You'll Learn to Love Me (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 5: Laylana is a Bit Rusty on Quests

Leo stopped right before the entrance to the factory, also stopping Laylana in her tracks.

"Leo, what the fuck? Come on, Piper and Jason might be in trouble." She hissed. The boy just looked at her, and nodded as they stepped inside. Leo looked like he was going to call out to them, but stopped.

Somewhere on the factory floor, Piper's voice cried out: "Leo, help! Laylana!"

But the two demigods held their tongues. Laylana followed as she and Leo ducked behind a cargo container. She used whatever was left of her energy to shroud them in darkness, helping them conceal their footsteps and movements. When they reached the assembly line, Laylana dragged Leo down to crouch next to her. 

Piper's voice called out again: "Leo? Laylana?"

Laylana caught Leo staring at the machinery. She peered over the machinery she was hiding behind and noticed three clustered shapes. She also noted more shapes dangling from chains, and realized after one was twisting around, she realized they were alive. 

"Told you it was nothing," one of the things rumbled. 

One of the other things shifted, and called out in Piper's voice: "Leo, help me! Laylana please—" Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"

The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if they know what's good for them. Or the girl was lying about another two demigods. Let's get cooking."

A bright orange light sizzled to life—an emergency flare—and the two were temporarily blinded. Leo grabbed Laylana's hand and pulled her behind the crane until the spots cleared from their eyes. Upon looking back at the figures, Laylana realized the smaller ones were Jason and Piper. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up to their necks. Piper was flailing around, trying to free herself. Her mouth was gagged, but at least she was alive. Jason didn't look so good, he had been knocked unconscious. One of the most terrifying things was looking at the fire... and putting two and two together, Laylana realized their intentions. She glanced back at the sign that held the title of the factory; Monocle Motors. How out of touch with quests was she? They flew directly into a Cyclopes den.

Three massive humanoids gathered around the fire. Two were standing, stoking the flames. The largest one crouched with his back to them. Laylana noticed Leo was shaking, and she squeezed his hand that he was still holding in reassurance.

"It's okay, we can take them." She whispered. "Do you have a plan? I'll follow your lead."

Leo's breath hitched, before he nodded. He slipped off his backpack and quietly started
to unzip it. The Cyclops in the chain mail loincloth walked over to Piper, who squirmed and tried to head-butt him in the eye. "Can I take her gag off now? I like it when they scream."

"That's... creepy sounding." Laylana couldn't help but comment as she watched over Leo. 
The question was directed at the third Cyclops, apparently the leader. The crouching figure grunted, and Loincloth ripped the gag off Piper's mouth. She didn't scream. She took a shaky breath like she was trying to keep herself calm. Meanwhile, Leo found what he wanted in the backpack. He pulled out a remote, which Laylana raised an eyebrow at but chose not to question him.

"Can you keep doing your shadow magic? Try and hide me while I work on this." Leo whispered.

"Yeah... If things go sideways, I'll distract them." Laylana confirmed, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut. She wasn't the biggest fan of Cyclopes, none one was, but she despised  them. Except for Percy's brother, Tyson, he was a sweetheart. 

Laylana shrouded Leo in shadows, keeping her concentration on him as he moved around through the factory, while also keeping an eye on the three Cyclopes. The Cyclops in the toga poked at the fire. His buddy glowered at Piper, waiting for her to do something entertaining. "Scream, girl! I like funny screaming!"

When Piper finally spoke, her tone was calm and reasonable, like she was correcting a naughty puppy. "Oh, Mr. Cyclops, you don't want to kill us. It would be much better if you let us go."

Fuck Laylana had to really work on her resistance to Charmspeak. She nearly ran out into the middle of the clearing to cut Piper's chains down. The Cyclopes scratched his ugly head. He turned to his friend in the fiberglass toga. "She's kind of pretty, Torque. Maybe I should let her go."

Torque, the dude in the toga, growled. "I saw her first, Sump. I'll let her go!"

Sump and Torque started to argue, but the third Cyclops rose and shouted, "Fools!"
Laylana almost lost her concentration on keeping Leo hidden. The third Cyclops was a female, one she hadn't seen ever before. She was several feet taller than Torque or Sump, and even beefier.  The woman Cyclops stalked over to Sump and pushed him aside, knocking him over the conveyor belt. Torque backed up quickly.

"The girl is Venus spawn," the lady Cyclops snarled. "She's using charmspeak on you."

Piper started to say, "Please, ma'am—"

"Rarr!" The lady Cyclops grabbed Piper around the waist. "Don't try your pretty talk on me, girl! I'm Ma Gasket! I've eaten heroes tougher than you for lunch!"

Laylana debated on stepping in, fearing Piper would get crushed, but Ma Gasket just dropped her and let her dangle from her chain. Then she started yelling at Sump about how stupid he was. She looked over at Leo, who was still working furiously, before he began moving to the next robotic arm.

"—eat her last, Ma?" Sump was saying.

"Idiot!" Ma Gasket yelled. "I should've thrown you out on the streets when you were babies, like proper Cyclops children. You might have learned some useful skills. Curse my soft heart that I kept you!"

"Soft heart?" Torque muttered.

"What was that, you ingrate?"

"Nothing, Ma. I said you got a soft heart. We get to work for you, feed you, file your toenails—"

"And you should be grateful!" Ma Gasket bellowed. "Now, stoke the fire, Torque! And Sump, you idiot, my case of salsa is in the other warehouse. Don't tell me you expect me to eat these demigods without salsa!"

"Yes, Ma," Sump said. "I mean no, Ma. I mean—"

"Go get it!" Ma Gasket picked up a nearby truck chassis and slammed it over Sump's head. Sump crumpled to his knees. Laylana was sure a hit like that would kill him, but Sump apparently got hit by trucks a lot. He managed to push the chassis off his head. Then he staggered to his feet and ran off to fetch the salsa.

"Come on, Leo..." Laylana whispered, her face straining in concentration as spots danced across her vision. She watched as he moved toward a third. He began to get too far away from her, so she followed after him a bit, dashing between the machinery. As they ran between robotic arms, the Cyclopes didn't see him, but Piper did. Laylana watched the girl's expression turned from terror to disbelief, and she gasped.

Ma Gasket turned to her. "What's the matter, girl? So fragile I broke you?"

Thankfully, Piper was a quick thinker. She looked away from them and said, "I think it's my ribs, ma'am. If I'm busted up inside, I'll taste terrible."

'Nah that's me.' Laylana thought as she could barely feel any pain in her ribs, whether that was from the healing or her adrenaline.

Ma Gasket bellowed with laughter. "Good one. The last hero we ate—remember him, Torque? Son of Mercury, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Ma," Torque said. "Tasty. Little bit stringy."

"He tried a trick like that. Said he was on medication. But he tasted fine!"

"Tasted like mutton," Torque recalled. "Purple shirt. Talked in Latin. Yes, a bit stringy, but good."

Laylana stiffened from her crouched position. Apparently, Piper was having the same thought he was, because she asked, "Purple shirt? Latin?"

"Good eating," Ma Gasket said fondly. "Point is, girl, we're not as dumb as people think! We're not falling for those stupid tricks and riddles, not us northern Cyclopes."

Laylana focused back on Leo, shaking her head to clear her vision. The shadows began to disperse slowly from Leo's body, and she knew if she kept going like this she would pass out.

Piper kept talking, laying on the praise. "Oh, I've heard about the northern Cyclopes! I never knew you were so big and clever!"

"Flattery won't work either," Ma Gasket said, though she sounded pleased. "It's true, you'll be breakfast for the best Cyclopes around."

"But aren't Cyclopes good?" Piper asked. "I thought you made weapons for the gods."

"Bah! I'm very good. Good at eating people. Good at smashing. And good at building things, yes, but not for the gods. Our cousins, the elder Cyclopes, they do this, yes. Thinking they're so high and mighty 'cause they're a few thousand years older. Then there's our southern cousins, living on islands and tending sheep. Morons! But we Hyperborean Cyclopes, the northern clan, we're the best! Founded Monocle Motors in this old factory—the best weapons, armor, chariots, fuel-efficient SUVs! And yet—bah! Forced to shut down. Laid off most of our tribe. The war was too quick. Titans lost. No good! No more need for Cyclops weapons."

"Oh, no," Piper sympathized. "I'm sure you made some amazing weapons."

Torque grinned. "Squeaky war hammer!" He picked up a large pole with an accordion-looking metal box on the end. He slammed it against the floor and the cement cracked, but there was also a sound like the world's largest rubber ducky getting stomped.

"Terrifying," Piper said. Laylana had to agree with her. 

Torque looked pleased. "Not as good as the exploding ax, but this one can be used more than once."

"Can I see it?" Piper asked. "If you could just free my hands—"

Torque stepped forward eagerly, but Ma Gasket said, "Stupid! She's tricking you again. Enough talk! Slay the boy first before he dies on his own. I like my meat fresh."

Fuck. Laylana made sure Leo was in a concealed spot, as she drew the shadows back to her and started to walk towards them. Was it stupid? Yes. But she had no other choice if she needed to buy Leo a few extra minutes. 

"Hey, wait," Piper said, trying to get the Cyclopes' attention. "Hey, can I just ask—"

The wires sparked in Leo's hand. The Cyclopes froze and turned in his direction. Then Torque picked up a truck, but before he could throw it Laylana jumped into position.

"Hey!" she shouted, the Cyclopes turning to her in surprise. "Come and get me, fuckers!" 

She thanked the Gods that Leo managed to rush out of his hiding spot as she raced in the other direction. He got to his feet as she dodged around the machinery, and Ma Gasket spotted him. She yelled, "Torque, you pathetic excuse for a Cyclops, get them!"

Torque barreled toward Laylana first. She cursed, taking one of her daggers and throwing it at the Cyclopes chasing her. It impaled itself in the Cyclopes' forearm, making him let out a yell of pain

"Laylana! Over here!" Leo shouted from across the factory. Laylana felt her instincts kick into gear as she changed directions, running towards the machinery. Leo frantically gunned the toggle on his makeshift remote he held, watching the girl as she raced towards him with the Cyclopes behind her. Right as she reached his side, the first robotic arm whirred to life. A three-ton yellow metal claw slammed the Cyclops in the back so hard, he landed flat on his face. Before Torque could recover, the robotic hand grabbed him by one leg and hurled him straight up.

"AHHHHH!" Torque rocketed into the gloom. The ceiling was too dark and too high up to see exactly what happened, but judging from the harsh metal clang, Laylana guessed the Cyclops had hit one of the support girders. Torque never came down. Instead, yellow dust rained to the floor. Torque had disintegrated, and Laylana's dagger that had been impaled in his arm clattered to the floor in front of her.

Ma Gasket stared at the two in shock. "My son... You... You..."

As if on cue, Sump lumbered into the firelight with a case of salsa. "Ma, I got the extra-spicy—"

He never finished his sentence. Leo spun the remote's toggle, and the second robotic arm whacked Sump in the chest. The salsa case exploded like a piñata and Sump flew backward, right into the base of Leo's third machine. Sump may have been immune to getting hit with truck chasses, but he wasn't immune to robotic arms that could deliver ten thousand pounds of force. The third crane arm slammed him against the floor so hard, he exploded into dust like a broken flour sack.