Déjà Vu Strikes Again
Annabeth
It had been two weeks since the Romans arrived. Two weeks since one of the Oneiroi appeared. Two weeks since Percy had one of the dreams. Two weeks since Leo went missing.
There was still no sign of him. We had tried sending him an Iris-Message, but it wouldn't work. We had no clue where he could be or when he would be back.
Our game of Capture the Flag had passed. It was the campers vs. the Romans vs. the Amazons vs. Percy's team. Chiron had issued a few new rules to make it more fair for those of us who weren't Primordials, but Percy and his team still won. They managed to capture the other three flags while still guarding their own. It wasn't the same, though. The fighting between the campers and Romans was more aggressive than it had ever been between two cabins, or even between the campers and the Amazons or Hunters.
Chiron had one of the dreams. It wasn't like ours, though. There was no chance of him going mad. It was just a warning. We knew for sure now that Bob was against us, and he really had joined the Oneiroi and Typhon. Typhon still hadn't escaped Tartarus, but Hades had been keeping us posted, and there wasn't much he could do to stop him. The Oneiroi were powerful, and with no clue when or where they would strike next, we couldn't stop them from helping Typhon. He was rising, and he would soon break free and storm Olympus.
One of the interesting and good developments was that Jason and Piper officially became a couple. She was upset the Leo was missing, because they were still close friends. Her mother must have had to do something with it, because soon Jason was comforting her and one thing led to another, and they became inseparable.
I snuggled deeper into Percy's embrace as we sat in cabin three, Poseidon's cabin. We wanted to be alone, so we went in there and Percy made a few changes. A fire crackled in front of us, and a mug of hot chocolate sat in front of me. It wasn't the winter or unnaturally cold, we just needed a little bit of old-fashioned at the time. So much was going on, we just needed to forget about all of it for a while. Percy held me and we just sat there, thinking.
"What are you thinking about?" Percy brushed a strand of hair out of my face and kissed my forehead.
I captured his lips in a short kiss. "Everything. I'm really worried about Leo. He's been gone two weeks. What if--what if he's dead?"
Percy sighed. "I wish I could reassure you, but I can't. I don't know where he is. I can't sense when people die, and Nico and Bianca haven't used their children of Hades powers for so long, that they can't either. But I think that he might be dead."
"Piper's gonna be heartbroken. So will his siblings. When," I sniffled, "When do you think we should burn his shroud?"
"I hope you don't mind, but I figured that he was dead yesterday. And the sooner we burn his shroud and move on, the sooner we can find a way beat the Oneiroi and honor his memory. I arranged with Chiron to burn Leo's shroud in about," Percy thought for a moment, "Ten minutes."
"Oh. Alright." I wiped my nose with a tissue Percy handed me and stood. Percy rose next to me and pulled me into a hug.
"I didn't know him very well but he seemed like a great guy. I'm sorry he's gone. I know you were friends." He muttered into my hair.
"Thank you. Um, if it's okay with you, I want to be with Piper during the ceremony."
"Of course." Percy stepped away from me and held my hand in his. He waved his free hand in the air and the fireplace vanished, along with the mug of hot chocolate. The only evidence of a fire in the salty and ocean-like cabin was a hint of smoke and the smell of chocolate.
We exited the cabin and I saw campers trailing down to the amphitheater, where we would burn Leo's shroud. I clung closer to Percy, the entire scene reminding me of when I thought he was dead after Mount St. Helens exploded. He squeezed my hand, most likely guessing how I felt.
I spotted Piper almost immediately and went to stand by her. She was crying silently like me. Jason stood by her and held her. I smiled grimly when she saw me and wrapped my arms around her. Jason walked off with Percy and the two of us were left to grieve. I tried to hold back tears and patted Piper's back as she cried.
"Thank you, Annabeth. You're the best friend I could ask for." She finally said when she gathered her bearings.
"I understand how you're feeling." I sympathized and squeezed her shoulder.
Chiron started the ceremony and said a few words. Then he called up one of Leo's half-siblings that he was the closest with, who said a few words. Then it was Piper's turn to speak and burn his shroud. She lifted the red silk material embroidered with a hammer and touched it to the tip of a torch, and it quickly caught fire. "I knew Leo for four years. One at our boarding school, and then three once we came here. We finally found the answers to questions we had for years. We dated at one point for about two years, and stayed friends after we broke up. He was my best friend, and I miss him so much." I barely registered that Percy stood behind me and rubbed his hands up and down my shoulders. "He was an amazing person, always trying to find ways to lift your mood with humor. He—" Piper froze as she looked beyond us, blood draining from her face. "He's right there!"
Everyone whirled around and I gasped at the sight I saw. Leo was standing behind us, looking as unharmed (if not covered in grease and soot) as ever. A woman stood a few feet away from him. As campers cheered and crowded around Leo to welcome him back, I turned to Percy with tears in my eyes and saw that he was frozen as well, staring at the woman.
"Not possible." He whispered.
"What? What's not possible?" I asked.
Percy didn't seem to realize he had spoken aloud. His face changed quickly and a grin appeared on his lips. "Nothing. Talk about déjà vu, huh?" He chuckled.
I remembered. When I burned Percy's shroud, almost the exact thing had happened. He showed up in the middle of it. But he wasn't with a woman, like Leo was.
I finally got my turn to say hi to Leo. When I reached him I hugged him fiercely, saying, "We were so worried! Where were you?"
"I'll explain in a bit. But--"
"VALDEZ! YOU WERE GONE FOR TWO WEEKS!" Piper thundered and stormed over to us. He winced, most likely expecting her to punch him, but like I had so many years ago with Percy, she pulled him in for a big hug.
"I know, I'm sorry. I'll explain." Leo reasoned.
"You better." Piper glared at him, but her smile betrayed her.
"Come, this is a matter best discussed somewhere else. Bring your friend, Mr. Valdez." Chiron trotted passed us, expecting us to follow him. Jason, Piper, Percy, Leo, the strange woman, and I trailed after him until we reached the Big House.
"Okay, so, when I was thrown into the air, I passed out. I woke up in a bed and this lovely lady was healing me." Leo pointed to the woman, who blushed as she smiled at him. "This is Calypso, daughter of Atlas, and one of the peaceful Titans." Percy came close to fainting at that. I made a mental note to talk to him about it later. The name Calypso was familiar . . . "She lived on Ogygia, which is where I was. It's a long story, but once I was healed, I convinced her to come back with me and the rest you know because it just happened." Leo grinned and Calypso shook her head at him. She wrapped her arm around his and I had a feeling their relationship was more intimate than Leo had mentioned.
"Well, that is truly interesting." Chiron said. "Calypso, may I talk to you later?"
"Of course, Chiron." Her voice was soft and light.
"All right. You may leave now, get some rest. It's strange . . . something is coming." Deep in thought, Chiron stroked his beard and wheeled his chair out of the room and somewhere farther into the Big House.
I turned to face Percy and saw that he was already gone. He was talking to Calypso. I narrowed my eyes at him, now more curious than ever. Leo materialized next to me. "I'm wondering too. When I was with her, she mentioned that Percy was one of the heroes who landed on her island."
My suspicions from eight years ago were confirmed. I stood there watching them until I saw Calypso walk away from Percy to talk to Chiron. "Excuse me," I told Leo and left him.
I needed to have yet another talk with Percy.