Commander Alpha

Chapter 18

Percy's POV

It'd been a week since the explosion happened.  The Warriors were persevering and training the campers, but we were short tempered and tired.  The campers were respectful, no one spoke out of turn or did anything wrong in our classes.  We trained them nonstop and harder than they ever had been in their lives, but they didn't complain.
We'd fallen into a routine of sorts.  Bianca would spend the time from when we woke up early in the morning to breakfast with Emma, and I spent from dinner to when I went to sleep late at night with her.  The other Warriors showed up periodically, and stayed for an hour or two.  We tried to stay upbeat and hopeful, but the more days that slipped by, the harder it was.
It was a few hours after dinner, Beckendorf and I were sitting with Emma.  I's barely seen him all week because he'd been working on some project in the forges.  Chaos has just left after his fourth visit to check up on Emma.
I looked up.  Emma seemed almost paler than she had been the last time I'd visited.  The brought a whole new wave of guilt on me.  I put my head down and cried.  I could hear Beckendorf tinkering with something on the opposite side of Emma's bed.
"Whoever's sitting next to me really needs to move.  Your sadness is giving me a real downer."  I looked up in shock.
"Emma?" The young girl's eyes were open and she looked annoyed.
"Yeah, duh.  What're you so guilty about?  Did you get eat Beta's snacks again-oof" Beckendorf and I trapped the girl in a hug that could rival one of Tyson's.  "Ow!  Wait, why does that hurt?  And why are we hugging?" Emma was still very confused.
I sat back in my chair.  Beckendorf stood up.  "I'll get the other Warriors."  I nodded and he headed out.  Emma groaned.
"Will someone tell me what's going on!" Emma complained, sitting up in her bed in frustration, only wincing a little.
"What do you remember."  Emma's eyes narrowed in concentration.
"I was in the cabin... then Bianca called... you were smoking, about to combust.... we calmed you down and put you in the room and I went-" she stopped, realizing what had occurred.  "Ugh, stupid."  she flopped back on the bed.
"Emma, I'm so sorry,"  I apologized, tears streaming down my face.  I was surprised I wasn't dehydrated at this rate.  "I never should've let you in that room with me, I should have been able to stay in control, and-"
"Stupid me, not stupid you." Emma explained.  "Although, you can be an idiot, but I was talking about me this time.  That's freaking hubris for you.  I was so sure that I could do it, I never considered the consequences.  Well, I'm not dead, and I've got all four limbs-" she stopped looking down.  "Oh.  Scratch that."
"It was blown off in the explosion, I'm so sorry and understand if-" Emma cut me off again.
"No, it's fine.  I don't care." The fire that had started over her ear told me that she did care.  Emma sighed and patted the fire out.  "Eh, I always liked that leg better anyway." She gestured to her still-intact right leg.  "Anyway, this brings a whole new era of puns I can make."  I groaned despite myself.  If there was anything Emma liked almost as much as chocolate, it was puns.  Emma opened her mouth, about to say what I was shire would be a one-legged joke when "Emma!" Bianca shrieked.  She flew into Emma's arms.  Both the girls were sobbing.  "Emma, I'm so sorry, I never should have let you go in there, I should've-"
"I swear to Chaos!" Emma shouted.  "If one more person apologizes for my actions, I will follow you around for the rest our time here speaking only in puns." Bianca laughed and hugged Emma tighter, before detaching to make room for someone else.  Chaos appeared, slightly annoyed.
"Who sweared on me?"  Chaos didn't like being sweared on in the same way Hades didn't like his name being used as a curse word.  It made his ears ring.  Emma raised her hand in response to Chaos's question.
"Guilty." She said.  "Although I don't feel as guilty as Percy does right now, even though it wasn't his fault." Emma stared into my eyes when she said those last few words.  Chaos shrieked, which was quite funny. 
"You're alive!" He shouted and hugged her gently.
"Surprise!" Emma responded, hugging him back. 
The next few hours were spent hugging, catching up "I was out for a week?", and groaning at Emma's leg puns, "Maybe I should change my name to I-lean"
"You'll be fine." Luke said.  "Just need to walk it off."  Luke's eyes grew wide as he realized that it was the wrong idiom for the occasion.  Emma glared and threw her pillow at him.  Beckendorf smiled.
"About that, I've got a present for you." He told Emma. She nodded.  He pulled something from the side of the bed.  It was beautiful, made of intertwining Chaos silver, the strongest substance in the universe, and celestial bronze.  "I'm bad at comforting people, this was the least I could do."  It took me a moment to realize what it was.
"A leg." Emma took the prosthetic limb wonderingly.  "Can I,"
"Go ahead."  Emma took off the blanket that had been covering her lower half.  I guiltily stared at her missing leg.
"My fault," the words echoed in my head.  I noticed that Emma had stopped moving.  I looked up and saw her glaring at me. 
"If you don't stop your guiltiness and self-pityingness right now, I'll whump you over the head with this thing." She threatened.  I nodded, swallowing.  Chaos silver hurt like Hades to get hit with.
"Good."  Emma placed the top of the leg to where hers left off.  Gears whirred, and the leg attached itself to Emma, the metal intertwining with her skin.  Emma swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"Emma, are you sure-" Emma glared at Castor.  "Okay, okay, just checking."  Emma got onto her feet unsteadily.  She grimaced, wobbled, then seemed to find her balance.  She took a step forward with her good leg.  She looked at Beckendorf for guidance with the next part.
"Just walk normally." He clarified.
"Right."  She muttered.  "Normally."  She took a breath and walked.  The leg fit her perfectly.  She walked straight into Beckendorf's arms. "Thank you so much." She sobbed.  Beckendorf hugged her back.  She let go.  "Knowing that you're a child of Hephaestus, I have to ask, what else can this thing do?" Beckendorf grinned.
"Pretend you're wiggling your toes." He instructed.  Emma looked confused but obeyed.  A sharp knife jumped out of her foot.  She grinned. 
"Cool."  The knife sheathed itself again. 
"Also, see that button on the side." Emma found the button.  "Press that, and the leg will detach.  Press the one below it and it will turn into a grappling hook."
"I feel like a ninja." Emma said.  Her stomach growled loudly.  "A hungry ninja.  When's breakfast?"
• • •
The first thing that Emma did at breakfast was go to the Apollo cabin's table and thank all of them, giving each of them a hug.  Most seemed to be slightly freaked out from being hugged by a nine year old hooded figure with fire powers, but others were intrigued by her prosthetic leg.  She actually detached it so that the Apollo and Hephaestus campers could examine it.  When they were done, Emma picked herself off the floor with some help and reattached the leg.  She walked back to our table awkwardly, still not quite used to walking, and sat down.  She got her plate of food and wolfed it down.  Someone cleared their throat.  I turned to see the entire seven and Nico were standing there, Annabeth in the lead. She looked at Emma, almost confused, then turned her attention back to me. 
"So, about that meeting," she started. Oops.  In the chaos of the last week, I'd totally forgotten about it. 
"We could do it now at Zeus's First." I offered.  Annabeth nodded, and turned to walk there.  When she had gone a bit and noticed I wasn't following, she turned.
"Coming?" She asked, seeming desperate for information about Percy- or, well, me. 
"One second.  I've gotta check on something.  Be there in a minute.  Annabeth nodded in understanding, and continued to Zeus's Fist.
'Emma.' I said in mind-link, preferring to use that so she could continue eating what must have been her fifth plate of pancakes.
'Mhmm?'
'Should I reveal myself to the seven and Nico?'
'PLEASE!  They're all guilty and depressed and it's horribly annoying to be around.  Almost as annoying as you, which is saying a lot.'  I laughed.
'Thank you.'
'No problem.  Just warning you, it's going to be an emotional reunion, but don't blow up again.  As much as I like my new leg, I don't fancy losing the other one.' I would go reveal myself to my friends, but I needed Chaos to do something for me first.