Changed Hero

Chapter 4: Memories

Percy's Point of View

The next day during breakfast we announced our plans. It was met with little resistance. The day went by as usual. The activity I had was Roman history along with the Ceres and Mercury cabins. After supper I headed out to sit by the river. As I was thinking about the memories I had regained about Camp Half-Blood, a great pain came over my head.

I saw flashes of the girl named Annabeth and a faun named Grover. I saw flashes of things we had done together. Then I saw visions of Annabeth and me together. I saw how she had been my original mortal link when I had bathed in the River Styx.

Then the vision changed to visions of the Legion. We were preparing for some kind of battle. We were lining up on a battlefield. My commander ordered the charge. We were fighting against union soldiers. Just as I finished killing one of the union soldiers I felt a dagger slide in between my ribs.

The vision changed once more. I was in a forest and the moon was full. I was tracking a Cyclops that had attacked some people in a nearby town. I had a bow in my hand. It felt natural holding it. My footsteps were silent. I circled the clearing with the Cyclops in it and found the best shot. I then released my arrow. It was a perfect shot.

The scene changed. I was in a clearing sting with a girl with long brown hair. She looked to be about 16. She was wearing a green tunic with brown leggings, a brown belt, and brown boots. I had just said something to make her laugh. I knew in the vision that I loved her, but there was some reason that kept me from telling her.

I opened my eyes to see the Greeks along with Jason leaning over me. The girl Annabeth asked, "Are you ok Commander."

I quickly sat up and backed away a few steps, "The mortal link…"

Annabeth had a hopeful look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"I remember that you were my mortal link before."

"Were?"

"Lady Styx removed my curse and I bathed in her river a second time."

Annabeth looked at me in disbelief, "That has ever been done before!"

"There is a first time for everything."

"So do you remember everyone now? Do you remember me?"

"I do but we can't be together anymore."

Annabeth and the others looked shocked, which was understandable considering what they had probably heard about our relationship. Annabeth was opening and closing her mouth like a fish. I told her, "You're going to catch flies doing that."

She quickly shut her mouth and said, "What do you mean we can't be together?"

"I meant exactly that. It would be unfair to you to continue this relationship."

"Why would it be unfair?"

"Because I believe another holds my heart and it is no longer mine to give. I am a completely different person than I was when I left camp."

Annabeth looked close to tears, but I couldn't be with her until I remembered my past lives. When Lady Juno sent me down to the Underworld to bathe in the River Styx again, Lady Lethe along with Lady Styx greeted me. They said they had been watching my life and they both wished to give me a gift. Lady Styx made my sword, Riptide, half Celestial Bronze and half Imperial Gold. She also removed my old Achilles Curse and then allowed me to bathe in the river again because she didn't want me to go mad from forgetting my mortal link. Lady Lethe gave me a blessing that would allow me to regain the memories of my past lives as I regained my memories from this one. She warned me that it might change me a little and said I didn't have to accept it, but I told her that I would accept. Lady Lethe said she was planning on offering the blessing anyways but this was a good opportunity.

Piper then told Annabeth, "He is telling the truth Annabeth."

We all stood in silence for a few minutes. Annabeth then got this angry look on her face, "This is that cow Hera's entire fault! If she hadn't kidnapped you and taken your memories we could still be together and you wouldn't want to break up with me."

"I know all the pain that Lady Hera has caused you, but she also has a heart. She is only trying to take care of her family. She cares for me many weeks after my departure from Camp Half-Blood. You should be more respectful to Lady Juno Annabeth. She is only trying to unite demigods and save us from another Trojan war along with helping us to defeat Gaea. Besides she didn't kidnap me, I left of my own free will."

Leo then spoke because Annabeth was in too much shock to form a coherent sentence, "What do you mean you went of your own free will?"

"It means she did not force me. I was out on the beach after curfew saving some hippocampi caught in a fishing net and she showed up on the beach and explained to me the situation with Gaea and about the Legion and her plan to unite them with Camp Half-Blood. I was told that my memory would be taken and how my Father was unsure of my origins at my birth. Lady Juno gave me the chance to become what I was always meant to be, a Roman. Though I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth about that last part, I have since decided that she was. I feel more at home in Rome than I ever did at Camp Half-Blood. Anyways, as you know I agreed to come with her."

Annabeth then found her voice, "You mean you knew you were going to leave and you didn't even say goodbye! The whole camp was worried sick about you! We have spent the whole time you were gone trying to find you. I thought you might be dead! Grover was devastated because he found that the empathy link was no longer there! How could you have just left without telling anyone about it?"

I calmly answered her, "It was necessary for the plan to get the camps to work together to work. I had to break the empathy link so it wouldn't be easy to find me."

All of a sudden Annabeth lunged at me with her dagger. I quickly dogged and pulled out riptide. I stayed on the defensive, knowing she was just trying to find an outlet for her emotions. Athena and Minerva children always had trouble dealing with their emotions. After a few minutes I got tired of the fight and swiftly disarmed her. "It does you no favors when you let your emotions blind you in a fight. You leave yourself open for all kinds of attacks."

I picked up her dagger and held it out to her. She grabbed it and ran off crying. Piper quickly ran after her. Leo then spoke up, "Whoa, I am sooo not looking forward to spending days on a boat with you two."

Jason then spoke, "Why don't you head on to bed Leo. We have a long day of preparations tomorrow and you especially need to be alert."

"Alright Jason."

After we could no longer see him I sat back down with a sigh. Leo was right; it was going to be an uncomfortable few days on the ship.

Jason then sat down next to me, "So is it someone here in the Legion you have fallen for?"

"No, but Reyna seemed to think that we should be together because we are both Praetors. She left me alone about it though after I told her I was interested in someone else. We came really close to being together before I regained my memories though. Well we were sort of together, for a while, but it was more of a political alliance than a relationship. We have become close friends since we decided to not be together. She did tell me that the two of you were together briefly though."

"We were in the same situation you were in. We were both Praetors and it is not uncommon for Praetors to get married. I got back all my memories on the flight over here. I haven't told the others yet though. I am still trying to figure out how to bring together what I learned with the Greeks and with the Romans. I remember when I broke up with Reyna. She didn't react anything like Annabeth did with you. I told her I didn't want a relationship of convenience and wanted to wait for actual love. She was ok with that."

"She acted the same way when I told her I didn't want to be with her. I think she really just wants to wait for love to, not that she would ever say that out loud."

"So who is it you love?"

"I am not entirely sure. You must swear on the River Styx that you won't repeat what I am about to tell you."

I had decided that of all people Jason would be the most likely to understand because he had also gone through losing his memory. "I swear on the River Styx to not repeat what you are about to tell me."

"After I left Camp with Hera she explained that losing my memories of my mortal link, which was Annabeth, could cause me to go insane. So she asked me to return to the Underworld and ask Lady Styx to remove the curse or make it so I wouldn't go insane from forgetting my mortal link. I went down there and she removed my curse and then I bathed in the River again and gained a new mortal link that wouldn't affect me when I lost my memories. While down there she also made Riptide, my sword, half Celestial Bronze and half Imperial Gold. Lady Lethe then approached me and said she had been keeping an eye on me and thought I was worthy of her blessing. She is allowing me to regain the memories of my past lives. She believed I could handle the memories. I think Hera believed the both of us could handle losing and regaining our memories. I was not told who I was but I have since figured out that this is my third life. The memories of my past lives include someone that I once loved. I know that they are most likely dead since the memories appear to be from when Greece was still relatively new, but I don't want a romantic relationship until I remember everything."

"Wow, they weren't kidding back at Camp Half-Blood when they said you had crazy adventures. That makes sense by the way. When I first got my memories back I was really confused about some things. I kept thinking 'Should I trust these Greeks?' even though I knew I could. The romance aspect was also confusing because at first I didn't remember calling it off with Reyna."

"Speaking of your relationships Jason, Piper seems to really like you."
"You think?"
"Yeah. She gets that 'I love you but don't want to tell you because you're Roman and I'm Greek and you might love someone in the Legion' look on her face every time she glances at you when she thinks no one else is looking."

"You got all that from just one look?"

"Lady Juno didn't just train me to speak Latin you know."

"I bet it was pretty cool getting to learn from Lady Juno."

"Yeah it was pretty nice being exposed to the Roman way of life that way instead of any of the other ways it could have gone."

Jason sighed wistfully, "I wish someone had explained the Greek ways of life to me. I just woke up on a bus full of people that claimed that I had been going to school with them all year. It is so different at Camp Half-Blood."

"Lady Juno probably didn't explain because she knew you would be safe at Camp Half-Blood. They aren't exactly super violent up there. You are right though, it is way different there. Do you think you will go back there when this is all over? I know you said your allegiance lies with Rome, and I still believe you, but that doesn't mean you want to stay forever."

"I will probably return to the Legion, but I have made many friends at Camp Half-Blood, and then of course there's Piper. I still haven't quite figured out all of my feelings for her yet. I don't think I would be able to totally leave Camp Half-Blood behind though. What about you?"

"Right now, if the Gods allow it, I would prefer to return to the Legion. Though I now have all of my memories of Camp back, I have grown to enjoy the lifestyle here at the Legion more. I am hoping that this quest will really unite the camps. Where people can travel back and forth and experience both lifestyles and choose their own path. One step at a time though, first we must defeat Gaea and her Giants."

"Right"

Author's Note: I got the idea about Reyna and the guys from either another fan fiction or the actual book. Can't remember. It was a good idea though and if this idea came from your fan fiction feel free to tell me and I will give you credit for the idea. You got to see some of the struggle Jason and Percy are going through this chapter. Next chapter Annabeth's reaction to what Percy did. Many had asked for a fight between Annabeth and Percy so I tried to put it in but I thought it slightly unrealistic at this point for her to win, and he is still Roman enough to not let her win on purpose. I am open to suggestions for future chapters.