~Zeus Cabin~

'Thalia!' Leo called. 'Where are you? We're supposed to meet up with Annabeth! You know how she gets. Where the Hades are you?'

The son of Hephaestus searched the Zeus cabin, though there wasn't much to search. Besides, Thalia had been staying in the Artemis cabin. But where else could she be?

Realization hit Leo ever so slowly. He clapped a hand to his head and sighed.

'Stupid,' he muttered, running back out towards the centre of the cabins. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.'

He spotted the rest of the demigods clustered together, waiting for everyone else to turn up. Annabeth had her head resting in Percy's lap while he played with her blonde princess curls. Nico and Hazel sat next to the two lovebirds, deep in a conversation that involved a lot of hand gestures.

'Hey guys,' Leo said glumly, sitting on the grass next to them. 'I can't find Thalia. And since the rest of us are here, I think it's safe to assume that she's the one who went missing today.'

Hazel bit her lip, 'That leaves just the five of us.'

'Out of twelve,' Nico added. 'Does anyone else find that suspicious? We looking for keys that tie in with the twelve days of Christmas song, it started twelve days out from Christmas, and there were twelve of us to begin with?'

Annabeth frowned, Percy still fiddling with her hair, 'It does seem very fishy.'

Percy smirked, 'Just like me!'

Nico rolled his eyes, 'Did anyone find the next note?'

'Oh yeah,' Percy shifted and Annabeth fell onto the grass. 'Sorry, Wise Girl. I've got the note here.'

As Annabeth sat up a leant against her boyfriend, he pulled the paper of doom from his pocket and read it out to the demigods present, '"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven dancing canes, six Christmas goblets, five wooden sleighs, four working craftsmen, three volar reindeer, two wrapped up presents, and mistletoe up a pine tree."'

Hazel heaved a big sigh, 'Great; dancing canes. Where in Hades are we supposed to find those?'

'Well, I don't think they'll be in Hades,' Leo said slyly.

Hazel scowled and hit him over the head, 'You know what I meant, Leo.'

'Guys,' Percy interrupted. 'This isn't really the time. There are five of us left, and one goes missing ever day. We have to make the most of who we have left, because we don't know who wont be here tomorrow. For all we know, if we don't find these keys, we'll never get any of our missing friends back. So we have to stop acting like the gods, and starting working together!'

Percy finished his little tirade and was greeted with a stunned silence. Annabeth, Leo, Nico and Hazel all stared at him with mixed expressions of shock and amusement. Percy blinked as if startled by his own outburst.

Suddenly, Leo started clapping, grinning like a madman who'd been given a new axe for Christmas.

'Inspiring,' he shouted, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. 'Simple spiffing! Absolutely stimulating!'

'Where did you learn all those big words,' Nico asked with a straight face.

'Says you,' Leo retorted.

'Did no one listen to me!'

'I did, Seaweed Brain,' Annabeth kissed him on the cheek. 'And while I was surprised you were so ... um, vocal, it was incredibly moving.'

Percy smiled his signature goofy grin and Annabeth laughed.

'Okay,' Nico grumbled. 'That's enough of that, you lovesick puppies. We've got a real mission.'

'Right,' Hazel agreed. 'So, anyone have any idea on where to find dancing canes?'

As soon as Hazel's question sunk in, the group lapsed into another common silence. Annabeth bit her lip, Percy and Nico exchanged a look that said, I don't have a clue.

Leo, on the other hand, sat bolt upright like he'd been electrocuted. But that was impossible; both Jason and Thalia were MIA.

'Leo?' Annabeth asked. 'Do you know something?'

'Can't be,' the fire user murmured almost too soft to hear.

'Can't be what?' the others demanded.

They got no reply as Leo leapt to his feet and raced, once more, for the woods. The other four got up hurriedly and stared after the friends retreating back.

'What do we do?' Hazel asked. 'Follow him?'

'I suppose we'll have to,' Percy said.

Leo disappeared in amongst the thicket of trees.

'And fast,' Annabeth added.

~Bunker 9~

When Hazel, Annabeth, Percy and Nico finally caught up with Leo he was leaning against the boulder that they knew concealed Bunker 9. The four demigods bent double, panting, while Leo paced anxiously, muttering under his breath.

'Leo,' Hazel wheezed. 'Why?'

'Dancing canes,' Leo said as if it was obvious. 'How they knew, how they could even get in, I don't know.'

'Start from the beginning,' Annabeth huffed. 'How who knew what?'

'How the messenger knew about ... my project,' Leo replied slowly, the sentence ending in little more than a whisper.

'What project?' Percy raised an eyebrow.

'This one,' Leo summoned a short burst of flame and pressed his hand against the rock face, activating the door to Bunker 9.

Leo raced straight in and started pulling out bits and piece of inventions while his friends stood in the doorway, marvelling, not for the first time, at the enormity and greatness of the place.

'These,' Leo exclaimed herding a group of giant candy canes towards the entrance.

'L-Leo!' Hazel gasped. 'What are those things?!'

'Uh,' he grimaced. 'Just a little toy I whipped up when I got bored.'

The red and white stripped candy canes had sprouted little cartoon-like hands and feet that seemed almost as ADHD as Leo himself. There were seven in all, and they were magnificent. Except for the fact they didn't have-

'Eyes,' Leo said. 'I haven't figured out how to put faces on them yet.'

'Leo, they're fantastic,' Percy grinned. 'But what has this got to do with the riddle?'

'This.'

Leo pressed a button on a remote the others would never have dared touched. A disco ball popped from the ceiling and disco music began to play from hidden speakers. The seven candy canes immediately stopped whatever they were doing and started to dance, all in sync with one another.

'Okay,' Nico said seriously. 'I have to admit, that's pretty cool.'

'I never took you as the type to like Christmas,' Percy said with a sideways smile.

'But the thing is,' Leo interrupted, switching off the music and letting the giant canes run crazy, 'I found these attached a few seconds ago.'

He held out his hand to reveal seven miniature versions of his dancing canes. Right down to their little cartoon feet. Annabeth reached out and Leo poured them into her palm. She proceeded to open her magic pouch and tuck them safely inside.

'Well,' Annabeth said. 'That's that done. May as well enjoy what's left of our day. Because one of us wont be enjoying it tomorrow.'

'What do you think they're doing to the others?' Percy asked in a small voice. 'Torture? Killing them?'

'I don't know, Percy,' she replied. 'But one of us will find out tomorrow.'

'But in the mean time,' Leo switched back on the music and all the candy canes came out of hiding.

A couple more presses of buttons, and Leo had created a decent party room complete with the disco ball, flashing strobe lights and a dance floor, which the canes had already occupied, busting out some wicked moves that looked like they came from the 80's.

Leo raised his eyebrows at the others and gestured to his instant party, 'Well?'

Percy glanced at the others and shrugged.

'What the heck?' he decided.

The five demigods spent the rest of the day rocking out to hits of the 80's and just enjoying themselves. Even Nico di Angelo, who, so the rest said, looked like he was having fun for the first time since he gave up Mythomagic. Everyone had fun simply relaxing.

So naturally, it didn't last.