Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: No Stopping Fate: Reading Divided Soul

Chapter 10: A Mother and Daughter Talk

Third Person POV

Mount Olympus – Throne Room – One year prior to the Lightning Thief

"Who wants to read?" Jason asked.

"I'll read little brother," Apollo said.

Jason rolled his eyes before handing the book to the god of the sun.

Apollo opened the book and said, "The next chapter is entitled, 'An Oath to Keep." Jason and the other demigods all paled at the words Apollo read. "At Camp Half Blood."

The sun was low in the sky as the fiery orb made its descent below the horizon of the Long Island Sound. It looked like the sun was merging with the dark blue-green water as the light reflected off the water and towards the sandy shore. A lone figure sat on the beach with her feet in the wet sand. The waves rushed forward to meet her, like the sea was trying to console the teenage demigod. She moved a loose golden curl from her face and placed it behind her ear. She looked towards the horizon, and her grey eyes flashed in the remaining light of the slowly setting sun.

"It looks like Reyna isn't the only child of wisdom that takes solace in the sea," Jason said.

Annabeth gave him a small smile. Athena gave her daughter a concerned look.

Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, regularly visited the beach around sunset every evening. All the other demigods left her alone, as they knew she was thinking of her lost boyfriend, Percy Jackson. The girl kept her nightly vigil in hopes that the dark haired, green eyed son of Poseidon would walk out of the waves to greet her with a warm embrace. But the daughter of Athena knew better. Everyone knew that Percy was at the Roman camp with no memories of himself, or where he was from.

Annabeth frowned at the thought. Now she knew for sure that he didn't have his memories, but worse than that he had the memories of someone else entirely; the memories of a Roman demigod.

Jason, the son of Jupiter and the brother of Thalia, had come to camp with his friends, Piper and Leo. They had completed a quest that had freed the goddess Hera and at least for a little while thwarted the plans of the giants. Jason had begun to remember his past after the completion of his quest. He remembered that he was from the Roman camp and that piece of knowledge had led to the conclusion that Percy had taken his place. The Greek camp was in an uproar after that realization, but ideas of charging into the Roman camp were squashed by Chiron. It was decided to work on the plans of the Argo II, a ship design found in the old Bunker Nine. Leo, the son of Hephaestus, and his siblings had been working on the ship for the past two months.

Leo smiled; he was finally mentioned in the book.

Hephaestus smiled at his son. "I'm proud of you Leo," he said. Leo returned his father's smile.

Once the great ship was complete, Jason, Piper, Leo and Annabeth would sail to the Roman Camp to retrieve Percy and identify the seven half-bloods that would complete the next Great Prophecy. By the look on the girl's face it was clear that she dreaded the wait. Most of the camp knew that if Annabeth had it her way, she would already be at the Roman camp, but that would go against Chiron's orders.

"Percy wouldn't let that stop him," Thalia said. Annabeth smiled.

Poseidon groaned. "I know, I still have heart burn from the other books," he admitted. Zeus and Hades both rolled their eyes at their brother.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the sea only a short distance from the shoreline. Annabeth looked at the glowing water with apprehension and hope. She slowly but bravely stepped into the rolling surf. The waves washed around her feet, and then her legs as she stepped further into the dark sea. She eventually reached the light, but the water was now to her shoulders. She took a deep breath before plunging under the rolling waves.

Athena shot Poseidon a concerned look. Poseidon pointed toward the book. "Listen first before you try to kill me," he said. Athena shook her head, but her lips curled into an amused smirk.

Annabeth swam down until she saw the source of the light. A great air bubble sat on the sea floor, inside the bubble was some type of light source. The daughter of Athena approached the bubble and touched it carefully. As her hand touched the bubble, it moved to cover her body. Annabeth panicked, but in just a moment she was sitting inside the bubble. The bubble seemed to be lit by an otherworldly light.

Zeus eyed his brother and daughter. "This is your plan?" he asked.

Athena shrugged her shoulders, but the glint in Poseidon's eyes gave the King of the gods all the answer he needed.

A ball of water the size of a basketball moved into the bubble from the sea above. The water ball hovered in the air in the middle of the air bubble. Annabeth stared at the ball in amazement. Suddenly, a light shone in the water ball. When the light dissipated, Annabeth was faced with the smiling image of her mother, Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy.

Zeus glared at his brother and sister, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked toward Hera. She smiled at him knowingly. "Let it go," she said. Zeus sighed before he nodded.

At first Annabeth was completely surprised, but then her surprise morphed into joy and relief.

"Mother," she said.

Athena's smile widened at her daughter. Olympus had been closed for nearly three months now and Athena missed her daughter. She had seen her many times after the war, as Annabeth conducted her job as the architect of Olympus.

"I'm very proud of you," Athena said. Annabeth beamed in happiness at her mother's words.

"Yes, my dear, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to see you," Athena said sadly with a hint of anger in her voice. "My father's paranoia has overtaken his better judgment."

Zeus glared at his daughter, but stopped when he felt Hera squeeze his shoulder tightly.

Annabeth smiled at her mother's criticism of Zeus. "If Olympus is closed off, how are you here talking to me?"

Athena seemed to look behind her awkwardly, like someone might be watching her. "Poseidon helped me," Athena said softly.

Poseidon stared at her with a pained expression on his face. "You act like you took help from a criminal or something," Poseidon said.

Athena didn't say anything. Poseidon pouted as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Athena smiled at the cute look on his face. Athena internally face palmed when she realized she called her rival cute.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know that the two of you helped each other, except for the chariot that is," she said with a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

"It won't be a recurring event." She clearly picked up on her daughter's amusement at her awkwardness.

Aphrodite smiled. She always knew those two liked each other.

"For you and Poseidon to risk Zeus's wrath, this discussion must be important."

"It better be," Zeus grumbled under his breath.

Athena smiled at her perceptive daughter. "It's about Perseus."

Annabeth's mouth hung open in shock. She looked at her mother with a frantic expression on her face. "Is he okay?" Annabeth asked desperately.

Annabeth was shocked and embarrassed at the tone she had in the book. Did she really sound that lost and sad?

Athena sighed at her daughter's distress. "He is physically fine, maybe better than that." The goddess stared off in the distance as she spoke about her rival's son.

"What do you mean by physically?" Annabeth's eyes were full of concern.

"His memories are gone, but there is something else." It was clear that the goddess of wisdom was trying to find the best way to discuss this sensitive issue.

Athena frowned. The one thing she found the hardest to do was confront emotion. It wasn't logical; it made no sense to her.

"Mother, please just tell me," Annabeth urged.

Athena shifted uncomfortably before she continued, "His memories are gone, and Hera and Ares have replaced them with a new identity and new memories."

Annabeth's eyes widened in shock, her face turned red as her anger grew. "Why? Isn't it bad enough that she took him away and stole his memories, but then she has to turn him into someone else?" Her voice was full of anger and sadness.

Annabeth looked up at her mother; Athena was speechless. Annabeth shifted her gaze toward Hera. The goddess gave her a reassuring smile before she mouthed her apology again.

"They wanted Percy to become the Consul of Rome. They needed to make sure that he would be a great leader. They gave him memories, skills and training to aid him in this goal. Just a day ago, he was appointed as Consul."

"Oh my gods." Annabeth's eyes widened at the news, but quickly narrowed as she bit her lower lip. "Thank you for telling me, but why did you risk so much to give me this news?" It was clear by her tone that she suspected there was something important that she was missing, some piece of information that could answer all the questions racing through her mind.

Annabeth blushed at the description, but Athena smiled at her daughter proudly.

Athena smiled at her daughter proudly. "Yes, there is something more. I know what Perseus saw when he bathed in the Styx."

Annabeth looked at her mother in shock. "How?"

"Hestia is friendly with the Lady of the Styx. She told her and Hestia relayed the information to me."

"How is that important?" Annabeth was taken aback by how calmly her mother acted about this information.

"You're his link to the mortal world. His memories of you are gone, or at least buried deeply. Without you he will be more like Achilles. He will live for battle and he may even suffer from the great warrior's fatal flaw, arrogance. That is what led to Achilles' downfall."

Annabeth stared down at the ground, avoiding her mother's gaze. "I've lost him."

Annabeth felt her chest tighten. She put her head in her hands. She wouldn't cry now.

Athena couldn't take this. She stepped down from her throne and approached her daughter. She shrunk to human size and knelt in front of her favorite child. The other gods just stared at her in shock. "I love you my dear and I will do everything in my power to help," Athena declared as she pulled her daughter into a warm embrace. Annabeth for her part broke down finally and cried. She cried like she had never done before. "Let out the pain," Athena whispered. The two stayed in the hug for several minutes. Many of the goddesses had their own tears in their eyes. Poseidon smiled at the two. He always knew that Athena was a good mother.

The two finally broke apart before Athena rose to her godly height and sat on her throne. Athena turned toward Poseidon. He gave her a smile that showed how much he respected her for that show of love and support. She smiled back in thanks.

Athena frowned at her daughter's sad expression and defeated posture. "He is lost now, but you have the power to help him regain his memories. Don't forget that the power of the Styx is strong, possibly even stronger than Hera's power. You're his link to humanity, his connection to what makes him human."

"I can save him?" Annabeth asked. She seemed like a lost little girl at the moment. The pain in Athena's expression was evident as she looked at the suffering in her favorite daughter's eyes.

"You have always been the one to save him. I may be his father's rival, and Perseus may not have been my first choice as a companion to you, but he is a true hero and he loves you," Athena said.

Hestia smiled at her niece. It took a lot of courage to say that about her rival's son.

Annabeth looked up at her mother. The girl nodded at the goddess before a smile crossed her lips. "Mother, thank you for telling me, but what can I do? The Argo II is under construction. Chiron has ordered us to stay here until the ship is complete."

A mischievous smile crossed Athena's mouth as she looked at her daughter knowingly. "Obeying orders is a good thing most of the time, but even I disobey orders when I know it's the wise thing to do," Athena confessed.

Athena turned and glared at her father daring him to say anything, but he didn't.

"Thank you, mother. I know what to do."

"Good. I have faith in your judgment. I know you will do what needs to be done," Athena said before her image faded away.

Annabeth broke the bubble and swam to the surface. After a few minutes she reached the beach. Her clothes were soaked, but the daughter of Athena seemed to walk with a new sense of purpose. She strode from the beach with a determined look on her face and shining grey eyes.

Thalia smiled at the description. That was the Annabeth that she knew and loved.

"I'll find you Percy, and I swear on the Styx that your memories will be restored."

The demigods all turned and looked at Annabeth; they all knew the line from the great prophecy about an oath and a final breath. Athena's face paled at the oath.

"Yeah, probably not the smartest thing I've ever done," Annabeth admitted.

AN: This is the first part of the chapter. Next we're back at Castra Semideus, so stay tuned.