After Everything (Heroes of Olympus)

After Everything (Part 2 of 2)

I could hear Leo's light footsteps nearing my hiding spot. The fact that he is alive sends a new drive through me, a reason to live on. Because my best friend, however impossible it seems, is alive.
I want to jump out and help him, back him up, but I am useless. Katropis, my only weapon, is gone, and I can't use my charmspeak.
The problem isn't that I'm defenseless, or that I don't have charmspeak any more, it's that I'm too powerful. Anything I tell one monster to do, everyone one else in earshot does the same thing.
Learned that one the hard way.
So I'll stay hidden until I absolutely have to get up, I decide.
"You are puny," the monster responds. A strange clicking noise follows, like the monster was...chuckling? "What could you do to hurt me, huh? Throw some screws at me, useless son of Hephaestus."
Leo laughs, and I can tell he is right next to my hiding spot. Please have something up your sleeve. Now that he is here, the two of us living is my main concern.
"Actually, I was thinking about burning this place down," judging by the orange glow on the ground, he is holding a flame in his hands. "Or...if you have to be difficult, I have a homemade bomb." He pauses, as if waiting for the monster to make a choice, then he continues. "I don't know if I'll survive the blast, but I'd quite literally bet my life that I'll do it anyways."
Now, neither of those are really beneficial towards me, so I have no choice but to stand.
He doesn't notice me at first, his dark eyes still trained on the monster. So I speak, "Got anything else? Because there are like, at least ten ways that could go wrong."
He turns on me, wild-eyed. But when he sees me, an easy, relieved grin slides across his face. "You're alive," he breathes.
"Well obviously."
"Good, because I've been on my own and my chances of survival have been lowered drastically," he smirks, "I need a new partner in crime."
"I'd be willing to take the position if we survive the next few minutes," I say, nodding to the monster.
"Oh right, I forgot about Mr. Ugly," but he doesn't take his eyes off of me. "Just tell him to dance off a cliff or something."
"I-I can't," I look at the monster ready to pounce. "Stay," I speak, trying not to use too much power. The monster freezes, as dies Leo.
"Hey...what? Piper, you made me stop too," I can see him failing to move his legs.
"I told you, everything I say to do...everyone in earshot will do it. I've gotten too powerful," I smile ruefully, "Mom's last gift to me."
The monster yells something about filthy half bloods and how it is going to tear us apart.
Leo pushes his lips together. "I see. Uhh...couldn't you just tell it to go away?"
"You'd go too!" I say, looking to him in despair.
"Then just follow me," he answers. "Honestly, Pipes, anything to get me unfrozen."
I blush, embarrassed that I hadn't thought of that before. Then I look at the monster. "Leave us."
The monster left in a hurry, and I could see it trying to resist the pull of my charmspeak. Leo takes it in stride, grinning as he leads me through the surrounding forest.
It's pouring rain by now, and as we reach a small cabin, I grumble to Leo, "I hate the rain."
He sits under the roof of the porch and asks, "Why?"
I plop down next to him, grasping his hand and putting my head on his shoulder. I've missed him. And it's good to have someone after months and months of loneliness and death.
"It...reminds me of Jason, you know?"
Leo turns to meet my eyes. "So why do you hate it?"
"Because, idiot, it's sad."
"Well I like reminders of them," he says. "Simpler times, sure, but times when I hid. I don't hide anymore. And now, I'm the persevering hero that will save the world. I'm now the guy that no one can hate. Rain reminds me that things can be better, and that things have been worse. That I can change things again. Before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger," He smiles, but it's a sad smile. Then he turns to look back at the trees. "So yeah, I think you're wrong. I find peace in the rain."

End

I used two prompts for this one. One was "Once we were heroes, but everything has changed since then" and the other was that a character's last words had to be "I find peace in the rain."