Chapter 5

Yeah, I know I was late. Only by 2 days though! This is the last chapter *sniffle* so I really want it to be good. Thank you everyone who reviewed, you guys are awesome! You guys inspire me to write! I hope you enjoy the last installment of 'Leo's Christmas Carol'

After about 30 seconds of waiting, Leo heard music. It was very faint but it was there. Then, in a flash of yellow light, a god stood in front of him.

"Apollo, at your service," the god said. Leo was surprised by the appearance of the god. He was wearing a black, sleeveless shirt with jeans. He had sandy hair and a smile that said 'I'm too cool for you. See how hot I am? You wish you were me!' Leo bowed awkwardly.

"Lord Apollo, it would be a great honor if you were to, um, assist me in, um," Leo stammered. He wanted to demand the god to cause a distraction, but he wasn't sure that would be a good idea.

"Just talk to me normally, I don't bite. But if you get mouthy, I am going to blast you with the powers of the sun's heat," he said dangerously.

"Go ahead, fire doesn't hurt me," Leo said.

"A fire user, huh?" Apollo said, mildly impressed. He gestured for Leo to continue.

"I need time so that Andrew can get Lizzie to the beach before the other campers. Could you distract the other campers so they have time?" Leo asked, choosing his words carefully. Apollo nodded thoughtfully.

"Time to stall campers,

So the boy can have his date,

With Demeter girl,"

Apollo said dramatically.

"Pardon me?" Leo said confused.

"Oh, it was a haiku," Apollo said. Leo remembered learning about that in English. He only remembered because during that lesson he had been throwing paper airplanes at Taylor Ferrut. "It was good wasn't it?" the god said cheerfully.

"Um, yeah…amazing," Leo said awkwardly.

"I'm off to cause a distraction!" Apollo said, as he disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

Leo sprang into action. He ran down the stairs and shoved open the door to where Andrew was working.

"Andrew!" he yelled. It was a stupid thing to do, since he was already staring at Leo.

"What?" Andrew asked angrily. Leo froze, unsure of what to do.

"Put down the hammer," Leo ordered.

"Leo, what's-"

"Put down the hammer!" Leo yelled, starting to get exasperated. This time Andrew obeyed. "Run to the Demeter cabin and get Lizzie to the beach. Apollo is distracting the campers. Hurry!" Leo said as he pushed Andrew towards the door. He watched as Andrew ran through the snow. Then, a thought occurred to him.

Lizzie had a bad ankle, so she wouldn't be able to run. Having her limp down to the beach would take a long time, and Apollo wouldn't be able to stall the campers for long enough. If Andrew carried Lizzie that would still slow them down, plus, Leo wasn't sure Andy would be able to handle that. Leo glanced around the room, looking for something helpful. Then he saw a wagon. It was old and rusty, and the red paint was dull and chipping off. The wheels wobbled like crazy when it was moved. The mechanic in Leo wanted to tighten the wheels and slap some new paint on, but he knew he didn't have time. He grabbed the handle and pulled it outside. Once he was outside, he ran to the Demeter cabin, pulling the wagon along with him. He caught up with Andrew and Lizzie quickly. Lizzie was slowly limping along.

"Get her in the wagon!" Leo yelled. Andrew nodded slightly and started to pick her up. "Give me a break!" Leo muttered as he pulled the wagon closer and helped put Lizzie in.

"What's going on?" she asked in surprise. Leo started pushing the wagon towards the beach. It was all downhill, so Leo quickly lost control over the wagon. His grip on it slipped, and the wagon sped down.

"Lizzie!" Andrew yelled. Leo vaguely heard Apollo reciting haiku's, but it was soon drowned out by Lizzie's screaming. Leo started running faster. Then the wagon hit a rock and Lizzie was thrown high in the air. Leo cursed in Ancient Greek.

And that was when a Christmas miracle occurred. Lizzie fell towards the beach and right into the arms of Butch. Lizzie's eyes were squeezed shut, and she was still screaming.

"Shut up, Lizzie. You're okay now," Butch said as he scratched his head in confusion. He lowered her to the sand. It was the perfect spot for watching the fireworks. Andrew ran over and started fussing over her, just as the other campers started streaming in to claim their spots. The stage and Christmas tree were on one side of the beach, so most of the event would take place there. That's why it was important to get a good spot. He saw some of his cabin mates working on the stage. He remembered the Christmas tree, and turned around to run back to his cabin.

Leo couldn't spare a triple electric circuit board, but he could spare a double sided quadruple electron panel. The latter was much more difficult to make, and even some children of Hephaestus didn't know about it. The only reason Leo knew about it was because his mother had once made one in her workshop. It took her a week to make it, and Leo didn't have that much time, but he knew where he could find one. Cabin 9 just so happened to have one lying around. And where was this miracle equipment kept? In none other than Leo's bunk. Who had made it? Beckendorf.

Leo had come across it several weeks before, but hadn't found a use for it. Now, he couldn't think of a better use for it. He rummaged around until he found the rectangular panel wrapped in brown paper. He gingerly picked it up and slipped it in his tool belt. The tool belt glowed for a moment as the fancy piece of machinery settled down. The tool belt didn't feel any heavier. Leo stepped back outside and felt the cold wind rush into him. He realized that he needed a jacket, so he stepped back inside to grab one. After he had slipped on the jacket, he went back outside and started towards the stage. He noticed the two girls walking back from there fruitless search. He wasn't really in the mood to make a big show of handing over the equipment, so he decided he would just fix it himself. The Christmas tree area was empty, so Leo knelt down in the snow and started examining the wires.

The Christmas tree was amazing. It was decorated with multicolored orbs, and each cabin had an ornament dedicated to them. The Aphrodite cabin had a pink ornament that was decorated with lipstick stains (which Piper had disapproved of) and hearts. The Ares cabin had a bunch of weapons on theirs, and the ornament was blood red. There were even rumors that it was actually soaked in blood. Hephaestus cabin had a silver ornament that looked fancy and high tech, even though it was just an ornament. Other ornaments were life size versions of the camp beads. There was an ornament for every year. There was one with a pine tree, and Leo found himself staring at that for a long time. He couldn't get over the fact that Thalia had once been a tree, but that didn't stop him from crushing on her. Some ornaments showed photos, and others showed moving videos (courtesy of the Hephaestus cabin, and a little help from the Hecate cabin). Leo could have stared at the tree all day, but he reminded himself that he had work to do.

Leo returned his attention to the various wires sticking out of the tree. He asked his tool belt for a conductor wire and then reached in to pull it out. He twisted it around and connected the wire to another wire. Then he reached inside his tool belt and pulled out the brown package. He carefully began to unwrap it. It was quite an amazing sight, with all the blinking lights and small wires.

Ever since he had come to camp, Leo had heard endless stories about Beckendorf being a hero and an amazing builder, but looking down at the piece of machinery in his hands, he started to really appreciate him. The notches and grooves had been cut perfectly, and every wire was in a perfect position. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of equipment Leo had ever seen. He stared at it in awe.

Attaching it to the tree would be easy. He would just need to connect the wires to both sides; it would take about 5 seconds. Leo decided to wait before he lit up the tree, so it would be more dramatic and more miraculous. He smirked slightly at the thought. How funny would it be to see there faces when the Christmas tree with a missing piece of equipment lit up? Leo smiled at the idea. He realized he had plenty of time left so he settled down in the snow and started thinking about his friends, and what he would say to them. He was pulled out of his thoughts by tapping on a microphone. He looked up to the stage and saw the two girls standing nervously in front of the audience.

"Um, attention," the Athena girl said gently. The crowd went quiet. "Um, I know you guys were expecting a lit Christmas tree, but, um-" Leo attached the double sided quadruple electron panel to the tree. "-we couldn't find the last piece of equipment needed," she finished. And then there was a loud gasp as the huge tree flickered to life. If it had been pretty when it was unlit, it was drop dead gorgeous when it was lit. The Athena girl gasped.

"But-how?" the Aphrodite girl mumbled.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" someone yelled. Leo laughed softly, and then heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned and saw Nyssa.

"No! It's a Christmas Leo," she yelled back. Everyone turned towards the tree and saw Leo huddled in the snow.

"Scrooge?" the Athena girl said confused. "He refused to give us the equipment! Did you have a change of heart?" she asked, her grey eyes blazing into his. He was used to grey eyes now, thanks to Annabeth, so he easily looked back.

"I didn't use a triple electric circuit board," he said smoothly. "I used a double sided quadruple electron panel,"

"A what?" Nyssa asked.

"It's a high class piece of equipment, you wouldn't know about it," Leo teased.

"Those take days to make. Where did you get one?" the Athena girl asked in disbelief.

"Had one lying around. You can thank Beckendorf for that one," Leo said mildly. He smiled. "Point is, the tree is lit and it's Christmas Eve. We might as well enjoy ourselves," Leo said smiling. Nyssa looked at him closely.

"Why are you so cheery Valdez?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've been through a lot," Leo responded.

"Alright, but don't get too cheery, you hear me?" she said in an authoritative voice. Leo laughed as he pulled his half sister into a hug. This surprised Nyssa even more. "Don't get too clingy either," she said as she pulled away, but the smile on her face told Leo that she was happy.

"Have you seen Jason, Percy and the others?" Leo asked suddenly.

"Yeah, they're down at the beach, well actually at the ocean. Thanks to Percy they're floating on the waves," she answered. "They said you blew them off," she raised an eyebrow as she said this. Leo slowly nodded. "Go make it better," she said gently, as she patted him on the back. Leo nodded and headed towards the beach. The Hermes cabin had smuggled in all types of soda, and Leo gratefully accepted a can of Coke. He sipped the dark drink and felt the fizzy liquid sting his throat. He saw a platform of waves with a huge picnic blanket spread out on top. His seven friends sat on top. He walked over to the edge of the beach and waited till they noticed him.

"Leo?" Jason asked.

"No, Butch," Leo shouted back sarcastically. He heard Jason laugh, and then a wave stopped next to Leo.

"Get on!" Percy yelled.

"Excuse me?"

"Get on the wave, it'll hold you up," Percy yelled back.

"Uh, this jacket is new," Leo said pointing to his black jacket.

"You won't get wet!" Percy yelled.

"Are you sure?" Leo said skeptically.

"Yes!" Percy shouted. Leo carefully stepped onto the wave, and was surprised when it held him up. The wave sped towards the picnic blanket. Leo stepped onto the blanket, and the wave that he had ridden on fell into the water with a splash. Leo turned to his friends awkwardly.

"So what's up!" he said casually. Jason rolled his eyes but still gave Leo a hug.

"I'm glad you came, Valdez," Jason said. The others murmured they're agreement.

"I know, I'm in high demand," Leo said. "By the way, I'm watching you Zhang," Leo said, narrowing his eyes.

"Why me?" Frank asked confused.

"Oh, so you weren't planning on turning everyone against me?" Leo said casually.

"No," Frank said hesitantly. He paused for a moment. "No," he repeated more sure of himself this time.

"Well I guess I deserved it," Leo admitted.

"What made you change your mind?" Hazel asked. Leo shrugged.

"Jimmy, Steve, and Gary gave me a visit," Leo said.

"From the Hermes cabin?" Annabeth asked.

"No, from Olympus," Leo responded, absentmindedly. "Piper can I talk to you, privately," Leo asked. Piper nodded.

"Percy?" she said. Percy nodded and made a wave appear.

"Have fun," he said. Leo and Piper stepped on the wave. When they were out of earshot, the wave stopped.

"What's up Valdez?" Piper said with forced causality. Leo could see the pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For being an awful friend," Leo said. "For abandoning you on Christmas, when the only reason you stayed was so I wasn't abandoned," Piper instantly knew what he was talking about.

"Leo," Piper murmured gently. "I don't blame you for that,"

"You stood up for me, after I was so awful," Leo said sadly. Piper punched his arm playfully.

"That's because I care about you Repair Boy," she said.

"I don't deserve a friend like you,"

"Don't say that," Piper said. Her eyes twinkled, and the pain in them was gone. Leo knew that she had forgiven him. She had forgiven him the day after he had done it. He smiled. "Now, let's go enjoy this Christmas Eve. Grover just arrived," she smiled, and the wave took them back to the picnic blanket.

"Valdez!" Grover exclaimed when he saw Leo approaching. Leo gave the satyr a hug.

"Grover! Long time, no see!" Leo said. He and Grover had formed a strong friendship over enchiladas, and Leo was glad to see his friend.

The fireworks were amazing, and the entertainment was amazing. The Apollo cabin sang many carols, and Apollo himself performed a haiku.

"Christmas time is here,

A fat man gives you presents,

Ho ho ho ho ho,"

Apollo recited, as he bowed waiting for applause. None came. Leo had a lovely night with his friends, and when the night finally came to an end, Leo was happy and content.

He would never forget Jimmy, or Steve, or Gary. He would never forget the things he had seen and the places he had been, on that one fateful night. He would never take Christmas for granted again, and from that day on, a new spirit burned in Leo Valdez.

What was this new spirit? It was the Christmas spirit, and Leo wasn't about to forget it. As Apollo would say:

"The Christmas spirit,

Shall never be forgotten,

And Merry Christmas!"

The End

Finished! This was the last chapter and I hope you guys liked it! It was a bit longer than some of my other chapters, but I had a lot to cover. What did you guys think? Did you like this version of the Christmas carol? Please leave a review, because I love reading what you guys have to say! Thank you so much for reading!

Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out!