misplaced || l. valdez

Prologue

° ~ •. ♆ prologue ♆ .• ~ °

"Look!"

The girl who spoke pointed over the rocks that they were hiding behind. It shouldn't have been hard to see, but the scene in front of Leo was fuzzy and unclear. All he could make out was a giant figure, about thirty feet in height, and some kind of purple light— maybe a bonfire. Three other figures grimaced at the sight and were whispering to each other, but what they were saying was unknown to Leo.

His eyes adjusted to the light level as he tried to get a better look at his companions. Leo recognized the girl who spoke as his friend Piper. She wore a turquoise dress and black leather boots, her hair in some simple up-do.

There was a short, stubby man who couldn't have been anyone else but Coach Hedge. What he was doing here, Leo had no clue, but he did know that his outfit was giving him a headache. He wore a pastel yellow suit with a matching yellow hat. Strangely, it reminded Leo of The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George.

Then there were two other people, and while Leo was sure he'd never met them before, he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew them somehow.

One was a boy who looked like what Leo thought was every stereotypical Californian. He had cropped blonde hair and striking blue eyes, with a scar just above his lip. He was wearing a clean purple shirt and jeans, and he had a calm, somber look on his face, like he was watching a tragic play that he already knew the ending to.

The other was a pretty teenage girl. She had tan skin and choppy dark brown hair. She was wearing a puffy pink dress with black combat boots. The girl had cuts and scratches and dirt all over her face and clothes. She had bags under her eyes, but she looked more determined than tired.

Just as the girls got up and drew weapons, seemingly out of nowhere, the trees disappeared, and the whole world shifted. Leo was now flying above a big battlefield, people in orange and purple t-shirts fighting together against... something.

"Hey Leo!" a voice yelled behind him.

Leo turned around and saw the girl from before, and somehow, she was riding some kind of tidal wave, like she was some crazy powerful goddess. Her hair had gotten longer, and there was now a very noticeable scar running from her cheek to her jaw. She had a sword in her hand and a grin on her face, like she was having the time of her life while riding in on some tsunami.

The girl was coming his way, but before she could reach him, a flaming projectile came out of nowhere and hurtled itself towards her. Leo tried to scream and warn her, but only a raspy whisper came from his throat.

The projectile exploded on impact, and the tidal wave lost all its shape, collapsing onto the battlefield like a typhoon. The girl fell in a flaming mess and disappeared under the hundreds of fighters on the field.

"You think you can defeat me?" another voice asked, loud and clear. Leo felt the color drain from his face as the memory of the voice came back to him, a voice he had tried so hard to forget. "Tsk, tsk. Fail to save your mother, fail to save your friend. How sad."

"No, no, no, no, no." Leo muttered, tears brimming his eyes. "You're not supposed to be here. You're not supposed to be back."

The voice laughed with a gentle cruelty. "Ah, but I am, and I seem to be much more powerful than before, don't I?"

Leo looked down at the battlefield and cried out in despair and horror. The battle was no longer a battle— it was a massacre. Some kind of horrible creatures were prowling the field, taking out soldiers by the dozens. Hundreds of bodies lay still and unmoving, and he knew that somewhere among the bodies was the fiery corpse of the girl who got knocked out of the sky.

"This doesn't have to happen, Leo Valdez. You can prevent this. Walk away. Nothing will happen if you just leave."

Leo was too afraid to say anything. She couldn't possibly be back, right?

"Oh dear. Looks like you were too slow."

He turned around to see another flaming projectile launching itself towards him. Just as the boulder crashed into him, Leo jerked awake with a scream, earning several annoyed glances from his roommates. He looked around, realizing that he was in his bed at the dorm, and relaxed.

It was all just a dream, he reassured himself, getting out of his bed. But everything about it felt real. Too real. And that voice. Leo had prayed to whatever god was up there that he would never have to hear her again, yet here she was, speaking to him in a dream.

God, and the girl. Leo felt sick just thinking about her. She wouldn't die because of him, right? He didn't even know who she was, but the thought of her falling in flames was enough to make him want to throw up.

Leo didn't know what could possibly be happening right now, but he couldn't shake the sickening feeling that his life was going to be much, much more interesting in just a couple hours.

A/N
AND IT HAS BEGUN. This is my first fanfic ever, so hopefully the writing is good so far. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Hope you guys enjoy the rest!!!