Work Text:
Luck's Run Out
8:00 PM Camp Half-Blood
"And so, on a night like this long ago, a poison spider lurks in the woods...waiting to bite." Leo said. Tonight was Horror Story Night. Leo had sure picked a good one for the Athena children to be scared. Elyse was leaning on Nico, her eyes shut tight. Nico was conforming her. Leo went and sat back down with Calyn, in between Calyn and Elyse. He began to taunt Elyse.
"What? Are you scared of some little, poison, spider? Huh?" He took his fingers and began to imitate a spider crawling up Elyse's back. Elyse cringed. Nico slapped Leo's hand away. He scowled at Leo.
"Hey, that's not OK."
"What? I was joking! She's afraid of a spider for Zeus's sake!"
"I don't care if you were joking. It's not alright to mess with my girlfriend!" Both boys were furious at each other now.
Leo exclaimed, "Come at me death boy!" At this Nico punched Leo in the face. He fell. The whole crowd around them gasped. Calyn rushed to Leo, who was covering his left eye.
Calyn soothingly spoke to Leo. "Here," She was gradually moving Leo's hand away from his eye. "Let me see."
"Ouch, Ouch, Ow, Ow." His eye was already beginning to bruise, giving him a black eye. Nico slunk back to his cabin. Elyse went to Leo and apologized.
"I'm so sorry about your eye. Nico just...overreacted."
"Yea. Whatever." Leo walked away. Calyn just shook her head and left Elyse standing in the chilled air. She sighed. Elyse walked to Nico's cabin. The door was open. She leaned casually against the doorframe.
"Why did you punch Leo?" Nico turned from the fireplace hearing his girlfriend's voice.
"He was teasing you and scaring you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Just then, Elyse collapsed to the floor. "Elyse!" Nico yelled. He saw something crawl away. Nico picked her up in his arms and set her on his bed. She was limp like a doll. "Wake up Elyse." He shook her. She didn't do anything. A faint blue tint spread through her body. She was breathing heavily.
"What do I do?”
——
Leo and Calyn were sitting against the Apollo cabin. "What got into you back there Leo? Elyse is my best friend!"
"I'm sorry, Cal. I was just playing around."
"Just be more careful next time, OK Leo?"
"Alright."
"Let's get that bruise away, shall we?" She took Leo’s hand and sang to Apollo to heal Leo. He got the chills as she touched him. Calyn stepped back and the golden aurora melted into the night. The big bruise was no longer there. ”Better?”
"A kiss would make it feel so much better." He winked.
"Alright, Hot Stuff. Only because you're so hurt." She said sarcastically. Calyn grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him in. "I love you." She whispered tenderly in his ear. Then, he kissed her. She closed her eyes and nothing could ruin this wonderful moment.
"What do you say we go apologize to Elyse? She's probably in the Hades cabin."
"I guess that would be OK. I love you, Cal."
"Love you too." They walked to the Hades cabin. They were a few feet away, when they heard Nico screaming and yelling. Calyn and Leo ran towards him.
"Nico, are you alright?" Calyn said with a concerned look on her face.
"Elyse, she's she's" He stammered and led them into his cabin. Calyn gasped at her friend.
"What did you do to her?"
"She just collapsed and I saw something crawl away. Then, her skin turned that weird tint."
Calyn looked to her boyfriend. "Don't just stand there Leo! Get an Apollo kid!" Leo rushed away to the Apollo cabin. Even though Calyn was an Apollo child, she was still working on her powers so she could only heal pretty minor things. Calyn examined Elyse then saw a bump right above her ankle. Calyn lifted the bellbottom pant leg to examine it.
“I'm not an advanced healer, but this is a poison bite from something." Calyn set the pant leg back down.
Nico was extremely concerned. "Will she be alright?"
"Not for me to say. We'll have to see what the Kayla says."
Leo rushed in, dragging a sleepy Kayla with him. Kayla had a nightgown on and some slippers. Her curly brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. She rubbed her blue eyes. "What did you bring me in for again?" Kayla then looked and saw Elyse. "Oh." She examined Elyse and saw the bite. "Spider bite. Poisonous. I don't know how well this will heal. Does anyone have ambrosia or nectar? Or both?" Nico went to his cabinet and grabbed a bottle full of nectar and a plastic bag full of ambrosia. Kayla took it and force fed Elyse ambrosia. The skin tint began to disappear. She handed the bag back to Nico.
"Give her some of this every half-hour. We wouldn't want her to burn." She yawned. Nico and Calyn were both very distressed as Kayla walked away.
"You guys should probably get some rest. Don't tell anyone else about this. If anyone asks, she's got the flu. You two have training tomorrow anyway." Nico let them out of his cabin. Leo escorted Calyn to the Apollo cabin.
"Are you sure she'll be alright?"
"It's not really my place to say, Cal." He kissed her on the head. "Get some sleep. We have training tomorrow." Calyn looked unsettled as Leo said this.
"Goodnight. C-could you do something for me?"
"Whatever you need Cal."
"Tell Annabeth about Elyse."
"But Nico said-"
"I don't care what he said. If Percy was super sick, I would want to know. Goodnight." She kissed him on the cheek.
"OK Cal. Goodnight." She left into her cabin and then Leo headed to the Athena cabin. He knocked awkwardly. Annabeth answered immediately.
"What happened to my sister?" Annabeth was really concerned. Her hair was a mess, like she hadn't slept in 3 days. "Elyse has been known to stay out late, but not this late. It's," She checked her watch. "Midnight!"
Leo looked down. "Just go to Nico's cabin. He'll explain it. I have a TON of training tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Bye." Annabeth put on some old flip flops and hurried outside as she pulled her sweatshirt over her.
***
Nico was kneeling next to Elyse. She was sitting up, but looked very zoned out. Nico was talking to her and she was responding, but it didn't make any sense. While Annabeth walked in, Nico asked Elyse "Do you even remember who I am?" She nodded.
"You're Nico. My boyfriend." He sighed a sigh of relief. He looked up and saw Annabeth. Nico looked back down.
"What happened to my sister?" Annabeth was extremely upset. Nico cleared his throat.
"She got bit by, what we determined as, a poisonous spider. She collapsed. She just woke up right now. She's talking but appears confused."
"I see. Does she remember who we are?"
"I think there is a faint memory there. We need to go into her mind, clear it up."
"So we need a child of Hypnos?"
"I think so."
"Do you know how hard it is to wake up Clovis?" There was a long pause. Annabeth told Nico to go find Clovis and wake him up. Annabeth decided to stay with Elyse. "Elyse?" Elyse turned to Annabeth and looked at her.
"Yea Annabeth?"
"So you know who I am?"
"I don't remember everything about you. I just know your my sister."
"Who is Calyn? And Leo?"
"Calyn is my best friend. Leo is her boyfriend." Annabeth nodded.
"Nico is getting Clovis so we can restore all of your memories."
"Good. Right now, stuff is..." She cringed. "Missing. I have an splitting headache from this."
"Makes sense." Then, Nico brought in Clovis, who was lazily walking and yawning.
Nico went and sat by his girlfriend. "I already explained everything to him. Let's just hope he doesn't fall asleep."
"Quick problem," Clovis said. "I can only let one of you into her mind. Too many, well. Terrible things will happen."
"I'll let you go, Annabeth. Your her sister first. I'll keep watch and be here just incase."
"Ok. Thank you Nico. Clovis, let's go." Annabeth proceeded to help Elyse onto the floor. Clovis grabbed one of Elyse's hands and Annabeth grabbed the other. Clovis chanted something and then they were transported (mentally) into Elyse's mind.
The next day, Leo and Calyn were out and about. Leo decided to have some fun with Calyn, trying to get her mind off of Elyse. He took her to an empty lot with a go kart. She was laughing. "Leo?" She laughed again. "Where did you get this go kart?"
"I made it."
She was talking in between laughs. "I love you, Hot Stuff." She kissed him. He smiled at her.
"Shall we drive around some more?"
"Is this even legal?"
Leo paused. "No." Neither of them were16 yet. Leo was 14 and Calyn was 13.
She smiled. "I don't care. Let's drive!" Leo pushed the pedal. Before they knew it, the couple was in slow motion, crashing into the brick wall at the end of the lot. It was dusty and overall terrible. Calyn was coughing up blood and dust. Her arm was burning and misshapen. Her ankle was also burning. She coughed again. Calyn paused a moment. She was missing something. Leo. "LEO?" Calyn heard coughing and saw dust raise from across the way. Leo had taken most of the impact.
More coughing was heard. "Is that you Cal?"
"Yea. Where are you?"
"I-I think I, ouch, broke my leg."
"Stay where you are Leo, I'll find you." The dust finally settled. Calyn walked over to Leo, well, it was more of a limp. His face was scratched up and bloody. His leg was broken.
"C'mon Leo. I'm going to try and help you up now."
"Cal? I think I broke my arm too."
"Listen, we're going to get you up and I have some extra drachma. I saw an old hose over that way. We’ll be alright."
Calyn slouched down. Leo put his good arm around her shoulders. He cringed as he stood up. Calyn walked them to the hose towards the end of field. She pulled out a drachma out of her pocket. Leo sat back down.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering." She threw the coin down and at the same time, turned on the hose. "Leo, say who we want to see. Please."
"Show us Percy Jackson, Camp Half Blood." The image appeared with Percy at sword practice. He did a move, disarmed the trainer, then saw Leo and his sister. He walked up to the chat, confused. "Leo? Calyn? Where are you guys? Are you OK?"
Leo winced. "Come to the lot behind the abandoned mall. As soon as possible. Hurry Percy." The messaged ended. Leo laid down and looked at the sky.
"Hopefully Percy will come soon." Calyn said.
"First, Elyse getting bit, then us in the go kart. Whose next?"
"I don't know. I just want to leave alive." She paused. "I'm sorry about your go kart."
Leo sat up and looked at Calyn. "Hey, it's OK. We'll be fine. Percy will find us. I promise."
——
Percy rushed to the stables. He almost knocked over some of the horse trainers. Blackjack was sleeping. "Blackjack, wake up!" The horse shook his mane and then saw Percy. "Hey boss! Need a ride?"
"Yes! Get Guido and Porkpie too. We're going on a rescue mission."
"Can we get doughnuts first?"
"No! C'mon."
Percy hopped on Blackjack and the all three pegasi flew to the back lot.
"Do you know where we're going, boss?"
"Not really."
"Who are we saving anyway, boss?"
"Calyn and Leo."
"Calyn and Leo? What happened to them?"
"Let's just say they got hurt."
"Alright boss."
They arrived in the lot after what felt like hours to Percy. Leo and Calyn were sitting and talking together. You could tell they were injured, even from a distance. Blackjack landed gracefully right next to Leo.
Calyn smiled. "Percy! You made it!"
"OK, what's broken?"
"Well, Leo broke his leg and he scratched up his face. He also broke his arm. I twisted my ankle and broke my arm too."
"So what happened?"
Leo began to explain the event. After the explanation, Percy said, "I really expected you to take better care of my sister. I don't want you doing anything stupid and getting hurt like this."
Leo looked down. "I'm sorry Percy. I didn't think we would get hurt."
Percy was trying hard to stay mad at his little sister and her boyfriend. "I can't stay mad at you guys. Let's just get back to camp." Percy helped Leo and Calyn onto Guido and Porkpie. "Everyone OK?"
"Yup. Let's ride." Leo smiled and said. Calyn was amazed at how Leo could smile even if he was in pain. Calyn was on Guido. Percy began to interrogate Calyn.
"You alright Calyn?"
"I'm OK. Hurting but OK."
'We'll get there soon Calyn, don't worry. That was very stupid of you to do that."
"We were just having a little fun OK Percy?”
"Calyn, I don't care what you thought it was. You got hurt. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Percy, I'm gonna get hurt. I'm a demigod, remember? Leo wants me to be safe too. It was one mistake."
"Oh yea, I can name many mistakes that have happened when you're with Leo."
"Try me."
“Well…”
"Percy, I know you care about me. Could you just let me make my own decisions?"
"I guess so."
Leo finally chimed into the conversation. "The only reason we were out was so we could get our minds off of Elyse."
"What happened to Elyse?" Percy said.
Calyn was making a 'cut it out' motion but Leo didn't notice. "She got bit by a poison spider and lost a lot of her memories. Annabeth ran over to Nico's cabin to check on her. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone..."
"Great. Just another problem we have to worry about."
***
Nico was anxiously pacing his cabin while Clovis and Annabeth were in Elyse's mind. "I really hope no one else finds out..." Elyse moaned and Nico turned. He gritted his teeth. Nico was busy thinking when he came across an idea. "We've been cursed."
In Elyse's mind, Annabeth and Clovis were regaining her memories. They literally went through them with her. They saw her getting beat by her stepmom, running away to Calyn's house and family with cuts and bruises, the battle with the chimera, and the flee to camp. Then, the picture changed. They went to Annabeth's memories, seeing the most painful. They saw Thalia turn into a tree, Luke turning against camp, Percy coming and her hatred/love for him, him asking her out, Percy disappearing, and everything in Tartarus. Everything.
The group woke up with Elyse screaming. Since they had all been laying on the floor, Elyse sat up, Annabeth sitting up slowly. Clovis fell asleep. Nico ran to Elyse and hugged her. "Are you alright Elyse?"
"I'm fine. Fine." She was breathing heavily, like she just awoke from a nightmare. Elyse turned to Annabeth. "I can't-" Elyse hugged her sister. "You've been through so much."
There was a knock at the door. Nico answered and saw Percy. He thought to himself, "Someone must have said something."
Percy said, "Leo and Calyn got hurt."
Nico thought aloud (but only Percy heard) "I knew it."
"Knew what?" Percy said with a surprised look on his face.
Nico led Percy to the far corner of his room. "We've been cursed. Calyn, Elyse, Leo and I. Someone cursed us."
Percy had enough experience with curses. He began to speak in a hushed tone. "Who would have cursed you?"
Nico thought for a moment. "Maybe we've had too much good luck, and Nemesis has seen it."
"I've dealt with her before. This cannot be good. Whatever you guys do, don't leave camp."
"She can still curse us, even if we are inside camp."
"I know. But at least in here, we can get you help."
"You're right."
Annabeth stood up. "Hey Percy, what are you guys talking about?"
Nico made and slashing motion across his neck. Percy noticed and said, "We just had to clear a few things up."
Annabeth noticed that the subject shouldn't be talked about. "I gotta go to the docks. I promised I'd meet Chiron there."
"Hey Annabeth, would you mind uh keeping the memory thing a secret? Just between sisters?"
"Yea sure Elyse. Would you do the same for me?" Elyse nodded. Annabeth and Percy left.
Nico sat next to Elyse. She leaned on him and began softly crying on his shoulder. "The memories are so vivid." Tears streamed down her face. Nico stroked her head.
"We better get Clovis back to his cabin." Nico said looking at Clovis sleeping peacefully on the floor.
Elyse wiped her tears. "Yea. We should see what happened to Calyn and Leo."
"Could I tell you something, Elyse?"
"Sure."
"I think Nemesis has brought us bad luck."
"I already knew."
Nico was surprised. "How?"
"Well, nothing super bad has happened on all of our quests and Nemesis is the goddess of revenge and balance so...Wait. If we've been cursed, and the curse has already happened to...Oh no." She looked stunned. "Nico, You're next."
He swallowed hard. "I'll be OK."
Leo slept peacefully in the gurney next to Calyn in the infirmary. He had just been healed with an enchantment by Kayla to Apollo. His leg was almost back to normal, as was his arm. He would need a cast for both his bones to mend correctly. Calyn sat up and found herself sore. There was a cast around her arm and a brace around her ankle. She got up to begin to walk until she saw Elyse and Nico. "Elyse!" Calyn exclaimed. She was happy to see her best friend was alright. Nico was walking with Elyse. She looked a little weak, but better than she did last night.
"You alright Calyn?"
"Yea sorta."
"What happened to you two?"
"We were riding in a go kart Leo made and we hit a brick wall."
"Wow. You have minor injuries from that."
"Yes," Calyn agreed. "But Leo doesn't. He took most of the impact since he was driving."
Nico began to speak up. "We need to tell you something. You should probably wake up Leo."
Leo woke up at the sound of his name. "What's up guys?" He winced. "I kinda got us into some, trouble."
"We need to tell you guys something." Elyse said.
Nico flipped the bangs out of his face. "We came to a conclusion today that we, all four of us, have had too much good luck and Nemesis is balancing it out."
Elyse chimed in. "Since bad things have happened to you guys and me, I predicted Nico may be affected next. Hopefully we all only get hit once and then it's over."
Calyn nodded. "I can understand this." Leo whimpered a bit. "You OK Hot Stuff?"
He replied, "Yea, my leg just- hurts."
"I'll let you two get some rest." Elyse said and she walked hand in hand with Nico. Before Calyn knew it, she was asleep. Leo fell asleep too.
Calyn began to dream. She saw...Nico. He was screaming? There was something lurking out. Something grabbed him and he was put into a jar. A bronze jar. It was dark, and he was scared. He couldn't survive long. Calyn was breathing heavy like he was. If he kept breathing like that he would lose oxygen in a matter of minutes. "Help." He pleaded. Tears streamed down his face. "Help." Then the dream went black then changed.
Calyn found herself underwater. She saw two bodies squirming. They were drowning. The dream moved in and she saw Elyse and Leo, drowning. She had to make a choice. She couldn't save them both, even if she was a good swimmer. She heard a voice saying, "Choose, Daughter of Apollo. You cannot save them both." Waking with a start, Calyn mumbled, "Protect my friends, Apollo and Poseidon."
----
Nico and Elyse were playing a game that they called Any Question. They were sitting against a tree. They would ask each other questions and they had to answer honestly. Elyse went first. "Favorite color?"
"Green."
"Favorite type of food?"
"Italian." Elyse responded. She had to think of a good question to ask him.
"Biggest fear?"
"Enclosed spaces."
"Huh."
"What?" He said and smiled.
"Nothing. I was just thinking."
"Aren't you always?" He smiled. She loved his smile. He kissed her. She loved him and never wanted him to go.
"I love you Nico."
"Love you too."
——
Calyn went to her own cabin. As much fun as it was sitting with Leo every day, she wanted to be in her own bed. She passed the Poseidon cabin and Percy perked up. He was sitting on his bed, sharpening his sword. "How are ya feeling Calyn?"
"Eh, alright I guess. I should probably tell you something..." She walked in.
"What is it?"
"I uh had a dream."
"Oh great. Dreams are almost always nightmares, at least for demigods."
"Well, first I dreamt about Nico. He was stuck in a jar and scared, running out of oxygen. Then I dreamt about me in the lake. And...Leo and Elyse were both drowning. A voice said that I could only chose one." Calyn proceeded to sit down on Percy’s bed, only to make Percy stand up.
"Calyn, this is bad. Really bad. Female or male voice?"
"Er female."
"It's her."
“Who?"
“Nemesis."
Calyn laid down on her bed. "Great. So we're still cursed. Is this gonna actually happen?"
"Maybe, most likely." Percy pulled back his bangs with his hands. "Are you going to tell them?'
"No. They're gonna try and change it. You know what happens when you try and change your destiny."
"Calyn, you have to tell them. Especially Nico. Demigod dreams are never just dreams."
Calyn sighed heavily. She began to fiddle with her cast. Percy sat back down. Percy moved to sit with his sister. She sat up. "Percy. Could I be honest with you?"
"Yea. What's up?"
"I'm really scared. I don't know how to handle this."
"I know Cal. I know it's scary. But that's the life of a demigod."
***
Calyn invited Elyse to come to the Apollo cabin. Elyse came in and Calyn saw her. "Hey, what's up Cal?"
"I had a dream."
"Dreams. More like nightmares for demigods. What happened?"
Calyn hesitated. "Well...First Nico was picked up and trapped in a jar. He was scared and breathing heavily."
Elyse was very concerned now. "Where was he? How'd he get in the jar?"
"He was in a cave and a claw put him there."
"Anything else happen?"
"Not in that dream."
Elyse brushed her long hair out of her face. "Two dreams?"
Calyn nodded. "The second dream, I was in the lake. You and Leo were both drowning and Nemesis said I couldn't save you both. Then the dream faded."
Elyse looked at her friend. "Thanks for telling me." Elyse hugged Calyn. "If you were going to save Leo first, I understand." Elyse walked out. Hearing her friend would be willing to sacrifice herself made Calyn even more nervous. She sighed.
“Poseidon and Apollo, protect my friends."
***
Chiron announced that Capture the flag was tonight. Sadly, Calyn and Leo couldn't play. Annabeth chose the cabins the Athena children would team with. It was the Athena kids, Hectate children, Percy, Ares kids, and Hermes children. That meant Elyse was against Nico. Before the game, she went to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck Nico. You'll need it." He blushed from her kiss.
Annabeth told Elyse that she had use a sword to practice with.
"But Annabeth! I'm better with a bow! I could pick off campers easily from the tree."
"Elyse. I told you. You need to practice with a sword, for close range purposes."
Elyse pouted. "Fine."
When it came to the game, Elyse was placed near the flag with Annabeth and Percy. Since she was the youngest of the protecter group, she was distracted the most. Elyse swung her blade in circles, hitting her arm. "Ouch." She had cut herself. It wasn't bad. Oh well. Annabeth had hid the flag near the lake, across from the Poseidon cabin. It was in the woods, but not far from the lake. The lake made Elyse nervous. Percy took notice of her jumpiness. His brotherly instincts kicked in.
"You OK? You seem jumpy."
Elyse 'awoke' from her daze. "The water. It makes me nervous."
"Calyn told you didn't she?"
Elyse looked down. "Yea. I-I'm not sure how I feel about it."
"I'm really nervous for you all. I want to protect you, but there is not much of a way to protect someone who has been cursed." He looked frustrated and sad.
"Hey Percy, it's OK. We can Iris message when we need your help. Just always respond. We need you Percy, even if we are far away."
This seemed to cheer him up a bit. "Let's get back to the game. You need to practice your sword skills."
Elyse stared at her sword. "Between you and me Percy, I feel like Annabeth is pushing me too hard. Trying to make me into her."
Percy looked down. "She just loves you and wants you to do your best."
"Thanks Percy. You have some really good advice."
He smiled. "Let's stick to the game. We can talk more later."
Elyse nodded. The Demeter kids came and began to fight. Percy got rid of them with ease. Elyse tried to use her sword, and it worked, but it was difficult and heavy. Percy made it look so simple. Elyse saw her boyfriend appearing slowly behind Percy, who was distracted by some Apollo kids. As much as she regretted it, she ran up to Nico and sliced his arm. He winced in pain and then looked to see who had hurt him.
He half smiled and half winced seeing his girlfriend. She mouthed "I'm sorry."
Elyse walked away leaving him bleeding and lonely. She hurried to help Percy. Nico examined his cut. It was deep. It would leave a scar. Nico decided to surprise his girlfriend. He came up behind her and sliced her ankle and opposite calf out of rage. As soon as he saw her topple over, he regretted it. She was leaning over. Nico hugged her from her side. "I'm so sorry Elyse. I was just...angry."
She turned and smiled, yet her face was full of pain. "It's fine. I understand."
Elyse stood. "I have to protect my flag. I recommend leaving until the game is over. I'll talk to you later." Even though his girlfriend looked miserable, he followed her request and shadow traveled away. In the middle of the battle, the horn blew. "Huh, that's weird."
Elyse walked awkwardly next to Annabeth and Percy to the campfire. Her cuts (on her arm, calf, and ankle) still showed. Percy pulled something out of his pocket.
"Ambrosia?" He handed the Ziploc to her. She gladly accepted it and ate some. To her, it tasted like homemade cupcakes her and her dad used to make. Her deep cuts were healed within seconds. She wanted to eat a bit more, but Percy stopped her. He snatched the bag away.
"Don't eat too much. Wouldn't want you to burn. I like it too," Percy admitted. "it always tastes like brownies." She laughed. Elyse saw why Calyn loved her brother so much. He was very friendly and funny.
The campers approached the campfire. Chiron looked very anxious as his horse hoofs clopped. "Settle down campers, I have an announcement. Rachel has given us yet another prophecy." He cleared his throat. "Four shall visit a place with snow. They have already been cursed and few know." With that, Percy and Annabeth looked at Elyse and across the way, Nico, Leo and Calyn looked at one another anxiously. "An Angel's breath, forced to be held, in one demigod's hands, two lives dwell." Calyn walked up to Chiron and whispered something to him. He turned to her surprised. "I have chosen the people for the quest. Calyn, Leo, Elyse, and Nico, you all must leave for the quest as soon as possible." Chiron turned back to Calyn. Quietly, he said "The curse may be lifted after this quest." Calyn nodded.
"Hope so." She muttered to herself, thinking about her dream. Calyn rushed to her cabin and found her friends waiting for her. "Guys. This is not going to be easy. Nico, I need to tell you something. You too Leo. It's gonna make you nervous.” Leo gulped. Calyn sighed heavily and bit her lip. “I had a dream. You all heard the prophecy?” They nodded their heads. “I only told Elyse about this. Well, Percy too. Nico, you were trapped in a jar, screaming for air. Leo, you and Elyse were drowning. Nemesis was saying I could only save one of you.”
Leo hugged her. Elyse held Nico’s hand as he breathed anxiously. Elyse looked to Calyn. “What are we going to do?”
Calyn stared back at her. “You’re the child of Athena.”
“We should…follow the prophecy. You remember when people tried to change their fate.”
“Guess we’re going on a quest.” Leo said. He smirked. Calyn gave him a look like ‘Now’s not the time, hun.’
***
Leo looked at his surroundings. Calyn was standing next to him, Elyse beside her, Nico beside Elyse. The mountains were a way away. “Well here we go.” Leo said. He gulped and reached for Calyn’s hand. She too was nervous. Not for herself but for the others. They all looked anxious. The four began trekking up the first mountain and were knee deep in snow. Suddenly, Nico was being engulfed in the snow. Elyse noticed, but it was too late. He had disappeared into the snow. Franticly, she began to dig around where he fell, but with no luck, for he had disappeared.
Elyse turned and looked very nervous. “Calyn? Do you think he…” She teared up.
Calyn nodded solemnly. The only place that he could have gone was where no one wanted him to be. Elyse looked down and walked to Calyn. She sobbed silently. The group continued trudging through the snow, aware of the danger ahead of them. Leo paused and looked around the side of mountain they were on. “Hope there aren’t any lakes around…” Leo and Elyse were both antsy.
Calyn only sighed in reply. “Calyn?” Elyse said. “I want to go find Nico.”
“You shouldn’t go by yourself Elyse.”
“I know, but I can hear my mom telling me to go.”
“If it’s what you want to do…Leo what do you think?”
“If she needs to go, she should go.”
Elyse nodded and waved. “See you when I see you. Stay safe.” It began to snow as she left. As usual, she double tapped her bracelet and her bow and quiver appeared. The snowflakes were gracefully falling in her hair. It made her image somewhat like a mirage then she disappeared.
Calyn breathed heavily. “Guess it’s just you and I Leo.” She kissed his frozen cheek.
“Yea. We’ll be alright. Love you.”
“Love you too.” It snowed lightly and peacefully as they approached the very top of the hill. Looking down, Calyn saw a frozen lake. She paused as Leo walked ahead of her. “Leo?”
He stopped and looked up at his girlfriend. “Yea?” She pointed out at a the frozen lake. He tensed up. “Is that where we’re going?”
Calyn nodded. Good thing Elyse had left. She was probably really nervous. “At least it’s frozen over right?”
Nico was screaming as he descended down the depths of the icy layers of fluff. His claustrophobia was getting the best of him. He just wanted help. To be away from anywhere enclosed. Well, he was away from the surrounding deep snow. Something wrapped around his ankle. He screamed louder. Then, something muffled his voice and was in his mouth. Rope tied around his ankles and hands kept him immobile. Nico examined his environment. It was a cavern, dark and stuffy. Stalactites hung from the top of the open area. There was a jar sitting near a fire. Nico noticed he was hyperventilating. The thing that had grabbed him was walking, well crawling, away from Nico. He attempted to calm himself down.
Some time later, Nico heard footsteps behind him. Then a bow string pull. “This is it. My death.” He thought. Nico shut his eyes tight, bracing himself for a piercing somewhere inside of him. Instead, he heard a arrow whizz past his ear. He opened one of his eyes and saw broken porcelain by the fire. He felt his gag becoming loose around his mouth, giving him room to breathe. The bonds around his hands and ankles fell away. He turned surprised at the sight of his girlfriend.
“You didn’t think I’d leave you here right?”
Nico realized his mouth was hanging open. He tried to be brave at first. “We should probably go. That monster will be coming back soon.” The whole experience was very distressful, so he broke down, right in front of his girlfriend, crying. Elyse walked casually and sat next to Nico who was kneeling on the floor.
“Hey its gonna be fine Nico. I know this was scary for you. You have to quiet down now OK? Or else we’ll both get caught.” Nico calmed himself down. The tears stopped flooding. He flipped his bangs back.
“I’m alright now.” He saw Elyse turn deathly pale. “You OK Elyse?”
She turned to him with wide eyes. “We have to go. Now.” There weren’t many monsters that scared Elyse, so he knew this one had to be bad. She dragged him out of the cave and to the mouth. She stopped dead in her tracks.
“What is it?”
“There’s no way out. It’s blocked.”
“By what?”
“Solid ice.”
Steps began to resound in the cavern. Elyse banged on the ice desperately. The steps got closer.
“What is it Elyse?”
“Arachne!”
“Wha-“ Nico then found himself face to face with a giant spider, at least 6 feet in hight. “Holy schist.”
“Did I hear someone call my name?” The monster spider laid eyes on Elyse and Nico. “Demigods. One child of Athena, just for me.”
Calyn heard a loud banging coming from underneath her. “Do you hear that Leo?”
“Hear what?”
“Banging.”
“Good. I thought that was just my heart beating.”
“Where is that coming from?” Calyn began searching around. “Leo. Help me with this please.” There was a gigantic bolder covered in snow. Leo melted the snow with his fire power then helped Calyn move the rock. It revealed was a horrific scene. A giant spider with Nico and Elyse attempting to escape. There was something blocking their way.
“Leo we need to get down there!” Calyn began to lower her feet down into the hole.
“Woah woah woah. You’re not heading down there!” He grabbed her arm.
“Why can’t I?”
“Because that’s too dangerous.” Calyn sighed and moved her legs out of the hole.
“How else are we gonna get down?”
Leo thought for a moment. “What about the ice?”
“We better hurry. Looks like they don’t have much time.”
——
“Help! Anyone! Please!” Elyse was so desperate to get out of the cave that she was getting cuts on her hands from the ice.
Nico pulled his sword out. “If we can’t escape, we have to fight.” He turned to the spider. Arachne extended one of her eight legs to tap Elyse. “Don’t you dare touch her!”
“And who are you to say anything?”
“I’m Nico. Son of Hades.”
“And is this your little girlfriend?” Arachne motion toward the panicked Elyse.
Nico blushed a bit. “Yeah, she's my girlfriend alright. And I’m not about to let you kill her.” With that, Nico lunged at the spider and cut off one of it’s multiple legs. The sound of battle woke Elyse out of her trance. She grabbed her bow and despite her fear, shot an accurate shot into the heart of the beast. Nico escaped from under Arachne’s body just as she disintegrated with a bloodcurdling howl.
“Nice shot.” He smiled. Elyse ran to Nico and he accepted her into his arms. She in return kissed him, making Nico blush a deep scarlet, then melted straight into the kiss. Their long kiss was disrupted by the sound of water. Nico saw the water flood in and took a giant breath. Calyn and Leo were on the other side of the water. Leo was drowning, and so was Elyse. Elyse was flailing. Leo was passed out. Calyn heard the voice. “You can only save one.”
Nico swam down to the flailing Elyse. Calyn put a bubble around Leo then gracefully swam to Nico and Elyse. She gave them a bubble too, then went back to her boyfriend.
Leo coughed. His hazy vision cleared and saw Calyn. “I-It worked.”
“Of course it did. And, you and Elyse are both safe.”
Leo breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re amazing.”
All of their cuts and broken bones mended in the water from Calyn.
Calyn smiled and brought him in for a kiss. Her hands went through his hair as they floated in the water. Calyn was glad the trouble was over.
Elyse and Nico were across the way. They were finishing their previous kiss. His hands were around her waist lovingly.
The water drained and the couples left, somewhat wet and dazed, back home. Trouble was over, at least for now.