Ten Realities and My Trusty Fork

This time around, it felt like air was being ripped from his lungs. Breathing raggedly, Leo grappled at empty air. He inhaled deep breaths but it wasn’t of any use because the air was seemingly vacant of oxygen. It was like he was drowning without the water.

The world came splashing back in a parade of color, and he coughed, one hand over his chest. His breaths were out of turn and deep, but when he looked around, he was relieved to find himself back on a familiar site- the Argo II.

He pushed himself up from the deck. It was like the first world, not a thing out of place. He was debating whether or not he should call out when someone beat him to it.

“Leo!” There were running footsteps and Leo couldn’t turn around before there was a present weight on his back and legs wrapped around his waist.

The person wrapped their arms around his neck and hummed softly. “You didn’t drop me.”

It was a masculine voice, even though it was higher, and Leo wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Cat gotcha tongue?” The boy teased, twirling some of Leo’s hair around his finger.

“Yeah, sorry,” he tried, “you need to get down though.”

The person huffed, but let their feet touch ground and stood up. Leo turned around to find out who the boy actually was, and was met with somewhat of a strange sight.

The boy wore a colorful flannel shirt with sleeves that dangled just past his hands, black skinny jeans, converse, and had blue braces. He smiled at Leo and clasped his hands behind his back.

Leo had no idea what was with the ever-changing Nico trend, but this boy was obviously him.

“You look confused, silly,” and, much to his surprise, Nico giggled.

“Yeah, sorry, uh… I’m not your Leo. I’m another Leo.”

Nico blew hair out of his face and laughed airily again. He stepped forward and threw his arms around Leo, standing up on his tip-toes to kiss his full on the lips. Leo’s arms waved about helplessly and his eyes widened.

Nico pulled back and touched their noses together briefly. “You seem like the same Leo to me.” he said breathily, kissing Leo once more on the cheek.

He was silently thanking every single god that came to mind he’d already had his first kiss with Calypso, and not an other-worldly Nico.

“Nico?”

Nico’s face contorted into an expression of confusion as he whipped around to face Leo.

“I…” he glanced behind himself, as if to verify there were actually two Leos, and then back at the one in front of him, “You…”

“Who the hell is that?” Other Leo asked, clenching his fists at his sides. He looked almost jealous. Which, if the kiss was any indication, he had every right to be.

“I’m sorry, dude, I didn’t mean to kiss you boyfriend.” Leo blurted out before he could stop himself. Other Leo went red in the face.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” he protested.

“Oh, you can’t keep pulling that card, Valdez!” Nico spoke up.

“We aren’t dating, Nico, no matter what you think,” he shot a glare at Leo, as if he did something wrong.

“We’re just friends then?” Nico demanded, stamping his foot on the ground, “Friends that hold hands and make out?”

“We don’t-,”

“Friends that go on dates and sleep in the same bed?”

“Those aren’t dates, Nico! I tell you that every time! And you only sleep with me when I have those nightmares…” he trailed off.

“And I’m sure it’s very platonic when you pinch my ass in public?”

“Oh, now you’re making stuff up!”

“Can both of you please shut up?” Leo spoke up. Other Leo and Nico both looked back up to him.

“Who are you even?”

“I’m you.” Leo sighed, “Look, I’m doing some universe-hopping thing. I’m no threat.” He paused a moment then held up his fork, “unless you consider this a weapon.”

A grin split Nico’s face. “Oh, gosh, that’s so cool!”

“Yeah, as cool as it may be, don’t go kissing my Nico anymore. You should have your own.” Other Leo told him sharply.

“No, I’m not with my Nico like that…” he started to say, but Nico looked at him in wide-eyed childlike intrigue.

“What’s other me like?” he demanded, “I need ‘a know!”

Leo looked at Nico for a long time. “He’s… He’s really helpful and kind, but he’s not into me like that,” he lied, “almost like you, really.”

“What about Bianca?” Nico pressed. Other Leo groaned quietly as if she were a sore subject.

“She’s... “ Leo hesitated. He didn’t want to completely crush this kid. “She’s at camp right now. She’s dating some Hermes boy, last I heard.”

“Wow, so she’s not a hunter in your world?” Nico’s eyes sparkled. Other Leo cut in before he could reply.

“She shouldn’t be a hunter in this world!”

“Do you two have history?” Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No! Gods no!” Other Leo shook his head, as if scandalized by the idea, “I just can’t believe she’d give up everything for Artemis, even her brother…”

Nico scoffed, “Because you’re certainly one to show me off and appreciate me.”

“More than her,” Other Leo’s voice was bitter. “She couldn’t give a-,”

“Both of you, stop getting off topic. You want me gone, right?” Leo asked in exasperation.

Nico said yes while Other Leo said no, and then both shot each other a look.

“Well, regardless, I need’a be back sooner than later. So, I need to see the rest of you guys.”

“The rest of us?”

“Yeah,” Leo shrugged, “You know. Annabeth and Percy and Jason and Piper and Hazel and Frank. Those guys.”

Nico stared at him a long time. “Who’s Hazel?”

“What?” Leo was surprised, to say the least, “She’s your sister.”

“Bianca’s my sister,” Nico cocked his head a little, “I have another sister?”

“Half-sister,” Leo settled, but Nico’s face didn’t show any recognition.

Other Leo seemed to ponder on this a moment. “Okay, fine, we’ll take you to see the others. Don’t be annoying though.”

“You’re the one who got yourself into this mood, because you think you’re some heterosexual manly man.” Nico said to Other Leo as he waved Leo along, “Come on.”

The two of them bickered in hushed voices all the way to the meeting room, and Leo trailed behind them awkwardly. It was bad enough third-wheeling Jason and Piper, but third-wheeling himself? Yeah, new level of crazy in his life for sure.

Everyone was present in the meeting room, save for Frank and Hazel, who Leo had taken was nonexistent in this world.

“Alright,” Other Leo said, seemingly falling back into his casual self because he spoke hurriedly and warmly and wore a lazy grin, “Hey, guys, we have a slight problemo. Uh, obviously…” He gestured to Leo, who everyone in the room had already seen and were staring at.

“That’s you.” Piper deadpanned, looking over to Leo. “What?”

Jason blinked a few times. Leo noticed he didn’t look… Well, he didn’t scream “Mean Lean Roman Machine” as much as he normally did. He looked kind of ordinary. Attractive, yeah, but ordinary. Like some normal kid out of highschool and not a demigod.

“Hey,” Leo started, but he was promptly cut off. Go figure.

“What did you guys do?” Annabeth demanded, staring Leo down in a way that made him feel like some cell she was inspecting through a microscope.

“Nothing,” Nico said quickly, “he just appeared. I swear it!”

Percy hadn’t said anything, simply looking the two of them over as if to clarify they were there.

“Where’s Frank?” Leo blurted. He hadn’t ever imagined Frank without Hazel, or vice versa, and was wondering if Panda Man was fairing well without a girlfriend.

Other Leo seemed to flinch at that. There was a collective silence in the room. “He’s in his bunk.”

Leo had never in his entire life see so many people’s expressions darken at the mention of Frank. He was tall, but not intimidating, and a good guy if anything. It felt odd to think that Frank could ever be anything except a sweet boyfriend and great ally.

Of course, the boyfriend part wouldn’t apply to him- dating Frank, no thank you- but his point stood. He wouldn’t call them friends, because they weren’t really, but an ally and teammate for sure. “I want to see him.”

The silence spanned out a while longer.

“See him?” Other Leo squeaked, almost if scared at the idea. Nico intertwined their fingers and stayed quiet.

“Okay.” Percy said finally.

“He asked to be alone, Percy,” Piper argued, “You know he values his privacy.”

“It’s not on us to intrude, man.” Jason rested his hand atop Piper’s, like they were a married couple addressing their particularly rebellious son.

Percy, rebellious son in question, continued, “Look, if there’s a Leo double, and he needs to see Zhang, I say we let him! I’d rather not prepare for trouble.”

Leo heard Nico mutter “and make it double” under his breath, but didn’t tear his attention from the scene before him.

Annabeth sighed, “He’s right, you two.”

Leo was, after a lot of complaints from Jason and Piper’s ends and retorts from Annabeth and Percy’s, led to a room at the end of the hallway that would have been his in other universes.

Other Leo held his hands behind his back as they stood outside the door. Eventually, he turned to Leo. “Look, I don’t know how he is in your word, but here he’s kind of a weird guy. Really quiet. Scary even. And he hates me for some reason,” he shook his head and sighed, “I think it’s got something to do with my fire, but I haven’t the faintest idea why. Anyways, the guy’s almost a mute, so good luck getting him to talk.”

“I’ll be fine,” Leo said, but he nervously twisting and ran his fingers along of the handle of the fork in his pocket.

“Hope so,” Other Leo muttered, then speed walked away from Frank’s door. Leo didn’t watch him go.

He knocked.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Finally the door swung open, and there was Frank. Only, it wasn’t Frank. He was tall and lean, and he wore his SPQR shirt under a torn jacket. His jean were darkly colored, his hair military-cut, his eyes dark. There were bags under them too, not just from lack of sleep, but from stress and sorrow. His lips were held in a permanent frown.

He looked right past Leo. Leo started to greet him, but felt the familiar blockage in his throat. He couldn’t speak. So, coming to a quick realization of his situation, stepped right through Frank and into his bedroom.

He was invisible once more. He kind of hated it in general, he always felt cold and could only hold onto his fork. What was that about?

Except he wasn’t the only invisible force in the room. He felt a presence, inexplicably, an aura so similar to his own he had mistaken it for himself. It was radiating heat, and Leo looked to seek it out immediately. The door was slammed shut as Frank made his way back to his bed.

Then, the force appeared. It was a blinding white light shining from the center of the room. Leo didn’t need to shield his eyes though, the light couldn’t harm him in this state.

Waves of curly hair fell down the figure’s back. Obviously feminine, with a flowy, floral dress coming just below her knees, and dark skin.

Apparently there was a Hazel.

Frank stared at her ghostly figure as if it were an actual living girl. “Hazel,” he breathed, closing his eyes and exhaling in relief. “Gods, I thought…”

This ghostly Hazel pretty much floated over to Frank, hand cupping his face and fingers sweeping over his cheek, leaving a warm auburn glow wherever she touched.

“I’m fine,” and she smiled, “You need’a stop worryin’, a girl can handle herself.” Hazel’s voice was heavily accented with Cajun.

Frank smiled like it was a joke they’d shared before. The smile didn’t look out of place on what he just saw as this Frank’s cold, emotionless face. It was genuine and lit up his face and showed how happy he was.

Leo was still in the dark here. Could Hazel see him?

Frank grabbed Hazel’s wrist, bringing her hand away from his face. “I missed you.”

“I know you did, big guy,” Hazel twirled and fell onto the bed next to Frank, laying her head on his shoulder. Leo didn’t understand. He could so much as pick up a leaf without his hand passing through it. Whenever he was invisible like this, we was constantly floating just an inch above floor. If he tried to settle, he’d fall right through the ground.

Hazel looked and acted like she could’ve been alive, save for the transparency of her body.

“Have you been…” there was a hesitation, “working your end?”

“Of course,” she said, straightening herself up, “And whatta ‘bout you?”

He nodded silently, and Hazel’s face seemed to fall.

“You haven’t told ‘em, have you?”

Frank jerked his head again, side to side this time.

“Frank! You can’t do somethin’ serious like this without tellin’ your friends!”

“They wouldn’t understand,” he started, and now was he really starting to sound angsty, “If I could give up this war for you, I would. I would go back with you to Elysium and we could be happy. But I owe it to the rest of them to stick with them until this is over. They’re my allies.”

Hazel sighed yet again, “Frank, what’ve I told you ‘bout makin’ them your friends?”

“That I should?”

“And have you?”

“No…”

“Then you need to do it, Frank. I’ve been holdin’ up my side of things.”

Frank groaned, “They don’t like me any, they’re all terrified of me.”

“Because you’re big an’ scary and you threatened to kill Leo!” Hazel rebuffed, slapping Frank’s upper arm, “Frank, I’m dead serious,” she paused a moment, “Pun not intended. Back to the point, I want to be with you too, but I’m never getting back if you don’t…”

Leo narrowed his eyes. Was this some weird necromancy thing? Was Hazel going to be brought back from the dead? By Frank? How was Frank even dating a ghost?

“Is this technically necrophilia?” Leo muttered to himself, and Hazel’s eyes snapped to where he stood. He stiffened up immediately.

“Who’s there?”

Frank straightened up. He reached into the sheath resting on his hip, but Hazel held out a hand to stop him. “We don’t bite.”

“Can you see me?” Leo asked, stupidly, stepping forward until he was right in front of the two. It was like he wasn’t there. They looked like past him.

“No,” Frank said slowly, “Only hear you. And feel you, I think. You’re freezing.”

Leo shrugged, “Sorry.”

“Your aura…” Hazel trailed off, furrowing her brow, “You haven’t passed on, have you? Only trapped spirits are cold like that.”

“I guess,” he didn’t really know what to do. He couldn’t run away from this without suspicion, and he didn’t know whose world this was yet. He tried to narrow it down in his mind while Hazel continued to speak about afterlifes and the like.

Couldn’t be Percy’s, or Nico’s, or his for that matter. It wouldn’t be Annabeth’s or Piper’s, that wouldn’t make any sense. More likely than not, it wasn’t Jason’s either, because he didn’t think his friend would try to water down his good looks or strength.

Frank or Hazel’s. That what it had to be. He needed to figure this out before- “Look, I know some ways to put you at rest.”

That. “No!” Leo shouted immediately, and Hazel jumped.

“You can’t stay here,” Frank said, “You need to pass on. Spirits stuck out of the Underworld go insane. Lose their minds.”

“Just…” Leo was trying to find some excuse to hang around, “I need to ask some questions.”

“Fine.”

“Are your parents alive?”

This seemed to surprise both Hazel and Frank. Hazel shook her head slowly. “No, my Mama and Papa both died back in my day…”

So that meant Hazel didn’t know her father was a god, or that her father actually wasn’t a god.

“My mom is, if that’s what you mean,” Frank said, “And my grandmother, but my father is a god, Mars.”

Did Hazel want to be a mortal? Did she want to be dead? This wasn’t narrowing anything down and Leo had no clue what to do.

He didn’t know what to ask to narrow this down, so there was a long, stretching silence before he blurted out, “Is Leo scared of you?”

Frank seemed as confused as ever, but nodded, “Yeah, I try to scare him off. His fire powers really unsettle me.”

Hazel wouldn’t want him to be scared of Frank.

“It’s your world then. Frank’s.”

Then, once again, the world began to fade out. The bright light of Hazel’s presence shined in the darkness for a few moments before finally going out as well.