Quest of the Half Gods

Chapter 5: Απόλλων

Apollo dreamt of his father. Normally, Apollo hated dreaming of his father and basically anything that had to do with Zeus, but this was especially bad. 

The god stood chained by the neck and feet by a flaming brazier somewhere in the woods. He was alone. Apollo glared at the coward who had chosen himself over his family, condemning them all to death. Zeus looked around, his eyes widening when he saw Apollo.

"Son?" He asked, hope brimming in his eyes. Apollo recovered from the shock of being able to be seen very quickly. "Don't call me that!" He snapped. Zeus cowered away at his harsh tone. Apollo couldn't believe that this man, who shrank at the sound of his son's angry tone, used to be the king of the gods. He looked pathetic, standing there, nothing but self-pity in his expression. 

"I'm not your son." Apollo hissed, stepping forward. "You lost the right to call me that the moment you decided that your life was more important than the entire world. Actually," He thought for a moment, "You lost the right to call me your son thousands of years ago. I was just to blind to see it because I wanted you to be proud of me, but, don't worry about it Zeus, I can see clearly now." 

Zeus looked away, "You don't understand Apollo, if I die, the rest of the world goes with me. They'll remake it into something unimaginable." Apollo scoffed at his father's ignorance, "Do you really think that once they are ready they won't kill you? You're right! You are the one thing stopping them. They won't hesitate to do away with you when the time comes." Zeus met his son's eyes, "I've been biding my time so that you could save the world s-" He stopped, "Apollo." Apollo raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I can clearly see how you've been keeping them from killing you. They must be eating from the palm of your hand." Zeus shook his head, "I don't know how I have wronged you, Apollo." Disappointment dripped from his words.

Apollo's face grew hot, "Well maybe you can think about it while you sit here and rot Father." He spat. Zeus looked up, his face full of manic humor when Apollo's dream shifted. 

Apollo found himself standing in the Fields of Asphodel in the Underworld. He frowned, why am I here? He wondered. He looked around and saw a young man sitting in the field, his head in his hands. "I remembered everything, and I still couldn't find you." He said, shaking his head. Apollo's eyes widened in recognition. "Orpheus?" He asked. His son couldn't seem to hear him. Orpheus stood and wiped his eyes. He turned and began walking away but not before Apollo noticed what was strapped to his back. His lyre. Apollo thought. It's not working. He can't find Eurydice. He frowned. If he's in Asphodel, why can he remember things? Suddenly, the ground moved from under his feet and he felt himself being dragged toward the Palace of Hades. He stood in the dungeons, the cells around him full of his family members. He looked around in horror to see their faces, drawn and ghostly, all of them moaning in agony. He stepped closer to one of the cells when a ghostly hand reached through and grabbed his shirt. The terrifying face of Artemis appeared in front of his own and screamed, "ΒΟΗΘΗΣΤΕ ΜΑΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΑ!"

Apollo screamed and woke up, his entire body shaking in fear. He lept to his feet and looked around, his bow poised and ready to strike. "Dramatic." said a sarcastic voice. Apollo turned and relaxed his bow in relief. "I could've killed you, Meg!" He complained, putting away his weapon. She shrugged and got to her feet, "Doubt it." Apollo ignored her comment and tackled her in a hug. "You're real!" He said. She patted him on the back, "Yup." He pulled away and blushed as he slung his bow over his back. "I'm sorry you-" Meg held up a hand, "Don't even. Shut up." By force of habit, Apollo immediately shut up. "I'm not accepting apologies today, especially not from you." 

Apollo nodded and looked at the ground. "How long were we out here?" Meg shrugged, "Maybe an hour. I let you sleep." Apollo looked through the woods in the direction of the camp. "We have to go back don't we." Meg pressed her lips together and nodded, "Seems so. You can't hide forever Lester." He took a deep breath, "I know." Meg rolled her eyes, "It's hard to make fun of you when you look sad." She grumbled. She made a face like it was the most difficult thing in the world and offered him her hand. Apollo smiled at the gesture and took it, "Why thank you, Margaret, you're so loving." "Shut up." While Apollo didn't speak, he smiled at Meg to show his appreciation for his found little sister.

Meg guided them out of the forest and together they stood overlooking the cabins. "How's Nico?" Apollo asked, dreading her answer. "I don't know, I was busy being your therapist remember?" Meg said, rolling her eyes. Apollo glared at her. "How loud was Nico when- when he talked to me?" Meg glanced up at him, "If you're asking if anyone heard, the only ones close enough to hear it were Chiron and me. Everyone else just saw Nico start yelling." Apollo looked down, "Was he yelling at me?" Meg shook her head, "Well, kind of. At the world, and yeah, a couple of insults were hurled at you. Will got him under control after that. Everyone else just knows- they know about Galatea. Icarus told them." Apollo nodded. I owe Icarus an apology. He thought. I've dealt so many out, at this point I should call them Apollogies. He thought, no humor in his statement.

"I have to see Chiron." Apollo said, setting his sights on the Big House. Meg nodded, "Can I come?" Apollo thought for a moment. "No, I need you to find the counselors so I can tell them everything that has happened once I'm done with Chiron." Meg nodded again and set off. Apollo took a deep breath and crossed the lawn.

*************************************************

He stepped up to the door of the big, blue, house and hesitated, taking a deep breath before opening it. "Chiron?" He called out, poking his head through the door. The centaur walked cantered in and stopped when he saw Apollo. "Are you going to come all the way in?" He asked, gesturing to the empty house. Apollo cleared his throat and walked over the threshold. "Right." He said, fidgeting with his necklace. Chiron studied him, pity all over his face. "I-" Apollo held up his hand, "Please don't. I can't think about that right now." Chiron frowned, "Is it wise to compartmentalize in such a way?" Apollo looked out the window, "I don't know, but it's the only way I can get through this at the moment." Chiron set his jaw and nodded. 

"Why did you come to see me?" He asked. Apollo took a deep breath, "We're losing Chiron. We have been the entire time. There wasn't a single god that we could save! We even encountered some Norse demigods and weren't able to save them either. This entire quest has been a failure. I think- I think Galatea and I were destined to fail." Chiron shook his head, "So you're just going to give up?" Apollo hesitated, "I don't think I'm supposed to, even though that seems like the only option at this point. Chiron, Zeus is the only god left. The New Gods have him chained up and when they get the chance, they're going to kill him. There's no doubt about that." 

Chiron nodded slowly, "So we really have no chance this time." Apollo paused, "I- I don't know. I keep thinking about the original prophecy that Galatea and I followed. We were supposed to go back to the "route" to bring back the norm but I don't know where the route is! It said we were supposed to do this together!" He said. He stopped himself and took another calming breath. Chiron watched him carefully, "Have you ever considered, that Galatea may still be part of the equation?" 

Apollo looked up at this, "What do you mean? How is that possible?" Chiron raised an eyebrow, "Apollo, I know that death has never been your specialty, but you do know that when we die, we don't just stop existing. I don't know how Galatea could possibly help, but she isn't just gone, she's alive in the Underworld." "Of course, I know that I just-" Apollo stopped. He thought about his dream. Orpheus was lucid. He was looking for Eurydice. "I had a dream." He said, looking back at Chiron. "In it, I saw my son Orpheus. He was in the Fields of Asphodel but something was different. He knew who he was as if the curse of the Lethe had washed away. If that's true, then maybe- maybe Galatea is trying to do something to help in the Underworld." Chiron looked at Apollo, a flicker of hope in his eyes, "You and Galatea are still doing this together Apollo, just in two different worlds." 

Apollo recalled what Icarus had said: "If we defeat them, maybe we can get the door open." Apollo felt hope reborn inside of his own heart. It's not over. We can still do this.

He stepped up to the window and looked out at the campers emerging from their cabins for lunch. "We're gonna need an army."