Mistakes

Reunions and Rescues

Leo wanted; no Leo needed to go back to Camp Half Blood. They were his friends and after 10 years of isolation. Leo couldn't be alone any longer. His plan to prevent Sammy from facing the world and Olympus didn't work. Leo wasn't fit to be alone.

The smell of strawberries filled Leo's nose and brought happy memories back to him. Memories of laughter and friendship. But Leo couldn't go back, he left this life behind. He was only going back to save Sammy. He had a son to raise and he couldn't do that with the distraction of demigod hood.

Percy and Jason were below him, which was convenient enough for Leo. He didn't want to step on the perfect grass and instantly regret his isolation and reasoning for leaving. Slowly he lowered the rope ladder onto the grass below. Leo just hoped that ten years had made the two men slightly less dimwitted.

Leo sat in the control room staring at the pictures of Sammy he had placed around the room. This is where Leo fell in love with innocence and purity. Perhaps he had been too hopeful when he had hoped he would be able to protect Sammy from the world. The world wasn't innocent and sadly that meant at some point everyone had to face the evil head on.

"Leo?" Percy called as he slowly made his way onto the deck. Leo's hand had lightly touched a small homemade picture frame made of Popsicle sticks and large felt stickers. Leo frantically tried to hide the homemade frame holding Sammy's kindergarten picture. His frantic and quick movements caused the picture frame to gently tip over and fall onto the ground. The Popsicle sticks breaking apart due to the impact. Leo froze as his heart stopped. Sammy had made him that frame for Father's day a few years ago and at the moment it was all Leo had of Sammy.

"Number one dad," Leo muttered running his friends over the large felt letters. His voice choked with emotion as all the events from the past day came running back to him, His dreams and losing Sammy. He needed his son back, Leo was slowly dying inside.

"Number one dad, I wish my kids would make me something like that," Percy told Leo as he walked into the control room. Leo froze before relaxing. This was Percy Jackson, Leo could definitely trust Percy. And it wouldn't be long before Percy and Jason figured out what was going on. They were going after Sammy. That's the whole reason they were here.

"They took Sammy," Leo turned around his voice cracking. "They took him, my boy. They took my boy." Leo didn't try to hide the tears anymore. He just let them fall as he wiped his tears away using his jacket.

Percy nodded in understanding. The son of Poseidon walked over and clamped his hand on Leo's shoulder. "If someone took Silena or Luke I wouldn't be able to manage myself. Half of New York would probably be flooded."

Leo turned to look Percy in the eyes. Leo's own eyes burning with a fiery passion that he couldn't control. "I need to find Sammy before it is too late. We are simply wasting time by sitting here having emotional moments,"

Percy stepped back taking his hand off of Leo's shoulder. "Right of course, where are we going to start?"

"I would assume that Leo has already checked all of the areas around his home, but any kidnapper would be far too smart to keep Sammy close to home," Jason walked into the room staring his old friend down as he searched for any clue to what was going inside Leo's head.

Leo nodded slowly as he wiped away the last tear from his eyes. "I had a dream. Sammy was taken by someone in a black cloak, someone that looked a lot like some creepy bat lady or what not."

Percy grew pale as he listened to Leo talk. "Guess we are taking a journey to the beaches in LA," Percy slightly joked.

Leo looked at him funny. "What is in LA?"

Jason nodded. "The entrance to the Underworld, the bat lady must be a Fury."

Leo still looked confused. Percy smiled slightly realizing that he finally wasn't the one who didn't get things on the first try.

"Someone from the Underworld took your son." Percy elaborated as he remembered how much he didn't like that place.

Leo clenched his fists tightly as he began to smoke. "Someone is going to die today. I don't care how immortal they are."

Sammy had lost track of time in the dark cell he had been staying in for so long. Time seemed to blend together when all he saw were the systematic visits of the man with the soul filled cloak. The man would come in every day at the same time to taunt him about how Sammy's father was never going to come back for him. Sammy never believed him but the cloaked man had come so many times now that Sammy was beginning to lose hope. He knew his dad would come back for him, yet at the same time he was beginning to doubt the faith in his father.

"Sammy Valdez. I'm back child," The cloaked man walked through the door as he always did and approached Sammy holding out his pale hand to stroke Sammy's face as he always did. "It's a shame that your father had to fool around with titans. The gods have won the land and the titans will never be free which means of course your mother will be free and you will never be free. Your dad is never coming for you. Your mother would be your only hope, sadly she isn't available. Unless-"

Sammy felt the cold hand touch his skin and he flinched despite knowing the hand would approach. The hand cupped his chin and brought Sammy's face close to the equally pale and deathly face that belonged to the hand.

"You have no hope unless; unless you decide that you want to serve me. Join me titan spawn and I will bring your mother to you."

Sammy looked into the cloaked man's eyes. The eyes were dark like death themselves. Sammy felt himself growing intimidated. He saw his life rewritten in which he had his mother with him all along. He didn't know what the man meant but titan spawn but Sammy did know that he wanted to see his mother. Any child wants to grow up in a home with two parents and many siblings. The man was promising to show Sammy his mother that he had never seen or heard from before. It seemed like an offer to good to be true.

"You can really bring me my mother?" Sammy asked his voice sounding like a typical nine year old that has been lost in the supermarket.

The cloaked figure smiled. "Yes, titan spawn. Just say yes and you be able to live with your mother. Just say yes,"

Sammy looked up again as he felt his heart scream out. Yes! YES! And so Sammy gave his answer.