Awakened Memories

We Find Lost Things

We Find Lost Things

Annabeth

Percy rushed off and I watched him set up our archers in the trees. Then he grabbed Nico and the two of them disappeared. I turned my attention towards the Oneiroi. Phobetor had disappeared and now Morpheus held the eagle staff. I marched up to him, studying the staff. It seemed simple, but the eagle was golden and the words "SPQR" and "Fulminata" were engraved on it. I recognized it from Roman books I had read. It was the legion's eagle. Most had never been recovered, because they were guarded so well (and because, as I now knew, the Romans never really died out). But obviously one had been lost and the Oneiroi had found it.

I took my attention away from the eagle and focused it on the immortal who held it. Morpheus. I had a bone to pick with him. I glared down at my celestial bronze hand, flexing it and then turned my gaze on him. He sneered at me and beckoned me forward.

I climbed the rock, holding Riptide in front of me. The blade glinted in the light as I stared down Morpheus.

"So, what is it like with one fake hand?" Morpheus taunted.

I lifted my metal hand, pretending to study it. "It's alright. Obviously different from having a flesh one, but I find it's helpful for many other things. One in particular."

"And what is that?"

I smiled knowingly. In response, I lunged forward and our fight began. Morpheus tossed the eagle to his other hand and pulled out a sword in his now free hand. He dodged my strike and hit my sword with his, pushing me away. He pointed the eagle toward me and I rolled out of the way as a bolt of lightning streaked past me.

"'Fulminata,'" I muttered and then translated, "'Armed with lightning.' Of course."

Morpheus swung towards my head and I lifted my other arm, thinking I held a shield on it. I didn't. Luckily, at the last second I remembered my metal hand and Morpheus' sword clashed against that instead of my flesh. While he bounced back I danced forward and struck at his side, drawing a small line of golden ichor.

Morpheus snarled and moved faster. I blocked his movements, occasionally using my celestial bronze hand as a small shield. I missed his feint once and small burst of pain erupted on my neck. Then it was my turn to slash and swing harder and faster.

We continued fighting for a while, eventually falling into a sort of pattern. Strike, block, block, strike, strike, strike, strike, block, strike. We realized it at the same time and changed tactics. Morpheus shot blasts of lightning at me from the eagle every once in a while and I acted quickly to escape it. If the lightning touched my sword or my metal hand I would be a goner. Metal was an excellent conductor of electricity.

Finally, I saw my window. I smirked, "It's good for hitting people," I said, in reference to his earlier question.

Morpheus faltered, confused and I took my chance while he was distracted. I ducked under his sloppily executed swing and brought my celestial bronze hand above his head. Before he could react, I brought it down hard, crashing into his skull. He crumbled, his body collapsing in on itself. I didn't know how, but I could tell he was traveling to some terrible prison he would hopefully not escape for a while, like Tartarus or the Void.

The legion's eagle clattered onto the rock next to Morpheus' shrinking body. He disappeared and I scooped up the staff, studying it more closely. Jason came flying out of the crowd of monsters and demigods and landed beneath me. I reached down and gave him a hand, pulling him onto his feet. Before he could rush back into the fight, I stopped him and handed him the eagle.

"I think this is yours." The eagle seemed to crackle with lightning when I placed it in the son of Jupiter's hands.

A grin spread across his face. "Thank you, Annabeth. You don't know how much this means to the Twelfth Legion. I think it will also help the relationship between the Greeks and Romans. A Greek, returning one of our most prized possessions." Jason beamed.

"Really?" I said, "I think that will too." I pointed up at the large statue that loomed above us. "It's the Athena Parthenos. Romans took it from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. They literally stole Athena and we hated them for it. Help me return it?" I offered.

"Of course."

"Get Daedalus."

Jason rushed off as I stared at the Athena Parthenos. Her skin was made of ivory and she wore a dress made of gold. One of her hands was outstretched, holding a statue of the winged goddess of victory, Nike. Since the statue of Athena was forty-feet tall, Nike was about as tall as an average person. Athena's other hand rested on a massive shield, about as big as a billboard. A sculpted snake peeked out from behind it, like Athena was protecting the snake.

Athena's face looked nice, serene, and kind. It actually looked like my mom. Most statues didn't look like Athena at all, but the sculptor of the Athena Parthenos must have met her. It looked exactly like her, it was perfect.

Two pairs of footsteps clopped against the rock as Daedalus and Jason joined me. Daedalus' breath caught as he stared at our mother. "I never saw it before." He gasped. "It's amazing. What will we do with it?"

"I need you to send it to Camp Half-Blood. It's definitely powerful. Maybe it can strengthen the borders. We've had enough breaches in the past seven years."

Daedalus nodded and touched a hand to Athena's massive knee. He concentrated and the giant statue flickered before us. Soon, it disappeared, leaving the field feeling a lot more empty. "It should be safely in the middle of the Camp. I sent a note with it for Chiron," Daedalus informed me.

"Great. We'll figure out exactly what we'll do with it later, when we get back." I didn't hesitate in saying when. I knew we would come out victorious. We always do. We had powerful allies on our side.

"All right, let's go." I told the two demigods and we dashed back into the fray of monsters and demigods.

Morpheus was gone and Phobetor had disappeared a while ago. I had a feeling Percy dealt with him but he wasn't completely gone. An itchy feeling plagued me, like I was forgetting something about the Oneiroi.

I thought about everything that had happened since the fight started, but came up short. I sighed, grabbed an abandoned shield, and slashed down anyone in my path.