Calypso hadn't lost hope.

She wasn't exactly sure how long it had been since Leo had inevitably left her, but to her it felt like centuries had gone by. She was sure that were he any other hero, the sharp pangs of pain that coursed through her at the thought of him would have been reduced at the very least to a dull ache by now, if not gone completely.

But of course, Leo wasn't just any other hero.

Usually, heroes would simply wash ashore on the crest of a gentle wave, injured and at the cusp of death. Usually, Calypso couldn't help but be struck by their appearance, they always looked like heroes: strong, built, and handsome. Usually, Calypso would gently care for them and nurse them to health. Usually, Calypso grew to care for them before they even opened their eyes, knowing all the while that they had undoubtedly gone through some particularly terrible ordeal, nearly giving up their lives for the sake of their cause. Usually, they would open their eyes and gaze at Calypso like she was the most beautiful woman in the world, stumbling about their words, staring after her, sometimes openly singing praises to her.

And usually, they would laze about the island with her until they received some reminder from the outside world, telling them it was time to leave and rejoin the real world. Time to go back to their quest. Time to go back to the woman they loved. Usually, Calypso would desperately ask them to stay with her, to leave their world behind and love her as much as she did them.

And always, they left.

Leo, true to form, had completely disregarded tradition. She would often think back to the day Leo had so spectacularly crash-landed on her island; the boy certainly knew how to make an entrance. Of all the heroes and all the millennia that she had lived through, she never saw anything or anyone even come close to making that kind of scene. Leo had been different from the second he caught sight of Ogygia. From afar, he had looked like nothing more than a skinny, lanky little elfling covered in grease and soot and sweat, the mop of dark curly hair atop his head looking like a bird's nest.

And gods did the mere sight of him make her angry. Ogygia was supposed to be a calm and peaceful prison, and just like that Leo shattered it—or well, her table at least. The one that she'd taken decades to carve centuries ago when she had gone through a carpentry phase (there were only so many things she could do in her small little island). He certainly hadn't looked like a hero. He didn't act like one. And when he so quickly snapped back at Calypso's comment gods did she loathe him.

He hadn't even spared more than a passing glance at her! He'd acted like she was nothing more than an annoyance, someone not even worth taking note of. Not that Calypso was shallow, but in all the millennia that she'd been on this island, no one had ever treated her like that—she wasn't even sure how to relate with mortals that weren't taken by her. So she stayed angry and resolved to get him off the island, pronto.

Of course, as her luck would have it, the one time she actually wanted the raft to appear was the one time it wouldn't. Because she clearly wasn't in love with him. She didn't think she could ever fall in love with this boy. At this point, it just seemed cruel that the gods would do this to her, after all, she'd done nothing wrong! Why would they stick her with him?

She later realized that the things she said to Leo that night were undeserving and uncalled for, but at the time she'd been so furious with the gods that she took it out on the only person who would hear her. She remembered storming off to her garden in a fit of tears; the gods were supposed to set her free by now, not send another hero! And if they were to send one, did it really have to be this kid?! So of course, she lashed out at Leo again, after he managed to put all the dots together and figure out her curse.

And yet, once more, Leo didn't react how she'd come to expect. He didn't resign himself to his fate, he didn't curse the gods (like she wanted to), but instead he walked away and started looking for a way out. For the few first weeks, Leo mostly kept away from her (another first), Calypso sent him provisions, and aside from brief encounters, she was almost able to forget he was even on her island.

And then the clanging began. For a few days, she just gritted her teeth and pretended it wasn't there. She had been tending to her garden in peace when she heard it, a big "CLANG" that startled the birds straight out of their nests and sent them flying. She tried to ignore it again, but when she bent down to resume her work she heard it again "CLANG" and then once more. She huffed in annoyance and resigned herself to count ten and relax, but when yet another "CLANG" interrupted her she shot up and stormed to his campsite before she even registered what she was doing. Then, she noticed the uneaten baskets of food sitting at the edge of her garden and realized the fool wasn't even eating. How was he going to find a way out of her island if he was too weak?

Once again, when she addressed Leo he replied with sarcasm and didn't even bother to look up at her entrance. 'Look at me, dammit!' she thought. And then, he did. It was like a white hot flame ran through her. There he was, surrounded by equipment and half-finished machines he'd built out of his own hand, his shirt singed and covered in grime, his curly hair sweaty and plastered to his face, his skin glowing with a sheen of sweat, his arm held up holding a hammer, showing strong muscles she hadn't realized he'd had. And when she looked into his eyes she saw such fierce determination that at that moment Calypso would have believed he was capable ofanything; at that moment, she realized that this wasn't just some scrawny, annoying little kid. Leo would do whatever he needed to do to get off this island, and she couldn't help the feeling of admiration she felt towards him at that moment.

"I'm hoping to get off this island," he'd said, "that is what you want, right?"

She scowled. Of course he wanted to be off this island, what was she thinking, finding praise-worthy traits in him? Distracted, she dropped off the food and went back to her cave. Clearly, she was getting desperate for attention, because there was definitely nothing attractive about Leo. Nothing at all. Definitely not the way he'd looked so at home with his forge. Definitely not the resolve in his eyes, or the confidence in his work. Definitely not the way he'd so easily disregarded the god's wills and decided to make his own path. Definitely not.

Calypso resolved once again to ignore Leo's existence, and she was doing a pretty good job of it, until she walked by her fountain on the way to her garden the next day. It was no longer making weird noises and spouting water in awkward intervals like it had for a few decades, and she knew Leo had fixed it. She set out to work on her garden, but when she took out her tools she realized they were all gleaming, looking wickedly sharp, like they had when she'd first gotten them from Hermes some centuries ago. She sighed, not wanting to be reminded of Leo, and went back to her cave, only to once more see he'd fixed something of hers.

Somewhat impressed at the elf-boy's efficiency, Calypso decided that since he'd done such a kindness for her, she should at least pay him in kind. She wondered what she could to for him that would be helpful for him on his journey and looked around the room, and when her eyes landed on her loom, an idea quickly sprung to mind. Over the time Leo had been here, he'd burned through more pairs of clothes than she'd thought was even possible, so she decided she'd provide him with clothes that could withstand the flames that seemed to constantly spring from his body.

As she was beginning her work, she decided to use some of her limited power to scry into his past to see what modern clothes looked like nowadays—when Leo left this island, perhaps he could take a bit of her magic with him? Once she was done, she folded her finished products over her arm and headed out to meet him (and she most definitely did not re-do her braid to look more presentable, twice. She didn't!)

When she approached his work-site once more, she was once again surprised at just how much work he'd gotten done. He was diligently working on some strange mirror-looking contraption, entirely focused on his task. So focused in fact, that he once again failed to notice her presence.

"Bronze bulls, girl!" he'd jumped, and when he looked at her his eyes were wild, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I wasn't sneaking, I was bringing you these."

Leo looked at the clothes in her arms, a confused expression clouding his face, "How?"

Slowly, unsure of how to deal with a suddenly inquisitive Leo, she placed the clothes at his feet and stepped away, explaining the nature of her gift. For once, Leo actually appeared like he was impressed by her—well, maybe not by her but by what she could do. That was a first, usually men would be awed by her beauty and then sometimes realize that there was something more to her. But that was an incredibly rare thing.

And then, shocking her once more, his face had light up and he gave her the most cocky, infuriating, adorable grin, "Oh yeah. You're really warming up to me."

'What? The little—' she could actually feel her face reddening, "You are the most insufferable person I have ever met! I was only returning a favor. You fixed my fountain."

As if she would ever "warm up" to this annoying, obnoxious—he laughed, "That? That was no big deal. I don't like it when things don't work right."

"And the curtains across the cave entrance?" she challenged

"The rod wasn't level." He replied evenly.

"And my gardening tools?"

"Look, I just sharpened the shears. Cutting vines with a dull blade is dangerous. And the pruners needed to be oiled at the hinge, and—"

She cut him off, seizing the opportunity to get even with him, "Oh yeah," she imitated his voice as best she could, "you're really warming up to me."

And then, magically, Leo was speechless. He stared at her, wide-eyed, looking impressed by her. Looking exactly the way heroes usually looked at her. And yet, this time, he was actually impressed by her wit, her personality. Suddenly, Calypso felt that strange heat wash over her once more and, feeling pleased with herself, she carried on the conversation.

"What are you building?" she said, as she looked a bit closer at his work. It just looked like a giant mirror, but she was confident that there was a bit more to it than that.

"Oh," he turned towards it, "it's a seeing device, we found one like this in Rome, in the workshop of Archimedes. If I can make it work, maybe I can find out what's going on with my friends."

'Oh Leo,' she shook her head, disappointed that he'd wasted his time, "That's impossible. This island is hidden, cut off from the world by strong magic. Time doesn't even flow the same here."

He furrowed his brown, his eyes locked on her with that strange ferocity, "Well, you've got to have some kind of outside contact. How did you find out that I used to wear an army jacket?"

She twisted her hair, uncomfortable under his stare. Had he always had this intense, wild look about him? "Seeing the past is simple magic. Seeing the present or the future— that is not."

"Yeah, well," Leo said. "Watch and learn, Sunshine. I just connect these last two wires, and—" The bronze plate sparked. Smoke billowed from the sphere. A flash of fire raced up Leo's sleeve. He pulled off his shirt, threw it down, and stomped on it.

Calypso tried her hardest to hold down her laugh, she really did. And yet, when Leo turned to her and muttered "Not a word," she knew she'd failed miserably.

She caught a sight of his bare chest, his sweat gleaming under the light of the fire, and noticed a multitude of scars crisscrossing all over it. What exactly had this boy been through? "Nothing worth commenting on," she said, hoping to distract from the fact that she'd most definitely been staring. Then, getting an inkling of an idea, she suggested he try a musical invocation.

He, of course, replied with his usual sarcasm. Suddenly seizing the opportunity to show off just a bit, Calypso took a breath and began to sing. She sang an old Greek nursery rhyme, one that reminded her of her childhood before she was corrupted by the gods or the Titans, a song of better times and better days. It was easy for a sorceress like herself to weave her magic into the song, willing it to give the machine whatever extra boost it needed to function properly.

She couldn't help feeling a bit pleased that she'd made Leo gape at her like an idiot twice in one day. 'As he should.' Somewhat smug, she turned to him, "Any luck?"

He hastily fiddled with the contraption, and suddenly images appeared in the air above it. Of course, she didn't recognize or really understand what was going on in those images, but Leo drank everything in, staring at it with rapt attention. He mentioned Percy offhand, and when he quickly glanced at her to make sure she was okay, Calypso struggled to decide what exactly she felt at that moment. Though she gathered that it had only been a few years in the mortal world, by now, Calypso left that it had been at least a decade since Percy had been on her island.

Calypso had fallen for Percy just like she had for the other heroes, because he was just like the other heroes. Brave, strong, bold, destined to leave, and hopelessly in love with somebody else. And yet, it didn't hurt to think of him anymore, not in that way. She was no longer angry at him, not cursing his fate and his Annabeth, she'd accepted, just as she had with all the others, that Percy was simply not for her. Maybe, just maybe, there was somebody else out there for her, someone who—and just like that the image of a girl came on. She looked strong, fierce, like a warrior, like a person who got things done, like someone reliable; like someone worth fighting for and going home to. Calypso couldn't help it, her anger cut off the flow of magic.

"No!" Leo yelled. "No, not now. Show me what happens!" He banged on the mirror. "Calypso, can you sing again or something?"

For reasons she didn't care to admit right now, she was angry. Really angry. "I suppose that is your girlfriend? Your Penelope? Your Elizabeth? Your Annabeth?"

"What?" He looked genuinely confused, could it be…? "That's Reyna. She's not my girlfriend! I need to see more! I need—"

NEED, NEED is an overused word. A humanoid figure appeared from the ground, and Calypso felt a cold wave rush through her body, 'No…it can't be…'

And yet it was, there, in her very own little haven, stood a grotesque resemblance of Gaea. The Earth Mother, who had not risen for millennia—if she was awakened…what exactly was Leo's quest…?

True to form, Leo bravely hurled some pliers at her, but because she wasn't solid they sailed right past her.

The voice rumbled again, You want to live. You want to join your friends. But you do not need this, my poor boy. It would make no difference. Your friends will die, regardless.

Calypso could feel Leo shaking behind her, and then he angrily burst out, "What I don't need," he growled, "is more lies from you, Dirt Face. You told me my great-granddad died in the 1960s. Wrong! You told me I couldn't save my friends in Rome. Wrong! You told me a lot of things."

'Did he just refer to the Earth Mother as "Dirt Face"?!' Calypso swirled her head around, surprised. Was he that brave or that stupid? She honestly couldn't decide.

Gaea's laughter was soft and dangerous, and the hairs on Calypso's neck stood straight, I tried to help you make better choices. You could have saved yourself. But you defied me at every step. You built your ship. You joined that foolish quest. Now you are trapped here, helpless, while the mortal world dies.

How involved was Leo with Gaea? Calypso had thought that he was some kind of second rate hero, she'd guessed he was on a quest, but she never believed it was one as monumental as this. The fate of the entire planet rested upon this quest. Upon Leo's quest. 'What he must have gone through…no wonder he's so determined to leave.'

She saw Leo's hands burst into flame and knew that he was about to take it too far, "Gaea," she said, "You are not welcome."

Ah, Calypso. Gaea turned to her and raised her arms as if for a hug. Still here, I see, despite the gods' promises. Why do you think that is, my dear grandchild? Are the Olympians being spiteful, leaving you with no company except this undergrown fool? Or have they simply forgotten you, because you are not worth their time?

Calypso remained firm, uncomfortable with just how accurate Gaea's words were. She continued, Yes. The Olympians are faithless. They do not give second chances. Why do you hold out hope? You supported your father, Atlas, in his great war. You knew that the gods must be destroyed. Why do you hesitate now? I offer you a chance that Zeus would never give you.

"Where were you these last three thousand years?" Calypso asked, "If you are so concerned with my fate, why do you visit me only now?"

Gaea turned up her palms. The earth is slow to wake. War comes in its own time. But do not think it will pass you by on Ogygia. When I remake the world, this prison will be destroyed as well.

"Ogygia destroyed?" Calypso shook her head, sure the island might not be much, but this was her home.

You do not have to be here when that happens, Gaea promised. Join me now. Kill this boy. Spill his blood upon the earth, and help me to wake. I will free you and grant you any wish. Freedom. Revenge against the gods. Even a prize. Would you still have the demigod Percy Jackson? I will spare him for you. I will raise him from Tartarus. He will be yours to punish or to love, as you choose. Only kill this trespassing boy. Show your loyalty.

Steel cold resolve settled into her bones. Gaea was clearly blind if she believed Calypso would so easily spill innocent blood upon her land. Her Ogygia. Sure, Leo was annoying and a bigger pain than anyone she'd ever met, but he was a good person, he didn't deserve to die like that.

She thrust her hand out at Gaea in the ancient motion to ward against evil, "This is not just my prison, Grandmother. It is my home. And you are the trespasser."

At the clear intonation of unwelcome, the magic surrounding the island dispelled the spirit of Gaea that vanished in the wind.

She heard Leo swallow and turn to her, "Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but you didn't kill me. Are you crazy?"

Calypso took a breath, angry at Gaea for torturing this demigod; he didn't deserve whatever the Earth Mother had planned for him. "Your friends must need you, or else Gaea would not ask for your death."

"I— uh, yeah. I guess."

"Then we have work to do," she resolved. "We must get you back to your ship."