Leo

As Leo packed up his belongings for his journey, Calypso entered his room. He glanced behind him at her and turned to face her. She gave him a sweet smile and sat on his bed. Leo dropped his bag and sat next to her, lifting her chin with his fingers. She stared into his eyes.

"I love you. You know that, right?" She asked him, her eyes sparking in the light.

"Of course." Leo smiled at those words. All these months and he was still not used to hearing it. Every time those words escaped her lips his heart rate picked up.

"So you know if you die, I'll kill you." Calypso smirked.

"I wont die. And if I do, I'll just come back again. I'm awesome like that." Leo grinned.

"Shut up." Calypso said and kissed him. Leo felt his skin heating up and willed himself to not catch on fire. That would be incredibly embarrassing.

"This will be good." Leo said after they broke apart. "You get to be like a normal person. Making friends and stuff around camp." He smiled but she gave him an offended look.

"I have friends." She scoffed.

"Yeah yeah you're right." Leo back tracked quickly. "You have tons of friends." He muttered. Calypso's friends consisted of exactly three. Him, Piper, and Jason (when Jason was actually at camp). People didn't dislike her, it was just after spending an eternity in solitude, Calypso tended to be a little shy towards new people.

"I have to go." Leo looked at her. "I love you."

"I know." Calypso smiled.

"Han Solo. Nice." Leo grinned. Calypso looked confused.

"Star Wars. Next modern mission. Watch all the movies before I get back. Harley will tell you what order." Leo instructed.

"Is it not just 1,2,3?" She asked.

"Oh you poor, simple, uncultured goddess, you have so much to learn." And he left.

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Two weeks later Piper and Leo were sitting in a hotel room. Leo laid sprawled across his bed, watching the television dimly. He sighed heavily. Another lead on Annabeth had come to a dead end in Phoenix, where they were now. Piper was reading notes of Annabeth's, searching for any sign that she had once been interested in a city. Leo could not even count the amount of times Piper had read those papers, but he didn't say anything.

Leo was watching Michael Scott talk on The Office when Piper sat up and started speaking.

"Ok, tell me again, what was the last thing she said to you?" Piper asked.

"Piper, I told you before, I really doubt Annabeth was telling me secret coded messages of where she would go if she ever split town. Plus, I'm pretty sure it was just 'I'm sorry', so if you can find a message in that, I'll marry you on the spot." Leo sighed, watching Michael and Dwight talking.

"You're right. I'm just sick of dead ends." She threw the papers to the end of the bed.

"I don't even think she planned on running away. I think it was just a spur of the moment type thing. After the funeral." After his funeral, Leo remembered. It felt weird to think that people had gathered to mourn him. That Jason had been so driven by grief he blamed it on Annabeth.

"Tell me what he said again." Leo said quietly. He didn't need to clarify anymore for Piper to know what he was talking about.

"He didn't mean it. It was just a bad day." Piper picked back up her papers, avoiding eye contact.

"He had no right to say any of those things to her. He has no idea what she's been through. I mean with Percy and all. And Luke." Leo thudded his head on the headboard. He loved Jason like a brother, but thinking about what he had said to Annabeth made him want to punch her.

"It was a bad day." Piper repeated quietly.

"He told her to go die." Leo said angrily. There was a long pause, then Leo said in the lowest, hollowest voice, "do you think she listened?"

"No." Piper insisted. "There's no way. She's out there somewhere. We just have to find her."

"Right." Leo watched Pam plan a bird funeral on the television. The television started turning static.

"Ugh." Leo stood up to attempt to fix it, but he realized he couldn't stand. Panicked, he tried desperately to get out of the bed, but flew forward, finally free of whatever bonds held him. He gasped when he looked back because he was staring at his own unconscious body on the bed. He looked down and saw he was only a vapor. He glanced to his left and saw Piper, still reading. She glanced at his body on the bed, then ignored it, apparently thinking he had just fallen asleep.

"Wha-" Leo gasped.

"Hey there boy." Hephaestus grinned.

"Dad." The confusion began to click in his mind. He glanced at Piper who apparently could not see him.

"Came to congratulate you on returning from the dead. I had my own little surprise like that after my mother threw me off Olympus and I came back. It's fun, isn't it?" He laughed, the sound booming through the room.

"Yeah so much fun. What are you doing here?" Leo looked at him with confusion.

"Well," He scratched his chin in thought, "It's actually about your friend. The one you're looking for."

"Annabeth?" Leo's interest was piqued.

"Yeah her. You see, she did a favor for me a while back. Figured out what was messing with my forge. My payment was supposed to get her and her boyfriend back to camp safely, but I didn't really hold up my end of the bargain. That Jackson kid barely made it out with his life and his survival had nothing to do with me." He grumbled.

"Yeah I've heard the story." Leo felt his ears grow warm. Another reminder of Calypso.

"Well, Gods hate being in debt and I've always felt I was in debt to her. So this is me getting even. I'm telling you where she is and then I can forget she ever existed." Hephaestus smiled.

"Really?" Leo walked up to him, heart beating rapidly.

"Yeah. She's in Seattle. Goes by the name Silena now. Address 303 Comstock St., apartment above a bar. Go find her." He barked gruffly.

Leo fumbled with a notepad and pen. "Thank you." He gasped.

"I owed her that much. After what happened to her boyfriend." He said, remembering the volcano.

"Yeah. If only you were debted to him. Maybe you could have saved his life." Leo looked down, feeling the grief for Percy all over again. Hephaestus only gave him an odd look, as if he knew something Leo didn't.

"See you around, boy." And he was gone.

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"I'm so glad Silena has friends! I thought she was just a loner type. But people actually care about her! That's amazing!" Claire, Annabeth's roommate went on and on. Leo and Piper stood in the doorway, an odd look on both of their faces.

"So... is she here?" Piper finally asked after several minutes.

Claire's face darkened. "No, she's where she always is, downstairs."

"But downstairs is-" Piper paused. She and Leo looked at each other, a bad feeling settling in their chests. Together, they walked down the apartment stairs and into the loud and noisy bar. Music was playing and people were up dancing. Piper and Leo weaved in and out of groups of people until they finally spotted her.

After nearly a year since seeing her last, Leo missed her. They had become close friends on the ship. Annabeth had once been the person who knew the most about him in the world. She was one of his best friends. But when he saw her standing in that bar, all he felt was guilt. Guilt because his death had lead her to this. His and many others. Then, they locked eyes.

"Leo!" She called to him, a drunken smile on her face. "Come have a drink with me!"

Leo crossed the bar in quick strides, grabbing her arms roughly. He hugged her and she laughed, spilling some of her drink down his back. Leo held her in his arms, remembering the last time they had hugged.

"Annabeth!" Piper was holding back tears as she hugged her too. Annabeth frowned.

"No no no no. I'm not Annabeth. I'm Silena." She slurred her words together.

"I've missed you so much. I'm so glad you're okay." Piper smiled tearfully at her. Annabeth turned to Leo with a funny look on her face.

"You're usually with Percy. Where is he?" She frowned in confusion. Leo felt a pang in his heart.

"Percy's dead, Annabeth." He said quietly. Piper looked at him in fear.

"I know. I'm not crazy. Well, I mean I guess I probably am crazy because you're here, but I'm not like denial crazy." She took another sip.

"I'm alive, Annabeth." Leo gripped her arms, trying to get her to understand. She finally made direct eye contact with him.

"But..." She stared at him for a long time, swaying in his grip, and not to the beat of the music.

"Annabeth." Piper broke the silence. "Something is wrong, and we need your help. We think monsters have broken into the mortal world and we need to figure out why. You're better at this stuff than anyone else. Please help us."

Annabeth turned to look at her and her face darkened. "You need my help?" She asked in a low voice.

"Ask the others how much they got from my help." She broke out of Leo's grip and headed for the bar. Leo and Piper looked at each other before following her. She had gotten another shot and was about to take it when Piper ripped her hand away.

"Hey!" She yelled.

"You need to come with us now! You're the only one who can figure out what's happening." Piper exclaimed.

"No." Annabeth yelled forcefully. "I have done too much for this world. I have saved it too many times to be roped back into this. I. am. done." She spat out the last three words and exhaled very shakily. Leo could hear tears behind her voice.

"If the world needs saving this many times, maybe it should figure out how to save itself." A tear slipped down her face.

"And why would you come find me after what Jason said? I know you believe him. I am a curse." She started sobbing.

"But it doesn't even matter!" She yelled, people were turning their way. "It doesn't even matter because if this was all actually real, and you were actually alive," she pointed at Leo, "then there is no way that you would wait this long to come find me. If you were really alive this whole time, you would come find me before now. Because we were best friends before you died. And you would find me just because of that and not just because you needed me to save the gods again."

She broke down sobbing, leaving Leo and Piper in a stunned and guilty silence.

"Luke was right, we are just pawns. But I guess he didn't realize that we weren't just pawns to the gods but to everyone else too." She grabbed the shot off the table behind her and downed it quickly.

"And it's Silena." She managed to get out before she passed out and collapsed straight into Leo's arms.

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