"So the greek gods are real, is what you're saying?" she asked.

"Very much so. Took me a little while to get used to it, but you're taking it pretty well," I observed. "Sorry, what's your name again?"

"Piper. And that was Jason and Leo."

"Right. Got it," I said as we reached the top of the hill, "I'll try to keep this brief, but feel to ask questions. It gets confusing."

She nodded uncertainly.

"So the gods are immortal and all, but as civilization changes they will move with the center of power, I guess. So right now it's America; Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building. The Underworld is below L.A. The Titans are in San Francisco. And so on. So the gods are quite, well how do I put this, frivolous? Unfaithful? And they 'enjoy' the company of mortals who catch their eye. So either your mom or dad was mortal and the other was a god or goddess. My father is Poseidon, the god of the seas."

"My dad is very mortal," Piper said. "So that makes my mom a goddess?"

"Yeah. A few days ago the gods promised to claim kids by thirteen and so my guess is by campfire later you'll be claimed. That was the deal," I told her.

"The deal?"

"Well that is a very long story that probably starts when I was about 12, but I basically made the gods promise not to ignore their kids anymore. Annabeth- well I had to do it alone, but now the gods are bound to their word and will have to claim their kids and recognize all of the gods, major and minor."

"Why thirteen?"

"The older you get the more monsters will come after you. That's why we have camp. We train all the campers to be able to defend themselves. So we can survive longer. Swordfighting, archery, the lava wall, Capture the Flag. All of it helps. But to get them to camp the satyrs go out as protectors."

"Like Coach Hedge?"

"Yup, he's a satyr. Half-man, half-goat. There's a lot of mythical creatures. And the Mist protects them from the mortal eye. Like one time I was in a swordfight with Ares and instead of swords, the mortals saw shotguns. Or instead of a vicious monster, mortals might see an over-eager poodle," I told her.

She laughed quietly. She had a nice laugh, but it was reserved. Her thoughts were elsewhere, which I could relate to. I could tell she had secrets too and her secrets would, naturally, be worrisome.

"So what makes demigods so special. Like what does the half-god part do exactly?"

"Well do you have ADHD or dyslexia?"

Her eyebrows shot up.

"Dyslexia, but Leo has ADHD too... how'd you know?"

"Most demigods do. ADHD because our bodies are wired for battle. And dyslexia because we are meant to read and speak in Ancient Greek. And depending on your parent you'll have certain powers, for lack of a better word."

"Like superpowers?" she said laughing. "What can you do? Swim well?"

"Among other things."

Her face fell flat at my seriousness.

"Hmph. I don't have any superpowers."

"You'll find them soon enough," I said, "And demigods get very vivid dreams, just so you know. Sometimes real, sometimes not, but always important. And all these things combined make for a group of very troubled kids. I was kicked out of nearly every school I attended and all too well acquainted with the local police officers. But then again, some demigods are better behaved. Annabeth-"

I shut my eyes for a second. I kept mentioning Annabeth. I couldn't stop it and it hurt so bad each time. Piper looked at me concerned. I took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Let's keep going," I said. We passed Rachel's cave. I ducked my head inside to see if she was still here. I was hoping she'd be able to tell me more about the Jason kid. How exactly he was supposed to help me find Annabeth?

"Is that a dragon?!" Piper exclaimed as we neared Half-Blood Hill. The shiny golden fleece hung around the branches of Thalia's tree.

"That's Peleus."

"And is that the actual Golden Fleece?" I was surprised she even knew what it was. If I hadn't gone on the quest myself I would've just figured it was a decorative bath mat. I guess this girl was smarter than me. Not that it was hard to be.

"Yeah. It heals the tree and strengthens the borders. The borders keep out monsters and we can control the weather in here, obviously," I gave a pointed look to the outside world that was full of snow.

"What does the tree have anything to do with it?" she asked.

"A friend of mine died and her dad turned her into a tree to save her. She died before I got to camp, but then Lu- um a guy poisoned her tree to weaken the borders, and Annabeth, my friend Grover, a girl Clarisse, and I had to go find the Fleece. Long story short, the fleece worked too well at healing the tree and Thalia came back to life. This went per Luke's plans and they now had two kids of the Big Three instead of one."

"I did not follow anything you just said, but I'm glad you're friend is back alive," Piper said.

"Yeah, she's immortal now. She's an eternal maiden of Artemis."

Piper gave me another bewildered look. "Is my life going to be that complicated?"

I chuckled. "That's not even half of it. The things Annabeth and I have done..."

"You talk about her a lot," Piper observed. I looked towards the horizon. The Long Island Sound was quiet, with a small gentle current careening the shore. The sky was streaked with light pouring in through the clouds.

"I love her."

"Why was she taken?"

"Because Hera couldn't have me." I felt my powers surge with my anger. Like if I pushed forward I'd caused another crack in the earth.

"The gods took her?"

"Just Hera. I should've known. Months ago, she was telling me she had a plan that had to be changed because of my decision. I didn't know that meant she'd take Annabeth!" Sadness swelled within me, but I didn't want it. Anger was easier. The anger I had worked so hard to suppress, but all of that seemed pointless now that Annabeth was gone.

"That's not your fault," Piper said consolingly.

"You don't know Hera though. She had it out for Annabeth. She always has."

"Why couldn't she take you instead? Why did she need to take anyone at all?"

"I really can't answer that right now."

I shook my head and kept walking. She hurried to match my long strides.

"How long have you guys been together?"

"Since August 18th. My 16th birthday."

"You're 16?" she said in surprise. I only shrugged. I didn't know what I was anymore. "That's the same time I met Jason, but we only started dating a few weeks ago."

I winced. She still didn't know the whole truth about the Mist. I didn't want to have to be the one to explain it to her, but she couldn't go on with a relationship built on lies.

"Look, Piper, we need to talk about that-"

"No, no, no. I know Jason lost his memories and all, but I haven't! I've known him for four months now. He came to our school in August!"

"Piper, remember what I told you about the Mist. It separates the mortal and the magic world. Well, demigods are sort of stuck in the middle, screwed over by both sides. Like how we can be affected by mortal and godly weapons, but our weapons pass right through mortals. The Mist can affect memories. Monsters can go into school and pretend to be human because of the mist. Demigods can be tricked by the Mist too. It can manipulate memories or even make them up," I explained.

"But Jason isn't made up. He's a real, normal guy- or demigod- whatever. My memories aren't fake! They are so real," she protested. She started recounting memory after memory of her, Jason, and Leo.

"Piper," I interrupted softly. I knew she was nearing a breakdown, and I wouldn't blame her after the type of day she had, but I wasn't exactly equipped to handle that. "Those aren't real memories. I promise. You have memories with Jason, but what about Jason himself. What's his last name? Where's he from? What did he do to get sent to that school? Where did he get that tattoo? Where did he get that sword? What's his favorite color?"

She looked like she was about to cry. I felt bad, but she had to know.

"I- I don't know," she said, trembling. And then she started to cry. I guessed there was more to it than Blondie, but I let her cry it out. "Why would someone bother giving me and Leo the memories, but not Jason? Why did Jason just not remember anything?"

"I wish I knew. Maybe Chiron does. I know this is going to be hard, but just try not to get too caught up in the past, or the fake past. Gods know your life will only get more hectic, so just try to focus on becoming his friend now."

"Do you think he'll be the same as the memories? Or is he some completely different person?" The way she asked me seemed almost desperate. Like she couldn't bear losing him.

"I don't have any answers for you, I'm sorry. I don't know why this happened, or how to fix it. But I know he'd be silly not to like you." She seemed to glow at the words, despite her tears. "Why don't we go back now?"

"What's with the cabins?" she asked as we approached them.

"Each major god and goddess has a cabin for their kids. After the deal with the gods, we are starting to make them for the minor gods too. A bunch of the undetermined kids have already been claimed, or so I'm told. Since I made the deal, I've been waiting at the Grand Canyon for you guys for almost three days. Starting to think you wouldn't show up."

"Three days?"

"Rachel said Grand Canyon so I went. She's our oracle. She lives in the cave we passed before."

"She lives in a cave?"

"Well, when she's here. She's a mortal, so she has special permission to be here, but right now she's at a finishing school in Connecticut. But the rest of the time she lives in her luxury condo in Queens," I said with a smile.

"Huh. She sounds well-rounded?"

"You could say that." We walked silently beside each other, down the hill and into the green valley. A lull in the conversation allowed Piper to take in the camp and the people within.

"So Leo's dad is Hephaestus. God of Forges?" Piper asked.

"Yeah. We have a forge here and the Hephaestus campers make weapons and armor for everyone there. My brother, Tyson, helps there too when he's visiting. But the Cabin Niners are all super good at mechanical stuff," I told her remembering Beckendorf.

"Sounds like Leo," she said quietly, "Any idea who my mom is?"

I shook my head. "C'mon, I'll show all of the cabins. Who knows, maybe one of them will feel right to you."

I gestured towards Cabin One. Zeus. I tried to put on a brave face and be welcoming to Piper, because I remember Annabeth being a bit... well, short with me when I first got here. I was so clueless then, but it didn't matter. I wanted to be a good tour guide and model 'camper', but I just couldn't get into it.

"Alright, this is going to be confusing, sorry in advance. This is Zeus' cabin," I said, nodding at the bank-like building. It was adorned with lightning bolts and thundering sounds if you got too close. It was easy to tell that this one belonged to the King of the Gods.

"Why is it empty?" she asked, peering inside. Compared to the other cabins, this was very tame.

"Some gods have more kids than others. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are considered the Big Three. About seventy-ish years ago, think WWII, they made a pact to not have any kids ever again. Obviously, you're talking to me, so you can see gods aren't always that good at keeping promises." A round of thunder interrupted my explanation and Piper looked up at the sky startled.

"Anyway, I was telling you about my friend Thalia earlier who kinda came back from the dead. She's a daughter of Zeus. She doesn't live at camp anymore, because she became a Hunter of Artemis. But I'll explain that later."

"Okay," Piper said slowly, "So the gods broke the pact. You said that you have a brother, but you also said there were only two children of the Big Three?"

I blinked, trying to get my words straight in my head. Her observation was better than I expected. Everything that had happened to me in the past four years was still confusing to me, explaining it to someone who had never experienced being a demigod was harder than I assumed.

"Tyson is a son of Poseidon, but he isn't a demigod. He's a cyclops, so he didn't really count in regards to the prophecy. The Great Prophecy was the cause of the pact between the gods. It basically called for a demigod child of the Big Three to either save the world or destroy it."

She gave me a curious look. "Sounds like a lot of pressure."

"The world is and was in good hands. I promise."

She laughed.

"Is this one yours?" she asked. The low and long building was a welcome sight.

"In a way. You can look inside if you want," I said. I opened the wooden door, the ever-present sea breeze was familiar. Everything about this place I loved. From the trident on the door to the mural of hippocamis that Tyson put up. It was a shame that I had to leave it behind for my palace.

"Why is it empty? Don't you live here?" Piper said. I slumped down onto my old bed.

"I moved out awhile ago. C'mon, let's go to the next one," I suggested before she asked any questions. I didn't want to tell her that I'm a god just yet. It was nice being in the company of someone who didn't know who I was and what I've done. The more people looking at me like I'm a hero, the less I feel like one.

"Who's this?"

"Ares. God of war. Let's just say they don't have the best taste in decor," I said, looking at the badly painted red cabin and the barbed wire lining the roof.

"This one is definitely lively. Music's a bit loud though," Piper said.

"You'll get used to it. At least whoever your mom is, her cabin will be on the other side of the courtyard. I had to live next to them for years," I said. Oh, how the Ares cabin hated me.

"Seem like a fun bunch," she said, as a pair of boys wrestled on the front lawn.

"Fun is one word for it. I prefer assholes, but whatever works," I said.

The gold of Cabin Seven was so blinding, Piper held a sleeve to her eyes. "Who's this?"

"Apollo. His kids are pretty good overall. Some are kinda show-offy, but nice kids," I said. A couple of Apollo campers were playing basketball in the center and all of their shots went in. Archery provides good aim, I guess. I wouldn't know.

"He's the Sun God, right?" she asked.

"Sun, prophecy, healing, plague, archery... the list goes on. They usually specialize in one ability but are pretty good at a lot of things. Will Solace is a son of Apollo. He's one of our best healers."

"He was the one that went with Jason?" Piper asked.

"No, that's Malcolm. He's a son of Athena, so Annabeth's brother."

"Why haven't we seen any of the goddess' cabins. Wouldn't those be the ones that could be my mom's?" she asked. She seemed almost impatient.

"There's twelve cabins, gods on one side and goddess' on the other. We'll get around to them, but first, this is Cabin Nine. This is where Leo will be," I showed her. The cabin was built like a small factory, with a brick exterior and smokestacks protruding from the roof. I hadn't ever actually been inside, but Cabin Niners always were secretive about that sort of thing.

"Can I go see Leo?"

"Uh, it's probably best we let him settle in and meet his siblings first. You'll see him at dinner tonight. And Cabin Niners are protective of their cabin. They have a lot of secret things in there, or so I've heard," I told her. Just then a poof of smoke came out of one of the windows and someone shouted in annoyance. "Let's move on."

We looked at the next two cabins: Hermes and Dionysus. I couldn't even bring myself to explain why Dionysus only had one camper or why there were so many people in Hermes' cabin. Piper was curious, however, about the all-black cabin currently being erected.

"That belongs to Hades. It was part of the deal because before now Hades was banished from Olympus. My friend is a son of Hades and he never quite felt welcome here so I wanted to change that," I said quietly. No one was working on the cabin right then, but they had already gotten a lot of work done.

"So he was another product of a broken oath?" Piper questioned.

"Not quite," I said wincing, preparing for another too-short version of a very long story, "He is technically eighty or so years old, but he was frozen in time for a bit, so he's only twelve."

"Actually?"

"Yeah. The life of a demigod is complicated but never boring. You'll see," I said with a long sigh. We passed the next cabin, Aphrodite, and Piper began coughing from the potent perfume smell.

"Gah! Is this where supermodels go to die?" she asked. She looked at the very pink cabin with disgust. I didn't think it was that bad, although the perfume was a bit excessive. I quite liked the lace curtains and potted flowers on the windowsill. It sort of reminded me of Calypso's island.

"Aphrodite," I said with a smile. "The Goddess of love."

"What're their superpowers? Your everyday cupids?" She made some sort of bow and arrow gesture aimed at a random camper passing by.

I smiled weakly. "Not quite. They're generally just super in tune with emotions and reading people. They're blessed with beauty and such, obviously, but a few can even sway people's opinions. Charmspeak, I think, which is pretty cool," I said.

Charmspeak used to scare the living daylights out of me because I enjoy my own thoughts and opinions thank you very much. Now being a god and all it wouldn't really affect me, but it's still unsettling. I only stuck up for it now, because people are always looking down on Cabin Ten which I couldn't stand. Especially not after Silena died a hero's death.

"Oh."

"This one up here is Artemis, but it's purely honorary," I said gesturing at the silvery building.

"Goddess of the hunt and the moon, right?"

Piper looked at me like I was a teacher or something, quizzing her on the gods. I felt like I was Mr. Brunner and Piper was much more attentive than I ever was. "Yeah. You seem to know more about Greek mythology than most people do when they first get here."

"I did some reading when my dad was working on a project last year," Piper said quietly.

"What does your dad do?" I asked to be polite, but I didn't quite care.

"He's an- uh an artist. He specializes in Cherokee art."

"But he does Greek too?"

"He's very versatile," she added. I raised an eyebrow but dropped it. She seemed on edge about her dad. I was the same about my mom when I first arrived, but then again, my mom had been vaporized and kidnapped by the Lord of the Underworld. "Hey, you guys wouldn't happen to have a phone I could borrow. I'd actually like to call my dad."

"About that. Another thing that comes with being a demigod is technology is sort of forbidden. Cellphones will alert every monster nearby to your location," I explained. I faltered as I saw Piper's hopes fall. "Lucky for you, my girlfriend never was one for the rules."

"You have her phone?" she said hopefully.

"Well no, but she installed one when she was designing my pal- my home," I corrected. I realized that my efforts to conceal my immortality would be futile. Surely she would soon notice how everyone called me sir or lord. Soon enough omission would just become straight out lying.

"Is it nearby?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll bring you after the campfire tonight. Let's just finish the tour real quick, then I'll bring you to see Chiron. I'm sure he'd like to meet you."

Piper nodded a little too eagerly. We only had three more cabins left. I made sure to hurry past the Athena cabin. I just couldn't bear looking at it for a moment longer than I had to. It was full of siblings that looked too much like Annabeth and full of books and Smart Boards and maps that just screamed out the very essence of who she was. I had to clench my eyes shut as we passed it because even though Annabeth hadn't been gone all that long I still knew she was gone. She was taken and hidden and gone. Leaving me with an empty, hollow feeling lodged in the back of my throat. All I knew was I had to get her back. But now wasn't the time, now was the time to keep moving, to stand back and stand by until I could find her.

When Piper and I approached Hera's cabin, I was unsure if my voice would stay steady. There was pulsing anger inside me and Piper seemed to sense it. She distanced herself from me as my voice shook and my hands were squeezed into fists. I hated how beautiful the cabin was. The intricate peacocks carved into the doors. The shimmered colors. The quiet harmony provoked me. It all felt wrong.

"Is this one empty too? Piper asked, stopping just before the doors.

"Yeah. Goddess of marriage. It's an honorary cabin," I said bitterly, "Ironic since she doesn't seem to have any honor."

I waited for the low roll of thunder above me, but none seemed to come. Maybe Zeus agreed with me, not that he had much honor. "So who goes in here?"

"No one does. It's honorary like I said."

"Someone does." Piper pointed at a footprint on the dusty threshold. She pushed the doors and they swung open easily.

"Piper," I warned. I was furious at Hera, but I wasn't stupid.

"We're supposed to do dangerous stuff, right?" She said with an uneasy grin.

"No," I snapped indignantly, "we do things to survive. We do things to protect people. This isn't a joke or a game. Actions have consequences here."

"I know that," she huffed in reply. But she didn't know that. She hasn't watched life leave people's eyes. She hasn't watched her friends sacrifice themselves. She hasn't had to kill. And to prove that she really didn't understand, Piper walked into that cabin leaving me with no choice but to follow.

"Rachel?" I said in surprise, my anger peeling off.

She was kneeling by the bronze brazen on the cold floor. It wasn't a shock that Hera's cabin was so bare and desolate. So spared from the beauty displayed on the outside. It was almost obvious because it wasn't supposed to be touched. We weren't supposed to be there and Rachel definitely wasn't supposed to be there.

"Percy!" she said before flinging herself into my arms. The last time I saw Rachel she had been distant and mysterious, saying vague things and issuing a prophecy. Now she was more herself, chatting a million miles per minute. Demanding information about my quest and Annabeth.

"Oh Rachel, this is Piper. She's one of the demigods I picked up from the Grand Canyon. And Piper this is Rachel, our oracle," I said, glancing at Piper who looked uncomfortable in the doorway. Rachel's eyes scrutinized Piper, it seemed, but I knew Rachel was simply observant.

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel said with her glowing smile. Piper seemed to release a breath of relief.

"You too. So you live in the cave?"

Rachel laughed, "That's me." She turned to me suddenly. "Where's the one shoed wonder? Was he there?"

"Oh Jason," Piper corrected.

"That's the blonde one?" I asked.

"Yeah. You mentioned something about his shoe back in the Grand Canyon. What was that about?" Piper said curiously.

"Have you told her about the prophecy?"

"Not everything. I haven't told anyone everything yet," I said. The prophecy was personal. It seemed like all prophecies were. Sometimes you just didn't want people to know what was going to happen. Sometimes you just couldn't face it yourself. But that didn't stop Rachel from recounting it in its entirety to Piper, who face twisted in fear.

"False god. What does that mean?" Piper said, trying to understand. Rachel's green eyes were demanding an answer from me, but I couldn't meet her gaze.

"You haven't told her?!" Rachel exclaimed. I ran a hand through my hair, attempting to muss it up, but it remained aggravatingly perfect.

"It never came up," I replied weakly.

"What's going on?"

"I guess you really are a false god, Perseus," she emphasized. "You can't keep pretending that you aren't who you are. That isn't helping anyone."

"I've known her for like an hour. She would have found out on her own anyways."

"Bullshit, Percy. Do you think I like how everyone here treats me? Because I'm the mortal. Because I'm the oracle. Because I get my body and soul hijacked? I get stared at too, but this is who I am. And a god is who you are. It's a gift. An honor. You don't have to like the other gods, but don't disgrace yourself," Rachel insisted.

I let out a deep sigh.

"You're a god?" Piper asked. There was something like awe in her voice. I hated it.

"Yeah. Perseus, God of Riptides at your service," I said plainly.

"I thought you said you were a demigod?"

"On my sixteenth birthday, I was raised to godhood as a reward for...for I don't even know. That was the same day Rachel became the oracle and the same day we won the war."

"A few days before I met Jason," Piper added, skipping over the mentions of godhood and war. Her mind seemed to be spinning. "And then three days ago Annabeth disappears and then today Jason wakes up with no memories and you are told to find him."

"Something bad is happening," Rachel voiced. I couldn't help but silently agree, although I was still upset at Rachel ratting me out. I was enjoying the freedom.

"Guys I-" Before she could continue, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by the shoulders. Piper tried to back away, but Rachel held on tight.

"Free me," she said. But it wasn't Rachel's voice. Usually, that wasn't a huge concern, but it wasn't the Oracle's voice either. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a long, echoing pipe. "Free me, Piper McLean or the earth shall swallow us. It must be by the solstice."

I grabbed onto Piper whose mouth was stretched open in fear and her knees buckled. Rachel's grip lessened, but the green light didn't diminish. Slowly the life came back to Rachel's eyes, but Piper didn't wake up.

"We need to get her to Chiron," I said, but it came out like an order. I lifted Piper over my shoulder and we ran to the Big House. Tears streamed down Rachel's face and she was muttering things. I only caught a few words, something like love or dove. And then she said six, which caught my attention. I knew the Giant War was approaching and the Great Prophecy was starting, but in my mind Annabeth's disappearance took precedence. I had ordered Malcolm to start defensive war efforts and issued Chiron a vague warning, but that was all.

I kicked the door open to the Big House to find Jason with his sword drawn and Chiron looking awfully worried. They both turned to me and I felt the tension dissipate.

"What happened? What's wrong with her?" Jason cried out. He rushed over to Piper, still limp in my arms.

"We were in Hera's cabin. Rachel and Piper- they- they did a thing," I explained articulately.

"A vision, we shared a vision. I think I- I think I may have killed her," Rachel said terrified.

"She's not dead," I said.

I set Piper carefully down onto the couch before grabbing a medkit down the hall. Piper may not have been dead, but she wasn't awake and she was abnormally pale. Chiron guessed it was some sort of temporary magic-induced coma.

"We've got to heal her," Jason insisted. "There's a way, right?"

Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," she said. "As soon as I got back to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Percy and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then I just blanked out. Percy said I spoke in a different voice."

"A prophecy?"

"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long-distance, a power trying to speak through me."

"Chiron, I know Rachel's prophecy voice and this wasn't it. She sounded like an old woman. She latched onto Piper's shoulders and told her-"

"To free her from a prison?" Jason guessed.

I stared at him long and hard. "How'd you know that?"

Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart, like a ward against evil. "Jason, tell them. Perseus, the medicine bag, please."

"Tell us what exactly?" I said as I handed the bag over to Chiron. The centaur trickled drops from an amber-colored vial into Piper's mouth as Jason spoke.

"So does this happen often?" he asked. "Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"

Everyone ignored Jason's comment and sat thinking. Rachel looked at Jason thoughtfully, "Patron, not parent?"

"No, she said patron. She also said my dad had given her my life," Jason said.

"Odd. Could it be some sort of trick?" I asked. There had to be more to the story than this. "You've displayed some knowledge about the gods and demigods. Maybe you have some enemies from your life before this. And whoever took your memories is doing this."

"The lady said if I didn't save her I would never get my memories back, but I don't think she's my enemy. She's imprisoned. She doesn't want her enemy, the thing who caught her, to get stronger. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice."

"It's not Kronos again, is it?" Rachel asked.

Chiron glanced at me uneasily. "No, it isn't that. That threat has ended."

"The prophecy has begun, Chiron. Who is the new threat," Rachel said urgently.

"We should discuss this later, Piper needs to rest," Chiron said, closing his medicine bag.

Rachel looked to me for help, but my face remained neutral.

"Chiron's right," I said quietly.

"Percy-" she began.

"We'll talk about this later," Chiron reiterated. He said it in a way that meant we wouldn't discuss it at all and I knew he was right. I had tipped him off about the Giants, but that didn't make lying to my friends any easier.

"Or now," Jason insisted. "Sir, Mr. Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"

"Oh," Rachel said in a small voice. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment."

"Hera?" I snarled, "She did this too?"

First Annabeth, now Piper and Jason? I was starting to think Piper was onto something about the connection between Jason's appearance and Annabeth's disappearance. The connection being Hera. My scowl deepened.

"I think Rachel's right," Jason said. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this- this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"

"Don't look at me," I said, my features attempting to relax, "Annabeth's the mythology expert."

Chiron nodded reluctantly. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."

"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but it sounds like whoever it is has done us a favor," I said half-joking. I was only joking because I know exactly who took Hera... well not exactly, but it was a Giant. This is the first move in this long game of chess that awaited us. And once again, I was a pawn. I thought godhood would be my escape. I thought I could keep everyone safe.

"Perseus," Chiron warned, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Jason for help-"

"That means he's the last resort. Gods hate asking for help," I said. Rachel gave me a curious look.

Jason looked up. "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."

"But that can't be. I saw Hera in the throne room the other day," I said, "And if Jason was only placed with Piper and Leo yesterday then she must have some control of the outside world still."

"But why use her energy to send me here?" Jason asked. "She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Wilderness School field trip, and sent you to come to pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods and let them know where she is so they bust her out?"

"The gods need heroes to do their will down on earth," Rachel said. "Percy's right, they hate it but they need demigods. Their fates are always intertwined."

"Yeah, but why Jason? Why take a kid, wipe his memory, and plop him into our camp? I think there's a bigger picture here that Hera has hidden from me- from us. Something to do with Jason's memories," I said. And Annabeth.

"And Piper's involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message. And Percy, this must have something to do with Annabeth's disappearance."

"Piper was saying the same thing. The timing of Annabeth and Jason has coincided, but for what? We know Hera's pulling the strings, she told me as much, but how does taking two demigods have anything to do with the prophecy?" I asked, frustrated. "Chiron, what do you think?"

The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "We cannot help them, Perseus. You know that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jason demanded. Rachel looked almost apologetic at me.

"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. And you, Lord Perseus, you should speak with Jason. Tell him about the Greek and Roman gods. I trust you still recall my teachings?"

"Yeah, but-"

The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. I ran a hand through my hair again. Everything was a mess. I needed to go out and find Annabeth. Either that or unleash Hera so I could she could fix everything you screwed up. I wondered what her motives were. My father said that there was a plot to save Olympus and I wouldn't like it. It seemed obvious now that it was Hera, so if she is trying to save Olympus... how would taking Annabeth and Jason take part in that?

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I think my being here- I don't know. I've messed things upcoming to the camp, somehow. Chiron said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it."

"Don't be so hard on yourself; you had no choice in this. I don't know where you came from, but you definitely know more than a newcomer should." My voice trailed off. Jason had placed his sword on the table. My fingers brushed over it gingerly. "Is this gold?"

"I think so. I don't remember anything about it."

"Hm. Come with me. I have an idea," I said, "Rachel, you'll keep an eye on Piper?"

"Yeah. Good luck you two," Rachel replied.

"Where are we going?" Jason asked.

"To get your memories back." Walking out of the Big House, Jason scrambled to his feet to catch up to me.

"So, um, how do we do that?" he asked.

"Cabin Seven. We'll see if they can do anything," I said. It wasn't the best plan, but it was all I had.

"Cabin Seven? What do they do there?"

"If you're lucky, they'll heal you. Fix you, whatever. Otherwise, you might get stuck saying rhyming couplets for the next week or so," I said. The people in front of Apollo's cabin made way so we had space to go inside. A small boy with curly blond hair opened the door.

"Lord Perseus!" he gasped. He even lowered his head as one would to bow.

"Hey there," I interrupted his almost bow, "Do you know where Will is?"

With a gaping mouth the boy could hardly speak, "Um- uh..."

An older kid came to the doorway, with a saxophone slung around his shoulder. "Hey Percy- Perseus, I mean. You need a healer?"

"Yeah, actually. Jason here has conveniently lost all of his memories. We were hoping you guys could heal him, if that's possible at all," I said to Austin. He and I were friends for the most part. I didn't really know him all that well, but he fought in the Battle of Manhattan. That just about made him family.

"Come on in," Austin said. He pulled the younger boy out of the way. In a way, he reminded me of the son of Demeter I met a few weeks ago, Milo, who I had seen around a few times. I always made sure to say hello.

The inside of the Apollo cabin was quite cozy. Flowers adorned the windowsills of pretty purples and yellows. For a blinding gold exterior, the inside was quite modest. It was strangely similar to Aphrodite's cabin.

"Will," Austin called out.

"What's up?" There appeared to be another room behind the back wall that Will was in.

"Perseus and the new kid are here. They need you."

"Coming," Will said. A piece of the back wall revealing this hidden room. A secret door to a secret room. Poseidon's cabin was bland compared to some other cabins.

"Hey Will. You remember Jason, right?"

Will laughed brightly. "The crashing pegasus was quite the entrance."

Jason flushed. "I- uh I've never ridden one before, I don't think."

"Most haven't. I'm Will Solace, by the way," Will said, extending his hand. Jason shook eagerly and I watched Will's eyes examine him. "Mom or Dad? Because you could be Apollo."

Silently, I disagreed. The two boys did look remarkably alike, but Jason had a much stronger aura than Will. Of course, that could simply mean Jason was a strong demigod in his own right, but I didn't think that was it.

"That's actually why we're here. Could we talk in private?" I asked. I needed to get away from the prying eyes of the Apollo Cabin. Will nodded and touched a certain spot on the wall, muttered a hymn and the wall started to spin again.

"C'mon. We can talk back here."

Jason and I followed Will into the back room.

Will sat behind a large desk. A large doctor-ish looking desk. Everything felt very doctor-ish, except for the fact that Will was like 15 and wearing a neon orange camp T-shirt. I loved it though, it was just another informal camp thing that made it home.

"So what seems to be the problem? That landing did seem rough," Will said, his eyes were examining Jason's well-being, but Jason shook his head.

"It wasn't the landing. I can't remember anything from before waking up yesterday."

Will frowned. "Did you hit your head on the landing? Head trauma caused by impact can cause-"

"He was having memory issues from the moment I met him," I told him, "His friends claim to remember him, but the current theory is their memories were implanted by the Mist and Jason just had his memories removed altogether."

"Oh. Wow," Will said, his frowned twisted in frustration, "There isn't much I can do for memories if they were stolen from him. Do you know how powerful the thief was?"

"Think Olympian type powerful, but Will, that stays in this room. We don't need panic."

"Doctor-patient confidentiality, of course," Will paused, looking at me, "but between us... is there reason to panic?"

"There is always a reason to panic, Will, but we'll get through it. We always do."

Will nodded solemnly. I wondered if he was thinking of Lee Fletcher or Michael Yew. Or all of the other dead. I know that I was. I nearly forgot that Jason was there beside me, his memories still gone and the prospects of getting them back seemed slim. There were a lot of things I wish I could forget, but so much I would be devastated to lose.

"There's a potion you could try," Will suggested just before I was going to leave. "A gift from my dad. I think it was more for physical injuries, so I don't know if it'll even work, but you should have it."

"What does it do?" Jason asked. Will rummaged in his desk, pulling a tall flask out. He passed it to Jason.

"It is rumored to heal any wound. I doubt it'll work, but if it could-"

Jason faltered. "You don't have to. Gods, I mean that is super generous, but if it won't work-"

"Thanks, Will," I said taking the flask from Jason's hands, "I'll let you know how it goes. We really appreciate it."

Will looked sad seeing the potion go, but he and I both knew it was necessary and I'd find a way to pay him back. "Anytime."

I reached for the door with Jason on my heels when I felt Will grab at my arm.

"Don't be a stranger, Percy," he said flushed.

I blinked at him and felt a smile rise. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Will."