Morning

"So, uh, what's post-apocalyptic New York like?"

"Not that different from regular New York, actually."

The seven of them were in the Big House situation room poring over maps of the city, state, and country. It had only been hours since Percy had woken up and found himself 20 years in the future, and everything had happened so fast since then. He'd discovered that his new friends were actually the children of the original seven, and that the fate of human civilization itself rested on a quest to rescue a goddess from the personification of strife and destruction.

It seemed fitting then, that it had just occurred to Percy that they were about to set out on a quest with nothing but their weapons and the clothes on their backs. Planning and strategizing had never come naturally to him, he'd simply never had to usual, Percy had neglected to think things through. Normally, Annabeth was there to keep his feet on the ground, but now...now he felt hopelessly lost. How on earth was he supposed to get seven people from Long Island to San Francisco in time to stop the end of the world? At any moment, the feuding gods could turn the mortal world into their own personal battlefield, which would make Kronos's takeover of Manhattan and even Gaea's awakening look like child's play. What he wouldn't give to have Mrs. O'Leary here right now. The faithful hellhound could have shadow traveled them there, but apparently she too had left the camp. Percy felt a pang in his heart as the realization that Mrs. O'Leary may have been killed herself at some point in the last 20 years struck him. She wouldn't die forever of course, monsters never did. But who was to say that she would come back as the loveable monster she once was? Percy knew that Annabeth had never truly recovered from the loss of their friends Bob the Titan and Damasen the giant, and already, the thought of his hellhound being gone felt like an emptiness in him that would follow him for the rest of his life. it seemed a silly thing to form an attachment to a creature born to destroy you, but then, being a half-blood made the extraordinary seem ordinary. Percy had learned to take it all in stride.

Or at least, he thought he had. For the first time in a long time, Percy felt completely overwhelmed by his task. He'd rarely attempted anything like this without Annabeth by his side, and even when they'd been separated, he could be reasonably certain of seeing her again once it was over. Not so now. The same old questions were coming back to him, wondering if he would ever get back to his own world. Or would he remain here, a man out of time, having learned too late from his mistakes? The only way he would find that out was to succeed on this quest, which reminded him: he had no idea what they were going to do about transportation. They didn't have the money to pay for it, let alone a vehicle that could fit seven people. Without shadow travel, the only other way was to take public transportation, which was unreliable in the best of times, or walk, which would obviously take far too long. This mission was already getting off to the worst start imaginable.

"First, we'll catch a bus from Long Island into Manhattan," Caroline said, indicating the route with her finger on a large tactical map of the area. The questers had gathered in the strategy room to plot their final course of action. "We have enough mortal cash to get at least that far, but from there, well...it's all up to grandma."

"Grandma?" Percy repeated, his throat suddenly felt dry. If Caroline was his daughter, then that could only mean...

Caroline looked up at him, as if remembering that he wasn't from this time, and what she had just absent mindedly said would have been a mind blowing revelation to Percy.

And that's exactly what it was. Percy knew it couldn't be Annabeth's mother, Athena, for the gods had closed themselves off from the human world, and in any event, Athena wasn't exactly the warm and helpful type, certainly not when Percy was involved. It had to be her, Sally Jackson. Of course he had thought of his mother since he'd gotten here, but he hadn't allowed himself to imagine her really alive, let alone seeing her again. The pain of losing Annabeth and his other friends was almost unbearable, losing his mom too might have pushed him beyond his breaking point. Yet if what Caroline had just said meant what he thought it meant...

"Sally Jackson..." Percy mumbled, more to himself than anything, as if speaking her name could solidify her existence, ensure that she would not be taken away too. "Mom..." he added dazedly. After what felt like an eternity, it occurred to him that the rest of the room had become speechless.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I should have, I wanted to. I- I-..."

Caroline looked mortified, like she half-expected Percy to cut her down in a fit of rage.

"Does she still live on the East Side?" Percy finally managed to stumble out. Somehow, it seemed an inadequate reaction to finding out that your mom was still alive, but those words were the only ones his voice would form.

Caroline nodded wordlessly.

"And Paul?" Percy asked. Paul Blofis, his step-dad and former high school teacher, had brought him mixed feelings at first, but he had grown to accept him and finally love him as part of the family.

"They're still together."

Percy hadn't noticed until then that he had almost stopped breathing. Now he felt like a measure of weight had been lifted and his lungs could function again. They were alive, both of them. Alive and still together. Something in this godsforsaken world had gone right after all.

"It's been several months since we've seen them," Keno cautioned. "And the situation in Manhattan isn't getting any better. We can't be sure they still have it."

"Sure they do," Sam insisted. "Mrs. Jackson wouldn't let us down like that."

"Well if they don't, I can always hot wire a car," Lucy claimed nonchalantly. The room fell into awkward silence.

"What?" She protested. "Have you seen downtown lately? It's almost as bad as during the Titan war. Cars lying abandoned everywhere, y'know. It's a free for all out there."

"That, um, won't be necessary, Lucy," Caroline assured her. "We'll just have to have faith that she has it."

Percy didn't bother asking what "it" was. All he cared about was getting to the bay and atoning for his misdeeds by freeing Harmonia and saving his children's world from destruction.

This is the world we left them...no, it's the world I left them. Father, if somehow, somewhere. you're listening...our children must succeed. Eris has created a war in the sky, preventing gods from contacting their children. I don't know if you can hear me, but...I call upon you from the bottom of my heart. For Annabeth, for all who fought and died as heroes, All I ask for is a sign. Please. Tell me it's not too late.

"Caroline! Guys!" The door flew open with a mighty of wind, revealing one of the campers, panting for breath. Finally she collected herself. "The bus'll be there any minute now!"

Even though the door was already open, a second, gentler gust of wind pushed its way inside. Suddenly Percy felt a tug at his gut, the kind he got when he summoned a massive wave of water. And the air...it smelled different. Like a lazy day by the seashore. An old memory resurfaced, Percy and his mom, driving to Montauk like they always used to do. Playing and splashing in the water together, back when he was just a normal kid with a normal life and the greatest mom in the world. This wasn't a coincidence, Percy told himself. This was the sign.

"It's time," he said simply. Thank you, Poseidon.

It turned out Keno and Lucy weren't kidding about how bad things had become in the city. Several times, the bus driver, who happened to be an adult demigod, had to swerve, accelerate, and shift to escape the people trying to steal their ride or the gangs trying to get valuable parts for bartering and weaponizing. The only analogy Percy could think of was Apollo driving his sun chariot like a Maserati while in bus mode. That is to say, it was a miracle they made it more than half a block without crashing, let alone to the East Side. In a way, Percy was glad for the distraction of trying to stay alive. It allowed him not to dwell on the reunion with his mom. What if she was angry with him for getting everyone killed? What if harm had come to her after all? For all he knew, it had been weeks, or even months, since Caroline had seen her last. Things could change in an instant. These thoughts were temporarily put on the backburner as Percy held on for dear life. Next to him, Caroline and Sam looked like they were going to be sick. Across the aisle, Lucy was nervously fiddling with something in her hands and Keno was gritting his teeth and clutching the seat in from him. Only Chuck seemed to be truly enjoying the ride, letting out a whoop every time the driver successfully dodged a potential attacker.

Finally, after several near misses and some shattered windows, the bus turned onto a street that Percy recognized. This was his old neighborhood. Those buildings in front of them were the apartments where he and his mom had lived for so many years. They were more worn now, but still standing. Hope surged in Percy again. Maybe it wasn't too late. The bus rolled to a stop in the parking lot. Judging by the damage done on this one run, it was clear why most people didn't want to risk driving anything at this time, it was also unlikely that the bus would remain operable for much longer. Percy made sure to thank the driver for his service.

"Hold on there, kiddo," the driver grunted. Everyone turned around, Chuck was the only one who hadn't gotten off yet. The driver gave him a huge, toothy grin. "Not many people appreciate my driving like you did. I wanna give you somethin'." He held up something in his hand. It was a set of reed pipes.

"This belonged to the satyr that found me all those years ago. I only knew his true identity for a few days, but he was my only friend in a world that discarded me as a delinquent, a nobody...he gave his life so that I could make it to Camp Half-Blood. When he became one with nature, I promised to myself that I would never let anyone die on my watch again." He extended the pipes to Chuck. "You've got fire, kid. As a child of Ares, I can tell you would be a fierce fighter in any battle. But you haven't even touched your full potential. Use this to unlock your powers of nature, young satyr."

"Huh?" Chuck said in amazement, the Mist normally hid disguised satyrs, even from demigods. "H-how did you know?"

The adult demigod grinned. "I have my ways, kiddo."

Chuck took the pipes. "I still don't see how this is stronger than judo...but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot."

The driver grinned. "Kid, you and I have the same mind. That's why I know you'll figure it out. Good luck." And with that, he peeled out of the parking lot.

"That guy has to be the nicest child of Ares I've ever met," Percy said. Frank didn't count, his dad was Mars, who at least had some dignity.

"His mother." May said quietly. Everyone fell silent and looked at her.

"What was that, May?" Percy asked.

"His mother," May repeated. Then Percy noticed something that nearly made his jaw drop in shock. May's entire body was illuminated by an iridescent glow. He had only seen something like this once, when Aphrodite claimed Piper at the campfire. But May had already been claimed, did this mean she had somehow tapped into her powers as a daughter of Harmonia?

"Harmonic connection..." she whispered.

Suddenly May was chanting something in Ancient Greek, which Percy automatically translated in his head. It had a cadence and a rhythm to it, like lines of poetry or a prophecy.

In days long past, when I had no one

I had you to guide me

through the storms of life

You showed me warmth

You taught me love

You made me who I am

Once she had finished her incantation, the glow slowly wore off, until it was just May standing there, like nothing had happened. She stumbled forward and Percy caught her.

"W-what happened? What was that, May?"

"I...I don't know. One minute I was thinking...I had an image in my mind of a boy and his mother...the words just came spilling out."

"Incredible," Caroline breathed.

"Chuck's not the only one with untapped potential," Keno said solemnly.

He was right, Percy realized. Even with all his experience, he had never actually met a child of Harmonia. What kind of abilities did May have? And could this explain why children of Harmonia were so rare?

"Can you do that for anyone?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," May answered uncertainly.

"Try it on me," Lucy offered eagerly.

"Guys, she's too weak right now. I think that really drained her strength," Caroline admonished.

It was true, May was still leaning on Percy for support. Her body was trembling. He could relate, this was how he felt the first few times he unleashed his powers as the son of Poseidon. Using godly abilities that were never meant to be handled by mortals was a daunting task, even for the miracle that is the human body.

"Will she be all right?" Sam asked.

"I think so," Caroline assured him.

"Well then," Keno mused, "I think it's time to finally meet Sally Jackson herself.

Percy had walked these same steps to the apartment he shared with his mother countless times. Yet this time felt different. Every step was magnified, every moment a lifetime. What would he find behind that once familiar door? Acceptance, blame, loss? He tried not to let his inner turmoil show. For the sake of his friends and their children, he would face whatever future was thrown at him. At last, the group reached the room. Percy stepped forward and resisted the urge to burst in like he did every day after yet another terrible day of middle school.

If my twelve year old self could see me now...

He knocked, and seconds later, heard the familiar sound of the chain lock being undone. The door swung open, revealing a middle aged woman. Despite her somewhat aging appearance, she was still beautiful in Percy's eyes, and she was unmistakably her.

"Caroline! It's been so long, and-" she locked eyes with Percy for the first time. He'd looked to those eyes so often in times of trouble. They offered strength, guidance, wisdom, love. Only now, they betrayed only one emotion...utter shock. He knew what she was thinking, it was what exactly what he had thought when he first found out she was alive. Could it be? Could it be that this is real? Yes mom, it's really me. Percy Jackson, your son who died 20 years ago, who now stands before you today. I realize now that what I didn't have back then was faith. In my friends, in the gods, in you. I thought I could do it all on my own. I won't make the same mistakes again. I don't know what you have planned, but I'm putting all my faith in you!

Sally Jackson had been silent this entire time, processing and reprocessing, maybe deciding she had finally gone completely insane. Finally, she spoke a single word.

"Percy?"

To be continued...