Quest of the Half Gods

Chapter 14: Απόλλων

Apollo didn't know what brought him from the brink of insanity back to the real world, but he could almost guarantee that it was not Nico Di Angelo, who had just slapped him very hard across the face. "Come back to me, Apollo!" He yelled, "We don't have time for this right now!" Apollo shook his head to clear the humming, feeling a tingling sensation in the tattoo on his forearm that marked him as a demigod. Along with that, he felt strangely aware of the leather bracelet that hung from his wrist.

He grasped Nico's outstretched hand and got to his feet. "I'm good now." He said as if testing himself. Nico raised an eyebrow, "You sure?" Nico asked. Apollo nodded, "Yeah, I...I don't know what pulled me out, but something cleared my mind." He paused and turned around, "Um, Nico?" The boy stood at his side, "Yeah?" "Why did the fighting stop?" Nico's eyes widened as if he had just realized the silence and looked around.

Indeed, the army of the dead seemed frozen, their demigod opponents equally confused. Apollo tried to see what they were looking at when suddenly, he felt it.

A warm breeze blew through their battlefield, twisting around him like an old friend. He didn't know what had caused it, but whatever bliss he felt from the warmth was short-lived. Prometheus shouted from his platform. "Apollo!" His amplified voice shook the ground. Apollo turned to the titan, his eyes widening. "Be my first witness!" Prometheus yelled as he swung his sword, killing the king of the gods.

"NO!" Apollo screamed. They had failed. The last god was dead. So why were they all still there? Apollo looked around in confusion, Prometheus obviously sharing his sentiment. What's going on? He thought.

Nico gasped and Apollo looked down at the ground, following his gaze. Green grass and flowers broke through the concrete they stood on, spreading outward until Times Square became a beautiful, lush, meadow.

Apollo couldn't believe his eyes, the sight before him was so beautiful, he couldn't help but weep. "Persephone!" He gasped, looking up at Nico. Nico shook his head in shock, "But, how?" The thought came instantly to his brain. "Galatea." He breathed, scared to believe it.

Prometheus saw something in the distance, and his face contorted in rage. "New Gods, attack!" He screamed. Then, once again, all Hades broke loose.

Apollo and Nico were immediately surrounded by the unkillable lares, so it was a big shock to Apollo when he succeeded in killing one. Nico laughed, in awe, "It's Hades! By the gods, she did it!" Sure enough, Apollo looked up to see ten Olympian gods fighting their way through the crowd. But something was wrong. Galatea wasn't with them. Where is she? He thought.

There was no time to figure out where she was. The New Gods surged forward at the sight of the Olympians and quickly overtook the demigods. Apollo started forward when a large got him in a chokehold and pulled him to the ground. He fought against him as another readied a knife. This is it. Apollo thought. I'm going to die. Just as he thought that a hunting knife protruded from the lare's neck and he choked to death on his own ghostly blood. The same fate quickly met the ghost who held him down.

Apollo stumbled to thank his savior, his eyes widening at the girl who had saved him. "Artemis?" He asked, in awe. His sister turned around and frowned at him amongst the chaos of the fight. "Who are you?" Apollo realized that Artemis had only ever seen him in his mortal form once and he'd made several changes to that form when he took it on of his own accord. "It's me! Apollo!" He said as he ran towards her, throwing his arms around her. Realization crossed his sister's face and she hugged him back tightly.

She pulled back and held him at arm's length. "Why on earth do you look like this? You're still a god aren't you?" Apollo shook his head, "Well, I mean, I was before but I'm not now. Galatea turned me into a demigod after we were issued a quest. She also turned herself into a demigod so neither of us was able to become a god again. I-I chose to look like this when I last left my palace because I feel the most comfortable this way." He said, irritated by how nervous he sounded.

Artemis shook her head, "You are so strange, brother." She said as she pulled her bow. Apollo grinned and drew his own, "Right back at you Artie." His sister scowled at him as together, the twin archers advanced on the enemy army.

Together they took down a significant part of the army, the rest of the gods fighting alongside the demigods to take out the rest. Apollo finally got up the courage to ask, "Where's Galatea?" Artemis looked down. "She was with us when we got here, but she disappeared as soon as we rounded the corner to Times Square." Apollo was about to ask what this meant when he saw an explosion of lightning coming from across the street.

The cloud of monster dust surrounding the explosion cleared and Apollo couldn't believe his eyes. "Jason?" He asked, unable to grasp that his brother was actually there. The son of Jupiter twirled around, his framed eyes landing on Apollo, a bright smile spreading across his face as he ran over.

"Apollo!" He said, hugging his brother. Apollo stepped back, his brain struggling to process that he had just been reunited with both of his dead siblings in a matter of moments. "How- how are you here right now?" Apollo asked in shock. Jason shrugged, "Galatea found me in the Underworld and I helped her save the gods. She asked if I wanted to come and I agreed. I knew that my work as a hero wasn't over yet." Apollo shook his head and hugged Jason again, happiness overflowing from him. Still, the question kept nagging at his brain. Why isn't Galatea here?

Suddenly, from his perch, Prometheus screamed in rage as Poseidon and Hades fought against him. "Know your place Prometheus!" Poseidon yelled. Apollo forced himself to look away from the fight, only to realize that all of the New Gods were dead, Prometheus the last to go. "You can't kill me!" Prometheus shrieked, "I am immortal!" Hades scoffed as he pushed the titan to the ground, his stygian iron sword pressed against Prometheus' heart. "You've more than proven that to be incorrect." He stabbed downward and the titan glowed purple and vanished.

The gods and their children stood in silence, each unsure if what had just happened was over. Finally, Apollo felt the need to break the silence, "Is he-" "Dead?" Hades asked, "No. I sent him to the dungeons of my palace. I will toss him into Chaos when I return."

Nico stepped forward to his father's side before his eyes found Jason. A series of emotions crossed the son of Hades' face before he finally settled on joy and ran forward to hug him. "You're actually here." He said as if to himself. Jason nodded, "Returned from the dead my friend." The Olympians stepped forward and turned to Apollo. "I see you've fallen as a god again," Poseidon said. Apollo shrugged, "Not on purpose this time. It was necessary for my quest." Hera eyed her stepson up and down, disdain evident on her face but, was that also admiration?

"What will happen to Zeus?" Apollo asked Hades. The god of death shrugged, "I think he needs a moment to sit in the dungeons to think over his actions before we restore him to godhood." Apollo nodded. He looked and saw that the gods had dispersed and were talking among themselves along with the demigods and had left Apollo and Hades standing alone.

"What..." Apollo started. He took a deep breath and started again, "What happened to Galatea?" He asked, the fear in his voice obvious. A sad expression passed over Hades' face. "She returned to the Underworld when we left the Door of Orpheus. It was my own fault. I placed restrictions upon the Underworld after what happened in the war with Gaea. The only exception was Jason as his work was unfinished here. Galatea's quest is over. She completed her part when she led us out of the Underworld. She's dead Apollo." He said, an edge of pity in his voice.

Apollo stared at the ground, "Can't you bring her back to life?" He asked. Hades shook his head, " Galatea's been through enough. The choice of whether she wants to come back or not is her own. However I fear that there is nothing here for her. I don't see why she would want to come back."

Apollo fought the tears that began welling in his eyes and nodded. "No, I don't see why she would either."