Blood of Olympus FanFic {completed}

51: LEO

CH 51- LEO

"Frank," Leo said. A brilliant idea was taking form, just like a puzzle being assembled, piece by piece in his mind. "Frank, you're Praetor of New Rome, right?"

"I don't see how that helps-"

"And I was made head of the Hephaestus cabin before we left," Leo interrupted.

"Congratulations," Hazel said peevishly. "Now we have to find a way to get out of this mess."

"That's what I'm doing, Mr. Smart Guy," Leo retorted. "Didn't Chiron say... that it had to be a Roman and Greek leader, together with the statue to bring peace to the two camps?"

"And that's all very well, but we don't have any Roman leaders, Greek leaders or statues, Leo, so you'd better think of another plan," Hazel said, as always having the last word.

"Sassy," Leo commented. "But that's where you're wrong. You see-"

"I get it!" Frank interrupted. "Leo... that's so... so, brilliant!"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Leo said, mock-horrified. "At least we have two out of three. So what do you say, Zhang? Ready to take em?"

Frank grinned, and Leo felt the spark of something new - maybe a friendship that would last - ignite. "As ready as I'll ever be, Valdez. Now let's do this."

And the two boys charged, Hazel looking after them with a look of extreme confusion on her face.

Leo soon realized what the problem was.

Everyone was so immersed in their fights that no one was really paying attention to two random boys screaming and dashing through the strawberry fields. 

Leo had another idea.

"Frank, get out of the way!" He yelled. Frank just had time to dive into an especially ripe strawberry plant when Leo burst into white hot flames. Willing them to carry him upwards, he shot up into the air at least fifty feet above the fighting and screamed, spitting out almost blue sparks as he did so, "LISTEN TO ME!"

It was pretty safe to say that the entire population of Camp Half Blood was now listening to him. At the price of his favorite black Nikes being scorched.

"Aw man," he said, "I really liked those shoes."

The campers stared at him.

"Alright," he said, realizing in a terrifying moment that Frank was fifty feet below him and that he would have to make his speech all alone. "I get that you couldn't care less about my sneakers but I think you should hear me out." he began to push the fire down until he was on a big pile of burnt wood. He gestured for Frank to come up with him. "This is Frank Zhang," said Leo. "Praetor of New Rome."

"Nonsense!" came a shriek from the crowd. With a wild glint in his eyes, scorched and bloody, Octavian waved a sword around, almost cutting off a girl's head. "Reyna Ramirez is the sole praetor of New Rome, and a very incompetent one at that!"

Leo was about to let loose a string of spanish curse words at Octavian, when Reyna pushed him over. She ignored his shout as he fell to the floor. "Leo speaks the truth. I made Frank Zhang temporary Praetor of New Rome. You will have noticed, surely, his physical transformation, but he has also changed mentally and I can assure you that he is more than qualified for the job."

Frank's ears were redder than the strawberries that he'd fallen in. "Uh, thanks Reyna."

Reyna gave Leo a glare that clearly said, don't screw this up, and melted back into the crowd.