I woke up with the dawn on a rocky beach. Well it wasn't much of a beach, it was more a wall of boulders. And I wasn't on it, I was underneath the water right next to it. And you could barely tell it was dawn with the storm raging outside.

I took a breath and my lungs filled with water, I let the breath out and my lungs pushed the water out. It was a strange sensation, it felt heavy but I was invigorated. As if breathing the water fueled my body better than the air ever had. I chuckled, my favorite activity had always been swimming and I never knew I could breathe water. I couldn't wait to tell mom-

Oh no.

I hadn't been strong enough, and she had died.

Tears stung my eyes and I remembered what had happened last night. It seemed like a bad dream, and if I had woken up under any other circumstances I would have assumed it was. But if I could breathe underwater then surely it was all real.

I cried and screamed in anguish, the currents ripped around me as the storm grew stronger. I was pulled further out to sea.

"Son of Neptune! Stop it!" A woman shouted at me.

I spun around to see a beautiful woman with light green skin and hair and eyes dark as kelp. She wore a silky blue dress, but she was almost transparent. Like a spirit.

"What are you?" I asked.

This seemed to anger her.

"What! You don't ask my name, or how I'm doing? Stop these currents from ripping up the whole sea floor!"

"What- how am I supposed to do that!"

She glared at me. Then I felt it, the water was an extension of my body and I was smashing it around like a child having a tantrum. I willed it to stop, in the same way I might have reached out my arm to turn a handle.

The sea around us stilled.

"Thanks." She said, curtly.

"Wait… I should be dead, the horn, it went straight through me!"

I pulled up my shirt and saw a circular scar in the center of my chest, right under my rib cage. I craned my head around to see another scar on my back where the horn had come through the other side, it was at an angle. The fish woman looked at me funnily.

"You are a son of Neptune, Perseus, you are known to us and the ocean will always protect you." She said in a dreamy voice.

Maybe my mom was healed too, surely as my mother she must be some kind of chosen of Neptune.

I paused and then barraged her with questions, "Hold up, what do you mean about Neptune? He was the god of the sea to the Romans right? I remember Mr. Bruner said that. Isn't he just a myth?"

The ocean suddenly grew a little colder and what must have been a large wave smashed into the shore nearby. Then things returned to normal.

"Do not blaspheme your father, child!" Shouted the woman.

"The gods are as real as the earth, sea, and sky. The trees that root into the land and the fires that fuel your nations. They are tied to the west, and as long as the civilization of Rome continues, so shall they rule on Olympus!"

"Ok, ok!" I exclaimed, hands up in surrender.

I decided it would be better not to touch that topic any more with her.

"Well then what's your name?" I asked.

She beamed, "I am Thetis, one of the great Nereids."

I knew that name, "Hey aren't you the mother of Achilles? We read something about him in Mr. Brunner's class last year."

Thetis frowned, "I guess that's all I'll ever be huh? Just the mother of my poor son Achilles."

Ah man, I said the wrong thing again.

She sighed, "All the boys want to be like Achilles, and they find nothing but an early grave. Sorrow and anguish are the inheritance of the poor mothers and wives they leave behind."

Her eyes were sad.

"Will you help me find my mother?" I asked, "We were whisked away with the tide."

Then she started crying.

"Oh poor little Perseus!" She cried, wrapping me in a hug.

The tides whisked us away and she guided us to a cairn of rocks deep under the sea. Large stone slabs made up the square base, and smaller ones we stacked on the top until it came to a point.

"Me and my sisters found her last night, and we buried her. We weren't sure who she was…"

I broke down in ugly sobs, my mom had so much to live for. Now she would lay in stone forever.

Thetis wrapped me in her arms and we stayed there for a while. Eventually one of her sisters came with a chisel, and I don't really know what people usually write on graves but I kept it short.

Here lies Sally Jackson, my beloved Mother

I even spelled it write.

After some time, Thetis told me there were events on the surface that required my attention.

We came to the shores of Bridgeport where Thetis told me, "Go on child, should you ever need help the ocean will be there for you, but for now your destiny awaits on the surface. Take the E train to New York City, from there the path will become clear."

Then she receded back with the tide.

"Thanks!" I shouted after her.

I stepped out of the water and projectile spewed the water out of my lungs. Which would be funny but I was too sad about my mom to laugh about what it must've looked like. The fresh air felt good in my lungs. It had stopped raining but dark clouds still hung over the sky. For a June day it was cold, especially with my wet clothes soaked with the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean.

Then I had an idea. I felt the water in my clothes and forced it out, launching an even sheet of water onto all of the surfaces around me.

Splat!

I smiled, that was really cool.

It was about 9am on a Saturday but it seemed like the city of Bridgeport didn't have a lot of morning people living there. It also wasn't much of a city, there were just rows upon rows of houses packed side to side. The streets were full of parked cars and smashed bottles.

Now I know why mom never brought us to Connecticut.

I wandered until I found somebody and they pointed to the nearest train station.

Sure enough the E train was waiting on the rails and I waltzed right on.

Once we got moving, an overweight black lady came up to me, "Sir can I see your ticket?"

I squinted at her name tag, it said,

Concudtre

"What?"

"I'm the conductor sir, you need a ticket to ride this train." She snapped at me.

"Uh…" Crap, of course they sell tickets for these things. I looked both ways, no one else was on the train.

I raised my eyebrows and gave her a look like, seriously does it really matter?

She just stared at me.

I started patting my pockets to try to buy some time. I glared at her, then I made a break for the bathroom.

"Sorry I gotta use the bathroo- agh!"

"Oh nuh-uh!" She grabbed me by the back of my shirt. Who made conductors so unreasonable!

We struggled for a minute before I was saved by a kind stranger.

"Ah hem" A man coughed.

The conductor let me go.

A man with salt and pepper hair and kind blue eyes walked towards us from the bathroom. He was wearing an old post office jacket over a blue shirt, with comfortable looking work pants and sneakers.

He flashed two tickets at the conductor and then took me by the shoulder walking back to my seat.

She huffed and walked on down towards the other cars.

"Thanks man you're a lifesaver!" I said.

"No problem cousin!"

My head snapped back towards him. What the heck.

"I think you've got the wrong guy," I chuckled nervously, "I don't have any cousins."

The man laughed, "Oh young Perseus, you couldn't be more wrong!"

I narrowed my eyes, he must be like Thetis, why does everyone know my name? And it's Percy not Perseus, that sounds weird.

"I go by many names, but you would know me by Mercury. God of messengers, running, thievery, traveling, etcetera etcetera."

He extended his hand to me and we shook.

"So you know my father?" I asked.

"Of course! Me and Old Seabeard go way back. He sent me here to talk to you."

That made me kind of angry, why couldn't my dad just come here himself? Why couldn't he have saved my mom?

Mercury must have read this on my face, because his smile became softer, more understanding.

"I suppose no one has really given you the rundown on how this works have they?"

I shook my head.

"Well Perseus-"

"Call me Percy," I snapped.

He gave me a good natured smile, "Well Percy, us gods generally try to stay out of the mortal world and keep our meddling to a minimum. There are times in the past where we have been more involved, and the consequences of our actions are rather catastrophic… especially when we begin to, butt heads so to say."

"How would saving my mom have been a problem?"

Mercury looked at me with sympathy, "Well it seems you've cut to the heart of the problem right there."

Huh?

"Your father couldn't save your mother because Jupiter, the king of the gods, wanted the both of you dead."

"What! well he saved me didn't he? And why would Jupiter want us dead what's his prob-"

Mercury cut me off with a look, suddenly I felt his power next to me and was very aware I was speaking with a god.

"But that's where you're wrong kid, your father didn't save you, you saved yourself. In your anger you caused the ocean to carry you away. As for this business with Jupiter, Olympus has been thrown into turmoil, a thief has stolen Jupiters greatest weapon. The master bolt."

I stared at him.

Mercury put a hand on my shoulder, "And that my boy is where you fit into this puzzle. Jupiter suspects that either your father or your uncle Pluto has orchestrated this theft in an attempt to weaken him so that his place as king of the gods can be usurped."

"Well if father wants to fight Jupiter, why wouldn't he save my mom? If they are going to fight anyway, why would he care about angering Jupiter by doing that?"

Not my most eloquent moment but I think I got the point across.

Mercury smiled, "Excellent question, and the answer is that Neptune did not steal the master bolt. Most of us gods are sure of that."

"With the exception of one meddlesome know it all bit-" He muttered under his breath.

"However," he continued, "Jupiter believes that Neptune has stolen it, he sees him as the closest to him in power. Jupiter also believes that Neptune sent you to steal it for him. So naturally Jupiter wants you dead, and expects the bolt back by the summer solstice. If that doesn't happen things will get ugly."

"If he's so powerful why would dad need me to steal it?" I asked.

"It ties into the rule I told you before about the gods not meddling. When we want something done we act through our chosen mortal heroes, typically demigods. We talk with them, they go on a quest, and we are able to exert influence in areas where we would otherwise be forbidden to meddle. You were in New York during the winter solstice when it was stolen, Mount Olympus is in New York atop the empire state building. Pluto has no demigods that we know of, so in Jupiter's eyes you and your father are the most likely suspects."

"Well I don't have it," I said, "can you tell Jupiter that?"

Mercury chuckled, "When Jupiter sets his mind on something, there is no changing it."

That sunk in for a moment. I was so screwed.

"Well it's not like I've got much to live for anyways, so Jupiter may as well just smite me now and get it over with."

Lightning smashed into a building just outside the train car.

Mercury shot up and beseeched the ceiling, "Father, he doesn't mean it!"

I did a little bit.

He sat back down next to me and said, "Look kid, I know you're hurting right now with your mom dying. But if you are so set on dying you may as well use your last days trying to make things right. If Jupiter and Neptune start fighting it could be the end of civilization as we know it, at least here in America."

Then he gave me my quest, "Your father, Vulcan, Apollo, Ceres, Mars and I all believe that Pluto has stolen the master bolt. You must go to the underworld and steal it back from him. Apollo believes that you might be able to find a prophecy to guide your way in Indianapolis. He says there will be a cave under the city with an oracle, and that you may find some friends there who can point you in the right direction."

This sounded ridiculous, but I needed something to focus on after all that had happened.

"Ok I'll do it, I'm your guy."

Mercury grinned, "Fantastic!"

He got up, I got up too.

He put his hands on both my shoulders and said, "You know Percy, you truly are your fathers son. I can see it in your face, I can feel the power in you. You are capable of great things, Percy Jackson."

I smiled, it's nice to get a compliment here and there.

Then he handed me a backpack full of traveling essentials. A hoodie, a train ticket to Indianapolis, a poncho, a blanket, a knife of some metal called Imperial Gold which apparently could kill monsters effectively, some food called ambrosia and nectar which could heal demigods (or make them spontaneously combust), a stack of golden coins, and some cash.

Mercury gave me a firm handshake, wished me good luck, and disappeared with a gust of wind.