Hola. Short update. I've been really busy, I'm so sorry!

I will not do replies again, though I will next time.

Watching the Avengers! XD

Disclaimer: ...

READ ON!

Zack led me through the crowd that had gathered outside the Big House. Everyone went silent as their eyes fell on me. I felt like a celebrity caught in the act, but what the act was, I wasn't aware. All I knew was that if there was a script it hadn't reached me.

Now fully dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts I shoved my hands in my pockets and ducked my head. I followed Zack as the crowd parted. The silence was numbing, I wasn't sure if these people were on my side or not.

"Where are we going?"

"Special circumstances?" Zack replied. "The meeting's being held in the arena."

The place they learn to fight. How appropriate.

"Why?"

"The entire camp is going. Some kids moved the ping pong table there so only the head counselors will be speaking, but everyone will be watching."

"Oh, goody." I mumbled. "A live, armed, audience. Fantastic. Did my birthday come early this year?"

Zack smiled a little. "Stage fright?"

"Not so much afraid of speaking in public as I am that said public will throw a knife at me. And when your public is a throng of demigods, that's not paranoia. That's reality."

"Fair enough." Was his reply.

Half an hour later, what appeared to be the entire camp had gathered. Chiron stood in front of everyone.

"We are here to listen to Lena's request. She, and the gods, are in need of our help. I ask you listen intently and respectively." He turned to me. "Go ahead."

I had rehearsed this in my head countless times. How I would ask, what I would say, what I wouldn't say. Yet what came out of my mouth was:

"I don't wanna be here." I looked around my crowd and saw furrowed brows of confusion. I continued before they became too angered.

"I honestly had prepared what I was gonna say, but honestly? Most of it was lies and half-truths. I decided I'm sick of those, so you probably are too. So, I'm gonna say it like it is. How many people have told you that to your face?"

I decided to force my attention to the group at the ping pong table.

"I know what you're thinking." I told them honestly. "You want to know if I'm lying or not. If I am who I say I am. Yes, my parents are indeed Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." I saw a combination of doubt, surprise, and pleasure.

"You wanna quiz me? I'll fail. I can tell you all these details that seem so insignificant. I can tell you their favorite colors. Their favorite foods. How awful they were at cooking. What made them laugh. What made them cry." I looked them in the eyes, no longer all that afraid. I was finally able to say my piece, after all these years.

And I would tell it.

My way.

"But honestly? Their quests? I probably know the least about them. I know they were dangerous, and I know my parents don't talk about them much. That's about it. I can claim that I've met all of those heros, the alive ones that is, what are talked about in their tales, but I can't prove it.

"You want proof? For starters, you guys saw me control water! I'm sixteen and have never been to camp! I'd be dead without assistance and training! Second of all," I took out my father's pen, uncapped it, and threw it on the ping pong table, "take a good look at that."

They all gathered around it, but the Hephaestus kid got to the front, examining the blade. He looked up with wide eyes. "It's genuine. The real blade of Percy Jackson. Anaklusmos. Riptide."

I pulled out my knife and waved it, looking directly at a glaring Kara. I met her gaze with a steel one of my own. "Remember this 'pathetic little weapon'? This is the blade of Annabeth Chase. This is the cursed blade that took Kronos's, and with it the HERO Luke's, life. It has seen more battle in one year than you have all seen in your lifetimes. Doesn't matter if the year in question was when it was my mother's knife or when it was mine. It's seen battle and war. It's seen desolation and desperation. It's seen things you don't see in your worst nightmares. As has my father's sword," I added, nodding my head at the weapon on the table.

"So, yes, I am a Chase Jackson. And, yeah, I'm proud of it, but am I exactly glad about it?" I questioned, returning to equally gazing at everyone at the table. "I'm not sure. I found out about monsters, and gods, and fate, and destiny, and all this messed up shit when I was five."

I let that sink in.

"Five years old." I repeated. "At seven I killed my first monster. At nine, my parents died. That day, that awful, awful day, you see it as the day the greatest of heroes fell. I see it as the day I became parent-less, which, I assure you, is far worse."

A pause. "Due to monster attacks, I've been expelled from seventeen. The number I've attended, though, is far greater. I had, have, to keep on the move. I have to hide from monsters. From satyrs. From gods. From demigods." A pause.

I cleared my throat, and for this part, diverted my eyes, and spoke softer, but I knew the table could hear me. "When I was five, Athena visited my parents. She told them that the gods feared my power. Called me the epitome of heroism, and therefore the epitome of a threat, should I turn over to the darkside, or whatever. Many gods want me dead."

"Ares." I looked Kara in the eye as I said this, and the matching counselor for the god I spoke. "Demeter. Dionysus. Hephaestus. Hades and Zeus." I looked at the counselor again. "All these gods want my head on a stick." I glanced over at Kara. "Perhaps some taking that phrase a little more literal than others, though."

"But I have gods protecting me, too. Poseidon and Athena, for two." I said, glancing at Max, and Alexa. "As well as Apollo," I, once again, looked at the corresponding counselor as I said the god. "Hermes, and most minor gods, in addition to Hestia." A pause. "Notice that this is how you're Capture the Flag teams lined up. Your parents, the gods, are influencing you and neither of you notice it!"

I licked my lips and took a deep breath. "Athena said that I would be protected from the other gods if I laid low. Didn't stay in one place too long. Didn't catch attention from other demigods. And, most definitely, did not come to Camp. This is your safe haven? This is my damnation. When I crossed the borders, I was claimed, by both Athena and Poseidon. I will now be much easier to track. Much easier to find. Much easier to kill. " I purposely avoided looking at Zack at that part. I wasn't sure if I had filled him in on that completely.

"But Thalia sent me here. She told me I needed to find you. You see, a new threat is attacking in a very...unconventional way." I took a deep breath and tilted my chin up, unallowing of fear to show. "In the west, both the Romans and Hunters are fighting it, but it's not enough. They need you. They need the Greeks. They need heroes. They say they need me."

I, once again, met each set of eyes, but this time, I turned my attention to the crowd, and spoke louder.

"I want this clear. I am not a hero. I don't want to be one. Maybe you guys all dream of it, I wouldn't know. What I do know is that being a hero made my parents go one numerous, unimaginably difficult and life-threatening quests. I also know that the fact that my parent's were heroic is why they died. Because they died to save me."

A pause that stretched through years.

"So don't call me a hero, and do yourself a favor, don't play hero. They're over-rated."

Another eternal pause.

"With that being said, the gods need your help, perhaps our help. Memory Monster, that's the threat."

Someone laughed. I think it was the Dionysus head counselor. "Memory Monster? You're kidding right? That's a joke?"

I tilted my head. "Oh, how I wish someone would come up to me and tell me my entire life was just a joke. It'd be a cruel joke, but there'd be an end at least."

A part of me thought, 'Maybe that's all life is. A cruel joke you laugh about in death.'

But I didn't share my opinion. I just trudged on.

"Think on it for a moment. What is the Western Civilization, if not a memory? That's all Olympus is built on. A memory. Everyone else, they attacked the structure of Olympus. The physical qualities, instead of the substance. What it is in it's essence. This monster is erasing the memory of the Western Civilization. California probably doesn't even know who Zeus is. My guess? The Romans are harder to mind-swipe due to their godly heritage, but he'll get to them eventually. And then it'll spread faster without opposition, and it will reach this Camp, I assure you. Without backup or protection, this Camp will fall, as will Olympus's last hope."

I paused and a sudden erratic urge to laugh filled me. I laughed. And laughed. Everyone seemed concerned of my sanity, but I didn't care.

"And, to stick with the honesty? A part of me want's to see it burn. What has Olympus done for me except ruin my life?" The laugh died down. "But Olympus is like democracy. It is far from perfect people, but it's the best plan out there. I am not crazy, I do not seriously wish for the fall of Olympus.

"Perhaps it is unfair, what I am asking. My whole life is unfair so I've lost understanding of the concept. But I'll do another thing I doubt anyone else has. I'll tell you exactly everything I know about the danger. It's a monster that can control memories. Yours. Mine. Ours. Doesn't matter how old it is or how hard you can try to bury it. He will bring it up, and he will make you relive it so bad, you won't even realize it's a memory. It'll suck. And, while you're dealing with your past, he'll probably kill you in the present. Fact of life."

I crossed my arms. "There it is. My spele without grace or eloquence. Now it's up to you. You decide. Anyway, I'll be leaving today."

I stared them in the eyes, trying to show no fear, but I was afraid.

If they didn't go with me, it was probably a lost cause.

If they did go with me, a good number might want to kill me in my sleep.

The joys of being a Jackson.