So, do you guys think I should bother with the minific or just incorporate it into the fic with the Lightning Thief plotline- I'm interested in your opinions, the Minific would be around five chapters long- since I believe I have just finished it :). The main part of it is actually just introducing another character so I'm looking forward to reactions to that.
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Rage2091: Eh, Demigod dreams aren't just voices, and she's used to annoying dreams even if she hates them.

It took a while, but Sadie managed to get Isis to portal them directly to Sunny Acres- and Percy looked around curious- it didn't look that different from any other nursing home really, not in Percy's opinion anyway, they were clearly in the lobby- there were potted plants- windows looking out on the Lake of Fire- Percy could remember crossing that with Desjardins.

There were limestone columns plaster with tacky posters of smiling seniors and mottos like: These Are Your Golden Centuries!

But the nurses' station was unattended. IV poles were clustered in one corner like they were having a conference. The sofas were empty. The coffee tables were littered with half-played games of checkers and senet.

"Where is everyone?" Zia was frowning.

And Percy was looking at an empty wheelchair, wondering where its occupant had gone, when suddenly the chair burst into flames, collapsing in a pile of charred leather and half-melted steel.

Percy yelped as Sadie yanked her backwards- and when she turned her head she saw that Zia had a ball of white-hot fire in her hand. Her eyes were as wild as a cornered animal's.

"Are you mad?" Sadie yelled. "What are you—?"

She lobbed her second fireball at the nurses' station. A vase full of daisies exploded in a shower of flaming petals and pottery shards.

"Zia!" Percy screamed the name, "What are you doing?"

She didn't seem to hear them. She summoned another fireball and took aim at the sofas.

"Zia stop it!" Sadie lunged at her, grabbing her wrist tight-and Percy was by Sadie's side in an instant, her staff in her hands- and by the gods Zia was glaring at them with literal flames in her eyes- as in her irises had become disks of orange fire.

"Zia! Stop it before I douse you!"

"We can't burn down the nursing home!" Sadie added, "What's got into you?" A look of confusion passed over her face. She stopped struggling. Her eyes returned to normal.

She stared at the melted wheelchair, then the smoldering remains of the bouquet on the carpet. "Did I—?"

"Decide those daisies needed to die?" Sadie finished for her, "Yes, you did."

She extinguished her fireball, "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I—I thought I had it under control.…"

"Under control? You mean to say you've been throwing a lot of random fireballs lately?"

She still looked bewildered, her gaze drifting around the lobby. "N-no…maybe. I've been having blackouts. I come to, and I don't remember what I've done."

"Like just now?"

She nodded and Percy felt a tightness in her chest. Apophis had tried to kill Zia for a reason.

"I-" Zia shook her head, "I haven't even told Carter- anyone- it-"

"It's Ra." Percy's voice was quiet-and she ignored the confused look that Sadie shot her.

"He- he was here." Zia looked almost lost, "For eons. Trapped. He was miserable and alone," she said. "He had been forced to abdicate his throne. He left the mortal world and lost the will to live."

"I don't know Zia." Sadie looked bewildered as she stomped out a smouldering daisy on the carpet. "He looked quite happy when we woke him up, singing and grinning and so on."

"No." Zia walked toward the windows, as if drawn by the lovely view of brimstone. "His mind is still sleeping. I've spent time with him, Sadie. I've watched his expressions while he naps. I've heard him whimpering and mumbling. That old body is a cage, a prison. The true Ra is trapped inside."

"He's only got one hope of getting out." Percy's voice was quiet- and the look Zia shot her was understandably frightened. After all, Ra was the most powerful Egyptian god. The only one who could surpass him was Apophis.

And Percy remembered how she and Zia had clashed at first- it was funny looking back on it- a sort of sign. The chosen host of Ra clashing with Apophis' chosen host- even if Percy didn't actually want to be his host. There was a certain irony there.

And Percy reached out, grabbing Zia's hand as Zia shook her head, eyes shining slightly.

"What are you talking about?" Sadie was frowning, gaze flicking between the two, "Percy- Zia what is going on here?" there was just a hint of fear in her voice.

"Please-" and Zia looked so scared that Percy's heart went out to her. "Please don't- I can't- I've been lucky so far- I came to the first Nome to ask Amos for advice before I went to look after Ra- he- I-"

"You're strong." Percy declared, "You'll be okay Zia." she was struggling to control it- Ra was on a whole other level than Horus or Isis. And if Zia didn't learn to control it- yeah that would not go well.

And Percy shot Sadie a stern look- and Sadie scowled but gave a small nod, silently agreeing not to push it- for now anyway. "Okay, okay we can deal with this later. We're running out of time." Sadie declared, "Now, where have all the old folks gone?"

Zia pointed out the window. "There," she said calmly. "They're having a beach day."

They made their way down to the black sand beach by the Lake of Fire. It wouldn't have been Percy's top vacation spot, but elderly gods were lounging on deck chairs under brightly colored umbrellas. Others snored on beach towels or sat in their wheelchairs and stared at the boiling vista.

One shrivelled bird-headed goddess in a one-piece bathing suit was building a sand pyramid. Two old men stood waist-deep in the blazing surf, laughing and splashing lava in each other's faces.

Tawaret the caretaker beamed when she saw them, and she really was just as Sadie and Carter had described her. Percy liked her instantly.

"Sadie!" she called. "You're early this week! And you've brought some friends."

The hippo, who was wearing a white nurse's uniform. Her mascara and lipstick were tastefully done, for a hippo, and her luxuriant black hair was pinned under a nurse's cap. Her ill-fitting blouse opened over an enormous belly.

And Percy blinked rapidly as the goddess hugged Sadie tightly- and Percy could smell lilacs- and was that a bit of sulfur?

"Tawaret. These are Zia Rashid- and this is my baby sister Percy."

"Oh!" Tawaret looked startled, her eyes flicking between Percy and Zia- and she looked almost weary of both of them- which Percy found strange- not that she was weary of Percy- that made sense. The gods all knew who Percy was, what she'd done even if most magicians had no clue of the possession side of things, but the fact that she looked weary of Zia was odd.

"Hi." Percy gave an almost shy smile, "It's nice to meet you. Carter and Sadie told me lots about you."

And Tawaret's expression instantly softened and she gave Percy a gentle smile. "It's nice to meet you too dears. Are you here to see Bes?"

"Partially." Sadie declared, "We're on a mission- things above are kind of complicated." and she launched into an explanation, telling the goddess everything.

Tawaret mashed her hippoish hands together. "Oh, dear. Doomsday tomorrow? Bingo night was supposed to be Friday. My poor darlings will be so disappointed.…"

She glanced down the beach at her senile charges, some of whom were drooling in their sleep or eating black sand or trying to talk to the lava.

Tawaret sighed. "I suppose it would be kinder not to tell them. They've been here for eons, forgotten by the mortal world. Now they have to perish along with everyone else. They don't deserve such a fate."

"We're not giving up yet." Sadie promised.

"But this plan of yours!" Tawaret shuddered, causing a tsunami of jiggling hippo flesh. "It's impossible!"

"Like reviving the sun god?" Sadie asked.

She conceded that with a shrug. "Very well, dear. I'll admit you've done the impossible before. Nevertheless…" she gave Percy and Zia worried looks, "Well, I'm sure you know what you're doing. How can I help?"

"May we see Bes?"

"Of course…but I'm afraid he hasn't changed." She left them down to the beach- and Percy looked at the old gods, feeling oddly sad for them- it must be horrible, being forgotten, losing your grip on yourself. Even when she'd been possessed Percy had still known who and what she was.

Percy watched as they passed the two old gods who'd been playing in the lava. Now they were wrestling waist-deep in the lake. One pummeled the other with an ankh and warbled, "It's my pudding! My pudding!"

"Oh dear," Tawaret said. "Fire-embracer and Hot Foot are at it again."

"Hot Foot? What sort of godly name is that?" Sadie was clearly holding back giggles.

Tawaret studied the fiery surf, as if looking for a way to navigate through it without getting incinerated. "They're gods from the Hall of Judgment, dear. Poor things. There used to be forty-two of them, each in charge of judging a different crime. Even in the old days, we could never keep them all straight. Now…" She shrugged. "They're quite forgotten, sadly. Fire-embracer, the one with the ankh—he used to be the god of robberies. I'm afraid it made him paranoid. He always thinks Hot Foot has stolen his pudding. I'll have to break up the fight."

"Let me," Zia said.

Tawaret stiffened. "You, my…dear?"

"The fire won't bother me," Zia assured her. "You two go ahead."

And Percy watched as Zia waded into the fiery water without a single care, but then again she was probably fireproof now. If she was Ra's chosen host.

In any case, Percy stuck with Sadie and Tawaret as they headed towards a dock.

Bes sat at the end of the pier in a comfy leather chair, which Tawaret must have brought down especially for him. He wore a fresh red-and-blue Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. His face was thinner than it had been last spring, but otherwise he looked unchanged—the same scraggly nest of black hair, the same bristly mane that passed for a beard, the same lovably grotesque face that was kind of like a pugs.

But his face was blank- he stared ahead at nothing, not moving even when Sadie knelt next to him and gripped his hand.

"Hey Bes." Sadie's voice was soft, "I brought someone new to see you today- you remember Percy. You told us to save her and we did- she slept for a little while but she's better now-" with her free hand she held out her arm- and Percy dropped to her knees next to Sadie, pressing into her side as her sister told Bes all that had happened recently.

And Percy could here Tawaret sniffling. "Oh, Sadie…" The hippo goddess wiped away a tear. "If you truly could help him, I—I'd do anything. But how is it possible?"

"Shadows, this bloke Setne…he found a way to use shadows for an execration spell. If the sheut is a backup copy of the soul, and if Setne's magic could be used in reverse…"

Tawaret's eyes widened. "You believe you could use Bes's shadow to bring him back?"

"Yes." Sadie nodded, "Yes I do. But- there's a tricky part I was hoping you could help with. Do you know where Bes's shadow is? I don't know much about gods and their sheuts and whatnot. I understand that you often hide them?"

Tawaret shifted nervously, her feet creaking on the pier boards. "Um, yes…"

"I'm hoping they're a bit like secret names," Sadie forged on. "Since I can't ask Bes where he keeps his shadow, I thought I'd ask the person who was closest to him. I thought you'd have the best chance of knowing."

Seeing a hippo blush was quite odd. It almost made Tawaret look delicate—in a massive sort of way. "I—I saw his shadow once," she admitted. "During one of our best moments together. We were sitting on the temple wall in Saïs."

"Sorry?"

"A city in the Nile Delta," Tawaret explained. "The home of a friend of ours—the hunting goddess Neith. She liked to invite Bes and me on her hunting excursions. We would, ah, flush her prey for her. At any rate," Tawaret continued, "one night after dinner, Bes and I were sitting alone on the walls of Neith's temple, watching the moon rise over the Nile."

And Tawaret was staring at Bes with adoration as Sadie let out a sad sigh.

"Go on. Please."

"We talked about nothing in particular," Tawaret remembered. "We held hands. That was all. But I felt so close to him. Just for a moment, I looked at the mud-brick wall next to us, and I saw Bes's shadow in the torchlight. Normally gods don't keep their shadows so close. He must've trusted me a great deal to reveal it. I asked him about it, and he laughed. He said, 'This is a good place for my shadow. I think I'll leave it here. That way it can always be happy, even when I'm not.'"

"That night in Saïs—how long ago was it?"

"A few thousand years."

"Any chance the shadow would still be there?"

She shrugged helplessly. "Saïs was destroyed centuries ago. The temple is gone. Farmers pulled down the ancient buildings and used the mud bricks for fertilizer. Most of the land has reverted to marshes."

"Then there's no hope?" Sadie

"Oh, there's always hope," Tawaret said. "You could search the area, calling on Bes's shadow. You're his friend. It might appear to you if it's still there. And if Neith is still in the area, she might be able to help. That is, if she doesn't hunt you instead…"

"But-" Percy glanced at Bes, her heart aching. "There is hope. We can save him I know we can."