Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

LEO

"Valdez, we have to go back for them!" Coach screamed in my ear.

"Valdez!"

I guess I heard him, but my brain didn't really register it. The fire was everywhere.

Festus was diving down and down, and the naked wing, now stripped from it's tarp, was flailing wildly in every direction. The flames were spreading. Coach was yelling. Trees were getting closer.

And all I could hear was my mom's screams.

"Open the door, Leo!"

The fire ate through Festus, and made it's way to my body. The larger it grew, the louder the screams became. Just like that day at the workshop.

I watched, paralyzed, as things inside Festus exploded, and were enveloped in black clouds. The flaming tongues surrounded me, and I inhaled a lungful of smoke. It didn't feel like anything.

Someone was pulling on me, but I just sat there, like a rock. Like Midas has touched me.

My head was spinning, and the world span around me. Piper was falling, the workshop was burning, Mother was laughing, Festus was falling apart, my siblings were dying, Coach was screaming, the Princess was sinking, and my mom was crying, and I just sat there, watching.

Useless.

"Open the door, Leo!"

The flames exploded around me.

"Open the door!"

Birds chirping.

The wind rustling the leaves.

Waves of water flowing down the river.

The ambience of the forest surrounded me. If I wasn't trying to sleep, maybe it would've been idyllic. Instead it was just annoying.

I tossed in my bed, groaning, trying to drown out the noise, but it was too late.

With ADHD, once you started moving in bed, you were screwed. 

I groaned and opened my eyes.

I was in a tent. Weird. With the way our flight ended, I would've sworn we'd be meeting Charon at the river Styx. 

Unless this is what Underworld looked like.

It certainly didn't smell like the Underworld. It smelled like campfire smoke, and herbs, and old, dusty bed covers. And my arm was still in the sling, but maybe your ghost looked like the way you went down.

Who knows? I've never been dead before.

They say any landing you could walk away from is a good landing.

Except we didn't walk away from it.

We crashed, in a giant ball of fire.

Fire everywhere.

I tossed the comforter off my body. I had to. The heat was suffocating, and I could feel every scar on my back.

I needed the cool air; to remind me I was me, and I was still alive.

Yeah, okay. I was.

What about the rest?

I looked around the tent. Coach Hedge laid on a stretcher next to me, asleep. Only Coach Hedge.

At first I felt numb. Then it hit me like a truck.

Every time I closed my eyes, the image of Piper and Jason falling into the dark void played in my head, over and over. 

I just sat there on the bed, frozen in time, like every atom of my body stood still all at once. Like the world stopped spinning. Maybe it did.

Piper was screaming in my ears and Jason piercing blue eyes were looking at me, even though they weren't here.

They weren't here...

But they couldn't be dead.

They couldn't. The anemoi wanted me. I was the traitor. They said they judged us accordingly, so why would they let Jason and Piper die?

No, they saved them. They had to. They said they had plans for them.

But that hit me even harder. Did I want that? 

What if they took them, to their lady, whoever she was, and then they told them everything.

My hands were shaking.

I could imagine it right now—Jason walking right through the entrance to the tent, with a sword in his hand and slitting my throat. Piper is there too, she's crying, but she's not stopping him. Anger is burning in her eyes.

I reached into the tool belt with my shaking hands, and put on the goggles as fast as I could.

They found us out! I thought into the ether.

No answer.

They know about us! Someone is commanding those storm spirits, you have to do something!

I wasn't dizzy, I wasn't falling unconscious; there was no imaginary world for me and mother to talk to, just the darkness before my eyes.

"At least tell me if Jason and Piper are okay!"

Nothing. Not even a peep.

No big speech about how I betrayed her, no yelling, not even a note that said 'You're fired'.

She was done with me, just like that.

I wanted to scream.

You can't do this! You promised to save my mom! I grit my teeth, because it was the only way I could keep quiet. I shut my eyes tighter, trying to stop the tears. You said you're not like the Olympians!

I slammed the metal frame of the makeshift bed with my fist, until it hurt. I pulled those stupid goggles off my head.

They stared at me uselessly with their red lenses. I threw them onto the floor, wishing they would smash into pieces.

Coach must've heard, because he stirred in his sleep.

"Valdez!" he exclaimed, getting up from his makeshift bed. He looked around, confused for a moment, before he got his bearings back.

"What the— Valdez!"

He jumped off his bed, and I did the same.

"Hi, Coach."

"What is this place?" He looked around the tent.

"Beats me. The last thing I remember is... the crash."

"About that." He shoved me. "What the hell was that supposed to be?! You completely—OW!" He grabbed his cheek, still a little swollen from the fight with Midas' men. But he fought through the pain just to scold me. "You completely froze!"

I stumbled back. "The— the wing was burnt into nothing! I couldn't steer Festus back even if I wanted to!"

"And where is Festus now? Huh?!" He grabbed for his backpack. "We have to get out of here. Find him. Jason and Piper need us."

"If they're still—"

"They're alive!" He snapped, and I shut up. I knew better than to argue with him when he was this angry.

"One other thing—"

He stopped in his tracks. He looked like he saw a ghost.

There was something in the corner of my eye—a shape. A silhouette moved against the yellow tarp of the tent, making their way to the entrance. They didn't enter. They just stood their.

They didn't look human.

Coach put a finger to his mouth, and, as quietly as he could, grabbed the bat sitting next to his bed.

Slowly, on our tippy toes, we approached the yellow tarp.

Coach made a grabbing gesture with his free hand and pointed at me. He pointed at himself and swung his bat in the air.

I nodded my head. He counted to three with his fingers.

When he closed his fist, I dove at the shadow against the entrance and didn't let go. They thrashed and yelled, until Coach delivered a few swift knocks to their head with his bat.

Then a satyr fell out of my arms.

A familiar looking satyr.

Coach turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Di immortales! Grover?!"

"Food..." he moaned, lifting his head, before passing out.

There was a lot of frantic trotting and a lot of worried bleating that followed. The satyrs managed to somehow wake Grover up by playing on their reed pipes and waffling the scent of delicious bean enchiladas in front of his nose. Coach couldn't apologize to him enough.

It turns out we weren't taken by monsters, but by a bunch of helpful goat-men. From Camp Half-Blood. Because of course they were.

We were just lucky (or unlucky) to crash in the area they were currently investigating. Which would be all fine and dandy, if the guy in charge wasn't best friends with the guy who spent the last five years fighting Kronos, and anyone associated with him.

If that wasn't enough, Coach decided that it was up to me to fill his friend in on what we've been up to. So Grover showed me around their makeshift camp, while I tried desperately to look anywhere, but directly at him.

Coach really did a number on him. He had a black eye and was holding a cold Sprite can to his head.

"... and then we crashed," I finished the story. "You were there for the rest."

"Yeah, you guys were in pretty bad shape." Grover hissed. "Funny thing, we were actually searching for you. After Piper first arrived in camp, she told us you were in trouble. Well, we were hoping to find someone else too..."

"This whole Perry Jackson dude, right?"

It was bad. Really bad. He was on the Princess before. If he recognized me, it would be all over.

What were the odds of us running into one of his friends? Then again, it was probably bound to happen eventually, with Piper, Coach and Jason constantly badgering everyone about Percy Jackson, Mr. Savior-of-Olympus himself. And of course it came back to bite me.

"Percy. But yeah. He's my best friend, and he kind of saved the world..." Grover explained, smiling, and I nodded my head, listening to him gush about the guy who ruined my whole life.

"Yeah, we were kind of looking for him ourselves. That and, you know, Jason's lost memories."

"Did you find anything?" he asked, hopefully.

"Not really, no." I shrugged.

Grover looked dejected, but he tried not to show it.

"But it's good that we found you at least. Well, you, and something else."

He lead me to another tent, and when he opened it, and I nearly fell to my knees.

"Festus!"

I couldn't tell you how relieved I was to see him safe. My beautiful automaton! Maybe he was offline, and scorched from the fire, and his head wasn't attached properly to his body, but he was there!

"Oh, thank the—" I stopped myself, because I actually almost said it. I've been spending too much time with the rest.

"Grover, you're amazing."

"Yeah, I know." He laughed.

His demeanor changed a little when I started pulling out my tools.

"Uhm... what are you doing?" he asked, a little nervously.

"Well, fixing him, duh."

I started with the head. All the inner workings seemed to be in tact, I just had to re-attach a few loose wires, and maybe tighten a few screws. But before I could do that, Grover got all in my face.

"Woah, dude. It's better not to mess with that thing. The whole Hephaestus cabin tried to fix him, and it didn't work. He's nuts."

Oh, so this was how we were going to play this, were we? I almost forgot why I hated that stupid camp, but he was quick to remind me.

"Well, I'm not from Hephaestus cabin, am I?" I pushed past him, trying to get to Festus.

Then he actually grabbed my shoulder.

"I'm serious—"

I shut him up with a look. "Get your hand off me."

I don't know what's gotten into me, but he actually listened. I didn't care if he recognized me; I wasn't going to let this guy talk like that about Festus.

"Festus had saved our lives several times. Even now we'd be dead, if it weren't for him." I hissed, getting to work cleaning off his processor. "So don't tell me you know him, when you clearly don't."

It seemed like everything was in order. If I triggered the auxiliary power unit, he should be able to—

"Creak!" Festus' head roused to life, and Grover jumped.

"Hey there, buddy!" I smiled.

He let out a soft whir when he saw me. I put my head to his, feeling the warmth spreading through it now that it was back online.

"See? He's okay?"

"Yeah, alright, I'm sorry." He took a few steps back. "Just maybe... wait until you put that back on his body."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

"Creak?" Festus' eyes traveled from one corner of the tent to another. He noticed their absence faster than I did.

"Yeah... sorry. They're not here, buddy." I said, feeling like someone was wrapping their hand around my throat.

"Uhm... what is he saying?" Grover asked, and his nervous tone annoyed me.

"He's asking about Jason and Piper. Since, you know, they fell into the void. They're probably gone."

Then Grover smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

I turned to look at him so fast he jumped.

"Talk. Now."

"Once again, I'm so sorry," Coach said, for the umpteenth time, following Grover.

"It's all good, man. Forgive and forget." Grover shrugged.

"I keep telling you, it's all in the nose, man." An older-looking satyr said, pointing at his. "If you can't smell Grover, how are you going to smell monsters coming?"

Coach didn't say anything. Come to think of it, he did also get ambushed with Jason, back in Chicago. He should've smelled the cyclopes coming. Satyrs had an amazing sense of smell.

But I didn't say anything. Something told me it was a sensitive subject.

Instead, I tried to strike a conversation. "So, these are your work buddies."

Coach shook his head, lowering his voice. "Grover isn't just my work buddy. He's a Lord of the Wild. Do you understand what a prestigious position that is for a satyr?"

I stared at him for a good while.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't. Think of it like this: if I'm James Bond, he's M."

"That guy is your boss?" I whispered. "How come you're not a Lord of the Wild yourself? You've been keeping longer than any Keeper I know."

"Grover is better suited for the job than I am." Coach grumbled. "Besides, the Council of Cloven Elders would never allow it."

"Why not?"

His face soured even more. He looked kind of sad actually.

A sad sigh escaped his lips. "Let's just say they didn't think I was lord material."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Grover scowled. "He taught me most of what I know, and he'd be an excellent lord of the Wild. The council is just full of old farts with even older ideas. Now look."

The satyrs lead us to a hill overlooking a town. What was left of a town anyway. I felt a chill crawl up my spine watching all those ruins that used to be people's homes.

"Those storm spirits really knocked us off course." I said, trying to joke. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."

"Actually, we are in Kansas." Grover said. "Two hours away from Dodge City."

"Huh. Would you look at that." I felt a lump in my throat. "What happened here?"

"Typhon." Coach spat.

"Typhon? The Father of Monsters? The most terrifying creature to ever walk the Earth?"

"He was trapped in Mt. St. Helens until last year. When he woke up, he marched through the whole states, destroying everything in his path to get to Olympus." Coach said, with that far away look in his eye.

"He was terrifying." Grover shuddered.

Coach kept staring at the destroyed buildings. "But he's gone now."

They conveniently omitted who released Typhon from Mt. St. Helens. I knew who it was. It was Percy Jackson who blew up the whole mountain trying to stop Kronos' telekhines from reforging Kronos' scythe. And not only did he fail, but he awoke a monster that destroyed half of the country, and killed who knows how many people. What a hero. And what did he get for the destruction he caused? A pat on the back from the Olympians, and probably a party in his honor.

"There they are!" Grover broke me out of my thoughts, and motioned for me.

He handed me a pair of binoculars.

I could see one of the buildings survived Typhon's little trip to New York. It looked like an animal shelter. I thought I saw a bunch of teenagers loitering around it, until I got a better look at their heads.

"Cynocephali!"

"We've been casing them for a week now. We've caught wind of a poaching operation being run from here."

I looked into the binoculars again. I could see a couple of dog-men dragging a horse through the street by a chain. At least I thought it was a horse, until it spread it's wings in protest.

I handed the binoculars to Coach, and almost immediately his face turned red. "You think those bastards got Jason and Piper?"

"We know they do." The older satyr said. "We saw them drag your charges in there yesterday. The girl and the boy. The boy was unconscious."

Some of the weight fell away from my shoulders. They made it. They were alive. At least for now.

“So why can't we just bust this joint down?”

“We can't.” Grover frowned. “You see that?”

He pointed at the big dark shape circling the animal shelter.

“So they have a hellhound.”

Grover shook his head.

“That's Laelaps.”

I pretended to understand what that meant.

“Oh, yeah, as I suspected. Laelaps, in the flesh.” I stroked my chin, very thoughtfully. “That's... bad, right?”

I may have spent most of my life trying not to get eaten by Greek mythology, but that didn't mean I knew every legendary dog or every magic ferret I came across.

Coach just rolled his eyes.

“Legendary hound Laelaps? The perfect hunter, blessed by Artemis? A gift from the goddess to Procris, a former Hunter of Artemis? He will never cease until he's hunted down his prey?”

“Oh, that Laelaps!” I nodded my head. “So we're screwed.”

“Even assuming we do manage to rescue the people inside, Laelaps will just pick us off one by one, and drag us back to his masters.” Grover sat down cross-legged on the ground, by the fallen old oak. “First we need to deal with that dog.”

“How?”

Grover stroked his wispy beard. "Only one creature could ever rival Laelaps—the Teumessian Fox."

"A fox? Dude, we need like at least a bear. With a laser eyes. Like a huge polar bear. Not a fox."

"Valdez! Let him finish." Coach scowled at me.

"That fox is no ordinary fox, dude. It was sent by Dionysus to punish the people of Thebes. It was huge, and it was destined to never be caught, no matter the hunter. Even the Hunters of Artemis were never able to catch it," Grover said. "That's where Laelaps comes in."

"Amphitryon, the guy who would later raise Heracles, was tasked by the king of Thebes to stop the Teumessian Fox from terrorizing his people," Coach continued the history lesson. "He knew he couldn't catch it, so he went to Kephalos (no relation), the husband of Procris, asking if he could borrow the dog. When the two animals saw each other, they launched into a breakneck race, in which neither of them could be the victor. Zeus, faced with a paradox of what happens when a dog that always catches it's prey hunts a fox that will never be caught, just turned the two to stone."

I wanted to laugh. It sounded like one of those 'when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object' situations. Or a really messed up Roadrunner cartoon.

"Okay. So where is that fox?"

Grover shrugged. "I have no idea. In theory, it should be lost to time, just like Laelaps. But he is here, so maybe his rival is somewhere out there too."

Okay. That didn't inspire much hope in me, but it was something.

"So how do we get it?"

He pulled out his reed pipes and smiled.

“I'm a lord of the Wild and the chosen one of Pan," he said, resolutely. "I'll summon it!”

Great.

So we were doomed.

I never thought reed pipers could even sound so bad. Grover has been sitting by that old oak for over an hour now, blowing into those pipes, and the more red he got, the more and more the music degraded into something that sounded like a spaghetti western soundtrack slowly dying in agony. And the Teumessian fox was a no-show.

I was growing more and more frustrated, just imagining Piper and Jason stuck in that animal shelter, surrounded by an army of dog-men. If not for that stupid Laelaps, I could just repair Festus' body and lay waste to their stupid little clubhouse.

We were wasting time. And in the meanwhile my friends could be dying.

"I gonna take take a leak." I told the other satyrs, walking off into the woods. "Let me know if that fox shows up."

Though I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. I needed to clear my head. And get away from the cacophony of Grover blowing his lungs out.

I had to think of something. Just because Laelaps would always catch his prey, doesn't mean he himself was uncatchable, right? I'd just have to make a special snare for him. Assuming his stupid blessing wouldn't just make the snare malfunction, which it probably would, and assuming I had adamantine on hand, which I didn't.

I grabbed my stupid head and teased my curly hair.

"This is impossible!"

"You sound like you need help."

I turned on my heel instantly.

I recognized the voice.

The world around me was blurry, and Mother was standing right behind me, her skin made out of tree bark and her hair made out of pine needles

"How? I threw the goggles away."

She clicked her tongue, playfully. "Reach into your pocket."

I did, and I nearly fell over. They were in my hands, like I never took them out. But I was sure I did!

"How is that possible?" I looked at her.

She laughed and pointed at my tool belt. "That belt of yours is old telekhine craftsmanship, is it not? Ancient primal magic intertwined with technology. Your father could never compare."

"Don't call him that." I snapped. I'd sooner kiss Medusa than call that guy my father. "And why would I care?"

"The goggles are a keepsake from Kronos' army, a bit like your tool belt, and, well, you, I suppose. They're connected." She raised a finger, twirling it in the air. "And my magic is even older than telekhine magic."

I looked at the goggles again. They were made for Kronos' army. Of course they were. They should've stayed buried, like everything connected to him, but I guess Mother was good at digging things up. 

Only, they didn't seem familiar. Where did she get those?

"What's with all the old trash? You couldn't splurge on some new gear for your spy?"

Mother's face fell, as if I somehow hurt her feelings. "I prefer recycling. It's less wasteful."

"Is that why you pulled me out of storage?"

She turned away. "No."

"What do you want?" I said.

"I got your message. I was a little surprised, to be honest. I thought you've given up on our deal back at the Golden Experience."

"The message I sent you was wrong. The anemoi didn't take them. Some cynocephali poachers did."

"I know." She nodded her head. "Poor Laelaps. Greedy people will always use his gifts for their own gain. Always destined to catch his prey, never destined to rest."

I felt like I was about to explode. Jason and Piper could be dying in there, and she was concerned over a stupid dog?!

"I don't care about your stupid lapdog! You want Jason and Piper? They're in a cage somewhere in that dog pound! Tell the cynocephali to give them back."

"I can't."

The blurry space we were in distorted around us, like the surface of lake when someone throws a rock into it. It's like I was so angry I was making it shake.

Did it feel hotter, or was that me?

"Why can't you?!"

"Because they wouldn't listen." She sighed, sadly. "I am powerful, but I can't take away people's free will. Even though sometimes I wish I could. And I can't reveal myself to them, without also revealing myself to your satyr friends. I'm too weak right now, I cannot risk the Olympians finding out about me."

I bit my lip.

"Can you at least see if they're okay?"

She tilted her head, considering me.

"Better yet, how about I just show you?"

She spun her finger in the air, like a witch waving around her magic wand.

The magic bubble around us spun, flashing images. It felt like I was watching a sped up VHS. The scenes looked distorted and shifted from one to another like water, only occasionally becoming a one solid vision.

I wondered if that's how Mother saw the world. But I didn't have time to think about it. I focused on my friends.

I heard screams, and the sound of fighting. I held my breath.

The images solidified: Piper was in a cage, like an animal, holding Jason's motionless body in her arms. 

I looked around. There were even more people in cages. They all look disheveled, and there was a wild look in their eyes. They must've been there for a really long time.

I clenched my fists. This was sicker than sick.

„What is this?!”

„What some people are willing to do to stuff their wallets and their faces.” Mother spat bitterly.

I heard Piper's desperate sobs.

"I'm sorry, Jace," she wept into his chest. ”I'm so sorry.”

He looked... No. He couldn't be.

„Is Jason okay?” I looked at Mother hopefully.

She pointed her head in his direction, looking like she wanted to cry. „I don't know.”

The scene shifted, and I was looking at Piper shoving a spear through the cage. It extended and struck into the lights; and electric current racing down the spear and striking Jason's body. The lights sputtered out and all died, covering everything in darkness.

„She... saved him,” Mother said, astonished.

I saw Jason stir in his sleep.

„Leo... traitor.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Mother's voice hitched.

He knew. It was all over.

Then Piper's voice reached me.

"Leo's not a traitor. I will never believe that."

I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry. She was on my side.

Even though she really shouldn't be. 

No mames, weyy. Don't be stupid.

Then I heard screaming. Piper was dragged out of her cage by a bunch of cynocephali. Her voice pierced my ears like a knife.

„No! Let me go! He needs me!” she screamed. „Jason! JASON!”

„Where are they taking her?!” I turned to mother.

„There's a wounded animal in the basement.”

I brushed my hair back, feeling like it was a little hard to breathe. I had to think quickly.

"The Teumessian fox! Grover is trying to summon it."

Mother laughed. "He won't succeed. He hasn't fully mastered Pan's gifts, and it would take a lot to bring the fox from oblivion. Zeus transformed it into stone."

I felt that ton of bricks hitting me again. "You brought back Laelaps."

Of course. Why didn't I realize this earlier. She loved digging up old things.

"Not intentionally, no. My presence awoken him."

"So you can do the same with the fox!"

A weird look crossed her face. I couldn't quite put my finger to it.

„Only if you give me your word.”

„What?”

She raised her head and stood up. If her eyes were open, she would be looking down at me. "I haven't forgotten the last time we talked."

I felt a rush of heat all of a sudden.

"That... that was just a misunderstanding. Midas... he just couldn't be trusted."

"I agree." She scowled. "And I dealt with him accordingly."

There was something chilling about the look on her face. I didn't even want to think what happened to Midas.

"You, however, didn't trust I would intervene. And you callously threw me away."

She grew larger, until her biceps were the size of logs. She loomed over me, like a redwood about to topple over, and pointed a finger at me.

"And yet, despite your treachery, I will still keep my promise to you. But I want something in return."

"Yeah, my friends, I get it," I spat. "I told you I'll bring them to you."

"Oh, no, no, no, Leo. I trusted your word twice, and you've broken that trust. This time, I want insurance."

I paused.

"What?"

"Swear it. Swear by the river Styx that next time you will listen to me. Swear that next time, when I send someone for them, you will entrust their safety to me. Do it, and I will save them. I will save your mother. I will give you anything you desire, Leo Valdez, and all it takes is four little words."

My heart thumped against my chest. It was hot; smouldering hot. I felt like I was going to suffocate.

Mother reached out her hand to me.

I thought this would be easier. I've only known Piper for a year, I've barely known Jason for more than a few days, what does that matter compared to the woman who raised me since I was a baby; the woman who taught me how to change oil in a car before I could recite the alphabet; the woman who sang me lullabies in Spanish?

What would she think of me now?

I looked the goddess in the eyes. Those closed, always sleeping eyes.

"Do you want to know why I really came to you, Leo?" She smiled. "Because you needed me as much as I needed you. Only you can save me, and only I can protect you. My child."

If I did this, I'd be betraying the only friends I've ever had. The only real friends.

But at least they'd be alive. Even if they all hated me forever. At least they'd be safe.

Besides, if they knew what I did, they would hate me anyway.

The only person who knew me for what I was, and still cared about me was her.

And I killed her.

"So what will it be?" Mother said.

I closed my eyes and made my choice.