Chapter Text

Chapter Six

Percy Pov: 

I'm worried about Leo. He had completely passed out during the mattress incident and still seemed a little out of it. Crusty had targeted him specifically, and while he stretched out Annabeth and Grover all he did to Leo was squeeze him. Something weird was going on whenever we ran into a monster. They were always interested in him specifically, at least so far. The lotus casino workers had tried to keep him there, and Crusty had tried to strap him down and stop me from freeing him.  It scares me how much they were interested in Leo. Before we met him all the monsters would almost solely focus on me but now they were interested in Leo. Who could be his godly parent for monsters to want him so badly that they would ignore the son of Poseidon?  What really had me worried is something that Crusty said when I was tricking him into the bed. 

“I would usually try to offer all of you another foot or so in height, but it seems like the little one there caught the eye of a higher nature. It's really a shame he could‘ve used the extra height”

Someone of a higher Nature…

What higher nature would be interested in Leo? 

What did Leo have to do with anything?

Well it didn't matter to me, no matter who or what is after Leo I wouldn't let them hurt him. He's just a kid and he doesn't deserve whatever he's been through, or whatever this mysterious person was trying to put him through. What he deserved was a good place to sleep without someone coming after him every five minutes. 

I look ahead of me Annabeth is walking down the street, with Grover behind her holding Leo's hand as Leo eats a granola bar. The kid had passed out from lack of sleep and malnutrition. Which didn’t spell well for his self care routine.  Honestly it explained his less than average height.

As we walked down the street it was almost like I could feel the underworld getting closer. It left a sinking feeling in my gut. Down in the underworld Hades is holding my mom hostage. Trying to start a war to gain more members for his army of the dead. It makes me sick to the stomach thinking about it. 

Behind me I can hear the night life of the city, it’s different from New York. Instead of the constant noise that never seemed to stop buzzing in your ears, the streets of L.A. are almost quiet highlighting every single one of our footsteps on the hard concrete. I know the busy streets can’t be that far away, even if they are in a residential area. Maybe L.A. is actually part of the underworld, the residents were already dead silent so it couldn’t be that far fetched.

At the front of the group Annabeth stops suddenly. She turns around, adjusting her grip on Leo as she spins, turning her stormy eyes on me and Grover. 

“Okay boys here’s how this is going to go, I have a hideout near here from before Luke and Talia. We are going to go take care of business while Leo stays here as hidden as possible. When we are done we are going to come back here as soon as possible, pick up Leo and go back to camp. Is that clear?”

Annabeth quirks her brow a little as her gaze switches between me and Grover. Her tone leaving no room for argument.

Grover nods and Annabeth's eyes turn to me.

I sigh, “Fine” I say with absolutely no annoyance at all as I cross my arms. None Whatsoever. I am totally FIIINEEE with her taking over my quest, Also who the heck is Talia???

Annabeth finally looks away from me and Grover instead heading towards an alleyway on the other side of the empty street. The streetlights above us flicker as we head towards the alley, Annabeth starts walking faster after that. Turning down another alley and going down what must have been a thousand twists and turns Annabeth finally seems to think we’ve reached our destination. She places Leo down on a crate before turning towards me.

“Stay here” She glares at me before ushering Leo off the crate jumping on top of it and pulling down the fire escape of the building next to us. 

“Wha- What?” I stare at where Annabeth holds the ladder stabilizing it as Leo warily climbs up to the second floor.

“You need to stay down here while I take Leo to the Hideout” She says glaring at me.

“Why?”  I stare at Annabeth, why now did I have to stay behind?

“Look Grover, can you explain to him why I don't want him to STINK up the place” I really don't like how she emphasized the word stink.

“HEY I DONT STINK” Annabeth climbs up the fire escape, before I can say more or follow after her she pulls up the ladder.

Grover places his hand on my shoulder, when I turn to look at him he has a deadpan look on his face. “Percy, you remember how I explained how monsters find demigods.”

“Yeah” I blink at him.

“Percy” Grover deadpans.

“Wha- oh” It made my face feel hot when it comes to me. Monsters can smell demigods. Especially ones with powerful godly parents. I was a demigod with one of the big three as a godly parent. Monsters could probably smell me from miles away. Aka, I stink. 

Grover pats me on the shoulder as he watches me come to the realization. 

“I don't actually stink, do I?” I look at Grover, if anyone would know it would be him after all he did share a room with me for months in Yancy.

Grover averts his gaze looking anywhere but me.

“Grover!?”

Annabeth Pov (3rd Person Perspective)

Leo was concerningly small for his age. It made Annabeth worry for him when he jumped the small gap between rooftops after her. 

She had been cataloging those little things about him since the group had realized they couldn't leave him behind, but also couldn't afford to send him back to camp either.  The way he had stayed quiet unless someone asked him a question, the way his eyes would become more downturned when he thought no one was looking. How he didn't want to talk about how he ended up in the lotus casino. It wasn't just suspicious it was downright concerning. 

Annabeth didn't know what to do about him. She didn't know what to think about him. He was small, he had strangely elfish features, and behind all the sadness and determination to live in his eyes Annabeth could see this uncanny intelligence she had only seen in a mirror. It unnerved her, Leo reminded her so much of her younger self it made her want to puke, but at the same time Percy was right Leo wasn't her. 

He was almost completely different in the same ways he was similar. 

He was scary smart.

He had survived on his own for months alone… or longer.

He  was practically reliving how she had run away from her dad and stepfamily,

But he was different, there’s a look in his eyes that Annabeth has only seen in the campers who… lost everything before they came to camp. The scars don’t really paint a pretty picture either. 

She can see them as Leo’s shirt rides up as he climbs up the fire escape beside her, Percy probably hadn’t noticed when he was carrying Leo. If he had he probably would have told Grover, and Grover would have worried enough to tip her off.

The fire escape clangs as Leo scrambles onto the rooftop and waits for her. His brown eyes look almost black in the dark as he stares down at her cautiously. Annabeth smiles up at him reassuringly as she climbs up the fire escape to stand beside him. 

“Why can’t Percy come with us again?” He asks a slight nervous pitch in his voice. 

“Well, Percy isn’t really that discreet. So it would be kind of hard to keep the secret hideout, secret if he’s practically screaming its location from the rooftops”

“Oh” Leo starts scanning the surrounding buildings.

Together they walk over to the next rooftop, there's a one foot gap that's easy to jump over. Annabeth moves towards its fire escape next. She watches Leo as he nervously teases at his shirt sleeve and picks at his finger nails before jumping the gap.

Annabeth holds out her hand for Leo to hold, he hesitates for a second before taking it. It's warm in her hand despite the coolness of the night.

They continue their short trek over a couple more rooftops and up a few more fire escapes before they reach the window of a small abandoned apartment building. Annabeth slides the window open and they slip inside. It's just how she left it, a small pot she used to collect rainwater sits in the corner. Mold crawls up the ceiling, slightly more pronounced than when she had last been here. 

Leo freezes in the middle of the room.

“What is it Leo?” Annabeth scans the room for anything out of place.

Leo turns around clutching the bottom of his shirt and moving the fabric between his fingers. 

“I- I forgot my toolbox in Percy’s backpack” He stares at the ground off to the side a little. 

“Oh, that's ok Leo I can bring it to you tomorrow okay.” If she even made it to tomorrow.

“Kay” Leo’s still looking down at the floor.

Annabeth kneels down placing a hand on his shoulder, if she didn’t make it through tomorrow then Leo wouldn’t get his toolbox back or make it to camp-half blood. She knows what she has to do.

“Leo I-, If I-, If the boys and I don’t come back tomorrow, don’t look for us okay.” She can feel Leo tense under her hand, like he was expecting this kind of talk. She would have to fix that when she made it back.

“Me and the boys are in a really dangerous situation, remember the news story we saw earlier.” Leo nods.

“We need to make sure that you stay safe, okay. So if we don’t come back tomorrow you need to leave and head to Long Island, New York, okay.” Leo looks up at her.

“Why New York?” He asks, confusion clear in his gaze. Annabeth smiles softly.

“Me and the boys have friends in Long Island, If you make it there just look for camp Half-Blood okay” Annabeth's grey eyes pierce into Leo's dark browns.

“But wha-” Annabeth cuts him off.

“Leo you have to promise me if we don’t come back tomorrow you’ll go to Camp Half blood.”

“Wait, how will I know you're not coming back,” Leo's eyes are wet, “what if you get hurt on the way here or-” a shining droplet rolls down his cheek. 

“Or what if you don’t want to come back for me” he murmurs looking back at the ground.

Annabeth pauses before answering “I don’t know when we’ll be back tomorrow Leo, but I prom- I swear on the river Styx I Will Come Back For You, no matter what gets in my way.”

Leo looks up at her, eyes still wet with tears. He surges forwards wrapping his hand around her waist and hugging her tightly. It's warm and desperate. Annabeth clutches him just as tightly, she doesn’t want to let go but she has to.

“Leo promise me you will go to camp-half blood if we don’t make it back on time okay.”

He looks into her eyes staring into her. “Okay Annie, I promise” They take one final embrace before Annabeth leaves through the window rushing back to where she left Percy and Grover.

As she leaves Leo's eyes peer out the window watching her leave, wiping tears from his face as determination sets into his features.

Two hours later the window sill creaks outside the abandoned apartment.

Two and half hours later a child makes a world changing decision.

Six hours later a blonde girl stumbles through an abandoned room weeping on the decrepit hard wood floors.