In Percy's Cabin

An IM shimmered to life above the water fountain as Percy threw in a drachma.

"Thalia Grace, At Teresa Wilkes's house," Annabeth requested of the goddess, and watched as the image of Thalia Grace materialized.

Thalia looked up from cleaning her golden dust covered dagger and her face broke into a grin.

"Annie! Kelp head! How is it goin' ?" She asked.

"We deciphered about..." Annabeth counted off the verses with her fingers. "One... Two, Three! About three of the verses, and don't call me Annie!" Annabeth said, unable to resist protesting the detested nickname.

"And she's having me break into Leo's social worker's office to find out what Sea must swim to the deep end before the storm passes means," Percy interjected.

Thalia smiled deviously, "Did I hear that right? Annabeth Chase is encouraging someone to break a rule? Now i've seen everything," she said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, it's a historic moment. Did you find anything at Teresa's place?" Annabeth wondered, getting straight down to business.

Thalia immediately turned serious. "Oh, we found something. We found a Nemean Lion."

"You found a what now?!" Percy exclaimed, his eyes widening.

Thalia nodded. "Yep. Apparently, that whole lion's den thing was a little more literal than we assumed."

"Is-Is everyone okay?" Annabeth stammered. She had never fought the Nemean Lion herself, but she had read the 'myth' and heard Percy's story about the time he encountered the Lion. She knew how difficult, borderline impossible, they were to beat with their invulnerable skin.

Thalia shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck and avoiding their eyes as she answered, "Kind of. One of the Hunters, Cat, got some broken ribs and internal bleeding, but Allison and Artemis are fixing her up now. On the bright so, though, we did find the object," Thalia said, grinning triumphantly, as she held up a musty, ratty looking stuffed lion. The stuffed animal had obviously been well loved, Annabeth and Percy could tell.

Annabeth smiled in relief. "That's good. How's Leo?" she inquired, her relieved smile vanishing as quickly as it came at the thought of their injured friend.

Thalia shrugged. "I'm not sure," she replied, looking at something behind the Iris Message. "Allison!"

A girl with flowing brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and freckles splattered across her narrow nose appeared in the view of the IM.

"Yeah, Thalia?" The girl- Allison, Percy and Annabeth assumed- asked.

"Percy, Annabeth, this is Allison, our main Healer besides Artemis. Allison, these are Percy and Annabeth, Leo's friends. They want to know how Leo is," Thalia explained.

Allison turned to the Iris Message with a look on her face that reminded Percy and Annabeth of the face doctors wore- emotionless, all business, detached.

"The venom has three main stages as it affects the body. Leo is still in stage one, which is a good thing," Allison assured them. "Stage one includes high fever, hallucinations, and a rash of blisters, all of which will only get worse as the venom spreads.

"Stage 2 is the longest stage and has a variety of symptoms. Stage 2 includes paralysis, which can be reversed if we heal him earlier enough, but it can become permanent if the venom is left untreated for much longer. During stage 2, he'll have breathing difficulties, an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, vision loss, and bleeding from the mouth, nose, and ears.

"Stage 3 is when his organs start to shut down, and his brain functions begin to slow. He will have a hard time speaking, understanding, and remembering certain things, and he may experience seizures and catatonia," Allison explained.

By the end of the explanation, Percy and Annabeth were stark pale, and Percy looked like he was on the verge of throwing up.

Allison did not try to sugar coat the awful reality of the situation, but she did add, "The best thing we can do is work fast and keep him on a steady amount of Nectar and Ambrosia to slow the effects of the venom. As long as we complete the quest within 2 to 3 weeks, Leo does have a good chance of survival and making a full recovery, but there's no time to waste."

Thalia nodded. "Thank you, Allison," she stated, and the said girl disappeared off screen. Thalia turned back to Percy and Annabeth. "We're doing everything we can for Leo, but like Allison said, there's no time to waste. We'll start heading for Alaska. What's your game plan?"

Annabeth nodded, pursing her lips in worry for her friend. "We split up after we leave camp to find the items. We at least know the states the items are in. Jason and Piper are going to Salida, Colorado. Will and Nico are going to Houston, Texas. Percy's going to St. Louis, Missouri. I'm going to Columbus, Ohio. Hazel and Frank have three possible locations in California: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego."

Thalia nodded, biting her lip in thought. "Okay. Three weeks. We can do this. The Hunters and I will go to Alaska and find Apollo while you guys find the items. Tell the others to IM us when they find an item. Once you guys have all the items and we have Apollo, we'll decide on a meeting place and head to Olympus."

Annabeth nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Thalia."

Annabeth swept her hand through the mist, and the image of the Lieutenant of Artemis disappeared.

Percy placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can do this."

He read the concern, the fear, the uncertainty, every emotion she was experiencing on her face. They didn't really need words to know how the other was feeling.

Annabeth nodded. "I hope so. We can't lose Leo, Percy. We just can't."

Percy nodded and gently pulled her into a hug.

Worry still existed in every cell of Annabeth's body, but feeling her boyfriend's arms around her did help the comfort her a little.


Meanwhile At The Big House…

Knock, knock, knock!

Jason bounced his leg nervously as he waited for the door to the Big House to open, and he listened to the familiar clomp, clomp, clomp! of Chiron's hooves against the floorboards as the centaur approached the door.

The door opened.

"Oh, Jason, my boy! How are you?" Chiron inquired with a soft smile, but his aged eyes were deep pits of worry and curiosity. "Have you heard anything from the Hunters?"

Jason shook his head. "Not yet, but Percy and Annabeth are going to Iris Message them soon. This is actually about the prophecy. We think there's a line you might be able to help us with."

Chiron nodded, backing up to make room for Jason to step through the doorway. "Of course. Let's take a seat in the living room."

Jason followed the teacher to the same room he had found himself in what felt like a lifetime ago when he first arrived at Camp Half Blood, and he took a seat on the same sofa, feeling a sense of de ja vu.

Chiron simply folded his legs underneath him and settled himself on the floor. "Now, Jason, what is it I can help you with?"

"Well, you remember the prophecy. Thinks about the second to last line: Lightning must remember lost memories. The only problem is I'm not sure how to do that," Jason explained.

Chiron nodded, his face one of deep thought as he did so. "I might know a way," Chiron answered, but he said it hesitantly, almost nervously, like it was an option he regretted suggesting before he even opened his mouth.

Jason leaned forward in curiosity. "What is it?" He wondered.

Chiron bit his lower lip, an anxious tick that Jason would have never imagined a wise, collected person like Chiron displaying. Chiron had seen everything; Jason didn't think anything stick of a war or an apocalypse could make that guy even a little nervous.

"It's risky," Chiron blurted after a long moment of tense silence. "But I am afraid it might be your only option. Mnemosyne."

Jason knit his eyebrows. He had lived in a demigod camp, albeit a Roman one, since he was two and had lived on a boat with a daughter of Athena for months, but that name didn't even sound a little bit familiar.

"Nemo-sign? Like the fish from that Disney movie?" He asked, feeling stupid for even mentioning it. What a Percy-like thing to say.

Chiron chuckled. "No," he replied before his voice turned serious once more. "Mnemosyne. The goddess of memory."

It clicked. A distant memory of a myth (well, not really a myth, he supposed he had picked up) from Annabeth.

"Wasn't she the mother of the Nine Muses or something?" Jason recalled.

Chiron nodded. "Yes. She was a Titan who was imprisoned until the end of the Giant War when Percy convinced the Gods to free the friendly Titans (1). She has a place in the Underworld, near the River Lethe because of the Lethe's strong tie to memory. If anyone can restore your lost memories, it is her."

Jason had the distinct feeling that Chiron wasn't telling him everything.

"But…" the son of Jupiter pressed.

Chiron pursed his lips. "You should know by now, Jason, that very few gods do anything for free. Mnemosyne often sends people on… missions for her."

Jason scoffed. "So I would be an errand boy for a day."

Chiron shrugged. "More or less, but Jason, these tasks… would not be simple." Chiron wouldn't meet his eyes.

Jason frowned. "Chiron…" he urged, confusion etched in his voice and expression.

Chiron continued to bite his lip and stare at the floor instead of Jason's eyes. "Mnemosyne… has asked people to kill someone in return for her services."

Jason unconsciously drew himself back in surprise.

"I am not saying that is what Mnemosyne will ask of you," Chiron rushed to add. "But…" Chiron said, slowly, "If she does, you will have to be prepared to choose: Leo's life or the life of someone else?"

Jason did not say anything else. There was nothing left to say.

But there was a heck of a lot to think about.