AN:

Sorry about the new updating schedule, like I said, going to be quite busy. I have shifted this story to be my primary focus, as people seem to like it the most. Hopefully by the end of the chapter, you'll have all gotten the plot advancement you wanted. Soon the story will be moving faster, don't worry.

Zoë Nightshade rang the bell of, if the book was correct, Percy Jackson's current place of residence. The book had been incredibly helpful, allowing her to find the information she was looking for instantly. Quite glad for the first time, that somehow these old ancient weights of paper were still around, and still had addresses in them. And after she had picked up a rental, which she was relieved to see did not have crank controlled windows, she flipped on the GPS and was able to make it to the house in what was probably record time.

Even with her exceptional hearing, she was unable to hear any sort of notifying sound from inside, she tried the bell one more time with her ear pressed to the door, still nothing. So she knocked. Three hard, sharp knocks in the center of the door.

A couple of people, out walking their dogs gave her a strange look as they passed, but she dismissed it. Marlborough was a small town, people would recognize that they didn't recognize her. After twenty seconds with no answer, she knocked again.

She gave it fifteen seconds that time. And when the time had run out, she looked side to side, to make sure no one was watching, and pulled out a small lock pick, from a set in the inside pocket of her jacket.

Taking a half step closer to the door, she maneuvered her body so that it appeared she was just struggling with an uncooperative key, but immediately abandoned the act. Anyone who lived around there would know that it wasn't her house. So she set off trying to work the lock.

She put one hand on the handle of the door, and turned it slightly to check her progress, and stopped when the handle easily gave way, only halting on her pick.

She remained paused a moment, before she removed the lock pick, and hesitantly tried the door.

It opened just fine. She pushed it inward and stepped in, closing it quickly, but as quietly as she could, behind her.

Looking around the first floor, she had to admit that she was surprised. With all the shit that she had heard happened to him, she doubted that he'd be this well off.

Decent furniture, none of it the new, cheap crap that people bought to save money. There was no T.V., which didn't surprise her too much, certain demigods found it difficult to focus on any electronic screen above a certain size. Something about… well something in it caused certain battle instincts to switch on, and they would become restless. She supposed Percy was one of these demigods.

There was a guitar leaned up in one of the chairs. And once again no expense was taken in its purchase. She wouldn't even remotely claim to be an expert on many things, but to thousand years traveling the world allowed a girl to amass an impressive library of knowledge. And she could tell, that the guitar was a Gibson L - 7, and nothing to be frowned upon.

There were bookshelves filled with books, something that struck Zoë a tad odd. Though she herself had no issues with dyslexia, having overcome it with years of practice, demigods were notoriously riddled with the reading disorder. Making it difficult for them to read anything but Greek. He wouldn't have had the time to power through it to the extent the books implied, it would be a question worth asking.

Considering that the fact of the time of day, Zoë was willing to bet that Percy wasn't in the house, despite what the unlocked door suggested. Many people would say it was a dumb assumption, but in a way Zoë just knew. She began walking around the house, looking for something that might tell her where he went.

Of course she could always wait here for him, she thought this to herself as she climbed the stairs, but she could just as easily go out and see if she could find him, and then come back here later if she didn't. And the thought passed her.

There were only three rooms upstairs, she walked right past the bathroom, there would be nothing in there. She did check the study. There was a small computer on the desk, but it was shut off. She didn't bother with it. There was a bookshelf in the corner, though not as full as the others, and a second table with two chairs on the left side of the room. Nothing on them.

There was a calender on the desk, a large sheet of paper, one for everyday of the month. Zoë smiled slightly, it seemed Percy's forgetfulness hadn't left. She pulled it towards her and sighed, though the smile was still present.

Across the entire pad, written in large penned out letters, were the words: 'Oh, who remembers?'

Ray's Cafe had one of the old fashioned bells that were connected to a wire attached to the top of the door. That way, the owner could hear the bell, and know when people were coming in ahead of time, as opposed to having to wait until they came in and got something to know that they were there.

When one thinks about it, it becomes less of an advancement, as just an annoying alarm. In other words, it was like all alarms.

Both people up by the counter were knw, so Percy didn't bother to talk with them. He got a cup of coffee, a small scone, and walked over to the front window, picking his favorite table. Which may or may not have been his favorite because it had armchairs, and was near the actual, not fake, fireplace. Though it wasn't burning, due to the fact that it wasn't deemed cold enough.

He took a bite of the scone and sipped lightly at the cup of coffee, he was about five minutes early, and simply had to wait for Kate to show up. Although, he knew what kind of coffee she always got…

Percy shrugged and stood up, left his hat and jacket on the arm of the chair, and went to get another cup of coffee.

Zoë finished with the upstairs, returning as much as she could remember to their original position. She felt guilty about sifting through Perseus' personal belongings without his knowledge and consent. It was something she had done many times before, whether it was in a luxury office, or in an underground bunker, but the fact that these belonged to someone who she knew and knew was a decent man, it didn't quite sit right with her.

Walking back downstairs she continued this train of thought. She tried to justify it by the fact that she was trying to find out where he was, but that didn't work. All that was really happening was she was finding out a bit more about him. He enjoyed reading, one of his favorite authors was Terry Pratchett, another was Alexandre Dumas. He brought in some extra money as a session musician, he wasn't behind on any of his payments, he still forgot things and had to put up reminders, and he for some reason had many different foods that were blue.

But she knew nothing there was going to tell her where he was, she was just going to have to return later. Hang around downtown for a bit, there was nothing else she really could do.

She walked back across the first floor, reorganized the tightly packed recording studio. and went about straightening the main room. She got to the desk, and began making a little clutter, as if someone had absentmindedly placed down most of what was on it.

The top door was stuck open, and wouldn't budge when she tried to shove it shut. Grumbling she pulled it open, ignoring the screaming of the little metal wheels. Her eyes grazed the contents inside, and after just a single second, she was angry enough to flip the entire esk out through the wall. The rage lasted barely five seconds, and after that drowned into sorrow.

On top of a few old pieces of paper was a syringe, and several bottles, their contents hidden inside them. But she was certain she knew what was in them.

Slowly she slid the door back shut, and leaned forward, her palms flat on the desk. Her eyes were closed, and she took a deep, long breath.

When she first met him, he was almost hatefully upbeat compared to her cold harsh personality. She hated to imagine what he was like now, she knew from the beginning he wouldn't be the same. But she didn't think he'd be this different.

She turned around and walked away from the desk Stepping outside she really noticed the difference in temperature. Percy kept his house cold during the day.

She walked down to the street where she parked her car and slid into the seat, closing the door tiredly. All of her energy had vanished seeing the inside of the drawer, and the jetlag from the plane ride fully caught up to her.

That was it, he started the car and drove towards the downtown. She needed a cup of coffee. A very, very good cup of coffee. And perhaps a walk.

"Hey, Jack."

Percy looked up from his cup and saw Kate walking over to him. Her dark blond hair tied up in summer fashion. Falling down her back.

"Hey Kate, I got your coffee already, I hope you don't mind."

"No not at all," she sat down. "You know what I take, I think everyone does, more or less." She took the cup and sipped at the delicious substance within.

"How's work been going for you. I assume you're still working at the dealership?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, no the telephone thing at the taxi place is just occasional. I've got a friend who works there and occasionally needs time off to take care of a family member. I help him out by filling in."

"I'm surprised they're that lax, most workplaces don't let people do that."

Kate shrugged. "They just seem to want somebody doing the job. Don't seem to care who it is really." She smiled lightly. "And what about you? Work going alright?"

Percy nodded. "It's not bad. Not very interesting, but I've got to make a living somehow. Way I see it, there are plenty of worse jobs than working in a realm of music."

"Have you met any big names?" Kate asked. "Either during a business meeting, or, um, in a recording session?"

Percy shrugged. "Not really. I did meet Tommy Emmanuel once though," he grinned, remembering the Aussie's enthusiasm for music. "He was interesting to talk to. Gave me a few tips on how to play as well."

"It sounds like a nice job," she said, taking another sip of her coffee.

"It's peaceful. It lets me relax."

"But you didn't live here forever. What did you used to do."

Percy paused, disguising it with a sip of his drink. His discretion had improved greatly over the years. "Oh I worked briefly as an an accountant." Not entirely false.

"An accountant?" She asked, incredulously. A mixture of surprise and amusement on his face. "You were an accountant?"

"Yes I was." Cue sip.

"Like… working with paper and stuff like that."

Lots and lots of paper, all different types. All the signatures in the world wouldn't save you if you had lousy paper. Von Lipwig had said that a long time ago. "Yes. I worked with paper."

"It's just…" She giggled, actually giggled. "I can't imagine you, you know, working a desk job." She covered her mouth to stifle her laughs.

"Well, It wasn't my career of choice." True. "But I was could with numbers, and I was a quick learner when it came to the other… aspects of my job. Also true. At least it was, after he med Lipwig. The man was a master when it came to numbers. And he passed those skills onto Percy. There was no other way he could have acquired a modest fortune so quickly, with… limitations such as he had.

"Still though." Her laughing stopped once she saw his expression. Immediately her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to-"
Percy waved her off and rested his hand on hers. "No, no. It's fine. Don't worry." Her face softened and a slight tint of color rose to her cheeks. "I understand. It is… actually kind of amusing to imagine me working behind a desk that I had to keep clean." He chuckled, to him it was even funnier. Demigods weren't known to be able to sit still.

She laughed lightly with him, and looked relieved. His words had worked to calm her slightly. They both sat in comfortable silence, drinking their respective glasses of nearly 90% caffeine.

Zoë Nightshade found the downtown of Marlborough to be quaint. s someone who had seen thousands of different towns all over the world in her life, this was a considerable compliment. Especially considering she had once described Constantinople as 'too pretentious to enjoy.'

She enjoyed the mid street parking, on High Street. It as different and convenient for her to walk across the street and to the sidewalk. The downtown extended a ways in either direction. Large for a town with a population under ten thousand.

People were out walking around, enjoying the day. Some were even walking pets down the sidewalk, as if they were on a park trail. Several people nodded politely to her as she made her way along the street. Checking different buildings. Many were restaurants, and Zoë didn't want that much. Others were stores. There was a book store, a fully stocked music store, and several more multi purpose shops. Even a shop that sold nothing but hats.

She almost went in three of them.

There were a couple of pubs and a regular old bar that was no different than one you found in the U.S. She ignored them, places that sold mainly alcohol, tended not to also sell coffee. It was just a fact about the business.

She walked up to a woman sitting at the bus stop. She was dressed casual, and looked perfectly at home in the town, so it was safe to bet she was a residence.

"Excuse me, miss." The young woman looked up at her. Zoë smiled slightly. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm new in this town. Do you know a place you'd suggest for someone to get a really good cup of coffee?" She adopted a light Spanish accent as opposed to her more common American one. People around the world tended to react differently to people from the U.S. than anywhere else.

The young woman nodded. "Most people in town like Ray's Cafe. It's just down the block from here. You'll see it. They have live music every week too," she added meaningfully. "Fridays, I think."

Zoë thanked the woman and walked down the block.

It looked nice, from the outside. It was brick, but not a cheap kind. Dark red and homely. Inside people sat around, some eating, some drinking, some working.

Her eyes ran along the window, and she gasped. On the far corner, two people sat at a low table. She walked a bit closer.

The glass gave off glare from the sun, and her P.O.I. was facing away from her. But she could recognize the shape of the face, the black tangled hair and the beard. She had found Perseus Jackson.

She was so busy thinking that she didn't even take note of the fact that for some reason, a demigod needed to drink coffee.

She bit her lip, trying to make a difficult decision. Perseus had run from the Gods for years, he obviously didn't want to be found. And she would probably have to reason with him to get him to come with her. And she had to be careful.

She could go in and confront him there. But it was a public place, and he was sitting with a woman at the table. The two obviously talking. But if she waited till he got outside, he would probably bolt. And then she'd have no chance of getting to him. If someone could track him down all the way to England, he probably would realize they knew his address, and would not return to his house, and then he'd be gone again.

She could wait till he went back home, but he would be able to see her outside his house. He'd probably lock up everything, ready himself, fight or sneak past her, and then be gone again. This time with more prepared.

She groaned lightly as she leaned up against the building. Out of sight from the building. She took a deep breath, and let it all out slowly, she knew what she had to do. She made her decision.

"Well, not to judge you or anything, but you sound like you've had an interesting life." Kate sat across from the demigod, a smile on her face. Her coffee was in her left hand, now mostly empty. Percy had finished his minutes earlier, the mug sat empty on the table.

Percy spoke before he could stop himself. "You have no idea." His eyes widened and his mouth slammed shut. Apparently in all the years since he was a kid, he hadn't fully learned how to restrain his thoughts from becoming vocalized. Although he probably was no longer nearly as bad as Thalia.

"Jack-"

"No!" Percy growled. Careful to avoid attracting the attention of the rest of the cafe.

Kate gave him an empathetic look, and spoke again. "Look, Jack. We… haven't known each other an incredibly long time, but I can tell with you. You're…" she trailed off. Percy's eyes dared her to continue. "...A very… angry man. You try to hide it, and you to a great job but I can tell. So can Toolan, and Frost. And you're always so… I don't know, passively depressed. Like you act as upbeat as you can, but you never really are."

"Well?" Kate flinched, and Percy immediately felt bad for it. She wasn't doing anything wrong, she was just being a good friend.

"I'm just looking out for you," she said softly. "Talk to me. I'll listen."

Percy stopped a moment. Something made him really want to trust Kate. At least tell her the justs of what happened, no Gods or Demigods. He hadn't really had any real friends in a long time. George Toolan, Rory Gallagher, Von Lipwig, and that bastard Stoolie were as close as it got, and he didn't keep in touch with two of them anymore. Maybe it was time to try again.

Percy may have been filled with grief, but he wasn't depressed. He could see there was a light at the end of the tunnel, however he also knew that the end of the tunnel could just be on fire.

"I… It's a very long story," he rubbed his forehead. "A very long and complicated story."

Kate leaned across the table, resting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "I have time to listen. Tell me when you're ready."

Percy shook his head. "No...i mean... I don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning."

Percy sighed, and met Kate's eyes. "I don't know if I can put it into words…."

"Never been a problem for any of the campers. They all seem to do it just fine. Talk about you from the day you arrived, all the way up until you moved for college. It's like listening to the story of a folk hero some days, and I guess to them that isn't entirely incorrect. Personally, I think it's kind of sweet."

Percy froze. His mind went into a total lock down. Somewhere in the background of his conscious, he could see Kate looking back and forth between something else and him. The voice was familiar, but it sounded older than was right. Like they had aged just enough for their vocals to change, but not so much as to become classified as actually old.

Slowly he turned his head, Kate was still trying to see two things at once. Standing a foot from their table was a woman. A woman who he remembered as a girl, though her age strongly disputed the classification. Her delicate figure was as deceiving as it had always been, small but packed full of enough strength to combat a Titan with half of her energy gone. She wore no silver, only blue and dark black. Dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, complimenting her eyes. Black as the ash from a volcano, the signature trait of all of the daughters of Atlas.

Percy just stared at her. The girl, who was now the woman. Everything in his mind told him she couldn't be here, but she was.

Zoë Nightshade's lips delicately arched into a small, sad smile. "Hey, Percy... It's...It's been a long time."

AN:

First of all:

Kate Burgress: Based in looks and partially in name on a character from Peaky Blinders. Nothing else is similar.

George Toolan: Based entirely on the recurring sergeant and partner of D.I. Frost, from A Touch of Frost.

Rory Gallagher: Based in name on the masterful blues rock guitarist. Though in reality, he didn't own a music shop or a record company.

Ray's Cafe: Doesn't actually exist.

Zoe Nightshade: Looks like Anne Boleyn from The Tudors. Just more of a bad ass. And of course she talks differently and acts a bit differently now. She's been living a drastically different life. She died once. She's adjusting to the mortal world. But we'll still see some old habits pop up every now and then. Which of course may cause difficulties between her and Percy.

Percy Jackson: Looks like Jim Morrison at the moment. But after he get's cleaned up, he will look like someone else. Sorry, but that's how I imagine it happening. He spent a lot of time on the company doing illegal work, that's how he's got his money. During that time, he trained to overcome his dyslexia through a process too complicated to bother explaining. He learned a lot of new skills, sharpened his intellect, and also now has more of a sense of style. E.G. he wears cooler clothes, mostly hats and coats.
He is still a very angry person, also sad, but mostly angry. He'll take a it of that anger out on Zoe for awhile, until the two bond a bit it more. He's a good guy, but full of things that make people seem a lot worse.

Things will escalate in the next two chapters, and the main plot will get on the road. You all will have to wait a bit for your Perzoe action, I apologize, but they aren't two hormonal teenagers anymore, (Zoe essentially was one, because her body was stuck in a teenage stage for ages. I imagine that was partially what made her so moody) They're both adults. It will take them longer to fully develop feelings for each other. But due to their lifestyles, once they do, it may be a bit explosive.

P.S. Quick title note for you all, Zoe is physically 24, Percy is 27. The year is 2019.

P.P.S. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please review, follow, and favorite if you enjoyed it. And if you didn't... well you know what you can do.

I'll probably also be adding the first chapter to another story soon, but I'll try to keep this one updating quick-ish

And now that the long AN is over, until next time, this is Hemlock Stones signing off.