Of Greeks And Romans (Leo Valdez x Reader)

XLI

You

Phineas was dead. Perhaps that made me a bad person, but I don't know which was worse, the fact that I killed him and sent him back to the underworld, or the fact that I had no regret for doing so. Shouldn't I at least feel something? A shred of guilt? Shame? Maybe happiness?

But, no. I was just blank. A void without emotions. I sighed as I made my way down the tunnel to the underworld. What would the rest of the demigods think of me now. A cold and heartless murderer? It made my blood chill at just the thought. Surely they would understand. I could almost imagine the shock in Leo's face as he realized just who I was. I wasn't the same girl who was sucked up from my world and pushed into an adventure with Piper, Jason and Leo. Too many events had pushed me to realize that this world wasn't as magical as I imagined it to be. It was cruel. Perhaps even more so than a naïve 16 year old in an ordinary life would realize.

I could already feel a headache coming on. Gaea said that I could be able to bring Percy back. I'm sure I'd also have to get Hazel and Frank too, since they no doubt went after Percy as well. The only problem was that I was walking into this without an ounce of a plan or thought. I didn't even have the slightest clue how I would do it.

A slight chuckle echoed in the back of my mind and it was almost as if I could hear Gaea's amusement. She was no doubt watching me at this very moment. Seeing if I could solve her clever little puzzle. Perhaps she was waiting for me to finally break and join her side, but I was adamant. She would never see that day.

Of course, that still left me with a large problem. I had to get Percy, Hazel and Frank out of here. If not, we would likely all be doomed and I would be the reason for our failure. The thought managed to get a spark of emotion out of me, that hollow feeling in the bottom of my stomach.

"This is useless," I mumbled, more to myself than anyone.

"Not quite so," came the haunting voice of mother earth. I could have sworn her head popped out of the soil beneath me. I stomped down hard, just for extra measure. Her face wasn't there when I lifted my foot, but I wasn't sure if I had just imagined her.

I made a mental note in my head. First, Percy died. Clearly that would have a big impact on the story. Even if I did manage to get the three demigods out of the underworld, they would still be delayed by atleast a day. I could probably cut that in half though if I was smart.

I stopped in my tracks, cursing myself at probably the largest blunder yet. Ella the harpie wasn't with the demigods. Clearly, the small harpie not being there had to have some kind of impact.

I ran a hand through my hair, already feeling a headache starting to come on. My mind was overworked as it was. I took a deep breath, settling my thoughts before continuing down the path. One thing at a time. This one was perhaps the most important of them all. Bringing Percy back to life.

My hand instinctually reached down to my pocket, reaching for the small stone already a habit to renew my energy. My fingers paused as my mind finally caught up to my actions. Of course, the stone.

I pulled it out, the yellow translucent stone glowing slightly. I wasn't sure what it was that had drawn me so tightly to the object, but perhaps it could help.

A small part of me seemed to know what I was doing. It was as if a small voice in the back of my mind was urging me on, begging for me to understand what this stone meant to me. Come to think of it, it had always seemed a little familiar.

I watched the small light in the stone, the way the swirling colour seemed to trigger some reaction inside of me. Then, it was like someone flipped a switch.

The scenery around me dissolved into darkness, colour bleeding out of the dark until I found myself sitting on a small island. I looked down, only to find that I was wearing what looked to be a greek toga. The white fabric gently wrapped itself over my body in an elegant way. Still, I felt small as I sat on the rock and looked out to the ocean.