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Chapter 2- What I couldn't say
"A memory lasts forever. Never does it die...True friends stay together and never say goodbye" - Unknown
He had floated above New York, untill, his spirit found it's way back to Camp. In the attic of The Big House, where he met the Oracle once again; Rachel Dare.
"Welcome, Leo," Her familiar voice announced. Leo stepped forward along rows of some of the deceased campers' spirits. He looked around.
"Where am I?" He muttered.
She smiled sweetly, a Pegasus foul at her side. "Why, you're in the attic, where all the deceased campers come."
"Why am I here?" Leo said.
"You have passed, and because of that, you must choose which life you want to return as." Rachel patted the foul sitting asleep at her feet. "This is the attic of rebirth, or new life"
"I thought this was for the Oracle" Leo insisted, then remembered what had happened at the bridge. The thoughts swirled his mind and he wanted to faint.
"It is to the living, the dead come here often too. Along these rows of nostalgic items, are actually a disguise for the new lifes beggining." Rachel smiled, her green eyes gleaming.
"You've lived many lives Leo," She muttered, holding a holographic timeline. "Besides you here as Leo, you were Sammy, as you recall, and before that you were many other great heroes."
"But-" Leo faltered. "What about Piper? What will happen to her? Will I get to see her again?"
Rachel smiled half-heartedly. "You don't know what fate will bring you, only me and the Olympians know this."
"Is that Meleager? Homer? And Orion?" Leo said in disbelief.
Rachel smiled and nodded, pointing to the one in the middle. "That is Pelops, His father was Tantalus. You were reincarnated from him"
Leo quivered his lips. "You're kidding right?"
"No, and also there's Thomas Eddison," Rachel smiled.
"But-" Leo murmured and his images of his past lives before him passed by him. Images of Oddyseus, and the places they travelled. Meleager helping Jason and the other Argonauts. And of course, Orion, the giant, the way Zeus and Artemis had helped him out. "That's not possible!" He exclaimed, remembering the inventions he made. How he became deaf from that Scarlet Fever, and how he was teased when he was little.
"That's what everyone says." Rachel smiled, "It's hard to believe but it is true. You've lead good lives, some not the way you planned or have wished, but it is special, just like your mind. You are one of a kind, and I am happy to see you, even if that means I know what you've left behind. Your pressence brightens up my day, even when I know some have lead a terrible life, it charms my heart to know that you always strive" She said, her eyes gleaming again.
"Is there any way I can get back to Piper?" Leo muttered.
"I know you love her Leo, and I want to help. The best way to be with her is to choose your next life, something that I know you will ultimately decide. You have thirty days to decide. Even though it kills my heart to know that the faster you pick the faster you leave, I know you'll make the right choice." Rachel smiled deviously, gently picking up the resting foul. "You can pick to be born as a Person, plant, or an animal, like Blaze here. It may seem like he is alseep, but he is awaiting to be born, waiting for a soul to come along and take his appearance. As you can tell, he has about a week, or few days before he must go before leaving as a clean soul - a fresh new beginning for a new soul. As he awaits, he comes to me, asking everyday when he'll be choosen."
Leo gulped.
"As you can see he looks like an ordinary Pegasus, but he is not. He is special, for reason I can not tell you, quite yet" Rachel continued. "Just remember, if you do choose a human, you wil not remember your past life. Like one has told me before, Choosing an animal means you lose the ability to speak; a human, the loss of remembering, and a plant, loses the ability of mobility and defense. But they have advantages also. Human let's you speak, Animal gets to remember, and Plant gets to live as long as it can, if treated kindly." Rachel smiled.
"How do I decide, or choose what kind of living thing I want to be?" Leo murmured.
"You can look through these holographic images, when you open a book. It will show you the way you've started on your journey and a short clip of what'll happen later. The books are in order of type; plant, animal, human. Then it's categorized by alphabetical order of species and or type. We have one shelf, suggesting the five best ones that they believe is best for you, if you choose. When you want to put a book away, place it on the shelf over here, and it will re-categorize itself."
"When I do pick my Living thing, does it hurt when I enter that thing?" Leo asked scratching the back of his neck.
She chuckled, "No, the process is easy."
"Alright, do I get started now?" Leo murmured, anxious about the books. People reading and watching clips sat in the corner in the dark, one as a picture of a elephant, and another as greek camper. Leo smiled, as one of the smaller girls there picked up a book with a pine tree on it. It ultimately reminded him of Thalia.
He stared at the shelf, and watched as it placed five books on the suggestion shelf. Leo sighed and looked back at the three categories. He bit his lip and thought of the three choices.
As a human, Leo would be over 16 years younger then her, and he didn't want to be in a position like he had before. Running from monstors and having to endure quests and wars. He sighed and turned to the plants, remembering the little girl. He couldn't picture himself as a flower or tree. Someone could easily step on him or be chopped down, and Leo shook from that terrible thought. He didn't want to be turned into pencils and sawdust, or even shaved into a bowl. even if he could live long, he wouldn't be able to talk or even move. It was ipossible to communicate to Piper.
The only thing that was left was the animal category. Leo certainly did not know where to to start, not knowing which would be the best. He sighed, taking his chance on the five books. He looked at the five spines, determinging which was what. To his surprise, three were Animals, one for Human, and another for Plants.
He carried the five to the nearest beanbag chair and looked at the covers. A Carnation, a Pegasus, a Parrot, a Dog, and another Greek soldier. Leo sighed and put the soldier and Carnation back, not liking either.
He thought hard about the three animals. A Pegasus, a Parrot, and a Dog. The were good options, after all, but which one was best, Leo had no idea.
A dog was very social, and Piper had loved dogs, or that's what she had mentioned before. But camp wouldn't accept a dog there, unless of course she moved out of the border, which was very unlikely. And there was also the fact that dogs couldn't talk, he couldn't say the words he wantes to on the bridge. Because of this he turned to the parrot book.
They could talk, and they were good pets, but Leo remembered that feathers bothered Piper, made her sick occasionally and he knew she would hate having a bird as a pet. They weren't as social as a dog and also wouldn't be allowed at camp.
Leo didn't like the idea of the next one. Leo was afraid of heights, and like they experienced before, Piper was too. But Leo did remember Piper mentioning something about Pegasus' a while back, but he couldnt wrap his mind around it. Pegasus were allowed at camp though, and some people could communicate to them, but he wasn't trying to communicate to Percy or Tyson, he wanted to talk directly to Piper, and his hopes of doing so suddenly drop. Even if he had explained this in the best way possible, she wouldn't understand, probably run away and forget about him.
He froze when he heard footsteps and looked up to Rachel. She smiled, "I've seen you've gone with the suggestion shelf, did you have any questions?"
"I wanted to know if there was a way I could see what Piper was doing at this moment..." Leo murmured.
Rachel bit her lip, "Well, I do check on people from time to time, but as an Oracle I was directed to not show any of the deceased to see what was happening on earth right now."
Leo frowned and looked down. "But-" She said a bit louder.
Leo looked up. "Since I know you wished to have said more to Piper that day, and never have had the chance, and the fact that you've lead better lives before, it's only fair you ge this request."
"You mean?" Leo asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Don't tell anyone, I don't want to look like I'm giving you special treatment," She whispered and dragged him by his wrist towards her wooden rocking chair, where Blaze slept. He snorted in his sleep and Leo couldn't help but smile as his small narrow head twitched. rachel reached a circle device, resembling what looked like a mirror. Rachel whispered Piper's name and with a quick swipe of her hand, there she was in holographic image, showing Piper standing at the bridge, looking lost and confused, obviously crying hard. Leo remembered how it looked to see the place Leo had died, and even then did it seem eerie.
She was on the ground, her knees drawn up to her chest like she was after Jason had threw the necklace. She suddenly stood up, as Leo noticed two figures running up to her. One with blonde hair and the other a sleek black. Rachel puckered her lips and spread her fingers apart on the mirror. The view zoomed in, the volume increasing as well.
"I'm so sorry Piper..." The voice of Annabeth had said to Piper, as Annabeth took her into a hug.
"He's gone...He's gone..." Piper whispered hoarsley, and Leo wanted nothing more then to comfort her.
Percy ran up to her and hugged her awkwardly too. "I'm sorry I didn't come here earlier, if I was here at the time, I would've jumped in. I'm so sorry" He tried to somfort her, but only made it worst, she cried harder, and Annabeth sent him a death glare and whacked him in the arm.
"It wasn't your fault, Pipes" Annabeth rubbed her arms.
"Jason...Jason did this" Piper muttered under her breath. leo narrowed his eyes, not understanding what she meant.
Annabeth pushed her away. "What do you mean?"
"He-he, threw Leo's gift." Piper murmured. "When he went to retrieve it, and he-he..." She faltered and began to weep again.
"What happened after that?" Percy asked dumbly, and Annabeth punched him in the side.
Piper gulped and tried to contain her sobs. "He burnt up, then-then fell in..." Was all Piper could manage before going into a continuous weep.
"It wasn't his fault," Leo murmured. "If I only gave it to her at a later time, then Jason wouldn't have gotten mad at her"
"What was the gift?" Percy pondered, and Annabeth stared at him.
Piper sniffled, "A gold necklace. He made it himself. Engraved it and everything. I won't ever see it again... It went down with him..." Piper stopped then rose her voice, "I'll never be able to say the words he used on the necklace..."
"What did it say, Piper?" Annabeth asked sweetly.
Piper gulped, and after another moment, she gulped again. "...I love you"
Leo looked down, the pain in her voice nearly killed him - not literally. "Please, that's enough," Leo rose his voice, and Rachel wiped the image away.
"How can I tell her that I did hear her? Without sounding crazy?" Leo demanded.
Rachel chuckled, "You'll find a way. You're creative, don't forget that"
"You should get back to work. Go find your next life," Rachel smiled. Leo backed up, stepping near the rocking chair, and as he was about to turn back to his work, a small feel of warmth brushed against him. He looked down to see the tiny horse awake, and looking very angry.
"Not again, Blaze! Don't scare the dead!" Rachel announced as flames eminating from his wings and feet grew larger.
Leo smiled, he was a reddish brown horse, as he could finally tell, and his hair was a dark brown, curly in certain parts. The pasterns as he remembered were unusually black, and lean. Muscular looking. When the baby Pegasus lunged, Leo stepped back on instinct, and smiled hard. He looked down at his own hands and wondered.
He put his hand closer to the horse, his palms facing up and worked his magic. To his shock, it work, flames danced on his palms, and leo placed it closer to the baby Pegasus. It whinned, and rose its front legs, the flames stopped, and Leo stopped as well. Fear crept into the horses big eyes, and Leo took a closer look. They were black, just like his, and Leo couldn't help but smile. No wonder they called him Blaze.
When Leo dreamed about being a Pegasus, Leo knew exactly what he had to do. He remembered debating that as an animal he couldn't speak, but he could remember. The only way to say what he had wanted, was to remember it, and a memory is never forgotten. Animals could speak to humans in a special, more unique way then just telling, and that also was an asset for this choice. He awoke from the Bean bag he had snoozed off, books piled near him, of all sorts of animals. He dashed toward the rocking chair startling the Pegasus asleep near her feet, Rachel, even as an Oracle still napped, and she chose this one night to rest.
"Rachel! Rachel, get up!" Leo shouted rocking her bony shoulders. she blinked hard before finally stretching.
"What's wrong?" She murmured groggily.
"I know what I want to be!" Leo exclaimed.
She furrowed a brow. "What?"
"I finally decided my new life!" Leo smiled big.
"You have," She cooed. "And what is that," Finally coming to her senses.
"A Pegasus," He simply responded.
She smiled half-heartedly. "Oh really," She had whispered sweetly.
"Yes, a certain Pegasus must I add" Leo chuckled.
"Blaze," Rachel cooed, and on instinct the Pegasus crawled into her lap. He looked up at her as if to say, 'Who is this freak that woke me up?'
"Meet your match. You've been chosen" His face contorted as best as it could being a horse, into what looked like horror and disbelief. He whinned and looked at her to say, 'The freak that scared me? No way!' And Leo chuckled.
"Blaze, be nice, you wanted a soul, now, you've been chosen, you know the rules," rachel scolded and like a little kid, Blaze looked down, sadness filled his eyes.
Suddenly, Blaze looked at Leo and nodded his head as if he accepted him. Leo smiled and placed his hand on the Pegasus' head.
"I'm going to be in you...I don't know how this'll be. I don't quite remember." Leo murmured.
"You'll be fine," Rachel assured. "Without further ado, I will get you two ready. I'll be right back, I need to set somethings in store for you two in this new life"
Okay?" Leo muttered unsure. And the Horse whinned just like him.
"Don't worry Beauty Queen, don't cry, and don't hate the fact I'm gone, This is only the beginning..." Leo whispered to himself closing his eyes gently and sighing as he waited for his new life to begin.
Really long, and boring in some parts. Sorry, I just wanted to get him to say the last part.