Chapter Text
Percy led Apollo to his dad’s quarters and then opened the door he knew led to the sea. He held tightly to the sun god’s hand and dived through. They ended up in the ocean, not far from the island Percy had visited last time. Apollo spluttered beside him.
“A little warning next time.” He complained. Percy only smirked.
“Come on. We’re almost there.” He said. Together they swam to the sandy beach.
“Seriously?” Apollo complained, drying himself off with a thought, grateful to have his powers here.
“We needed somewhere we wouldn’t be distrubed.” Percy told him. Apollo swallowed nervously but nodded his agreement. This wasn’t something they wanted anyone else walking in on.
“So where do you want to start?” The sun god asked softly. Percy looked at him and then glanced away and stared out to sea for several moments. He thought about his dad’s words. It wasn’t his place to forgive Apollo but to see if he was truly regretful and to decide if he really could change.
“I guess the biggest question is why? Hal did something good. He saved a young girl’s life and you cursed him. Not only that but you cursed him to lure other people to their deaths.” Percy turned to look at him and his eyes were hard with anger. Apollo grimaced and took a few moments to collect his thoughts.
“I...Hal was never supposed to be born with the power of prophecy. I don’t know why he was. I warned him not to use it. Zeus was growing more paranoid by the day. Once he used his powers and interfered with someone’s fate I knew I had to step in before father did.” Apollo sighed.
“Ok. I understand that.” Percy nodded. “But why would you curse him to lure other demigods to their deaths? That’s the part I don’t get. Hal said it was his reminder that his gift doomed others but he had saved that girl. Besides, it wasn’t his gift that doomed people, it was those creatures using his voice.”
“I know.” Apollo heaved another sigh. “There is no good reason I can give you, Percy. Anything I say will sound like some useless excuse. I know now I was wrong but I’ve never really been known for thinking things through. I regret what I did. Honestly. It pains me to think of how many deaths Hal, and therefore I, am responsible for. How many of my own children did I doom through this curse?” Apollo’s voice broke as he let out a sob. Percy closed his eyes.
“Can you reverse it? In this time?” Percy asked.
“No.” Apollo said. “If I reverse it now, Thalia and Luke will never meet him. Thalia will never gain Aegis.”
“What if you lifted the curse and left Aegis there for Thalia to collect later on?”
“It’s not that simple.” Apollo told him. “Magical items that powerful have to be fought for. That shield has saved your life at least once, not to mention the times it has saved Thalia, Luke and Annabeth. No. Things need to play out as they did. Hal needs to be freed and to find his own courage once more. What I can do is watch over and make sure no other demigods or innocent mortals are lured to their deaths until then.” Apollo promised.
“Won’t Hal die though? I thought he needed the provisions from his victims to survive.” Percy pointed out.
“I can provide what he needs until the time is right.”
“Ok.” Percy nodded. Then he chewed his lip. Well, there was the regret he had wanted. Apollo hadn’t tried to make excuses or explain it away.
“What else is bothering you?” Apollo asked after a few moments of silence. They might as well get it all out of the way now. Percy didn’t respond for a little while and the sun god’s nerves grew with every second of silence.
“I guess my biggest issue is that this was so recent. I knew you were kind of cruel in the stories and stuff but this...the events of that story happened in my lifetime. Even if you cursed Hal before I was born, he was still luring demigods to their death when I was alive.” Percy frowned. “I guess, I had hoped that side of you had stayed in the old stories.” Apollo winced.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Percy. I made a mistake. I know that and I do regret it. I can’t promise I will never do something stupid again, nobody can. I have a temper and I’m well aware of that. All I can say is that you’ve changed my perspective. This whole reading experience has. I never understood what it was like being a demigod before now. I didn’t know how hard it was and you will never know how much I admire you for how strong you are.” Apollo looked at him earnestly. “Hearing things from a mortal’s perspective and getting to know you, and my kids, has been so eye opening. My world has been thrown upside down. You, Percy Jackson, are a living miracle.”
“I’m just me.” Percy protested.
“And that’s all you need to be.” Apollo told him. “By being yourself, you’ve questioned everything we thought we knew, all the rules that governed our lives and even made us believe in things we never thought possible before. It is an honour to have known you, let alone dated you.”
“Apollo…” Percy’s expression was somewhere between embarrassed and pleased. “You were always one of my favourite gods, you know.”
“Obviously. Glad to know you have some taste.” Apollo smirked. Percy grinned back and studied the god in front of him. He had expressed regret and Percy could tell he was sincere.
“Do you really think you can change after all this time?” He asked, voice serious but his nerves were jangling. Apollo looked at him, his expression neutral.
“All I can say is, this experience has opened my eyes. And that you make me want to be a better god. You have faith that we can change and I want to live up to your expectations.” Apollo told him. “Not to mention I have full confidence that if I do something stupid you will be the first one to tell me.” Percy smirked at this.
“You bet.” He nodded. Apollo laughed.
“I will always listen to your opinions. I can tell your instincts are usually spot on. I’m not perfect, very damn close, but not quite. But I want to make this work.” Percy smiled at this. He believed every word Apollo said. Besides, the god had apologised and expressed regret. What more could Percy actually ask from him. Whether that would hold over time, who knew? Certainly not him but he trusted that Apollo would listen to him if he voiced a disagreement. Maybe this could work. Continuing to hold this over him would only hurt them both. But then he voiced the biggest elephant in the room.
“What about immortality?”
“Obviously I would want you to eventually become immortal.” Apollo admitted. Percy nodded. At least he hadn’t lied. “But I would want you to live first. You’re not even sixteen yet and every moment of your life since you found out you were a demigod has been overshadowed by this prophecy.” The sun god continued. “You need to go and experience the world. Yes, I want to be there with you but if you did agree to become immortal then you would need to be sure. It’s not a choice to take on lightly and I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“Definitely not.” Percy agreed. He was grateful that Apollo wasn’t just trying to convince him to accept immortality. Honestly he had been expecting a spiel about how great it was and how he wouldn’t regret it.
“I adore you, Perseus Jackson and I want you to have everything you have ever dreamed of.” Apollo stated firmly. “And I will endeavour to ensure you get to enjoy life to its fullest. Whether that’s with me or not.”
“I…” The words stuck in Percy’s mouth. Apollo’s declaration had left him tongue tied. “I appreciate that.” He managed.
“I will say that if you don’t choose me, I will still fight for you every day because you are worth it.” The sun god added intently. “I’m not one to give in gracefully and bow out to be the better man. I fight for what I want and I want you to be mine.” Percy blinked at the sudden change in intensity. It left him breathless.
“I don’t know how I feel about immortality.” He admitted. “I don’t want to have to watch all my friends age and die, not to mention my mom and Paul. Plus, forever is a very long time.”
“Yeah. It is.” Apollo agreed. “But there is no rush.”
“A mortal lifetime is the blink of an eye to a god.” Percy pointed out.
“But it’s an entire lifetime to you. You have a very long time to make a decision and I shall simply wait with baited breath every second until you choose.” Apollo shrugged. “Like you said, it’s not that long in comparison to my lifetime so far.” Percy really wasn’t sure how to take that.
Well, so far, Apollo had expressed true regret for what he had done to Hal, any by extension the other demigods who had died because of his stupid curse. Percy knew there wasn’t much the god could do about it now except make sure nobody else died until Thalia arrived to claim her shield which he had said he would do. There wasn’t much else he could ask from Apollo. He had also explained that it wasn’t only Percy who had made him change but reading things from a demigod’s perspective. Which made sense. How would they know what a mortal’s life was like unless they heard about it first hand. Yes, they should be better parents and pay attention to their kid’s lives but that wasn’t just Apollo.
The idea of living forever terrified Percy. He had always thought of immortality as a curse. Still, Thalia was going to live forever. He simply couldn’t imagine her being killed in battle. Thalia would die when she was good and ready and not a second before. Still to never grow old while his mom, Paul, Annabeth and Rachel all died? The thought was unbearable. Apollo wasn’t asking him to make a decision now, in fact he was encouraging him not to, but Percy couldn’t help but feel like he had to. What if he continued this with Apollo and then chose not to have immortal life? How would the god cope?
“You’re thinking too hard.” Apollo told him. Percy explained what he was thinking.
“If that is what happens then I will mourn your passing.” The sun god stated. “But I will lo...care for you for the whole of your mortal life and then I shall do what I must.” Apollo cut himself off before he could say the ‘L’ word. He knew Percy wasn’t ready for that. Despite their much shorter life spans, mortals fell in love much more slowly than immortals did. Something that had always puzzled Apollo.
“No bringing me back or anything like that?”
“No.” Apollo promised. “I will abide by your choice no matter how much I hate it.” Percy nodded, trying to show how much that meant to him.
“I’m not you, I can’t see the future but I still want to see where this goes.” Percy told him slowly. Apollo’s smile was widening to dangerous proportions. “I care about you.”
“As I care for you.” Apollo replied easily. Percy moved forwards and embraced him, resting his head on Apollo’s shoulder. The sun god wrapped his arms around him tightly and inhaled the scent of the sea greedily. He could stay here forever. Apollo pressed a kiss to Percy’s hair. They stayed like that for a long time. Enjoying the peace and quiet as well as each other’s company. Eventually Percy pulled back.
“We should get back soon. Or dad will wonder what is going on.”
“Let him wonder.” Apollo smirked as he bent to capture Percy’s lips in a kiss. He could feel the demigod smiling against him as he kissed him back.
“Do you really want him walking in on us making out?” Percy asked once he had leant back to catch his breath. Apollo grimaced.
“No.” He sighed.
“Besides, I’m supposed to be having training on how to control my powers.”
“I’m not sure you need that, having heard how well you control them already. I seriously can’t believe you managed to control the Lethe at all, let alone when you were that injured.” Apollo leant down and kissed the shoulder that had been injured through his blue t-shirt. “You are incredible.
“I did what needed to be done.”
“And yet nobody else could have done that.” Apollo argued. “How about I give you a guitar lesson?”
“That sounds amazing.” Percy grinned. “But we need to go back because my guitar is in my room on Olympus.”
“You forget.” Apollo smirked as he snapped his fingers, making the lyre shaped guitar appear in front of them. “I have my powers here.”
“Yeah. I’m kind of used to you not having them now.” Percy admitted. He picked up the guitar.
“What’s your favourite song?” Apollo asked. Percy told him, going a bit red in the face. He knew Thalia at the very least would never let him live it down. Thankfully Apollo just smiled and began to teach him how to play it on the guitar. The sun god sat them both down on a log, himself sitting with Percy in between his legs. From there he wrapped his arms around the demigod and moved his fingers into the correct places.
He did send a telepathic message to Poseidon, letting him know where they were and what was going on. He knew the sea god would be out for his blood if he didn’t considering how long they had been gone already. He received a feeling of acceptance in return and that made the sun god smile. At least his uncle supported him and Percy being together. He knew Artemis did too.
They spent another few hours together, playing the guitar, joking around and swimming in the sea. Eventually they knew they had to return. Apollo needed to speak with Will and Michael. Percy wasn’t the only person who was owed an explanation. Before they left, Apollo pulled him in for one last underwater kiss and then Percy propelled them back through the door that had appeared. They landed in Poseidon’s quarters, right in front of a bemused sea god and his wife.
“Sorry.” Percy said, even though he was smiling. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“That’s quite alright. I’m glad you remembered how to get back.” His dad told him.
“Well, I’d best go.” Apollo said awkwardly. Poseidon simply nodded while Percy smiled at him.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Of course.” The sun god nodded and took his leave. Once he was gone, Percy shot out of the room after him, partly wanting to get to the dining room and partly wanting to avoid any awkward question from his dad.
In the dining hall he ran into Beckendorf and Silena. They motioned him to come and sit with them.
“Hey, Percy.” Silena smiled.
“Hey Silena, Beckendorf.”
“No more delays now. Onto the future.” Beckendorf stated. Percy nodded. He looked at Silena grimly.
“Are you ready for them to potentially find out?” He asked her gently. She grimaced.
“I’ll never be ready.” She stated. “Do you think I should tell them before we start reading?” Percy and Beckendorf considered this.
“It might be worth telling all the guys from Camp Half Blood at the very least.” Beckendorf said eventually. “They will believe that you’ve changed and then they will back you up when Zeus gets mad if they find out in the book.” Silena nodded.
“I’ll grab them all after dinner.” Beckendorf hugged her while Percy clapped her on the arm.
*************************
Connor and Travis were sitting in a deserted corner of the gardens, plotting several pranks for when they got home again when Connor spotted Annabeth come walking outside with Thalia and Grover. Then he became aware that Travis had said something.
“What was that?” He asked.
“You were staring.” Travis looked at him curiously. “Thalia’s off limits and I doubt you were staring at Grover so that leaves…” Travis trailed off, gaping at him. Connor went red and glared at his brother. “You like Annabeth?”
“Maybe.” Connor muttered. Travis couldn’t have failed to notice that his brother had been spending more time with Annabeth recently but he hadn’t realised that Connor actually had a huge crush on her.
“Well, we know Percy isn’t in the competition anymore.” Travis tried to cheer him up.
“I know but Luke is.” Connor pointed out grimly. Travis pulled a face. That did make things more difficult.
“Well Luke is a douche who has broken several promises and tried to kill her several times. Despite the spider in her bed prank, I’d say you have an advantage.” Travis clapped him on the shoulder. Connor smiled.
“Thanks, T.”
“Anytime.”
As they were talking Katie made her way over along with Clarisse and Chris.
“Fancy playing some cards or something?” Chris asked the Stolls.
“Sure.” They readily agreed and the little group settled down to play some card games. Before they could begin someone else came over.
“Mind if I join in?” Hermes asked.
“Of course not.” Chris said quickly. The god sat down between Connor and Chris and the games began.
**************************
“Hey.” Leo found Jason in the dining room, sitting with Piper.
“Hey repair boy.” Piper smiled at him. “We haven’t seen much of you recently.”
“I’ve been working on some mini chariots for races with Beckendorf.” Leo explained.
“Do you think we should tell them?” Jason asked. “That Beckendorf and Silena both died in this upcoming war?”
“What and add in the fact Silena was a spy too even though she switched back to our side in the end?” Piper hissed.
“They will probably find out anyway. It’s most likely going to be in the next book.” Jason pointed out.
“We don’t know when they died though, or what happened.” Leo said. “We might just make them spend the whole book stressing out, waiting to hear how they die.”
“I think Leo’s right.” Piper stated.
“So you want them to be completely shocked?” Jason frowned. Piper chewed her lip.
“Maybe we could just tell those two individually.” She suggested. “Then they can decide if they want anyone else to know.” Jason and Leo nodded at this idea. They went to find the couple and spotted them sitting with Percy. The son of the sea god clapped Silena and on the arm and then left, prompting the trio to head in their direction and sit down.
“Hi guys.” Beckendorf smiled at them. “What brings you over here?”
“We need to talk to you.” Jason said.
“Sounds serious.” Silena frowned.
“Yeah. It is. Maybe we should do this somewhere else?”
“Yeah ok. Come on down to the forges. I need to check on some stuff anyway.” Beckendorf said. The five of them made their way to the forges. Once there, Beckendorf busied himself looking at various bits and pieces while Silena turned to face the trio.
“So, what’s so serious we needed to come down here to talk about it?”
“We…” Jason looked helplessly as Piper.
“We wanted to give you some advanced warning. Obviously we are from Camp in the future, after the Titan war.” Piper took over and Silena was frowning worriedly. “You and Beckendorf...you guys don’t survive.” She decided to just spit the words out and get it over with. Beckendorf froze.
“We what?”
“None of us know how or exactly when but both of you die in the war.” Leo now spoke up.
“That’s…” Silena couldn’t find the words as she began crying. She couldn’t imagine a world without Charlie in it. She probably deserved her fate for being a spy but Charlie? Beckendorf moved over and held her tightly.
“Hey.” He said soothingly. “It’s the future. The books can tell us what we need to do to change things.” He promised in her ear, even as he knew that might not be possible. Even if they altered their original fates, if it was their time to die then there was nothing they could do about it. Besides, casualties happened in war. He wasn’t happy about it and he would do everything in his power to make sure he and Silena survived but he had long ago accepted that death was a distinct possibility.
“We’re sorry.” Jason said quietly.
“It’s not your fault.” Silena sniffled.
“We appreciate you letting us know.” Beckendorf said as he tightened his grip on his girlfriend.
“We’ll leave you too…” Piper said awkwardly. Silena reached out to grip her hand and squeezed it gently. Piper gave her a lopsided smile and then the trio withdrew, giving the couple their privacy.
“That was horrible.” Leo muttered as they made their way back to the dining hall.
“Yep.” Jason nodded. When they arrived back, most people were sitting down to dinner. Jason, Piper and Leo went to sit with Thalia, Annabeth, Grover, Rachel and Percy. Percy and Thalia appeared to be having an argument about who was superior so Jason dived right in on his sister’s side. Piper took a seat beside Annabeth who appeared to be watching the argument in amusement.
“Have they been at it long?” Piper asked.
“Only a few minutes. I’m expecting another duel to take place at this rate.” Annabeth told her. Leo sat on Piper’s other side, feeling decidedly more awkward.
*************************
Beckendorf and Silena just sat and held each other in the forge room. Neither of them could think of anything to say. Nor did they quite know how to feel. It was definitely strange, being told you were going to die.
“Hey, we’ll be in Elysium together. An eternal party.” Beckendorf tried to cheer Silena up.
“You wouldn’t want to try for rebirth?” She asked.
“Na.” He shook his head. He kissed her forehead. “Come on. It’s almost dinner time.”
“At least my death should satisfy those who hate me for being a traitor.” Silena said bitterly.
“Don’t say that.” Beckendorf told her forcefully. “If a single person up there is glad to hear you died and thinks you deserve it, they can deal with me. And I’m willing to be Percy would have a few words for them too.” She nodded and they slowly made their way to the dining hall, still holding hands. They were grateful to see that all of the Greek campers were there, and so was Chiron. He deserved to know as well. Silena cleared her throat but found she couldn’t speak. Beckendorf squeezed her hand.
“Er, guys, once everyone’s finished we need to talk to all the guys from Camp Half-Blood.” He announced. Everyone except Percy looked curious about this and began to eat quicker. The gods and Romans began to leave the room in ones and twos. Eventually it was only the Greek demigods left.
“Anyone know where Chiron is?” Silena asked quietly. Usually he was overseeing the dining hall.
“I think he went to talk to Hestia about something.” Will said. “I can go and get him if you need.”
“Yes please.” Beckendorf nodded. Will left and returned about five minutes later with a slightly confused looking Centaur.
“We have something to tell you before we read the books about the future.” Silena started. This got everyone’s attention. She took a deep breath and focused on Charlie’s hand in hers to give her strength. “I have a confession. Before we got here, I was Kronos’ spy at Camp.” Everyone’s mouth fell open. “But I realised it was a horrible idea. I don’t want to work for him anymore.” She added quickly before anyone could regain the use of their voice.
“You?” Clarisse’s voice was low and hard. Silena could only nod.
“How could you?” Connor asked.
“Why the heck would you want to spy for that creep?” Will wanted to know.
“How do we know you aren’t still spying for him?” Travis wanted to know.
“Because she isn’t.” Percy spoke up before Beckendorf could. “Silena regrets it terribly.” He moved to stand beside the two of them.
“Why did you do it?” Clarisse asked. “You saw what they did to Chris.”
“Because Luke was persuasive.” Silena shrugged helplessly. “And he promised not to hurt Charlie.”
“And you believed him?” Connor scoffed.
“If there was a way to protect Charlie from this war then I wanted to take it.”
“Even if it meant selling the rest of us out?” Will scowled.
“It was wrong. I know that.” Silena said, closing her eyes as a few tears escaped to trickle down her cheeks.
“Enough.” Chiron stepped in now. “How long have you been spying for Kronos?” He asked.
“A while.” She admitted. He nodded, staring at Silena as if he could see right through her.
“And what made you wish to rejoin our side?” Chiron asked.
“Because I don’t want to spy on my friends.” She said after a few seconds. “I don’t want to help Kronos and I don’t trust him to keep his promise. I was desperate but reading all of this has shown me that he probably had no intention of keeping his promise in the first place.”
“Silena told me ages ago. She regrets it.” Percy told the group. “We all forgave Chris for joining Kronos when he realised he was wrong. We can forgive Silena.”
“Chris left though. He didn’t stay and spy on us.” Connor pointed out.
“True but what’s done is done. She is owning up to her mistake now.” Beckendorf glared around at the group. The group’s eyes flicked from Percy to Beckendorf and then to Silena.
“If those two believe her, then I do too.” Annabeth said finally. She stepped up to stand beside Percy, Silena and Beckendorf. Clarisse stared at Silena for a few seconds before moving to stand next to them as well. Chris went with her. He knew at least some of what she was going through and he sympathised. Eventually all of the campers had moved over to stand by Silena and they drew her into a huge group hug.
“Come on. We’re having a group bonfire tonight.” Will announced. Everyone cheered. “Michael and I are in charge of music. Percy, you, Thalia and Annabeth are in charge of supplies for s’mores. The rest of you find enough wood to make a bonfire.” Everyone nodded and began gathering supplies for their assignments.
“Are we going to invite the Romans?” Percy asked Will.
“I think we should have a private ceremony first, just us Campers. I want to play Lee’s favourite song. Then we can tell the Romans to join us a bit later.”
“Fair enough.” Percy nodded. “I’ll tell them to meet us in two hours?” Will gave his agreement and they went to get ready.
One hour later, the group was sitting around a small bonfire in a corner of the gardens. Will had a guitar in hand and Michael was holding a lyre. They began with a couple of Camp favourites. Then Will glanced around before he and Michael sang Lee’s favourite song as a duet. Pollux put in a request for Castor’s favourite song and soon it became a memorial sing a long. Several toasts were made and everyone was in a mournful mood when the Romans finally arrived.
The new arrivals picked up the mood and soon the more cheerful songs were being played as the Greeks taught the Romans some of their most common camp songs. S’mores were toasted and eaten, although a couple were thrown around in what became a full on food fight. Everyone was laughing and covered in marshmallows.
The gods were attracted by the noise and soon gathered to watch the bonfire from afar. It made them smile to see their children getting along and enjoying themselves so thoroughly. They were certainly going to need it.
Eventually it was time to break it up and send them all to bed. Everybody went without putting up a fuss, they were all pretty tired by now.
The next morning everyone was awake bright and early. It seemed they were equally excited and nervous to begin reading about the future. They knew that the war was coming so it was unlikely to be a pleasant read but at the same time they wanted to know.
“I think it’s my turn to read.” Travis said. He picked up the next book tentatively and opened it to the first page.