So you'd think it would be easier to get back into this story after the long break its had, but somehow, it's not the case. Writing this was difficult, due to a complete lack of investment in the story. Hopefully It will get easier when I get to a more exciting part, but I'm not going to torture myself trying to get there as soon as possible. I'm going to write about five chapters for another story, then I'll right another chapter for this, then repeat. I wish I could get back into this, but I just can't seem to. I'm not going to torture myself by forcing myself to write this any more than that, it won't be any better, and I don't get paid enough for it. So until then, it will likely be short, far in between chapters. But I have two other stories you can check out that are much higher quality than this one.

Percy POV

I stood as still as possible as my mother screamed at me. "What the hell were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren't, were you? Do I really have to go with you on every mission and hold your hand?"

I winced at the thought, "I'm sorry Mom."

She sighed. We were currently standing in her kitchen. I had shadow traveled here after checking on Cora, and as expected, she freaked out at the sight of my severed arm. Paul, the lucky bastard, had business to take care of and properly left a bit after I arrived, with a few words of condolence of course. Now however, she seemed to have gotten most of it out of her system. And rushed to embrace me, taking a moment to wonder how to deal with my missing arm.

"Can you just promise me that you won't do something like that again?" She asked

I grimaced, "Have I ever been able to?"

She didn't respond, and instead hugged me tighter. I took a minute to enjoy it, before pulling away. "I uh, I'll be talking to Leo about a replacement arm, but before that, I have to go see Nyx tonight, and tomorrow… something I've been dreading for a while."

She looked confused for a moment before realizing what I meant. Do you want me to come with you?"

I really did, but I shook my head, "No. I'll go alone."

She nodded, "Very well. I'll get Cora's bed ready, and I'll keep an eye out for that Setne character. From what you told me, I really hope he's stupid enough to reveal himself to me."

I smirked, thinking of what she'd do to him, "Yeah… I'll be back soon okay?"

She nodded and I dropped into my shadow, going back to the Kane's mansion. I emerged in the main room, startling a few of the students."

"Dude! You have to teach me how to do that!" Felix said excitedly. He was currently sitting in a chair while his army of penguins lined up in front of him, probably to get sent back to Antarctica I only smiled and walked past him, towards the pool. Ignoring the student's whispers about me.

I walked out to the pool area to find Cora still having fun with the albino crocodile. Reyna, Zoe, and Jackie were sitting on the side watching her, as well as Bast, who looked a bit uncomfortable as she talked to the other girls.

I came in on the tail end of their conversations. All I heard is Bast whispering, "…14? That's a joke, right?"

They all stopped talking when they saw me approaching. Bast stood up and looked at me, "Percy! I…. ah…."

I held a hand up, "Don't worry about it. Stuff happens it's in the past. Keeping an eye on Cora?"

"She hasn't stop playing with the crocodile," Reyna spoke from behind Bast, "I'm wondering if we should be concerned."

I chuckled as I watched her roll around in the water with the animal, practically wrestling with it, "I think she's fine." I then turned to Bast, who was still standing in front of me awkwardly, "Relax. Everything's okay."

She looked at me, then at my arm, then at me in confusion, before shaking her head, "No it's just, Carter and Sadie asked me to bring you to them when you got back. It's about Cora."

I tensed up, which she noticed, "Nothing bad! It's not bad news it's just… well I'd better let them explain it to you."

I nodded and followed her into the mansion. We entered a large library, with weird statues. At one of the tables, Carter, Walt and Sadie were examining something. It wasn't until Bast cleared her throat that they noticed our presence.

"You're back." Sadie stated.

I shook my head, "No actually I'm front."

They all stared at me strangely while I sighed, "Seriously lose one arm and no one laughs at your jokes anymore… So, what did you want to talk about?"

Carter spoke first, "Right well you see… it's about what Setne did to Cora…"

I stared at him seriously, "What about it?"

He seemed unsure of what to say, and in the end picked up one of the pictures the three were examining. I looked at him dangerously when I saw that it was a picture of Cora's bare back covered in scars, "Who took this?"

"It was me!" Sadie practically shouted, "I made sure they looked away!"

I nodded in satisfaction, "Alright then. Are these going to heal over time?"

"Not likely," Walt spoke up, "They're etched into her skin with powerful magic. But that's not what we wanted to talk about. Setne said he did this to smooth over the mix of magic required for his spell. Turns out it had a side effect."

Before I could ask exactly what he meant by that, Carter explained, "The hieroglyphs on her back are basically meant to filter any Egyptian magic instilled in her, which was needed for the spell, but we think it can also filter magic coming out of her."

"We think she could become a magician like us." Sadie concluded.

I nodded thoughtfully, for a few moments, before smiling, "Not going to happen."

Sadie looked at me in surprise while Carter argued, "Why not? A demigod magician is unprecedented, we could make history!"

"But will you make the right kind of history?" I asked, "Unprecedented means you don't know what will happen. I know firsthand what your magic is capable of," I wiggled my nub at them, causing them to cringe, "If she does something wrong the results could be disastrous!"

"We take measures to insure accidents like that don't happen," Walt said, "And worst-case scenario we have powerful healers."

I narrowed my eyes, "Not good enough. You forget that she's also a powerful demigod, perhaps the most powerful we've seen. She'll have her own powers to deal with from that alone, how would you manage that?"

Carter scoffed, "Oh come on, she's five, how powerful could she be?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Ever hear of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906?"

The three nodded, while Bast's eyes widened in realization. I explained to the others, "Child of Neptune having a hissy fit."

That got them thinking, but not for long. "We have spells that can suppress earthquakes." Sadie stated defiantly.

I looked at her in amusement. "Really? prove it then."

The Egyptians all looked at me in alarm as the ground beneath them began to shake slightly. Sadie recovered quickly however, much to my surprise, and held her hand up in the air, "Hah-ri!"

As soon as she spoke it, a strange golden symbol appeared in the air. I then felt a strange force fighting against my power over the earthquake. With my enhanced powers I could tell I could overpower it, but it seemed enough to battle my previous power from Poseidon, so I let it do its thing, making my earthquake Die down, as well as creating a strange sense of silence in the room.

I sighed, "Look, I'm not saying I don't trust you people. I still don't, not fully, but that's not why I'm worried about this. If I can help it, Cora will never have to deal with any of this mythology bullshit, and live a normal life."

Walt looked at me skeptically, "You seem pretty powerful, but even you should know there is a very small chance of that happening. She may be powerful on her own, but with this training she could become more powerful than any of us. She could look after herself if need be."

"Plus," Sadie continued, "It could be a key factor in building up that trust. We're already discussing dates to meet with your Hecate cabin, but something like this will be a literal blending of Greek and Egyptian culture."

"Roman," I corrected, "Her dad is Neptune."

"Whatever," Sadie stated seriously. "You know what I mean."

I looked at them critically, "Demigods have strong scents, Monsters will come from miles to attack her, and anyone in the way."

"We have powerful warding to prevent that," Bast said, "And if that's not enough, they'll have to get through me."

I sighed heavily, hoping to Chaos that I wouldn't regret my next words, "Fine. But she won't be living here like your other students. She will come in for scheduled lessons."

"Deal." Carter nodded.

"And," I continued, "There will be someone there that I trust at all times."

"Fair enough." Walt agreed.

"And also, Trevor." I said.

They didn't seem as enthused about that, but nodded all the same. I then asked for a piece of paper to write my mother's number down, giving us a way to plan everything out later on.

With that done I turned to leave, but was stopped by Sadie, "Hold on a bloody minute, you still have explaining to do!"

I sighed before looking around for a clock. I saw that it was a few hours before nightfall, which gave me a good amount of time. I turned back to them, "Alright then. It all started when I vaporized my Math teacher…."

Once I had finished telling them all the things I had been through, they were speechless. literally, I ended up just walking out while they stood there with their mouths open. The only one not completely stunned was Bast, who followed behind me as I walked back to Cora.

She seemed uncertain of what to say as she followed me, so I spoke first, "Hey, I already said you were forgiven. You don't need to do anything or say anything else."

She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and said instead, "I know it's just… I don't understand why."

I shrugged, "Zoe told me about how you were locked in endless combat, for way too long. I can understand how something like that could mess someone up."

She sighed, "I suppose that's true. It wasn't all bad though. I doubt there is anyone who could beat me in combat now." Just as we said that, we exited the mansion and entered the pool area. Zoe, thanks to her enhanced hearing raised an eyebrow, "I'm fairly certain I was more than a match for you."

Bast rolled her eyes, "Please, how could a—"She froze as she remembered me standing right next to her, "I mean, you were okay…"

I chuckled, "Hey don't let me stop friendly competition. I only stopped you last time because it was the wrong time. And as much as I would like to stay and watch… I have to get Cora home. Speaking of which: Cora!"

The girl, who had been playing with the reptile for an obscene amount of time, poked her head out of the water, "Do we have to go?"

I smirked at her disappointment, and at Philip's apparent disappointment as he nudged the girl sadly. "Well you could stay here and play with him, but I'm pretty sure I smelt a batch of cookies at mom's house. If you're happy here I'm sure I could take care of them myself…"

I didn't have to finish as she was already shooting out of the water and running inside to get her shoes, making the girls laugh.

"You're pretty good with her Percy." Reyna stated as she stood up as well, ready to go.

"Probably because he's still a child himself, if only in mind." Zoe teased.

I feigned offense, "Rude! I'll have you know I am a highly intelligent—bahahaa sorry I couldn't finish. I don't even know what pi is."

"Isn't that a type of pastry?" Jackie asked, genuinely. Bast and Reyna shared a look while I nodded, "Yes Jackie, and that's all it ever should be."

"You're still going back to school." Reyna stated commandingly.

"I know! But I don't have to be happy about it!"

I noticed Bast giggling at us, but didn't say anything about it as Cora came running out, ready to go.

I scooped her up in my arm and turned to the others, "I'm going to be visiting Nyx tonight, you all are welcome to join us if you wish."

I made sure to put meaning in that last sentence before dropping into my shadow, leaving the three girls and a bright red Bast.

I dropped Cora off at moms, deciding not to get into her future magic lessons until later, and headed to Nyx's house. I arrived expecting to have to look for her. Instead I was greeted with the sight of her sitting with her less crossed on one of her couches.

I stood awkwardly, staring at her and her at me, before I spoke first," So how are things?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Fine. Only, I have an idiot boyfriend, who thinks he can just do whatever he wants, no matter the consequences."

I sighed, "Nyx, I know I messed up," I gestured to my lack of a left arm, "I know that very well. I've apologized to everyone else already, and I'll apologize to you as well, but only once."

She raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

I looked back at her calmly, "Yes."

She shrugged, "Okay." She stood up and walked up to wrap her arms around me, confusing me greatly.

"Wait so, that's it?" I asked.

She kissed me before pulling back and smirking, "I've been around for a long time Percy, I've learned patience. But I expect you to learn something before long."

I nodded, "Fair enough. I have no idea where to start but definitely fair enough."

She smiled, before looking at me with worry, "So, tomorrow…"

I sighed, "Yeah… I'm not exactly looking forward to it."

"Nor should you." She agreed, "You are welcome to stay with me until the time comes…"

I smiled at her, "You read my mind."

The "Morning"

I stood before her, completely unsure of what to say, and unlike before, she couldn't help me out anymore.

I knelt down and ran my hand over her, before just resting my hand on the ground. In front of me stood a new gravestone. It was sa simple rectangular stone slab, with the name Annabeth Chase engraved on it. Next to it were my mother's parent's graves.

Leo had already begun planning a giant monument in her honor, to be placed at Camp Half Blood, something worthy of her. but this, this was something private my mother had set up, for more intimate visits.

I sighed as I knelt at my former loves grave, "Hey Wise Girl. It's been a while… maybe not for you, I don't know if time is different in the Isles, but it's been far too long for me…"

The grave didn't respond. What a surprise.

I continued, "I uh… I moved on, I guess. Probably a bit farther than you or I anticipated… I can't know what you think of this, but I do know that you wanted me to be happy, which I am…"

Once again there was no response.

I closed my eyes and placed a bouquet on her grave. It consisted of a mix of red roses and pink carnations.

I then stood up, before looking at my arm, "I've been through a lot since you left. A lot of it probably could have been avoided if you were still with me… No, you're right. That's no excuse for my own stupidity. I'd gotten so used to having you by my side, letting me know when I'm being stupid. The other girls are pretty good at it, but obviously not good enough… I need to become better. No matter how strong I get I don't seem to be getting any smarter, and that's my own fault. But the thing I si don't know where to start to fix that. I don't know if you can have any effect on me from where you are, but I could really use you!" help."

Again, the grave did nothing, so I simply said, "I love you." And walked away.

After I left the grave yard, I ducked into a nearby alley and shadow traveled back to Camp Half Blood. At the moment, Jackie was working on finding a new lair for the Hellhounds on earth. Reyna was at camp Jupiter, overseeing a council meeting, and Zoe was hosting a training class for female campers. Guys were allowed to attend, but all of them are too scared of her to go.

My first stop was the "Bunker 9" I'd heard so much about. I always suspected that there were secrets hidden around camp, but an enormous warehouse filled with weapons and devices was a bit beyond my expectations.

I found Leo hammering away on a slab of imperial gold. I cleared my throat loudly to catch his attention.

He turned to me with a start, "Hades Percy, why'd you have… to… uh dude, please tell me you're holding your hand behind your back."

I chuckled, "Ohhh I wish buddy. That's actually what I came here to talk to you about."

He rushed forward, examining my nub a little too closely, but I let him do it, as he knew what he was doing. "Couldn't you like… grow it back? Reattach it? Something?"

I shrugged, "We tried, but as usual some magic, fate, bullshit got in the way. The arm disappeared and the gods can't grow it back.

He frowned as he examined it, "So… you're going to need a prosthetic?"

I nodded, before wrapping my shadow around the nub and forming a dark hand, making him stumble back, "I can form elemental constructs pretty easily, but it still takes concentration, it'd be better to just have something there to begin with."

He nodded in agreement, "Yeah…" He then turned and started ruffling through blueprints, "So I'm guessing you want me to build you a prosthetic… with combat capabilities?

I smiled as I followed him through the workshop, "Of course."

He looked back at me as he picked up a device that looked suspiciously like a Claymore bomb. "So,, what? but a blade in it? A firearm? There's this manga where the hero has this metal arm that doubles as a cannon— "

I smiled knowingly at him, "Put everything and anything you can in it. I'll even reimburse you for— "

"No!" Leo yelled, and for a moment I wondered if he was mad about something, but then he began to smile, the kind of smile that only comes around once in a lifetime. "No need man, complete creative freedom? That's something I never pass up! Also cause it's for you."

I laughed and pulled him into a one-armed hug, "I appreciate it man. How long do you think it will take you to finish?"

He thought for a moment, "Probably a few weeks if you want it to be as epic as possible. What metal do you want it to be made out of? Celestial bronze? Imperial gold? Maybe with a mix of some mortal steel?"

I took off my ring and held it up for him to see, "I have a better idea."

Chapter 61.