Ok. Here we are, back in the saddle after an unplanned hiatus. I hope you guys like this chapter, I tried to tap back into the inspiration and writing style I had from the last time I spent any time on it. If it isn't as great, I understand. I'm still trying to get back into the groove of writing and refinding my muse for it, so I may still be out of shape, so to speak.

This chapter has been in the making for almost six months at this point. It was the last chapter I started before my files were corrupted, so I had to try to piece back together what my ideas had been. I hope it worked out well. All rights to Riordan.

Percy and Rachel left early the next morning. Light was just beginning to peak over the horizon, and the dew was still landing on the grass. Neither cared to explain where they were going, much less why. If Percy was going to take down this support base of Moros, then he needed as little attention as possible.

Deciding that now would be a good time to practice his instant-god-traveling power, the two met on the beach, mostly for convenience, but also for Percy's comfort.

Rachel had a fully packed backpack with her, including fresh clothes, a small amount of toiletries, her magic marker, and a sleeping bag. Percy smirked at her as she met him on the coast.

"What? I come prepared for anything," She replied proudly.

"Whatever," Percy chuckled. He hadn't brought anything with him, figuring there was nothing he needed.

Grasping Rachel's hands, Percy closed his eyes to concentrate. Despite picturing in his mind the streets of New York City, he couldn't help but catch the scent of the ocean next to him. For just a moment, he could feel the water on his skin, the nudge of the waves, the taste of the salt. This was replaced all to quickly by the unmistakable scent of smoke and fire.

The two looked up quickly to see the entire block engulfed in flames. Sprinting around the corner, Percy quickly noticed a sign on the ground among the pieces of the burned and now partially collapsed building. Painted on the wooden sign, in large, stylized red letters, "Hannigan's".

"Fuck!" Percy yelled as he ran up to the door and ripped it off of its scorched hinges. Once inside, he quickly saw the now charred body of what appeared to be a man. Grabbing the man, Percy drug him out of the building and onto the waiting sidewalk.

Once the man was on the pavement, Percy looked back to the fire in time to see something large fly from one of the second story windows, before bursting into a thick cloud of smoke. Rachel's voice brought Percy back to the scene at hand.

"Percy, there's too much going on right now, we need to move!"

Percy regarded her distantly for a moment.

"You're right, there is too much going on right now." He then stood, closed his eyes, and concentrated until the overwhelming silence deafened him. Opening his eyes, he saw that everything had stopped. The birds were stopped midflight. The flames ceased to spread. No wind moved in the air, no heat was felt from the sun.

Percy walked slowly to Rachel. Though he had frozen time before, this was the first time he was actually taking a moment to inspect it. He could sense that everything in her body had stopped, no pulse, no heartbeat, nothing. She should be dying, but she simply wasn't.

It felt…interesting.

Percy shook his head, clearing the daze from his mind and returning to the task at hand. He placed his hand on Rachel's shoulder. In an instant, a thin golden wave ran through her body, releasing her from Time's firm grip and joining her back with Percy. Rachel audibly gasped in a breath of air.

"Per…Percy…" Rachel stammered, trying to understand what had just happened.

"I froze time, it'll give us a chance to work."

Rachel caught a look in Percy's eyes. Though they were in their human form, they seemed tinted, like she was looking at them in black and white. The sea green was muted, almost greying. Looking from his eyes to his body, she could tell he was dissolving slightly.

"Percy, are you okay? Your god form is starting to burn through…"

"I'm fine." Percy cut her off as he knelt to inspect the body. Rolling it over, he found what he was hoping for: a sideways hourglass tattoo, just like the one on Rachel, in the exact same spot. It could have easily been missed due to the charred nature of the skin, except for the fact that it was dimly glowing the same brilliant green color as Rachel had during her trance.

I wonder…

Percy placed his hand on the mark and concentrated. Everything remained paused, however Rachel was frozen once again. Pulling his hand away, Percy noticed the mark was gone from the body's neck, and had now transferred itself to his palm, however, it was now no longer sideways, but upright. Percy snapped his fingers, once again bringing Rachel back to his plane of existence.

"Will you please stop freezing me in time?" Rachel asked exacerbated, as she was feeling the same disorienting feeling of falling in and out of time.

"Come here, we have something. Grab my shoulder." Percy commanded lightly. Rachel rolled her eyes and complied. Once she had grabbed onto his shoulder, Percy willed the hourglass tattoo to absorb into his palm.

"Hold on tight," Percy warned as he allowed his godlike form to emerge. Rachel yelped as she was hoisted ten feet into the air, quickly grabbing hold of Percy's dissipating neck to keep from falling, placing her footing into one of the grooves in his celestial armor to support herself. She noticed his charcoal eyes were quickly following something she couldn't.

"What do you see?" she asked with a small amount of trepidation.

"Everything. I will show you." Percy then allowed a wisp from his hand to take shape as a cloud in front of the two, before dissipating into the air.

Percy then swiped his hand through the air, just like one would to swipe across their phone screen. In an instant, the scene around them began to speed in reverse as their scene shifted them inside the shop. To Rachel it seemed like a movie with a 360-degree camera.

Finally, Percy stopped the shifting the scene and allowed it to play out.

In front of them, seemingly oblivious to their presence, sat a man at the front counter, busily working on a time-piece that looked absolutely ancient. The man seemed middle aged, with a bushy mustache and almost comically thick glasses.

At the door, a tall man entered through the front door. He wore a black fedora hat low on his head, to match his equally ominous trench-coat and black trousers. Everything about the newcomer spelled suspicion.

"Good morning sir…" the man at the counter began with a smile, "how may I be of service to you today?"

The newcomer walked up to the counter, never making eye contact. "Oh, I don't need anything, just leaving a message for Time…"

The shopkeeper was immediately on his guard, "Moros. You are not welcome here. You know that. Time will never bow to you."

The man raised his gaze to meet the shopkeeper, revealing his eyes to be completely pitch black, with red craters scattered throughout the pupil, giving them the appearance of burning coals.

"Hannigan. I believe I have informed you many times before, I am not your enemy. Your master deceives you. I'm simply here to talk," Moros gave Hannigan a smirk that dripped with poison, before beginning to pace throughout the shop, "plus I obviously can't actually be here. You know that. The entire state of New York would be flattened. No, this agent is…expendable, and he serves his purpose."

Unperturbed, Hannigan puffed his chest, summoning all the courage he could muster, "There will be no talking. A change has occurred, and a new champion has been chosen. And once he is on your trail, you will realize your mistake."

Moros stopped his pacing and turned to face Hannigan, "Ah yes. I've felt rumblings that Kronos was no more. Perseus has taken his place no less," Moros stopped to inhale a deep breath, before turning to face the exact spot Percy and Rachel were currently standing, "I can sense his presence at this very moment."

The tension in the room was suffocating. Moros approached the displaced Time god, sighing, "Time god, listen and learn. Do not let yourself be deceived. Let time flow, it moves at its own pace. You cannot force its hand. However…" Moros paused to take a deep breath, before turning back to face the shopkeeper, "…everyone is doomed."

In an instant, the body Moros was inhabiting crumbled to pieces, leaving an oily shadow in its place. Once the shadow opened its eyes, the coals for pupils began to burn brighter, until it spit out a burst of flame that immediately engulfed Hannigan. His screams were brief. Over Percy's shoulder, Rachel gasped and covered her mouth, trying to keep from screaming.

The shadow then dropped onto all fours and crawled up to the second story window, before bursting through the glass and flying away, its arms replaced with wings. In an instant, the scene stopped, with Percy and Rachel being dragged back to their place outside of the building, everything around them still frozen in place.

Percy reverted to his human form, allowing Rachel to shakily stand on her own. Turning to face her, Percy let out a breath, allowing time to continue flowing around them. "What do you think?" He asked, trying to make sense of what he had heard.

Rachel hesitated for just a moment, "I think we need to contact Lord Chronos. He'll know what to do."

"Right. Let's get you somewhere you can get ready."

Percy pulled her tight against him and imagined his old room in Gabe Ugliano's former apartment. Why this was the first place that came to mind, he wasn't sure. But it made sense.

Since Gabe's 'disappearance', and the Jacksons' moving out, the place remained abandoned. The landlord couldn't find a renter, so he had simply boarded the place up and pretended it didn't exist. All the furniture and appliances may be gone, but the smell hadn't. As soon as the two appeared in what had been the living room, their senses were absolutely assaulted by the odor left by years of greasy food, beer, and cigars. For Percy, being a god, this was accompanied by a new scent. The scent of murder and death, and of course he knew why. He also frankly didn't care.

"What is this place?" Rachel asked, furrowing her nose at the faint but present odor.

"This was my childhood home," Percy let her go as they took in their surroundings, "It belonged to my old stepdad. His mortal odor was so putrid it could mask even my strong, demigod scent. My mother married him for that reason."

Percy waited while Rachel undressed and prepared her communication ritual. He didn't look away from her this time. Not that he was trying to peek at her, nor that he truly wanted anything from her. He stared like a person would while waiting for a video to load. Simply waiting for the preparation to be over.

"Percy! Can you hear me?"

Percy was jolted from his mind, evidently zoned out, by Rachel. She was ready and waiting, her circle ready and her body marked.

"Percy…you okay?" her voice was full of concern. Concern. Emotion. Strange.

Percy shook his head. "Yeah…yeah, I'm all right. I just feel off. Still getting used to some of the godhood stuff. Let's get to it."

Rachel still looked concerned nodded. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, before her arms were once again violently stretched out, the green glow returning to her eyes, and Chronos' voice returning.

"Moros has made his first move. This is troubling."

"How do we fight him if we can't identify his powerbase and his supporters? How can we fight him if he's killing your agents?" Percy's blood was beginning to boil. He was beginning to earn a short fuse in his godhood, he realized.

Chronos raised Rachel's hand in order to quiet Percy.

"Patience, Perseus. Panic gives Moros power. We will simply move on to your next task. I have another agent, this time in a small town in Kansas known as Henshaw. Go here. You will know who to talk to. He won't be very difficult to find." Chronos chuckled after the last comment.

After these last words, and without warning, Chronos exited Rachel's body, who collapsed to her side, her body spent.

Percy was less than enthused by this abrupt departure.

"That's it? That's all you have for us? For fucks sake…" Percy sighed, placing his face into his hands.

Percy then rose and walked to his unconscious companion. Ignoring her nude figure, he reached behind her to her pack and collected her sleeping bag, opening it out on the floor, before collecting his friend and placing her into her bed roll.

"Chivalrous yet celibate. Very intriguing."

Percy turned quickly, already reaching for his scythe, prepared to strike any threat that could be facing him. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man leaning in the entry way of the living room. His suit, while wrinkled, looked fairly expensive on his portly body. His head, balding with a small amount of wispy, greying hair, looked greasy in the pale light entering through the doorway.

Percy could have looked past everything, could have assumed this was just some squatter or homeless person unintentionally spying on him. Percy could have understood all of this, if it weren't for his eyes, which glowed with a pale purple light. He had no pupils.

"Come Perseus. I want to have a conversation."

Review and share. Hopefully I'll be back in less than a year and a half this time.