The Problem With Leo Valdez
Disclaimer: All characters[aside from a few OC's] belong to RR.
Leo Valdez is-unfortunately- not my creation as with the other demigod characters.
They're pretty cool, though.
Good job, Rick.
A/N: Aaah, you guys are so nice in your reviews it's making me feel all fuzzy inside.
Chapter: XIII
Leo
Rejected
Leo didn't know what he was doing. One second he was digging through supplies, then he was smashing pipes, and now he was... shooting fireballs at his friends? Yeah. Great. What a way to earn their trust, me! He scolded, mentally smacking himself upside the head. This was not the way to convince everyone that he wasn't going to murder them.
"Aw, geeze..." Leo grumbled, jerking his hands back and shoving them into his pockets. "Swear to Hera, I didn't mean to do that just now."
Across from him, Jason looked like he was 100% done and ready to conjure up some lighting that would zap him to death. Piper had a tree branch ready to launch into his skull, which wasn't overly welcoming. What had happened in the past five or ten minutes was a mystery to Leo (other than the 'KILL THEM WITH FIRE!' stuff that had apparently been going on), but obviously it hadn't been good. Obviously. Jason's left leg was all ripped up and Piper had dirt and rocks grounded into her face. A real fashion show they had going on, huh? Maybe they could make it on to America's Next Top Model if they were lucky.
"His eyes," Piper said, her voice little more than a whisper. Jason nodded, dropped his arms and folded them over his chest.
"Leo, buddy? You back?" He asked, his voice somewhat skittish.
"Yes! Hello!" Leo cheered, throwing his hands up into the air and hoping they wouldn't catch fire again. "Valdez-Man is back! Please, drop those hostile attitudes and explain what the holy Hephaestus just happened. Please."
"You nearly killed us is what happened!" Piper screeched, shoving the branch at him. "Do you know what you did to Jason?"
Leo shook his head.
"You tried to make a Jason Grace barbecue special! You burned his leg."
At first glance, Leo hadn't thought that Jason's leg injury was too bad, but taking another look at it made Leo realize how much damage had actually been done to the poor thing. The flesh was red and beginning to blister, but thankfully it wasn't bad enough to make Leo gag.
Still, he was surprised at how his friend was managing to stand.
"I did that?"
"Not you," Jason muttered, wincing as he shifted his weight over to the other foot. "The Eidolon." He reminded him. "We gotta get that thing out..."
Leo heard the words, but they didn't quite register in his brain. This wasn't the first time that he had hurt one of his friends so badly. Annabeth was healing thanks to the ambrosia, but that didn't erase the fact that he had tried to strangle her.
And what about Frank? Leo's relationship with the Chinese-Canadian Baby Man was strained, but even possessed Leo didn't think he'd allow himself to kill him. Maybe, like, tackle or kick, but not end his life. Still...
"Hey, Leo." Piper said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Are you listening?"
Leo's eyes darted back to Jason's burn, completely ignoring Piper. He had done that. He had tried to murder Annabeth. He was responsible for Frank's disappearance. Three of the other demigods were nowhere in sight, and for all Leo knew he could have been behind that, too.
He may not have been a murderer, but the yet was always plausible.
"I..." Leo faltered, feeling his shoulders sag. "I gotta sit down. For a minute."
"Me too." Jason grunted, falling right over.
Leo could only stare at what was in front of him, which in his case was a patch of what used to be fresh grass. Now? It looked like something aunt Rosa would cook; burned and inedible.
Is something wrong, little hero? The familiar voice of Gaea whispered into his ears. You resemble a flat tire, worn out and stripped of it's purpose. You won't be winning any wars for me in such a state.
Leo wanted to tell her -rather rudely- an alternative of 'get the hell away', but didn't want Piper or Jason to know that the earth goddess was speaking to him. Trying to kill everyone was horrible on it's own, but chatting with the enemy was definitely worse, he figured.
Speak to me, little hero. Your friends don't trust you anyway, what difference will it make? Gaea pushed, her voice becoming more urgent with every word. Even after she spoke, her words echoed around in his brain, repeating themselves and bouncing around inside his mind.
His head began to throb, and within seconds Leo had a splitting headache. It was as if someone was taking a jackhammer straight to his skull, giving everything they've got to crack it open.
"Ow," Leo groaned, bringing his head in to his hands. "Stop."
We have a deadline, Leo Valdez, but whether I have my two sacrifices on August first or not, your fate lies with me.
"No. It. Doesn't."
Work with me, little hero, and your friends shall live. Work against me, however, and I promise you that none of your fates will be pretty. You'll watch all of them burn in your own flames, screaming and crying about how you betrayed them, how you failed them yet again. They should be expecting it by now, but I suppose the stupid never learn.
"You can't do that. You're... you're still asleep..."
Oh?
Suddenly, Leo felt as if he had been pulled into an entirely different world. There was no warning, no pauses, it was simply that one moment he had been buckling from his headache to standing in a sea of fire.
Almost as quickly came the screaming. At first it had sounded like it was in only one direction, then it would switch and Leo would struggle to locate it, and then all at once the screams flooded his ears, pouring in from all directions.
"Stop!" Leo cried, covering his ears with his hands. "Stop it! Enough!"
No doubt, his outbursts seemed to have only made the situation worse. The screaming grew louder, more intense, it was so loud now that he couldn't even hear the crackling of the flames that were right beside him.
"Leo!" A familiar voice called, one that Leo immediately recognized as Hazel. "Why are you doing this?"
The boy turned to see Hazel being swallowed by the fire. She tried to crawl toward him, but with every move she made the flames wrapped themselves more. Leo tried to reach out to her, but before he could get there in time, Hazel's body vanished into ashes.
Before Leo could recover, a new voice took Hazel's place.
"Valdez!" Percy shouted. Leo whipped around and saw Percy, who was desperately trying to fight off flaming monsters. "You created these to kill us," The son of Poseidon called as one of the creatures clawed at his back. "Why?"
"I..." Leo faltered, stumbling over to try and help his friend. "I don't know!" Just as it happened with Hazel, Percy's body turned into ashes before Leo could fully reach him.
One by one, Leo witnessed his friends die before him. Annabeth had been devoured by fire serpents, Frank had fallen in to a river of lava, Jason had been surrounded by a storm of flames, vanishing in the heat long before Leo could try to help.
Lastly, Leo saw Piper.
"You don't have to kill me," She was saying, scrambling on the ground to get away from him. "I know what you did to the others, but I can try to help you, alright? You can put an end to this now!"
Leo tried to reach out, but as his hands moved in front of him, flames shot from his palms and straight towards Piper.
"No!" Leo shouted, pulling his hands back. "No! Piper, Piper are you okay?"
Unlike the others, the girl didn't form into ashes right away. Her eyes searched for him for a few seconds, and when they landed on his face, Piper said the words Leo didn't want to hear.
"You're a monster, Leo Valdez." She choked, then was gone.
Do you believe me now? Gaea cooed, her voice dulling the flames until all that was left around him was ashes and embers.
Leo had to force himself not to cry. He had to remind himself that was he was seeing wasn't real. His friends were... well, he didn't know if it was true for four of them, but Piper and Jason were perfectly alright.
That can be changed very quickly, little hero. Gaea spoke, as if she had been reading his thoughts. Taking them away from you would be as simple as angering Zeus. But, if you brought a boy and a girl to Athens for me... no one has to get hurt.
No one has to get hurt... Leo tossed those words around in his mind, considering the possibility.
"You're lying." He finally said, biting his lip. Of course she was lying. She was trying to rule the world, why wouldn't she slip in bits of false information to get her way?
No, no. Gaea murmured. What I tell you is the truth. I have no personal hatred for any of the members of the prophecy. Although their deaths may be helpful, I can accomplish my goals without having the children die.
"But what about the sacrifices?"
I simply need their blood... a cut on the arm shall do.
Leo couldn't lie; he was feeling pretty tempted by the idea. If it was really only blood that Gaea needed, then... well, no one would get hurt (aside from getting the blood part, that is). Sure, the earth goddess would fully wake and cause all kinds of chaos, but...
What was he thinking?
"No." Leo seethed. "No way! You think I'd really fall for that? I'm not stupid! ... You're stupid!"
For a few seconds that felt like hours, Gaea was silent. As Leo waited for her response, he felt waves of fear gnawing inside his stomach, making him want to crumble over and throw up.
Very well. The goddess growled, the earth beneath Leo's feet beginning to shake. You may have it your way, Leo Valdez. But I promise you this: in the end you shall serve me, and your world shall soon shatter. Now that you have rejected my requests, do not plead for my mercy when I am to rise.
As soon as she stopped talking, Leo blinked once and found himself back with Jason and Piper. Both were looking at him as if he were completely crazy.
