Chapter four: Et Cor Intermissum

Disclaimer: No one told me it's this hard to say you're not Rick Riordan in a funny and witty manner.

"The heart was made to be broken"

- Oscar Wilde

Percy's POV:

The Argo II landed, and Percy could immediately tell something was wrong. He had seen his Wise Girl with two other people, a girl with eyes the colour of fourteen karat gold and a muscular but surprisingly babyish Chinese - Canadian man. He knew his Wise Girl, so he wasn't very worried about him. But when he met Annabeth's eyes, he did not see them light up the way his did. He did not see the spark of recognition, the relief in her eyes that was so clearly there in his own. Instead, it felt like she was looking at him the way scientists must look at lab rats, with an almost clinical and detached professionalism, as if she were assessing him. But there, just beneath the impassivity, he thought he saw a glimmer of the old Annabeth, gone between one blink and the next, but there.

So, recognising that this was not the place to make a scene or freak out, Percy plastered a big smile on his face and said, "Thank you for allowing us to visit this camp and congratulations on your latest victory against the giants! Now we could just keep hovering over the city boundaries…or we could disembark from the ship and celebrate!" Since everyone was high-strung after the battle, a party seemed perfect. He walked with Reyna and Piper to meet Jason, Hazel and Annabeth. His steps turned to lead. He was afraid she would tell him she no longer wanted to be with him. A year was a long time, who knew what had happened. Every step forward seemed to push new knives into his chest till it felt like he would burst.

He saw Jason embracing Reyna and welcoming her back. A kid named Octavian tried to stir trouble by pointing out how it was against the rules to have three praetors but since Jason and Reyna had history and Hazel basically seemed like the sweetest person he had ever seen, they teamed up and shot Octavian down.

He went back to the temporary camp where the party was being held, seething and fuming. Seeing Jason with Reyna, albeit as comrades because Reyna had decided that Jason just wasn't right for her, seeing Hazel with the baby man whose name he later learned was Frank, Percy's own chest constricted.

Every time he felt Annabeth would acknowledge him, would say something, she had turned and walked away. He was not okay, after spending twelve months searching every place imaginable, battling monsters, pleading the gods for help, he just hadn't imagined that this was the sort of welcome he'd receive. Sure, he hadn't been her boyfriend long, but he had been her friend for six years and now, to suddenly have both things taken away, Percy felt dizzy. He felt like he would collapse any minute now when he saw her finally walking towards him with a glass of water in her hands. She handed the glass of water to him wordlessly and their fingers brushed.

To Percy, it felt like holding Zeus' masterbolt, like an electron undergoing a beta decay reaction, full of energy. He almost dropped the glass before gathering his thoughts, drinking the water and muttering a barely audible "thanks." And adding "Wise Girl." Just to see if she'd react. He could feel her tense up. So, he finally mustered the courage and looked up, right into her eyes. She was looking at him with a mixture of confusion and…frustration. As if she couldn't quite decide what to say.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked him, her voice a little high and unsure. Percy frowned. Annabeth was many things – smart, loyal, sarcastic and beautiful, but unsure of herself wasn't one of them. And then her words registered, almost like the way lightning strikes and only after that you hear the sound of thunder and he almost fell to the ground.

"No" he whispered to himself, "No! No! No! No! No!" How could she not remember him at all? She clearly remembered Leo and Piper and had even asked about Chiron, her mentor, almost like her father. It seemed as if she remembered everything apart from who he was.

He felt bitter then. At the Gods for making him suffer, at the Giants, at the Fates themselves for doing everything short of cutting his yarn to make his life miserable. And unfair as it was, he was a little angry at Annabeth, okay, more than a little angry. He couldn't help but feel that had the situation been reversed, he would never have forgotten about her.

He realised what kind of impression he had made, with everyone giving him looks of pity, sympathy and concern. That one hurt the most, because even people who had never met him were worried at what was happening while his Wise Girl, his Annabeth just looked at him like he was a mystery she had to solve.

He decided to get a grip on himself, not for his sake, or for Annabeth's, but for all the campers who would probably have to fight for their lives in a few months if they didn't succeed. He had to project confidence for them, he had to step up, and he had to lead.

He was the son of Poseidon. Earthshaker. Stormbringer. God of the Seas, and he would not falter.

After saying goodbye to Reyna and meeting Jason, Frank and Hazel, he was convinced that they were like him, heroes, forced to do things no one should ever have to do. Normal children woke up from nightmares about imaginary monsters, they had to actually confront them. Finally, the festivities ended, and the time came. They had to leave. The Feast of Spes was fast approaching and Gaia had planned to rise then and crush all hope forever.

They all climbed aboard the Argo Two and with a last look at Camp Jupiter, flew away.

INTERLUDE - *ON OLYMPUS*

Poseidon was mad, the council hadn't seen him this angry since the time Odysseus had killed his son, the cyclops Polyphemus. In fact, today he seemed angrier. "What did you do with my son Hera?" he growled and struck his trident against the ground. Even Athena, who was the most calm and level-headed Olympian on the council seemed to have given in to her anger. On her though, it was a lot more terrifying. Her eyes blazed with a silver fire and raged like a hurricane. The gods knew that when Pallas Athena, patron of Athens, Goddess of war and battle strategy set her mind to something, she accomplished it, and she did it in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Even Zeus was mad at his wife, but for different reasons. He could not believe she had defied his direct orders and orchestrated something as dangerous as the intermixing between the two camps. "It's a good thing you aren't here Hera." He thought.

Percy's POV:

It had been two weeks since they had boarded the Argo II and Annabeth still did not remember him. This made things awkward as many times Percy would forget and say something about her, or worse to her and be faced with the look that said "I don't know who you are, I do not remember you." Piper came up to him one day and asked quietly "Are you okay Perce? You can talk to me" "I know Piper, but it's so hard. Yesterday I said something about how she wanted to be an architect because she wanted to build something permanent, something that would outlast the gods themselves and she looked at me with disbelief. As if she couldn't believe I knew that. She keeps looking at me like I'm a stranger. I have tried everything to jog her memory. But it feels like she is a mountain, and I am the sea, and no matter how hard I try, I can't get the stone to crack."

Piper was quiet for a moment. Truth be told, her heart broke seeing how Hera had manipulated everyone for her own purposes and then discarded them, especially Percy. "You know her Percy, be glad she's looking at you like a problem that she doesn't know the answer to. It just means that she's focusing everything at trying to figure you out. We both know that there isn't a problem in the world that she can't solve if she puts her mind to it and trust me, there is nothing else on her mind right now."

"Thanks Piper…. it's nice talking to you. Also, I have noticed how you look at Jason. Just talk to him" he said, ending his sentence with a slight smirk. "Oh shut up Water Boy." She said and walked away.

That night, for some reason, Percy dreamt of Elpis, the spirit of Hope. Of how he had guarded hope, presenting it to Hestia, for hope survives best at the hearth. And he knew, that he wouldn't give up hope, because as long as he was with his friends, as long as he was with Annabeth, as long as he had Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter to return to, he would have hope, because he would have a home.

Author's Note – Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update! Truth be told, I was feeling a little down. But I hope this chapter is as good as the others. I wanted to properly explore Percy's feelings about Annabeth losing her memory while also wanting to finish the story with something of a happy ending. The next chapter will be in Annabeth's POV. As always, please review, because that's what keeps the little engine running. I'd honestly love comments, reviews, tips, requests etc. So, Hope you enjoy and stay safe!