A Fire Burns Within Me Version 2

Hogwarts

Previously:
"Percy!" That was Frank this time. He caught me as I almost fell flat on my face. "What's going on, dude?"

I smiled weakly, brushing him off and starting for the castle again. "It's almost my birthday, that's all."

I caught a glimpse of Zoë's face after I said that. It turned more pale than I have ever seen it before in my life. I almost turned around to get a better look, but I passed out again. This time for good.

I was dreaming. I had to be. How else was I staring at my own face in the middle of the junkyard in Arizona? I also felt feelings that weren't mine. A sadness, but also a solemn determination to do something that I knew could kill me.

"If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him...tell him I'm sorry." A hand that didn't belong to me—yet also not to the past Percy standing before me—handed a figurine to myself before running away, pulling out a bow.

Oh, no. I know what's going on now.

"Get it to raise its foot!"

Next thing I knew, Bianca leapt through the foot of Talos the misfunctional automaton, climbing up through the body parts until she reached the control center. I watched through her eyes as she grabbed at controls I barely understood, muttering to herself about how Nico was never going to forgive her.

I could feel the sadness at her loss of life. How she never got to live very long at all. How her own brother was left behind. I felt the hope she had that the Percy of the past would survive the quest long enough to look after her brother since she would not be able to.

I knew the moment she figured out what to do to take down Talos for good. Through the robot's own eyes, she saw the electrical poles, set her face, and her resolve before pushing the automaton in that direction.

But I could do nothing to stop or save her as she collided with the poles.

The electricity coursed through my body as if I were the one inside Talos instead of Bianca. I passed out from the pain only to wake up to another memory that wasn't mine. This time, I faced Atlas, my body already in pain from the first part of Zoë's fight, and the bite from Landon.

With me watching and feeling through Zoë's eyes, I saw her father corner Artemis. Felt the desperation to save her mistress and friend, and ran as fast as she could to intercept the blow from Atlas.

It happened too quickly to really know what happened from Zoë's point of view. But I knew Atlas had tossed her against some rocks from my own memories of that night.

We lay there, pain running through Zoë's body as Artemis and my past self tricked Atlas back beneath the sky. With how she was unable to move, she could not know what was happening until Artemis arrived at her side. And I could not even comfort her.

The dreams—better known as night-terrors—did not grant me curtesy of remaining with her until she died. I will never know how she actually felt upon seeing me arrive at her side.

The next memory belonged to Lee Fletcher at the battle in Camp Half-Blood after Luke invaded through the Labyrinth. He died from a giant club, his head bashed in from the blow.

I felt every death. Every minor pain, thought, and hope. Even felt when Bob and Damaeson died in Tartarus helping Annabeth and I escape. I felt every wound of every one of my friends. I felt the torture Annabeth went through the most. Almost like it was amplified for her memory specifically.

One thing went through my mind throughout all of it.

What is the point of making me relive all of this every year? Why do I need to feel even more keenly how hopeless I was in each situation? How badly I wanted to help, to save them, and could do nothing?