So I think you guys will enjoy this chapter.
Replies:
MKDemiGodzilla-Warrior: Yep, we love Sally, and yes Percy is still playing a role, you shall see.
Batmanuchiha: Why thank you, see, I can be nice at times.
Guest: It'll be a bit of a wait, sorry!
Ryan Fowler: Percy was just like, 'Well now he's annoyed me so I really am gonna blow up his home'
Undeath9087: Yeah, Sally's just like 'Well I have one of my kids now, time to go find Carter and Sadie too'.
Guest: The amulets just hide her- Percy still has all her normal powers- and Desjardin's is definitely like 'What the actual fuck just happened here? HOW DID SHE DO THAT I HAD HER MAGIC BOUND WHAT THE FUCK?' because since there's been no interpantheon interaction before it's not something he'd automatically figure out.

Percy was painfully grateful to her mom- she no longer had to be in charge, she could let her mom take the lead- and she had.

Their first mission had been getting Percy some fresh clothes- her own were covered in blood, torn up and horribly stained from all of the fighting and running- they stood out and they'd draw far too much unwanted attention.

So they'd gone shopping first- and Sally had brought them both backpacks and a couple of sets of clothes- Percy was relieved to change out of her dirty clothes and into a pair of jeans and a comfortable long sleeved cotton top with a flower embroidered on the front- and a cotton jacket- which Percy was grateful for because by all the gods it was cold.

After that they'd found a comfortable little cafe and, as they ordered food and ate, Percy told her mom what had happened- not all of the details- she didn't want her worrying too much- or being mad at Julius for asking her to protect Carter and Sadie. But she told her everything important- how the plan had been ruined and Julius had had to take them to the museum- and she told her mom how they'd fled after Set had gone, how they'd been found by Amos- she explained how they wound up in the first nome and then how they'd had to race to Paris.

By the time Percy was done Sally's expression was stormy to say the least- and she reached across the table, grabbing Percy's hand. "You did so well sweetheart- you did amazing. All three of you."

"I-" Percy bit her lip, "I don't know where they are mom." Carter and Sadie are on their own-"

"No sweetheart- they have Bast." Sally's voice was firm, "They have Bast and Bast will look after them. You know that she's indebted to the family." Sally reached out her free hand, brushing Percy's hair out of her face. "You look so tired honey."

"I am mommy." Percy's voice cracked slightly and she ducked her head. "I- I missed you so much I-"

"It's okay now." Sally's voice was soft as she squeezed Percy's hand, "It's going to be fine I promise you. I promise sweetheart."

"How? We- Sadie and Carter need me and I don't know where they are I-"

"Woah-" Sally cut Percy off, "Breathe baby. Breathe. We can deal with this. We just need to think okay? You said that according to your brother Set was in Pheonix right?"

"I-" Percy swallowed hard before nodding, "Yeah- yeah I uh- I did."

"Well." Sally's voice was slow, thoughtful, "If they used a portal to get away from Desjardin's then I would imagine that if they were in a rush they'll end up in DC- they'll have wanted to come to America and that's the default portal." Sally said after a moment, "By the time we get there- we have to think that they'll be long gone." she said after a moment, "If they have any sense of course." she pursed her lips. "Our best shot would be flying- I'm no good at portals or using the boats and

I am not letting you use magic for at least a day young lady-"

"But mom-"

"Percy you almost passed out." Sally's voice was firm, "You're lucky that I'm not ordering you to spend the next month in bed."

"Ugh." Percy groaned but gave a small nod, "Fine, "So we fly to Arizona then?"

"No." Sally decided after a moment of thought, "Not Arizona- Let's be smart about this. Set is interested in you- if he's in Arizona then it'll be dangerous to go there.

So I think we go to New Mexico or Texas- they're close enough to Arizona for us to wait for Carter and Sadie but far enough that hopefully Set won't notice us. Once we're there we can, find a way to contact Sadie and Carter and then we go to Arizona together- and don't think I'm happy about any of this little miss." Sally poked Percy's shoulder gently, "My babies shouldn't be running into danger risking their lives- but I know that I can't stop any of you so I am going to be there with you make sure all three of you are safe do you hear me?"

"Yes mom." Percy hesitated before lurching across the table- and it was a good thing that Percy had eaten her burger and fries or she'd have made quite a mess.

As it was she latched onto her mom, pressing her face into the crook of the womans neck. "I love you mom."

"I know baby. And I love you too." Sally took a deep breath as she pulled back slightly, "Now, why don't we see about getting to an airport and flying out there?"

"Do we have enough money-"

"Honey we have plenty of money- between your fathers books and my books we'll be able to pay for the plane and for a hotel somewhere while we figure out our next steps. And remember, they have Bast with them. She'll take care of them until we find them."

"I-" Percy hesitated before giving a small nod. "We'll find them." her voice was firm, determined.

And so they had their plan- and all Percy had to do was let her mom take over.

And Sally did, once they'd finished up their food and drinks Sally made short work of hailing a taxi to LaGuardia, and Percy just clung to her mom's hand as the woman had booked two tickets for the next available flight to Texas.

Admittedly they had to stay in a hotel near the airport for the night- since the next available ticket was at five the next morning.

And Percy slept surprisingly well- she'd been so worried and she'd struggled sleeping lately because of everything that was going on- but when she and her mom settled down into the large bed- since it was a last minute booking they'd only been able to get a room with one bed but that was fine- Percy had curled up happily into her moms side.

And maybe that was part of what made it easier for her to fall asleep, having her mother there, the warm protective presence which easily soothed away any fears.

That, combined with the exhaustion from the stresses of the day had Percy drifting off within seconds of curling up into the bed in a pair of cheap cotton pyjamas that her mom had brought a few hours earlier.

And when the morning came they wasted no time, heading to the airport and boarding the plane- and Percy slept some more on the flight.

Once they arrived in Texas they found a place to stay while they tried to reach out for Carter and Sadie- a little hotel in El Paso.

It was close to the Rio Grande- if things were different Percy would have loved the chance to explore the city. But they weren't and Percy was mostly just worried.

She and her mom spent most of the first day desperately trying to find a way to make contact with Carter and Sadie- or at least to find out where they were- but the amulets that were protecting them made them difficult to locate- to say the very least.

Even Percy's attempts to actually force a demigod dream had been useless.

The only good thing was that they hadn't been attacked- but that made sense since Carter and Sadie would be Set's man priorities.

When the next morning came Percy was restless- desperate to do something that wasn't waiting around in the hotel room- so after much prodding and pleading Sally had agreed to hire a car- a big four wheel drive one, and they'd brought some food before driving.

And of course, given the fact that it was Percy, Sally hadn't looked surprised when Percy had asked to see the Rio Grande- the daughter of Poseidon always felt better near water- and there was the fact that something- Percy didn't know what it was, was pulling her there.

It was strange but- well, they had nothing else to go on, so they went to the banks of the river and Percy perched on the banks with her mom, munching on the cookies- packet cookies not homemade, sadly enough, as she stared out at the glistening water.

They'd been there for maybe an hour when it happened, Percy had been sat with her feet in the water, her eyes closed while Sally sat on the bank of the river- admittedly there was nothing new she could try so she was sticking with scrying- but it was better than nothing.

In any case, Percy felt something, a tugging in the back of her mind, and- and a voice whispering.

Go. Go to them. They're close. But so is he.

And Percy didn't even falter, pushing herself off the bank and into the deep water of the river.

"Percy what are you-"

"Mom get to the car- we've gotta go up river-"

"But-"

"Please!" and Sally paused for only a second before she gave a firm nod and sprinted to the car they'd been using and Percy didn't hesitate either, pushing herself through the water- and honestly it was probably impressive how fast she was moving because she was keeping pace with her moms driving alongside the river bank- and then Percy was overtaking the car, she could sense- sense something, some kind of disturbance in the water.

And Percy dove, she dove deep, propelling herself along at speeds that were probably insane- and her eyes narrowed when she spotted it- a huge crocodile- and it really was huge, it was under the water and it was moving towards- Percy's eyes widened- she could see legs- someone was stood in the water.

Percy didn't hesitate- she used her powers, and she was sure it looked comical from surface level- whoever was stood in the water was propelled upwards, sent flying back towards the riverbanks even as Percy torpedoed herself towards the giant crocodile.

It barely even had time to turn as she was colliding with it, slamming her fist into it's meaty neck hard, bearing it downwards into the mud of the river bed.

The crocodile writhed beneath her, and Percy punched it- again and again, using all of her strength, which was naturally increased by the water all around her as she wrestled it.

It wasn't easy- Percy would admit that. Sure she was in her element but so was the crocodile- it bucked and writhed beneath her even as she solidified the water around it into thick bands, pinning it to the floor of the river bed as she reached into the duat, pulling her khopesh free- cleaving it through the monsters neck- it disintegrated quickly- which was lucky for Percy because she'd spotted another one, which was clearly heading for something further up river on the bank.

Percy's eyes narrowed and she growled, focusing on her powers as she used the water to stop the crocodile in it's tracks, yanking it back towards her, while she propelled herself forward, smashing into it and driving her fist into the creatures back hard enough that she was surprised when it twisted instantly, snapping at her- and Percy dodged backwards, narrowly avoiding sharp teeth as she swung her khopesh, aiming towards the neck, but it swept at her with it's tail, knocking her off balance and Percy let out s shriek as she tumbled through the water- though she managed to grab at it's neck with her free hand and it burst out of the water, trying to toss her up so it could catch her in it's huge, slimy mouth- and those teeth looked unpleasantly sharp.

But Percy smirked- she wouldn't let that stop her as she went flying upwards and she twisted in the air, moving so that she was almost diving towards the crocodile- and she swung her khopesh as she did, and she cleaved it clean through the middle, and it started to disintegrate into sand before Percy even hit the water- and for a moment she was submerged- and then she burst up through the surface again, a wide grin on her face as she panted, clutching her khopesh tightly.

Stood on the river bank were four rather stunned looking, and very familiar figures- most shocking to Percy was Khufu- Percy was pretty relieved to see him, to know that he was okay- and Carter was stood clutching his khopesh, his mouth hanging wide open in shock- and Sadie was on her butt- she'd fallen backwards trying to scramble away from the river from the look of it, and she looked just as shocked as Carter did.

And between them was Bast- who had her knives out, clearly ready to fight, and she was the first to react.

"Well well, this is a surprise kitten. It seems like you made it after all."