Will Solace actually seemed pretty cool. Leo wondered why he couldn't remember him.
Will showed him some of the camp's attractions on the way to cabin 9. Greek warships, the coliseum where they practice sword training, the dining pavilion, and the lake where Leo saw some fine-looking water ladies. They didn't seem to feel the same way about him though. As soon as he approached they dashed back in the lake, as if his presence disturbed them.
Leo didn't let that bother him. There were plenty of other pretty girls around camp. After Will told him that all the teens here were children of the gods, Leo hoped he wasn't related to any of them. That would suck.
Eventually they arrived at the group of cabins. Will told him that each one was in honor of a specific god. The ones arranged in the semi circle were for the twelve Olympians.
"And that one is cabin 9. It's where all the Hephaestus kids stay." Will said, pointing to one of the cabins. Leo couldn't help but compare it more to a factory than a cabin for people to live in. The cabin had metal walls and paned windows, the front door looked like a Banks vault. Smoke spewed from a bronze pipe chimney. Hydraulic systems opened and closed trap doors. It was like a steampunk's dream.
"So this guy, Festus." Leo said.
"Hephaestus." Will corrected.
"Right. Is he supposed to be my dad?"
Will glanced at Leo like he was a special patient that needed extra care. "Hephaestus IS your dad. He claimed you almost 4 years ago when you first came to camp."
"I was here 4 years ago?" Leo asked, "And what's the deal with being 'claimed'? Do these godly parents see us as pets or something?"
Will looked like he sort of wanted to agree, then shook his head. "Look, I better let your siblings explain it to you." He continued on before Leo could ask more. The vault-like door opened as they approached, spewing gray smoke. Leo could hear the whistles of hydraulic systems running.
Leo was not initially impressed once inside. He assumed he'd see a lot of teenagers roaming around. But he'd seen more people at a library than this. It felt deserted. He saw bunk beds aligned against the walls, all equipped with digital panels and a gaming system next to them.
Then, a firepole came down from the second floor, which Leo found strange. The cabin didn't look like it had a second floor from the outside. A set of circular stairs formed around the firepole, leading to some sort of basement.
Leo then saw all the power tools he could ever imagine, mounted on the walls. He saw daggers, swords, longswords and all different kinds of forged weapons on the walls as well. The place reminded Leo of his mom's workshop, without all the weapons of course. The smell of grease, the heat of the forge. It was all nostalgic to him.
Leo quickly pushed the thought away. Thinking back to his mom was always painful. And Leo hated painful memories.
"So, is anyone home?" Leo asked, "Did everyone go on a family vacation?"
"If they're not here, your siblings must be at the forge." Will said. He gestured towards the exit. "C'mon, I'll take you there—"
"Leo? Is that you?" Leo whipped his head to look behind him. One of the bunks was apparently occupied. A curtain of camouflaged material retracted, revealing a teen on his bunk, completely covered in a body cast. Leo watched as his pale bruised face lit up.
"It really is you! I can't believe it!" He grinned madly, then winced, as if smiling caused him pain. Leo glanced at him nervously and toyed with the trinkets in the pockets of his army jacket.
"Hey, umm, you..?" Leo said with a nervous smirk. Regretfully, he shot finger guns at the guy. Leo wanted to bury himself with one of the shovels mounted on the wall.
The guy in the body cast frowned deeply, then chuckled to himself, then winced in pain.
"Oh, you probably don't recognize me in this. It's me. Jake Mason."
Leo wished he remembered that name. Now this encounter was even more awkward. Leo wished he would say something actually funny, but nothing came to mind.
Okay, that was a lie. Leo had jokes about Jake's condition, but even he knew there were lines that shouldn't be crossed.
"Leo is um, having problems remembering things." Will said, clearing his throat. "Annabeth and Angel went on an extraction quest. Found Leo unconscious from an explosion. He's got a concussion."
"Oh." Jake's frown returned, then glanced at Leo, as if he could somehow fix all his problems. "I hope you get your memories back soon Leo, because we could really use your help."
"My help?" Leo asked, bewildered. He pointed to himself, glanced at Will, then back at Jake. "You want my help? Seriously?" Leo was secretly honored. No one has ever asked for his help. Usually they wanted him away from them at all cost, or kept him as the group's jester. Nothing more, nothing less.
Jake nodded. His face was pale, as if he was on death's door.
"Festus has been acting up since you left. He's terrorizing camp, and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. I tried to step up and do what you or Beckendorf might've done, but…" His voice trailed off. He didn't need to finish. Leo got the gist. But he still had so many questions.
"Um, okay. But, who is Beckendorf?" Leo asked. Will coughed into his hand. Jake sighed mournfully.
"He was our cabin counselor during the titan war. He died trying to stop one of Kronos' ships with Percy Jackson. He didn't make it."
Leo resisted the urge to ask What's the Titan war? And Who's this Kronos dude? He figured he'd bummed these two out enough by simply asking what had happened to the old cabin counselor.
"Jake, do you know which bunk was Leo's?" Will asked, breaking the tension. Jake nodded.
"Bunk 3-A Please!" The whole cabin rumbled. A section of the floor spiraled like a camera lens, and a full sized bed popped up. The bronze frame had a gaming system, as well as some trinkets on the edges of the footboard, a sound bar at the headboard, a mini fridge at the base, and a bunch of control panels at the sides.
Leo immediately wanted to start pressing buttons, but noticed something on the headboard. He had a picture frame. Leo realized it was of him and that Angel guy. They looked younger in the photo. Maybe 12 or 13. Leo had his arm around Angel's shoulder, while Angel put two fingers behind Leo's head. They were grinning stupidly in the photo. Coincidentally, those were the years Leo had a hard time remembering.
You're like my brother. Leo remembered Angel saying. His head suddenly began to throb in pain at the picture, as if some memory was trying to slither its way out of his subconscious. He looked away from the photo.
"Leo, you alright?" Will asked with obvious concern.
"Pff, of course I am." Leo said, forcing a smirk to curve his lips. He sat on his supposed bed and threw his hands behind his head. "So, who's this Festus guy you're fussing about?"
Jake visibly tensed. "Festus isn't just some guy, Leo. It's a project you and Beckendorf worked on together. A bronze dragon."
"Is Jake sure I'm the only one that can stop this dragon?" Leo asked Will as they walked out the Hephaestus cabin. "Because I don't know about you, but I don't have my dragon wrangler permit."
"You and Beckendorf worked on it together for the fight in Manhattan." Will looked at Leo expectantly. "You at least remember the battle against Kronos, right:?"
"I don't know what to tell you man, I'm drawing a blank." Leo said, tired of people telling him things he didn't know.
Will sighed wistfully. "Man, whatever caused you to forget all that, I want in. I wish I could forget those days."
"Getting struck by lightning might do the trick." Leo offered, "But I think that Angel guy was onto something. It can't be a coincidence that Reyna also had her memories wiped."
"Nothing is a coincidence in the world of the gods, Leo." Will said, almost angrily. "The sooner you learn that, the better."
They quickly arrived at their destination. The forge looked like a steampunk blacksmith shop had smashed into the Greek Parthenon, fusing them together. The building sat at the edge of a stream, where water wheels turned bronze gears.
Leo and Will stepped inside, revealing a group of teens all working on various projects. Leo couldn't help but notice they all had this sad aura to them. Their shoulders slumped, and their pace was sluggish and defeated. They all froze when they saw them enter.
"Sup guys." Will said with a wave. "I got good news for you. We found—"
"LEO!" Everyone screamed. The sad atmosphere evaporated completely as everyone jumped with joy, rushing towards Leo.
"Woah guys, take it easy! You're going to break me!" Leo laughed as they all surrounded him, giving him tight hugs and rough pats on the back. Leo thought he would've gotten nervous with so many people around, but he found himself more comfortable than ever before. They were like the family Leo never had. Except, they were his family. They were supposedly sons and daughters of Hephaestus. His dad. They were his half siblings.
"Where have you been Leo?" A girl asked.
"What happened?" A big guy insisted.
'C'mon! Tell us!" A young girl, no older than 8, asked in a pleading tone.
"Well, I can't exactly—"
"Alright everyone, settle down." Will announced in a surprising commanding voice. "I also got some bad news. Annabeth and Angel found Leo at the Grand Canyon unconscious after fighting some storm spirits. He's got a bit of a concussion, his memory is pretty fuzzy. So go easy on him alright? Doctors orders." The group unanimously agreed and gave Leo some space.
"It might help him if you all introduced yourselves to him again. Get him back in his day to day routine. I'm sure his memory will come back in no time."
The teens all nodded and began to introduce themselves to Leo, shaking his hand. Their names began to merge together. Shane, Nyssa, Christopher, Harley. Unfortunately, none of their names rang a bell, and Leo felt guilty. They all looked so happy to see him, and there he was, with no idea who any of them were. Leo noticed that none of them really looked alike. No one had the same distinct features that would make people think, 'Look, it's the Hephaestus bunch!'
Still, it was comically noticeable how all of them were experienced with handy work and blacksmithing, even Leo. All of them had rough calloused hands and a look in their eyes that said 'Got a problem? I can fix it.'
Will patted Leo on the back, "I'll leave you guys to it then. Try to get some rest when you can. The gods know you could use it." Leo gave the guy a small nod, before watching him leave the forge.
"C'mon Leo." A girl said, approaching him. She had a red bandana under her mop of brown hair. She wore a tank top and camo pants, making her look like those bad ass characters in movies. Leo remembered she introduced herself as Nyssa. "I'll show you around. Maybe your memory will come when you see your old workspace."
Leo had seen his fair share of warehouses, mechanic rooms and workshops, but nothing compared to the camp's forge. Here the other kids worked on various projects, like double edge battle axes, glaives with razor cutting edge, and straight swords made completely of bronze.
Nyssa gave him small facts, hoping he'd remember some of them. She told them about celestial bronze, the main ore they use for smithing armor and weapons, and how they used said weapons and armor in monster fighting classes.
"So, what happened Leo? Where have you been these past three days?" Nyssa asked. Leo was about to answer when someone yelled.
"Watch out!"
Leo didn't even think twice before lowering his head and hearing three quick tinks! Leo looked over his head to see the miniature arrows embedded on the wall behind him.
"Sorry." Someone yelled, holding a miniature bronze centaur equipped with a bow and quiver, "still working out some minor bugs."
"Man, my first day here and almost got stabbed by mini arrows?" Leo gave Nyssa a grin, "This place is awesome."
Nyssa frowned, "What do you mean first day? Don't you remember you've been here for three years?" Nyssa eyed him strangely, again, with emotions Leo did not understand. "Don't you remember you gave me the tour of Camp when I got here?"
Leo felt stumped. His grin faded into a frown. "Look Nyssa, what Will told you about my concussion isn't entirely true."
Leo told her everything that has been happening since Reyna woke up on the bus to the Grand Canyon. The others stopped what they were doing to listen in. He told them that someone apparently manipulated his memories, because for the past three months, he's been at the Wilderness School in Nevada.
"Why would someone take you from camp, wipe your memories and leave you at the Wilderness School?" A guy asked. Leo thought his name was Devin, but wasn't 100% sure. He wasn't good with names.
"I wish I knew too, man. I hate disappointing people who looked forward to seeing me with a uh, who are you again? look."
"So, you don't remember your time at camp? Not even the Titan war?" Another asked.
Leo shook his head.
"What about working on Festus with Beckendorf?" Nyssa asked. The group began to mutter at the mention of Festus.
"Unfortunately, no. What's the deal with the rogue dragon anyway? Did someone steal its horde of gold or something?" Leo said, trying to break the tension. No one laughed.
"Something is wrong with Festus." Nyssa explained. "We aren't sure what it is, and Festus won't let any of us near him. Jake tried, but—"
"Yeah, I saw." Leo muttered, now unsure if he really wanted to find this dragon. He didn't want to end up like Mason. "So, only Beckendorf and I knew how to fix him?"
"Actually, it was mostly you." Nyssa admitted, "You guys were working on it together for the upcoming battle in Manhattan. Then Beck, well…" Nyssa trailed off, then cleared her throat, "Basically, you had to get it working on your own before the battle. And you did. You helped a lot in the war effort, Leo."
"...Really?" Leo asked, dumbfounded. The others nodded in approval.
He found it so strange that a group of people, even if they were his half siblings, unanimously agreed that he was helpful.
"Jake might've been the cabin counselor after Beck passed, but it was you who led us through the battle, Leo. Your ideas for the fortifications and traps saved a lot of demigods that day. You were a hero." Nyssa gave Leo a look, which for once, he understood
You still are a Hero.
Leo felt at a loss for words. These people, his siblings, believed he was able to fix a problem that they couldn't. The only person (as far as Leo remembered), who put that much trust in him was his mom, Esperanza.
Leo forced himself not to get all teary eyed.
"What're we waiting for then?" He asked with an impish grin, causing the others to look nervously, like they knew that look. "I may not have my dragon wrangler permit, but we got a bronze dragon to catch."