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iShadowedRose, and I will try to do what you asked. It's a pretty good idea.

Also to:

Daughter of the Lion, and I assure you I have no plans to ever delete this story.

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Chapter XXII

Leo

Ogygia was really starting to frustrate Leo. He'd ran it through his databases so many times he'd lost count. He even has Festus searching for it and everything. But no matter how many times he'd tried, he couldn't find it. And the astrolabe is no help. He'd devoted most of his spare time to fixing it, but it's like something is missing. He just can't fix it right.

He sighs and tosses the astrolabe on his table for what must be the hundredth time. His promise echoes in his head.

I'm coming back for you, Calypso. I swear it on the River Styx.

He knew it was an idiotic promise to make, what with the Prophecy and the fact that no man had ever found Ogygia twice. But he hadn't cared at the time. He still didn't care, not really. He was going to find Calypso. He was going to free her. And consequences be damned.

He rubs his eyes and yawns. He's been staying up pretty much every night to work on the astrolabe-plus a million other things. He hadn't exactly had time to sleep. He knows that he needs to. It's just that every time he lays down or takes a break, he feels guilty, like he should be doing something. It's like if he's not working every second he's being lazy. Which he's not.

He leans back in his chair and stretches. Then he glares at the astrolabe where it sits uselessly on the table.

"Stupid thing." He mutters. Usually, he has a sense for how to fix things. He can know exactly what's wrong with something and have it fixed in no time at all. But not this time. The stupid astrolabe just doesn't want to be fixed.

He sets it to the side and starts working on the blueprints for the ship's upgrades. He scribbles random notes here and there, and no one else would have any idea what he meant, but he understands everything he writes.

As he works, his mind starts to wander, although his hands absentmindedly continue his sketches.

He thinks about a lot of things. Whether the upgrades will actually work, if this whole quest is for nothing, whether he'll survive the fight with Gaea or not. Is he the one in the prophecy? Will he be the one to defeat Gaea? Or will he die trying?

But mostly, he thinks about Calypso. About her cinnamon smell. Her long, golden brown hair. Her beautiful dark almond eyes and pale skin. How she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Her strength. How she loved and hated him at the same time.

And then he starts to wonder about that last part. Did Calypso really love him? Did she even want him to come back?

But he pushes those thoughts away. The look in her eyes...Leo knew she wanted to get out of that place. She wanted to be free. And even if she didn't want to be with him when she was, well, he was going to get her out anyway. Because he cares about her.

Leo looks down at his blueprints. And stares. While he was thinking, he drew a remarkably realistic picture of Calypso. Her eyes peer up at him from the paper, so lifelike it's as if it was a photograph.

A painful ache builds in Leo's chest. He feels tears start to well up in his eyes, and blinks rapidly. He shoves the drawing into one of the table's drawers, then rests his head in his hands.

He'd spent so many times feeling like the seventh wheel in this quest. So completely useless. And knowing that the Argo could barely function without him didn't really make him feel any better. He felt so alone. Jason had Piper, Percy had Annabeth, and Frank had Hazel-even if Leo had wished it was otherwise.

But then he found Calypso. He'd liked her, really liked her. And the miraculous thing was, she liked him back. You know, after she got over hating his guts. And then he had to leave her. She was trapped on Ogygia, and Leo had a big part to play in the quest. He was needed elsewhere. And according to Calypso, no man ever found Ogygia twice.

But he would be the first. He promised himself that. He would find Ogygia. He had to. And then he was going to get Calypso out of there.

His head droops towards the table, and he feels his eyes start to close. He's exhausted. His last thought before he lets himself drift into sleep is of Calypso.

Leo stands on the shores of Ogygia. The soft white sand glitters in the sun. But Leo isn't interested in the beach. He's more interested in the person that's walking on it.

"Calypso," he whispers, his voice soft as a breath of wind. She sits in the sand, staring out at the horizon. Her face is devoid of all expression.

Leo knows it's only a dream. She won't be able to see or hear him. But for the moment, he doesn't care. He walks over and sits beside her, watching her face.

The wind ruffles her hair and blows a strand of it into her eyes. Leo has to resist the urge to reach over and brush it behind her ear. It wouldn't work anyway.

He's so close, yet still so far away.

Suddenly Calypso sighs, and it's the saddest sound Leo's ever heard. She swipes at her eyes and then stares at her hands where they rest in her lap. A tear falls onto her arm.

Leo wants so badly to reach out and comfort her. To tell her that he's coming back for her. That she won't be alone for much longer. But he can't.

She lays down and stares up at the sky. Leo does the same next to her. The sky really is beautiful; a perfect blue color so bright it seems like it shouldn't be real. Fluffy white clouds float across the endless blue.

Leo looks back at Calypso. Her eyes are infinite pools of sadness; ancient, fragile, yet beautiful. They glisten with tears that don't fall.

"I will see you again, Leo Valdez." Leo shivers when she says his name. It's as if she can sense his presence. "I swear it on the River Styx."

Leo worries briefly about the prophecy. An oath to keep with a final breath...But no, that can't be Calypso. She's immortal. Besides, she's stuck on Ogygia. He jumps and sits up quickly when he hears a voice from behind them.

Oh, my dear Calypso, it pains me to see you like this. Leo knows that voice. He turns slowly, shaking with anger.

Gaea stands by the trees, her earthen robes swirling around her. Her eyes are half open now. Calypso doesn't move from where she lays on the beach.

"Leave me, Grandmother. Ogygia is still my home. You are trespassing." She says tiredly.

Gaea shakes her head sadly. Why do you pine for the boy? He is nothing. He is not even handsome. I don't understand you, dear girl. Why do you continue to torture yourself like this? Join me, and I will free you from this prison.

Calypso jumps to her feet, her eyes blazing with anger. "How dare you?! How dare you trespass in my home and then tell me that the boy I love is nothing?! He is everything!"

Leo's heart skips a beat. She said she loved him. She was defending him against Gaea. She said she loved him. Unless she was talking about some other boy.

"And I ask again, if you care so much for me, where were you the last three thousand years? Why do you come only now?" Calypso continues, her voice growing in volume with every word.

And as I told you before, the earth is slow to wake. Gaea answers calmly. Join the winning side, Calypso. Maybe I'll even let the boy you seem to care so much about live.

"Never. Not if I have to spend the rest of eternity imprisoned. And you are not the winning side, Grandmother. You will lose this war. And I will have helped to win it, by loving Leo Valdez." Calypso's voice is deadly calm now. She radiates power. "Leave, Grandmother. As long as I am here, you will not be welcome."

Leo can see the anger in Gaea's face, even if she's still half asleep. But her form dissipates into nothingness, the sand once more scattering in the wind. He can just hear a whisper of her voice reverberate up from the ground.

You will regret this...She says.

Calypso draws a shaky breath and turns back to the horizon.

"I love you, Leo Valdez, wherever you may be." She says to the air. Leo gets as close to her as possible, breathing in her cinnamon scent.

"I love you too, Calypso." He whispers to her, looking directly into the eyes that stare right through him. And he brushes his lips against hers, even if she can't feel it.

But for a moment, it seems that she does. Shock registers on her face, and her eyes focus on him for a few seconds.

"Leo." She breathes. She reaches for him, but his dream is already fading away.

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