@Aphrodite, no problem <33 I'm gonna miss you too, fellow Directioner :'(

@DMLIME, I now tag you the nickname of amazeballs xD LLN, you know when you're seeing something crucial? Time sometimes seems to slow down for some people, while for others it's different xD LLN

@Liz, hm, never thought you'd say that about a KISS-- never pegged you as the romantic type :P
YOOLLOOO [the most overused statement ever xD]

Lol, AWESOME CHAPTER!!!
I live for these updates!
That battle with Kampe was epic! But yet, what is Emily?
And yes, where was Octavian? He should've taken that hit lol
I died lughing when Percy mentioned Octavian.
POST SOON!!

YOLO try saying that to a cat...
Great chapter ive always wanted to have the same powers as Percy. Although it would get boring after a while and I would want something new.

^^ LLN, you'll find out what she is soon enough :P

^ Saying YOLO to a cat..? LLN xD
Haha, his powers are cool :D


Okay, so guys, I'm getting REALLY BUSY lately... Finals are coming up, I'm studying as hard as I can, etc, etc, etc.
So, I'll try to post sometime this weekend... I am off on Monday for Memorial Day, but I'm hanging out with a friend so idk when I'll post.
But thanks for all your comments :D

It's okay. Enjoy life! Take advantage of those breaks. And good luck on your finals!
I'll be here waiting to find out about what Emily is!

Whoo, I finished! :D
One word: LEMILY!
Leo is so smooth :P
Btw... there's only 2 more chapters left! [Then I start the 3rd book ;D]

Chapter 30: Leo

Leo couldn’t believe his eyes—was this all happening?

He knew there was no way for Greek fire to be extinguished: yet he was seeing it before his eyes.

And, it was HIS tool that was making the fire dissipate.

Emily shook her head slightly. “You’re a genius, Leo.”

Well, Leo was awesome, after all—but he had just taken some random parts together from his tool belt and made something that was now taking out the flames of Greek fire, along with Kampe, who was screeching and howling at the moment—her essence was being sucked into the tool with the flames, the monster cursing in her ancient language.

Leo wasn’t going to translate what she said—nor did he actually understand anything, but he knew whatever she was cursing was scarring.

“I still don’t understand how this is happening,” He muttered, looking gratefully at Emily—there was a long gash on her arm, her shirt was torn, her hair was a mess, and yet she managed to look so beautiful and graceful.

She side-glanced at him, then looked at Percy. “We should probably help him up. I’ll go get Jason to fill him in and you give Percy some ambrosia and nectar.”

Leo nodded, watching her jog away to find Jason, who was helping the Romans get rid of the remaining wreckage; then, he turned to go towards Percy, who was groaning on the floor.

Taking a spare package of ambrosia and nectar from his tool belt, Leo plopped down on the ground next to Percy, putting a square of ambrosia in his shaking hand.

“Thanks, man,” Percy muttered, popping the piece of ambrosia in his mouth—instantly the color returned to his face, and he sat up.

“We should probably help with the wreckage,” Leo said, offering a hand to Percy, pulling him up as they jogged towards Emily and Jason, who were now talking to Reyna.

“…you want me to come to Camp Half-Blood?” Leo heard Reyna say incredulously, already curious of what was going on.

Emily nodded. “Bring some of your strongest Roman campers, too—Camp Half-Blood’s gonna need all the help it needs.”

Reyna shook her head imperceptibly. “But what about Camp Jupiter? If I and my strongest campers leave, that leaves us undefended.”

“I can help with that,” Leo piped up, digging in his tool belt for some thing: he grabbed it, and as soon as it came out into the open, it turned into a hundred automatons.

Percy looked astonished. “How—what—?”

Leo shrugged. “Maybe my dad’s been paying attention to our problems?”

“I wish the other gods would pay attention, too,” Jason grumbled.

“They will, if we tell them what’s happening,” Emily said, looking out into the distance at Mount Tam—Leo saw she shivered slightly, and wondered what had happened to her there…

Reyna turned to Leo. “You sure these won’t backfire? Like the time when—”

Leo blushed. “Yes, yes, I clearly remember—and no, they won’t… I’m sure of it, as sure of how awesome I am.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at that—Percy cleared his throat. “So, we’ll help you clean the Camp, get it back in semi-order; then, you and a few legions will come with us to Camp Half-Blood, where we help the chaos there and head off to Mount Olympus. Deal?”

Reyna glanced back at the wreckage of the Senate. “I suppose so… After all, I can’t hold a grudge against both of you for so long.”

Jason and Percy blinked. “Grudge? For what?” Jason asked, looking uncomfortable.

Reyna looked away, seemingly angry. “Never mind. We were once foes, then friends, and then a barrier was between us, making us partial enemies again; but if helping your Camp means breaking that barrier that blocked our friendship, then I’m glad to help.”

*******************************

After four tiring hours of cleaning up, Leo was exhausted—he sat down on an old chair that used to be in the Senate, looking out across the green rolling hills that stretched through Berkeley.

He knew things weren’t exactly steady between the two Camps; even after the war, even after they helped each other, there were still some grudges.

That was especially true with Reyna and Jason since Jason picked Piper… awkward.

And Percy indefinitely left Camp Jupiter, leaving the praetor position open for anyone—Octavian, most likely—which probably left Reyna with few choices, and didn’t exactly trust them anymore.

So, Leo was glad when cleaning up the Camp hadn’t been THAT awkward; Reyna, Percy, Jason, and Emily discussed further plans, while Leo jacked up the automatons to perfection and made sure there were no difficulties and such.

All in all, it was an exhausting day; it felt more than weeks ago that they were at the abandoned library, just finding out about what was happening.

And, it felt like days ago that he, Percy, and Jason flew in to the rescue on their Pegasi, watching the first flames consume the buildings.

Of course, it was only hours ago when this all happened: and Leo already missed Festus Jr/Sparkles, even though he was in the stables a few miles away—but he was too lazy to go and greet the Pegasus he almost kissed.

“Just chilling?” He heard Emily’s voice, and jumped in surprise to see her sitting next to him, her ever-changing eyes shining.

Leo shrugged. “Leo Valdez needs his rest.”

She chuckled. “We all do, don’t we? Percy and Jason are with Reyna, talking about whatever their plan is.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be talking with them too?”

“I take that as you want me to leave you alone?”

“No!—No, I mean—ah, you know what I mean.” Leo cursed himself silently for stuttering, as a smile tugged on Emily’s face.

“That was amazing, what you did out there.”

He snorted. “Me? What about you, Miss I-have-power-over-weather?”

She waved him off. “I wasn’t the one who ended up saving the day.”

“Oh, the thing I had in my toolbelt to make the Greek fire and Kampe disappear? Well, I do have some useful things in here,” Leo patted his tool belt nicely, wondering how Hephaestus knew he would need that—unless his father was a semi-Oracle, Leo had no clue whether the tool had been made all his own or with some help.

He looked at Emily, who was staring out, looking at the outline of Mount Tam—the long gash on her arm that reached to her waist was faint, healed quickly; Leo wondered how she managed to get ambrosia in that fast, and how she had managed to block Kampe’s blow so quickly, and other questions floating inside his head that needed to be answered.

She glanced at him, noticing the curious expression on his face. “I’m guessing you’re wondering about my past…?”

“Nah, I’m just wondering if rainbow unicorns fly.”

She punched him lightly in the shoulder, jokingly. “Honestly, I’ve kept a lot from you guys… but even I don’t know my full story—someone must have prevented me from remembering what happened, because I remember bits and pieces, but my mind can’t seem to get the whole picture.”

Leo wondered what that would feel like, not knowing your own past—he remembered all the times he ran away, the times he spent with his mom…

He inched closer to Emily awkwardly, trying to find some clever way to cheer her up. “Err, well, if it makes you feel better, I used to pee my pants a lot when I was little—not something I’d want to remember.”

Oh great, Leo thought bitterly. Just another chance at finding a girl, and then you blow it, Valdez, by confessing you peed your pants when you were little.

But instead of inching away from him, Emily just laughed, the sound carrying through the area, like a melody.

“Gods, that probably just made my day!” She giggled, her eyes shining—but Leo could sense there was still a layer of sadness underneath the laughter.

“Well, if you ever need cheering up, I could always tell you more embarrassing stories,” Leo offered, but made a mental note NEVER to bring this up again.

She smiled, a smile that made Leo’s heart jump (metaphorically, of course.) “I’ll keep you on speed dial.”

Maybe in the movies this was when they guy leaned closer to the girl, and they kissed—but Leo never watched any romantic movies, nor did he have any experience; so he just sat there awkwardly, fidgeting.

Besides, how could he possibly tell Emily that he liked her, without embarrassing himself? Plus, she probably didn’t feel the same way about him; Leo bet there were tons of guys waiting in line just to be her boyfriend.

The song “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber popped in his head (don’t ask why—Leo didn’t want to know how he knew that song), the lyric If I was your boyfriend… stuck in his head.

Why was he listening to Justin Bieber? Well, Leo wasn’t exactly sure why, other than that it hurt his ears and was good as a torture method.

“Leo? You okay?” Emily asked, looking worried—Leo realized he had accidently put his pants on fire, without realizing.

“Whooaa, okay, didn’t notice that,” He muttered—how many more embarrassing moments did he need?—then with a snap, the flames died out, and luckily, his pants didn’t burn away to show his Spongebob boxers.

Emily was fidgeting with something—a charm bracelet, Leo noticed, one he hadn’t seen before.

“What’s that?” He asked, trying to steer away from the awkward moment when he set his pants on fire.

“Hmm?” Emily seemed to be semi-paying attention, the charm bracelet gleaming against the setting sun. “Oh, this? It… it was a gift my boyfriend gave me once.”

Leo felt his heart drop—could this get any worse? Emily had a boyfriend?

She must have noticed the look on his face, and quickly correct herself. “Exboyfriend, Leo. He left me at the Orphanage; said he would come back again, but never showed up. I don’t know why I’ve been keeping this all these years.”

She seemed sad, and dark clouds started covering the sky—Leo sensed the weather shifted to Emily’s mood, and wondered if it had something to do with her powers.

He guessed this was when the guy was supposed to cheer up the girl, say something really meaningful, and then they kiss—but like Leo thought before, he had no experience, and wasn’t good at this kind of stuff; humans weren’t exactly his expertise.

“Did he um… make better tofu tacos than me?” Leo asked, mentally face-palming himself—gods, he was bad at this stuff.

Emily smiled slightly, turning to look at him—Leo noticed they were sitting close together that their shoulders touched, and that the clouds had parted slightly; it was still semi-dark, though.

“Nope; only you make the best of tofu and tacos, Leo. Besides, he had no reason to cook in an orphanage. He was… sweet.”

Great, Leo thought. Now I have to listen to her talk about her ex-boyfriend.

“Um… that’s nice?” Leo said, noticing how awkward this conversation was getting every minute.

Emily just laughed at how uncomfortable he felt. “Gods, Leo, you don’t think I’d actually talk about my ex-boyfriend in front of you? I’ve got much better things to talk about with you.”

“Like…?”

“Like… I don’t know, are you single…?”

Leo bursted out laughing. “Are you kidding me?! Do books fly?”

Emily blushed, which was the first time Leo saw. “I’m taking that as a no?”

“Does this answer your question?” Leo didn’t know where he got his courage, but his arms wrapped around Emily’s waist, his lips meeting hers; her arms came up around his neck, a tingling sensation coursing through Leo’s body.

There was a crunch of leaves, and Emily released herself from Leo, her face flushed and eyes gleaming, grinning at him.

“Whoop! Leo finally kissed a girl!” Percy yelled, fist-pumping, emerging from a bush.

Leo knocked him out with a punch, walking away satisfied, his hand in Emily’s.

Maybe he hadn’t screwed up that bad, after all.

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

NICE ENDING XDDDDDDDD
HAHHA PERCY XDDDDDDD LOLOLOLOLOLOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
*cracks up*

LOL LEO NICE XDD

Spongebob pants! loooool so funny and man that was an awkward conversation....Really cant wait till next chapter!

Way to ruin the moment percy.
XD
LLN
Wow! Great chapter!!
Love it!!
Post soon!

LMFAO!! XDDDD

awww, Leo finally got a girlfriend :D soo cute holli XD
awesome ending Monica XDDD

LMAO!!!!!!!
Hey, I used to peee my pants. Perfect Pick-up line!
LLOOOOOOOOLLLL!!!!!! I can't stop laughing. Percy randomly emerges from a bush.
But LEMILY :D
Fist pump!!!

speechless!!!!!!! :):):):):)
wow wow wow

Loved it
Percy kills me.
That was an ANAZING CHAPTER
LOVED IT!
Sorry it was so good it needed to repeated.
BEAUTIFUL ENDING!!!

Oh hey guys, but monica [hollister] is currently missing. So yeah.

So idk when she'll be back. MONICAAAA WHERE DID YOU GOOO!!!??!?!

Uh, missing....? I was getting excited about a chapter, you just gonna destroy my hopes like that?!

Ah, thanks guys so much for staying here while I was gone...
Yeah, I couldn't come on Fanpop for a week because of school and other stuff, and I've got tons of busy weeks to come...
So idk, I might leave Fanpop... I probably will...
I am SO sorry :((
You guys have been the best readers EVER and I feel so bad leaving... but everything is getting crazy busy and I'm barely gonna have time to write or go on because of graduation stuff and other high school prep-related stuff over the summer...
So that's kind of why I have to leave... it's not fair for you if I stay and I barely post...
I am SO SORRY :((

Okay, I made a deal with universal :P
I won't leave permanently, but all my forums will be on HIATUS until I have time to write and post again, which will probably be around July.
Thanks for sticking around guys, you're the best :D

Yes, you can all blame/thank me for making her come back at some point which will HAPPEN or Liz will hunt her down and drag her back with much intended force.

o_o Yes, I most definitely will.

@Universalpowa - thansk so much for having such great persuasive skills! I guess it really helped and...
@hollistergurl - You gotta do what you gotta do so if you have tostay off for a while then you have to saty off. But if you don't come back, universalpowa wont be the only one chasing and convincing you to come back, this story is way too good to just leave forever, thanks anyway for posting up until now :)

P.S. I just realsied I used the word forever when describing your story :D lol and also, universalpowa, are you gonna post on 'ONE NIGHTS MISTAKE' ???

AHHHHHHHHHHHH. MAN I HAVE REALLY BAD TIMING. OK WELL THIS IS WHAT I FIGURED OUT. MONICA IS LEAVING. SHE MIGHT COME BACK IN JULY AND FOR SOME REASON I WAS OBLIVIOUS TO THIS WHOLE THING. HMMM, I SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. OK. DON'T WORRY I UNDERSTAND.

I miss this place...

Monica told me actually a while ago, but this forum is abandoned. She won't be coming back Sorry guys D:

But if I can, I shall annoy and persuade some more. But at this point it's highly unlikely. D8

Good bye, Forever. Bad irony.

But...you cant just....WHY?! Annoy as much as you can! Annoy like LEO!