Leo Returns: After Blood of Olympus [COMPLETE] [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 27: Leo

A/N: Sorry, more notes from me. Anyway, one POV change in this chapter. Really sorry, but I needed to clear things up a bit. Cheers!

*********

LEO

It's funny, really. You come all this way, suffer so much pain, accomplish the impossible even, and just like that, it's over. One second, that's all it takes, for your world to end, for everything to stop...

When Leo broke into Khione's throne room, she had taken him by surprise. He had just finished burning down the door, and when he walked in, Khione was nowhere to be seen. He looked around for her, but as soon as he turned, Khione appeared from who knows where, and slashed a dagger that looked like it was made of ice across his chest.

Leo quickly set himself on fire and attacked, but the damage was done. There must have been some snow voodoo magic on the dagger, because in addition to hurting like Hades, he could feel it sapping his strength. Every moment he got weaker, but he tried to ignore it. He kept on the offense, until Calypso came in. She took over, and Leo couldn't stand any longer. He slumped against the wall, his mind racing furiously.

Calypso was distracting Khione so Leo could finish his whatever it was. He wasn't even sure yet. His mind was racing. He knew Khione would never leave demigods alone after this, so they had to get rid of her permanently. But how?

He looked down, and saw he had assembled some sort of bomb. It contained liquid from his dad's forges, like the engine from the Argo II. It was massively powerful, all he had to do was flip a switch and this whole place would erupt into flames. The palace would likely erupt into flames whether or not he flipped the switch, the power levels in the machine were hugely unstable. Let's not focus on that right now.

He steeled himself, and created a giant fireball, sapping almost all his remaining strength. He warned Calypso just in time, and lobbed at Khione. He knocked Khione out, or so he thought. While Calypso was talking to Sami, Leo hastily scribbled a note and talked to Festus, giving him instructions.

He finished, and said good bye to Sami. Festus took off with the hysterical demigod on board, and Leo faced Calypso.

There was blood running down her arm, and she was covered in nicks and scratches. Leo's eyes flitted to Khione, and his blood froze.

She was watching them through half closed eyes, an amused smirk on her face. She seemed to be waiting for something, and then Leo realized. The explosion. Khione would just put something up to protect herself, leaving Leo and Calypso to die.

Leo's mind raced. He couldn't deactivate the device, it would explode with or without him in a matter of seconds. A cold sensation spread from his chest to the rest of his body, making him shiver slightly.

Calypso kissed him goodbye, and together, they flipped the switch.

But Leo had other ideas.

The bomb started to smoke and sizzle, rapidly heating the metal, turning it molten red. Leo concentrated, and sensing the celestial bronze gears, he felt a wrench in his gut and he jammed the gears, effectively delaying the explosion for a couple seconds.

He pulled another grenade from his tool belt. It was the same one he used to blind the Kerkopes dwarves back in Bologna. He quickly activated it and shielded his eyes. Through his closed eyelids, he saw it activate, sending spots through his vision.

Leo shoved Calypso forward, towards Khione. He prayed to every god he could think of, just hoping that Khione would activate some type of barrier to protect her, and he moved in time to get Calypso in it.