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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐎 𝐈𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃.
just as leo had finished his modification on the ship, a big storm goddess came and almost destroyed everything. theo did his best to help with the modifications, but most of his time was taken up with trying to figure out how calypso's crystal fit in the astrolabe.
over the course of three long days, leo finally got the ship more or less back to working order just as they made port at the island of mykonos, which probably meant it was time for them to get bashed to pieces again.
percy and riley went ashore to scout, an idea which was happily received by everyone.
theo was working with his spellbook, hoping to create a spell to help with his astrolabe problem when riley knocked on the door.
"we got gelato!"
instantly, theo's day got better. the whole crew sat on deck, without a storm or a monster attack to worry about for the first time in days, and ate ice cream. well, except for frank, who was lactose intolerant. he got an apple.
the day was hot and windy. the sea glittered with chop, but riley had managed to fix the stabilizers the day before.
curving off to their starboard side was the town of mykonos — a collection of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors.
"we saw these pelicans walking around town," percy reported. "like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars. it was funny."
"it was horrible," riley shivered.
hazel frowned. "monsters in disguise?"
"no," percy said, laughing, "just regular old pelicans. they're the town mascots or something. riley was just creeped out by how they looked."
riley rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. "there's a 'little italy' section of town. that's why the gelato is so good."
"europe is messed up," leo shook his head. "first we go to rome for spanish steps. then we go to greece for italian ice cream."
as august first got closer, only forty-eight hours left, the entire crew seemed to get more and more upbeat. or maybe not upbeat, but everyone seemed to be pulling together. as if this were the final lap — everything they'd planned for was coming to a close, one way or another.
piper set down her ice-cream cup. "so, the island of delos is right across the harbour. artemis and apollo's home turf. who's going?"
"i'm going with theo," leo said immediately.
everybody stared at him.
theo was about to protest, but leo gave him a (partially) reassuring look. theo sighed, decided to stay silent.
he knew why leo was trying to come along. if there was any way out of this, leo was going to take it.
"what?" leo demanded, looking back at the rest of the crew. "i'm diplomatic and stuff. at least when theo's around. frank and hazel volunteered to back me up."
"we did?" frank lowered his half-eaten apple. "i mean... sure we did."
hazel narrowed her eyes, "leo did you have a dream about this or something?"
"yes," leo blurted. "well... no. not exactly. but... you got to trust me on this, guys. i need to talk to apollo and artemis. i've got an idea i need to bounce off them."
theo bit his cheek, trying to stay silent. he knew exactly what the idea was. it was his own idea to begin with.
riley studied theo's reaction, picking up on more than he would've liked her too.
despite sensing his mixed emotions, she nodded. "if leo has an idea, and if he wants theo, frank, and hazel with him, we need to trust him."
leo smiled, though even theo could sense the guilt laying behind it, "thanks, dudette."
"don't ever call me that again, fledgeling,"
"i thought i outgrew that nickname," he complained.
"not yet," she told him. "not yet."
percy shrugged. "okay. but a word of advice: when you see apollo, don't mention haiku."
theo paled, remembering our previous encounters with the god.
hazel knitted her eyebrows. "why not? isn't he the god of poetry?"
"just trust me."
"got it," leo rose to his feet. "and, guys, if they have a souvenir shop on delos, i'm totally bringing you back some apollo and artemis bobbleheads!"
apollo didn't seem to be in the mood for haiku. he wasn't selling bobbleheads, either.
frank turned into a giant eagle to fly to delos, hazel rode on arion's back, while leo and theo teleported using theo's magic.
they found the island deserted, maybe because the seas were too choppy for the tourist boats. the windswept hills were barren except for rocks, grass and wildflowers — and, of course, a bunch of crumbling temples. the rubble was probably very impressive, but theo had seen enough of that to last a lifetime.
they walked down an avenue lined with white stone lions, the faces weathered almost featureless.
"it's eerie," hazel said.
"you sense any ghosts?" theo asked.
she shook her head. "the lack of ghosts is eerie. back in ancient times, delos was sacred ground. no mortal was allowed to be born here or die here. there are literally no mortal spirits on this whole island."
"cool with me," leo said. "does that mean nobody's allowed to kill us here?"
"probably not," theo told him.
hazel stopped at the summit of a low hill. "look. down there."
below them, the hillside had been carved into an amphitheatre. scrubby plants sprouted between the rows of stone benches, so it looked like a concert for thorn bushes. down at the bottom, sitting on a block of stone in the middle of the stage, the god apollo hunched over a ukulele, plucking out a mournful tune.
he looked the way he did back on olympus, after the battle of manhattan.
he looked about seventeen, with curly blond hair and a perfect tan. he wore tattered jeans, a black t-shirt and a white linen jacket with glittering rhinestone lapels.
if he'd been wearing almost anything else, theo might've mistaken him for luke castellan.
sitting in the front row was a young girl of about thirteen, wearing black leggings and a silver tunic, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. she was whittling on a long piece of wood — making a bow.
"those are the gods?" frank asked. "they don't look like twins."
"i mean, if you're a god, you get to choose what you look like," theo noted. "and if you had a twin, you'd—"
"—choose to look like anything but them," frank finished. "yeah. so, what's the plan?"
"don't shoot!" yelled leo.
theo sighed heavily, following his boyfriend as he raised his arms and headed down to the stage. neither god looked surprised to see them. apollo sighed and went back to playing his ukulele.
when they got to the front row, artemis muttered, "there you are. we were beginning to wonder."
theo felt leo's energy deflate. he stepped forward, decided to do the talking.
"so you were expecting us?" he asked.
"we were expecting to be found, bothered and tormented," apollo corrected. "we didn't know by whom. can you not leave us to our misery?"
"not really," leo muttered under his breath.
"you know they can't, brother," artemis chided, ignoring leo. "they require our help with their quest, even if the odds are hopeless."
"you two are full of good cheer," leo said. "why are you hiding out here anyway? shouldn't you be... i dunno, fighting giants or something?"
the only reason theo didn't kick him was because the glare artemis sent his way was more powerful.
"delos is our birthplace," said the goddess. "here, we are unaffected by the greek–roman schism. believe me, leo valdez, if i could, i would be with my hunters, facing our old enemy orion. unfortunately, if i stepped off this island, i would become incapacitated with pain. all i can do is watch helplessly while orion slaughters my followers. many gave their lives to protect your friends and that accursed athena statue."
"nico," theo breathed out, forgetting about fighting with the little rascal in that moment. "he's all right?"
apollo sobbed over his ukulele. "none of us are all right, boy! gaia is rising!"
artemis glared at apollo. "theodore badeaux, your nephew, hazel levesque, your brother, is still alive. he is a brave fighter, much like his mother. i wish i could say the same for my brother."
"you wrong me!" apollo wailed. "i was misled by gaia and that horrible roman child!"
frank cleared his throat. "uh, lord apollo, you mean octavian?"
"do not speak his name!" apollo strummed a minor chord. "oh, frank zhang, if only you were my child. i heard your prayers, you know, all those weeks you wanted to be claimed. but alas! mars gets all the good ones. i get... that creature as my descendant. he filled my head with compliments. he told me of the great temples he would build in my honour."
artemis snorted. "you are easily flattered, brother."
"because i have so many amazing qualities to praise! octavian said he wanted to make the romans strong again. i said fine! i gave him my blessing."
"as i recall," said artemis, "he also promised to make you the most important god of the legion, above even zeus."
"well, who was i to argue with an offer like that? does zeus have a perfect tan? can he play the ukulele? i think not! but i never thought octavian would start a war! gaia must have been clouding my thoughts, whispering in my ear."
"so fix it," leo said. "tell octavian to stand down. or, you know, shoot him with one of your arrows. that would be fine, too."
"i cannot!" apollo wailed. "look!"
his ukulele turned into a bow. he aimed at the sky and shot. the golden arrow sailed about two hundred feet, then disintegrated into smoke.
"to shoot my bow, i would have to step off delos," apollo cried. "then i would be incapacitated, or zeus would strike me down. father never liked me. he hasn't trusted me for millennia!"
"well," artemis said, "to be fair, there was that time you conspired with hera to overthrow him."
"that was a misunderstanding!"
"and you killed some of zeus's cyclopes."
"i had a good reason for that! at any rate, now zeus blames me for everything — octavian's schemes, the fall of delphi—"
"wait, wait, wait!" theo made a time-out gesture. "the fall of delphi? does that mean you can't tell the future anymore?"
apollo's bow turned back into a ukulele. he plucked a dramatic chord. "when the schism began between greek and roman, while i struggled with confusion, gaia took advantage! she raised my old enemy python, the great serpent, to repossess the delphic oracle. that horrible creature is now coiled in the ancient caverns, blocking the magic of prophecy. i am stuck here, so i can't even fight him."
"bummer," leo muttered, though his emotions were telling theo that he didn't really think so.
"bummer indeed!" apollo sighed. "zeus was already angry with me for appointing that new girl, rachel dare, as my oracle. zeus seems to think i hastened the war with gaia by doing so, since rachel issued the prophecy of nine as soon as i blessed her. but prophecy doesn't work that way! father just needed someone to blame. so of course he picked the handsomest, most talented, hopelessly awesome god."
artemis made a gagging gesture.
"oh, stop it, sister!" apollo said. "you're in trouble, too!"
"only because i stayed in touch with my hunters against zeus's wishes," artemis said. "but i can always charm father into forgiving me. he's never been able to stay mad at me. it's you i'm worried about."
"i'm worried about me, too!" apollo agreed. "we have to do something. we can't kill octavian. hmm. perhaps we should kill these demigods.
"whoa there, music man," leo raised his hands. theo resisted the urge to groan at the nickname. "we're on your side, remember? why would you kill us?"
"it might make me feel better!" apollo said. "i have to do something!"
"or," leo said quickly, "you could help us. see, we've got this plan..."
leo told them how hera had directed them to delos, and how nike had described the ingredients for the physician's cure.
"the physician's cure?" apollo stood and smashed his ukulele on the stones. "that's your plan?"
leo raised his hands. "hey, um, usually i'm all for smashing ukuleles, but—"
"i cannot help you!" apollo cried. "if i told you the secret of the physician's cure, zeus would never forgive me!"
"you're already in trouble," leo pointed out. "how could it get worse?"
"gods," this time theo closed his eyes, unable to help himself. he loved leo, he really did. but sometimes, he wanted to stuff his mouth with duct tape.
apollo glared at leo. "if you knew what my father is capable of, mortal, you would not ask. it would be simpler if i just smote you all. that might please zeus—"
"brother..." artemis said.
the twins locked eyes and had a silent argument. apparently artemis won. apollo heaved a sigh and kicked his broken ukulele across the stage.
artemis rose. "hazel levesque, frank zhang, come with me. there are things you should know about the twelfth legion. as for you two, theodore badeaux and leo valdez, apollo will hear you out. see if you can strike a deal. my brother always likes a good bargain."
frank and hazel gave the two a reassuring glance, then they followed Artemis up the steps of the amphitheatre and over the crest of the hill.
"well, theodore badeaux? leo valdez?" apollo folded his arms. his eyes glowed with golden light. "let us bargain, then. what can you offer that would convince me to help you rather than kill you?"
REY WRITES!
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