Heroic Spirits Of Olympus: The Lost Hero

"Beauty Isn't Everything"

The dreams started happening after she arrived at the Wilderness School. Piper could hardly believe how vivid they were.. 

Somehow she knew they were real, and yet she couldn't seem to believe what she was looking at.. 

There was a roaring fire.. crackling into the night.. casting dancing shadows over the roughly hewn stones and the large man sitting before the flames..

His form was barely seen in the shadows of the flames.. but rough black thorns and claws could be seen.. his arms and legs were like the limbs of a blackened beastly dragon.. spikes jutting out.. His fit and tough bare chest was covered in blood red tattoos of swirling strange patterns.. a massive whipped back and forth in the shadows behind him..  and a hood covered his head a blackened hood obscuring his face.

In one clawed hand, the man held a massive red spear covered in red thorns.. glinting bloodred in the firelight.

When the man spoke, he spoke in a bloodthirsty, yet emotionless manner.. like a beast that had resorted to itself to battling everything and everyone, but yet took no pleasure even from it's attempts at pleasure. 

"You've reached the camp.. good.." growled the man.. "Good. I told Jeanne we only needed one.. but no matter.. two can also be a good thing. Gives us a backup for leverage. Hmph.. better not have any second thoughts girl.. or HE will know pain.."

The man jabbed the tip of his spear at a groaning bloodied man in torn and ragged clothes hanging from chains on his wrists, tied to a rock.

"This piece of meat holds no pleasure or interest to me.. There is really no reason for me to keep him alive.. except keeping you in line of course.. don't keep in line, and I'll take the attempt as useless and kill him without remorse or consideration.. it is the logical option."

The man leaned forward so that his face was visible in the flames. His teeth were sharp, like dragon fangs.. His face was handsome, or it used to be.. but his cold dead gaze, and the tear-like red markings under his eyes gave him a horrible deadly sort of look.. 

"The Earth Mother will not make the same mistake as Kronos.. she recognizes the powers of Servants.. they she does not underestimate them.. she has already taken the best of them and set them against you.. you would best remember that..  You.. and that weakling Empress.."

Piper awoke, gasping, to find Nero's face looking down at her, the girl's nose inches from her own.

"Muuuu a.. are you okay!?" Nero said.

"Uh.. maybe, if you give me a little room?" Piper groaned. 

"Umu.. any friend worth her marbles leaves not her people to suffer when it is apparent there is something wrong!" said Nero. "I must look closely.. SO closely.. that no ounce of your immense beauty will ever surely block away the sickness that I shall destroy-.."

"Nero she gets it." said Annabeth, pulling Nero back.

"What happened?" Muttered Piper as she sat up, noticing she was in the Big House where she remembered only moments ago that they had burst inside talking about Rhongomyniad being stolen. 

"You collapsed." said Chiron gently. "Onto the floor right as we received news of the Lance's loss.. and of course Rachel's trance.."

"Umu! And it has become a most disturbing trend!" said Nero, placing her hands on her hips. "Firstly, this goddess appears to me, then she possesses this.. Rachel.. I am assuming you were possessed by this very goddess that appeared to me correct?"

"For an amnesiac she's pretty.. unperturbed.." muttered Annabeth as  Rachel snorted a bit.. 

However, in spite of Nero's dominating front, the fact that Nero wasn't acting a little more enthusiastic already told Piper quite a bit.  False memories or not, whoever was messing with their memories knew Nero well and put in extremely accurate predicted simulations as false memories.