LEO.
——- "There you are."
Y/n's head whipped around at the sound of his voice.
Leo grinned back at her, going to sit down with her at the dock. He moved her collection of supplies; a t-shirt, sleeping bag, and backpack. He wondered where she got it, but decided it didn't matter. He set them off to the side and took a seat next to her.
"I've been looking for you, what're you doing here?" He questioned. The girl looked down into the water, like she was considering something. She then clutched a piece of paper and shoved it into her pocket.
"When my tour was over, I felt everyone looking at me so, I ran. I got nervous." She let out an awkward chuckle.
"Don't worry, I understand that all too well." He laughed, "I thought I was going to explode when I got claimed; you know, all eyes on me. It was nerve wracking, to say the least." He admitted.
Y/n let out a sigh. Leo looked at her, craning his neck so he could see her face.
Her mouth was twisted up like she was upset. Upset at what? Leo had no clue. The tension grew as the silence continued, and Leo felt like Y/n would feel better if he let her sort out her thoughts, rather than interrupting her with a joke, like he usually did.
She looked him in the eye, and he felt nervous — it happened every time they were alone.
"Leo, I need to tell you something."
Oh gods. Leo knew it. She didn't want to be his friend anymore. He had been waiting for this conversation since the day they met, and here it was. And even though he spent so much time worrying about it, he wasn't prepared.
But what Leo didn't know, was that she was going to say something else; something he was even less prepared for.
She adverted her eyes back to the water. "The last thing I remember, is waking up on the bus." She confessed.
Leo's stomach sank. He had heard that wrong, right? His mouth curled down into a frown, and his eyebrows furrowed. "What?" He asked.
"You asked me if I remembered the day we met," she said, referencing to earlier at the museum, "and I didn't answer; I got cut off. If I hadn't, I don't know what I would've said, because, truth is — I don't. I don't remember anything before today. Not Piper, not Jason, not the Wilderness school, and, not you. And gods I wish I did."
Leo couldn't speak. He couldn't think. The thing he feared most today, after losing one best friend, was losing another one. And he just did.
This one stung more than before, though. Because although him and Jason were close, him and Y/n were closer. Or, at least he thought they were. From what he remembers, the two of them did absolutely everything together; whether it be sneaking out at night, stealing food from the cafeteria, or pulling pranks in the teachers, they were inseparable. And now, he finds out she doesn't remember any of it?
"Oh." He said, looking down at the water with her. Feeling anxious, he stood, and tried to walk off. He had figured that her point was that she didn't even know him, and he was being clingy. And that was the last thing he wanted.
He was surprised when he felt a force pull him back. He looked back down and saw Y/n holding his hand, stopping him from leaving. He blushed slightly.
She stood, but didn't let go.
"Wait. I didn't mean that we aren't friends anymore or anything." She explained, "Unless, you don't wanna be. Even though, from my perspective, I only met you today, you're a really good friend. I do want to be your friend, even if we did only meet today. And who knows? Maybe we have been friends for months, and I forgot for some reason."
Leo's eyes never strayed from hers for even a moment. He was stunned. She still wanted to be friends with him? Even after she watched him act like an idiot all day?
"And I was thinking that maybe, we could, like, make up for what I missed..." Y/n offered.
"What do you mean?"
She looked away, slightly flustered, "Ya know, you said we hung out all the time, pulled pranks, whatever, so maybe, we could do all those things again, to make up for it?"
He didn't know what to say. So, like an idiot, he just stood there.
"Sorry, that's stupid, just forget I said that — "
"No! I mean, it's not stupid. I'd... love to do that." He smiled.
Y/n looked back at him. "Thank gods, that was almost awkward."
Leo chuckled, "Yeah, well leave it to me to save the day, as always."
She laughed with him. Sure, Leo felt sad that she didn't remember him, but, he was happy he could do all those things with her again. Those moments were probably the best of his life, and he got to relive it all again? Hell yeah!
The two stood there, as their laughter died down. Leo looked down to his left hand, that was still intertwined with Y/n's right one.
She looked down too, and realized she was still holding his hand. She pulled it back, and muttered an apology.
"It's fine..." he said, and just as it almost got awkward again, they heard a horn blowing in the distance. It caught their attention.
Leo looked to where it was coming from, then back to Y/n. "How much do you wanna bet that's the dinner horn?" He smiled.
Y/n grinned, walking past him. "Twenty bucks."
— ( ☆ ) —
After eating supper with his siblings in Cabin Nine, Leo had wandered his way to the campfire. His mind was all over the place after his conversation with Y/n.
He didn't know if he should be sad, happy, or relieved to finally know what she had been holding back all day. For a brief moment in between dinner and the fire, he had met up with Piper, and explained what Y/n had said. She looked sad, but most of all, she looked worried. For what, or who, Leo didn't know.
He sat next to Nyssa on a bench around the campfire, and listened as the Apollo kids sang campfire songs. If anything, it was good background noise; Leo didn't pay much attention to the songs.
He looked around and saw Y/n sitting next to the Hermes Cabin counselor, laughing as they ate s'mores. He pouted.
"Who's that?" Nyssa asked, leaning over to get a look at who he was looking at.
"Who? Oh, Y/n? She's my friend." He muttered, looking away.
"Looks like she's pretty close with Travis already. You good?" She asked.
"Yeah, fine." He looked away from her, and back to the campfire, watching as the people up there danced and played instruments.
Once the song was over, Chiron, the activities director, trotted over. Leo was surprised when he saw the centaur make his appearance at the front where the Apollo kids were performing.
He grabbed a spear, shoved a marshmallow on it, and roasted it as he spoke. "Very nice!" He congratulated, "And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, I'm glad you've all arrived with your limbs still intact — "
"What about capture the flag?" Someone yelled from the crowd. Leo looked over to see the Ares kids clamoring about the game.
"Yes, I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!"
"However," Chiron ignored that last comment, which had made Leo slightly uneasy. "Until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
Everyone looked at Leo's cabin. He noticed Piper looking, and winked at her. In a friendly way.
Nyssa stood and answered reluctantly, "We're working on it."
"How, Nyssa?" An Ares kid retorted.
"Really hard." She answered, sitting down. That instigated yelling and complaining, and the fire sputtered and grew chaotically.
Chiron stamped his hoof on the stones around the pit, gaining everyone's attention. "We have to be patient. In the meantime, we have more important matters to discuss."
"Percy?" Someone had asked.
Chiron gestured to Annabeth, who sighed, and stood from her seat. "I didn't find Percy. He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis; we've got teams out looking for him. We'll find him. Now, Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."
"It's the great prophecy, isn't it?" A familiar voice called. Leo rolled his eyes when he saw Drew stand up among the Aphrodite kids.
"Drew? What do you mean?" Annabeth questioned.
"Well come on, Olympus is closed, Percy's disappeared, Hera sends you a vision and you come back with four new demigods in one day. I mean something weird is going on, the Great Prophecy has started, right?"
At this, everyone looked at the curly haired ginger girl standing next to Piper. Leo had no idea who she was, he figured she was pretty important.
"Well? You're the oracle, has it started or not?" Drew demanded.
The girl took a step, "Yes, the Great Prophecy has begun."
At those words, all hell broke loose.
"For those of you who have not heard it," she began, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August, it goes like this:
" Eight half-bloods shall answer the call,
To earth and fire the world must fall — "
Suddenly, Jason jumped to his feet. The girl was caught off guard. "Jason? What — "
Then he started spouting out words in another language.
Okay, this is totally weird. Leo thought.
Once he finished, and eerie silence flooded the campfire pit. No one dared to talk.
"You just... finished the prophecy," the girl stammered, " — an oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you — "
"I know those lines." Jason interrupted. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin no less." Drew flirted, "Handsome and smart." The Aphrodite cabin giggled in response. And suddenly, Leo noticed that the campfire had been burning green for some time. Jason sat back down awkwardly.
"Well," the ginger girl began, "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We had hoped it wouldn't happened for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't prove it; it's just a feeling. And like Drew said, there's been weird stuff happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here."
The crowd stirred with uncertainty, and a voice shouted from amidst the people, "I'm here! ...Were you calling role?"
"Go back to sleep Clovis."
Leo laughed, and so did most of the crowd.
Rachel began again, "Anyways, we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second one will predict something at least that bad." She explained.
"Or worse." Chiron muttered.
The fire blazed a deep purple as the crowd developed into chaos. "What we do know, is that the first phase has begun. Major problems have arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the Queen of the Gods, has been taken." Rachel informed.
Leo assumed that was pretty bad, because once the silence had settles upon the demigods, it was gone as soon as it came once they all shouted over each other. Chiron had to stamp his hoof, but even then it took a minute to calm everyone down. Once it was settled enough to be heard, Rachel continued on, explaining what happened at the Grand Canyon.
She talked of Coach Hedge being taken, the mysterious mistress Dylan and his friends served, and unfortunately mentioned the extra demigod that had been picked up.
No one knew who was the odd one out, but when Leo glanced at Y/n and saw the ghost like paling of her face, he figured there was something else she was keeping from her friends.
Leo watched as she went back to normal when Rachel moved on, speaking of Piper's passing out in Hera's cabin. He noticed Piper's embarrassment and Drew's teasing.
Rachel asked Jason his last name, but he couldn't remember. Both Annabeth and Rachel explained to him and everyone that he had been issued a quest, and must save Hera before the solstice. Leo felt bad for him, and knew if he were under that kind of pressure, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Chiron spoke of the winter solstice, somehow making the situation worse and more worrying for Leo and his friends.
"Okay, thank you, captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so — " Annabeth began, but was interrupted.
"If he's so important, why hasn't he been claimed?" A kid from the Ares canon shouted.
"He has been claimed, long ago." Chiron elaborated.
"Jason, give them a demonstration."
He stepped forward, obviously nervous, and flipped his coin. This time, it was a lance.
"I thought you had a sword?" Annabeth questioned.
"It came up tails this time, I think." Jason explained.
"Dude I want one!" Another Ares kid yelled, "Better than Clarisse's electric spear!" One of his brothers added.
"Electric..." Jason muttered, warning Annabeth and Rachel to step back.
He raised his weapon, and summoned lightning, which hit and destroyed the campfire. Everyone was in a stunned silence, shocked, and covered in ash. Jason lowered his lance and apologized.
Chiron brushed embers from his beard, "A little overkill, but I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter — I mean Zeus, lord of the sky." Jason explained.
Leo smiled proudly for his friend. It made sense — strong dude with a strong dad. Like father like son, apparently.
Everything erupted into chaos once more, and Leo was getting tired of it. He had a long day and just wanted to sleep.
"Hold it! How can he be a son of Zeus? The big three made their pact to not have mortal kids, how could we have not known sooner?" Annabeth wondered.
"The important thing is that Jason's here now," Rachel started, "He has a quest to fulfill, and he'll need his own prophecy."
Suddenly, she fainted. A couple campers rushed and caught her, stabilizing her as she did her thing. Green smoke whirled around her body, and fell from her mouth, as her eyes glowed a bright jade green. She spoke, and Leo thought it sounded like an old woman.
"Child of lightning, beware the Earth,
The giants' revenge the eight shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage"
She collapsed when she was done, but the campers helped Rachel up and carried off to the corner to rest.
"Is that normal?" Piper asked, and all eyes flew to her as she broke the silence, "I mean... does she spew green smoke all the time?"
"Gods, you're dense! She just issued a prophecy, Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just — " Drew seethed.
"Drew. Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy is definitely not normal, if breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death, why would we free her? It might be a trap, or maybe Hera will turn in her rescuers, she's never been kind to heroes." Annabeth expressed her worry.
Jason spoke, giving his opinion, "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory, and I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of Olympus if she's in trouble."
Nyssa stood up from next to Leo, "Maybe, but you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son, our dad, down a mountain just because he was really ugly."
"Really ugly." An Aphrodite girl giggled, and Leo felt embarrassed.
"Shut up!" Nyssa countered. "Anyways, we've got to think — why beware the earth? And what's the giants revenge? What are we dealing with her that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
Everything got silent once more, and a pit deepened in Leo's stomach; was this really safe? He knew there would be risks to this, but somehow the stakes continue to get higher. It was alarming for the boy. And he was worried his friends could get seriously hurt here.
"It's Jason's quest, so it's his choice." Annabeth added, "he was placed with the other new demigods for a reason, so I believe Hera intended for them to be his companions. Although he may choose partners of his own, I'm sure, regardless of how pure or not, Hera had her intentions for choosing these specific demigods."
"But there's four of them?" A camper added from the crowd.
"Yeah, weren't there only supposed to be three? Rachel mentioned an extra demigod."
Drew sneered and looked back and forth between the Hermes kids, and where Piper stood. She stuck out a ringed finger to both Piper and Y/n. "I bet it's one of them. Neither of them have been claimed yet, and she claims to not remember anything just like Jason. I bet she's lying; she's probably a spy." Drew called out Y/n.
Y/n sat, shocked. How did she know? Leo looked over to Jason for a second, who looked guilty. Leo guessed Jason had known and accidentally spilt.
"I'm not a spy — " Y/n tried to defend, but was cut off.
"How would you know? If you 'forgot' your past, how do you know for certain you're not the enemy? Plus, you knew all that stuff about us without ever coming to camp, how weird is that?" Drew continued, shrugging. There were several noises of agreement among the campers.
Y/n stood from her spot. "If having your memories stolen and somehow knowing a lot about something that most mortals know makes me the bad guy, why are you swooning over Jason at any chance? Doesn't that make us the same? And if you're so concerned, why don't you do something about it? Prove that I'm a spy, if you're so sure."
Drew stammered a bit, flustered, but before she could muster anything out, Y/n continued, "All you've done tonight was stand there and insult people, don't you have anything better to do?"
"Enough!" Chiron ordered. Even though he had startled most of the demigods into silence with his powerful voice, yet again, Y/n stood her ground, unwavering. She had some sort of fire in her eyes that Leo had never seen before. Her eyes had narrowed as she glared at an uneasy Drew, who sat back down. Y/n reluctantly sat back down next to Travis, who was trying not to laugh, and her demeanor stayed sharp as ever; like a rock wall.
"Why can't I take all three?" Jason wondered.
"Any more or less than three usually ends in failure, you'd be better off — " Annabeth began.
"This is already pretty much a suicide mission, why not take all my friends? I'd feel more comfortable having them all than leaving one here..." Jason explained.
Reluctantly, Annabeth answered. "...If you say so. I still advise against it, heavily, but it is your quest — "
"But what about the prophecy!?" Someone asked.
"The forge and dove, the forge is the symbol for Vul — Hephaestus, so it only makes sense for Leo to come."Jason added, grinning at his friend.
Leo smiled back, feeling giddy. It was nice to be included, even if it was for a certain death quest.
"The flying chariot's broken, if you have to beware earth, you'll need air transport, and all the pegasi are being used to locate Percy, but maybe the Hephaestus cabin can help you out." Nyssa elaborated.
"I'll help." Leo stood, "I've got an idea for the transportation problem. I can fix this."
Jason nodded, "Deal."
"Yes!" He pumped his fist into the air excitedly.
"It'll be dangerous, especially with the added caution of four quest members. Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back." Nyssa said.
"Oh," suddenly, Leo wasn't very excited, but then he remembered that everyone was watching him. "I mean.. oh cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."
Leo noticed Y/n laughing lightly at his comment, abandoning her stoic, angry facade from early. Leo offered a sheepish grin back to her.
"And as for the dove, I'd like to offer myself as a much better replacement for dumpster girl. Everyone knows the dove means Aphrodite." Drew had somehow gained her confidence once more.
"No!" Piper defended. "I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."
"Anyone can have a vision, you were just in the right place at the right time. Look, fighting is fine I suppose, and people who build things... well I guess someone has to get their hands dirty," she jabbed at Leo, who just rolled his eyes, "but you need charm on your side, I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."
The demigods said words of agreement, and even Chiron looked like he understood where she was coming from.
"Well, given the wording of the prophecy — " Annabeth stated.
"No! I'm supposed to go." Piper insisted. Leo noticed that her voice sounded weird, demanding. He felt himself agree with her even more than he had earlier, which was saying a lot, since he already felt like she was the one who needed to go.
Everyone who had previously agreed with Drew now sided with Piper. Even some of the Aphrodite kids.
"Get over it! What can Piper do?" Drew argued.
Piper didn't respond, and Drew smiled and crossed her arms like she'd won. "Well, I guess that settles it — "
Everyone collectively gasped. Even Leo did. Above Piper sat the holographic image of a dove and a laurel wreath, burning into the air upon her. But the surprising part, was the shimmering white dress that cascaded down her body, revealing a little more than what she'd like, paired with gold arm bands, a necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers dawning her chest, perfect makeup, and perfect hair. Or, at least the standard of perfect.
Leo had thought she looked perfectly fine with her old hair, exactly how she had liked it, so he didn't understand why it had to change.
She pulled out her dagger and looked at her reflection, realizing that she looked —
"Beautiful. Piper, you're a knock out." Jason exclaimed.
"No! That's not possible!" Drew cried.
"This isn't me, I don't understand." Piper uttered.
Everyone bowed, and Leo followed along.
"Hail, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."
unedited.
a/n: this chapter is rlly long, sorry