Will Solace POV

Something was wrong with Percy.

Will had been watching him carefully ever since he woke up. At first, he assumed Percy was just exhausted—passing out for three days after nearly tearing himself apart, rebuilding Atlantis would do that to a guy. But as time went on, Will started noticing the small things.

Percy wasn’t all there.

It was subtle. Most people wouldn’t even notice it. He still spoke, still laughed at Jason’s bad jokes, still trained alongside Thalia and Piper. But there were moments—pauses—where he’d just go silent.

Staring at nothing.

Like he was missing something important, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Will had seen this kind of thing before. Usually, it happened after battle. Demigods forgot things—not just names or places, but people. The mind protected itself from trauma. However, it could.

It was rare, but it happened.

The problem was, Will had no idea who Percy had forgotten. And judging by the way he kept zoning out in meetings, neither did Percy.

At first, Will thought it might still be about Sally. Percy had looked wrecked when he realized he’d forgotten his mom for so long. But this was different. This wasn’t guilt. It was emptiness.

Something was missing from Percy’s life, and he didn’t even know what.

So, Will did what he did best. He observed.

During their meetings, while Thalia was strategizing or Jason was debating battle formations, Will kept his eyes on Percy. Every time a name was mentioned—someone from Camp Half-Blood, an old friend, a past enemy—Percy twitched. Like his brain was scrambling for something.

It was worse when Clarisse got brought up.

It happened during a conversation about potential allies. Jason had been listing names, rattling off old demigods they could try reaching out to.

"Maybe the Ares cabin?" Jason had suggested. "I doubt they’d listen, but they owe Percy more than a few favors. Especially Clarisse."

Percy frowned. "Clarisse?"

Will’s stomach dropped.

Jason nodded, oblivious. "Yeah, Clarisse. You know, daughter of Ares? Has a tendency to hit first, ask never?"

Percy blinked, his expression blank. "I… I don’t—"

Silence.

Dead silence.

Will had seen a lot of things as a healer. He had seen demigods bleed out on the battlefield, watched kids cry for parents who would never come, and witnessed the moment when a person realized they were dying.

But this?

This was different.

Percy’s face was carefully neutral, but Will saw the panic in his eyes.

He didn’t remember.

He didn’t remember Clarisse.

Jason was still talking, oblivious to the tension. "Come on, man, you have to remember Clarisse. She literally tried to kill you, like, a hundred times before she started tolerating you."

Percy let out a breathless laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh… yeah. Totally. Just… slipped my mind."

Will knew a lie when he heard one.

Percy had forgotten Clarisse La Rue.

And Will had no idea why.