"Just one day," Sally practically begged Percy as they made their way up the staircase to their apartment.

He sighed. "Look, I'll try, Mom. But that's the best I can do right now. But if he so much as looks at you wrong…" He'd been without her for so long, the thought of her being hurt in front of him just then nearly broke him. He never had reacted well to watching people get hurt. Especially the ones he loved.

He was pretty sure he got that particular protective instinct from his father. Well, no, he got that from both of his parents, but how he tended to react was all his dad.

"It will be better if he doesn't suspect anything," she pointed out. "If he does, he can prepare for it. Look for contacts. Friends of friends. And I know how he is, but he can be surprisingly charismatic sometimes."

"Or he just finds all the other slimeballs to stick up for him," Percy muttered.

Sally sighed, but didn't disagree. "Just… please? Be careful and calm."

His lips tightened. "Fine. How much time do you need to build a case against him?"

At that his mother smirked over her shoulder. "What makes you think I haven't got one already?"

He blinked. "What?"

She shrugged. "I knew this was a temporary thing, and I wanted to make sure he never hurt anyone again."

Huh. Yeah, that sounded like his mom. He nodded in approval. "Nice. Okay, then. What's the plan?"

"First, we tell him that you're okay and that you were…" she thought for a moment, "malnourished."

Percy scrunched his nose. "Malnourished?"

She nodded. "It'll hopefully have the side effect of dissuading him from trying anything—on you or me. Because if we took you to the hospital and you were malnourished, it could look bad on him if something else happened."

The time-traveler nodded approvingly. He didn't like it, but… "That's a good idea."

"You'll find I've had quite a few good ideas over the years," she replied, looking relieved. "I don't often act without thinking first."

"I see that," Percy said, shaking his head. "I mean, I knew, but at the same time, I don't think I ever realized just how much thought you put into everything. Even now…" Because he'd known he'd missed some things even back then, but only now was beginning to understand how much he'd missed.

She smiled warmly and turned to him when she reached the landing. "That's the point, Percy. You're my son. I didn't want you bothered by adult problems, especially when I knew you'd have demigod problems."

He returned the smile, took her hand and squeezed it. "You're amazing, Mom. Have I ever told you?"

She chuckled. "You have. But I don't mind hearing it."

He laughed in return and they started slowly down the hall.

"In any case," she said, sobering up, "I already have a bank account he doesn't know about, in and above the stash he does know about, and I'm going to take all of that money to pretend like I paid for your 'hospital visit', or barring that, something else to help you. But I can't kick him out. We're both on the apartment lease, so either I have to leave, or he has to… voluntarily."

"Or he has to be in jail," Percy pointed out.

She sighed. "Yes, but what he'll have to do to be arrested won't be pretty and I don't want to live through that, or worse, let you live through that. Even if he does go to jail, he may have one of his friends bail him out. And then we'll be in an even worse situation."

"I could protect us."

"All the time?" she asked. And… well, she had a point. He couldn't be with his Mom 24/7.

"Then I could use my powers to pretend the house is haunted and scare him out," Percy said thoughtfully. "It wouldn't take much. I can get creative with water." And blood, but he didn't really want to tell her that.

He appreciated that she considered it, but ultimately shook her head. "As entertaining as that would be, I want him out of our lives asap. I think scaring him off would take too long."

Which… fair.

Then something occurred to Percy. "Hey, Mom… Gabe's usually home, right?"

She frowned and nodded.

"I always wondered why he doesn't work."

She snorted. "As a manager and owner, he falsifies records at his store. I've documented that too for financial…" she stopped abruptly, just standing in the hallway.

"Does that count as embezzlement?" Percy asked.

His mother put a hand to her chin. "I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to find out, now, would it?"

Percy grinned sharply. "I'm pretty sure he's broken some law there."

"Of course he has," she says smugly. "He's undermined employees, suppliers, and I'm positive he's cooking the books in and above the time he's lied about…"

"So who do we contact?" Percy asked.

"I'll do some research… but it might mean he stays for a couple more days."

The demigod sighed. "Fine. But… can we go to Montauk? Say that the doctor said to get me some fresh, ocean air or something?"

Sally thought about that for a moment. "I'll see what I can do. I'll have to work it into conversation organically. Let him think I was saving up for a trip for him and me, but since it's what the doctor ordered…"

He snorted as they approached the apartment and she took out her keys from her purse.

"Mom," he said, suddenly serious. That must have drawn her attention because she looked up at him, concerned. "I'm not going to let him hurt you again."

She stared at him for several seconds before smiling sadly. "I'm sorry you felt you ever had to. That's on me. But I promise, I can take care of myself."

He sighed. "I know you can. It's just… bad memories."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Even after so long?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Though being confronted by it all over again isn't helping."

If anything, her expression grew sadder. "I… Percy. Did I miss something? I don't doubt you've been through terrible things as a demigod, but this is what you remember? For three hundred years?"

Percy couldn't meet her eyes for far too long, but eventually he managed to look up, lips thin. "Mom… monsters stopped the outside from being safe. He stopped inside from being safe. I don't think I really understood safe until I got to camp. And even then, I couldn't really enjoy it with the war coming up."

Her eyes widened. "War?!"

He sighed and nodded. "I'll… explain it later, but yeah."

"Oh, Percy…"

"Don't apologize again," he muttered. "I told you, I know why you did it."

She didn't answer for several seconds. "I don't think that makes it okay," she whispered, leaning down and planting a kiss on his forehead. "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

He bit his lip, not really wanting to talk about it at all, but nodded anyway.

"Alright, we're going in…" she said, unlocking the door. "Three… Two… One." They both braced themselves and walked in.

"About time!" Gabe shouted from in front of the television, his usual sports on.

"Well, I thought about what you said," she replied calmly, a bright smile on her face, "and instead of the emergency room, I took him to an instacare. And yes, they accepted our insurance." She closed the door and sent Percy a little nod towards his room. Bracing himself, he slipped by her and made his way across the living room.

"What's wrong with you, brat?" Gabe asked angrily, narrowed eyes fixed on Percy, who didn't answer.

"Gabe, he's not a brat. But he has been skipping meals. That's what's wrong. So we have to make sure he eats every meal."

"You spent my money for that?!"

"Honey, we had a small copay we had to deal with. That's it. But the doctor said…" her voice faded off as Percy got into his room and sighed as he leaned against the door. He could still hear them if he wanted to, but he really, really didn't. Not unless things got loud and he had to step in.

It had been a long time since he'd felt emotionally tired like this. He'd hated feeling weak, even before he'd ascended. He hadn't missed this—or at least not that part of his past. And even though he knew he could take Gabe, the man—the memories of the man—still made him feel small and weak.

Was that a mortal thing? Or a Percy thing? Or both?

He didn't know, and didn't really want to think about it anymore, so he toed off his shoes and flopped down onto the bed. The bed that still smelled like Gabe.

Ugh.

He still managed to drift into a nap, only realizing he'd done so when a knock on his door startled him awake. "Mom?" he asked. That knock had been too gentle to be anyone else he knew just then.

His mother opened the door, a plate of food in her hands.

"Hey, honey. I cooked a big dinner tonight."

He smiled and sat up, a wave of gratefulness washing over him.

"I figured fish was probably off the menu for a while, so I cooked the pork cutlets we had."

"Thanks, Mom," he said, taking the plate.

"You're welcome, honey."

"And fish is usually fine," he said. "I mean, it can be a little disconcerting to eat them when I can hear them talk, but what do you think mer-folk eat? As long as whatever company caught them is dolphin and whale friendly, I'm usually good."

She blinked in surprise as he took a bite of the food. She'd made mashed potatoes and peas as side dishes, as well as her amazing bean dip in the middle, chips sticking out of it. She'd even dyed the mashed potatoes blue. Because his mom was awesome like that. Even in the future, he liked making his ambrosia blue. The other gods didn't get it. He kind of found that amusing, actually.

And honestly, he once again realized he needed to eat more human food. Was ambrosia better? Sure. But this was good too, and the variety helped.

"I'll keep that in mind," Sally promised, smiling softly. "Also, I managed to get the next few days off of work—traded some shifts around so I'll be working pretty hard later—and I also convinced Gabe to let us go to Montauk for the next few days.

Percy felt his eyes light up. "Really?" She nodded. He shook his head. "I don't know how you do it. You're amazing, Mom."

"Oh, Percy," she said, shaking her head. "You don't have to keep saying it."

The time-traveler frowned and put his fork—now half-way to his mouth—back on his plate. "No, really, Mom. Even Dad said so. Whenever you were mentioned. He called you 'a queen among women'. More than once." Admittedly never in front of Amphitrite, but he always had a sort of far-off, glazed look whenever Sally Jackson was brought up. Poseidon had loved her. More importantly, he'd respected her. And from a Greek god, that was no small thing.

"He told me that once," she whispered, eyes fixed on the wall on the opposite side of his room. "I thought he was just trying to flatter me."

Percy shook his head. "My father is usually pretty straight forward." Which made the times when he wasn't all the more stark and jarring. "He loved… loves you, Mom. I kind of think he always will."

Sally sighed, bringing her stockinged feet onto the bed and wrapping her arms around her knees loosely. She didn't say anything, and her expression made Percy feel a little guilty, though he couldn't figure out why.

"Your father…" she finally said, so quietly he could barely hear her, "was the first person to listen to me. Uncle… he tried. But he was so sick, I doubt he remembered he even had a niece half the time. And before that, I was a teenager or a grieving child, and he'd taken me in. It wasn't easy in the beginning, especially just after…" After the plane crash that killed her parents. They both knew it, but she didn't want to say it and he wouldn't push it, so he let her gather herself and clear her throat instead. "And I tended to be quiet at school. But your father….

"The first thing he gave me was an enormous delivery of roses. With sea themes of course. Styrofoam fish tucked in it, and an ocean-themed vase… But I'd never been given anything like that before. I told him not to waste money on me. He objected, saying he had it, so he would spend it on those who he felt deserved it. I told him it made me feel uncomfortable. He just… stared at me, Percy. Then he nodded and said, 'okay', and that was that. Anything he gave me after that was small but thoughtful. He gave me a pearl hair clip and a mother-of-pearl bracelet and…" she stopped and sighed.

"I still have those, you know."

Percy hadn't known. "Oh? Where?" She didn't wear them.

She smiled sadly. "There are still a few spots Gabe can't get at." Her face fell a little. "He already sold all of my other gifts."

Percy's own smile faded into a glare. "He what?"

Sally shook her head. "Not now, Percy."

His jaw clenched in frustration. The plan. He had to remember the plan. Didn't mean he had to like it.

Though, speaking of…

"Mom," he said slowly, "I… think I've decided I'll stay at Camp this summer."

His mother closed her eyes and looked just a little older for a moment. "Okay, Percy."

"If you drive me there from Montauk, I won't be tempted to end… him and you have the time to get everything together. Besides…" he paused, taking a deep breath, "I have a chance to save people, Mom. I have to take it. Because I know you would in my place."

She didn't answer, and he could tell she was trying to keep back tears. Which was good. If she started crying, he'd lose all his will.

"Oh, Percy," she finally whispered, reaching for him. He set his food on his night-stand and leaned into her, reveling in her warmth and softness. "My baby. I am so, so proud of you."

He gripped her tighter. "I only ever wanted to make you proud." That had been a large driving force through most of his adult and ascended life. If he could convince himself that his mother would approve, he'd do something. No matter what the other gods said. Much to their annoyance.

"Alright, honey," she whispered. "Pack for summer, and I'll drive you there after Montauk."

He nodded. "IM me if something happens. I'll leave camp for you."

"IM?" she asked, surprised. Right. She didn't know about those.

"Oh! Let me show you!" he reached into his pocket for a drachma and found he didn't have any. He also hadn't spoken to Iris, and didn't know if he could use anything else yet. "Right. Um… I'll get you some drachma at camp and then I'll show you."

"Drachma?"

He nodded. "Yeah. The gods still use that currency."

"But…" she started, then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You know, I'm not going to even ask."

Percy snorted. "They're old and set in their ways."

Sally laughed. "I believe it. Well, I have to get back to cleaning the kitchen. You rest up for our trip tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom," he said quietly, pressing into her side again before she stood up.

"Finish your food," she said loudly as she opened the door and took a step into the hall. "We don't want another repeat of this morning."

He smirked at her. "Yes ma'am," he grumbled, loudly enough Gabe should hear. She closed the door and he reached over, going back to eating his dinner. Then he went about cleaning his own room, even going so far as to sneak into the bathroom to grab water and try to get some of Gabe's grime out of his bed and carpet. It didn't work as well as he wanted, but it wasn't bad either. He would soak up dirt and then drop whatever wasn't pure water in the trashcan. Since he could control water, he could dry everything easily. It was a method he remembered using in the future, before he'd ascended.

Once he finished, he had a much cleaner room, and was tired enough to go to bed early. Using godly powers in a young demigod body tended to do that to a person. He knew that from experience.

He fell asleep that night, not having to see Gabe again, and his day was all the better for it.

xXx

Percy floated in the darkness. Empty but stifling. He could sense two presences here, one sleeping and happy to stay so.

Erebus.

The other…

Two golden eyes opened in the darkness and fixed on Percy. When he'd first gone to camp, that would have terrified him. Now, it just made him a little wary… and very weary.

"Grandfather," he said tiredly, rubbing his forehead.

"Perseus… Jackson…"

Percy frowned. The tone the Titan had spoken in hadn't been what he was expecting. No spitting anger and hatred, but not the kind facade he would have expected at a first meeting either. The Titan's presence regarded Percy like Annabeth would a puzzle. Or, maybe more like one of the new kids at camp regarded him. They either didn't know anything about him, or they'd heard something but didn't know what to make of it. Percy's uneasy feeling intensified.

"What do you want, Grandfather?"

Kronos remained silent for several seconds, then whispered something Percy didn't catch.

"What was that?" he asked loudly, "I don't think our connection is all that great. Such a shame." So he was being sarcastic to a Titan. Sue him. He didn't bend to bullying. He'd always been like that to the gods, why not the Titans too?

"Destroy…"

Percy snorted. "You want to destroy the world? How cliché can you get? Every cartoon super-villain in exista—"

"Destroyer," his voice boomed, cutting Percy off. The time-traveler gasped as he felt something inside him respond. His… his domains? But…

"Perseus… the Destroyer," Kronos said again.

Names have power. Percy could sense that side of him stirring, growing, poking and prodding at his careful control. But… as much as that terrified him (he'd lost control too many times before), it also didn't feel the same. Lesser, if still insistent. He grit his teeth and shoved that side of him down for now. He'd deal with that later.

"Nice try, Grandfather," he said, hoping he sounded more triumphant than he felt. And less confused. Confusion was a weakness in front of Kronos. "My crooked, crooked grandfather."

A hiss of displeasure in the darkness.

"If that's all you had to say," Percy said, straightening up, "then I think it's time for me to—"

"I know you."

Percy didn't like the sound of that. At all. "A lot of people who know my father say that."

"No… not… Poseidon."

He shouldn't know that.

The time-traveler still forced a smile as he held up one finger and shook it back and forth. "Ah, ah, ah, grandfather. Don't forget that names have power."

"Should be… god. Not demigod."

"Oh! You like my new disguise! Well, thank you!" Because if Kronos thought Percy was more than he was, then maybe he'd stay away. For now at least.

"Not… Poseidon."

"You're not afraid of my father then?" Percy snorted. "Your funeral. Oh… wait."

More angry, warning growls, but quite frankly, Percy didn't care. He was done. So he grinned vindictively and fell back on what he did best: Tick off beings far more powerful than him and try to survive the aftermath.

"You know, I always wanted to ask: Did your kids taste the same coming up as they did going down? Which, by the way, ew, dude. Even humans don't do cannibalism. Well, most of them. But you? You, the supposedly higher being who is soooo much more than the weak mortals, and yet you'll sink to depths even they won't, just to maintain power. I mean, how utterly pathetic is that? And—"

A force of darkness slammed into Percy. He threw his arms up to protect his face and… it stopped. He sat straight up in bed. It took him a moment to realize he was back in his old room, Artemis' light shining through his window and illuminating the worn carpet. Right. He was back in time, in his old room, in his bed. He was fine. Kronos wasn't anywhere near.

And yet…

His chest and arms hurt. His legs too, now that he realized it.

Rolling up his sleeves, he saw bruises littering his skin. Same on his chest and legs. He didn't feel anything on his face at least, but still. It was a stark reminder that Kronos could do more than most gave him credit for right now. Even, apparently, Percy. He sighed and rubbed his hand over the bruises lightly. His morning shower should take care of that, at least.

Letting out a long breath, he flopped back onto his pillow.

So, Kronos had reached out to him this time. Kronos who knew Percy's parentage when he really shouldn't. Kronos who knew one of his names—who had tried to bring that side out for some reason. To be fair, the Titan certainly liked wanton destruction, but Percy sensed another motive there. Maybe to expose him to Olympus? Yeah, that sounded about right.

Great. Now Percy had to figure out if that was something he'd brought back with him, something he'd set off (because, you know, Titan of Time would probably sense time travel) when he'd come back, or him simply awakening his powers earlier than last time that seemed to change so much. Kronos was probably looking for a big three demigod right now. Thalia, Nico, and Bianca weren't available. And the great prophecy was a Greek prophecy, so Jason was out of the running. It would make sense that Kronos would target him if he'd woken his powers at this point.

But he knew Percy's name. His most destructive name. Admittedly, it wasn't that difficult to figure out, but that name shouldn't have had any power on a demigod.

So why had it?

Percy sat there for several seconds trying to think about everything before finally shaking his head.

"Nope," he said aloud and turned to roll back over. Not tonight. He'd think about it tomorrow. Right now, he had sleep to catch up on. If he could, you know, get back to sleep without ancient evil beings invading his dreams.

Hey, he could be optimistic.

xXx

AN: Anyway. Thank you for reading, and thank you to my lovely beta readers: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, Harlequin, Speedster, and The Chronomancer! Some are also my amazing mods for my discord.

For those of you interested, hubby is doing better but... it's going to be a long road. He still can't talk or walk and that's... really hard when he's been a sounding board for years now and a rock and now he's just... not there. :( But we're working on it. He'll be going into rehab to morrow, which is a step down from his current acute care, so there is that. Could still use thoughts and/or prayers. :) And thank you to everyone who has been gracoues enough to give them. *love* It is much appreciated.

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)