Due to popular demand, I will be keeping the replies at the top of the page (I'm sorry if any of you would have preferred them to be at the bottom). This chapter will have mentions of abuse, so as always here will be a warning. And I know that this may not be important, but I got both the Demigod diaries and the Demigod files and I am so excited to read them :) Thank you to anyone who faved or followed.
Bdog123 : I'm sorry, but loads of people prefer the replies at the top. I hope that it isn't too inconvenient :(
Kittehx1 : I ship Leo with pretty much anyone if the story is good but I'm more of a yaoi girl myself.
TeamLeo'sVeryOwnFlinxShipper : I know! She should give in to her Aphrodite side more often. And Leo would make an adorable werewolf. Also, thanks for your opinion on the reply placement.
Neon Wish : Thank you, and you're very welcome.
QueenofLothlorien : Thank you for both your compliments and your help with the reply thing. And I need somewhere to store all of my Leo feels as well.
RoseAmy13LunaGinny : Maybe I'll put that in for you.
Pacenya347 : Yes he did.
DamnYouPeopleWithCoolUserNames : I'll put that in this chapter for you.
ObsessedwReading : Thank you.
FracturedSanity419 : Thanks :) And I'll put the kids memory in chapter 23.
Catsrawesome : I'm glad that you enjoyed them, and Layla is still one of my least favourite OCs.
Iluvbooks : Thanks.
Septimus : You are very welcome on the no swearing thing (I don't swear much, I'm not even allowed to say crap or damn at home). And thank you for the idea but I'm not sure if I can make that work. I'll have to think about a way to put it in. I don't think that I can handle a rape scene, sorry, so that definitely won't be going in.
TooObsessedWithBooks : Maybe, but I still have a lot of stories planned for Leo.
Killua minamoto : I'm happy that you liked it.
MakaylaCO : More is on it's way.
Our Mismatched Socks : There will be more about the two children.
Cupcake Gal : Thank you for all of your reviews, and I'm not exactly sure how many memories I will be writing about. I do around four each chapter, and I have ten chapters left (including this one) so around forty I guess. But next chapter is going to be a little different so I'm not too certain.
Disclaimer : I wouldn't have to buy the books if I had created this.
Percy's P.O.V
Percy was saddened to think that Leo had to resort to stealing to feed himself and those two other children. Sure, he had never lived a cosy life, but at least he'd always had food and clothing. Leo had apparently spent half of his life without even a roof over his head.
The next memory didn't alleviate his sadness.
Leo and the two kids were back on screen, except they were in a slightly different alley this time, and the two children were shivering. This memory seemed to be before the earlier one as their clothes were still threadbare.
"I'm cold." The small girl wailed, and Leo hugged her tightly.
"Cassie, Diggory, you two stay here and snuggle up and I'll be back before you know it." The children nodded obediently, and Leo once again left. He walked along, occasionally picking up empty bin bags, newspapers, broken pieces of wood and string. After he had quite a large collection, he returned to the alley.
"Okay, I'm going to make us some shelter."
"What sort of shelter are you going to make from that?" Frank seemed to think that Leo had a few screws lose, but the scrawny mechanic gave them all a smug look.
"Just watch." Leo instructed as he worked on his paper. Percy was incredibly tempted to look at whatever Leo was drawing, but he averted his gaze to the television with an impressive display of will power.
Leo's hands moved expertly, lashing the string together and rigging up a relatively impressive rubbish teepee. But, being Leo, he didn't stop there. By the time he was finished, the teepee was large enough for the three children. It's "walls" were made of the bin bags and inside the floor was made of newspaper. The distinctive shape was created by the wood.
Leo had also somehow created a small door that locked from the inside using a complicated string pattern, a window that could be rolled up to stare out of the alley and a ting table in the middle*. He grinned.
"You even made a lockable door!" Percy stared at the kid in disbelief. Not only had he made a shelter that was large enough for all three runaways, he had also made security for it. Leo shrugged modestly.
"I've made better." He said, in an offhand manner. Percy was constantly impressed with Leo's creativity, he had made a warship for Hades sake, but this really took the cake. And the most amazing thing was that Leo didn't even seem to recognise how awesome his skills were. Percy vowed to praise Leo's inventions more often., he didn't understand why the Latino had pretty much no self confidence.
The next memory began.
Warning : Scenes of child abuse, but nothing too graphic.
Teresa stood over the trembling Leo, a look that bordered on insanity in her eyes.
The demigods all hissed.
"You've done it now you little brat." She kicked Leo in the shoulder so that his terrified face was staring at the ceiling. She spewed some ugly profanities at the eleven year old, and he cringed.
"You think that she can help you? Do you think that you were clever, telling the teacher that I hit you?" Leo shook his head wildly, but stopped when Teresa planted her high heel encased foot on his chest , digging the point in. A small droplet of blood welled up, and stained his shirt.
"You will never see the light of day again!" She actually sounded quite unhinged at this point, and Leo squirmed in fright.
"I didn't say anything. Please." He begged, but Teresa had frozen at the first part of the sentence.
"So your a liar now as well." She leant over Leo, and slapped him.
"Liars are punished in this house, their presence will not be tolerated." Her voice was detached from reality as she grabbed Leo's arms, nails marking his tanned flesh with crescents of red. She yanked him upwards and threw him into the wall. Leo hit it with a thud and slid. He attempted to curl into the foetal position, but Teresa raced forwards.
She kicked him in the chest repeatedly, heels occasionally slicing his skin. Leo whimpered and moaned, but then a sharp crack was heard, and he screeched in pain as hi ribs gave in under the pressure.
Teresa laughed, a dark, twisted sound. She gripped Leo's collar and dragged into the hall. She strolled up the stairs leisurely, as if she wasn't dragging a sobbing child behind her.
Leo was wheezing, and his face was contorted with the pain of numerous lacerations and broken ribs. It was a shock that he hadn't passed out. Teresa finally reached her destination, pulling open the door, she waltzed into her bedroom, still chuckling insanely.
She made her way over to a large wardrobe and opened it.
"Bye Bye Leo, I hope the monsters don't get you in there. I heard that they like disgusting, wretched beasts such as yourself." The door closed and the sound of a key turning in a lock seemed to reactivate Leo.
"No" He screamed, and he threw himself at the door, screaming again as his ribs hit the wood. He fainted.
Memory over.
Percy almost threw up. Leo had suffered so much. If it wasn't Gaia then it was the Gods, if it wasn't the Gods then it was mortals. Why was everyone against the small Latino demigod?
"How did you get out?" Hazel asked, tears streaming down her face. Leo trembled almost imperceptibly. Piper and Percy both wrapped their arms around him. Their sadness turned to fear as they realised that Leo was gasping for breath.
"Annabeth!" Percy yelped, and his girlfriend instantly climbed over him to get to Leo.
"Leo, you are with the seven." She spoke simply, and Percy stared at his girlfriend in alarm as she tried to help their friend.
"You need to try and calm down." Annabeth was using small sentences. Leo made a visible effort to regulate his breathing, but the tremors that rocked his body were becoming intense, and small flames licked his body.
"You are with us Leo." Annabeth just kept talking to him in short sentences while the rest watched in terror. After an agonising amount of time in which Percy felt absolutely certain that Leo was either going to stop breathing or spontaneously combust, Leo finally began breathing normally. Annabeth practically fell onto Percy in relief. He noticed that his girlfriend was also shivering, she had been so calm when dealing with Leo that the fear must have only kicked in after some of the adrenaline ebbed.
"Sorry" Leo choked out, his voice raspy and painful sounding.
"What happened?" Jason sounded like he was about to throw up, and Percy quickly took stock of the seven's situation. Piper and Jason were clinging to each other as if they were tethering each other to the couch. Hazel's mouth was moving wordlessly, shock in her eyes. Frank had reverted into a cat and his ears were flat against his head and his pupils dilated in a sure sign of agitation. Annabeth was nestled on his lap, clutching his shirt tightly as she processed what had just happened. He could feel that his hands were clammy and his own breathing was rapid.
Leo was curled up, breathing still laboured and flames still leaping across his body.
"Panic attack." Leo croaked, his eyes squeezed shut.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'm sorry. It hasn't happened in so long..." Leo was getting agitated again, and Percy shifted Annabeth slightly so that he could grasp Leo's hand. The boy latched onto his hands desperately, and Percy felt hatred for the entire world. Clearly everything had conspired against Leo.
"It's not your fault." He muttered soothingly, but this seemed to upset Leo more.
"It was just so dark and I couldn't breathe until they found me and I was all alone and the monsters were coming and I could hear her voice and they were all laughing at me." Leo's sentences all ran together and his breathing was becoming even more strained.
"You're safe Leo." Percy whispered, throat clogged by tears. Annabeth moved to place an arm around Leo, and when he didn't react negatively to the touch, Percy and Piper hugged him again.
"I was so scared." Leo whimpered, and Percy's heart clenched as Leo spoke with the voice of his child self.
"You don't have to be scared anymore." Jason joined the hug, Hazel and Frank joining afterwards. Leo looked down at Frank who was still in cat form.
"Do you want some milk, Frank?" He joked weakly.
"Do you know that a lot of cats are lactose intolerant?" Annabeth couldn't help blurting out the fact and they all cracked up a little. They decided to stay as they were to watch the next memory, and unspoken show of support. Because watching Leo gasp for breath had been a terrifying experience that they could all live without seeing again.
"Cumpleanos feliz, cumpleanos feliz (Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.)" A cheerful voice sang out. The screen showed Esperanza Valdez holding a tiny, baby Leo in her arms. The baby Leo was wearing a onesie that looked like a prison outfit saying "I've been inside for nine months".
"That onesie is so cute, you were such an adorable little baby." Piper cooed, and some of the fear was removed from the atmosphere at seeing such an endearing image. Leo looked flustered, but his breathing had evened out.
Banners that were strewn around the room proclaimed that Leo was one. His tiny pointy ears accentuated his pixie features, and his chocolate eyes sparkled. Even at such a young age, an unruly mop of black hair adorned his head.
"I bet your father would love to see you." Esperanza kissed her son on the forehead, and he giggled.
They all melted at that carefree giggle. Suddenly, the screen cut to a different scene. The demigods were a little startled by how abrupt the change had been, but their attention stayed riveted on the screen anyway.
A grizzled, disfigured man was shown, watching the loving mother and her son on a small television screen.
"Happy birthday, my son." He spoke quietly.
"Hephaestus!" Leo looked shocked.
"Even if he did not appear to you in person, Valdez, my son cared for you greatly." Hera's voice held a touch of warmth, and Percy felt like the apocalypse had come early with Hera claiming Hephaestus as her son with warmth in her voice.
Leo looked a little choked, but as he wasn't literally choking, Percy decided not to comment. The next clip came up, drowning out Leo's tiny "thanks dad". Percy chose not to comment on that as well.
A group of seven year olds sat in a classroom, a smiling teacher in front of them.
"As we are breaking up for Easter today, we are going to watch a video." The entire class cheered, and Leo actually clapped. The teacher popped in a disk, and Charlie and the chocolate factory (the 2005 edition) sprang to life.
Leo seemed enthralled as he watched the chocolate paradise.
"I want a golden ticket." The boy next to him nodded.
"So do I."
Leo was completely caught up in the story, cheering when the naughty children got what was coming to them. When the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson and cutting of the film, Leo looked personally offended.
"Before you leave, class, I have something to give you." The teacher made her way down the aisles, passing each child a wrapped present.
"Happy Easter miss." Leo said as the teacher passed him his gift.
As the children were released into the playground to be collected by their parents, Leo carefully unwrapped his present. A bar of chocolate was revealed, and more importantly, when Leo turned it over, a golden ticket was revealed.
"I've got a golden ticket." Leo sang to himself, a huge grin on his face.
"That was really sweet of the teacher." Hazel commented as everyone moved back to their original positions on the couch. Leo pulled his notebook out again, and Percy managed to force this eyes away from whatever he was doing. He knew that Jason knew, but he also knew that Leo wanted to wait to tell them. He could accept that.
*This is actually possible, me and my friends built one in Guides :)
Also, Cassandra means she who is ignored and Diggory means lost one. Next chapter is going to be a little different, I know that some people are sick of song memories but I have a few songs that match Leo and a few have been suggested so next chapter will be all singing, all dancing and then there will be no more son memories. See you all next time.