It took three days before Rumi was allowed up the mountain. Two of those had been spent in a hospital bed. It had taken nearly around the clock care from Recovery Girl before she'd been stabilized, and even then she had needed to threaten to beat the old woman to death before she was cleared to leave the hospital. But even then, it had taken another day before the debris and wreckage had been cleared. Percy's foresight had been quite correct. The barriers set up by the support heroes had staved off the worst of the damage from the wreckage.

While none of the lava had made it down to the town, it had still been the right call to evacuate the region. The ash from the explosion had been caked to the surrounding towns like a second skin. So much ash had been thrown into the air that there were even reports from as far as California in the United States, that they were detecting higher levels of ash in their air streams.

When Rumi had finally been allowed onto the mountain, she regretted it. It hadn't taken long to fight the cavern once more. Damaged and destroyed beyond all recognition though it might have been. For three hours, she had worked with other heroes to excavate the area in the hopes of finding Percy. Finding anything. But aside from a pile of golden ash, and the broken and mangled mess of mechanical engineering that had once been Percy's arm…there was nothing.

But Rumi refused to accept that. She lost count of how many of had tried to console her. Tried to express their condolences for her "loss." What loss? As far as she was concerned, she hadn't lost anything. Not yet. There wasn't a body to bury. No blood, no nothing. Just an arm, an arm that Rumi had watched him lose during the fight. As far as she was concerned, that meant he was out there somewhere. Maybe someone had taken him, maybe he had managed to walk away from the mountain before it blew. She wasn't certain one way or another, but she refused to believe he was dead.

Because as far as she was concerned, until she saw the body for herself, there was no way she would ever believe that Percy Jackson was dead.

So she would look for him. She had the power now. She could look where others couldn't. And if some upstart god or goddess had decided to take him from her?

Well…

Rumi rather liked her odds.

BREAK

It didn't feel real.

Like a story, not reality.

But as the days turned into weeks, Izuku was forced to face the grim reality of the situation.

Percy wasn't coming back.

He, like most of the nation, had watched the showdown at the mountain with bated breath. The cameras that had tried to get into the cavern to watch the fight had, for whatever reason, completely malfunctioned. So Izuku had been forced to allow his imagination to fill in the gaps as the cameras showed the mountain shake and rumble.

He'd gotten a sick feeling in his stomach when the camera had zoomed in on Miruko getting thrown from the mountain. But his sickness had turned into outright horror and disbelief when the mountain itself had exploded.

But in spite of himself, he'd tried to convince himself that it wasn't true. There was something about watching something on the news that allowed him to distance himself from the truth. To disassociate himself from what he knew was reality. After all, he hadn't seen the fight for himself, so who was to say that anyone knew the truth?

But he was just making excuses, and he knew that.

He was brutally reminded by that when he would walk into class every day, and Percy's empty chair would stare back at him.

His classmates were handling the news…in a variety of ways. Some, like Tokoyami, Shoji, Kirishima, Bakugo and Todoroki, had thrown themselves into their training with a newfound ferocity that seemed to startle even themselves. Others seemed to be hollow shells. He didn't think he'd seen Yaoyorozu smile since the fight. If what Izuku had overheard Jiro say to Tsu was correct, then it was a miracle that the girl was even coming to school.

Even the Big Three, Percy's third year friends, were affected. Mirio, who was known around the school for being a constant ray of sunshine and happiness, hadn't smiled in days. Poor Amajiki had been so sullen and taciturn, that if it weren't for Mirio, Izuku was fairly certain that Amajiki wouldn't be getting out of bed in the morning. But the worst of the lot was easily Nejire. She just seemed…hollow. Lifeless. As though she weren't really aware of what she was doing or where she was at any given time, simply floating from place to place.

Life at the school was miserable. And Izuku felt miserable. He and Percy…they'd never really resolved their issues from their fight after the summer camp. Izuku had never gotten to apologize.

He'd not even said goodbye.

That hurt most of all.

He might not have agreed with Percy's morals or personal ideologies, but he'd been a good man. A good friend. Had been one of the few and only people Izuku had ever met to help him with no expectation of anything in return.

And now he was gone. And Izuku could never tell him how much his friendship had meant to him. How much he had meant to him.

So Izuku, like so many of his classmates, had thrown himself into his training. If he couldn't thank Percy for everything he'd done in person, then he would do it the only way he could. He would use what Percy had taught him, use what he'd learned and be the best hero he could be. It's what Percy would have wanted, and it's what Izuku would give for him.

BREAK

Mandalay was inconsolable. Percy's disappearance—they didn't say death, not if they didn't want another meltdown—had hit all of the Cats tremendously poorly, but none more so than Mandalay. It was only the swift thinking of Tiger, who had emptied the woman's apartment of all her liquor and wine. They didn't need her drinking herself to death. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the woman hadn't had the courage to leave her room for the last couple of days. The Cats had moved her and Kota to their summer camp a few days ago. In times like these, it was necessary for them all to stay together.

Oddly enough, in spite of the somber mood of the Cats, the lone bright spot was Kota of all people. He seemed convinced that Percy wasn't dead. That he was simply away, healing his injuries. In his words,

"The hero always disappears, and then returns at the last moment when it's most dramatic. Duh?"

If only the rest of them could have shared in his optimism.

For the rest of the Cats, it was a time of self-reflection. Thinking back on the relatively short amount of time that Percy had been in their lives, yet the tremendous impact he'd had on them all.

In spite of everything, they held on to that thin glimmer of hope that maybe Kota was right.

After all, if there was anyone who could defy the odds, it was Percy.

BREAK

Her day started as any other. A small breakfast of simple fruits and some of her one juice, made from yet more fruits she grew herself. Then, it was a short trip to her garden, where she spent the rest of her morning tending to her crops. It was relaxing, if not slightly tedious work. But she didn't mind, it kept her brain occupied, and passed the hours of the day more quickly.

As the early afternoon sun began to shine higher and higher in the sky, she retreated to the comfort of her home. She relaxed there for some time, reading from the variety of books she had accumulated over the years. She knew them by heart now, after gods only knew how long she'd been there, but there was a comfort to their words. A familiarity and a safety. She was content, if not happy.

She had been halfway through a chapter when she'd felt it. The familiar, and painful ringing in her chest. The sun was beginning to dip lower over the horizon as afternoon slowly gave way to cool evening. For a moment, she hesitated. Battling with herself over whether to investigate or not. She knew what the consequences of her action would be.

How many times had she done before? She'd lost count.

But, as always, her war with herself was lost, and she slowly raised herself out of her chair and began making her way down to the beach. Night had fallen by the time she arrived. She had opted for a slow approach. Taking her time and enjoying the stillness of the night and cool evening air on her skin.

Sure enough, just as her senses had foretold, there was a figure on the beach. He was dressed…oddly. She couldn't place his attire, but it most certainly did not appear to be armor. She approached slowly, cautiously. When she was close enough, she couldn't help but gasp in horror. Not only was the young man before her grievously wounded, but his right arm was missing entirely. He was face down in the sand, his face obscured. Kneeling down, she rolled the man over onto his back and inspected him carefully.

Whatever battle he had been in, had clearly been a terrible one. His wounds were frightful, and plenty. She ran a hand over his chest, relieved to feel the small rise and dip. He was breathing at least, always a good sign. Then, she finally gazed at his face.

Her heart stopped.

She knew that face. She knew it well. Painfully so. It didn't matter how much time had passed, how much he had grown, she would always remember that face. Her hand danced along the small whiskers of his untrimmed cheeks.

"Oh Perseus…" she whispered mournfully, "What have they done to you?"

In spite of her worry, a pang of anger shot through her. Anger, and jealousy. Why must she be tormented like this? Was once not enough? Must she be subjected to this torment again? She wanted to leave. To run back to her home and leave him there on the sand. To pretend this never happened.

But she didn't.

In her heart, she knew she never could. In spite of the pain he had caused her. In spite of everything, she couldn't abandon him here. Standing up from the sand, she waved her hand and Percy's body rose into the air.

Leading the way, Calypso took him home.

To Be Continued…

B/N: Suck my dick bitches it was Calypso! Hahaha!

AN: Ignore him. He's eccentric. Obviously this means I've tampered with canon a bit, so you'll just have to wait until the second book to see how and why! Thanks again to all who enjoyed, thanks again to Double! And I can't wait for you all to see what's in store next!