I woke up tasting my mother's red velvet cupcakes. I slowly opened my eyes. A straw was in my mouth. I slurped. Nectar. I sat up. I was on a sleeping bag presumably in a tent (no duh).

A hooded figure entered, setting down a quiver and a bow. I immediately scrambled up and summoned Avalanche.

I pointed my sword in the figure's direction.

"Who are you?" I demanded. The figure regarded me then drew back the hood revealing a girl in her early twenties with auburn hair tied in a high ponytail. She stared at me with her silvery yellow eyes.

"L-Lady Diana!" I stammered. I hurriedly retracted Avalanche then knelt. Diana laughed lightly.

"There's no need to be formal, Selene," she began. "You were simply being cautious. Stand."

I scrambled up and awkwardly cleared my throat.

"Where are we?" I asked. Diana hesitated before answering.

"Somewhere far from the Greek camp." I waited for her to continue but she kept her mouth shut.

I figured I wasn't getting answers so I decided to use my senses. I closed my eyes and felt the vibrations of the ground. I checked everything within one mile for a clue.

"What the- Seriously?" I said.

Diana looked at me innocently.

"Alaska?" I asked. Diana nodded.

"Yes," she began. "You should sit down, Selene. There are a lot of things I need to tell you."

---

"So... you want me to confront Khione in Mount McKinley, defeat her mini-army alone, and what?" I was confused. I was very confused.

Diana rubbed her temples and sighed.

"Defeating Khione's mini-army, as you put it, will catch the attention of Gration," she answered.

"Is he the anti-you?" I asked. Diana nodded.

"Yes. His powers and temperament are the exact opposite of mine. Think of him as an evil Apollo." I raised an eyebrow.

"So he's a sun dude?" Diana scratched her head.

"This is a lot more difficult than I thought."

My eyes widened. "Oh gods. Sorry I'm being difficult. It's just… uh… y'know… uh… stuff happened."

I looked down and shut my eyes. I'm a wreck. Ever since Juno's visit. No, ever since I was kicked out. No matter what, everything boils down to that. It's tiring, really. It's tiresome and repetitive and just plain annoying.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Selene. I understand. I know you're going through a lot. You're fifteen years old-"

"Sixteen. My mother insisted on celebrating the birthday I keep forgetting. March nineteen?"

"Twenty."

I snorted. "Whatever."

"As I was saying, You're sixteen years old. You shouldn't be going through this burden."

"None of us should!" I looked right at Diana. My patron frowned and tilted her head.

"What are you-"

"You know what I mean. Us, demigods, we're just thrust into this life ever since the moment we were born. We're expected to fight monsters and save the world every year. Sometimes, all we want to be is normal teenagers without having to worry about the next monster attack. We want to wake up and bum around and I just-"

I let out a frustrated huff and ran my hands through my hair, effectively removing the ponytail.

"Nevermind," I mumbled.

"Selene it's-"

"Nevermind!" I repeated, looking away. "What were you saying about Gration?"

I felt Diana hesitate for a moment before speaking.

"Gration is not necessarily a 'sun dude', as you said," she began. "He turns into different animals. He can control the element of fire. The cold is his weakness. That is why I need you to be the one to defeat him."

I blinked and stared at Diana dumbfounded.

"What's the price?" The Moon Goddess recoiled as if she was slapped.

"Come again?"

"The cold may be his weakness but that's not what's going to kill him, right? The giants can only be killed by a demigod and a god working together. I'm guessing that the other gods are forbidding you from helping me so how am I going to beat Gration? Or am I going to be able to beat him? The prophecy I received stated that I'm just going to withstand not defeat."
Wow. Was that me just now? I admit, I sound colder than usual. Have I given up? I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything anymore.

I rubbed my forehead as Diana continued speaking.

"You're going to have to use one of my arrows."

"That's all?" I asked, a little surprised. Diana shook her head. She opened her hands and a glowing silver arrow appeared.

"As you said, there's a price. When you fire this arrow, two things could happen. The arrow could drain you. As it leaves your bow, so will your strength, you're energy. It will kill you."

I gulped. Yeah, I am definitely going to like this.

"However, given your prophecy, I'm willing to bet on the second option," Diana continued. "The arrow could also amplify your abilities. I'm not sure to what extent. I haven't seen this happen before but I know it's possible."

"Oh joy. So I could either get drained or get supercharged but the effects of the latter are still unknown. Amazing," I deadpanned.

Diana winced.

"Selene. Don't lose hope."

I shrugged. "I'm not. It's just– Wow. It's so weird."

I sighed and stood up, ready to walk out to get my Death Show on the road.

"Wait. Sit back down," Diana commanded. My eyebrows shot up but I did as I was told.

"Close your eyes. There's something I have to show you."

"What is it?" I asked, my eyes still very much open.

"You'll see. Just close your eyes."

---

Everything was dark. Of course, my eyes were shut. I felt Diana's fingers on my forehead then the sensation disappeared. Suddenly I was in another place. I was back in Camp Jupiter. More specifically, the principia. Reyna was pacing back and forth behind the long table in the middle. Aurum and Argentum were sitting ramrod straight, their ruby eyes following their owner as she walked.

Reyna was mumbling to herself. She looked panicked. She was running her hands through her hair, and fiddling with her braid.

I felt like someone yanked a rug from beneath me. Reyna was rarely like this. She was always calm and collected. She used to have panic attacks during her first few months in Camp Jupiter but I know that it was because of what happened to her before she arrived. Jason and I helped her cope.

Realization smacked me in the face. Jason and I were gone. She didn't know where Jason was and I didn't exist. She was falling apart. I'm sure she managed to stay level-headed in front of others but she'd break down when she's alone.

As if on cue, Reyna collapsed into one of the two high-backed chairs and began sobbing.
I remembered that I used to stand behind the two chairs, glaring at the senators and making sure there was order. Well, I glared at Octavian the most and prevented him from talking too much. No, the prefect didn't get a chair in case you're wondering.

I turned my attention back to Reyna. It was as if there was a knife embedded in my heart. I hated seeing my friends like this. Reyna's words became more audible.

"I-I can't do this. I can't do this alone. J-Jason. W-where are you?" Reyna continued sobbing.

The scene shifted. Reyna was once again sitting on one of the praetor chairs. The other one was pulled to the visitor's side and a boy with dark hair and sea green eyes was sitting on it. Percy Jackson. Go figure.

If I could, I would have shoved him off and dragged the chair back to its proper place. I know, it's just a chair but the room didn't look right.

Reyna and Percy seemed to be talking. Reyna said something about her home getting destroyed. I winced. Reyna didn't talk much about her past. I knew very little even though I've known her for four years. Hearing her tell Percy about what happened to her made me feel irrationally annoyed.

The scene shifted again. This time, Reyna was standing in the Garden of Bacchus, next to a girl with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. Annabeth Chase. Something exploded in the background. A huge Greek warship was firing at New Rome.

I can't even begin to describe the horror I felt. That was my home right there! That's the place I was sworn to protect! I may have been mistreated by Octavian and his lackeys but they didn't affect my fierce desire to protect New Rome.

The scene shifted several more times, all showing Reyna. She looked so alone and sad in all of them. I looked on, helpless to do anything, as she argued with Octavian. I saw her fly across the Meditteranean on Scipio. I watched as she put the poor pegasus out of its misery. I was trembling as all those scenes played in my mind.

I was abruptly yanked out of those visions. My eyes snapped open. I was back in Diana's tent, breathing heavily. My forehead was beaded with sweat. I hastily wiped it off.
Diana was looking at me with concern.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Fantastic," I replied, sarcasm dripping all over the word. Diana winced.

"I'm sorry. Some of the events I showed you have already happened or are yet to happen. The first one I showed you, that was actually a fake memory of Reyna's. It supposedly happened a week after everyone realized that Jason hasn't returned from his patrol. Though that was a fake memory, Reyna had several of those after her memories of you were removed."

"Her panic attacks are back," I said softly. My eyes were starting to fill with tears.

"Your father and I tried to tell Juno that removing you from people's memories would have bad consequences on the people who knew you. You've seen what happened to Reyna. Thalia, one of my Hunters, the weight that was lifted when she confided in you is back on her shoulders."

I inhaled sharply at the mention of Thalia.

"Milady, nobody remembers me. As in, nobody?" Diana said nothing. My shoulders slumped.

"I better go. Khione and I need to have a talk."

Notes