When MYTHS Become Real

I had an annoying sense of déjà vu when I reached the crest of the hill, even though last time had been in my sleep. Most of the kids were in full warrior mode but I could tell which ones were still suffering from their bout with amnesia. Monsters, like the creepy snakes and women that looked like Kaya, pushed against the edge of camp making the magical boundaries waver. The campers looked determined to protect their home but those monsters gave off a murderous vibe and I wasn't completely sure how we'd stand up to that.
Clarisse led us to the command tent that had been set up nearby. It was being manned by Nico, Clarisse's boyfriend, a pretty cute guy with dark hair and dark eyes and an athletic build named Chris, and Chiron the activities director. Nico looked up when we walked in and those onyx eyes settled on me but I ignored him and the wave of butterflies that he caused in my stomach. I marched right up to Chiron, a centaur who'd been training heroes for a millennium, and asked, “What's going on?”
His smile was gentle and caused crow's feet around his kind brown eyes. His dark hair and beard were both scraggly against his wizened face, giving him the appearance of a retired college professor, but from the waist down he was a white Palomino horse, which made him look like a character out of Harry Potter. He was the Greek version of Dumbledore. “Naida, it's good to see you again, although I wish the circumstances were better. It would seem, my dear, that you had quite the effect on the Underworld and our friend, Mnemosyne. When you bested her, everyone's memories started to get restored. Unfortunately, some of them,” he waved his hand dismissively toward where I knew the monster army was gathering, “had also been affected by her and soon remembered why they were at our gates. We are in for quite the battle.”
I groaned. “Why do I feel like I was manipulated and that I'm right where Mnemosyne wants me to be?”
“What do you mean?” Nico asked gently. Crap, I really didn't like the concern in his voice; it brought back too many painful memories of being a couple.
“Something she said down in the Fields of Punishment. She said it was all a game. She's trying to get to the gods, but if she was just going to make us forget, why attack the camp? Something's not adding up.”
I giant boom shook the ground and I would have lost my footing and landed on the ground if not for Nico's quick reflexes. His strong arms wrapped around my protectively and I just wanted to melt into his cool embrace. “Don't worry, I've got you.”
I struggled to swallow back the lump in my throat. The last three months of being heartbroken over him flashed in my mind and I pulled away from him, my cheeks flaming bright red. “Thanks, but I'm fine.”
He frowned at me when I pulled away and opened his mouth to say something but I effectively cut him off by rushing out of the command tent. The scene that I walked out to was a certifiable war zone. The monsters had breached the magical borders that kept our valley safe and were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with demigods. As I watched in shock for that single second I saw several Erinyeses pouncing and one of the giant snakes shot spikes from its tail at a girl from Apollo cabin.
“What the hell are those and how do I kill them?” I demanded of no one in particular.
“That's a basilisk,” Annabeth answered matter-of-factually as she joined me. “And before you say anything, not like the one on that wizard movie you made me watch.”
“Wait, I though that a basilisk was a fat little snake that fell from some giant's head. And if I remember correctly, they didn't shoot tail spikes.”
Annabeth blinked at my brother in surprise. “Those are Polybotes basilisks. These ones are land basilisks. I'm surprised you knew about the other ones, though.”
Percy looked pretty proud of himself but I just found it slightly entertaining that she was still the smart one when she was barely recovering her memories. It was a little nice to see that some things stayed the same, despite circumstances.
“Snakes bad,” Tyson mumbled, his voice quivering a little in nervousness. “Stay away from pointy spear tails.”
I surveyed the scene and saw that one Erinyes was trying desperately to disappear into the background without actually running away from the fight. She was prettier than the others and I recognized her brown hair falling around her face, the punk band clothes, and the toxic colored snake that protruded from her belly. She parried with a wicked looking sword against a small boy in the Hermes cabin while her snake snapped at him. Before I consciously made the decision, I sprinted down the hill ripping my barrette out and getting there in time to block her next attack.
“What the hell are you doing here, Kaya?” I snarled. I was still plenty pissed at her for her betrayal in the Underworld but I thought she'd at least be long gone. I hadn't expected her to get her hands dirty in all of this.
“You were right, Naida. I shouldn't have remembered. But now that I know what happened to my love, I want them to pay.”
Her metal blade came crashing down toward me and I barely stopped it in time. “Know what? Who's them?”
“The gods, Naida. They took him away from me! Aeneas was a Trojan hero. He was smart and kind and handsome and he liked me. But Aphrodite couldn't let one of her sons be in love with someone that looked like me so she and the rest of them stole him from me. You of all people know what that's like, Naida. The gods have to pay for what they've done to me, what they've done to all of us. You know that I'm right.”
“Demigods are innocent in all of this crap,” I argued as I pressed my advantage with my ice sword. “Mnemosyne screwed with everyone I cared about and I won't let you guys get away with hurting my friends.”
“Don't make me hurt you, Naida.”
“You're in no position to make threats, Kaya.”
She and I both jumped at the cold new voice that I would recognize anywhere. Her murky black eyes were wide and fearful as she stared at the person behind me. “Nico. You and I are friends. You don't want to get into it with me, do you?”
“I will if you keep threatening Naida.”
The snake, Sal, hissed and struck out at us, snapping at the air. I guess he didn't like his bigger half being outnumbered. “You guys can't win this. There are a lot of us that think the gods' time is over They deserve everything that they're about to get. I'm just sorry that you guys are the ones that have to deal with the fallout. Please just stand down and stay out of this.”
“No.” I snapped. “I'm done being told what to do.”
“Then I'm really sorry.”
Kaya swung at me and I easily blocked her sword but Sal struck my right, unprotected side. I screamed at the pain of the venom and was quickly losing feeling in the entire right side of my body. I felt my arms giving out and I knew that if I stopped fighting I'd be an easy target for Kaya. I struggled against the weakness that was quickly overtaking me but it wasn't getting me anywhere. With a burst of energy, I shoved her away from me at the exact same time that Nico's sword pushed its way through her chest.
Kaya froze of a moment wide-eyed with pain written across her features. Blood poured from her heart, staining the grey concert tee a weird yellow color, like mustard. Sal writhed at her stomach until she fell to her knees on the forest floor. “I really am sorry,” she muttered before she exploded in a cloud of golden dust.
Despite everything, I still felt sad for her. I was already emotionally drained and the fight had barely started. I leaned up against on of the thick oak tress and leaned forward with my hands on my knees. I felt Nico hovering nearby for a minute before he started to gently comb my long red hair through his fingers. I relaxed into his touch and I couldn't have imagined anything else feeling nearly as good as his care. I probably would have stayed there for quite a while if not for the shrill ring of the cell phone that had somehow survived the quest and was still tucked away in my pocket.

Notes

onto the thank you's! thanks to:
Son of Chaos Daughter-of-Hades
daughter_of_Artemis
and of course,tmcar1