Book 1: The four tainted minds

Local teens switch places for a month

Τζασον

He finds Piper and Leo slightly hidden from view behind cabin 13, resting their backs against a metallic dragon. It makes him think of something else, a fuzzy scene where he laid on the grass with two others, a girl with a mane for hair, and a boy with Chinese features; the thought is gone before he can think of it further.

A memory, he thinks, and then,

"That's a dragon"

Piper and Leo exchange a look and then Piper's laughing while Leo grins at him.

"Meet Fetus, he's my new friend" Leo says, as though that's normal.

To his credit, the dragon lets out a mechanical chirp and curls further around the two of them. Piper calms down and reaches out towards him.

"He's nice and warm!" she coaxes.

Jason comes to the conclusion that this is his life now, and simply lets her pull him to the grass and against the metal dragon. And well, the warmth really does feel very cozy, and he feels a sort of kinship to Leo and Piper since they figured they all had their memories messed with.

There's also how much easier they make remembering, like fragments of Jason's past life got caught in them. He wondered if perhaps these fragments where why the two had thought him their best friend, or more in Piper's case.

"So, about the quest" he prompts

The other two make noises in acknowledgement.

"Apparently our first stop is in Quebec, but I have no idea how we'll get there" he explains, unsure

Leo gives him a look and then pats the dragon.

"Festus can take us there, won't you buddy?"

The dragon responds with a crackling trill, and Jason's pretty sure he sees something spark beneath the metal, but it's not like they have many other options.

Νικο

Describing a connection is always hard to him, even the most basic ones become a tangle of nonsense, that leave people frustrated with him; most of the time. Sometimes, Nico will bump into someone patient enough, and kind enough to detangle it into meaning, though it's only happened twice outside of family.

He's visiting the secret demigod camp hidden within San Francisco, to talk with one of those two people, trying to find answers to a common problem. Disappearing demigods.

Reyna's been bringing him up to speed on how the situation has developed since his last visit, explaining the disappearance of a son of Jupiter, and with Percy vanished they both reach the conclusion that something big is up. But that means there's a third misplaced demigod, and instantly Nico knows who it is.

Nico's loathe to admit it, but the truth is he's worried, because he hasn't been able to locate Leo in months, and if he is truly involved with this then-

Percy is the issue, he appears in Camp Jupiter, disoriented, and amnesiac, with the gall to ask Nico if they know each other, as if Jackson ever gave two shits about him. If Leo's involved, then his memories are most likely gone too.

And, it's not like they were close, exactly, but Nico remembers what Leo had acted like when they first met. Sharp, and cautious, and an absolute asshole on purpose; and how that melted away during their conversation.

He liked the way Leo had looked at him last time, letting his exhaustion show, acting relaxed, like Nico was a friend instead of just an acquaintance. He'd been so helpful too, both times, despite Nico never having done anything to deserve it.

Reyna warned him that there's something big brewing, and Nico would need to go back to Camp Half-blood eventually, to figure out what it is. She's right, Nico knows, but that doesn't mean he likes it one bit.

He might find Leo there too, though Nico would've rather introduce him to the demigod world of the Romans. Leo isn't him though, isn't the son of the least liked god, he'll probably meet a different camp than the one Nico did.

Nico's not sure why the idea bothers him so much, that Leo could possibly grow to like camp half-blood, he's not even sure why he's thinking so much about the guy in the first place. Like, sure, one of three misplaced demigods, still doesn't justify it.

It's a lie, Nico knows exactly why Leo's at the forefront of his mind, but the reason's stupid and unfounded, so it isn't a lie, not really. More like, Nico has no good reason for his wondering thoughts.

Χέιζoλ

"Go to Alaska.

Find Thanatos and free him.

Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die"

It bothers her, not that she isn't glad for how straight-forwards the words are, but it's meant to be a prophecy, it could at least rhyme!

She's not really sure why it makes her this angry, particularly when there's so much else far more sensible to be angry about. And maybe that's the issue, the real reason, the fact that this quest has had such a rocky start.

Frank probably shares some of her wariness, considering he learned the same tales she did about Neptune. But if that's true, then he's doing a much better job than Hazel at being discreet.

It's probably only due to Percy's current state of mind that he hasn't called her out on her behavior. And really, she admits she's being a little rude.

They can't afford it, not when their lives are at stake, so Hazel re-directs, and focuses on the weirdness of a non-rhyming prophecy.