fix you - solangelo

Chapter 16

Nico burst through a line of trees and glanced to his left in astonishment.

Jason caught up to Nico and stood at his side. "...what in Hades?"

Festus, Leo's dragon, was leaning on his side, his body smoking. He creaked and his ruby eyes flickered. Nico saw Leo's head, with his messy, disheveled hair pop up from behind the dragon's bronze body.

"B-but," Nico stammered. "But he was dead. I sensed it."

Will appeared at Nico's other shoulder, causing him to blush a little bit.

"Well," the son of Apollo said. "Apparently he's alive. Unless he's a ghost." Will looked sideways at Nico. "That's your department, Death Boy, isn't it?"

"He's not a ghost," Nico murmured. How could Leo have come back from the dead?

While Nico had been thinking, Piper, who had come with Jason to build the shrine, had reached the crash. She marched over to Leo and glared at him.

"Leo Valdez!" she yelled, causing him to jump. He helped a girl with slightly wind swept auburn hair over Festus' body, and turned to look at Piper guiltily. "Sorry?" he said tentatively.

Jason had walked over, too. "Geez, Leo, where have you been?" He frowned at his friend. "We thought you died."

Leo winced. "Hey, yeah, I'm really sorry, but I had some things to do." He took the auburn-haired girl's hand and smiled at her. She smiled back.

"So, um, guys," Leo said, as campers and satyrs began to gather around him and the girl. Nico and Will stepped over also. "This is Calypso. She's a friend of mine, and she knows Percy, too."

At this assurance of trustworthiness, the campers began to put away their weapons and relax. Nico had been suspicious at first, too, but since Percy knew her, apparently, she was probably a friend, or, at least, not an enemy.

Piper continued to glare at Leo. "I'm still angry at you," she said.

"Yeah," Jason agreed, nodding. "You have so much explaining to do."

"Big House," Piper said, marching off in that direction. "You guys should come, too," she added to Will and Nico as she walked by. "Get Percy and Annabeth. We'll IM Frank and Hazel."

Nico nodded and they headed towards the Poseidon cabin.

Nico knocked on the door. "Yeah?" Percy asked, opening it and poking his head out of the door.

"Leo's back," Will said simply.

"What?" Percy asked. "But he was dead. Nico said he was dead. Hazel said he was dead-"

"Yeah, yeah," Nico grumbled. "Come on, we've gotta get Annabeth."

Percy shut his mouth and did as Nico said.

After Annabeth joined them, the four demigods walked up to the Big House.

Nico hadn't know Leo very well, and always had thought he was rather loud and annoying, but he obviously meant very much to Jason and Hazel, so Nico was glad the son of Hephaestus was back from the dead. Nico frowned. The whole thing still didn't make sense. How did he do it?

They reached the Big House and took their seats beside the other demigods, including Reyna, who had just been about to leave when Leo crash landed. Chiron sat in his wheelchair at the head of the ping pong table, a slight frown on his face.

"We'll talk once Hazel and Frank are here," the centaur said, arms crossed over his horseshoe T-shirt.

Calypso nudged Leo with her elbow. "You're in a lot of trouble, I think."

Leo laughed nervously. "Yeah, yeah, I think I am."
____________________________________
Hello people! Sorry for another filler chapter, but I was really bored and needed to write. We're almost to the fluffy part, finally! :) Next update soon!