The other Grace/HoO fanfiction

(11) The Dragon Crushes Again (This Is Becoming A Bad Habit)

"Ugh- where am I?" Layla asked as soon as she woke up. She tried to stand up but nearly fell down. Standing up was not the smartest thing to do while on top of a metal dragon. She looked around. Leo and Piper were sleeping. The sun had already went down. Was it the same night or had she been asleep for days?

"About time you woke up. How are you feeling?" Jason asked. Layla considered the question.

"I'm fine." She said truthfully. During the time she was asleep with the help of Nectar and Ambrosia her ribs and ancle had mended. Her head still hurt but it was now bandaged. Jason had probably done his first-aid thing. "Where are we heading to?"

"Aeolus Palace. We're following that vapour trail." Layla looked to where her brother was pointing and saw the faint glowing trail.

"But, I thought we were going to Chicago."

"We've already went to Chicago. You slept through it." Jason laughed. "But don't worry you didn't miss much." He added seeing the disappointed look in her face. Then, he told her about Medea and how they managed to escape from her and free coach Hedge who had returned to camp.

"That definitely sounds like much. You should've woken me up. I could've helped."

"You wouldn't be much help, anyway. Medea was charmspeaking us. We would've been dead if it wasn't for Piper." Jason said pointing at the sleeping girl.

"But, I feel I should have woken you up to try Leo's tacos. They were amazing." They both laughed at that as quiet as they could tried not to wake their other two friends up.

The happiness Layla felt with her new friends and her brother didn't last long. That feeling was soon replaced by guilt. She knew didn't deserve them. Not after was she'd done.

Jason must have noticed her mood change because he looked concerned. "What's wrong?" He asked.

She didn't what it what urged her to talk to him. Probably something in the gentle way he asked or in how his eyes lit up as he looked at her. Or perhaps just her not wanting to keep secrets anymore.

"There is something I haven't told you. Something about my past." She began to say. Jason looked at her intently as she spoke. Somehow, that made it even harder for her to tell him.

The fact that he was a great listener was mostly good but right now it made his sister nervous. She took a deep breathe, now or never. "You know about the second titan war, right? Well, I've-"

She was interrupted by a sound Festus made. Even the bronze dragon didn't want her to finish her story. Leo and Piper woke up from the sound. They didn't even get to ask what was going on when they heard the sound again. And then the dragon was once more falling.

"Come on, not again. Go, get Piper and fly out of there." Leo shouted.

"What about you?" Jason shouted back.

"I'll try to reboot him. I think I'll be able to do that before crashing."

"What if you can't reboot him in time?" Piper asked.

"I'll be fine." Leo replied and went to work. Jason held Piper by her waist and flied to the ground but Layla wasn't going to leave Leo.

"Layla, go. We are both going to die."

"I'm not leaving. I can fly us both out of here if something goes wrong." Leo wanted to argue but he realized that it would be a waste of time. If anything the girl was really stuborn. He continued rebooting the dragon muttering something about how the girl had inherited one of Zeus's worse traits. 

Despite him obviously not wanting her there, they made a good team. Him knowing everything about Festus and her being so calm under pressure and helping any way she could. If continued like this they would be able to fix the dragon before crashing.

Or so they thought.

Not even ten meters above the ground Festus again made a weird sound and he stopped working completely. They started falling even faster. Layla did the first thing that crossed her mind. She grabbed Leo and jumped out of the dragon.

They were so close to the ground that she didn't have time to fly. Instead they both rolled in the ground nearby. Next to them the dragon exploded. Thankfully, they weren't there. The metal pieces that shot from Festus flew towards them. Layla pushed Leo to the ground to avoid them. She ducked as well but one flying screw hit her right above the left eyebrow leaving a nasty scar.

When the explosion stopped they both stood up. Jason and Piper rushed to their side soonly after.

"Where is Festus?" Was the first thing Leo asked. He tried to get up but Jason stopped him.

"Seriously, Leo." He said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't -"

Leo didn't listen to him, of course he cared more about the machine than he did about himself. He pushed himself to his feet and looked around. He nearly cried when he saw Festus, or rather the wreckage that had once been him.

The Dragon had disintegrated. His whole body was ruined and the pieces were scattered all over the place. Only his head was surprisingly still intact.

"No," Leo sobbed. He ran at his dragon's side and stroked its snout. It's eyes flicked weakly and oil leaked our of his ear.

"You can't go. You're the best thing I ever fixed." Leo was in tears now.

The Dragon made some sounds that seemed to follow a pattern. Morse code. Layla had used it to communicate with other demigods a few years ago but she couldn't remember any of it. Fortunately, Leo understood.

"Yeah," He replied to whatever his dragon had said. "I understand. I will. I promise." Then the dragon was gone. Leo was now crying even louder than before. Layla walked next to him and embraced him into a hug. He hugged back.

"I'm sorry," She whispered to his ear
A tear was falling from her eye. "We will repair him. Once everything is over. I'll help you as much as I can." They let go of each other and starred at where the dragons head used to be.

After a while Jason stepped forward and put his hand on Leo's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, man." He said. "What did you promise Festus?"

Leo sniffed. "Something my dad told me. Everything can be reused."

"Your dad talked to you? When was this?" Leo didn't answer the boy's question. Instead he looked at the sky and prayed to his dad.

"Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I've never asked you for anything." The Dragon head disappeared immediately.

"He answered you. H-how?" Piper asked, looking at him in amazement.

"I had a dream. Tell you later." Leo said which did exactly answer the girl's question. Layla sensed that he didn't want to answer any more questions and changed the subject.

"Where are we? I mean, what city?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Piper answered. "I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don't know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, I swear it looked like looked like- I don't know-"

"Lasers." Layla offered.

Jason whistled softly. "Some defence system. How are we even alive?"

"Festus," Leo said looking once again ready to cry. "He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn't focus on you. I led him into a death trap."

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. Festus saved our lives again." Layla said.

"But what now?" Jason wondered. "The main gates are locked, and I'm guessing we can't fly out of here without getting shot down."

"Since we can't go out, we'll have to go in." Leo said already walking towards the white, creepy mansion in front of them.

"Definitely a bad idea." Layla muttered to herself before following him.