Stripped Away
Nico di Angelo stood at an opening in the ground. It had seemed to appear out of nowhere and lead to a deep cave. He looked at the sun starting to rise. Gods it was early. He had walked out here alone at 5 in the morning. Trouble sleeping. He heard a voice behind him.
"Good morning sunshine." Will Solace was leaning against a Jeep and yawning. "Walk out here all by yourself, did you?"
"Yeah. Chiron told be about this cave that opened up. What do you think about it?"
Will looked down at it and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the Labyrinth is back."
"That's what I was thinking."
Will looked at the bags under his eyes. "Gods, did you get any sleep last night."
Nico shrugged. "Some."
Will kissed his forehead which caused the son of Hades to go red. "Let's get you back."
Nico followed Will into the car and they drove back to the cabins. Once Will parked the car and they both got out Nico looked at Will. "I'm going to go see Chiron."
Will nodded and walked back to Cabin 7. Nico headed of to the big house but he saw the shadow of something big above him. The glow of a golden sunset glittered off a large metal dragon. Festus landed and a figure jumped of quickly. Nico instantly recognised the scrawny boy.
"Hey Leo. Been a while hasn't it."
Leo had a mix of anger and worry on his face. "Can it death boy. How do I get to Tartarus?"
Nico backed up. "Hold on. You don't just go to Tartarus. Neither do you want to. It's literally hell on earth."
Leo growled. "You've been there."
"And I barely survived. That's only because I had experience with the underworld."
"What about Annabeth and Percy?"
"They had each other. You know what it's like when those two work together."
Leo was reminded of Calypso. "Listen, I don't think you quite understand. I need to go there."
"You can't. Besides, most of the entrances are closed. My dad closed them after shades kept wandering in."
Leo stepped closer. Tears forming in his eyes. "I need to go! Please." He pleaded.
"Leo what happened to you?" Nico stared at the boy. "I think we need to see Chiron."
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"And then he dragged her to Tartarus." Leo sat in the big house, staring at the floor.
Chiron walked around Leo and put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Leo. You shouldn't have to go through this. Calypso definitely shouldn't have to." He paused. "I've always known the gods to be quick to anger but I didn't think it would get that bad.
Percy sat on a chair with his feet up on the ping pong table. "Looks like o'l thunder tits is having problems. Although, that's nothing new."
"Percy! Be respectful. Leo's dealing with a lot right now." Annabeth elbowed him.
"Right, sorry."
Leo looked at Chiron. Tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. "Please Chiron. Let me go to Tartarus. No one else has to go. Just me. Please. I'm desperate."
"I apologise Leo but I can't let you go. It's suicide."
Jason stood there. Probably not knowing what to think. Zeus was his father. "I'm sorry Leo. But she's gone."
"No! Don't say that! She can't be!" He ran out of the room, crying.
He heard Jason call out behind him. "Wait Leo! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that."
Leo kept running. He ran for around ten minutes until he stumbled and fell into a large hole. He saw it lead into a deep, cavernous tunnel. He could hide forever. He ran. After a bit it was clear to him he was getting lost. He was in a area full of tunnels. Where was the way he came in? Where should he go? Then he realised. He was in the labyrinth. Suddenly, something grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him backwards onto its back. It was Mrs O'Leary. He sighed in relief as she ran back out through a tunnel into the bright sunlight.
When she got out she barked. Everyone rushed over. "Leo." Piper hugged him. "I just heard what happened. We can help you. We're here for you."
He knew she was using charmspeak. It's still made him feel a little better. She hugged him tighter. It felt warm.
"Thanks Pipes."
When he let go Jason put his arm around him. "Hey, I'm sorry. I was being insensitive. We can't go to Tartarus. But we can figure something out. Talk to some of the gods. Maybe they can help."
"It's alright sparky. I know that's not what you meant by it. No hard feelings here." He moved away. "I'm going to head to bed. See if I think of ideas to get her back."
Jason nodded. "Alright. Be careful buddy"
Leo headed to cabin 9 but then looked around and turned into the woods. Festus was where he left him. He jumped on a flew away. After a lengthy flight he was back at the Big Ben.
He pulled out a Archimedes sphere. This one was designed to drill. He placed it down and turned it on. It started drilling deep and fast. He waited.
He must have drifted asleep because when he woke up the drill was out of sight. He couldn't hear the noise anymore so he figured it was done. He sat on the end of the hole, ready to drop. He tied a rope up. It would be fine. He had infinite rope in his belt.
"Where do you think you're going?" A grumbly voice spoke behind him.
Leo turned around awkwardly. "Hi dad."
Hephaestus peered down the hole. "That is a terrible idea."
"Don't care. I need her back."
"It would certainly kill you, kid."
"If there's even a small chance I can get her back then it will be worth it."
"Think about other people. Think about your friends. Think about Piper, Jason, Percy and the rest of your friends. They need you. Cabin 9 needs you. I need you."
"No you don't. Gods don't care about their children."
"Gods change too. You think we don't learn anything after thousands of years. If there's anything we learnt it's that our kids need our time and attention. Gods are starting to respect mortals more."
"Clearly not all of them." Leo said, rolling his eyes.
"Come on kid. I know you don't realise it but us gods really are trying. Maybe Zeus will never change but others are making so much progress. I know for a fact Apollo likes you a lot."
"That's because I made him an instrument."
"And he doesn't see it as an offering." Hephaestus added. "He sees it as a gift. A simple gift. There is a big difference."
"Fine. I won't go. But I need to get her back. It's so important that I do."
"I'll confront Zeus about it."
"Really, you'd do that?"
"Yeah. It's the least I could do for you."
"Thanks dad. It means a lot. I'm going to get going."
"Ok son. Send my regards to the other kids of cabin 9."
"I will. Bye." He jumped on Festus and flew off. Maybe. Just maybe. There was hope.
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Wow. I bet you weren't expecting me to update this
Yeah don't expect the chapters to come out too fast
Sorry
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