Chapter Forty-One - Apollo Wallows
Posted: Wednesday 17th July 2024

After the Colossus was defeated, and my adrenaline waned, the shadow travelling caught up to me and I all but collapsed on a bunk in the Apollo cabin.

"I did tell you not to shadow travel," Will said, offering me an energy drink.

"It was an emergency!" I complained.

"Sleep it off," Will suggested.

I did just that, and took a long, dreamless, sleep.

*

When I awoke, it was early morning. I wondered if I had slept for a day or several. But I quietly pushed myself to my feet. Three Apollo campers were sleeping soundly in their bunks, but the fourth bunk, where Apollo should have been resting, was empty and unmade.

Quietly, I slipped out of the cabin and went out in search of Apollo.

I found him sat at the foot of the Athena Pathenos staring out at the camp. The only major destruction had been to the Dining Pavillion and the Demeter Cabin.

I sat down silently beside him.

"Welldone," I said, "you stopped the entire camp being destroyed."

"It was my fault in the first place," Apollo said. "I bought this danger down upon the camp."

"So?"

"So?" Apollo demanded, "so I put everyone here in danger for me!"

"That's what family does. Fight for each other," I said, "well, maybe not immortal families, but mortal families do."

"I should leave," Apollo said, "Meg is gone, I have no reason to remain here and continue putting all of you in danger."

"We want you here?" I suggested.

Apollo fell silent.

"I understand running away," I said, "I get it, if you want to go, go, heck I'll come with you if you want me. I won't stop you going, but you are wanted here."

We sat silently side by side, looking out over the camp. I half expected at any moment for Apollo to leave, but he didn't. The camp slowly came to life below us and before long, I spotted Percy and Rachel hiking up the hill towards us.

"I know what you're thinking," Rachel said when she stopped in front of us. "Don't do it."

"Can you read my mind Miss Dare?" Apollo asked.

"I don't need to, I know you Lord Apollo."

"Don't call me Lord," Apollo sighed, "I am just a mortal teen. I do not belong at this camp."

"I used to think that I didn't belong here either," Percy mused. He sat down next to Apollo on the other side to me.

"Me too," I added.

"It's not the same," Apollo said, "you humans, mortals, you change and grow and mature. Gods do not we are born as we are."

"You sure about that?" Percy raised an eyebrow, "you seem pretty different?"

Percy was right. All of my previous gripes with Apollo had seemed to fade away. He had shown me that he cared about demigods, he cared about his children greatly, he cared about Meg and most of all, him being weak had shown me that he cared about his own life.

"The other oracles must be found and secured. I cannot do that unless I leave Camp Halfblood." Apollo said.

"Then let's go," I said, "I'll help."

"I cannot risk anyone else's life!" Apollo declared, "least of all yours."

"You sound certain," Rachel said, "Did you get a prophecy from the grove?"

"I fear so," Apollo confessed. "I must leave camp, the Triumvirate means to possess all the ancient Oracles. I have to stop them. Once I have defeated the former emperors... only then will I be able to face my old enemy Python and free the Oracle of Delphi. After that... if I survive... perhaps Zeus will return me to Olympus."

"You know it's too dangerous to do all that alone right?" Rachel said.

"Listen to her," Percy added, "Chiron told me about Nero and this weird holding company of his."

"I appreciate the offer of assistance, but-"

"Whoa," Percy held up his hands, "Just to be clear, I'm not offering to go with you. I still have to finish my senior year, pass my DSTOMP and my SAT, and avoid getting killed by my girlfriend. But I'm sure we can find you some other helpers."

"I'll go," Rachel said.

Apollo shook his head, "My enemies would love to capture my priestess of Delphi. Besides I need you and Miranda Gardiner to stay here and study the Grove of Dodona. For now, it is our only source of prophecy. And since our communication problems have not gone away, learning to use the grove's power is all the more crucial."

"I'm coming," I said.

"Absolutley not," Apollo stated.

"You can't stop me," I said.

"You should stop yourself," Apollo said, "you have bigger things to worry about, like ensuring the health of our young god and staying away from Nyx."

"Easier said than done," I grumbled. But I saw that he had a point. Once the baby was born, I would be a loose cannon again, untrustworthy, at Nyx's command. It was better for both of us that I stay away from the now killable sun god.

"What about Meg?" Rachel asked. "You'll try and find her, won't you?"

"I will try," Apollo said, "but she doesn't want to be found. She's under the influence of her stepfather."

Percy was preoccupied, tracing lines across the Athena Pathenos' big toe, "I've lost too many people to bad influence: Ethan Nalamaura, Luke Castellan... we almost lost Nico too... and... uh Ariadne occasionally..."

I laughed, he was right of course.

Percy shook his head, "No, no more. You can't give up on Meg. You guys are bound together, she's one of the good guys."

"I've known many of the good guys." mused Apollo, "Most of them got turned into beasts, or statues- or trees..." he trailed off.

"Things can turn out differently," Rachel said, putting her hand on Apollo's, "thats the nice thing about being human, we only get one life, but we can choose what kind of story it will be."

"I hope you're right," Apollo said eventually.

Rachel patted him lightly, "tell us about the prophecy."

Apollo sighed, "There once was a god named Apollo,

Who plunged in a cave blue and hollow

Upon a three-seater

The bronze fire eater

Was forced death and madness to swallow."

"A limerick?" Rachel almost laughed, but stopped herself.

"I know!" Apollo lamented, "I'm doomed!"

"Wait," Percy's eyes were glittering, "Those lines... do they mean what I think they do?"

"Well I believe the cave refers to-"

"No, the other lines." Percy said, "Three-seater, bronze fire eater, yadda, yadda."

"Oh I have no idea about those."

"Harley's beacon!" Percy grinned, "He said you gave it an adjustment? I guess that did the trick! Where there any other lines? Like except from the limerick?"

I was no sure where Percy's mind was, but he seemed excited so I could only assume that it was a good thing.

"Several," Apollo admitted, "just bits and pieces. I didn't understand. The fall of the sun; the final verse. Something about Indiana, banana. Happiness approaches. Something about pages burning."

Percy slapped his knees, his excitement trickling out

"There you go!" He declared. "Happiness approaches. Happy is a name- well the english version anyway." Percy jumped to his feet and scanned the sky. My mind finally caught up to him as he spotted something and laughed, "Yep. Apollo, your escort is on the way."