An eerie silence fell on a small house in Manhattan. Although the house didn't seem different on the outside, it was where the greatest demigod of the time lived. Or at least, he could be in the future.
The baby Percy Jackson slept soundlessly in his cradle as his mother, Sally Jackson, slowly rocked the cradle backward and forward.
"Percy, I hope your father can see you now." She murmured fondly at him. Then, she raised her head to stare at the sun slowly disappearing behind the horizon. "I know he's watching, and he's really proud of you, my sweet."
….
The clock chimed twelve, and it was then when Sally Jackson finally fell asleep, beside her baby's crib.
The ground beneath the door of the Jackson's house rippled. Slowly but steadily, the earth began to rock the door off its hinges. A young girl materialized behind the door, her eyes the only thing that betrayed her real age.
The door fell out of its hinges, and as it did so, the woman gave a cold, merciless laugh.
Sally Jackson was instantly awake. She gave the woman a terrified glance, took one glance at the sleeping baby, and then faced the woman again.
"Hello, Sally." The voice was cold and old, like the voice of somebody who lived beyond any person's age, but it was also young, like a small child's, but deprived of any innocence.
A clattering sound of breaking glass, and Sally turned around, but it was too late. Somebody else had already entered through the shattered window.
It was a normal man, who looked a few years older than Sally. He had raven-black hair and dark blue eyes with handsome features. His eyes, like the girl's, were the only part in his face that was different with normal humans. He stepped forward, a sword appearing in his grip magically.
Sally backed off toward the back wall, the crib now held tightly in her arms. Both the girl and the man moved slowly toward her, the girl reaching her hand out to take the crib.
"Hand it over." She said coldly. "Hand him over, Sally Jackson, since it is the only way to save your life."
Sally shook her head, her eyes flitting between the two people who were slowly advancing. For a moment, her eyes flitted outside the window, where the river Hudson was flowing peacefully. "Don't even think about it." The girl snarled. But then, her face formed a strange smile, but it wasn't a pleasant one. "No… Let her be at the windowside. I want my grandson to see exactly what becomes of his son."
Her young face twisted into a grotesque smile as she lashed out, and a tendril made of roots shot out from her. Sally gritted her teeth as the root cut into her legs, leaving a mark that looked like a whip lash. She gave a burning look of hatred at Gaea, who laughed the cold laugh again.
Baby Percy began to cry in his mother's arms as the vibrations of pain traveled to the small crib. As the sound of his wail echoed through the air, the river began to rise, like a wall made out of water, but Gaea and the man barely noticed.
Another lash and Sally Jackson crumpled to the floor, her arms still around the crib. The man prodded her away with his feet, and then picked up Percy Jackson, who was still crying. Something flickered in the girl's eyes when she saw the boy, something that made her seem almost human. But the small sign disappeared almost as instantly as it appeared.
The wall of water was getting faster and faster, bigger and bigger by the moment. It didn't take the man long before he noticed the descending wall of water now. For a moment, surprise lit the eyes of the girl, but then her face was contorted into a sneer.
"You think you can win, Poseidon? You think you can have your son back?"
She picked up Percy from the man's arms, very careful not to look at him, and turned toward the wall again. Her eyes shown with triumph as the lights clicked out, and she and the man disappeared into the darkness.
The waves reached the house seconds after they disappeared. It swirled inside the room like an angry man pacing the room, covering the still-unconscious Sally Jackson.
Then, after a second, the wave stopped. It hung on midair for a moment. Then, it glided back outside the window, retreating back into the river, not leaving a single drop of water in the small, deserted apartment where Percy and his mom used to live, not leaving a single trace of life behind.