I woke up in a start. I didn't know what time it was. Huh, it was the first time in my immortal life that time actually mattered to me. I didn't want to let Wyatt down on my first day of having a job. Well, my first day of having a job that wasn't flaying the king of Olympus alive. Compared to killing Zeus, repair work should be a cinch.

I lumbered downstairs, yawning profusely. Of course, I had to stop groaning so loudly, because Johnny downstairs somehow, cleaning some of his mugs.

"Morning, Porphyrion. Can I get you something?"

I inhaled and exhaled sharply, a phenomenon normally reserved Periboia and her reckless tendencies. "I already don't have anything to pay with."

Even though I was twenty feet away, Johnny leaned over the counter and started whispering as if I was right next to him. "Between you and me, I can afford losing a few bucks a day to keep you fed."

The idea of explaining that I was an immortal being with no need for sustenance quickly left my mind when I took my first tentative sip of coffee. It was a strange, yet harmonious combination of sweetness, sourness and even a little acidity thrown in there to keep me on my toes. I thanked Johnny, downed the rest of the cup in one gulp, and went outside to find Wyatt's house.

The town of Ogunquit, Maine was very kind and welcoming. I noticed that a majority of the people in the town, though, were on the older side. Lucy and Ed were probably some of the youngest people in the town.

In addition, there weren't very many kids. Not to say there weren't any, but they were few and far in between. I kind of appreciated that. I knew from watching Hermes grow up that kids were a pain in the rectum.

Thinking of Hermes made me think of Hippolytus, his bane. Gaea had created us to be the complete opposite of gods we were supposed to destroy. Hermes was a charismatic, charming messenger that was always on time. Hippolytus was designed to be the opposite. Someone who was always late. Someone who nobody really liked.

Not to mention, Hippolytus smells terrible.

I entered Wyatt's house, a few doors down from Johnny's bar. It was a depressingly empty place. Only a few pieces of furniture were strewn about the house. A brown faux leather couch with white pillows that was falling apart as I looked at it. A few wicker chairs with small sections of wood scattered underneath them.

Atop a rickety, glass dining table resided two toolboxes, one shiny and green and the other rusted and orange.

Now it made sense that Johnny wanted me to stay with him instead of Wyatt. Wyatt's house looked like Typhon had stayed there.

"We got two calls today." said Wyatt "I'll take the Rosenthaal family, and you can take old Agnes. Her issues are normally pretty simple."

"I do not know where Agnes lives." I said, picking up one of the toolboxes.

"She's by the edge of town. Just follow the road signs to Josias River." said Wyatt, before picking up the rusted toolbox and bustling out the door.

I followed him out and, for the first time, really took in Ogunquit. It was a quaint place. Snow sat on the ground after the previous night's stormfall. A few road signs swung in place, one of them marking Josias River.

As I walked down Main Street, my thoughts trailed over to Periboia. She was fine in Tartarus. Iapetus and Damasen are very forgiving prison wardens. But that is what they were. Wardens.

I flashed back to the first Gigantomachy. The Olympians had won. Of course they had. The only thing I could do was hold on to Periboia and wait for Heracles and Zeus to finish us off.

"I'm sorry it ended this way." I had said.

"It's okay," responded Periboia "I'm happy I'm with you."

"Just hold my hand. Our journey doesn't end here."

Then Zeus had incinerated us both. We were giants. We weren't dead, not really. But at the same time, I will never forgive Zeus for killing my daughter.

I saw an isolated, light blue cabin right on the edge of the river. Considering who else was inside that home, it should've been downright obvious what was happening. But I was too busy thinking about Periboia.

I knocked on the door, and an elderly woman let me inside.

Agnes almost looked like she was Akhlys, she was so old. Her face and hands were weathered to nearly bones. Her teeth were rotten and she didn't smell too great either. The only thing about her that betrayed her was as once an adventurer were her sparkling, light brown eyes. Whatever was special about Agnes, it hadn't quite left her yet.

Her daughter entered Agnes's living room, and the hair on the back of my neck. This was a demigoddess, no doubt about it. A daughter of some sort of sea god, judging from the shade of green her eyes were. Poseidon's only son was Perseus, so perhaps this was a daughter of Nereus, Thaumas or Triton. She was well over sixteen, bordering on nearly forty.

She twirled a green, plastic straw between her fingers methodically, as if she had been doing it for years upon years.

"Hey, I'm Porphyrion. I'm here about your furnace."

Agnes's daughter stuck her hand out, and I shook it enthusiastically. "Ophelia. The problem is in our shed, come with me."

Ophelia's bluntness took me off guard. I had only been a human for twelve hours. Were they always so blunt? Even Alcyoneus and Polybotes knew to treat me with respect. Even if Alcyoneus was technically the strongest of us (don't tell him I said that).

The Maine sun flooded through the dense woods almost mocking me. Every time I would forget the sun was there, it would flash me in the eyes. Almost as if Apollo was mocking me.

Something about the sun felt different, though. I had a sneaking feeling that Apollo wasn't the one at the reigns anymore.

A strange structure to my left caught my eye. It was a pillar with extremities that rotated counterclockwise. "What is that?"

Without even missing a beat, Ophelia had a snarky answer "That's a windmill, genius."

I was very tempted to squash Ophelia like a bug, but if I did that, Artemis and Thalia would know my position immediately, and while I could certainly take them in a fight, the collateral damage would be devastating to Ogunquit's economy. Or whatever.

"What does a windmill do?"

Ophelia looked at me curiously "Where are you from? Alabama, I don't think there's any windmills down there."

"I…"

"You think I don't know who you are?" asked Ophelia, holding a dark green xiphos to my neck. I hadn't see a warrior with xiphos since Percy Jackon stabbed with Thoon. Although, in the grand scheme of things, that wasn't too long ago.

"If you did, you should know you can't kill me without the assistance of a god."

"Couple of naiads around here I'm friends with." said Ophelia through clenched teeth "Wanna see if that's good enough?"

"I have done nothing to offend you." I reasoned.

Ophelia arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you haven't? Your brood attacked Camp Jupiter. When Percy Jackson first arrived, there, remember?"

"I can't say that-"

"Laertes Cross! Do you know that name?" spat Ophelia, losing any sort of composure.

"I don't."

Ophelia screamed. It was a horrible sound, filled with the most human thing I knew of. Loss. She pressed her xiphos harder on my neck. The Josias River started to gargle and froth. I was in serious trouble.

"Laertes Cross, son of Triton. You mean to tell me that after all the devastation, all the lives you've lost, you don't even know his name?"

I summoned my spear into my hands and knocked Ophelia's weapon out of her hands. "I was not responsible for the raid on Camp Jupiter. That was my brother, Polybotes. Who, for the record, I do not like."

Ophelia fluidly snatched her xiphos off the ground and swiped at me. I struck the ground with my spear, creating a small earthquake, which destabilized Ophelia enough for me to use the shaft of my spear to knock Ophelia off of her feet.

Then, the Josias River exploded, and Josias revealed herself.

Her skin was blue, like most naiads, but she wasn't skinny like them. Nor did she have long, flowing, green hair that resembles seaweed. Her dusky purple hair was more akin to a sea urchin. Her muscles rippled underneath her seashell like armor, and she wore a bull-like sneer on her face.

Nothing is more powerful and terrifying than a naiad on her home turf.

Half of the river swirled around Josias in a tremendous waterspout. Even if I was in my true Gigantes form, I would've been consumed.

I pointed my spear at Josias, hoping for some sort of miracle. I recognized now that a naiad and a demigoddess was more than enough to send me back to Tartarus.

I was the opposite of Zeus.

That was all I knew. That was all Gaea told me I was. She had taken so much from me. She had sent me into a Gigantomachy that I was doomed to fail in. Twice. And now she had taken my daughter from me. If I was going to get Periboia back, then I couldn't let some river spirit stop me.

I was the opposite of Zeus. I wasn't high and mighty. I wasn't of the clouds. I was grounded. I was the son of the earth and of hell. The earth was my domain just as much as my mother's.

A chunk of earth the size of a minivan flew past the point of my spear and hit Josias in the face. She collapsed, and the weight of her own river crashed down on top of her. She wasn't dead, she was a naiad after all. But she would be incapciated for a few hours.

I kept the chunk of earth floating for a few seconds, just to make sure it was me doing it and not some sort of posthumous present from mom. It was me.

"Wh-what are you going to do now?" asked Ophelia. "Kill me like your brother killed mine?"

For the briefest of instances, I leveled my spear at Ophelia. She stared defiantly at me, the same way Periboia glared at Piper McLean and Aphrodite while they slowly and methodically tore her to pieces. I couldn't inflict that sort of pain on Agnes. She missed Laertes just like I missed my daughter.

I lowered my spear and it dematerialized. "No, I'm just to fix your furnace."