Happy Friday, gang! If anyone's interested, I added a section to my profile that's tracking my progress with all my ongoing stories. Check it out if you'd like to see where I'm at with this, or if you're reading Fire at Will. But as for right now, ready to start the quest? Then heeeeere we go!

Thanks to everybody who reviewed earlier this week. Enjoy!

IX
LEO

Leo was supposed to meet Reyna and Nico on the hill near Peleus's tree at 7:00 P.M., but after his encounter with Jason at the mess hall he decided to head back to his cabin to wash up before setting out. He figured his traveling companions would rather he be a few minutes late than show up on time smelling like citrus and marinara.

Predictably, he got quite a few questions and jibes on his way across the camp, and he did his best to meet them with a joke and a smile layered over some stupid excuse as to why he was wearing dinner instead of eating it. A mistake. A mix-up. A clumsy accident. And it had been, hadn't it? It wasn't as though Jason had thrown the plate at him on purpose. The fact that he'd started to apologize was evidence enough of that. But the fact that he never finished apologizing was evidence that even though he hadn't meant to, he didn't feel all that bad. And what did that mean for them? Jason had been acting so different lately that it had long since started to worry Leo (among his other friends), but now he was afraid there wouldn't be any going back. Some of the things Jason had said to him seemed like nothing he would ever say under normal circumstances. If he was really that far gone, then… Leo really hoped Piper would be able to get through to Jason somehow while he and the others were away. Something told him she was the only one with any chance.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, Leo met Festus in the grass outside the cluster of cabins and the two of them set off for the meeting place. Nico and Reyna were already there, as well as a small host of people stopping by to see them off—Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy, and—strangely—Octavian. Unsurprisingly, Piper was first to spot Leo and wave him over. Also unsurprisingly, Jason was nowhere to be seen.

"About time," Nico said, though there was no real irritation in his voice. "We were getting ready to leave without you."

Leo smirked. "That would've been impressive, considering you didn't have this guy." He patted the side of Festus's snout and the dragon nipped at his arm affectionately.

"Let's just get this over with," Nico replied, eyeing Festus somewhat nervously. Leo opened the dragon's rear storage compartment so Nico and Reyna could deposit their things. Nico kept his iron sword belted at his side, and Reyna chose to hold onto her dagger. Other than that, everything was packed safely away.

When they were done, Octavian stepped toward Reyna and said, "You're doing the right thing, leaving me in charge. I promise—"

"As I said," Reyna interrupted him sharply, eyes flashing, "you are not 'in charge'." Leo raised his eyebrows as he watched the exchange, wondering why on earth Reyna would leave Octavian in any position of authority. She must have seen something in him that no one else did. "You will be filling in as substitute praetor in my place, but no decisions can be made without first consulting Jason. You and he are in charge together. Do not go claiming that I've left the Legion in your hands alone."

"You may as well have," Octavian shot back, crossing his arms, and Leo hated the part of himself that agreed with the augur. "In case you haven't noticed, Jason hasn't exactly been the most active of leaders lately."

"I don't care. Do nothing without his assent."

Octavian looked like he wanted to argue, but Percy took that time to cut in, "Don't worry, Reyna. We'll make sure he doesn't go on a crazy power trip." Octavian glowered at him, and Percy shot back a steely sort of smile in response. Surprisingly, the augur didn't say another word, and Reyna offered a curt nod in agreement.

Hazel stepped forward and hugged Nico tightly, saying in a firm voice, "Be careful. All of you."

"This mission is no walk in the park," Annabeth pointed out, her expression serious. "Remember what Chiron said—if you get into trouble, back out. We'd rather lose the advantage than lose any of you. I know this could change everything, but it's not worth it if—"

"Annabeth, I think they get it," Percy cut her off gently, draping an arm around her shoulders. She bit her lip anxiously, falling silent, and Percy turned to face the others. He grinned, but Leo couldn't help noticing that it was somewhat forced. "Kick some tail, guys," he said. "We'll be rooting for you."

"Back at you," Leo responded, before Piper came up and pulled him into a hug.

"Good luck," she said, raising her voice so they all would hear.

Leo held onto her and muttered in her ear, "Remember what I said." His gut told him she was the only one who could get through to Jason, but for that to happen she had to be willing to try. He felt her nod in response and a tickle of relief spread through him. Maybe things would get better before they returned.

At last, Reyna turned toward Nico and Leo. "We should set out. We're behind schedule enough as it is."

"Aye-aye, captain," Leo said with an exaggerated salute. Reyna shot him a slight frown and he grinned, sticking to his decision to try and return things as closely to normal as possible. Her gaze softened and she returned the smallest of smiles, which Leo found promising—though she was sure to take the third seat back once they'd climbed atop the mechanical dragon, placing deliberate distance between them. Oh, well, Leo thought. You win some, you lose some.

Once they'd all strapped in, Leo tapped the back of Festus's neck and the dragon stood on its bulky legs, the creaking sound of metal shifting against metal echoing in the evening air. Festus shook his massive head back and forth, stretching his neck, and spread and contracted his bronze wings, almost taking off Octavian's head in the process.

"Ready?" Leo asked the two behind him, shooting a grin over his shoulder.

Nico winced and said, "No."

"Let's go," was Reyna's response.

Deciding that was the best he was going to get, Leo spun back around and rapped his knuckles lightly against the base of Festus's neck, leaning forward. "Alright, buddy," he said, exhilaration starting to flood his veins. "Let's hit the sky."

Festus opened his jaws and loosed a loud, mechanical roar that made everyone but Leo throw their hands over their ears. Then he reared back on his legs, spread his wings, and leapt into the air, soaring high above the camp. In a matter of seconds, Leo could no longer make out the forms of the people below and the buildings were reduced to tiny black dots, layers of shadow over shadow.

As they glided away from Long Island, he almost didn't believe this was real. Flashes of the first quest he'd ever been on sprang up behind his eyes—the winter solstice a year and a half ago when he, Jason, and Piper had set out to rescue the goddess Hera. That was barely a day after he'd first found Festus in the woods, and now leaving camp with him again brought Leo a powerful surge of nostalgia. Ever since the dragon had been shot down in Omaha, Nebraska during that very same journey, Leo had made it his strong, personal goal to one day rebuild Festus to the magnificent creature he'd been—maybe even something better. That goal had been put on hold during the Giant War, but as soon as Gaea was gone Leo threw every free minute into working on the automaton dragon. He and his half-siblings had even built a new warehouse in the bunker for just that purpose. It had taken a long time, but with the help of the Archimedes sphere he'd swiped in Rome last summer, a gigantic heap of excavated bronze metal, and every possible instrument his magic tool belt had to offer, he was finally able to do it. Festus was back, and better than ever. And despite the dire severity of the trip he, Reyna, and Nico had volunteered for, Leo couldn't help at least a little excitement.

"This isn't as bad as I thought it'd be," Nico said from behind Leo, and he twisted in his seat to see him leaning sideways and looking down toward the ground far below. "All I can see is darkness."

"You should feel right at home, then," Leo joked. When Nico turned to glare at him, he grinned and said, "Sorry, kidding. But what'd I tell you? Nothing to worry about."

Nico's eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch as he studied Leo, and Leo suddenly felt a jolt of self-consciousness. What was he looking at? "Can this thing fly on its own, or are you controlling it somehow?" Nico asked.

"He's not completely self-sustaining," Leo answered, "but he's got a built-in navigation system and temporary auto-pilot feature so I'm allowed to relax a little. Can you imagine how much this would suck if I had to keep my foot on a gas pedal?"

"Well, if that's the case," Nico went on, not responding to the attempt at humor, "don't you think you should try to get some sleep while you can? You look like you just floated out of the Styx."

Leo tried not to scowl. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept—three days ago? Four? What bothered him more was that it was really that obvious. "Look who's talking," he said to Nico in an attempt to diffuse the conversation.

Nico only shrugged. "I always look like this. It's genetic." Then his eyes grew serious and he added, "Remember what I said about working as a team. No offense, but I don't trust someone as obviously exhausted as you watching my back."

"Yeah, yeah." Leo shifted back around in his seat and stared at the bronze plating of Festus's neck, knowing that Nico had a point. Now that they were in the air and the adrenaline was fading from Leo's body, his muscles had started to sag like weights had been tied around his limbs. He really was exhausted, and could do with even a few hours of sleep. But anymore, more than half of his restful nights were dotted with visions of that same nightmare, and he didn't exactly relish the idea of seeing it now, when he was over fifteen thousand feet in the air.

Still, the more rational part of his brain insisted that he needed rest if he was going to be any use to the others on this trip, and besides there was always a chance the dream would leave him alone for a little while. Maybe being away from camp with an important task would help get his mind off his own troubles and he could sleep peacefully. Either way, he supposed it was worth a try, if only to replenish some of his lost energy. And by the time he gave in and leaned forward against the warm metal of Festus's neck, his eyes were already drooping.

Miraculously, Leo achieved a whopping three and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep before the dream decided it was done letting him off easy.

He never saw how the fire started. Not once. All he could ever remember was standing in some shadowy void while cackling, black and blue flames gnawed at his skin like hungry predators. He had no sense of time or location; all of his senses were focused only on the pain and the fear. He could feel the shadow of death breathing scalding air down the back of his neck. He wanted to run—to scream, to cry, to wake up. But no matter how loudly his mind yelled and pounded the inside of his skull, his body was too weak and agonized to obey.

"Nothing can stop the flame of Night." A woman's voice—Nyx. Cold like ice despite the burning heat of her dark fire. Her white-gold eyes shone through the flickering tongues of darkness, laughter in her gaze. Letting out an angry scream that scraped his throat raw, Leo staggered toward her through the fire. After three steps his legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees, slamming his fists against the dark, invisible floor. He tried to breathe, but only ash entered his lungs.

"Burn, little hero," Nyx said from above him, her voice chilly and soft like a deathly lullaby. "Burn!"

"Leo!"

Leo's eyes snapped open and for a second he could swear Festus was covered in black fire. But then the horrifying illusion faded, and he was staring at the metallic bronze surface of the dragon's neck.

"Leo, hey! You okay?"

Leo shoved away the sound of Nyx's voice. Nico. It was Nico talking. Not her. "What…?" he finally muttered, strangely out of breath as though he'd just run all four legs of a relay race.

"You just… you were smoking," Nico explained, sounding alarmed. "I thought it was the dragon at first. I was gonna wake you up, but then you screamed like you were being tortured. What the heck happened?"

Leo twisted around to see that both Nico and Reyna were staring at him with wide eyes and looks of surprised concern. With difficulty, he shook his head, trying to forcibly calm his fried nerves. "Nothing. I just… A dream. It was a dream. That's all." He knew he probably sounded like a total idiot. Had he really been yelling in his sleep and giving off smoke? If that was true, it was a good thing he woke up when he did. He didn't think his traveling companions would appreciate any spontaneous combustions mid-flight.

"A dream," Reyna repeated with a frown. When Leo met her gaze, he got the feeling she was seeing into his mind—just like the night he'd told her about the first dream. Could she tell it was the same one now?

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Leo said, feeling his body finally relax as the last images of the nightmare faded. He gave Nico and Reyna a reassuring grin and added, "Sorry for freaking you guys out. Great start to the trip, huh?"

Reyna continued to frown at Leo as Nico smirked and shook his head, saying dryly, "I swear, if you catch me on fire, I'm gonna kill you."

"Consider me warned," Leo replied. He shifted back around in his seat and stretched his arms. "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours," Reyna answered from the back. "We were actually just discussing whether we should rest as well when you—" She broke off suddenly as the loud sound of creaking metal interrupted and Festus's wings stretched flat, his body angling into a forward dive.

"What the—?" Nico said in surprise.

"Uh, buddy?" Leo called to the dragon, tapping a hand against his bronze back. "This really isn't the time to be showing off. We've got a schedule to keep." The sinking feeling of dread that had begun to form in Leo's gut intensified when Festus's only response was to increase the angle of his dive, picking up speed with every passing second. The darkness whipped past like a sheet, and Leo had to throw an arm in front of his face to shield his eyes from the wind.

Gritting his teeth, Leo leaned forward and slid his fingers under the exposed lip of a bronze plate at the base of the dragon's neck. A thin section popped open to reveal the automaton's control panel—a complicated switchboard surrounded by an array of colored wires. He'd had to rebuild the entire system from scratch, which was the main reason no one could fly the dragon but him. He was the only one who knew instinctively how his own mind worked.

The altimeter and pressure gauges were dropping at an alarming rate, but from what Leo could see the drive looked to be in perfect working order. If the power converter had somehow failed, an alert would be visible from the control panel. But amazingly, everything looked fine. The system hadn't even shut down. If Leo didn't know any better, he would say the only possibility was that Festus was accelerating toward the ground on purpose.

"Festus, what are you doing?" Leo shouted, pounding on the dragon's neck so hard he probably bruised his knuckles. But still, Festus didn't respond.

"Leo...!" Nico yelled warningly over the sound of the wind.

Panic welling up inside him, Leo shot the others a helpless look over his shoulder. "Hang on, guys!" he called back. "I think we're going down!"

Not a good way to start a quest, huh? But woo! A cliffie! My favorite way to end a chapter. Especially when we switch POVs next chapter, heh heh. Don't worry, though—you may not have to wait as long as you think to see what happens here. That being said, any guesses who the fourth and final POV narrator will be? Here's a hint for those of you who know me a bit better—it's my absolute favorite PJO/HoO character ;)

Leave me a review and we'll find out soon! Later days!

-oMM