ALL RIGHTS TO THE CHARACTERS (except Celeste, she's mine) BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN!!! I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO OR THE KANE CHRONICLES SERIES!!!

Chapter 14 - Leo

The next morning, the 12 of them left the hotel and continued to walk.

"Any idea where we're supposed to be going?" asked Walt.

Celeste sighed. "I'm not really sure. I'm just kind of following my gut instinct. We...didn't really plan this well."

Leo walked up to his girlfriend and patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright. We'll find your clone, we just have to be patient."

Percy snorted. "Leo, almost half of us have ADHD. You're asking us to be patient?"

"Yeah, I guess that won't work out very well." Leo said.

After that, the group fell silent.

A sense of awkwardness seeped through the air as they walked uncomfortably through the everyday noises of car horns, people talking, and footsteps.

Then they saw it.

The hydra was curled up around a telephone pole, glaring at passerby mortals.

As soon as it caught the demigod scent though, it's head jerked up.

"What is that thing?" Jaz muttered.

"A hydra." Percy answered.

"Don't cut off it's head, whatever you do." Annabeth said.

They all drew a weapon.

The mortals were oblivious to the giant hydra and walked around it without a care in the world.

Then darkness seemed to cast over the sky and every single mortal dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Like the Battle of Manhattan..." Percy murmured, shocked.

The hydra snarled but its eyes on each head seemed to glaze over.

Celeste's voice rang through the air, but it wasn't Celeste. It was her clone.

She seemed to be speaking to the hydra, but Leo didn't know how.

Then, she appeared beside the monster, wrapped in a dress as dark as night, a smirk on her face.

"A cloud of darkness over mortal eyes..." Nico murmured.

All of a sudden, Celeste snatched Annabeth's ivory sword and pressed the blade to her clone's heart.

Clone-Celeste threw her head back and laughed.

"Go ahead Celeste. Kill me. Just remember our little chit-chat earlier." The clone said.

Celeste's sword-arm wavered.

"Celeste, what are you waiting for?" Percy snapped.

"I-" Celeste began. And then she lowered the sword.

"That's what I thought." Clone-Celeste said.

Leo blinked. What was Celeste doing? She could've ended it right then and there!

"What did you two talk about? When did you talk!? What did you do to her!?" Percy screamed at Celeste's clone, uncapping Riptide and snarling at the girl.

Celeste held her brother back. "Percy stop. Celestial bronze doesn't work, there's no point."

"YOU can kill her Celeste! Why are you so hesitant to do that!?" Percy yelled incredulously.

"I can't explain it! She said things to me...maybe I'm not meant to kill her. Maybe we're both meant to die." Celeste said quietly.

The hydra began to hiss and clone-Celeste looked like she was growing impatient.

"I came here for one reason only. My plan is to overthrow the gods. All of them. Greek, Egyptian, and Roman alike. Now..." Clone-Celeste began to walk over to Walt.

He held up his sword and the others around him mimicked his movements.

Clone-Celeste chuckled. "Kill me and your little friend, Celeste, dies as well."

They hesitated.

"That's what I thought." Clone-Celeste said with a smug smile.

A puff of dark clouds swirled around her and launched themselves into Walt.

The magician boy staggered and then crumpled to the ground.

"WALT!!" Sadie screamed.

She ran up to strike Celeste's clone but clone-Celeste simply thrust out her hand. Sadie went flying and rammed into the wall.

Carter cried out and rushed to his sister.

"Anyone else?" Clone-Celeste asked.

Leo saw Celeste grip Annabeth's sword tighter in her hands.

Frank, Hazel, Nico, Leo, Zia, and Jaz were still holding weapons at the ready.

All was silent.

"Leave Walt alone. It's me you want." Celeste croaked.

"Well dear, I don't want Walt, you're right-I just want the god inside him. And I guess you will work as well." Clone-Celeste thrust out another cloud of darkness.

"NO!" Leo screamed.

It happened so fast.

Nico had jumped in front of Celeste and had immediately collapsed onto the ground.

"Cursed!" Clone-Celeste screamed. "Kill them all! Spare the one who looks like me! I have plans for her..."

The hydra sprang up and bellowed loudly, spewing fire.

Leo was glad he was fire-proof.

Walt was being dragged away by Celeste's clone, Sadie was still unconscious on the wall, Nico was motionless and unprotected on the ground, and Celeste was nowhere to be seen.

Leo quickly ran to Percy. "Where's Celeste!?"

Percy looked ghostly white.

"I-I don't know." He stuttered, his sword arm dipping as his hands shook.

Clone-Celeste had disappeared as well, taking Walt with her.

The hydra snarled and snapped down, making the demigods and magicians scatter into different directions.

Around them, the mortals were still unconscious and many of them looked as if they weren't breathing.

Shaking away the terrible thought, Leo continued to help fight.

The hydra blew more fire, catching Hazel off guard and burning her left arm.

She cried out and dropped to her knees.

Frank was immediately by her side as he launched an arrow at the monster.

He then grabbed Hazel by her non-burned arm and pulled her away from the beast.

The hydra began to move around, it's talons slashing through the air and its roar deafening them.

"Leo, cover me." Percy said from beside him. He threw Annabeth's invisibility cap back on from where Celeste had dropped it when she yanked it off his head earlier.

He disappeared in an instant and blood started to flow from the side of the hydra's skin.

The hydra screamed and snapped at where Percy must've been.

Leo quickly ran up to the hydra, pulling a small dagger and a hammer out of his tool belt.

"Hey lizard-brain! Yeah, I'm talking to you! Come and get me!" Leo screamed.

The hydra roared and spit fire directly at the son of Hephaestus.

He heard Zia, Carter, and Jaz scream in horror, but he simply smiled as the flames rose up around him and did him no harm.

When the hydra stopped spouting flames, it coked its heads as if to say, "why aren't you toast?"

But Leo had bought Percy just enough time.

He saw the son of Poseidon appear on the hydra's back as his cap fell off of his head.

He raised Riptide and stabbed down right where the heart should've been.

The hydra screeched loudly, convulsed, and then dissolved into yellow monster dust.

Percy fell from where the hydra's back disappeared from under him and Leo heard a crack as he landed on the cement.

Percy cried out as Annabeth rushed to him.

She checked him for broken bones and then sighed in relief.

"You just twisted your ankle. You'll be fine." She said.

Percy nodded and grimaced when Annabeth helped him to his feet.

They were all a mess.

Walt was taken by Celeste's clone, Nico was still unconscious, Sadie was beginning to wake up from her slumped position on the wall, Hazel had a severe burn on her left arm, Celeste was nowhere to be seen, and now Percy had a bum ankle.

And then suddenly, Leo felt a hand clamp down over his mouth and pull him back hard.

The hand was holding a cloth which was drenched in a sweet smelling liquid.

A familiar voice behind him started to talk as he began to lose consciousness. "Leo...you have to trust me, I'm doing the right thing..."

It was Celeste.