𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋

𝐋𝐄𝐎 𝐜𝐡𝟐𝟑|Pinecone Face rocks up

Leo

"Ow," I said when I woke up. I noticed the familiar ceiling of the infirmary and Piper sitting on a chair beside me. She looked like she'd fallen asleep, but when I spoke she sat upright. Before falling off her chair, of course.

I started laughing at her and she scowled at me from the floor. "You should not be laughing with a concussion, Leo."

"I'm just too funny," I replied before swinging my legs over the bed.
"Wait, what happened?" I asked. The pounding in my head was relentless, and my body felt so stiff.

"That's what I was about to ask you, Valdez. We got your stuff, it's in the dining room," Piper replied, standing up. And then the memories came flooding back to me. The last thing I remembered was lying on the floor, Percy and Annabeth yelling and coughing, trying to get me out.

"Where's Percy and Annabeth?" I said, eyes widening. I staggered out of bed and went to the door.

"Hey, hey, Leo calm down. They should be back soon - you shouldn't walk in your state!"
"They're not back yet?"
"Um, no - but I'm sure they're fine. They're strong, they've been through worse."
"You're right for once, I guess," I replied, leaning against a medicine cabinet, weariness taking over. I was still uneasy.
"For once?" she repeated, folding her arms.
"Anyway, how'd I get here?" I asked her. Hazel came into the room, looking furious.
"I took you here on Arion, but now I can't get back to the others," she scowled, having caught the end of our conversation.
Piper frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Whenever we try to canter, the dirt comes up and sinks Arion's hooves into the ground."
"Dirt Face," I muttered angrily.

You know, I am really not fond of that nickname, Valdez.

I looked around, wide eyed.

Gaia?

The one and only.

Why are you talking to me? What are you doing?

Preparing to destroy mortal civilization.

No way.

I do not appreciate sarcasm.

I don't appreciate you killing people, but oh well, you've been there, done that.

I could sense her laugh.

The worst is yet to come.

She was gone. I felt her presence leave. I remembered my dreams and felt the urge to repeat them at that moment.

"Leo, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah? Why'd you ask?"
"Your expressions kept changing every five seconds, like you were having a conversation with yourself."
"Funny that -" I said before I was cut off.
Jason ran into the room, Frank on his heels.
"Yo, Leo! You okay?" the Son of Jupiter asked.
"Ecstatic," I said. I actually felt like I'd been placed in a giant washing machine, but we'll move past that.

"The others just arrived on deck! So did my sister and the rest of the hunters," Jason said, grinning and beckoning us to follow.

On the deck, I saw Percy and Annabeth talking to Thalia with loads of other hunters around. They both looked a bit battered and bruised, but seemed mostly fine. Percy looked like he hadn't slept a wink for a week, but was grinning. I gave them a wave and they ran up to me.

"You okay? You looked like hell when we found you - what happened in there?" Percy asked, eyeing me in concern.
"I think we need a meeting to discuss everyone's stories, I think we have a lot to talk about," Annabeth said, indicating to below deck.
"Got that right, Greek Geek," I replied. Wow, my head must be hurting to insult Annabeth like that right now. She stared at me, " What did you just say?" Her eyes pierced into my soul and I felt uncomfortable.

"Um..."
"Nice one!" Percy grinned, giving me a fist bump.
"Do not encourage eachother," Annabeth muttered.
Jason came up and patted me on the shoulder. "I think we best get this meeting started so you can work on repairs. We don't have much time. I'll go grab Thalia - the rest of the Hunters can stay here for now."

_____________

Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Hazel, Frank, Thalia and I sat around the table. Jason's older (younger?) sister sat with her boots on the table, chewing gum.

Jason began.

"So let me get this straight. You three went to this store, and were confronted by Medusa. You went in, Leo, got the stuff and were ambushed by a whole load of Telekhines. Then, you managed to fall off a shelf and get a concussion. You managed to kill all the telekhines, but Percy killed the manticore when he found you. Meanwhile, you guys were fighting a freaking army outside. Annabeth, you managed to kill Medusa before you went in and got Leo-"
"Don't forget about Kelp Head's tsunami that we saw from miles away," Thalia piped in.
Percy shifted in his seat, "Shut up pinecone face," he said.
Thalia chuckled menacingly, "Oh no, you did not," she said, arms folded, crackling with energy.

"Wait, you guys know eachother?" Hazel said.
"Duh, four years and counting the misery," Thalia smirked.
"If it weren't for me, you'd still be a tr-"
"Okayy, what were you saying, Jason?" Thalia interrupted. I snorted and she shot me a glare, putting her feet back on the table. I'd heard a rumour or two about her being a tree, but had forgotten that Percy had gone on the quest to retrieve the fleece. I resisted the urge to ask her to put her dirty boots back down off the table. If she made a dent, I swear to the gods-

Jason smiled. "So Annabeth and Percy got you out of the burning building, and Hazel picked you up from Arion. Then Percy and Annabeth were confronted by Gaia, who then summoned Octavian from the dead-."
- he said that part with so much distaste, that it looked like me when I'm forced to eat Brussel sprouts - "-who attempted to capture you. You got free, but he put you in a sticky position but-"
"Then I saved the day," Thalia finished, punching Annabeth on the shoulder, grinning wickedly. Annabeth smiled and leaned on Thalia's shoulder.

"Oh um - I had a dream," I said. That snapped people to attention. I explained my dream.
"Oh and, Ouranos said that you had a decision to make, Percy," I added.
He frowned, "Ominous, much. Did he say what about?"
"Nope."
"Let's just hope it's whether or not I get fries or carrot sticks as a side next time I go to McDonald's, as that's a pretty easy choice." Percy replied, staring into space.
"That being fries," he added, when no one answered.
Everyone hummed in agreement, apart from Piper who started saying that carrot sticks would be better.

"And you're the one that's always reminding me that vegetarians do not only eat vegetables!" I said, incredulously. She gave me a classic 'Piper' smirk.
A mix of trying not to laugh but being annoyed at the same time, with a hint of why am I even friends with this guy?

The mood in the room was glum though, and I could tell people were worried.

"I'm concerned that Nico's not back yet," Hazel said, biting her lip.
"They'll be fine. It's Nico, after all," Frank assured her. He put his arm around her shoulder and she sank into him. Boy, did I miss Calypso.

"I'm worried about Camp Jupiter, Reyna's all on her own," Jason said.
"Reyna's a good leader, she'll sort it out," Annabeth replied.
"I'm worried about Camp Half-Blood," Percy muttered and Thalia squeezed his shoulder.

"Lots of worry! Don't worry, about a thing, cuz', every little thing, is gonna be -" I began to sing, living up the mood. I was so out of tune that it made even me wince, and that's saying something.
"Shut up Leo," Piper said, laughing. I'm glad I got a laugh out of someone.

"Well, Uncle Leo here has to start repairing the ship. We should be heading towards the Hubbard Glacier in about an hour, folks!"

With that, we dispersed.