Winter in New York is a magical time for the average child. The snow makes it possible for children to make snowmen in Central Park, there is no school, and it is close to Christmas so they behave well in anticipation of a present. For the adults, it is like any other season with the exception that it's really cold.

The two beings that awaited in front of the Toys R Us, however, were neither adults or children. In all senses, the two gods were the definition of a manchild. The perfect (or horrible) combination between children and adults, but also being immortal.

The blonde-haired god stood unaffected by the cold, with only a light jacket to blend in with the rest of the people in the city. He stood drinking an orange juice, his eyes following every attractive female that passed by him.

To his right stood the other god, his black hair covering most of his forehead, but not long enough for his green eyes to be covered. He stood sipping a hot chocolate, wearing at least two heavy-duty coats. He glared at Apollo, his mind full of anger.

"This is the Toys R Us in Manhattan right?" Apollo asked the god beside him

"Unless there is another awesome store with tons of toys and a Ferris wheel inside it in Manhattan, then yes, this is it," Perseus said

"What time is it?"

"8:07" Perseus replied without skipping a beat

"How'd you know that?"

"God of time"

Apollo nodded in understanding. "How much longer are we going to stand here? This coat is making me hotter than I usually am" he asked

"Until nine-thirty if necessary. If he doesn't arrive at that time, we will have to do the work without him. And don't even think about complaining about the weather, I'm the one freezing to death here" Perseus sipped his hot chocolate, trembling uncontrollably

"You can't die"

"Sometimes I wish I could. That way I could start over with everyone and nobody would be mad at me" Perseus sighed

Apollo, sensing the distress his brother-in-law felt, threw away his orange juice and proceeded to stand in front of him.

"Dude, tell me what's troubling you. Remember that I'm the god of medicine, and psychiatry is a branch of medicine, so I might be able to help you." Apollo grabbed Perseus shoulder

Perseus sighed, looking deep into the eyes of Apollo, "I don't know how Artmemks feels towards me anymore, and it's killing me, especially considering that one of my domains is feelings. Besides that, the whole situation of my wife being in danger and my son coming here to help us rescue her, it's almost too much to comprehend. Even after we rescue her, I don't know what the fates might have in store for us. Will I be able to tell my son who I really am? Will Artemis take me back? There are so many questions I have"

Apollo nodded and hugged his friend. Perseus stiffened, not used to any male having much physical contact with him.

"I know it's a lot in your mind right now, but try to do everything day by day. Don't rush too much into the future, enjoy the moment. Tomorrow will arrive at its time, but it will not be useful if you don't make today count" Apollo told breaking off the hug

"Thanks, Apollo"

"I'm not done. I diagnose you with ADHD, Depression, anxiety, personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and if my vision is correct, you'll soon have PTSD. Your medication is listed here, go to your nearest pharmacy when it is most convenient with your busy schedule. The therapy session and prescription will give us a total of 80,000 drachmas, but with the special family discount, it'll only be 70,000" Apollo put his hand in front of him, moving his fingers in a give me money motion.

"You can't be serious Apollo" Perseus scoffed

"I don't kid about business. Besides, I know you're loaded. The equivalent of 175 dollars isn't much to you. So quit whining and pay"

"What if I decide not to pay?"

"I may conveniently remember and tell my dear sister about your date with Athena" Apollo grinned

"You know it wasn't on purpose" Perseus glared

"That's true, but considering how mad my sister is at you, surely she will not listen to logic"

The god of tides glared while the sun god simply grinned, suppressing the laugh that threatened to escape.

"So this is the right Toys R Us. I gotta say, I did not imagine a Ferris wheel inside the store," a teenager said behind Apollo. The sun god sidestepped and turned around, revealing the Hera patronized boy. He wore the same outfit as last time Apollo had seen him, with only a blue backpack to conceal his weapons.

"Carib, you decided to come," Perseus said relieved

"First of all, don't call me Carib. Second of all, I always wanted to come, I simply got permission. Now, are we going to save Artemis or are we staying in the city and going to a strip club?" Hector glared at Perseus

"As much as I'd like to take you to a strip club, we must save my sister. So come on Hector, we need to tell you our plan" Apollo said, turning around and walking away from the other two individuals

"Are we supposed to follow him?" Hector asked Perseus

"Yep. You'll get used to it after a while" Perseus said smiling kindly. Hector rolled his eyes and followed behind his uncle. The god of tides sighed at his son's attitude, and walked just behind him.

The trio walked through the city indistinguishable from the rest of the population. They walked many blocks, surpassing the commercial Manhattan and entering more the residential part of the city. Apollo stopped in front of a townhouse, waiting for the rest of the group to stop with him.

"Why are we here?" Hector asked

"I have an apartment here. Let's go in, nobody will be able to spy on our conversation if we do" Apollo replied taking out some keys and opening the door to the building. The god of tides and the teen were hesitant to enter the building, unsure and afraid of what they might find inside the apartment of a god such as Apollo.

"We don't have time for you two to be cowards. Now come on, we gotta tell the plan" Apollo said annoyed, entering the building himself and leaving the other two outside. Perseus looked at Hector, moving his arms towards the building in a 'you first' movement. The teen rolled his eyes and entered the building, the god of tides following closely behind him.

The inside of Apollo's apartment was very bright, to say the least. The windows seemed to be facing east and west, so the sun would always be entering the most obnoxious angle. The furniture was all white and, like any normal household, facing the tv. Apollo took off his jacket, revealing his sweaty body despite the cold temperature.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were hot" Perseus muttered

Apollo smirked at his friend and walked towards the bathroom, "Perseus, your wife wouldn't appreciate it if you had an affair with me"

"Shut up," Perseus said, sitting down in a cushioned chair. Hector, looking at the interaction between the two gods, decided to sit down on a small sofa, or what some would call a loveseat.

"I wouldn't sit there if I were you, Hector," Apollo said coming out of the bathroom with his face wet.

"Why not?" he questioned

"I haven't cleaned that in a while, so its quite a miracle that it hasn't shattered. "

"I don't-wait...ew gross!" Hector jumped out of the seat and ran towards the bathroom, cleaning his pants where they came in contact with the loveseat.

"You had time to go to a concert in Salt Lake but not to clean up your place?" Perseus asked his brother-in-law

"Priorities my friend. Now let's just wait for the little kid to finish his panic attack so we can tell him the plan" As soon as Apollo finished his sentence, Hector came out of the bathroom looking extremely mad at the gods.

He stood close to the chair where Perseus was sitting, his arms crossed and his foot tapping the floor. "So, do we have a plan?"

"Don't tap your foot on the floor, it reminds me of a disappointed Artemis and that gives me PTSD" Perseus said, cringing at the sound.

"How do you know Artemis?" Hector asked suspiciously

"That's a story for another time Carib."

"Don't call me Carib" Hector interrupted

"Now, the plan is fairly simple. You see, Artemis is being held captive over in California. The easiest way to rescue her would be to fly over to San Francisco and then rent a car over to where she's at, fight some bad guys in their weakest moment, and then bring Artemis back to Olympus before the winter solstice. Do you see the flaw in this plan?"

"That I don't have a passport so we can't take a plane?" Hector said

"You don't have a passport? We should fix that. After this mission, I'm taking you to apply for a passport, and you don't have a say in it. But as I was going to say, the reason why we can't travel by air is that it'll bring too much attention to the King of Gods, which we don't want."

"Why don't we want that?" Hector asked

"My dad and my bro aren't in the best of terms" Apollo replied

"Exactly, he still doesn't know I got back from my banishment. Point is, we can't travel by air, so we have to take the fastest route by land, which is the railroad. The same one that killed hundreds of people in its making, exploited cheap Chinese labor, and brought an end to Native American Civilizations. Ahh, America"

"You're proposing that you, Apollo and I travel by train all the way to California? That'll take us more time than if we take a car!"Hector complained

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But, if we take it. the special train made by yours truly, then it'll only take us about a day, give or take. With a special technology called "Speedy Way", it is possible to travel such a great distance in such a short time." Perseus said confidently

"And you're confident that nothing will be in the way, damaging said train in the middle of nowhere or anything, right?" Hector narrowed his eyes

"Of course, nothing can stop my train. I may not be the god of transportation, but I make good stuff. After all, I invented the TV"

"Stop lying Percy. The fact that you had a TV before anyone else does not mean that you created it" Apollo cut off his brother-in-law

"Yes it does"

"No, it doesn't. You should start being honest with Hector. After all, you're going to spend the next day together alone"

"Wait, what?" Hector asked

"I can't accompany you because my dad is keeping track of me. He told me, and I quote, 'Don't you dare help the questers helping Artemis. If I ever see you outside of New York, or helping in some way the rescue mission, there will be severe consequences. I don't care if she's your sister, or how awesome you are, or how big of a hit with the ladies you are, you are forbidden from helping out.'" Apollo said, making a gruff voice when he imitated Zeus' voice

"He did not say that" Perseus laughed

"I may have exaggerated a little, but the endpoint is the same. I can't help you out directly, so you two are on your own." Hector scoffed at Apollo's statement

"Why are you such a brat towards me? You know that I am a god, and I deserve to be treated as such" Perseus said, standing up from his chair and staring straight into the teen's eyes. Hector glared, not being intimidated by the proximity of the god.

"I know that you're a god and that I should respect you, yet I get the feeling that you're the type of god that impregnates a woman and then leaves his demigod forgotten. The same type of god which I despise, the same type of god which my parent is."

"How dare you?!" Perseus said, his head red with anger

"Am I wrong?" Hector asked. Perseus hesitated with his answer, leaving Hecto clear with who he was facing. "Look, my Lord, all I ask is that we save Artemis the quickest way possible and that you don't attempt to make much contact with me in the meantime. It shouldn't be too hard. Now let's get going, we don't have all month" Hector said, moving away to grab his backpack. "Goodbye Apollo, thanks for everything. I'll be waiting downstairs"

The gods looked at the teen walking away from the apartment, his shadow diminishing with every step he took.

"Well, I guess he got Artemis temper and prejudice." Apollo joked, stoping his laughs when he saw the distressed face of Perseus. "Cheer up bro, he'll lighten up eventually. Now go, you don't want to keep him waiting" Apollo patted his back, flashing out of the apartment.

"He isn't even going to lock his place...and I'm the irresponsible one" Perseus sighed, exiting the apartment.

The god of tides walked downstairs, thinking of ways he could bond with his son without summoning the great rage that was peculiar of his mother.

Hector stood in the middle of the sidewalk, with his hands inside his pockets, receiving the warmth of the wool inside of it.

"You ready to roll?" Percy asked the teen

"Lead the way," Hector said in distaste. Percy decided to ignore the tone and put an arm around Hector's shoulders.

"Next stop, Percy's Train Express, powered with Speedy Way technology. Destination, Cali"

"We're not going to Colombia," Hector said

"Lighten up, you're stuck with me for a full day, better make the best of it."

The god of tides and Hector walked through the crowd, their pace becoming faster as a silent competition between them began to take place. Casual steps turned into trotting, which evolved into a full sprint through the city. It was hard to see, but Perseus had a big smile on his face, feeling a connection with his son for the first time in his life.

Hector also had a smile, also feeling a weird connection with the god. For some reason, running with the god and competing with him made him feel wanted and loved, even if the god was a complete stranger to the teen.

"Stop, we're here," Perseus said, quickly coming to a full stop. Hector, not hearing the words, collided with the back of the god

"Ugh, why are we stopping?" Hector asked. Persues simply lifted his arm and pointed in front of him.

There, in the middle of the city, stood a silver train with green and blue linings around it. It had around ten train cars, each other easily a hundred foot long and thirty feet wide.

"How has nobody noticed this gigantic train in the middle of the city?" Hector asked the god

"The mist truly is a wonderful thing. Now come on, we need to save Artemis" Perseus said, walking to the inside of the train.

"Why does he care so much for Artemis?" Hector asked himself, unaware of the severe consequences the answer to his question would bring.