27 : Disaster.
BLAIRE WAS ALMOST thankful when Leo went insane and started firing on the Romans, for it saved her from Octavian's obnoxious, nagging questions. Though, Leo's actions did cause a litereal battle to ensue below, the scrawny descendant of Apollo was no longer drilling her on the Greek Camper's loyalty like he was the entire trudge over to the Argo which was a large blessing in her eyes.
When they climbed aboard the ship, Leo's demeanor completely changed, and the chill taunting Blaire seemed to worsen, sending goosebumps up and down her arms and rendering her light headed. It was near July, yet Blaire was frigid. Something wasn't right.
The Valdez boy halted for a moment in front of the ships controls, his hands hovering above them as Blaire told Octavian dryly, "Welcome aboard."
Skeptically, Octavian eyed her. She wasn't quite sure what he thought they had planned or why he deemed himself worth enough of as much time and energy it would take to betray him.
"Neither of us are planning on killing you," Blaire began, "Are we Leo?"
Apparently, Blaire was merely speaking for herself. Not any more than thirty seconds after Blaire said that, Leo toggled a control and the entire ship trembled, sending everyone but Leo falling to the floor. A fiery explosion rocked Camp Jupiter, and Blaire swore she could almost hear the pandemonium errupt below as the column caught fire.
"Valdez, what the hell!" Blaire exclaimed in panic, pushing herself off the ground immediately. "What did you just do?"
The air was cold, hostility hanging in the balance between the three. The chill was back, and a dozen times more prominent. Blaire felt sick with dread.
Octavian was sprawled out on the floor a few feet away, shouting all types of profanities at the greek demigods. The ship was still trembling, so by the time Blaire had managed to cross the room, Leo had already launched another fiery missle at the forum below.
Blaire gripped his shoulder tightly—angrily, spinning him to face her. He didn't look like himself— for starters, his eyes were gold and glossed over. And his expression was completely foreign, Blaire had never seen Leo alight with such malice. She didn't even know it exsisted within him. This wasn't Leo.
"Stop it! You're gonna kill them," Blaire commanded. Instead of responding, Leo shoved her over like it was no problem, sending her toppiling in surprise yet again. Definitely not Leo.
"Destroy them all," Leo said in a monotone voice. His movements were precise like they belonged to a robot. "Kill them."
Still lying down, Blaire kicked his ankles, sweeping him off his feet. Then she stood, conjuring her sword from her bracelet and forcing it against Leo's— who was lying flat on his back—throat. He couldn't move without being impaled by her blade.
The Romans seemed to have begun to fight back. One of their catapults had fired, and the ship tilted to the side with a daunting creak. Octavian whined, scrambling away from Leo and towards the latter. He had the right idea.
"You two are crazy," He shouted. He was covered in soot from the explosions, and his eyes were blown wide with genuine fear.
"Go!" Blaire shouted. She wasn't necessarily concerned for his safety— more so just annoyed by him. She couldn't care less if he dropped dead that second, she just wanted him out of her hair. It was hard enough having to deal with her friend going crazy without him there. He only made things more stressful.
He didn't hesitate to evacuate the ship. Thank the gods.
"Must destroy them," Leo uttered again, his voice devoid of any life. She forced her sword further against his throat.
"What is wrong with you? Look what you did!"
Another explosion sent by the Romans shook the argo, and this time the riggings caught fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard. Blaire did not know where Coach Hedge went— but she would have appreciated the extra help.
Eventually, Annabeth shakily climbed aboard, making her way around the wreckage and toward them. "Blaire, Leo, what happened?"
Blaire turned her head to look at the daughter of Athena, and Leo took this as his chance. He lifted a leg and kicked Blaire in the stomach. She doubled over, wheezing from the impact and her sudden loss of breath and Annabeth cursed.
"Must destroy them all," Leo repeated, scrambling to his feet.
And then, from out of nowhere, Percy emerged and tackled Leo from behind. Leo's head hit the deck so hard Blaire swore she could feel the impact, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.
There was a garunteed head injury. Blaire winced as she watched the unconscious boy— feeling almost sorry for him.
A gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed. Annabeth rushed toward the controls, surveying them frantically. Behind them, armed legionnaires were closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred a horse that she was somehow riding, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.
Annabeth grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.
For the fifteenth time that hour, Annabeth asked Leo to explain himself. The son of Hephaestus already seemed mortified by his own actions, and Blaire doubted Annabeth's disappointed stare was any help in easing Leo's nerves.
The entire ship was in absolute shambles. Everything from Festus, the bronze dragon that was the very head of their ship, and their satalite array that powered the onboard Internet was destroyed. Leo had previously said that of the aerial oars had been knocked out of alignment or broken off completely, which explained why the ship was listing and shuddering as it flew, the engine wheezing like an asthmatic steam train.
"One more time," Annabeth demanded. "Exactly what happened?"
Leo choked back a sob, staring down at his beaten up sneakers. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."
Blaire stood a ways away from the new boy (Frank), Annabeth, and Coach Hedge on the deck who were interrogating Leo.
Annabeth crossed her arms. "You mean you don't remember?"
"I..." Leo looked physically pained, as if there was something lodged deep within his throat he was trying to speak around. "I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."
Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. In his gym clothes, with his cap pulled over his horns, he looked like an angry gym teacher.
"Look, kid," Hedge said, "you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans and knocked this girl over. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."
Blaire huffed and began to curse him out fir congratulating the boy on pushing her, but Annabeth interjected. "Coach," Annabeth said, "why don't you make sure all the fires are out?"
"But I already did that."
"Do it again."
The satyr trudged off, muttering under his breath. Even Hedge wasn't crazy enough to defy Annabeth.
Blaire watched as Annabeth knelt beside Leo and put a hand on his shoulder with a frown.
Leo was.... Leo was Blaire's friend. She'd been denying that fact for a while. But, as she stared down at the wounded boy and felt extremely sorry for him, she realized he was probably the closest thing to a friend she'd ever have again.
"Leo," Annabeth said calmly, "did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or—"
Leo squeezed his eyes shut. "No. The guy was a jerk, but he didn't fire on the camp. I did."
The new kid, Frank, scowled. "On purpose?"
Breaking her silence, Blaire stepped forward, into the scene, capturing all their attention. "Who even are you?"
While Frank blinked at her in surprise, Leo managed a smile, seeming slightly at ease by her quip. She didn't know why though. It's not like she was sticking up for him...
"No!" Leo admitted. "Well, yes...I mean, I didn't want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me—"
Startled, Blaire furrowed her eyebrows. "A cold feeling?"
Annabeth also looked uneasy at his confession. Perhaps she'd felt the same. Maybe Blaire wasn't totally alone in her unease.
"Yeah," Leo said. "Why?"
From belowdecks, Percy called up, "Annabeth, we need you."
Oh yeah..... Jason. She'd almost forgotten about him in all the haste. Hopefully he was, like.... okay. As soon as they'd gotten on board, Piper had taken Jason below. The cut on his head had looked pretty bad.
"He'll be fine." Annabeth's expression
softened. "Blaire, I'll be back. Just...watch
Leo. Please."
Internally, Blaire cursed Annabeth. Why was the Chase girl always putting Blaire on Leo-sitting duty?
Leo sighed a sad sigh and threw his head back against the wall. Frank just stood akwardly, surveying the two as if afraid to take his eyes off of them. Like he didn't trust them.
"I'm sorry," Leo said aloud. "I didn't— I'm sorry I didn't wanna, like push you... or kick you. And I really didn't wanna fire on the Roman Camp."
Blaire narrowed her eyes at him, perhaps for a moment too long, because he began rambling. "I feel really, really bad, Blaire. If I could go back and—"
Blaire shrugged in a way she hoped appeared nonchalant, cutting his nervous antics short. "It's fine, Valdez. It was funny watching Octavian freak out like that, anyways."
Leo laughed despite his obvious misery. Though, she wouldn't admit it aloud, she perferred his smile over his sulky frown anyday. "Yeah. It really was."
Frank cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows skeptically. "Um..." he pointed between the two of them, "Are you guys, like, a thing...?"
For a second, they elapsed into silence. Blaire and Leo's gazes darted away from one another quickly— coltishly. And then, Blaire laughed, and Leo cringed at the sound. Not that he didn't absolutely adore her laugh on the rare occasion he was blessed enough to hear it. It was just—- the timing.
"Gods, no," Blaire denied, shaking her head frantically. Where did Frank even get such an outlandish idea? They certainly didn't act coupely.
"Blaire's just my friend," Leo added, helpfully. His face had turned so red, he resembled a ripe tomato of sorts— and his lips were pursed.
"Hardly even that."
Frank nodded, murmuring a silent, "Sorry." Then, "So, your name isn't Sammy Valdez."
Leo scowled. "What kind of question is that?"
"Nothing," Frank dismissed him quickly. "I just— Nothing. About the firing on the camp...Octavian could be behind it, like magically or something. He didn't want the Romans getting along with you guys."
Leo shrugged hopelessly. He looked down at his hands, in deep thought. "Look...I should talk to Festus and get a damage report."
"Who's Festus?" Frank questioned.
Leo was struggling to stand, still disoriented from being knocked to the deck by Percy. So, with a sigh and obnoxious roll of her eyes, she extended a hand which he took greatfully, then she pulled him to his feet.
"Our friend," Leo said. "His name isn't Sammy either, in case you're wondering. Come on. I'll introduce you."
During the spring and early summer months whilst Leo was constructing the Argo II, Blaire would find herself so boerd, she'd visit Leo in his bunker. When her siblings were too much, and the beach brought forth too much hurtful nostalgia, she'd turn to the mostly-empty bunker where Leo worked.
Most of the time, she'd sit back and watch as he worked on the ship. Sometimes though, he'd successfully beg her to help him with minor things that didn't require much experience. They'd stay down there for hours, until the dinner bell rung and then they'd walk to the pavilion together in comfortable silence.
Blaire didn't know why she spent so much time with him. Perhaps it was because he was so talkative, she hardly had time to wallow in her own dreadful thoughts.
That day was like any other. Leo was working on painting the wooden planks of the exterior of the warship, for he claimed he was against flying an ugly ship. His camp T-shirt was covered in several blotches of white paint, as were his bare hands.
Blaire, unfortunately, found herself standing beside him, helping him slather the wood in a base coat of white paint before painting it chesnut brown. She thought it was ridiculous. Who cared how the ship looked if it could get the job done and sucessfully transport them across the sea?! Leo didn't agree though.
"I can't fly an ugly ship, Blaire," Leo protested with a shake of his head. "I just can't."
Blaire, who stood beside him, paintbrush in hand, huffed. Being late in the month of May, it was very hot outside— and very hot in Bunker nine. Blaire wore a pair of denim shorts and tied her hair away from her face, though this did little to combat the high temperatures. She was sweating profusely.
"This is so stupid, Valdez," Blaire told the boy. She too was covered in small smatterings of white paint.
"Hey—" He began. As he did so, he lifted his paintbrush and gestured towards her with it. However, the paste sticking to the bristles flew from the brush and onto her face, splashing her with the paint. "Oh— I didn't mean to—"
Blaire gasped, flinching as the cold paint touched her face. "Valdez! What's wrong with you?"
"It was an accident. I'm sorry!" He didn't seem very sorry though. He was trying to hold back his laughter but failing very miserably.
In response, Blaire flicked her brush toward him, covering him in a sheen layer of white paint. It landed scattered atop the bridge of his nose, arranging itself like a layer of freckles. Her face was pulled taut in anger.
"What the—" Without finishing his scentence, he bent over and dipped his brush in the bucket of paint again, then flicked it towards her.
Leo laughed when the substance left a large stain on her t-shirt, polluting the logo of some old British band. She didn't seem half as pleased though.
Blaire mimmicked his actions, covering her brush in paint and slinging it towards him. This time, her furious facade shattered and she was the one laughing. She seldom laughed anymore.
Soon enough, the two went in with their hands, collecting handfuls of paint and tossing it towards eachother. The were both covered in paint— looking like ridiculous children by the time Piper found them.
"Leo—" Piper called, entering the bunker and letting the door slam shut behind her. She stopped short upon seeing her friends covered in paint, staring at her like two deer caught in headlights. "What..."
"Hey, Pipes," Leo greeted casually, like he wasn't standing admist a mess of paint. "What's up?"
"It's alive!" Was the first thing Frank had to say when he layed eyes upon Festus. Blaire wasn't even sure why he was still trailing behind them.
"Yeah," Leo agreed, gesturing to the dragon. "Frank, this is Festus. He used to be a full bronze dragon, but we had an accident."
"You have a lot of accidents," Frank noted, rather judgementally.
"Well, some of us can't turn into dragons, so we have to build our own." Leo arched his eyebrows at Frank as if daring him to disagree. "Anyway, I revived him as a figurehead. He's kind of the ship's main interface now. How are things looking, Festus?"
Festus snorted smoke and made a series of squeaking, whirring sounds. Leo nodded, taking whatever the Hades Festus had said in. Blaire wasn't sure what the dragon had said, but Leo seemed to understand swimmingly. He really was a weird guy— Blaire didn't know anyone else who spoke bronze dragon.
"Ugh," Leo said. "Could be worse, but the hull is compromised in several places. The port aerial oars have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime—"
"Lime? What do you need Lime for?" Blaire interrogated with furrowed brows.
"B," He adressed her, "lime. Calcium carbonate, used in cement and a bunch of other— Ah, never mind. The point is, this ship isn't going far unless we can fix it."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me B?"
Festus made another creaking sound and Leo seemed taken aback for a moment before realization dawned upon him. "Oh... Hazel. That's the girl with the curly hair, right?"
The girl with curly hair who had been staring at Leo and Blaire all night. She rolled her eyes.
Frank gulped nervously. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Leo assured him. "According to
Festus, her horse is racing along below. She's
following us."
"We've got to land, then," Frank decided.
Leo studied him intently. "She's your girlfriend?"
Frank chewed his lip. "Yes."
Blaire wanted to ask him why she was staring at other boys then. She didn't.
"You don't sound sure."
"Yes. Yes, definitely. I'm sure."
Leo raised his hands. "Okay, fine. The problem is we can only manage one landing. The way the hull and the oars are, we won't be able to lift off again until we repair, so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."
Frank scratched his head. "Where do you get Celestial bronze? You can't just stock up at Home Depot."
"Festus, do a scan."
"He can scan for magic bronze?" Frank marveled. "Is there anything he can't do?"
Sadly, Leo looked to his worn sneakers and Blaire knew he was recalling when Festus had a body. He still blamed himself— that was obvious. Avoiding the subject, he peered over the ship's bow. The Central California valley was passing below them in a blur.
Behind them, the stairs creaked. All three of them turned to see Annabeth and Percy climbing up, their faces grim.
Leo immediately perked up. "Is Jason—?"
"He's resting," Annabeth said. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine."
Percy gave him a stern look. "Annabeth says you did fire the ballista?"
"Man, I—I don't understand how it happened. I'm so sorry—"
"Sorry?" Percy growled angrily. It was obvious he scared Leo in the way the younger boy shrunk away from him.
Annabeth put a hand on her boyfriend's chest. "We'll figure it out later. Right now, we have to regroup and make a plan. What's the situation with the ship?"
He told Annabeth about the damage and the supplies they needed. He was bemoaning the shortage of Celestial bronze when Festus began to whir and squeak.
"Perfect." Leo sighed with relief.
"What's perfect?" Annabeth said. "I could use some perfect about now."
Leo managed a smile. "Everything we need in one place. Frank, why don't you turn into a bird or something? Fly down and tell your girlfriend to meet us at the Great Salt Lake in Utah."
LYN : this has to be one of my fav chaps if not my favorite 😭😭 you guys don't even get it the paint scene is so corny but special to me because they really are just kids who found eachother admist chaos and get one another!! also my readers are DROPPING so if ur still here pls leave at least one comment and lmk!! thanks :)
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