I didn't actually go straight to Mount McKinley. Diana insisted that I rest and regain my strength.

I laughed bitterly.

Yeah, the strength that's going to end up getting sucked anyway.

I closed my eyes. I'm supposed to rest and rest I shall… and I'm pretty sure Gaea just laughed and said "Nooooooope".

---

I was back in the room of nothingness. Everything was dark. I couldn't see or feel anything. Then Gaea's cold voice pierced through.

"Preparing for your doom?" she asked. I scowled.

"What's it to you?" came my retort. Gaea laughed.

"Not much, actually. Selene, you wouldn't have to do what you are about to if you would just join me. You can still do, you know?"

"Wow, Grammy. You're still desperate." Grandmother Earth hissed. "I know how much you need me on your side, Gaea."

"I don't need you as much as you think, girl! You're merely a precaution. You're powerful but you're alone. A wandering demigod is always dangerous. Don't you miss your friends?"

"Yes but they won't miss me. They don't remember me. Perhaps, it's for the best."

"Oh Selene. You have no idea how wrong you are."

I knew what was coming next. I wasn't surprised when Gaea began showed me the times when I was still in Camp Jupiter.

Only it wasn't. Not really.

---

It was the day I was supposed to arrive at Camp. Vergil, the former prefect, was watching the Caldecott Tunnel together with a blonde girl. I waited for a three year old me to show up, tired from being chased by monsters. Any minute now, I'm supposed to pop up.

Mini-me never appeared. Vergil continued to pace around, looking bored. My heart sank. I was supposed to cry out and that would catch Vergil's attention. He and his partner saved me from the monsters chasing me. He would bring me to the praetors, Marcus and Abigail. I'm sure he would have stood up for me but I was a daughter of Neptune. It wouldn't be good if I got placed in the First Cohort. Vergil was an older brother figure. Nobody would remember how close we were. The day of my arrival, became just another boring day for him.

"Shame. Vergil was such a nice young man. He treated you like the little sister he never had." Gaea's voice came back. It sent shivers down my spine.

"Everyone's going to think that the reason why they no longer have a Camp Prefect is because Vergil died and nobody had the heart to take his place. Tsk tsk. Nobody's going to remember a young girl with ice green eyes taking up his mantle."

I growled. "Enough Gaea."

The Earth Goddess laughed. The sound echoing around me, reverberating in my head. I trembled. The laugh was maddening.

"There's so much more you need to see! Diana didn't show you enough."

Next was when I met Jason. We didn't get off on a good start. Little three-year-old Jason was eating in the Mess Hall. I was supposed to show up, trip, and spill my water all over him then accidentally freeze it because I was so nervous. Little Jason would get up and cause the winds to blast me back. People would begin placing bets on either of us because it's not every day two kids of the Big Three would fight.

Instead, Jason just continued eating, looking shy. Everyone threw him weird looks. Others laughed because they couldn't believe that this little boy was the son of Jupiter, the King of the Gods, Lord of the Skies. No, he was just a silly three-year-old. Nevertheless, I knew that Jason could feel that everyone expected a lot from him. He was the only child of the Big Three in Camp. He had no one to confide in. I wanted to approach little Jason and hug him and tell him he wasn't alone but I couldn't. I'm not actually there. Little Me was supposed to but she's not. She's gone. Little Jason would never meet her. They would never go off on small adventures within the Camp. They would never play a prank on Octavian to get back at him for how he humiliated them during Death Ball. There were a lot of things that would never happened.

"Ah poor little Jason. Yes, he had friends within Camp Jupiter but he couldn't really talk to anyone about the pressures of being Jupiter's son," Gaea's voice was back. "Nobody else understood how it was to be a child of one of the three most powerful gods. Oh, he was so alone! He felt separated from everybody."

"What are you talking about? Jason couldn't have been that alone!" I protested. Gaea sighed.

"You're really dense. Of course, Jason would be alone. You're not there anymore. All the torments and jeers that you took would be directed at him. You shouldered the insults. He accepted all the compliments. But since you were removed from everyone's memory, everyone's going to think that Jason was both exalted and criticized."

"No. No, he's Jupiter's son. They wouldn't dare-"

"Jealousy is an interesting feeling," Gaea interrupted. "Everyone feels it. It makes people do irrational things."

"People can't be that cruel," I said softly. Gaea chuckled.

"You know, you're the only person who knew his birthday."

"Only because I figured it out. Besides, Reyna also knew. I told her."

"Exactly." Gaea had contempt in her voice. "You told her. Do you seriously think those two would know Jason's birthday without you? Now, the only reason why Jason knows the date of his birth is because his sister told him. He has never celebrated his birthday. Nobody bothered to try and find out. No one except you."

"Romans are very-"

"What? Busy? Stop trying to defend them."

I was stumped. I wanted to defend the Romans so much. I don't know why I still did. I felt like I had to. Gaea's just trying to poison my mind. It's the same old ploy. It's the same thing every single villain tries to do. It never succeeds.

Or does it?

Before I could answer my own mental question, Gaea spoke again.

"Let's see who's next…"

It was Reyna. Go figure.

Jason and I were supposed to be the ones on patrol when Reyna arrived. Instead, Jason was with Gwen. They brought Reyna to Marcus and Abigail. She still gets placed in the Fourth Cohort. She was supposed to sit with me during her first meal. She looked so shy and scared. She thought I was going to ask her what happened to her before she arrived at Camp Jupiter. I sensed that she wouldn't want me to do that. I actually really wanted to ask but I knew she'd feel uncomfortable. I just told her that no matter what happened to her in the past, she has a home now. For the next few weeks, she'd sneak out of her Cohort's barracks whenever she'd have a nightmare. I would comfort her, of course. Jason and I helped her adjust to Camp even though we were from different Cohorts.

I looked at the young Reyna as she curled up in fetal position. It was her first night at Camp Jupiter and she just had a nightmare. This is when she gets up and sneaks out.
She didn't. She didn't have anyone who could comfort her without prying. Jason was horribly dense. He's a good friend but he doesn't always get the hints thrown at him.

Young Reyna was shaking now. She was having difficulty reigning in her sniffles.

"Hylla," I heard her whisper. Once again, my heart felt like it was wrenched out of my chest and left lying on dry ice.

"Tsk. Tsk. What were you saying about your disappearance being 'for the best'?" Gaea mocked. I huffed.

"Maybe Juno just messed up when she was altering their memories," I suggested half-heartedly. Gaea just laughed.

"Juno and the other gods did not alter those memories to how they saw fit. No. The new memories were really what would have happened if you never existed. It's painful but it's true. Each demigod has an important role to play in this world. To think that the gods could easily throw you away is awful!"

I scowled. I didn't want to admit it but Gaea was making a lot of sense. But still. She's just saying things I want to hear. I shook my head.

"Sorry, Gaea. No matter what you're going to say, I still won't join you."

"Then it's your loss. Soon, you will see the error of your decision but it will be too late to change it."

My eyes snapped open then I immediately shut.

"Ow! Ow-ow-ow! Bright!" I yelped, covering my already shut eyes with my hands. I heard Diana laugh.

"Yeah, that's right. Just laugh your heart out, eh?" I muttered, sitting up and scowling. Diana covered her mouth in order to stifle her giggles.

"I'm sorry, Selene. It was just too funny," she said. Then she turned serious. "Sorry. Are you ready?"

"Too face my doom? Anxious." Diana stared at me, blinking in confusion.

"I'm going to assume you didn't mean eager."

"No that is exactly what I meant," I deadpanned. Diana continued staring for a few seconds before sighing and shaking her head.

"Nevermind."

Notes