A masked man with a massive arsenal of weapons lurked among the rooftops of Manhattan, stalking his prey. A full grown adult male, one who's hair was beginning to whiten, carefully ran through the night streets, unaware of the person trailing him from above. They stopped at a door, one of their own apartment. Quickly trying to unlock it, the man fumbled with the key for a little while being finally setting himself up properly. With the most silent movements he could muster, he inserted the key into the lock and twisted it left, before immediately grabbing the handle and fully pushing the door open. Shutting it behind him with no time wasted, he fully turned to face his home. However, what he got was instead a person with a sickle in his hand, placed on the male's neck. "Well, your time has arrived, filth. Final words?" The man, unable to respond, fell to the floor from a heart attack. However, the being who invaded his home simply laughed before snapping his fingers and stopping the man from dying. The man looked up from his position on the ground, staring at the cold creature in front of him. "H-how?" He groaned out, shaking in fear. The other person just laughed, a deep, painful laugh, full of regret and torment. "Let's worry about my talents later. Or on second thought, maybe not later. It is time for you to die. Final words?" These words made the males eyes widen, terror seeping in even further then before. "What wrong have I done to deserve this?" He cried out, desperate. The response he got made his blood run cold. "Let's ask your ten year old daughter, shall we?" He let out another laugh after this statement, this one sounding more like glass shattering. "No no, I think you know what you've done. In life, I am judge, jury, and executioner. And I find you guilty of far too much. Anyhow, this has been going on for too long, the devils of silver are almost here. Sadly, our time will be cut short. Although you'll have more then just a meeting cut from you." After saying this, he crouched down next to the man and laid a cold finger on his spine. A few murmured words, and the man grew at least ten years older. Suddenly, the closed door was slammed open, and arrows were flying. Chuckling, the cloaked man appeared behind the male, holding him like a human shield. Cries of pain could be heard along with the thudding of silver tipped arrows.

This did nothing to affect the man with his body covered, who simply watched the huntresses enter the building with amusement. It would be so pleasing to slay them, but he decided not to do anything, displeasing his mother would do no good. That day would come eventually. For now, other souls could be claimed. After the goddess accompanying the huntresses walked through the open door, the hidden man threw the bleeding man onto the ground in front of him, where he soaked the carpet of the apartment. He spat at him, before turning to the hunters with a hidden grin. "I had it covered, but that was rather fun. Maybe we'll have to do that again soon enough." Artemis aimed at the boy and fired one more arrow, prepared for them to be impaled. However, when the man brought up his arm and swatted the arrow with the sleeve of his cloak, the arrow changed course and found a mark in the arm of one of the hunters. She screeched in pain from the contact. Before Artemis could speak or even develop a horrified expression, the guy spoke one more time. "As much as I'd like to make you ladies suffer, I have business elsewhere. I'll meet you again soon enough, I have all the time I need the world. For now, the filth's daughter is down the hall and in the third room on the right. Hopefully I have the chance to harm you more in the future. Goodbye, my ladies." With a deep bow, he vanished, leaving the girls to stare at where he used to be, one forgetting about her pain out of pure shock.

"Mother! I'm back for a little while!" Percy called, walking through the House of Night, passing a few of his brothers and sisters on the way. Eventually, he got through enough of the crowd to find Nyx. "Hello my child, how did it go today?" She got a cold smile in response, causing her to grin as well. She was so proud of him and his talents. "Well," he started. "I saw the Hunters of Artemis, and injured one of them, by 'accident', of course. Otherwise, not too crazy." His smile grew as he spoke. Nyx's emotion reflected his own. "I see. Well done, my child. I'm afraid to say I didn't have as much success as you, however." Her smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "Erebus is coming back. But fortunately, he has little interest in us. On the other hand, he has a lot of interest in Olympus and the mortals, which as you know connect to us in more ways then we'd expect. I hope we don't have to help them, but if push comes to shove..." Percy nodded in response. No point getting angry or bitter anyhow. Just then, he realized he had gotten distracted. He felt a soul clamoring for release, which meant someone was dying. It was time to reap. "Sorry mother, I must go. I should be back fairly quickly, don't you worry." She just gained a smirk in response. Percy vanished into darkness, reappearing in Manhattan again. "What could it be this time?" He mumbled to himself, mildly curious. Strolling into the building he was on, he seemed to faintly remember it. The details seemed to flit into his head on where he should walk. Finally, he came to an open door. Striding through, he realized where he was.

His birth mother's apartment.

"No," Percy whispered to himself. "This can't be happening." Picking his pace up, he sprinted at a human speed through the building, wasting no energy. Finally, he came upon the life form he had sensed. It was a woman. There was no visible blood from the angle she was laying down in. Carefully, heart pounding in his ears, Percy got closer. He turned her over, finally realizing what he was going to see.

The face of Sally Jackson.

And Percy had to take the rest of her life.