~The Hephaestus Cabin~

'Leo!'

Annabeth knocked on the Hephaestus cabin door for what she felt was the millionth time. She was starting to feel a bit panicked.

She'd already checked the Hades cabin; Hazel was missing. That should've just left Leo and herself, but Leo wasn't answering. What if the messenger took both of them just to leave her all alone?

Annabeth sighed, 'Leo! Open up!'

Finally, she got so frustrated, she just walked in. That might not be so bad, but walking through the Hephaestus cabin without a guide was insanely dangerous. Untested machines and unfinished contraptions whirred and clanged, making strange noise and flashing weird colours.

Annabeth stepped very cautiously, and very slowly, towards a girl hammering something at the back of the room. She decided to call out from a distance. She didn't want the girl mistaking her for an intruder and hammering her in the face.

'Nyssa!' she yelled. 'Nyssa! Do you know where Leo is?'

Nyssa stopped hammering and faced Annabeth with a big grin. Her jeans and camp tshirt were splattered with grease stains and explosion marks.

'Hey, Annabeth,' she said, setting down whatever it was she was working on. 'What can I do for you? It's only a few days from Christmas, y'know; Hephaestus cabin's very busy.'

'I know,' Annabeth smiled. 'I was just looking for Leo. It's important.'

'He'll be in his room,' Nyssa rolled her eyes. 'Usually he's the first one up when we've got a big project. But he's been sleeping in lately. Must be a lot on his mind.'

'You have no idea,' Annabeth muttered under her breath. Then she asked: 'Where's his room?'

Nyssa winked, 'Watch this.'

Taking a deep breath, the daughter of Hephaestus shouted, 'Leo! Wake up! Someone here to see you!'

Annabeth took a step back as a circular chamber opened up from below and a bed rose on a platform, Not just any bed, oh no. This one was fitted with so many impressive gizmos and gadgets it would've given Crusty the Waterbed Salesmen a heart attack.

The two girls moved closer for a better view.

In amongst the sheets and machinery, a curly haired boy was visible, blinking sleepily with his hand resting on a remote control.

'Sup, Nyssa,' he mumbled. 'Hi Annabeth.'

'Come on, Leo,' Annabeth managed, still in awe of the super bed. We have work do to.'

He met her eyes and knew what she meant. Instead of getting to his feet, Leo just groaned and sank deeper under his covers. Nyssa snorted and went back to her hammering.

'All yours,' she called over her shoulder.

Annabeth sighed and shook Leo's shoulder, 'You need to get up! We have to find the next keys.'

'But I want to spend my last day in my bed,' he moaned. 'You're the smartest, you'll be the last one. I'm sure. It'll be me who vanishes next, so I want to spend my time in my room.'

He pressed a button and began to retract into the floor.

'No,' Annabeth lunged for the remote and pressed the button again. The bed stopped sinking.

Annabeth blew a strand of hair from her face, 'Leo.'

He heard her warning tone that said if he didn't get out of bed something bad would happen. With an exaggerated sigh, he pushed back the covers and wobbled to his feet, yawning.

'Let me take a shower,' he mumbled. 'I'll be out in a sec.'

~Outside the Hephaestus Cabin~

'Alright, I'm done,' Leo stretched.

'Good,' Annabeth said. 'Because the next note is here. And it's more confusing than ever. Listen: "On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten bouncing baubles, nine fairy fires, eight snowy messes, seven dancing-"'

'Yeah, I'm going to stop you right there,' Leo said. 'We don't need to hear all of it.'

Annabeth frowned at him for a moment, 'You're oddly right.'

'Odd?' he yelped in mock offence. 'I'm hurt, Annabeth. Right here in my heart.'

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, 'Come on, Joker Boy. We've gotta find the next keys.'

They started walking in the general direction of the arena. They had no real destination in mind.

'So, bouncing baubles,' Leo said slowly. 'Any clues?'

Annabeth shook her head, 'Unless camp has recently installed a spring board or trampoline, I have no idea.'

They descended into more silence and kept walking. Suddenly, they heard an almighty crash, followed by a shrill scream.

The two demigods exchanged one look and took off for the arena. But the sight they were met with was so bizarre they stopped short.

Lacy from the Aphrodite cabin was being chased by something small around that ricocheted off everything and was making an enormous mess. The small ball of red and green chittered angrily and bounced around.

Bounced.

Leo and Annabeth grinned at each other and said, 'Bouncing baubles!'

They'd found one, but catching it would be something different all together.

'Help!' Lacy screeched.

'Annabeth, distract it,' Leo shouted, reaching into his tool belt and pulling out random pieces.'

Annabeth didn't need to be told twice. Anything to be out of Leo's range of fire.

'Hey!' she yelled. 'You stupid bauble! Over here!'

The baubles yapped, sounding rather like a chipmunk, and bounced after her.

It was the strangest thing, being chased by a Christmas decoration. Annabeth had never done anything as weird as was she was doing then.

Leo cheered in triumph, 'Bring it over here!'

Annabeth veered to the left and the bauble followed suit. She ran towards Leo who held something small in his hand. As she raced past, the bauble close behind, Leo threw his newest toy at the bauble and yelled, 'Ha!'

A white and blue sphere flew from his hand and encased the bauble. As soon as the case shut, it dropped like a stone.

Annabeth skidded to a stop, 'Leo, what was that?'

'My quick thinking,' he smirked. 'Like it? It's designed so that once it has something in inside, it gets heavier, so the bauble can't jump around.'

Annabeth nodded appreciatively, 'Impressive. Have you watched Pokémon recently?'

His face flushed, 'Maybe. Point being, I can make enough of these to catch the rest. Then you can get the bauble and put it in your magic pouch.'

Annabeth grinned, 'Let's do it.

The two demigods spent the rest of their day chasing jumping Christmas ornaments around camp. There were three more by the lake, a further two in the Mess Hall, one outside the Big House, two behind the Hypnos cabin, and the last was in-

'No,' Leo said bluntly. 'Not gonna happen.'

Annabeth rolled her eyes, 'Will you do it for your friends?'

He gaped at her, 'No! I will not! Not even for my friends!'

'Come on, Leo. It's not that bad. It won't kill you!'

'It's the ladies! I'm a guy!'

'You sure about that?' Clarisse said suddenly, appearing from behind with Rachel. Since when have they been chums. 'So, what's he wimping out about now?'

'None of your beeswax, Clarisse,' Annabeth muttered.

The daughter of Ares sneered, 'Why don't you run off to find Prissy?'

Annabeth's face tightened, 'He's on a quest. Won't be back for a few days.'

'Right,' Clarisse snickered. As the two of them walked away, Rachel hit her over the back of the head, muttering something under her breath.

'Okay,' Leo said slowly. 'Weird. But that's still not enough to make me go in there.'

He shoved the last of his contraptions in her hands and showed her how to operate it.

'That button activates it,' he explained. 'Press that when you have a clear shot. I've managed to program them so they will aim for the baubles. Good luck!'

He pushed Annabeth towards the girls toilets where the last bouncing bauble smashed sinks and crashed into the showers. She felt silly, being scared of a mere Christmas decoration, but it was a very angry Christmas decoration.

This is the next key to help me find Percy, she psyched herself up.

She crept in, the sound of running water ringing in her ears. But the tell tale chitter chatter of the bauble was absent. Annabeth briefly wondered if it had moved.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a green and red blur hovering underneath a sink. It yipped quietly as it vibrated.

Annabeth pretended not to notice it. She walked towards the toilets, past the bauble. It huffed a sigh of relief and Annabeth spun around, throwing what she'd nicked named the Pokéball.

The Pokéball sliced through the air at an impossible speed. The bauble tried to dodge out of the way, but the Pokéball veered around, chasing after it. It hit the bauble and closed it within itself in a snap, falling to the floor with a loud thunk.

'Yes,' Annabeth knelt down to retrieve the bauble and placed it carefully inside her pouch with the others where it ceased its bouncing around.

'I got it,' Annabeth announced, exiting the ladies room.

Leo grinned, 'Great. Well, seeing as its almost dinner, should we head to the Mess Hall?'

Annabeth nodded absently, preoccupied. It was obvious what was running through both their heads; where would they end up in the morning?

Nothing unusual passed over dinner, so Leo and Annabeth decided to walk to the cabin together. As they headed back, Leo gave Annabeth a hug, which surprised her greatly.

'What was that for?'

'Well,' he started. 'One of us goes tomorrow, and you can bet that it'll be me. So this is a friend saying goodbye.'

Annabeth chuckled, 'This isn't goodbye, Leo. It's more of a see you later. If it is me who's left tomorrow, I swear on the River Styx that I will do all I can to find you guys.'

Leo's expression darkened, 'Careful what you say, Annabeth. You and I know better than anybody that a promise is a dangerous thing to make. More dangerous than any machine I could come up with.'

'Well, that's a matter of opinion,' Annabeth squeezed his shoulder. 'We will get through this. I'll see you later, Leo.'

She left him standing in front of the Hephaestus cabin, both their thoughts lingering on the next day.