[This is UNEDITED, so if you spot any mistakes - there are probably some mistakes - I'll be going back and fixing them later.]
Chapter 35 - Hazel
It took them longer than they'd hoped.
After Piper's conversation with Jason, Leo promised them thirty more minutes to finish his project, but midway through he said he'd originally wanted to finish it in fifteen. Instead, the son of Hephaestus's hands blurred over his work table for twenty five minutes non-stop, never ceasing to continue.
From his tool belt, he'd summoned over fifty circuit boards, hundreds of bronze dials, nuts, bolts and wiring, brass knobs and other electrical equipment. He quickly moved the smaller, more fragile pieces to the side, and then began extracting huge slabs of light sheet metal and several motors. Pulling forth two battery-powered drills, he ordered the girls to get the already-completed navigation system.
The placed it on the side of the table, then Annabeth and Piper began putting the metal slabs together, connecting them with the bronze bolts.
Leo attached the circuit boards, and then took about five minutes to extract all the wires he needed from his tool belt, constructing an entire city of bronze dials and knobs, flashing blinkers, wiring of every size, and fusing each object together with a spark of flame that would ignite from his finger tip. Within seconds, his body began to glow with an orange haze, as if his father's presence was just beside him, urging him on.
He clicked the navigation system into place within the small shell they were constructing with the metal slabs.Hazel helped screw the bolts in place, and then Leo brought forth a small info-red security camera from his belt. He attached it to the belly of his project, and after another hellish minute of running around, he stood up, seemingly satisfied, the girls following.
Before them, on the filthy, grease-covered boards of the cargo hold, lay a small drone, six feet long, and about a foot wide.
Fortunately, that was the hardest part.
With the girls' help, another five minutes had past before Leo had build a small computer, which carried the signal from the drone's camera to the viewing screen. He constructed a small joy stick which he wirelessly attached to the camera, another to the drone itself, and then fired up the monitor.
Leo projected a satellite view of earth which he panned around till he had a clear view of the island of Rhodes. After asking Percy the coordinates to their location - which Percy had no trouble doing considering his incredible bearings out at sea - Leo entered the coordinates into his small computer, then ran the signal into the drone's navigation system.
Meanwhile, the girls made themselves useful by cleaning everything up, making room for Leo, putting away his extra belongings and clearing out a nice open space in the hold.
When Hazel finally checked the time, thirty three minutes had past. This must be a new record, she thought.
Leo stood up and turned to face them. "Thank you very much, ladies, for your kind and heart-thought service. I'll be right back." He ran to the drone and picked it up, exclaiming in surprise. "Wow, it's lighter than I thought..."
"Well, we only used sheet metal," Annabeth pointed out.
Leo nodded. "True. True. Okay! Gimme one second!" He ran out of the cargo hold and up the stairs to the main deck.
Of course, the girls followed him, their curiosity driving them forward, and they came above deck, watching as Leo turned on the drone, the tiny motors spinning to life, and a small touch screen suddenly glowed bright on its flank. Leo confirmed the coordinates to the boys' location, then turned the screen off, plunging the tiny plane into total shadow.
Then taking a couple steps back, Leo jogged forward, heaved his arm down with a gulp of breath, launching the plane into the sky, the girls watching in awe as the drone's blades spun to life.
The drone whizzed silently through the air, barely making a whisper as it shot for the east face of the island, disappearing into the dusk light.
Annabeth watched it go. "What if it interferes with Greek airspace? We could get in major trouble."
"The world's ending in less than a couple weeks," Leo said. "The Greek airspace will be shut down in a few days anyway."
"If we don't win," Piper put in.
Leo bobbled his head. "Yeah, if we don't win. But if we do, then... yeah, we'll get in major trouble." He turned and bounded down the stairs, the girls following. They re-entered the cargo hold and Leo pulled up his chair, sitting down before the monitor of his makeshift computer. His fingers began entering information into the system. "Annabeth," he said. "You're the smartest one here. I'm gonna need your help." He gripped the joystick to his right and gave it a quick shake, testing it out. The screen on his computer suddenly changed, transforming into a night vision scope. It viewed the tops of buildings and hills, rivers and forests blurring by underneath as it moved quickly along a line of complete darkness that Hazel assumed was the coast, leading out into the sea.
"Good," Leo said. "The cam's working well."
"What can I do?" Annabeth asked, grabbing another chair from the corner of the room to sit beside him.
"I'm going to control the drone. You need to direct the guys. I'll follow them from above while you tell them where to go. Understand?"
Annabeth thought for a moment, then gave a nod of her head, taking Leo's walkie-talkie.
Leo twisted in his chair to face Piper and Hazel. "I'm sorry girls, but you're just gonna have to sit tight."
Piper scoffed. "No worries. I don't want to mess anything up. I'll stand right here and watch."
Hazel nodded, her heart beginning to quicken its pace. "Me too."
Leo grinned. "Don't you worry ladies. We'll get 'em back."
"Wait a minute," Annabeth said. "Leo, do you even know what their location looks like? How do you know if there's a secret, safe route for them to take? What if there are absolutely no hidden exits, and we just wasted thirty minutes of our time building a surveillance drone?"
Leo paused, thinking. "You've got a good point, and I also happened to come across that thought. But when Jason described to me where they were at, I kind of just assumed there was a way out. Once in a while, taking a guess could save your life. So that's what I did. I took a guess. And if it doesn't work... If there's no exit, and we just 'wasted thirty minutes of our time building a surveillance drone' like you said, then I'll take this big mother warship all the way over there and blow every last monster to smithereens with the ballistae if that's what I have to do."
Annabeth's gaze stared long and hard into Leo's face, but the two of them held eyes, Leo refusing to yield. Finally, Annabeth broke contact and picked up the walkie-talkie. She pressed the talk button on the radio and spoke, "You guys still okay?"
A few seconds later, Jason answered. "All good here. Let me hear it."
"Leo's got a surveillance drone coming to you. It should be there within... um..."
"About ten minutes," Leo answered, his eyes turning to the computer screen.
"Within ten minutes," Annabeth said.
"You guys built a freaking drone?" Percy's voice came on. "In a half-hour? Gods, Leo, I knew you were good. I didn't know you were that good."
"He had help," Annabeth said.
For the first time, Frank's voice came over the line. "So, what like... a spy plane? The kind they use in those Elite Military slash Delta Force movies?"
"Kind of," Annabeth answered. "It's quiet and basically invisible so the monsters shouldn't notice it. We're going to guide you safely out of there."
"And if you can't find a safe path?"
"Then you better be ready to fly cause Leo says he's gonna take the ship over there and blow everything up."
* * *
Ten minutes came and went very quickly.
The four of them sat in the cargo hold, their breathing the only noise to be heard, aside from the occasional beeping coming from Leo's computer.
Hazel sat shivering on the floor, Piper's arm slung over her shoulder comfortingly. She looked up at Annabeth and Leo sitting side by side, Leo's attention still directed at the screen in front of him, his hands controlling the drone as it headed for the boys' location. Right then, she felt a rush of immense gratitude for her friends, even though they weren't doing this for her. They were all a family now. And they would stop at nothing to make sure they were all safe.
A couple minutes later, Leo said. "Tell them to get ready."
Annabeth spoke into the radio as Piper and Hazel quickly got to their feet. "Guys, be ready to move." She scooted her chair closer to Leo to see the screen better.
Jason's voice came back. "We've been ready for almost an hour now."
Hazel and Piper moved closer to get a better look.
The screen on Leo's computer showed everything in a night vision perspective as the drone neared Jason, Percy and Frank's hideout. Suddenly, a few green splotches began to appear on the screen; then more, and more, and more...
Piper sucked in a lungful of air, as the entire screen lit up green as the lightened splotches below the circling drone made out the forms of hundreds of monsters. And the much bigger ones were obviously the giants. The shapes when all blurred together, made out a giant oval shape, meaning they were enclosed within the perimeter of the courtyard that Jason had described.
"Those are the monsters?" Hazel asked.
"Yup," Leo said grimly, his hand toggling the drone, allowing it drift lazily in circles around the area, viewing it from all angles. "Okay. Where are they...? Where are they?"
"How far up are you?" Annabeth asked.
"About sixty feet," Leo said.
"How do we know who they are?" Piper asked.
"Look at the buildings. The darkness surrounding the green shapes are buildings," Annabeth said.
Leo added, "I programmed the drone's cam to see through solid walls."
"Wait- but... how-?" Hazel began.
"I'm a son of Hephaestus, don't worry about it," Leo said. "If the boys are hiding in the buildings, we should be able to see them through solid objects - such as the walls and roof of their hideout, as well as the interior of the hideout itself."
Hazel's eyes searched the darkness on the edges of the screen, but saw nothing.
A few seconds past before Annabeth said, "There they are."
Hazel shifted closer. Towards the left of the screen, lingering in the surrounding darkness, three green shapes stood alone from the giant pack of their scrambling counterparts. As Hazel took a closer look, she recognized that they were indeed humanoid, one of them in a sitting position, another looking like it was peering through a window, and the third standing up, twirling a long object - probably a sword.
Annabeth spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Guys, the drone is just above you. Don't bother trying to see it, you'll just get yourselves killed." She peered closely at the screen, watching as the green shape sitting down raised an arm to its face. A millisecond later, Jason's voice came over the radio. "No worries. Wasn't planning on it anyway. Frank get away from the window."
So the green shape sitting down was Jason. That meant the second figure was Frank, and the one twirling the sword was Percy.
The second figure moved away from the edge of the mass of green shapes, and headed towards the middle of the room.
The figure sitting down stood up, its arm once again moving to its face. "So, what's the plan?" Jason asked over the radio.
"Hold on," Annabeth answered. "Workin' on it."
Leo kept steering the drone, circling the building, and Annabeth peered closely at its interior, trying to find a route the boys could take.
Hazel got so entranced in observing the screen over Annabeth and Leo's shoulders, it almost felt like she was there, her mind becoming confused, until the Argo II was bumped by a rouge wave, and she was jolted back to the fact that she and her friends were still in the cargo hold, safe and sound while the guys were still out there, trapped by Gaea's army.
Annabeth nodded slowly as Leo began to light up all the buildings surrounding the courtyard.
Hazel was no expert on this kind of stuff, but Annabeth seemed to develop a plan right then. "Leo, keep the buildings lit up." She then raised the walkie-talkie. "Okay, here's how it's gonna work. You're just going to do everything I say, when I say it, and don't screw up. Got it?"
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Frank's voice answered.
"Alright," Jason said. "We're ready when you are."
Annabeth looked at Leo. "Keep circling the building. Fly where I tell you to fly."
"Got it, boss," Leo said.
Annabeth spoke into the radio again. "Alright, let's get this done. And quickly."
I'm gonna stop it there. I barely had time to finish this. I know I said I'd update yesterday. Sorry about that. Tons of sudden homework got in my way. I'll update as soon as I can; don't worry, I won't leave you guys at that cliff hanger for long.
Honestly, I'm not all that satisfied with this chapter. Not sure why, but hopefully you guys like it.
Talk to you all later. Please give this a comment and vote!
Until next time!