Leo

Leo's life had a funny way of whipping around when he least expected it and saying, "Oh, you thought things were working out? WRONG."

Which was pretty much what it was doing now.

Oh, like it hadn't been bad enough when Percy and Annabeth, two of his best friends, fell into Tartarus an hour ago and Hazel shot him that "It's not your fault" look which really made him feel worse instead of better, now this. Leo was no die-hard fan of the Romans, but it was his fault they thought that Camp Half-Blood was invading, and launched a strike back.

He had almost forgotten about that.

He walked up onto deck – Jason had pushed him off of the controls five minutes ago with a gruff "take a break", and he had been wandering around aimlessly ever since. He breathed in the sea air. It was such a lovely day outside – such a contrast to the fact that so many people would die. He could almost see –

A rainbow. He rushed over towards it, and the black haired girl staring back at him did nothing to his confidence. The daughter of the war goddess looked eerily pretty with her spear clutched tightly into her fingers, the two greyhounds at her feet masks of cold indifference. Her eyes were piercing, and her royal purple toga with golden armor was different than before – perhaps her battle set. She was like nightshade, Leo thought: exquisite and deadly. "Reyna!" He said happily. Reyna. Thank the gods. He didn't know her that well, but she was a thinker. She would fix everything. He changed his mind – some immortal was looking out for him.

He watched her face fall as she recognized him. "Leo." The word sounded foreign on her lips. He hadn't been aware she even knew his name. "You have a plan, right?" She was almost pleading, so Leo felt horrible as he shook his head no.

"Put Jason on." She ordered snappily.

"Can't, he's busy."

"Percy, then."

Leo shook his head. "Percy's... Not with us right now." Another rush of guilt flooded over him.

"Annabeth?" She asked, annoyed.

"With Percy." He gulped. "Before you ask for Piper, I'm just gonna save us some time and tell you they're all busy."

"Why aren't you busy?"

"I was forcibly removed from the cabin." Leo smiled. Reyna didn't smile back.

"I cannot hold back the legion for much longer." Reyna said. "The seven... They might listen to Jason and Percy. Maybe two praetors can convince them..."

"Percy and Annabeth are away." Leo snapped. "I just said that."

"Can you not bring them back? What could be more important than this?" Reyna saw his angry mask fall into sadness, and her tone became more soothing. "It's alright... Just tell me what happened." She coaxed.

"They fell into Tartarus." Leo stated, and Reyna ordered him to explain, so he did. He told her everything, about Arcane, the Mark of Athena, Archimedes' scrolls and the statue in their stable. He told her about Hazel's visit with Nike and about how they couldn't make it on time... "And how did you even learn how to use an Iris message, anyway?"

"Jason taught me." She replied promptly. "I have found that it is a much more immediate form of communication than our eagles." She paused. "I shall delay the legion." Reyna said. "Perhaps... Perhaps we will meet again, Leo Valdez, under happier circumstances." Leo stood, dumbfounded, for a few seconds. What, exactly, had Reyna just proposed?

Before Leo could open his mouth to ask or even to complain about the use of his full name, Reyna slashed through the Iris message.

"Well, then." Leo said, a touch offended. Your worst hardships are yet to come, a voice in is head reminded him You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren.

Shut up, he told the voice.

Nemesis cackled in his mind. Silly boy. She said. You will only hurt those you love.

Before Leo could jump into another mental argument, Jason bounded up the stairs. "We're close." He explained.

Leo followed him back into the cabin without a word. "Reyna will delay the legion as long as she can, which probably isn't much longer." He frowned. "If anyone has any brilliant ideas, now would be the time to share."

Silence. "We should send an ambassador." Jason suggested. A small murmur of assent followed, with even Coach Hedge muttering, "No fighting," After Leo looked at him strangely, he quickly added on, "this time."

"Piper should do it." Hazel suggested. "She's got a way with words." No one smiled at the joke.

"No." Leo said. "No." He repeated. Everyone looked up from their feet all at once, and Leo felt his cheeks burn as his own gaze dropped down. "I caused this. I'm going to fix it." He moved his tool belt a little. "I mean, I am a child of Hephaestus, right?" He cracked a smile, and no one returned it.

"Leo, are you sure?" Frank asked. "If you don't feel comfortable..."

"I'll do it." He said. "And I promise not to blow up anything this time." Again, no smiles. No laughs.

Tough crowd.

"Guys?" Jason said. "I think we're here." The ship had gone into autopilot, and the scenes of Camp Half-Blood now included the Argo II in between large groups of Roman and Greek demigods.

"I'll just be off then." Leo shrugged, standing up. "Whoa!" Hazel had practically knocked him over with her enthusiastic hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Leo." She whispered into his shirt. Frank was seriously giving him the evil eye, so he removed the Hazel's arms and smiled at her.

"I'm pretty proud of you too, Hazel."

And with that, Leo walked out of the cabin, squinting his eyes at the sun he was sure hadn't been this bright a moment before. "Hey." He said, watching the campers' faces contort into varying degrees of shock, relief, 'Oh my god what is this guy thinking', and sometimes all three. "My name's Leo Valdez."

Okay, if I promise I won't kill off Leo, can you not kill me for this minor cliffhanger?

- Identity Crisis