Memories of a Hero

4

The encounter made Percy speechless. "Hey there, Leo," Jason said.

"Good seeing you," Leo fist-bumped Jason. "Who's your friend?" Leo nudged at Percy. Piper went towards Jason and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, while Annabeth stood there just staring at him.

Percy knew every single one of them, and yet none of them knew Percy.

"Nice meeting you," Piper said, shaking Percy's hand without hesitating. He had to be careful around her. Piper's charmspeak is dangerous. "I'm Piper McLean. The scrawny one over there is Leo, son of Hephaestus,"

"Love you too, Pipes," Leo grumbled.

"And that one is-"

"Annabeth," Annabeth stepped forward so that they were face to face. "Annabeth Chase,"

"N-Nice to meet you guys," Percy said. This wasn't going well. He had a mission to complete and this is going to delay him.

Annabeth studied him from head to toe. She had a knack for doing that and in addition to her unnerving stormy gray eyes, it was enough to make anyone nervous. "Have we met before?"

"No," Percy kept his composure. "I don't think we have."

It was obvious that Annabeth wasn't buying it. "Uh, Annabeth? You okay?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Annabeth said reluctantly. "His face just seems familiar,"

"I get that a lot," Percy said. He pulled his hood down, the shadow covering half of his face. "Unfortunately, we haven't met before. I'm Percy Jackson,"

"Nice knowing you," Piper said. "So, who's child are you?"

Percy had the urge to speak up and reveal that he was the son of Poseidon, but he held himself back. Her charmspeak was really hard to resist. "I'll be going now," Percy said, not wanting to spend another minute here.

Seeing Annabeth is difficult enough. Getting away from her would be harder. "Wait!" Annabeth said.

"No time," Percy said before running off, but the wound on his back stung, halting his movement. "Fuck,"

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked again.

Percy took a deep breath before answering, "No one important," In front of them, Percy seemed to vanish in a blur.

"What the hell, where is he?" Leo asked.

"He's fast," Jason muttered. "What a strange person,"

Annabeth stared at the empty space where he had been. There was no mistake. His name even confirmed it. He was the one who Thalia met and was the same one in the picture with Annabeth. So they were both the same person.

Percy Jackson . . . Annabeth had a feeling she'll see him again very soon.

Line Break

Sometimes, he was glad about the existence of these relics.

What Percy had done to get away was simply jump. It was another relic he had, the Feet of Zephyros. It sounds like a shoe brand. It allows the wearer to travel as quickly as the wind without making any sounds. Handy for stealth or a quick getaway.

But it comes with a quick catch. It drains just as much energy as the moving you're doing. So for instance, if you run with those shoes for a hundred miles in just five seconds, all the exhaustion, fatigue, and soreness that you were supposed to have come after using them. So you could run faster than any man alive, but once you're finished with them your legs will feel like jelly.

And just in case you're wondering, the relic is actually sneakers. And apparently, Zephyros liked Adidas.

Now, Percy was on top of Mount Tamalpais near the ruins of what used to be Kronos's HQ. "Huh, doesn't look like that anything's here,"