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WARNING! LOST HERO SPOILERS!
DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LOST HERO!
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
(A/N) Don't worry I'm done typing in all caps lock. Okay, so I'm going to assume that everybody reading at this point has read the book or doesn't care if I spoil it. This fic is me venting my frustration at the ending of The Lost Hero. I was squealing and I was like "Nooo! But Percabeth! Nooo! I can't believe I have to wait a year!" But I doubt I'm the only one that reacted like that. So I wrote this to calm myself. Well, enjoy.
I don't know who I am. I've been told I'm a demigod- a son of Neptune. And deep down, I know it's true. But I can't remember anything from my past life. I walk around this place and try to access memories that should be there but aren't. It's like Aquilon blew them away and left my body behind. I quickly rise the ranks due to fighting skills I don't remember acquiring. I make friends but I can't shake the feeling I don't belong.
Time passes and I feel like a part of me is missing. The people here don't know how I got here or why my memories are gone. Lupa seems to have the answers to my questions but she won't tell me anything no matter how much I beg her.
She says I must figure it out for myself.
One day, I'm walking to the battlefield and my mind is struck with the sudden memory of a beautiful girl with stormy gray eys and golden hair in battle armor. She looks familiar and my heart skips a beat. For a moment, I feel a warm completeness spread through me. But the memory lasts only for a few seconds. As soon as it's gone, I try to remember her face but it's gone. It hurts to have remembered something that seemed so important and have it leave me so quickly.
Yet strangely, the memory energizes me. It gives me hope that soon, I'll be to have all my memories back. I go through the day with a weird sort of happiness about me as if my subconscious has taken the precious memory and locked it away where I can't see it but where it can relax me. But I tell no one of the memory out of fear they might start pressuring me to remember more.
A week later as I sit eating dinner, I can hear a voice in the back of my mind bleating "Enchiladas!". I laugh but don't know why. I associate this memory with the horns of a faun. It brings the word 'friend' to mind. This memory is gone even quicker than the last one. But it lifts my spirits. I smile the rest of the day even as a son of Mars inflicts scars and bruises on me in battle.
A new demigod comes. She's claimed by her mother Venus. At the mention of the word 'mom', I remember a pair of eyes that shift colors. The memory soothes me and this one lasts the longest. When this one leaves, the color blue stays on my mind all day.
Weeks (months?) pass by. I'm swimming in the beach in the afternoon and I feel a tug in my heart like somebody important is in the water and heading toward me. After this, the memories start coming quicker. Instead of fading, they stay with me.
A conversation with a son of Vulcan brings about the pleasant memory of a face with one eye that twinkles with childish innocence. The smile of a daughter of Mercury reminds me of a dying face with a scar running down the side. This one is more painful than the rest but it feels like vital. Like it was crucial to something. As I hear the dying howls of a monster I slay, a young, pale face with shaggy black hair and wild eyes takes over my vision. The memory causes a surge of pity to run through me but I can't seem to grasp why.
The memories start getting longer. Like clips taken from videos instead of the snapshots I was previously getting.
I remember toilet water drenching a group of angry daughters of Mars. A chariot race with a Cyclopes who brings about feelings of protectiveness and pride. I even remember my father Neptune's face.
I feel like the part of me that has vanished is slowly returning.
Yet one memory eludes me. The first one that returned. The one that made me feel so oddly content. It's as if I can't feel complete without it. I lay awake every night in bed and struggle to bring it back but it's like the memory's buried under layers of deep fog. It frustrates me to remember so many people except for the girl. I can feel that she was a big part of my life. I yearn to remember her. To feel the warmth that spread through me at the sight of her.
I go to sleep one night. My dreams play out like a slideshow. I see the people I've seen before. My mom, my brother the Cyclopes, and my best friend the faun. Suddenly, she's there. Even my dream self is impacted by the sight of her. I feel myself smile in my sleep. The memories flash by. I see us at a water park. Winning a chariot race. Pain washes through me as I remember holding up the sky. I remember the two of us sharing a slow dance. Us on a quest in a labyrinth. The two of us holding hands as our friends throw us in a lake. The flurry of memories ends with me kissing her good night outside her cabin.
I wake up with a start. There's a grin spread across my face. I walk to breakfast pleased with all the memories I can now access freely.
But the memories come with a price.
As I eat, I can't shake the feeling of wanting to see the people in my memories again. To talk to them. Be with them. It feels as if the rest of my memories will stay away unless I come face to face with them. I inform Lupa of this. She silently regards me with her intelligent eyes. Suddenly, something else captures her attention. She turns away from me, her ears twitching. She takes off towards the harbor. I along with many others race after with swords and shields in hand.
She halts when she reaches the shore. She barks at us to lower our weapons. A huge ship with a dragon at the mast looms into view. I feel compelled to hop aboard. I can't help but think that there's something of vital importance onboard. The ship docks and teenagers in orange shirts and jeans start getting off with their hands up as a sign of peace.
The first one to get to where I'm standing next to Lupa is a tall blonde boy who walks with the confidence of a leader. I can tell he and Lupa recgonize each other by the looks in their eyes. I hear him introduce himself as Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. His last name reminds me of a girl with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes.
Next to approach us is a stunning girl with dark brown hair braided at the sides. She carries with her an aura of power. She says she's Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. Right behind her is a Hispanic-looking boy who's fiddling with gears and wires. He says he's Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Tiny flames dance across his palm as he says this and this surprises the children of Vulcan.
It's the last person who gets off the boat that sends my mind reeling. It's the girl from the memories. Her name washes up in my mind like seaweed coming in with the tide.
Annabeth Chase.
She immediately announces herself as a daughter of Athena. There's a worried look in her eyes as she frantically scans the crowd as if she's looking for someone. Her eyes land on me. I feel a light breeze on my face as I sense another piece of myself come back. The worry in her eyes dissolves and is replaced with pure happiness and relief. Her mouth drops open a little. She runs over to me and flings her arms around my neck.
The campers behind me step back in alarm and automatically raise their weapons in defense. Lupa growls at them to stand down, that the newcomers are friends.
Annabeth still doesn't let go of me. I wrap my arms around her. My mind is suddenly attacked by a sudden onslaught of memories. I know that these are the rest of the missing memories. They all crowd in my brain, clamoring to get my attention. I ignore them. I can take the time to review them later.
Because right now, I finally feel like Percy Jackson again.