Hi again! We're back after that short little break in the plot, haha. Thanks to everybody for reading :)

Enjoy!

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HAZEL

"W… What?" Hazel stuttered blankly, Nico's words throwing her far off-balance. "You… don't recognize us?"

Nico narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Should I?" he asked.

"We're your friends," Percy said, exchanging a worried glance with Annabeth.

"And I'm your sister," Hazel pointed out. She took a step toward Nico, but he responded by taking a step back.

"Sister," he repeated. "I don't have a… I mean, I don't…" He frowned and shook his head, seeming frustrated. He looked just like he had in Hazel's dream the previous night—dark jeans and black T-shirt, both torn and dirty, hair a mess, face and arms streaked with mud, dark eyes tired and bloodshot. It made her wonder if maybe what she'd seen had yet to happen—or if he'd escaped the hunter after all. "I don't remember having a sister," he finally said uncertainly.

"Don't… remember?" Hazel said, the word making her feel strangely cold. What could he mean, he didn't remember?

Annabeth took a step forward and said carefully, "What do you remember?"

"Nothing before this place," Nico replied, gesturing to the trees behind him. "And so far, the only other guy I've seen is a total nutcase, so you three had better start explaining what you're doing here." He took another step away from them, holding out his arms and eyeing each of their weapons warily.

"We're not working with the hunter," Percy assured him. He glanced at his sword and quickly re-capped it so it changed back to pen-form. Nico's eyes widened in surprise as Percy stuck the pen back into his pocket.

"We actually came here looking for you," Annabeth added. "But we lost the rest of our group."

"You were… looking for me?" Nico repeated, his voice distant. "So… you guys really do know me?"

"Of course we do," Percy answered with a shrug. "Your name's Nico di Angelo, you're fifteen years old—well, technically you're almost ninety, but that's sort of complicated—"

"What Percy's trying to say," Annabeth interrupted her boyfriend as a stricken look crossed Nico's face, "is that you're a good friend of ours. Your father sent you to investigate something last week and you never came back. We're glad you're okay, but… You really don't remember how you got here?"

"What part of that is so hard to understand?" Nico asked sharply. "First thing I remember is waking up here in this forest. Then I get caught by this crazy, giant hunter guy, then he lets me go and hunts me down again. This is the third time I've made it out of there, but he must have gotten lost or something. I'm telling you, guy's a serious headcase."

"We know," Percy said dryly. "We met him."

"So what's with the weapons?" Nico asked, eyeing Hazel's sword where it lay on the ground near her feet. "Are you guys like… exterminators or something?"

"Actually, we sort of are," Percy admitted with a shrug and a small smirk. "But we're on your side."

"I don't even know what my 'side' is," Nico argued, looking annoyed.

"The point is, you can trust us," Annabeth said firmly. She looked at Percy, then at Hazel. "We should keep moving," she suggested. "In case that hunter comes looking for us. We can follow the stream."

Nico seemed reluctant to follow them, but must have decided that it was better than being alone, because he came along without protest. Hazel walked beside him, silently checking to make sure he wasn't hurt. She couldn't see any serious injuries, and he seemed to be walking fine, so instead she focused her attention on the strange problem of his complete memory loss.

She'd seen memory loss before. About a year ago, when she'd first met Percy, he had shown up on Camp Jupiter's doorstep with a goddess in his arms and no idea who he was or where he came from, aside from his name and some impressive fighting skills. Later on, she'd learned that it had been Juno herself that had stolen his memories, and that she had done the same to Jason Grace, who at the time had been missing for months. The difference was that every time Percy saw something or met someone from his past, it would trigger a memory. He knew when something was familiar. But with Nico, there was no recognition whatsoever in his eyes when he looked at Hazel and the others. And he hadn't even remembered his own name.

"You guys don't think Hera's responsible for this, do you?" Percy wondered aloud, obviously thinking along the same lines as Hazel had been.

"I don't know," Hazel said skeptically. She pointed out what she'd noticed about the difference between Percy's and Nico's memory loss. "I guess it's possible, but what reason would she have had? And if it was Juno, then… why would she do it differently now?"

"Will you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Nico said irritably. "Just 'cause I don't remember you doesn't mean I can't hear you."

"He's right, you know. It's rather rude."

All four of them nearly jumped into the stream at the sound of the fifth voice. Hazel whipped around, drawing her sword and holding it at the ready, but her grip faltered when she laid eyes on the speaker. Standing just behind them was a tall woman with long, brown hair braided with gold ribbon. Her face was kind and gentle, but her eyes were frightening, like a mother with a short temper whom you did not want to cross. She was dressed in a long, white gown that piled on the forest floor. Hazel knew this woman—or did in her Roman form, at least—but what she didn't know was why in the world she was there.

"Hera," Annabeth greeted the goddess in a tight voice. Hazel glanced to the side and saw Percy place his hand on Annabeth's arm in a warning gesture.

"Hello, Annabeth," Hera said with a small smile. "Percy, Hazel, Nico. How have you been?"

"How have we been?" Annabeth repeated in a voice of forced calm. "Oh, we've been great! Just fighting for our lives to stop another stupid war you probably don't even know about!"

Hera's eyes flashed and for a second Hazel had a vision of Annabeth as a sassy pile of dust, but then the goddess only smiled. "Oh, we are aware of the prophecy. Make no mistake about that. In fact, that's why I'm here. You seem to have come across the one person who knows exactly what this new threat is."

Hazel's throat tightened uncomfortably. "You mean Nico?" she asked. Hera regarded Hazel and nodded. "But… he's lost his memories."

"Exactly," Hera said. "And what reason would someone have for erasing them, other than to hide his discovery of something he shouldn't know?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Nico interrupted, looking frustrated. "I get that I'm supposed to know you guys, but what's all this nonsense about wars and prophecies? If anybody feels like filling me in, since I'm supposed to be important here—"

"So you're saying," Annabeth said slowly, ignoring Nico, "that when Nico went to investigate for his father, he found out who's behind this prophecy. And they stole his memories as a way to keep him quiet?"

Hera stepped forward and reached toward Nico, who flinched back from her apprehensively. She placed her hand on his head and closed her eyes. After a long second, she opened her eyes again and frowned. "His memories weren't stolen," she said, lowering her hand. "They were washed away."

"Washed away?" Hazel repeated. "What does that mean?"

Hera took a step backward and glanced at the forest floor. "In the Underworld, there is a river. It's where those who choose rebirth after death are taken, so that their old life can be washed clean to make way for the new one."

"The Lethe," Percy said, looking thoughtful. "I've been there. With Nico, actually."

"Correct," Hera said, and Nico frowned at Percy as though trying to remember their Underworld vacation. "The scent of the Lethe's waters is still inside his mind. That's where his memories have gone."

"But if that's true, we can't get them back," Annabeth said, a desperate look in her eyes. "When people bathe in the River Lethe, their memories are lost forever. They'd have to be—otherwise you'd keep having flashbacks from your past life."

"That's true," Hera agreed, "for any normal soul. But Nico di Angelo is no normal soul. He is a child of the Underworld, and thus has an unnatural bond with it. I believe that if he were to be placed into a deep enough sleep—that is to say, if he were close to death—his mind could call out to his memories and draw them back to him."

"Close to death?" Nico repeated incredulously. "What's wrong with you people?"

"But how do we do that?" Percy asked. "Try to kill him and hope he survives?"

An amused smile appeared on Hera's face, as though she liked the idea of her nephews trying to kill each other. Hazel shivered with a sudden cold chill. "Seek out the god Hypnos," Hera instructed. "As master of sleep, he may be able to help you. You can find him in Los Angeles, at the Cloud Nine Hotel. But be wary of his three sons, Morpheus, Phobetor, and Phantasos."

"The Dream Brothers," Annabeth noted with a nod.

"Yes," Hera said. "They manage the hotel, and they're very good at keeping intruders away from their father."

"Hold on a second," Percy interrupted, holding up his hands. "If Nico really knows what's going on here, why didn't you come looking for him sooner?"

"You don't think his father tried?" Hera challenged the question, raising an eyebrow. "With Nico's memories gone, his mind was consequently wiped of any and all awareness of our existence, and of who he really is. His consciousness was closed off from magic and immortal detection. For all intents and purposes, he has been completely out of touch with our world. Your meeting up with him here has begun to reverse that effect."

"So that's why we couldn't Iris-message him," Annabeth realized with a thoughtful frown. "He was out of sync with the immortal network."

"Yes," Hera confirmed. "And now that you've found him, restoring his memory is of the utmost importance. When you find Hypnos, explain this to him. He will understand."

"Thank you, Lady Hera," Hazel said, offering a slightly awkward bow. "We appreciate your help."

"Anything for family," the goddess said with a cryptic smile. "Good luck, demigods. Do not let us down." With that, there was a bright flash of light, and she was gone.

"Well that was random," Percy said, scratching his head. "Think we should have asked her about the hunter?"

Annabeth gave a short sigh in apparent frustration. "At least we've got a plan. All we need now is the rest of our group."

"Who was that?" Nico asked, eyeing the place where Hera had just been standing with suspicious eyes. "And what did she mean, 'child of the Underworld'?"

Annabeth bit her lip and studied Nico's confused expression, a tired frown on her face. "Percy," she said haltingly, turning to her boyfriend. "Maybe you should, you know… give Nico the talk."

Percy winced, as though remembering something painful. "Again?" he said dully.

Nico took a step backward, suddenly looking panicked. "Whoa, wait, I don't even know you guys. I don't think we need to be talking about that…"

Hazel wasn't sure what he was referring to, but Annabeth's eyes shot open and a tiny flush colored her cheeks. "Not that talk!" she snapped, her voice slightly higher than normal. Percy snorted in amusement and Hazel placed a hand over her mouth, finally understanding the conversation and wishing she hadn't. Annabeth let out an exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air. "Percy!" she scolded with a glare.

"Alright, alright," he conceded, stepping toward a very confused and slightly scared-looking Nico and swinging an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, Nico. Let's go have a chat about your parents."

Well. Got a plan now, don't we? Just need to get the rest of our team back.

Review for me in the meantime :) Later days, everybody!

-oMM