"So." Leo said after gazing around the city square and frowning. Ryker watched as the son of Hephaestus began to pull random odds and ends from his seemingly endless tool belt and fashion them into some sort of contraption which spun away once Leo let it go. "We are in San Francisco… right? I'm not crazy?"

Ryker could understand his worry though he said nothing in agreeance. His eyes scanned the buildings and streets relentlessly for even a hint of life. His feeling that something was wrong about the city had been correct. Since they had arrived, striding right up the center of the street, they had not yet seen a single mortal. The sounds of the city continued around them, complete with shouts and beeps of car horns, but the sources of the sounds escaped their notice. In fact, the streets and sidewalks were completely bare. Leo had wandered into a donut shop and returned with an armful of baked goods and a confused expression. From what Ryker had noticed, San Francisco was devoid of any life.

"Where is everyone?" Leo wondered, munching on a baked good and offering one to Ryker. When Ryker turned his nose up in disdain Leo merely shrugged and bit into the proffered food. "I thought that we would at least see a monster or two."

Ryker agreed with him again, but did not say anything. The city was still overwhelming his senses with the disembodied sounds and the cacophony of scents, but he found it easier to tune them out when they had no source. He glanced to Calypso and raised an eyebrow. "So, where is this place?" He asked coldly. He did not like her. He did not like Leo either for that matter. Neither one of them seemed to care about his wish to be left alone. In addition it turned out that, unsurprisingly, Leo was a very hands-on person. He had tried to do something called 'rough housing' with Ryker and had been thrown across the street on instinct by Ryker. Far from being scared by the suddenness of the action, Leo had actually laughed and brushed himself off. Calypso was no better. In fact, she might have been worse. She did not seem worried or even wary of him. In fact she appeared to have as much disdain for his tendency to avoid company as he did for them. It was made all the worse that they seemed keen on sticking with him as they traversed the streets, despite his protests.

Calypso took her time with answering. She looked around the city for a few more moments, examined her shirt, smiled at Leo conspiratorially and only then did she say, "We are looking for the tallest building here. Shouldn't be hard to find."

Ryker glanced up at the sky and scowled. The buildings on either side of them were all huge. Their height prevented them from seeing any of the other buildings. "Wish Silver was here." Ryker muttered. He blinked and then frowned. The thought was extremely unlike him. He might wish other people away, but he never wished for company. He scowled at his own thought and pushed it as far away from his mind as he possibly could.

"Who's Silver?" Leo asked brightly, walking hand-in-hand with Calypso. He looked for all the world like someone who was going to a pleasant meal with his girlfriend rather than someone who was about to save his friend's life from a potentially murderous Titan. "Your girlfriend?"

He didn't bother answering, gazing up at something in the sky that had caught his mind. They had just turned a corner and the sky had turned a deep red in a circle surrounding the very top of a massive skyscraper. "That's it." Calypso said a tad unnecessarily. "That's Mount Orthys. But… it seems… different than how I remember it."

"When was the last time you saw it?" Leo said gently. "Three thousand years? Hm. And here I thought that it would still be an actual mountain."

"That's not what I meant." Calypso said, frowning at her boyfriend and drawing a grin from Leo. "Must you make fun at everything?"

"Yes I must." Leo nodded vigorously. "If I don't who will? Ryker? Actually, scratch that. I want to see you make a joke bro."

Ignoring Leo was getting easier and easier as Ryker began to equate his words with mindless noise. Ryker's focus snapped back to the street when movement in his peripheral vision alerted him to something on the sidewalk. He immediately zeroed in on the being and took a step back almost as quickly. She was a beautiful woman, even Ryker had to admit that, but more than that everything about her screamed power. Not danger. She continued walking to them without a single hint of a weapon or any sort of hostility. When she was ten steps away Ryker began to retreat one step for every step that she took. The woman rolled her eyes and snapped her finger and suddenly Ryker could no longer move. He snarled and fought to free himself, but it was to no avail. Leo seemed more curious about the woman than actually worried, and Calypso seemed absolutely thrilled. "Grandmother! It has been too long!"

"Ah, Calypso!" The woman exclaimed happily, wrapping her in a hug. She stepped back and held her at arm's length, examining her. "I see you have gotten off of Ogygia! But, dear, what are you wearing? Where is your dress?"

"Jeans seemed to be more practical." Calypso shrugged but she continued to smile. "Besides, it is rather difficult to fight in a dress don't you think?"

The woman nodded and then turned to examine Leo. Her eyes swept over him in a calculating stare before softening. She released Calypso and then wrapped Leo in a very warm hug. "I see you were the hero to save my granddaughter from Ogygia. You have my thanks, Leo Valdez."

"Uh, you are welcome." Leo smiled embarrassedly. "But… uh… who are you?"

"Ah, yes." The woman laughed softly. "Forgive me, I had forgotten. It has been such a long time since I allowed anyone to see me. My name is Rhea."

"R-Rhea as in, 'mother of the gods' Rhea? As in 'wife of Kronos' Rhea?" Leo asked amazedly.

"Ex-wife." The woman corrected with an annoyed flip of her hair. "You have no idea how hard it is to continue a marriage with someone who continually devours your babies."

"Uh, yeah." Leo glanced back at Ryker incredulously but Ryker merely snarled and renewed his efforts to free himself. "I bet."

"Grandmother, you said it yourself, why have you shown yourself after so long?" Calypso asked. "Has something happened?"

"I am afraid that many things are happening child." Rhea said sagely. "Things that have never happened before. I only have chosen to act now because of what could happen. My children are in grave danger, danger such as they have never faced before. Something very dark is at work here, darker than anything I have ever faced in the past."

"Whoa, time out." Leo raised a hand as if in question. "Your children? You mean the gods? Look, I get that the Titans and Giants are out and about but the gods smacked em down a few times now. They got this… right?"

"Were it only so simple." Rhea said sadly. "If it were only the Giants and Titans I would not have shown myself. Though I do not know what is behind their attacks, something very powerful is controlling them like puppets. Even now evil warriors from the past are being resurrected and being forced to fight again."

Leo groaned and put his head in his hands. "Man, we just can't catch a break." He sighed. "First we had to barbecue Gaea and now we have to fight whatever this thing is. Can't we, like, do something else? How about they declare war on monsters. I'd be cool with that."

"So, Grandmother, as I asked before: why are you here?" Calypso inquired.

"To deliver a warning." Rhea said gravely, glancing at Ryker. "A warning and some advice. Inside the building that is now Mount Orthys you will find a resurrected warrior awaiting his chance to kill you. To save Jason Grace you will have to get past him, though it will not be easy. I cannot be certain as to what else you will encounter as you ascend the mountain. Once you find Jason Grace you will need someone to take his place as he holds up the sky. He will not be able to move until such a replacement is found. In addition, his life force will be extremely weak after holding up the sky for so long. The only thing that is keeping him alive right now is the magic that requires someone to always hold up the sky. Were it not for that he would have died long ago."

Ryker gazed back to the doors that led into Mt. Orthys and glared. His head wrenched around when Rhea snapped her fingers again and he blinked when he saw that she was standing right in front of him. Even with her close proximity, he did not sense anything malevolent from her. She felt kind, almost as though violence was something she could not fathom. "My advice is to you specifically." She told him, placing her hands on either side of his face and gazing into his eyes. Ryker did not fight the embrace, and he doubted that he could have escaped even if he had wanted to. "Foes once friend shall join again. You must be the bridge that allows them to make that connection. If they do not reconcile their differences you will have no chance of winning this war."

"What does that mean?" Ryker demanded, glaring at her. "Speak plainly. Who are you talking about? And why do I have to be the one that helps them?"

"That is not for me to say." Rhea said, stepping back. "You will be the turning point in this war. You will need to lead the second army. Should you fail to raise that army… victory will be unattainable."

"What army?!" Ryker hissed. "I won't lead a damn thing-." He stopped speaking when Rhea stepped back and vanished. The force that had rooted him in place disappeared and he growled in frustration.

"Things don't sound like they are going to be a walk in the park in there." Leo said, glancing towards the door. "We're going to need a- HEY! RYKER! Where are you going?!"

Ryker was seething with fury. It never failed. Every. Single. Immortal. Every one of them seemed eager to spell out his life for him, especially if he did not want them to. His desire to return to his forest and not have to deal with any other god or demigod was at an all-time high. He had just reached the sidewalk in front of Mt. Orthys when Calypso and Leo caught up to him. They ran around him and formed a barrier between him and the doors. "Calm down man." Leo said soothingly, patting the air with his hands. "I get that you are freaked about the whole being told what to do thing, but hey it could be worse right?"

"Move out of my way." Ryker warned in a deadly soft growl. "Now."

"Going in there angry will only get you killed." Calypso said stubbornly. "Either calm yourself or I will calm you."

"You?" Ryker barked out a laugh and fixed her with a manic smile. "You think that you can beat me? Titan or not I will tear you apart."

"Whoa, easy man." Leo protested, reaching for his wrench without thinking about the action. "Why's it always gotta be about fighting with you? Calypso doesn't have to fight you to calm you down."

That threw Ryker for a moment, but he regained his anger in an instant. More accurately, his anger regained its control on him. He was filled with the same clarity as he had been when he had been fighting the dragons for what seemed like ever. His senses had sharpened and sharpened until he had lost himself in them. They had overwhelmed him using his anger as a catalyst, combining with his instinct to survive at whatever cost. "Why would I want to be calm?" Ryker snarled.

He had been about to say more when the glass from the door in front of them shattered outwards. Ryker grabbed them by their shirts and pulled them down as two unknown projectiles whizzed over their heads. Calypso and Leo gave unison shouts of surprise as Ryker pulled them to the ground. "Holy Hephaestus what was that?!" Leo yelped, patting himself down for any signs of injuries and then searching Calypso for signs of injuries.

"Oh. Looks like I missed." A very bored man sighed as he stood in the wreckage of the doors. He held a pistol in each hand, both of them leveled at the trio on the ground. "Pity. I was hoping to wrap this up quickly."

Ryker snarled and lunged at the man, covering the distance in a single bound. His claws went for the man's throat just as Leo shouted, "Sciron?! How?!"

The pistol-wielding man sidestepped Ryker with impossible quickness and aimed one pistol at the demigod's head while keeping the other trained on Leo and Calypso. Just before the pistol fired one clawed hand wrapped around Sciron's wrist, sending the bullet skittering across the floor. Clearly surprised by Ryker's quickness, Sciron seemed taken aback when Ryker stepped closer and placed his face mere inches from his own. "You look familiar." Ryker said with a manic grin, his blood singing through his veins. It was true, Sciron's black hair and green eyes were mirror matches to Percy's. His scent was similar as well, but something sour mixed too much with the smell of the sea.

Sciron's other pistol whipped around impossibly fast and Ryker staggered back as an imperial gold bullet ripped a shallow groove across his shoulder. The son of Cybele was spun to his knees from the impact, blinking at the pain. Clearly expecting Ryker to be frozen with fear at the speed of his attack, Sciron flipped the guns in his hand arrogantly. "New boss sent me here to kill anyone who tries to free this guy." He jerked his head up. "Guess you three are just unlucky. Normally I would just feed you to my sea turtle, but hey, new management wanted me to make sure that you suffered first."

Leo drew his wrench just as Calypso pulled out her sword, clearly intending on charging at Sciron. The bandit smirked and began to level the pistols at them with lackadaisical effort. He had not even fully raised them when Ryker attacked a second time. There was no snarl this time, there was no sound at all. Sciron blinked just as Ryker's claw ripped through his back and out the front of his chest. Ryker pulled his claw free and stepped back, flinging the blood from the attack onto the ground. That was Ryker's first mistake, not continuing the attack. His second mistake was glancing to Leo and Calypso in an uncharacteristic moment of concern for others. It was only the fact that Sciron had not fallen that alerted him to his error. The bandit whirled around, his red bandana that had covered half of his face flying off, and smirked at Ryker even as the gaping wound in his chest began to close. The pistols came up again, but Ryker managed to deflect the shots away from him. Sciron wasn't done there though. His boot came up and he kicked Ryker solidly in the chest, putting some distance between them. "Not bad." Sciron congratulated him, spinning the magic pistols again and reloading them. "Don't think that many people have survived fighting me for as long as you."

Ryker's shoulders began to shake as he fell onto all fours and coiled his legs beneath him. The demigod's eyes had changed again, once more taking on the appearance of a snake's. Ryker's laugh bounced around the building's lobby. His mouth twisted into a smile that bordered on manic and he glanced past Sciron and his pistols to where Leo and Calypso were watching. "He's mine." Ryker growled. "Go get Jason. I'll take care of this one."

Leo and Calypso nodded before running behind Sciron's back to the building's elevator. The bandit sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to look at the two as he aimed a pistol at them. Sensing his intentions, Ryker sprang forward even faster than before. Sciron's sly grin faltered and then twisted into a grimace as he used his pistols to fend off Ryker's attack, The claws cut grooves into the metal, but the pistols remained in relatively good shape. After a brief exchange of blows Ryker was sent sliding back, his claws digging into the floor to halt his backwards motion. The wild demigod's ribcage was bleeding from two twin grazes along either side of Ryker's body. Sciron seemed to regard Ryker with a new appreciation. Ryker had managed to open up three massive wounds along Sciron's neck but they were closing with alarming speed.

"You just won't die." Ryker said eagerly, already preparing for his next attack.

Sciron was breathing relatively harder, though he was still composed. "I will tell you this only because you are an interesting fellow." The bandit said, reloading his pistols quickly. "I can be killed. Not that it will do you any good."

Ryker laughed again, a cold, manic sound. "Then I will just keep tearing you apart until you can't put yourself back together." He said, his eyes bright with bloodlust.