!"

"Leo," Calypso says warningly.

"You're just in time for the main event!" Ephialtes continues happily. "Otis! Where are you?!"

An elbow hits me roughly in the back and I spin around to see another giant twenty away behind us.

It would be terrifying, but Otis is dressed as a ballerina. But not just any ballerina, the world's most grumpy ballerina!

Otis is wearing a skin-tight pink leotard with a matching fluffy pink skirt. His ballet shoes are cut at the toes so his snake-thingys can breath. A ten foot spear is strapped to his back, but he still manages a curtesy.

I applaud loudly. "Very manly. Absolutely terrifying!"

"Leo!" Calypso hisses again, grabbing my arm tightly.

"Let Zoë go!" Calypso orders, drawing the attention away from me.

"The traitor?" Ephialtes says, striding over to the jar and unscrewing the lid.

He tips a black-haired girl in a silver uniform out onto the floor, where she lies limply.

I hear Calypso sharply inhale and I assume that this must be Zoë.

Ephialtes' foot crashes down beside Zoë as he peers down at her, "I don't know if she will live much longer."

"But never mind her," Ephialtes says, moving away from Zoë. "The show is almost about to start, everything is all set!"

Calypso's hand twitches towards her neck but she stops herself, "What show?"

"The destruction of Rome!" Otis grins at her. "We've got everything planned out, the man-eating tigers, the poisonous snakes, the-"

"Fool!" Ephialtes hisses at his brother. "Don't tell her what we're doing!"

Otis looks like a deer in headlights. "I was just explaining the-"

Ephialtes cuts his off with a wave of his hand. "It doesn't matter!"

Ephialtes strides over to a giant control panel and leers at us. "Which should we start with, demigods? Blowing up the Spanish Steps? The drakon? The flesh-eating horses?"

"How about none of them?" I ask hopefully.

Ephialtes glares at me and I quickly change my answer. "Or what about some rainbow unicorns? Or some cute and fluffy kittens? That would be terrifying."

Otis glares at Ephialtes. "I told you we should've gotten the unicorns!"

Ephialtes glares back at Otis. "No! They're not scary enough!"

Between the arguing giants, Zoë stirs slightly.

"Or maybe some ballerinas," Hazel suggests, catching on.

Otis starts towards Ephialtes. "See?! I told you so!"

While the Giants are distracted, I edge towards Zoë.

I grab Calypso by the arm again. "Don't teleport, it will get too much attention."

Calypso nods and takes a few more steps towards her sister.

"Stop this nonsense!" Ephialtes bellows at his brother.

Otis keeps on advancing towards Ephialtes. "I told you ballerinas were terrifying! They think so! Don't you, demig-" Otis turns towards us and trails off. "Ephialtes! They're getting to the girl!"

Ephialtes turns to us and his eyes zero in on Calypso, who is the closest to Zoë.

"Bah!" Ephialtes yells, drawing his spear.

I grab my dagger, which looks tiny in comparison to Ephialtes' spear. "It was worth a shot."

"Hazel?" Calypso says. "Protect Zoë."

"You got it," Hazel says, her eyes fixed on the advancing Giants.

"Leo, Frank?" Calypso asks.

"Don't worry," I say, secretly thinking that it is very worrying if she isn't worrying.

"We've got your back," Frank agrees.

And then we charge.

-SAW