Shadowhunter3803: Reyna and Piper is the plan.
Piper tried to focus on the tour. Percy showed her a few of the basic places, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. Piper glanced at him as he led her towards children who were aiming bows. They held three arrows at once and fired. The arrows hit the target perfectly.
"How do you keep people, well non-demigods, from just walking in?" Piper questioned as a million questions ran through her head. Percy glanced at her.
"We have a barrier that keeps things and people out. There have been a few instances where a mortal has gotten in, but they were pretty isolated," Percy answered.
"Mortal," Piper repeated. The word sounded odd. It made her seem not normal. Of course, she wasn't.
"We're all children of gods here. There's a cabin for everyone," Percy explained. "Even though they don't have kids, Artemis and Hera have cabins because they would be mad if they didn't. Mad goddesses are not fun."
"So, my mom is a goddess?" Piper questioned. Percy nodded. They passed by two campers sword fighting. Piper stared as she realized they were using real swords. She forced herself back onto the conversation. "What is the big deal about claiming?"
"The gods all made a vow to claim kids before they turned thirteen. It was pretty serious. Sometimes, they are late, but it shouldn't be by years," Percy explained.
Piper nodded. Did her father even know about her mother? Piper spoke, "Do you know what happened to Hedge?"
"No," Percy admitted. "He was there because satyrs are suppose to keep an eye out for half-bloods. As you get older, more monsters think you are worth targeting. Satyrs are suppose to get demigods here safely."
"If he did die, he'll reincarnate into a nice flower. Well, it might not be a nice one. Anyway, you guys got pretty lucky. Those storm spirits are pretty hard to kill," Percy continued.
"Reyna's sword and dagger cut right through them," Piper said. "On the bright side, they are gone."
"Not really," Percy corrected. "They are reforming in Tartarus. If you're lucky, they won't be back till past your lifetime. Demigods usually aren't that lucky."
They were walking past a blonde boy giving out directions in another language. Percy's face grew sad. Piper spoke, "Is that one of Annabeth's siblings?"
"Yeah," Percy answered. He looked down. "I've been looking for her for three days. We kissed after the campfire one night, and she was gone the next day."
"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Reyna. She doesn't remember me, but she'll get over that, right?" Piper questioned. Percy looked away.
"Piper, I think we need to talk," Percy began.
"Reyna didn't just appear at the school. She has memory no for some weird reason," Piper protested. She wouldn't let Percy tell her different.
"It's the mist," Percy said. "It messes with everyone's mind and makes them believe things that aren't true. I had a kindly one as my math teacher. She used the mist to trick everyone. When I killed her, the mist made it seem like she never existed, and we had a different teacher."
"Reyna isn't a monster though. She can't use the mist," Piper protested. Panic built inside of her.
"What's her last name?" Percy asked. Piper opened her mouth but closed it. She didn't know. "Where was she born. Favorite color? Favorite place?"
"The memories I have are not fake," Piper said. She told Percy everything that she could about the Wilderness school and Reyna. He listened silently and didn't interrupt. When Piper finished, Percy gently grabbed her shoulder.
"What about the tattoo?" Percy wondered. "Why was she at the school? Can you tell me anything personal about her?"
Piper looked down. She thought back to the day before when Reyna had gotten stitches, but there was no stitches there. There was no wound or indication that anything had happened. Tears leaked from her eyes.
Piper started to cry. Percy gently pulled her into a cabin and closed the door. He sat her on the bed and spoke, "Hey, we'll figure this out."
It took Piper a few moments to stop crying. She finally looked up Percy and nodded slightly. He gave her a sad smile.
"It's hard," Percy began. He closed his own eyes and took a deep breath. "It's hard losing someone you love. We'll get Reyna's memory back. Promise."
Piper nodded slightly. She leaned forward and closed her eyes as she remembered the voice from her nightmare. She was suppose to betray her friends. If she listened to the voice, everything would be okay.
"If we're going to get her memory back, you'll need a weapon," Percy said. Piper slowly looked up. She was helped up and led out. "We have a great selection."
Piper followed him without another word. They walked to a locked shed. Percy opened it, and they stepped inside.
"If Annabeth was here," Percy said. He looked down again. It was obviously tearing him apart. "She would say match the weapon to the style. I'm guessing your style isn't shotgun or two handed sword."
"Shotgun?" Piper asked in surprised. She tried to look at all the weapons, but her mind couldn't process everything. Percy picked it up to show her. "Couldn't that hurt someone?"
"Celestial bronze bullets only hurt monsters. Although, the kick of the shotgun slammed it into my ribs and cracked one when I tried it a few years ago," Percy responded. He looked around. Piper's eyes focused on a corner of the room. She walked towards it and picked up a dagger.
"What's this?" Piper questioned. The sheathe was black leather. When she unsheathed it, the blade was about a foot and a half long. Bronze like all the other weapons. She caught her more mature reflection in the blade.
"It's a ceremonial blade," Percy replied. "It showed how wealthy you were, but I'm pretty sure it has a tragic past. Most weapons do."
"Katoptris is the name. It means looking glass," Percy continued. "Helen of Troy owned it."
Piper nodded. As she stared into the blade, she saw a bonfire. Her dad was tied in chains in front of it. Taunting laughter was in her ears. Piper dropped the dagger.
"You okay?" Percy asked quickly. Piper nodded and quickly picked up the blade. She took deep breaths.
"Just overwhelmed," Piper lied. "May I keep the blade?"
Percy studied her for a moment. He seemed to know a lot more than he let on. Percy finally nodded.
"Can I call my dad?" Piper wondered in a quiet voice.
"Demigods can't have phones. It's like a flair to monsters. Annabeth has the only phone, and we haven't been able to contact her on it. Sorry," Percy said.
Piper nodded sadly. She knew what would happen though. Her father wouldn't pick up which would force Piper to call her father's assistant. Jane would say he was busy.
Percy motioned for her to follow. Her led her out of the shed and past the cabins. One was silver which she realized belonged to Artemis. When she voiced this, Percy turned towards her.
"Artemis doesn't have any kids, but she has Hunters. They are immortal and can hunt with her. Only bad part is they can fall in battle and have to swear off dating. Annabeth almost became one," Percy explained. The sadness came back to his face.
Piper almost gagged as they passed by another cabin. She was pretty sure it was Barbie's mansion, or the place where Barbies went to die. Percy's look confirmed what she was thinking.
"Aphrodite," Percy informed. "They're not all bad though. Trust me on that."
That was hard to believe. Piper just nodded though. As they were walking, her eyes focused on a cabin. The peacock feather designs were what really caught her attention. Piper spoke, "Who does that belong to?"
"Hera. She doesn't have any kids. Zeus' cabin is next to hers. He has a daughter who is a Hunter of Artemis. The cabins are empty now though," Percy explained.
"There's footprints," Piper noted as she looked at the dust on the doorstep. She put a hand to the door. Percy didn't protest, so she opened the door and stepped inside.
The first thing she saw was a ten foot statue of Hera on her throne. It was surrounded by white pillars. Piper did not expect the statue to look so human.
Hera had a stone hawk on her shoulder. She held a staff in her hand. Despite the smile, the expression dared Piper to defy her and pay the price. There was nothing else in the room besides a light fire.
"Homy," Piper whispered. She came to the cabin because it felt connected to her terrible dreams. An answer had to be there. A cloaked figure stepped out from behind the shadows.
"Percy!" a girl said. She threw off of hood. Even though Piper was expecting a creepy cult member, she saw a normal teenage girl with frizzy, red hair and green eyes.
"Hey Rachel. This is Piper," Percy greeted. "Piper, that is our oracle She usually lives in a cave, but she comes out time to time."
"Don't call me Batman though," Rachel joked. Piper frowned. They had an oracle who lived in a cave?
"You can see the future?" Piper asked. She tried to keep her voice even.
"It likes to mug me when I'm not ready," Rachel admitted. "Everyone finds it creepy, but it's better than the old mummy. Anyway, I was here on a hunch. The silence of the gods, Annabeth's disappearance, and this cabin all have to be connected."
"Silence of the gods?" Piper questioned. Percy gave her a pained look.
"The gods aren't the most involved, but they do send messages for us. We can visit sometimes. Annabeth was redesigning Olympus, but about a month ago, the gods just fell silence," Percy explained. "Dionysus is also gone which I'm not complaining about, but we still need our director."
"Dionysus is your director?" Piper asked. She was sure he was a wine god. Percy nodded his confirmation.
"I got a dream from my least favorite god," Percy muttered. "I had to find the girl with one shoe, and she was suppose to lead me to Annabeth. That didn't happen."
"It's not Reyna's fault," Piper protested. "She doesn't remember anything about herself."
"Who?" Rachel wondered.
"My friend," Piper responded after a moment. Despite her earlier protests, she couldn't say girlfriend anymore. There was a chance Reyna didn't even like her.
"I'm not blaming her," Percy promised. Piper looked down. Maybe, she should warn them about her dream. It could all be connected. "Something bad is happening though."
Before Piper could agree, Rachel stiffened, and her eyes glowed green. She grabbed Piper's shoulders.
"Free me, or the earth will consume us," Rachel said. It wasn't her voice though. It was older and sounded further away. "Before the solstice. If you don't, their fiery king will rule, and we will all be doomed."
Piper tried to pull away, but she couldn't. Green mist circled them. The statue stood and repeated the same thing. Piper tried to look for Percy, but everything went black.