PERCY

Percy had barely known Leo.

That didn't stop him from beating himself up after Leo's death.

It wasn't fair that Leo had died. He'd barely even brushed the surface of the demigod world before being thrown into a war and a leadership position on a warship. Percy had only been a year or two older than him, but now that Leo was dead, Percy was realizing how young he had been. Nobody deserved to die that young.

But they were all young. Everyone. They were children, and they had just fought a war. Everything was wrong about that.

The weirdest thing was that it wasn't even Percy's first war.

Leo had also been the head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin, the one who had gotten them out of the curse. He had found Bunker Nine for them, and the campers in that cabin had relied on him, Percy knew it. He also knew that the curse was returning somewhat, in the few weeks since Leo had died, although whether that was because of the curse, or because they were all grieving, he wasn't sure.

Calypso had been waiting for Leo to rescue her. Gods, whenever Percy thought about that he felt even more guilty. He had tried to get Calypso freed, but he'd never checked back with her, never really put a lot of effort into it. Leo had. And even now that Leo was dead, he'd managed to keep his promise.

Oath to keep with a final breath. It was bound to happen. Why hadn't Percy seen? Why hadn't he died instead?

He sat in his cabin, twisting the small flash drive between his fingers, the soft glow of his cabin's fountain glinting off of the tiny metal device. Calypso had given it to him yesterday, but he still hadn't brought himself to watch it.

His cabin was empty. Everyone was still cleaning up after the many battles that had been waged here. Percy would have been helping, but Chiron had insisted that the seven (six, his mind echoed) had already done enough, and wouldn't let any of them help. So they were stuck in their cabins.

"Percy?"

He looked up to see Annabeth standing in the doorway, arms wrapped around herself, looking cold despite the warm August weather.

"Annabeth." Percy got to his feet and crossed to her immediately. "What's wrong?"

"I- I just didn't want to be alone."

Percy nodded, and gave her a swift hug. She was shivering. He pulled away and looked into her face, concerned. "Is Jodie okay?"

Jodie was a new camper to the Athena cabin, and had been seriously injured during that final battle. He knew that Annabeth had been worried about her.

"She's getting better." Annabeth said. "It's not that."

Percy didn't press her. She hadn't come for a listening ear, she'd come for someone to be with.

"Have you watched it yet?" Annabeth blurted out after a couple moments. "The recording? From Leo?"

"No." Percy said, slightly taken aback by the blunt question.

"Me neither." Annabeth said softly. "Will you watch mine with me? I can't bring myself to do it alone."

Percy hesitated, but nodded. Annabeth very rarely asked for help without prompting, and while she had gotten better at allowing herself to show weakness around him, it was still a scarcity. So he agreed.

"I have Daedulus' laptop with me." Annabeth said, pulling it out. "We can watch them now."

Percy was again taken aback. He hadn't expected such immediacy. But he nodded, and they trekked back to his desk. Annabeth opened the laptop, then plugged her flash drive in.

RECORDING- ANNABETH

This time, Leo is sitting in his very cramped cabin, on the small spot of available space that is not taken up by tools and half-finished machines. He is much more energetic than he was in the first two videos, and seems to have regained some of his natural humor.

LEO: Hi, Annie. Nope, you can't murder me for calling you that, know why? I'm dying anyway. See? There's a bright side to anything.

LEO: If you're watching this, you can help me with something. Not the dying part, that's happening no matter what you do. You can help me with something else. I don't want to ask anybody else this, but you… you're different. Everyone else is getting an apology video, you're getting a prerogative.

LEO: For lack of a better word, this is my will. What I want to happen after… Okay. First item on the docket. I want you to give Harley my tool belt. I'm going to leave it on the Argo II before I set my plan in motion, and unless you idiots destroy my ship, it should be in good condition for him. I always promised he could borrow it, and it's a night for fulfilling promises, in a backwards sort of way, I guess.

LEO: If I get a say, Nyssa would make a great head counselor. She's good with people, and the campers look up to her. Anything that I left behind, tools or machines or whatever, it's for Cabin NIne. They can do whatever they want with it, I don't really care.

LEO: The one other item I want you to pass on is my jacket, the aviator one? It was my mom's, but then it got all burned, and then Calypso made me a new one… but I want you to deliver it to Mara Fiorelli. She was one of my foster sisters, and a good friend. She should still be living in Austin, that might help you track her down.

LEO: Now for the fun stuff. I want you to tell my Aunt Rosa what happened. Then have Nico make sure she thinks she's being haunted by my little devil ghost for another good four years. She deserves it.

Leo pauses, grins, then adds:

LEO: Bitch.

LEO: Sorry, I just wanted to say it out loud. Don't tell Hazel, she hates it when I cuss.

LEO: Anyways. As far as my, ahem, body… Wow, that's weird to say. I mean, I'm kind of used to the idea of death, but still… If you guys can find a body, I'd like to be cremated. I feel like that's fitting, and you should be able to do it. I know I'm immune to flames, but I have the feeling it'll be different once I'm dead.

LEO: If you can't find the body, which is more likely, don't sweat it. Either way, I'd like a tombstone. And it better say Super Sized McShizzle, Bad Boy Supreme, etcetera etcetera. You guys can add more if you want, I need as many nicknames as possible on there.

LEO: And, I absolutely require that one of you guys nicknames your son after me. I don't care who, but I need that kind of glory. If not, I will personally haunt each of you.

Leo smiles for a moment, and then the smile falters, as he realizes what he is joking about.

LEO: Annabeth, I don't want you beating yourself up. I know you, you're gonna deal with this by not eating or sleeping. Take it from an expert in that coping mechanism, it doesn't work. This list isn't a way for you to work yourself into oblivion until you get all my wants done. I know you need something to do. But that doesn't mean don't make time for yourself.

LEO: Nothing is your fault. You couldn't have stopped me. I know that hurts your hubris or whatever it's called, but it's true. You can't save me.

LEO: I hope you keep taking care of yourself. Pretend I'm still there reminding you to sleep, you know? Thanks for always doing that for me, by the way. Thanks for seeing my work on the ship. You're the only person who said thanks, did you know that? The only one that mentioned how freakin' awesome that spanking hot war machine really was.

LEO: So thank you.