When MYTHS Become Real

Mnemosyne said that the memory block would fade, but I wasn't taking any chances. I could feel the pull of water and followed it even though the fog that tried to creep into my sense. The river was pitch black and moved quickly. Even if I was immune to water's effects, I knew that one drop from this river would leave me totally mindless, but I wasn't sure that'd actually be a bad thing. Last winter, Mnemosyne had screwed with my memories by giving me a dream where I was just a normal girl. Would it really be so bad if I let myself remember a life like that?
“Stop being selfish and focus,” I scolded myself.
I closed my eyes and put all my concentration into the river. I needed to stop it somehow but the more I tried, the harder it fought against me. When I tried to make it stop, it moved faster until the river before me bubbled and gushed like rapids. I let out an annoyed breath and started impatiently pacing the bank.
I ran my fingers through my long red locks in frustration and a familiar tingling spread in my fingertips. I snapped my head to the left and stared at the dark water. A thin sheet of glass sat on the surface but it broke apart after only a minute. I remembered Rachel's picture with the weird air swirls and the steam from the water ball Mnemosyne had thrown and realized that I didn't need to stop the water, just make sure the vapor couldn't get up to New York.
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. My ice power was the coolest thing I could do, my strongest gift, but I'd never frozen anything so large before. It wasn't going to be a piece of cake like it usually was and I was a little afraid that I couldn't do it. I forced out my doubt and closed my eyes, stretching my hands toward the Lethe. I could feel the top layer starting to respond to my command and I smiled in spite of my situation. I slowly made my way downstream and the river froze over as I went along.
The River Lethe stretched for miles before stopping in a small lake. I'd already walked for hours and was completely exhausted but I was so, so close to being done. I put out one more blast of power and watched as the lake turned to black ice. It was thin, probably not even enough to support my weight. But it was enough.
Satisfied, I let the adrenaline drain from my body. I was beyond tired and didn't fight it when I collapsed right there on the bank.
My eyes felt like they were Velcro-ed shut and I had a pound of cotton in my mouth and two tons of weights in my limbs. I couldn't have moved if I wanted to, but with the jackhammers going off in my head, I didn't want to. I wanted nothing more than to slip back into unconsciousness where I wouldn't feel like complete crap but the slight buzz of voices wouldn't allow that. At first, I thought I was imagining them, but then someone started wailing and I couldn't ignore it anymore.
“Shh,” I groaned. My tongue felt thick and heavy.
“Yeah, baby sister is alive,” a happy voice practically shouted too close to my ear.
I groaned again and this time I was able to pry my eyes open just a fraction. The light streamed in through the open windows and a small breeze made the white curtains around my bed flutter easily. I was back at Camp Half-Blood in the med tent. Both of my brothers were there with Grover. Tyson had been the one crying.
Tyson was my half-brother, like Percy, but I didn't get to see him very often because he lived at Poseidon's palace at the bottom of the ocean. Normally, gods didn't get to interact with their kids, but that rule didn't apply to a Cyclops. Yes, Cyclops. They were usually evil monsters but Tyson was a big softy, probably the sweetest person ever. Tyson's big, a foot taller than me and much bulkier. He's got brown hair that flops around on his head, crooked teeth, and one bright brown eye.
“Yeah, I guess,” I mumbled. Everything ached as I tried to sit up on the comfy bed I was in. Percy, the caring big brother he attempted to be, helped me sit up and settle into the massive pillows. “So what happened? How'd I get back here?”
“Camp was under attack and it wasn't looking good. Then Nico showed up. He was saying that you sent him but I guess he couldn't remember last winter. Things got better for us after that, and then a little while ago, Rachel had another one of her vision prophesy things. She saw you on the bank of the Lethe and Nico found you there and brought you back.”
I felt a faint blush creep into my cheeks at the thought of Nico bringing me home, but I let that slide. I took a sip of the water on my bedside table before I asked my next question. “Are people at least starting to get their memories back? Please don't tell me I went through all that crap for nothing.”
“Slowly,” Annabeth answered as she walked into the medical cabin. “I'm starting to remember bits and pieces. I know who you are- mostly.”
I smiled at her a little. It was nice to see the smart girl I'd come to love and not that confused child from my dream. “Well good. I'm glad.”
I struggled to sit up a little more and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Everyone was at my side in that instant, keeping me down. “What do you thing you're doing?” Annabeth demanded.
“I'm going to go jump in the lake. Everything hurts and I really don't feel like being in pain for the rest of the day. Are you guys going to help me out or not?”
“Jump in the lake? What is that going to do?”
I let out a laugh that quickly turned into another groan thanks to the incredible pain in my ribs. “Obviously you haven't remembered everything. I'm Poseidon's daughter, you know, technically, so sea water helps.”
Tyson ended up carrying me down to the canoe lake. It looked like Camp was slowly getting back to normal. All of the kids that had had their memories wiped seemed to be getting better and the ones that hadn't were helping smooth that transition. A few waved as I passed by but mostly they were cleaning up the wreckage from the last attack.
I sighed in relief as the icy water encompassed my body. All of the aches and pains slowly dissipated and I felt myself returning to normal. When I felt as good as new, I climbed out and went to sit with Percy and the others. My clothes were completely dry but the water still clung to my skin when I joined them.”
“Okay, so what happened with you?” Grover asked when I was settled.
“Well, I fought Mnemosyne and she almost made me forget. But when she tried to kill me, I stabbed her with her own knife. And no, I really don't want to go into more than that.”
Percy frowned. “It was that easy?”
I snorted. “You call that easy? I almost died, Percy.”
My brother rolled his sea green eyes. “Yeah, that's bad and everything, but she shouldn't have just died from a knife. She's immortal for a reason, Naida. That means she doesn't die. Period.”
I pulled my knees up to my chest and bit my bottom lip. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that she shouldn't have just gone down like that from a simple blade. So what did it mean that she was dead?
A huge blast came from Thalia's tree at the entrance of Camp followed by screaming. A minute later Clarisse came running up with a fresh gash on her forehead. She had her electric spear poised and ready and I knew I wasn't going to like what she had to say.
“There's an army at our gate and they're starting to get through. Come on. It's time to battle again.”
Of course it was bad news.

Notes

i'm back! and again, i have to apologize for taking so long to update. thank you for the comments: andromeda and hazels sis and tmcar1