The Girl He Forgot

Malcolm

"Gaea?"

"No way."

"How?"

"Do you think she's crazy?"

"Why'd she cut the message?"

"Enough!" Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground, "We have just learned a valuable piece of information that may turn the tide of the war. Head counselors, war council in 20 minutes." I nodded and led my siblings back to the Athena cabin. Once we were inside, everybody exploded like they had been holding a breath for 30 years and finally let it go.

"HEY!" I screamed, "Leslie, you're in charge while I'm in the meeting. I expect this subject to be closed by the time I come back."

I walked out of the room as everybody fell into whispers. The Athena children never gossip like the Aphrodite cabin, but things like this fall into our brains and make them explode with popping questions and dire explanations.

I had to be brave for my siblings while Annabeth was... well, you know. I had to make sure everything was perfect. For her. She really needed a break sometimes. The number of times I had to be her therapist about Percy when he was just being a kelp head is countless.

I also had to be brave for my siblings because, honestly, I was scared. Lexi wasn't as close with me as she was with Clarisse or Silena, let alone Nico. She had never even mentioned anything about this in all the 7 years I'd been at camp and the 6 years she's known me. I have to admit, I feel a little betrayed, but that's exactly why she didn't tell anyone in the first place. I couldn't feel that way. I have to be there to support her and her decisions, as long as they aren't evil, which they will never be. I'm certain of that.

I've debated many things over the years to do with my relationship with Lexi. Whether she was a companion, or a friend, or a romantic interest. I've looked at every angle, dusted every nook and cranny and dive to the deepest part of my brain. As you can probably tell, I still haven't found the answer. I wish this was as simple as a battle strategy. You can analise where everyone will go, how and when to strike, how to trick your enemies. But it's never  that easy.

I entered the room to Will and Clarisse conversing. They never talk to each other. Not since the chariot incident. And that was before Will became head counselor.

"What are you two talking about?" I asked them.

    "Alexis. What else would we be talking about?" grumbled Clarisse.

    "It was a way of jumping into the conversation." I specified. I slipped back into my feeling of sorrow, "Did any of us know?"

    "Nico, probably." Will said.

"I wish she had just told me." said Clarisse, smashing her fist on the table.

"We all wish that, but I can't blame her." I confessed. Clarisse looked at me with rage.

"She knew that I would never leave her. She knew that I would stay by her side. She knew I was loyal!... And she never even brought it up that she was kidnapped. She never thought to tell me. I'm her closest friend. And she only trusted Nico."

"He's her brother, of course she trusts him the most." Will told her, "I just wish we had gotten along better. And trust me, we tried to. We were just too different." That's when it hit me. Different. Of course! More people started piling in until, finally, Chiron trotted to the front.

"I believe we have just learned the key to the whole war," he started, "It would have been ideal to know this sooner, but no matter. We still have time before Gaea awakens."

"Chiron, I think I know why she didn't tell us before." I spoke up. Everybody's heads turned towards me. I straightened up.

"Do share, my boy."

"Alexis was always with the people that remembered her, but she never told Clarisse, Will, or me what was going on. She never mentioned anything about it. Just now, when us three were talking, Will said that they tried to get along but they were too different. She can change constantly. A split second before she cut through the connection, her appearance flickered. Her hair turned long and dark, and her eyes turned sea green. She looked like Percy."

"What's your point, Malcolm?" asked Lou Ellen, irritated, "As much as I love fun facts, we're in the middle of a war."

"She has different forms. Different personalities. Lexi always had heterochromic eyes at camp. That form is when she is constantly split and confused, but trying to hold everything together for everyone. I think that each form represents a different god. I don't know why she would have them in the first place, but I digress. The one we saw before she cut the connection was Poseidon. She was at sea, wasn't she? But Poseidon is usually calm and go-with-the-flow, so I think it's just that she was at sea. Anyway the point is that she didn't tell us because the only form she knew was the one where she always felt conflicted."

"And... How did she get the other forms?" asked Clarisse.

"I think she was claimed. Multiple times. By different gods. Poseidon - like I just mentioned - Zeus, and Hades. Her default form, I have no idea. But I think it's a goddess, not a god."

"Then, how is she a demigod?" Will asked slowly. I looked at him grimly.