So, I appreciate that there are some people out there that seem to be enjoying this story. Your feedback really means a lot and its very encouraging. And I'm sorry for the late update, but this chapter is longer, hopefully that makes up for it a bit.

Just to clarify where I got Percy's new powers from, Poseidon is considered the Earthshaker and Stormbringer, so Percy has developed his powers to the point where he can sort of bend the earth to his will, as well as control the aspects of storms, including lightning and wind (he doesn't have as much control of wind as Jason does, but he can manipulate it enough to give him an advantage).

Life Without

Percy-POV

To say Percy was in the best shape of his life would be a dramatic understatement. He had been running through the mountains all morning yet his breathing and heart rate were only slightly higher than normal. As he came to a gap on his trail Percy focused on the ground beneath, pushing off of the ground as it seemed to respond and springboard him upwards. While in the air Percy called on the winds around him to push him forward. He cleared the gap with plenty of room to spare, and once he landed on the other side he kept running, not even bothering to rest. Athena and Rhea had pushed him to a level that he hadn't known existed before. His powers had increased dramatically. Rhea had told him he was the most powerful demigod that had ever existed, and now he didn't doubt her statement at all. He had more control over lightning than even Jason and Thalia, could manipulate the winds like Jason (not to the point of being able to fly though), could cause earthquakes and manipulate the ground in some manners, control all forms of water, pull the water out of the air or out of nearby trees and plants, and freeze or unfreeze water at will. Once, when practicing his control over his powers in the Mediterranean Sea, he had created a hurricane so powerful that Athena grew furious because it had gathered attention from mortals all across the globe as an unexplainable weather anomaly.

Nearing his campsite, Percy finally slowed down to a walk and dropped his pack he'd been carrying. He pulled a bottle of water out of it and took a long sip. A moment later he felt a powerful presence behind him and, without looking, he asked, "Where've you been Athena? Rhea's been miserable trying to keep my training up by herself."

He could basically hear the annoyance dripping from Athena's voice when she answered. "I'm sorry but Zeus and your father wanted me to look into that freakish hurricane that happened not too long ago. I had to figure out something to tell them so they would disregard it."

Percy turned to look at the goddess and he shrugged. "Sorry, Athena. But in my defense you did tell me to practice on my own as well."

Athena kept up her glare for a moment longer, but then she cracked a small smile. "I suppose I did. I guess I'll have to be more specific next time I leave you with homework then." Percy smiled at her statement. He and Athena might not have gotten along in the past but now Percy knew he had her complete respect. It was actually to the point where she now wanted nothing more than Annabeth to be with Percy…

The thought of the woman he love took the smile off his face. It had been three years now. Three years without Annabeth, three years without her knowing he was still alive. She had finally started dating again about a year ago to a clear sighted mortal named Chance. She had grown a lot closer to the man over the course of their relationship. It killed Percy the few times he was able to go check on her. A few times he had watched as she visited his mom and Paul, once Poseidon had came to eat with her (according to Athena they had grown much closer since Percy's "death"), but mostly it was her with her new boyfriend. She seemed happy with the new man, and although it hurt like Tartarus to see them together, Percy was happy for her. They were both 21, juniors in college. Percy feared it would only be a matter of time before Chance popped the question. And although Percy knew he'd eventually be able to return when the war started, he didn't know when that would be. And quite frankly, he hoped Annabeth would be far away and not a part of it, at least that way she'd be safe…and Percy could live, or die, happily knowing that.

"You're thinking about Annabeth again?" Athena asked him.

Percy nodded his head. Taking a deep breath he turned to face Athena dismissing the topic for further discussion by asking, "What's my training today? Powers, strategy, new fighting style?"

Athena seemed unhappy at the switching of conversation, but she respected Percy's silent plea. She instead replaced the look of unhappiness with a smirk that made Percy sure he wasn't going to like the next exercise. "I want to test your combat skills…" Percy nodded in acknowledgment, not understanding where she was going. "But not like normal. You see, you're going to be fighting mosters, titans, and primordials."

Percy again nodded his head. He also became aware of another powerful presence behind him, one he recognized as Rhea. Over the past three years, Percy had been subjected to a lot of military strategy training as well as observation skills by Athena to make him better. And now the training was kicking in. Athena was wearing light battle armor and had a spear in her hand, a sword at her belt. She and Rhea were on complete opposite sides of him making it impossible to see them both. They knew he'd have been out running so he wouldn't be at his peak strength, and they were in his campsite clearing, which was about a mile from the nearest river. She wanted to test his combat skills as a whole. He was being ambushed, already caught off guard.

Before Athena and Rhea could make their move against him, Percy summoned a bolt of lighting and directed it towards Athena. She deflected it with the tip of her spear, but in the moment her spear wasn't at the ready Percy used the wind and earth to propel him towards her where he pulled out Riptide and attacked. She was fast and had seen him coming though, catching his blade on the shaft of her spear and deflecting the blow. Athena then kicked him away from her and tried to lunge at him. Percy dragged his foot back against the ground, causing the ground beneath Athena to give away from beneath her and making her fall. Before he could take advantage of the opportunity to attack Athena, Percy felt Rhea's presence right behind him and had to turn to intercept her sword and deflect it away from himself. He was able to easily kick Rhea in the stomach and made her slide backwards on the ground. But before he could take Rhea out of the fight he had to turn around and face the now recovered Athena. She pressed him back delivering blows that were so perfectly timed and executed that Percy was barely able to block them with Riptide. After one particular block, Percy felt Rhea behind him and he had to raise his blade above his head to block a blow he couldn't see. He kicked backwards pushing Rhea away form him again and then turned and smacked Athena's spear away before he blasted her with a burst of air, giving him a little space to breathe. At this point he realized Athena's plan. She knew Percy could most likely take her in a one on one fight, but if you threw Rhea in the mix, even if she wasn't a great fighter, Percy could never truly take advantage of an opening he had against Athena. Although his instinct told him to deal with the bigger threat first, Percy realized he needed to get rid of Rhea in order to take Athena on fairly.

Percy sent another lightning bolt at Athena, which she deflected with her spear again, but then he brought his foot down against the ground and created a fissure that swallowed one of Athena's feet, causing her to stumble and drop her spear. Instead of charging her though, Percy turned towards Rhea who was running towards him. He lunged towards her, meeting her blow with one of his own. Knowing he had very little time, Percy wasn't delicate. He used his heel to crush Rhea's foot, causing the Titaness to gasp and close her eyes in a moment of pain. Percy then spun around her back and brought the hilt of Riptide against the side of her head, using the wind to propel his blow even faster and harder. As soon as Riptide made contact with Rhea's skull, Rhea crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Percy then turned towards Athena who, although recovered, was now shifting her feet side to side as if she was nervous. Percy smiled. He concentrated on the air around him and began to pull all the moisture to him. Athena, not sensing what he was doing, decided to charge him. She made it halfway to him when he thrust his hand towards her and the moisture in the air condensed into a ball of water that he sent hurtling towards Athena. It crashed into the goddess, making her stumble. Before she could recover though, Percy pulled the water back up around her legs and froze it solid. Athena growled angrily as she used some of her godly energy to destroy the ice, but then she was pushed back with a burst of wind. She tried to recover, but Percy sent three bolts of lighting at her, which she was able to block, but on the last Percy caused the ground beneath her to shift over, causing Athena to almost do the splits. She stopped herself from falling by catching herself with her hands, but it left her unable to block the next bolt of lighting Percy threw at her. It caught her in her chest plate and knocked her all the way across the clearing. Percy quickly used the water from the ice he had created earlier to wrap around Athena and slam her into the ground. Seeing that both of his trainers lay on the ground unconscious, Percy decided he had won. He left them to allow them to recover as he began walking to the nearest river to practice honing his powers more.

Athena-POV

When she awoke, the first thing that Athena thought of was the fact that she had an awful headache. The second thing was when she realized why she had one; Percy had beaten her and Rhea in combat. Athena chuckled at the thought. It seemed Percy's training had paid off. To take on a goddess and a titaness at the same time and win without ever taking a hit was extraordinary. Unfortunately this only confirmed Athena's prior suspicions, she could no longer train Percy to fight. He was beyond her. She could still teach him more strategy and help him think of new ways to utilize her powers, but she wouldn't be able to test him. No matter how smartly she tried to fight him, she would lose.

She pushed herself off the ground and walked over towards Rhea who sat on the ground rubbing her head. Athena felt bad for her. She wasn't much of a fighter to begin with, but when Percy saw through her ploy of keeping Rhea in the fight to just distract him Athena knew Rhea was done for. It also didn't help the matters that Percy was none to delicate on removing her from the fight. Athena had cringed when she saw and heard the blow that fell the titaness.

"What are we going to do with him now?" Rhea asked, pulling Athena from her thoughts. Rhea was just as aware as Athena was Percy needed something or someone new to train against.

After pondering for a moment, Athena turned to look at Rhea as the titaness pulled herself off the ground. "I have an idea of someone who might accept the fact that there is a war brewing…however, it will be risky." Athena stated.

Rhea nodded her head in acknowledgment. "It was a risk seeking you out in the beginning. If we play our cards right we can see if it's worth exposing Percy to another."

Athena nodded her head in agreement. They both turned to head for the nearest river, knowing that's where Percy would be. On their way there, Athena added, "Besides, I have something else he can do to prepare while we go see if we can't find another ally."

Percy-POV

Percy's forehead was beaded with sweat from his strain and concentration. He sat in the middle of the river, but he had channeled the river to flow in many different circles around him, creating a sort of wall that was constantly flowing and eventually dumped off to continue going down the river bed. He had always favored this sort of meditating/power training combo. It forced him to constantly pick up new water flowing down the river while simultaneously letting water go to continue flowing down the river. It kept him aware and helped him keep control of his powers. But when Percy felt the power of the goddess and titaness approach him, he found it a little more difficult to concentrate. Knowing they would want to talk to him Percy went ahead and abandoned his training and used the water to propel him to the shore of the river. Athena and Rhea were already there waiting for him.

"We're going to New York." Athena stated.

Percy simply stared at her for a moment, but finally said, "Why? It'll be much harder for me to go unnoticed there, Olympus is literally right above-"

"We're simply going to take the passage you and a mister DiAngelo took to gain entrance to the underworld." Rhea interrupted.

Percy was silent as he took the information in. In a moment it dawned on him. "The Styx…you need me to be at my strongest, you're going to have me bathe in it again and hopefully gain the invulnerability back." He reasoned.

Athena nodded her head. "Hypothetically speaking, since the Roman and Greek gods are now one whole conscious again, not split, the curse should be achievable, even in the roman territory."

Before Percy could speak, Rhea added, "The only thing we worry about is that it may have become more difficult so to speak. Living through the experience will be harder on your body. Unless you can truly ground your soul, it may very well kill you."

"Why would it be worse this time?" Percy asked.

"Because its no longer a Greek curse, it's a universal curse. It will exist even if you walk through the true Tiber River. You have more to gain from it this time, therefore you have more to lose as well." Athena said.

Percy nodded and turned to look off towards the Mediterranean. Finally he asked, "Do you think I can fight without it?"

Rhea answered, "No. Once Oceanus realizes who you are and the danger you pose to his cause, you will be his prime target. You're powerful, but there are simply too many of them. You have to have the curse to stand a chance…"

Athena quickly added, "Believe me, Percy. If I weren't positive you needed this curse again, I wouldn't have you risk it. However-"

"No, I understand." Percy said, turning to face the to immortals. He could see concern on both of their faces. He knew they weren't crazy about him taking the risk of bathing in the Styx again, but he knew he had to. In attempt to lighten the mood, he asked, "So, how am I getting to New York? I suppose you're not wanting me to swim all the way there, are you?" He smiled as both the women chuckled.

Annabeth-POV

"And then Superman over here was like, oh our dragon blew up, let me just swoop in and save everyone." Leo recounted to the group. "Sadly, Piper must've weighed too much cause he couldn't hold us all." He finished and ducked as Piper's shoe flew at him. The entire group laughed.

Annabeth was happy to have everyone together. This was the first time Chance had ever gotten to meet her friends, and Leo had insisted he share his versions of some of the stories of the adventures he'd been on. Judging by the way Piper and Jason were constantly shaking their heads, Annabeth figured Leo was butchering the story pretty badly, but it was making everyone laugh, and she enjoyed that. She had told Chance about a month ago about being a demigod. They had discussed the fact that monsters and other such things existed before that, as he was clear-sighted and that made it much easier to convince him. However, Annabeth had avoided telling him about the gods, and more importantly, her own parentage because she was afraid of his reaction. She had been relieved when he just laughed and said that explained a lot.

"So, Jason's Superman, huh?" Chance asked after he finally stopped laughing. "So does that mean you all have nicknames?"

Of course, Leo had to pipe up again. "Nah, not all of us do, but quite a few of us do. You see I'm considered The Lord of Everything Awe-"

"Leo's our Repair Boy. And take my advice, Chance, don't believe a word he says." Piper cut in, earning chuckles from everyone as Leo began pouting. Thankfully all it took was one look from Calypso before Leo was smiling and back at it.

"Yeah, okay. Well Pipes over there is our Beauty Queen, being a daughter of Aphrodite and all." Leo said.

"Makes sense." Chance said, causing Piper to blush slightly.

"Thalia over there is Pinecone face." Thalia shot him an evil look causing him to squirm.

"Why?" Chance asked confused.

"I was a Pine Tree at one point and time. Then I got turned back normal, then I became an immortal 15 year old who travels around with a band of man-hating hunters…anymore questions, Chance?" Thalia asked causing Chance to gulp and shake his head. "Good."

"What about you, Annabeth? What's your nickname?" Chance turned and asked her, and she felt everything around her go cold. Everyone grew quiet rather quickly and judging by Chance's face, he knew he had stumbled into the territory she didn't like to talk about, Per-HIS territory.

Thankfully, before any more awkwardness could pass, Leo said something else to break the tension. Everyone jumped on the opportunity to get away from the sensitive topic, but Annabeth couldn't drag herself back into what was being said. She had told Chance in the beginning that she had loved someone very dearly but circumstances had tore them apart. He had accepted that fact, saying everyone had baggage. However, he thought Percy had simply broken her heart. Even after he learned of the gods, Percy was a subject she was never opened to discussing. As much as she cared for Chance, it just seemed so wrong to talk about Percy to him. Chance luckily never pushed her to tell more, but she knew it bothered him. She knew he wanted to know why they could never go to the beach, or why the color green was her favorite color yet made her extremely sad, why she insisted she go see Percy's family. He never verbally asked, but it was written all over his face.

She sat in silence for most of the remaining visit, and nobody bothered her. They knew what was wrong with her. When it was time to leave, Chance said goodbye to everyone while Annabeth only waved. When they were in the car, Chance used his free hand to rub her leg and Annabeth grew annoyed with herself. Deciding it was high time to explain, she said, "Wise Girl."

Chance looked at her confused. "Wise Girl?" Hearing those words come out of another man's mouth almost killed her, and she felt tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She turned her head to hide it.

"My nickname." She answered. Chance didn't say anything and she knew he wasn't going to push her, but she knew she needed to tell him…actually she knew she just needed to talk to someone about Percy. Everyone tried to avoid the subject because it hurt everyone when he died. No one knew how to cope. Poseidon, Sally, Paul, all of them were a wreck. Even when she went and visited them, it was always about the present; none of them dared bring up Percy for fear they would finally break down. "Percy gave me the name cause I always had a plan or always knew what to do."

Chance was quiet for a moment, but finally asked, "That was your ex-boyfriends name?"

Annabeth nearly choked as she tried to unsuccessfully hold back a sob. She didn't say anything more as Chance pulled into a parking lot. She didn't question or fight it as he came and opened her door and brought her into Central park. She just let him lead her to a bench where they sat down and he rubbed her hands and legs. "I loved him, Chance. He was more than just my boy-friend, he was my everything." Chance's face showed a little bit of hurt from her comment, so she quickly continued, "I met Percy when we were twelve. The first year we knew each other we went on a quest across the U.S. and we saved each other so many times. It was when I first got to know him."

"You guys traveled across the U.S. by yourselves at the age of 12?" Chance asked in astonishment. Annabeth tried laughing, but it turned into more of a cry. "You don't have to tell me Annabeth."

"No…I-I want to-I need to." She looked him in the eye and steeled her resolve. "The next year we traveled to the Sea of Monsters with his brother and we found the Golden Fleece. We used it to save Thalia's Tree and its what actually brought her back to life."

"You and Percy were responsible for bringing her back to normal?" he asked.

Annabeth nodded and continued. "At fourteen, we went to go find two new demigods, the children of Hades, Nico and Bianca. Percy was the one who got to them first and he tried fighting the manticore by himself. He couldn't defeat it and take care of the kids at the same time. I-I ended up being taken off of the cliff by the monster. Everyone thought I was dead, but Percy never gave up. He was convinced I was still alive, he could feel it. He traveled on a quest to come and find me."

"Percy seemed pretty important. Was he part of the Seven like you and the some of the others tonight?" Annabeth nodded. "Who was his parent?"

"Poseidon."

"Percy's dad, the man you have lunch with sometimes, that's Poseidon?" Chance asked.

Annabeth laughed lightly, "Yeah, it is."

"I don't get it Annabeth. If you loved him so much, why aren't you guys still together? Did he hurt you?"

Annabeth drew a long shaky breath in before she said, "Percy took the weight of the world on his shoulders in the quest to save me. He blew up a Mt. St. Helens to give me a chance to escape a bunch of monsters. He turned down godhood and immortality so he could be with me…" Annabeth could see the look of astonishment on Chance's face at that point, and she hadn't even gotten to the most painful part. "When the prophecy of the seven began, Percy was taken away from camp and sent to the Roman Camp. His memories were wiped like Jason's. The only difference is he had one memory Hera allowed him to keep…me. He remembered me, Chance, he remembered he loved me. When we finally found him he made me a promise that he would never let go of me again. Then in Rome…I was caught in a web," Annabeth's voice was starting to shake now, "and it pulled me towards the edge of a pit that led to Tartarus." Chance's eyes filled with horror and she knew he finally pieced together what haunted her in her dreams so often. He knew plenty of Greek mythology, he knew what Tartarus was. "Percy caught me and part of the edge further down. He couldn't hold us both up; the monster pulling me down was too strong. Before anyone could come and help us, I told him to let me go. He looked at me and he said we we're staying together, that he'd never let me get away from him again…then he let go and we fell together."

"…He fell into Tartarus with you?"

"He literally walked through hell with me. The things we went through down there, the things we saw, Chance I still have nightmares about them. And Percy-Percy took on the worst of it. He just wanted to get me out alive, he didn't care about himself." Annabeth looked Chance straight in the eye and finished by saying, "Percy Jackson turned down godhood, carried the weight of the sky, and walked through hell all for me. He loved me as much as I loved him."

"Annabeth, what happened between you two?" Chance asked.

Most of Annabeth's tears had already come by that point, but her body must've saved just one for the end because a single tear fell down her cheek. "Percy died three years ago. It was some sort of explosion, monsters or something were responsible. He was supposed to meet me that night to go see his mom and step-dad."

Chance seemed shocked, and Annabeth didn't blame him. She knew it was a lot to take in. "I've never been able to let him go completely…I never will be able to. He holds a part of my heart that can never belong to someone else. I'm sorry Chance, I just can't do it." Chance enveloped her in a hug and began trying to soothe her by running his hand through her hair.

Percy-POV

Athena had retrieved Mrs. O'Leary from camp half-blood in order for Percy to Shadow travel to central park. The two immortals had met him there afterwards. They were nearing the Door of Orpheus when Percy heard a familiar voice. "Annabeth?" He wondered out loud.

Athena seemed to notice it too, because she crept beside Percy closer to the voice. They stopped in the shadows as they saw Chance and Annabeth. It appeared Chance was trying to comfort her and Percy wanted nothing more than to go to her and wrap his arms around her and tell her she was going to be okay. But alas, he couldn't. Not now at least. He was about to turn and leave, unable to watch Annabeth in pain anymore when Chance began to speak to her.

"Annabeth, look at me, please." Percy turned to look at both of them. "I'm not Percy, I know I can never be Percy, nor could I ever replace him. But I'm here for you, and I will always be. Your everything to me." Percy felt his heart start to race. Chance couldn't be doing it now, not now. His eyes welled up with tears as he watched Chance begin to pull away from Annabeth. He watched as Annabeth-his Annabeth began to see where this was going. Her small smile made Percy's heart throb in pain.

"The fool picked an awful night. It's about to storm and he's going to ask her now?" Athena asked. Percy frowned at her wicked smile. "Maybe Annabeth will take that as a sign that he's not good for her."

Percy became aware of the surrounding clouds. He felt the rain already beginning to fall. "Annabeth Chase, I want to be with you until the end of our time. I might not be a hero, but I can be there for you." Chance said. The first of the raindrops began to fall around them. Annabeth looked at them and then looked up at the sky with disappointment.

Annabeth-POV

Chance was almost down on one knee. After everything she had told him he still wanted to be with her. She was amazed and happy, until the raindrops fell, one hitting her face. She looked up to the sky and disappointment crossed her face. She looked back at Chance who was also looking to the sky, seemingly mad. She hated that the rain was going to ruin the moment, but at the same time, it made doubt creep into her mind. Was this a sign? But the rain never came. No more drops, nothing at all. She finally looked back down to Chance who seemed to be amazed his luck was holding out. Finally he looked at her and he asked, "Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?"

Athena-POV

Rained poured all around the park, but not a drop fell near Annabeth and Chance. At first Athena was confused, but then she looked at Percy and realized he was holding the rain back.

"What are you doing?" She asked in bewilderment.

"She deserves this." He replied, taking Athena back. "After everything she's been through, after everything I put her through, after everything I took from her, she deserves a chance at the life I had promised her we would have. She deserves to be happy."

"What about you? You're not going to be gone forever, Percy."

"Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?" She heard Chance ask.

"Percy, don't hold it back, don't let her answer." Athena begged.

"Yes!" Annabeth shouted and wrapped her arms around Chance and kissing him. Athena watched in horror as Chance slid the ring on Annabeth's finger and then watched them kiss.

"You're not dead Percy, you will be able to come back and show her your alive eventually." She said, still trying to wrap her head around his actions.

"It could be years Athena. I wont keep her from being happy. She deserves happiness." He replied as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Athena let her voice get very quiet as she asked, "And you don't deserve that?"

Percy sighed. "Life without Annabeth has left a void in me. I can never love another again, I know that. Even if I were to return and go to her though, I would only be dragging her into another war. Let them go, let them live normally and keep Annabeth away from the fighting. I can handle life without her, so long as I know she's safe and that she's happy." Percy's eyes never left the newly engaged couple as they kissed and hugged and chatted excitedly. Athena couldn't bring her eyes away from Percy to watch them though; she was still shocked by his actions and statements. She finally began to realize just how much Percy loved her daughter.

Annabeth-POV

After she said yes and they calmed down a little Annabeth noticed the rain in the distance and suggested they get back to the car before the rain got to them. On their way out of the park, Annabeth realized it was raining on both sides of the park, as well as in front of them, just past Chances car. Curious she turned and looked back, noticing that it was raining on the other side of the park too. She slowed down as she took that in.

"Come on Annabeth, we got to get out of here before it gets here." Chance said, pulling Annabeth back to reality. She smiled at him as she approached the car. She kissed him when they both climbed in. And although he didn't notice it, she did when moments after they were safely inside the rain began to come down, everywhere they had just been. As they drove off, Annabeth couldn't help to notice that none of that was natural at all.

Percy-POV

Percy was silent as they walked through the rain towards the Door of Orpheus. Rhea and Athena both never said another word after his actions. His heart was hurting, but he was happy with his decision, knowing Annabeth could be kept happy and safe now. He knew life without her would be awful, but he knew he could live and die happily knowing she was safe and happy.

And with that thought, after Rhea opened the door, Percy set off into the Underworld with the hint of a smile on his face.

Again sorry for the delay. Reviews are always appreciated.