The Problem With Leo Valdez
Disclaimer: All characters[aside from a few OC's] belong to RR.
Leo Valdez is-unfortunetly- not my creation as with the other demigod characters.
They're pretty cool, though.
Good job, Rick.
A/N: I am a terrible writer and an even worse person.
So sorry, Frank. You may or may not be coming back.
Chapter: X
LEO
Masked
After his little chat with Gaea, Leo had completely blacked out. It wasn't even nice and gradual, either. It was more like 'BAM! Sorry kiddo, you're out!' and then suddenly he awoke to water swimming in his lungs.
For someone who could combust into flames, Leo certainly wasn't feeling too hot. Heck. . . he was actually feeling pretty cold.
His eyes snapped open, and when his senses kicked in Leo could feel the freezing water around him hitting against his face. Panicking (because how humiliating would it be if he was killed by none other than the opposite of his powers?) the boy kicked his feet off the muddy ground and aimed for air.
"Holy Hephaestus," He muttered, his teeth chattering when he reached the surface. "Is it freaking December in here or what?"
Of course, Leo hadn't been expecting any answers, so the replies he got nearly scared him out of his shorts.
"Leo?" A voice said, and Leo recalled it belonging to a rather angry son of Poseidon. "What the hell?"
A few other voices chipped in, them belonging to Annabeth, Hazel, and Jason, but Leo decided to focus solely on Percy.
"Nice to see you, too." He grinned, turning himself in the water so he could face him. If Gaea hadn't been lying to him during one of their previous chats, then Leo had definitely tried to kill the son of the sea god, as well as Annabeth and Jason. Whatever the Earth goddess had been thinking when she plopped him down here with the three people she had made him nearly murder. . . well, Leo was in need of an explanation.
"How did you get down here?" Jason demanded. He sounded no more friendly than Percy did, and truthfully it made Leo wince. Jason Grace was his best friend, and as Blank Canvas-y and sometimes boring as he was, Leo hated seeing him be so hostile.
"Look, guys. I've got no clue-"
"Yeah, right. Like we're gonna buy that." Percy snarled, scowling at him. "Try telling us the truth, elf-face."
Hazel gave him a puzzled look, as if to say 'Don't bash on his ugliness, buddy', but Leo figured her thoughts were much more Hazel-y than that; more polite. Still, they were probably on the same page.
Leo frowned at Percy. "I am telling the truth! I don't even know when I stumbled off, man, much less how I got stuck in a hell-pit of a swimming pool. How did you get here?" Was that why they hadn't helped him while was in the other room?
It made sense, and Leo felt shameful for moping about how his friends had left him to die. They had their own problems to deal with, evidently.
Piper nodded, and Leo was grateful that she was there with them. She'd defend him, surely. She'd kick Percy and Jason both in the face for ever questioning his loyalty.
"How can we trust you?" The girl snapped, shattering Leo's feeble bit of hope.
He nearly choked on the water that was now getting past his chin. "What do you mean, 'how can you trust me'? We're in water, for Zeus' sake! I can't do anything!" Leo wanted to scream at them, all of them. He knew that he was already doing that, but maybe if he just had an amplifier like Coach Hedge. . .
No one was sparing his feelings, and it was making him want to set a birds nest on fire and watch as it all burned. Like, HAHAHA, YOU ARE AT MY MERCY, PUNY BIRDS. LISTEN TO ME OR WATCH AS ALL THAT YOU LOVE CRUMBLES TO ASHES AT YOUR UGLY LITTLE BIRD FEET. MWHAHA!
"We can't believe anything he says while his eyes are like that." Annabeth muttered to Hazel, her voice pulling Leo out of his dark, bird murdering thoughts.
He blinked at her, obviously confused. "My eyes?" He asked, wondering what she meant.
Leo wasn't stupid. He knew that he had a freaky Eidolon inside him, one that was more than eager to kill just about anything that moved, and he knew that when it took control his eyes would sometimes turn gold.
But Leo didn't feel like anything was controlling him.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Stop pretending to be him!" Piper shouted. Even in the dark, Leo could see the rage in her eyes, but he could also feel the slightest bit of Charmspeak in her voice.
It gave him an idea.
"Piper-"
"Why don't you just stop talking, huh?" Percy snarled, glaring at him. Leo was sure that if they weren't all trying to stay afloat, then Percy would have Riptide pushed up against his throat.
"I want to help." Leo insisted. "Guys, please. It's me!"
Hazel let out a sharp breath, grabbing Leo's attention. "We don't have time for this." She huffed, scowling. "Percy, can you try controlling the water?"
"Already thought of that." Percy sighed as he rolled his eyes. "No use. Gaea's got this whole thing in the palm of her grimy little hands. . . I can't do anything."
Look at how easy they're giving up. Is it not pathetic? The Eidolon's voice hissed in Leo's ears. The Fates must have been mistaken when they deemed those six as Heroes. It appears that the only demigod they got right was you, Valdez. How unfortunate for the gods.
Leo tried to push the voice out of his head, but the stupid thing was persistent and just kept talking.
The Earth Mother will not allow any of them to be killed yet, but trust me, son of Hephaestus, you will watch them suffer. Even right now, do you see how sad they are? They are losing hope, getting ready to drown. Do you know how Perseus Jackson feels? It is crushing him, Leo Valdez. He is not ready to die yet.
He wanted to go to college, Leo remembered. Annabeth had been talking about it only a few days ago. Percy had wanted to go to college, buy a house, pay for a vacation for his mother and Paul. . . when Annabeth had explained, she had made it seem like Percy was so excited for the war to be over so he could get on with his life.
Now, he was thinking that these were his last moments, trapped with a person who he thought wanted to kill him.
But he's not going to die, Leo thought. None of them are.
You are right. The Eidolon agreed. However, that does not stop their pain. Hazel Levesque fears her second death, she does not feel as if she has lived it to its fullest. Annabeth Chase wishes she could have said her goodbyes to her family, and blames herself for not patching up her relationship with them. Jason Grace believes he has failed his camp and it's praetor. Piper McLean knows that you, Leo Valdez, would not harm her, but already she is making plans to kill you if needed. She no longer trusts you.
Leo felt his lips forming into a frown.
What about Frank?
The son of Mars? His thoughts are no longer reachable by the Earth Mother.
No longer reachable. . .
Leo's heart began to race.
"Zhang. . ." He blurted out, his eyes searching the room. "Where's Frank?"
At first neither Percy or Jason believed his worry, but when Hazel and the other two girls began to panic as well, the fear could be seen as it flashed across their faces.
"Is he underwater?" Hazel cried.
"Percy, go look!"
"It's too dark for me to see anything down there!"
"Just go!"
Leo remembered the time where he would have laughed about the son of the sea's fear of drowning, but at that moment he could sympathize with him.
"You can do it." Leo said, trying to be encouraging.
His eyes must have still been glowing gold, because Percy didn't even bother to look at him before he dove under the water.
Leo let out an annoyed sigh. He didn't mean for it to come out so loud, but Piper shot him an irritated look just moments after.
"If you want to stop making things worse for yourself, you'd quit pretending to be our friend." She said, her voice quiet.
Leo stared at her. "But I-"
"Stop." Piper hissed, holding her hand out in front of her. ". . . If I tried using my Charmspeak to get you out of him, you'd only attack me, right? You wouldn't let me do it?"
"No, do it!" Leo urged, nodding. It was what he had been thinking about earlier, it was perfect! "C'mon, Piper. Try to help me." As those last words slipped out his mouth, Leo was reminded of who was really in control. He hadn't said them, the Eidolon had. Piper had sensed it too, and quickly her almost-caring expression hardened into one that was much colder.
"Of course you would." She laughed, shaking her head.
"Is it funny?" The Eidolon asked, taking a step closer to her. "Honestly, I am not a big fan of death, and the poor reminder that we are not all immortal is nothing to laugh about, my dear daughter of Aphrodite."
Piper glared at him, but said nothing. The others were too busy waiting for Percy to pop out of the water with Frank in his arms to bother paying attention.
"You make one move against us, Piper McLean, and we will make sure it is the last thing your disgusting soul will ever do. Is that clear?"
"Don't threaten me." Piper growled, not even phased by the Eidolon's words. "If you think for one moment that you can get away with what you've done, you're wrong."
"Oh," The Eidolon said, its voice sounding almost amused. "Is that it? Well, I am most certainly impressed by your brave words, but if they were true, then where is the demigod you know as Frank Zhang?"
As if it were on cue, Percy's head emerged from the water. Although Leo didn't feel the control over his body switch, he immediately looked towards Piper with a million apologies racing through his mind.
"I'm-"
"He's gone." Percy gasped out, wiping his dark hair out of his face. No one seemed to notice the conversation between Piper and Leo. "He's not- he's not anywhere down there."
"Then where could he be?" Hazel demanded. Her eyes turned towards Leo, and the boy felt guilt wash over him. "Where is he?"
It was childish, but all Leo could do was shrug.
"I've had it with this guy." Jason snarled, wading his way through the water towards him. "Either you tell us where Frank is and get us out of here, or I'll-"
"Jason." Percy said, cutting the Roman off. He shook his head, as if to say 'don't piss the freakazoid off, alright dude?'
The corners of Leo's mouth twisted into a grin. "No, Jason Grace." The Eidolon said. "I do not mind."
And that was the last thing Leo remembered before the world went dark. Again.
Briefly, he wondered if this was how Jason felt all those times he had gotten hit with bricks.
