Word Count: 375

Characters/Pairings: the seven + Nico; Lazel in this chapter

Timeline/Spoilers: presumably set during HoH; major spoilers for entire series

Summary: Hypothetical scenarios exploring the possibility of each of the seven of the prophecy having to close the Doors of Death. — vi. And that knowledge is what truly makes this place hell.

Notes: Not too happy with the ending for this one.

the son of Hephaestus

.

"Don't make me lose you again!" Hazel cries.

Though the statement would confuse others, it makes perfect sense to him. She is desperately trying to convey the fact that she'd already lost one Sammy. Others would look on and think that meant she saw them as the same person, interchangeable, but Leo understands. She doesn't mean 'you' in the literal sense, but as in talking about the person she loved. (when did he get so philosophical?)

Of course, the moment a girl decides to finally confess her love to him is as he's just about to step over the threshold into Tartarus and lock the door behind him. Literally. Yeesh, when Aphrodite said his love life would be interesting…

Anyway, getting back on track, he has to have a response to that. Something cool, something suave.

"Don't make me lose you again" she says?

"You won't," he replies emphatically, complete with a hard look and an internal hair flip and no real knowledge of what he means. Nailed it. Team Leo rides on.

Perhaps he'll remain cool and suave in their memories forever. (perhaps not.)

He casts one last wayward glance at his friends, eyes burning, and then slams the accursed doors shut and slides down to the ground and cries.

He cries because he is now trapped inside the damned doors of death for all time. He cries because he will never see his friends again. He cries he is just a boy whose mother perished in a fire he himself lit. He cries because Piper and Jason will be useless without him. He cries because memories of Tia Callida (stupid, meddling hera) still haunt him to this day. But most of all, he cries because Tia Rosa, who had labeled him a diablo and made him an outcast among the family, had been wrong. He cries because he hasn't wrought destruction upon the world with flames. He cries because instead, he has saved it. He cries because he is finally free from that old sadness he had hidden behind jokes and laughter, but a new melancholy has taken its place, and he will be forced to endure it for the rest of eternity.

And that knowledge is what truly makes this place hell.

.

"I sat down on the street, took a look at myself, said 'Where you going, man? You know the world is headed for hell.'"

A/N: Apparently, it's everyone and their mom's theory that Leo is the one who'll be forced to close the doors. Many think that this is what all the insinuations of Leo being an outsider, the seventh wheel have been leading up to. Personally, I the thought just never crossed my mind; I just don't feel like he'll be the one. But then, I remembered the fortune cookie. What if this is the price he has to pay, not Percy and Annabeth, like he thinks? And in the HoH synopsis, Leo is specifically singled out: "But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?"

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?!

I dunno, guys, but I really hope it's not Leo. You'll see who I actually think will be the one in future chapters.

Also, we probably won't even get to see what happens with the doors in HoH because Rick Riordan is a freaking troll, and there's still a whole fifth book to fill up.

P.S. If you still haven't, go to viria . tumblr tagged / my - art and find her post with a bunch of PJO art and the song How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty. It's beautiful, and it's how I got the idea for this little series in the first place.

P.S.S. I am very disappointed in myself for not having an FMA Day fic this year. :(