The Forgotten Heroes || PJO

T H I R T E E N: Memory Stones

—- KAT —-

"UP! UP, UP, UP!" I yelled as I ran down the hall. "UP! NOW! COME OUT YOUR DOORS AND LET ME SEE YOUR ROSY FACES!"

A moment later, doors started opening, and the people behind them were in a varied state of dress and undress. Some were already wide awake and ready to start training. Others looked like they had just gotten out of the shower or were half way through getting dressed, and one or two warriors looked like the five new recruits: like they had just woken up.

"Breakfast starts in five minutes people! We have new recruits and a lot to discuss! find me in fifteen minutes, showered, dressed, and ready to train hard!" I smiled at them. "Dismissed."

"Is this how it's gonna be from now on? You waking us up before breakfast?" Cameron asked. He didn't look happy at this idea.

"Nope! I just like annoying people! Since everyone was up, I just thought I'd give a reason. Chaos would have woken you guys at some point anyway, and that wouldn't have been fun. For you guys. If, of course, the smell didn't rouse you first." I looked down the hall, in the direction of Thalia and Luke, who were still in the hallway watching me.

I forced a smiled at them, then turned on my heel and walked to breakfast. By the time I got to my favorite dining room, number three, the doors were open and the smell was quite nearly overpowering. My stomach grumbled and I hurried to the buffet.

When my plate was full of bacon, toast, and sunny-side-up eggs, I walked over to a low table and put it down in front of a silver poof. Then, I got myself some apple juice, and began eating.

As time passed, the other warriors filed into the room, after Jacob found me in here. He probably MMed them. Once Will had joined us at the low table, I looked up and checked who was here, only to find everyone looking at me.

"What? Have I got a bit of egg on my face?"

"No." Zale replied.

"Then why are you all looking at me?"

Nico tilted his head. "I don't actually know. How about you tell us a story?"

"Like what?"

"How you got Bianca back would be awesome."

"Oh,right. I never got to tell that story, did I?" Everyone shook their heads at me. "Well, it's quite simple really. First, I asked around in the underworld, looking for who Bianca had been reincarnated as. Then, I went and found her. She was a ten-year-old in foster care. Stupid that souls can be reincarnated at any point in time. Then they're co-existing and everything becomes overly complicated and that's also why seven other people can look like your twin.

"Anyway, I used the mist to make myself look twenty-one, and I adopted her. Then I explained everything to her, and took her to the underworld, right to the River Lethe. We walked down the banks until she recognized a little tree, and then I lifted up the water. she pushed away the mud and looked for a stone that said Bianca di Angelo, and once she found it, I let the Lethe down on top of her.

"When someone is bathe in the Lethe, see, their memories don't just disappear. Oh no, the memories become a stone, big or small, depending on how many memories that person has. When someone has a whole lot of memories, the stone often ends up touching them when it's being created, and that's why some people feel like they don't belong in the life they're in: There are echos from a past life talking to them, calling to them.

"That's what happens when someone bathes in the Lethe empty handed. If someone were to bathe in the Lethe while holding a stone - any stone - they would get that person's memories, in essence, become that person. If they hold a stone from a life they previously had, they do become that person again, and their memories take their time coming back, just in case it's not permanent.

"The smaller, less significant memories come back first, then more complicated ones. If there was a loved one, a brother or sister, or lover, memories of or with them tend to comeback last, because there are so many of them. That's why it took so long for Bianca to remember you Nico. You were such a big part of her life, and she had a whole load of memories with you. If she hadn't been permanently Bianca, then she wouldn't have remembered you, and it wouldn't have been super painful to let go again."

"That's insane." Luke said with wide eyes. "Like. . .Wow."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing." Thalia agreed.

"So, is everyone done with breakfast?"

A/N: It's not 1000 words, but this is where I'm ending it. There'll be 1000 word chapters consistently soon. Hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to comment!

- Kat -

Words: 806/838

***UNEDITED***