Leo met up with his friends the next day in their usual spot on the outskirts of the small city, in a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes with a creek running through. They were all talking brightly about their 'penguins'. Percy's girl was called Annabeth, Nico's was Piper, Frank's was Hazel and Jason's was Reyna. Leo had a mystery girl that didn't want to know him, but he decided to keep quiet on that one.

"There he is!" Jason grinned.

"Where've you been?" Nico asked.

"I was getting breakfast." Leo shrugged.

"Fair enough." Jason smiled. They were all in good moods. Leo caught Percy's eye. Percy was the only one who knew Leo was this year's loner. Had he said anything to the others?

Leo sat down, taking a circuit board from his tool belt and tweaking it with a small screwdriver and connecting some wires. He was aware they were talking to him, but made it appear that he was working and lost in his own little world.

"Valdez!" Frank shouted, shaking Leo violently by the shoulders. Leo yelled in surprise and shrugged Frank off.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"We don't need to try." Nico pointed out. "Why were you ignoring us?"

"You were talking?" They nodded. "Sorry." He held up his work. Jason rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"So, Leo, find your penguin?" Jason smiled.

"Um… yeah…"

"But?" Nico pressed. Leo studied the invention in his hand for a few seconds.

"I don't think my penguin liked me." He mumbled. There was a shocked outburst from the lot of them, except Percy, who just sighed.

"Whoa, you knew?" Nico pointed at Percy. "Hell no, cuz. That doesn't work."

"Sorry." Percy shrugged. "But it was Leo's business to tell you, not me."

"Who is she then?" Frank asked.

"I dunno. She just walked off." They all watched him pityingly. Leo didn't want their pity.

"What did she look like?" Percy asked.

"Uh… green eyes, black hair." Percy blinked before frowning and looking at him quizzically. Leo studied him for a few seconds. "Do you have a sister?"

"None that I know of." Percy replied, but he looked troubled. "I'll ask Mom later and see what she says."

"That'd be a bit awkward, wouldn't it?" Frank asked.

"What'd you mean?" Leo started chewing his lip.

"If that was Percy's sister and you're one of his best mates, then what?"

"If she is my sister, I don't know her, so I won't particularly care." Percy replied honestly.

Leo had no idea what to do. Loners weren't particularly common, so he couldn't exactly knock on any old door and ask for advice. People would just take the piss and he didn't want that.

Instead, he walked around the city the whole day, looking for his penguin. He stopped in front of the Skyline, as it was called. The big white tent that was the symbol of the defunct holiday park. Leo walked inside. It had once been full of arcade games and shops, but was now split into sections- north, south, east and west. In the north, there was the infirmary. The east was the school for all the children sixteen and under, two buildings side by side, one for the boys and one for the girls. They weren't allowed to see each other, so school started, finished and they had breaks at different times. The south was where people went to get their instructions for the week- a timetable of sorts, saying when they would be working, leisure time and training. Everyone went through training until they were fifty. After that, it was optional. The west was sectioned off completely. No-one knew for certain what was behind the doors, but it was always guarded by six soldiers or legions. They were dressed in army camouflage and all carried M16s, disciplined and fearless. Only the best of the best were asked to be trained as legions and as far as anyone knew, it was strictly men-only. The legions were important. They protected the city and sometimes ventured outside on investigations.

Leo wandered around the Skyline, feeling miserable. He walked out the north entrance and carried on walking, passing the old Ocean Hotel which was now home to many of the 'harder working' people- the upper class folks. Leo didn't like many of them, seeing as they thought they were above everyone else. By 'harder working', they sat on their fat backsides all day doing bugger all on their stupid laptops. Leo, one of the many handymen in the city, didn't find working on a laptop all day appealing. He liked fixing things and liked to make things more.

He turned a corner and was faced with the training grounds. It was an old rock-climbing and abseiling wall with a course up in the air, walking across bridges, podiums and climbing nets, supported by a harness. He had enjoyed abseiling when he was younger, free falling and then stopping at the last second. It got him into a lot of trouble, but he didn't care. He heard shouts and turned, moving aside as one of the army instructors jogged past with a load of eight year old boys struggling to keep up.

Leo looked up and saw the middle and lower class buildings. Nearer to everything, there was the middle class buildings, smaller and less fancy than the old Ocean or Shoreline hotels, but nice enough for anybody, with an upstairs and a decent kitchen. The lower class buildings were simply rooms- bedroom, bathroom and a small kitchen. Leo lived in one of those, although he was rarely in it- working or out with his friends. His was fairly good, clean and on the lower level. His only problem was his neighbour- the guy did not shut up.

As far as Leo knew, the girls lived on the other side of the city, in better accommodation- small houses they shared in groups of two's and three's. He thought about looking for his penguin there, but knew he would get shot on the spot for trespassing. The legions protected the girls more than the boys as some boys went nuts and broke into girls' homes. Penguin or not, the boys would use the girls as the mother to their children, whether the girls consented or not. Sometimes, it wasn't good, as the girls suffered from trauma and flashbacks and lost any children they were carrying. It also meant the boy, when found and charged, would be shot dead for assault and that would unbalance the numbers.

"Hey, where's your girl?" Leo turned and looked at a thirty-odd year old man with a similar aged woman to his side. They were trailed by three boys and the woman was heavily pregnant.

The man studied Leo. "Ooh, are you the loner this year?"

"Yeah…" Leo sighed miserably. The man smiled.

"I know how you feel."

"You were a loner?" The man nodded. "What-? How did you-?" Leo glanced at the woman.

"Don't stalk them."

"I can't find mine." The man chuckled.

"Do you know her name?"

"Nope."

"Anything?"

"I know what she looks like."

"That's a start." The man turned, motioning with his head for Leo to follow. "I know someone who can help you."