𝕺𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝕬𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙 - 𝕱𝖊𝖒𝕺𝕮 𝖃 𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖟

Leo

I blamed the Windex. I should've known better. Now my entire project--two months of work--might literally blow up in my face.

I stormed around Bunker Nine, cursing myself for being so stupid, while my friends tried to calm me down.

"It's okay," Jason said. "We're here to help."

"Just tell us what happened," Piper urged.

Thank goodness they'd answered my distress call so quickly. I couldn't turn to anyone else. Having my best friends and girlfriend by my side made me feel better, though I wasn't sure we could stop what was to come.

Jason looked cool and confident as usual--all surfer dude handsome with his blond hair and sky-blue eyes. The scar on his mouth and the sword at his side gave him a rugged appearance, like he could handle anything.

Piper stood next to him in her jeans and orange camp T-shirt. Her long brown hair was braided on one side. Her dagger Katoptris gleamed at her belt. Despite the situation, her multicolored eyes sparkled like she was trying to suppress a smile. 

Kiera had just walked over, half awake. She had the same jeans on from yesterday, and the white long sleeve that were both stained with machine grease, oil, and burn marks. 

The previous night, we stayed up for hours, working together on the Argo II, till I forced her to get some sleep. 

Kiera's hair was tied back in a bun, while a few strands were sticking out. Her sea-green eyes were a contrast to the marks under her eyes--but they still sparkled, like she was just excited to see me again.

That wouldn't last long, since she'd soon learn of the issue.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, guys. This is serious. Buford's gone. If we don't get him back, this whole place is going to explode."

Piper's smile dimmed. "Explode? That doesn't sound very fun, but. . . just calm down, and tell us who Buford is."

She probably didn't mean to, but Piper had laced her voice with charmspeak, and I felt my muscles relaxing. My mind cleared a little.

"Fine," I said. "Come here."

I led them across the hangar floor, carefully skirting some of my more dangerous projects. In my two months at Camp Half-Blood, I spent most of the time in Bunker Nine. After all, I'd rediscovered the secret workshop. Now it was like a second home to me. But I knew my friends felt uncomfortable here--but Kiera was an exception of that.

Like last night, we usually always stayed awake past curfew. That's how it was for the past two months. We would stay overnight and every morning in the bunker, working, while Jason and Piper went on dates and trained.

During my only free time, Kiera drilled me hard in sword-fighting, till I was able to knock Nightfall out of her hands, or till my knees collapsed.

Kiera looked around the bunker, like it was new again.

Rows of workbenches stretched into darkness. Tool cabinets, storage closets, cages full of welding equipment, and stacks of construction material made a labyrinth of aisles so vast, I figured I'd only explored ten percent of it so far. Overhead ran a series of catwalks and pneumatic tubes for delivering supplies, plus a high-tech lighting and sound system that Kiera had mastered already.

A large magical banner hung over the center of the production floor. I had recently discovered how to change the display, like the Times Square Jumbotron, so now the banner read: Happy Valentines Day! All your goodies belong to Leo and Kiera!

I ushered my friends to the central staging area. Decades ago, my metallic friend Festus the bronze dragon had been created here. Now, I was slowly assembling my pride and joy--the Argo II.