18CHAPTER 2
A/N:- Thanks for the lovely reviews people! Really appreciated it!
The city of Las Vegas is famous for many things: casinos, hotels, and being the entertainment capital of the world. What it is not famous for is the (relatively) puny twenty storied building which lies opposite to the Lotus Casino. The building appears off limits for renovation purposes. The neon panel on the building reads 'ALF OD RESORT.' While most people assume the first two words to have a meaning in some other language, there are few who can see what is truly written, if they focus enough. On concentrating, these select few read the sign as 'HALF-BLOOD RESORT'. As of the moment, there are only two occupants in the entire building. One Leo Valdez and one very pregnant Calypso Valdez.
The date is the first of August. Exactly eight years ago, Leo Valdez destroyed Gaea. Exactly one year ago, Zeus killed Leo and Calypso's son, Samuel Valdez. Their second child being born on this exact same day was nothing short of monumental.
Calypso was in pain. She had gone into labor three hours ago, and baby Valdez didn't seem too eager to get a move on. Samuel Valdez, on the other hand, had taken tem minutes. "Aaargh! How much longer is this going to take?!" Calypso screamed. "Try to relax, Calypso." Leo said soothingly. "I can see the head. Just a little more." Leo was also the person who was helping Calypso deliver the baby, as there was no one else that could do so. Leo, Calypso, and Hestia had agreed that due to the pain of childbirth, Calypso might unintentionally use her titan powers. In a hospital, this would allow Zeus to find them. Which is why they were in their building, which would conceal her power from prying eyes.
"Just push already." Leo said "It can't be that hard."
"IT CAN'T BE THAT HARD?! IT CAN'T BE THAT HARD?! WHY DON'T YOU TRY SHOVING A FOOTBALL UP YOUR ASS AND THEN TELL ME THAT!" Calypso screamed.
"Sorry Sunshine." Leo said. "AAAHHHH!" Calypso screamed again, and this time, her voice alone was enough to knock Leo off his feet. Several objects in the room were thrown around or crushed into tiny balls. Calypso was subconsciously using her powers, and was inflicting the pain she felt on any convenient object. Leo struggled to his feet and inched his way towards Calypso. "Just a little more, Sunshine! It's almost out!" he yelled over the miniature storm caused by Calypso.
"RRRRAAAAAAAA !" Calypso let out one last roar and collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily. Calypso had given birth at a baby girl. Leo burned off the umbilical cord with his hand. He warmed up his hand and lightly smacked the baby on the back. She coughed thrice, and gave a loud wail. Leo smiled at his crying newborn daughter. "Welcome to the world, Maria Calypso Valdez." he said.
"Whoo! Yeah! I finally did it." Calypso said tiredly "I thought she would never come out." Leo washed Maria in a bowl of warm water, wrapped her in a towel, and gave her to Calypso. Leo helped Calypso sit up straight. Calypso looked at her daughter. She already looked a lot like Leo, with impish features. She had yet to open her eyes, but she could tell that they would be chocolate-brown, just like her father's. She felt her power radiating off her daughter, and she could tell that she was almost as powerful as Percy Jackson was when they had met. Calypso had heard from immortals all around the world and from Hestia who dropped by every now and then that Percy Jackson is the most powerful Greek demigod to have ever walked the earth. If a newborn demititan was nearly as strong as the strongest demigod ever, who knew how powerful she could become.
Calypso had never felt such joy in the past year. She was holding her daughter in her arms, who she would love with all her heart. She didn't care that Maria was a child of a great prophecy. At that moment, her and Leo's daughter was the only thing that mattered, and judging the look in Leo's eyes, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing. They were family, and nothing would separate them. Ever.
Their moment of peace was broken when there were multiple flashes of light. Leo shielded his eyes with his hands as half a dozen gods appeared in the room. Hestia in her rare thirty year old form, Hades with his staff and helm and with his sword on his waist, Demeter wearing a dress made of wheat and her massive scythe, Persephone wearing a garland of flowers around her neck and head, Boreas wearing a very expensive-looking suit with his eyebrows coated with frost, and Khione wearing an ice dress which resembled Elsa's dress from Frozen and had multiple daggers strapped to her waist. The anti-Zeus gods and goddesses had all appeared. Calypso and Leo had both been informed by Hestia that their child would receive blessings from each god as soon as possible, to enable her body to adapt to multiple powers as soon as possible, but this was the first time they had met an immortal aside from Hestia. Leo and Khione exchanged death glares. Hestia noticed this and gently elbowed Khione in the side "You'll have plenty of time to flirt later" she said "We have business right now." Khione's face went red with fury, and a miniature storm cloud appeared above her head "I WAS NOT-" she began, but Boreas put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm yourself Khione. Hestia was only teasing you." he said. Khione looked like she was having some sort of internal struggle, but eventually, she hung her head and mumbled "Okay, father."
Maria had fallen asleep. It was time for her to receive her blessings. Boreas went first. He touched Maria on the forehead and spoke in a low voice "I bless you with the power of the winter wind. It shall answer your command. It will lend you strength, and will unleash winter's fury upon your foes." A blue light appeared where his fingers were touching her forehead and she fidgeted in her sleep.
Khione was next. She placed her left index finger over Maria's heart. "I give you my greatest power, the ice of the soul. You shall have the magic to freeze souls, to overwhelm them with guilt. You shall be able to cause others pain on the greatest magnitude imaginable." Khione lifted her finger from Maria's chest and saw Leo glaring at her. "Relax, Leo Valdez. She will only be able to cause pain to those who deserve it. She can't harm innocents as they have nothing to be guilty about. And before you say that no one is innocent, she has to know what her opponent is guilty of before she can use her power." Leo didn't drop the glare, but he did nod.
Persephone then stepped forward. She placed her hand on the back of Maria's neck. "I bless you with the power to connect with nature. You shall be able to understand plants, and draw energy from all life forms."
Demeter was next. She kept her fingertips on Maria's stomach. "All grain will give you more strength than ambrosia or nectar. I bless you with a perpetually healthy body. You will be strong.
Hades stepped forth. He reached his hand around Maria and rested his middle finger on her spine. "I give you the power of shadows. The darkness will heal you, and it will improve you. I also bestow upon you my sword, the one which can use my keys to release the dead and command them." Leo's eyes widened. Percy had told him all about his quest to recover Hades' lost (and illegal) sword. Persephone had crafted it without Hades' knowledge, and could use the keys of Hades to unlock death. The scary lord of the underworld was being nice, by giving a ten-minute old baby a weapon of power. Hades shot Leo a glare that said Not one word. Leo only grinned.
Hestia was the last. She put her forehead right in the middle of Maria's chest. "You shall be the light to those who have lost their way in the dark. You shall be the protector of the innocent, and the executor of justice. You will bring happiness to those who no longer remember it. You will be my champion." At this, all the other gods visibly flinched in shock. Hestia had never chosen a champion before. No one knew what a champion of Hestia was capable of. Hestia started to give off a bright golden glow, which concentrated at her forehead and passed into Maria's chest. Hestia stood up and reverted back to her eight-year old form.
"It is done" Hestia said. "Now all we can do is wait and prepare. Leo, Calypso, you have about seven more years before I start sending demigods your way. Until then, train her. Raise her to be the warrior she is meant to be. But most importantly, remember to be good parents to her."
"Valdez" Khione called out. Leo turned to look at her, openly showing her mild hostility. "The way I see it, you owe me a favor."
"How do I owe you a favor?" Leo asked.
"If I hadn't blasted you off your ship all those years ago, you wouldn't have met Calypso. Which reminds me, Calypso, you owe me a favor too. If I hadn't sent you Leo, then you would still be stuck on that island."
Leo gritted his teeth. "When all this is over, we are going to have a duel to decide the winner once and for all." he growled.
"You're on, Valdez."
Hestia looked amused at their antics. But she forced herself to get a move on. All of them had work to do. "It is time for us to leave, Leo, Calypso. I'll see you soon." she said, and disappeared into a fire. Hades melted into shadows, Demeter and Persephone burst into grains and flowers, and Boreas dissipated into a cold wind. Looking around, Khione saw that she was the last goddess left. "Damn them." she muttered under her breath. "We will finish this later, Valdez." she said and dissolved into a flurry of snow.
With the gods gone, Leo and Calypso finally took in their surroundings. Beds were thrown around haphazardly, several expensive instrument had been crushed into marbles, and loose electrical wires were sparking. "Uhhh…" Calypso said "We're going to need to repair the medical ward." Some of the electric equipment randomly burst into flames. Leo nodded his head and said "Agreed."
Maria Valdez is born, and is out to wreak havoc! Now there will be a seven year time skip, because nothing much will be happening without new demigods showing up, or any meetings with old ones. Leo and Calypso will simply spend most of the day training, and will rarely leave Half-Blood resort. Next time, we shall see Maria as a seven year old. And one should always be careful around seven-year old Valdezes. Zeus, you are only seventeen years away from the fight of your life!
Happy reading- Phoenix.