²Olden Crown, heroes of olympus

022.

OLDEN CROWN
━━ chapter twenty-two

━━ IT TOOK FOUR HOURS. That's how long it took the fastest horse on the planet to get from Alaska to San Francisco Bay, heading straight over the water down the Northwest Coast. Four hours were already long enough for a kid with ADHD, let alone a kid with ADHD and memory loss that was coming back.

               It was like every memory that was restored—a knock to the forehead. He had a headache, now, and wanted to cry in a way. Everything he wanted—his memories, the past that made him who he was when he almost had no idea his own name—was back. It took every minute of the four hours for Percy's memory to return completely, and when the last memory rapped against his forehead—Percy felt tears burning in his eyes. He got them back, only after risking everything for them.

               The process originally started in Portland, after he had drunk one of the vial's gorgon's blood—but even after that, for a long time, his past life and memories were maddeningly fuzzy. Everything was blurs—faces, names, locations. The few memories he had—mainly of Elisa—all blended together. He had the vaguest memories of her with blue hair, then the memories would be of her with caramel-brown hair, then black. Her face would switch from grinning at him with a dimple to show, then her expression would morph into anger; a scowl, flashing eyes, and furrowed brows. It made his head spin; it was like his memories couldn't put themselves in order. Some were from when they were almost enemies, and then when they knew each other like the back of their hands.

               It was like his head was on a swivel as they headed back into Olympian territory, and he was remembering everything—the war with Kronos, his sixteenth birthday at Camp Half-Blood, his trainer Chiron the centaur, his best friends Grover and Annabeth, his brother Tyson, and most of all Elisa. They had two months of dating, two amazing months of peace, and then—Juno. Percy had been abducted by the alien known as Hera—or Juno, or ... whatever. ( This whole Greek/Roman name was really messing with his head, and Percy already had amnesia and ADHD! It was like he couldn't catch a break. ) Eight months of his life were stolen. Eight months he lost with his mother and step-father, with his best friends, with his brother, with his girlfriend. Eight months of memories he never got to make because of the Queen of Olympus ( whether she was using her Roman or Greek name ).

               From what Percy was remembering, there were many times he wanted to brawl with the gods, but he was seriously considering it at this month—Eight months lost! And if his memories were corrected, Percy knew his friends and family were going out of their minds with worry. And that Camp Half-Blood was in serious danger, too; if Camp Jupiter was in such bad trouble, he could only guess what Camp Half-Blood must be facing without him. Even worse—saving both camps would be only the beginning. According to Alcyoneus, the real war would happen far away; in the homeland of the gods. The giants intended to attack the original Mount Olympus and destroy the gods forever. Percy knew that giants couldn't die, unless demigods and gods fought the giants together. Nico had told him that back at Camp Jupiter; Elisa and he had fought Cacus, a fire-breathing giant back in September, so giants had been rising for months now. And if Percy knew anything, he knew there weren't coincidences. He figured this had something to do with the new Great Prophecy—what the Romans called the Prophecy of Nine.

               He understood Juno's plan ( unfortunately ): Unite the Roman and Greek demigods to create an elite team of heroes, and then somehow convince the gods to fight alongside them. But first, they had to save Camp Jupiter. And that task was looking almost impossible.