#fearlessinger

But first, before we even get as far as the di Angelos on the scene at all, I want to talk about the Great Prophecy and Big Three Kids - specifically Big Three Daughters. I did briefly go over this in the Nico&Apollo post I made a while back, but this time I'll go more in depth. The great prophecy explicitly states a half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds. Now, while this could literally mean about half the pantheon (Aphrodite is stated in HOO to be older than the Big Three, Hestia, Demeter and Hera are also the same generation as their brothers - and Demeter has demigod children), for presumably reasons only Apollo has any hope of understanding, this is known to be specifically referencing a Big Three Kid. This means Big Three Kids basically have a lovely prophecy about death hanging over their heads, and we know Apollo and Artemis don't like demigods dying (their domains are literally about protecting children, it goes against who they are to let kids die no matter what lies Apollo tried to get us to believe at the start of TOA).

Obviously, the Oath is in place to stop this happening, but firstly I don't think anyone believed the rather promiscuous Zeus or Poseidon was ever going to be able to keep that for eternity, even if Hades might, and secondly, it's a Great Prophecy. At some point, it's coming true, whether they like it or not, which means at some point there will be some more Big Three Kids around.

Quite frankly, the sons of the Big Three are straight out of luck. They're either going to die young, or they're going to turn sixteen and, according to the prophecy, die then. There's very little that Apollo or Artemis can do to help the sons (although Apollo clearly tries - see fsinger's own essay on how Apollo is responsible for demigod dreams, especially Percy's). Artemis even says this:

"Bianca, this is crazy," I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter." "Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

It's phrased as being derogatory (not helped by Percy taking it that way), but taking away the anti-boy bias and reading it as a statement of fact - the safest place for boys is Camp Half-Blood, while girls have the option of functional immortality, if they want to take it.

The daughters, however... that's another kettle of fish entirely. Daughters have an opt-out clause, and it's called joining the Hunters of Artemis. As we see with Thalia, this stops their aging process for the purposes of the prophecy, neatly keeping them alive and also skipping the prophecy.

Looking at it this way, suddenly the Hunt's attempts to recruit Thalia back before she reached CHB, despite her having the sorts of attachments that frankly make her unsuitable to be a Hunter (her close relationship with Luke) and would normally mean she was never on their radar, makes sense - if Thalia joins the Hunt, she escapes the prophecy (which she eventually does).

"The Hunters tried to recruit you," I guessed. Her eyes got dangerously bright. I thought she was going to zap me out of the Mercedes, but she just sighed. I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Annabeth, and I ran into them once, and Zoe tried to convince me. She almost did, but…" "But?" Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke."

Note that Artemis specifically says about her Hunters being before they 'go astray' aka get boy-obsessed.

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray." "Go astray?" I asked. "Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

This being Artemis' reasoning behind her recruitment drive of Thalia also explains why she's so happy to accept Thalia into the Hunt at the end of TTC, despite Thalia's reasoning being very clearly the selfish need to escape the prophecy. Yes, there's the Luke backdrop to it, too, but Thalia is not subtle about her reasoning, and this is the sort of self-centredness that ordinarily would not fly with Artemis, because Thalia is using the Hunt for her own gain.

"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."

She explicitly says she refuses to be the child of prophecy and wants to stop aging, and yet Artemis still welcomes her in with open arms.

So, with one Big Three Daughter out of the way, let's talk about the other one. Bianca di Angelo, who is on Artemis' radar for at least a while before she introduces herself.

How do we know this? Firstly, the Hunters have been hanging around the general vicinity for a while - they make gentle advances towards Annabeth (I say gentle because Annabeth only had a pamphlet and clearly hadn't either been snapped up instantly or pressured so much she was turned off the idea like Thalia was) - and they are very quick to show up once Dr Thorn makes his move. Fast enough, actually, that there's some confusion from the characters about how they happened to be there in time (Grover ends up suggesting it was because they were trailing Annabeth, but that doesn't feel like a solid reason for them to be in the area when Annabeth clearly isn't a priority of theirs).

Secondly, there's this little exchange between Artemis and Nico:

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

If she's literally just met Nico, how does she know it's a card game? Yes, he's been gushing at her about it, but he never mentions cards (in fact, from the way he describes it with movement and stuff, it sounds more like a board game than anything else), yet Artemis knows exactly what it is. Mythomagic doesn't seem like the sort of thing that'd really be on her radar, though.

Other, less explicit hints include the implication that they haven't been attacked all year, but were attacked on the streets before that, "last summer".

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?" "And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

Even Dr Thorn couldn't pick them out until the other demigods appeared and started showing interest in them, despite being powerful (and them also having a powerful scent), but before they were in the school, things were hunting them down pretty easily (although failing to do any actual damage, it seems). There's an implication there that they were being somehow shielded while at the school, and while Hades would be the obvious answer... if that was the case, why wasn't he shielding them on the streets?

(Remember that Artemis is the protector of young maidens and Apollo is the protector of the young.)

Even the fact that Artemis instructs the Hunters to get Nico's stuff as well as Bianca's, despite the Hunters under Zoe being very anti-boy and wanting nothing to do with any of them, implies that she, at least, is remembering Nico's existence.

Then we have the recruitment drive from Artemis and Zoe, which is really very heavy-handed. Artemis intentionally and immediately separates Bianca from the others before they can start extolling Camp Half-Blood to her and manipulates a confused and upset Bianca into joining the Hunt. It's harsh, not at all fair on any of the characters (Bianca was in no mental position to make that sort of decision, Nico didn't deserve to have his sister torn away from him like that), but the one thing it does for certain is takes Bianca out of the running for the Great Prophecy before any of the rest of the characters realised she was in the running for it at all.

So, that's Artemis' actions making a lot more sense all of a sudden. Now for Apollo.

I went into Apollo's interactions with Nico in great depth in a previous essay so I won't rehash that here. The only part of that that's directly relevant is Apollo's refusal to let Nico drive the chariot, despite Nico being very eager to do so, and yes, the fact that he is a ten year old child is a factor in that, but also Zeus would be super-mad if a son of Hades started controlling the sun chariot (even though the sun chariot is technically Apollo's domain and not Zeus', although we know Zeus doesn't care about that - look at the way he's muscled Apollo completely out of any jurisdiction over CHB, despite Apollo being its patron god, something else I will gladly talk about at some point if there's interest!).

But. Let's look at the whole sun chariot thing, shall we, because Apollo's sheer insistence that Thalia drive also makes a lot more sense under this theory. Yes, on the surface it looks like Apollo being obnoxious and not taking no for an answer the way gods tend to do, but when we look a little deeper (especially with TOA under our belts, where we have a much better understanding of how Apollo works), there's a couple of things that stand out.

Firstly, there are four Big Three Kids in that sun chariot. Four of them, and Zeus wants all of them dead aside from his own daughter (and even Thalia is not safe from Zeus if he decides otherwise... see him throwing the lightning bolt at them later in TTC, presumably as a warning for her to not turn against him in Zeus' typical rule-through-fear method). Quite frankly, Apollo was no doubt absolutely terrified at that many Big Three Kids in the chariot - Zeus has proven in the past that he can and will blast it from the sky if he wants.

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."

Apollo even makes a point of this, so we know it was on his mind.

Second, the implication here is that Apollo himself isn't certain the chariot won't be struck if he's the one driving, despite it being his own domain - and considering Zeus' paranoia surrounding Apollo and the fact he's clearly watching for Apollo to do something that makes him seem like he's rebelling (proven by how quickly he slams the blame for the events of HOO straight onto Apollo even though everything he punishes Apollo for, with the exception of talking to Octavian, wasn't Apollo's doing at all), Apollo probably isn't wrong about that. Gathering so many powerful kids into his chariot would have Zeus' paranoia sky-high, so to speak.

So, his solution? Put Thalia in the driving seat. Thalia is a daughter of Zeus, and Zeus always treats his daughters better (see Artemis and Athena vs Apollo), and it also forces Zeus to choose, because if he does blast the sun chariot while Thalia is driving, it clearly looks like it's Thalia he's punishing, not Apollo (or even the other Big Three Kids). It's a clever little bit of manipulation by Apollo, albeit with the downside of Thalia's height phobia (and did Apollo know about that? Honestly, he might have done, and while it does feel unusually cruel of rr!Apollo to do that, when his option is make Thalia face her fear or all the mortals (plus Artemis' Hunters) get killed by Zeus... it's very much the lesser evil).

The Twins' actions during the start of the book are heavily geared towards the protection of the di Angelos - Artemis takes Bianca into her Hunt, while Apollo personally escorts Nico straight to Camp, which is something it's implied very few demigods get (by which I mean any actual godly escort; this is the only known case where they're not just escorted by a satyr). Could this all have been Artemis' planning without Apollo involved? Theoretically I suppose that could be argued, but my personal view is no, no it could not. Firstly, the Twins seem to be in each other's radar a lot, to the point where Artemis striking out alone seems to necessitate her telling Apollo she's going alone:

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

Yes, Apollo says just before this: "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!", and seems to roll with it just fine, but this is where some of the TOA characterisation comes into play. Apollo is a pathological liar when the situation calls for it, and as already stated, Zeus is paranoid and has his eye on Apollo - which Apollo knows. He can't admit out loud anywhere that he might actually be planning things with Artemis - also, note that he never says that he hasn't seen her recently. It's implied, but that's how Apollo constructs his best lies, by dancing around the truth (it's not like Artemis needs to call or write if she's seeing him regularly, anyway!). It's more likely that he's talking about the fact that he knows she's planning something but she hasn't shared what - that is what is likely actually worrying him, if the declaration of worry is genuine underneath the façade (add in Artemis' next words that she's going hunting alone and it makes it sound like her not working with Apollo is a rarity).

Secondly, we're never shown her actually calling Apollo; the whole encounter feels less spur-of-the-moment and more planned in advance. Yes, she claims she's summoning a ride from him, but all we're shown is her looking east expectantly, complaining about Apollo being lazy in winter, and knowing that dawn (and therefore her brother) is on the way. No, she hasn't told Apollo what she's up to next, which Apollo makes a point to complain about, but the "get the demigods to camp" part of this seems pre-arranged.

Once Nico is at CHB, he's as safe as he can be, and most importantly, he's on the radar of Chiron, Dionysus, and several demigods. Zeus might have been able to zap him if he was alone and unknown without being caught, but now he's been drawn fully into the demigod world, Nico has been protected from Zeus finishing what he started way back when. (This protection extends even after TTC, when Nico runs off, because Nico spends most of his time either in the Underworld or the Labyrinth, which are both areas outside of Zeus' direct influence, and also because he's getting on the radar of more and more gods. Zeus' window of opportunity to quietly finish off the di Angelos without inciting any major backlash has been slammed shut by the Twins' actions, leaving them in the same tentative security that Percy has.)

So, there's the why of this theory, based on canon. But what about the how?

There are two hows in question here. How #1 is how did Apollo and Artemis know they were Hades' children, and How #2 is how did they know before the rest of the gods (which they must have done in able to get them to safety before Zeus intervened).

I'll start with How #1: How did the Twins know they were Hades' kids?

There are a couple of answers to this question. The first, and most obvious one, is that they recognised them as such on sight. Nico is known to look similar to Hades, and while the likes of Percy can be forgiven for not putting two and two together because he's only met Hades the once, other characters, like the gods, would see the resemblance.

Alternatively, they remembered them from the 1930s/40s. The timeline is somewhat inconsistent on exactly when the di Angelos ended up in the Lotus Casino, and the only concrete information we have is that it was contemporary with WWII, but that's still less than a century and to gods, that's no time at all. Apollo himself tells us in TOA that he has perfect recall, which makes sense being the god of knowledge, so the Twins recognising these children as the same children of Hades who disappeared (at the same time the pythia of Delphi was cursed, no less) is more likely than not. In fact, I'd go as far as to argue that it would make no sense for them not to recognise them.

But, why would they know the di Angelo kids in the first place? It's not like the gods pay attention to demigods prior to their arrival at CHB (and even then, it's only barely), and them being known seems unlikely as a general rule, but there are some key points to recall. First is that they are Big Three Kids. They're more powerful than regular demigods (Grover helpfully tells us this when they're first introduced, even though they still didn't twig until the end of the book about their parentage), and more likely to be on the other gods' radar. Second is the time period - we know that WWII, in Riordanverse, was a war between Big Three Kids, so the gods would be actively looking out for other Big Three Kids, especially children of Hades, as his son (presumably Hitler and other high-ranking associates, although I don't recall him ever being explicitly named, just that a few of Hades' children were leaders of the bad guys) is the antagonist. From the way Hades talks in TLO, it seems like the di Angelo siblings are his only children younger than sixteen at the time:

"When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."

They were certainly on Zeus' radar (after all, Zeus is the one who tried to kill them, and did kill Maria), but there's also another god who had to know, and that's Apollo.

"I warned you," a new voice said. Hades turned. A girl in a multicolored dress stood by the smoldering remains of the sofa. She had short black hair and sad eyes. She was no more than twelve. I didn't know her, but she looked strangely familiar. "You dare come here?" Hades growled. "I should blast you to dust!" "You cannot," the girl said. "The power of Delphi protects me." With a chill, I realized I was looking at the Oracle of Delphi, back when she was alive and young. Somehow, seeing her like this was even spookier than seeing her as a mummy. "You've killed the woman I loved!" Hades roared. "Your prophecy brought us to this.'" He loomed over the girl, but she didn't flinch. "Zeus ordained the explosion to destroy the children," she said, "because you defied his will. I had nothing to do with it. And I did warn you to hide them sooner."

While Apollo himself is never mentioned by name in relation to this scene, the pythia of Delphi - his Oracle - makes an appearance, not for the first time, apparently. She went out off her way to warn Hades specifically about protecting Bianca and Nico earlier; there is no feasible way that she could have known about the di Angelos if Apollo didn't (in fact, it wouldn't be out of the question to consider that Apollo saw the danger to the di Angelos and sent her himself, after all we know Apollo doesn't like demigod deaths), which means that Apollo had to know of their existence.

And if Apollo knew, Artemis probably did, too.

So, that's how they knew who the di Angelos were. Now, onto How #2: how did they know before the rest of the gods (or at least, Zeus), when they emerged from the Lotus Casino?

There are two possibilities for this. One is that Apollo happened to see Alecto retrieving them from the sun chariot - in fact, I'd argue that this would have been the case regardless of whether or not option two is also true, because Apollo can see everything from there, and that would give him the exact timing.

Two is that Apollo foresaw their re-emergence. We don't know the exact limits of Apollo's foresight. He doesn't give us any straight answers on that during TOA at all; the closest we get is this, which is also so early on in the narration that the truthfulness of it is somewhat up in the air (I am inclined to believe him because of his knowledge and prophecy domains, but the potential for a lie or exaggeration is certainly there):

Had I been my usual omniscient self, I could have gleaned Meg’s destiny. I could have looked into her soul and seen all I needed to know about her godly parentage, her powers, her motives and secrets.

There's also a lot of hints towards this in TTC, around the sun chariot ride:

Apollo studied me, but he didn't say anything, which I found a little creepy. "Well!" he said at last.

and

He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon." "What do you mean?" Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!" He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't.

as well as later on in the book:

Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least." "But where is Artemis?" His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's… clouded from me. I don't like it."

The implications are there that Apollo really does see a lot, more than I think we could actually properly comprehend as mere mortals who only see the here and now (I know my mind breaks when I try and conceptualise how much Apollo might actually know but hasn't happened yet, or might happen, or might have happened but didn't because there's a degree of fluidity and change in the future because nothing is set in stone until it happens), which means it is well within all likelihood that he saw the di Angelos leaving the Lotus Casino with enough warning to come up with a plan to protect them once they did. Add in the fact that Nico, at least, is intrinsically tied to the Great Prophecy, and it would make a lot of sense for Apollo to see a major point in his life like this one.

And Nico is intrinsically tied. Right from the end of TTC, it's blatant. Percy claimed the prophecy for his own because he refused to pass it on to Nico, in a parallel to Thalia, who blatantly dodged it and tossed the baton straight at Percy.

"I don't need forever," I said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen." Annabeth paled. "But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might be about Nico. We have to—" "No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me." "Why are you saying that?" she cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?" It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it. "I can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I… let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer any more."

Then, of course, we have the Curse of Achilles, which is what kept Percy alive long enough to make the choice - that was Nico's idea and Nico's doing - and Nico being the one to convince Hades to join the fight to save Olympus. Nico was not the prophecy child, although Annabeth (and Hades, in TLO) is right to say that he could have been, but he still made major decisions and influenced Percy dramatically, which had a direct knock-on effect to the resolution of the prophecy when it happened.

With this in mind, it seems that if there's any character that Apollo would have a front-row seat to the possible destiny (or destinies) of, it's Nico di Angelo.

——

The night after Lady Artemis left her Hunters at Camp Half-Blood, the dream changed.

It started off the same way it did every night — base of the mountain, black clouds, pay attention — but then something shifted: Zoe became unfixed from where she stood, rooted to the ground, and something began to pull her up the mountain, closer and closer towards the smoke-storm.

And there, between the clouds, a silvery glow. A shape. A… figure? Zoe squinted. Yes, a figure shining silver with an almost divine glow.

No, not almost.

It was kneeling. Lady Artemis was kneeling.

And with a growing suspicion that was slowly sinking in her stomach, Zoe realised. Her lady must be in trouble, and that was why Zoe had been getting all these dreams.

Lady Artemis was in trouble, and it was up to Zoe and the other hunters to save her, even if it cost them their lives.

Above where she stood, the black clouds parted slightly to let a single beam of sunlight shine down upon her like a spotlight. Almost as if the sun itself was confirming her guess.

Almost as if Lord Apollo himself was confirming her guess.

——

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo. He was too arrogant, too vain, and flirted with her and her fellow hunters incessantly. He always appeared in their camp at the most inconvenient times, offering archery tips that no one wanted and being a persistent source of annoyance to Lady Artemis near constantly.

Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but she did not hate him either. He was too arrogant, but any time a Hunter was injured beyond Lady Artemis’ own powers of healing, it was Lord Apollo who she would call for, and who’d always come no matter what. He was too vain, but Dorothy had confided in her once, while they tracked a monster through the woods, how her father visited the dreams of her and her siblings at least a couple times per month, something practically unheard of for a godly parent, according to Lady Artemis’ many rants on the subject.

Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but she never forgot that it was Dorothy who’d been the first Hunter to develop the ability to glean useful information from her dreams, saving a group of Hunters from a surprise monster attack, even if they had written it off as latent prophecy powers inherited from Lord Apollo at the time.

…Sometimes, when Zoe asked a Hunter how they knew something they couldn’t have possibly found out by themselves, and they told her about their dream, she would look up at the sun, and she would wonder…)

——

‘Sun West Line’ was a bit on the nose, but Zoe wasn’t going to start complaining about the free transportation any time soon.

Boarding the freight train, she headed up to the top deck of cars, as far away from Thalia Grace, the satyr, and the boy as possible. Bianca followed behind, and they found a leather-seat Lexus to settle down in for the night; the younger Hunter fell asleep almost immediately, the earlier fight against the skeletons clearly having taken a lot out of her, and Zoe followed suit not long after.

For the first time in over two weeks, however, Zoe did not slip into Morpheus’ realm to be met with the sight of Mount Othyrs.

Instead, she found herself somewhere in the Yellowstone National Park, standing in the middle of an empty clearing. A million stars shone overhead. A cool breeze rustled through the branches of the pinus contora that surrounded her, and lifted a few dead leaves off the ground to swirl around Zoe herself.

“I thought you might be more comfortable here,” a voice said behind her. Zoe stiffened. She knew that melodic, honey-sweet voice. “As opposed to my palace on Olympus, or an urban coffee shop.”

Zoe did not turn.

“Lord Apollo.” It was not a question. “Why hast thou brought me here?”

“Artemis.”

From her peripherals, Zoe saw Lord Apollo step beside her, hands in pockets and staring straight ahead. She turned her head ever so slightly to get a better look at his face. His eyes flicked towards her, then up to the night sky.

“Lady Artemis is on Mount Othyrs, isn’t she?” asked Zoe. “Wherever that might now be located in America. My fath-” she stopped, then shook her head. “Atlas has taken my Lady, kidnapped her.”

Apollo’s jaw tightened. “Yes. Atlas has taken Artemis.” He turned to face Zoe entirely, and continued, “She has been one of the most outspoken against my father’s decision to ignore the obvious war looming on the horizon, so no doubt it is Atlas’ plan to keep Artemis until after the Solstice has passed. By that point, the vote will have gone in both Atlas and Zeus’ favour, and we gods will not be allowed to help against any attacks. You see, then, why Atlas would want to take her.”

“Thou could simply disobey Lord Zeus’ orders,” Zoe pointed out, but Apollo shook his head.

“No, we can’t. You know that Zoe. You know I can’t.”

A second passed in silence. Two. Three.

Zoe turned to face Apollo. “I swear on the River Styx that I will rescue Lady Artemis,” she promised. “And if I must die to do so, then so be it.”

Above them, the sky rumbled. The solemn weight of her promise draped itself over Zoe like one of Hephaestus’ nets – unbreakable, inescapable, indestructible. She shivered, and wrapped her arms around herself.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Apollo warned. “Oaths made on the Styx are bind-.”

Zoe interrupted him, saying: “Atlas is going to kill me.” Once more, it was not a question. “My father… I shall perish by his hand.”

“Zoe…”

Apollo made to reach his hands forward, perhaps to hug and comfort her, or maybe in an attempt to physically block the words she had spoken from ever reaching him. Then, he seemed to think better of it and withdrew his hands back to his pockets.

“Thou is the god of truth. Do not lie to me.”

“You would order a god around?”

“Please, I walked this Earth long before thou was born.”

Apollo closed his eyes.

“Zoe…” he said again, and there was a note in the harmony of his voice that sounded almost like pleading.

“Apollo…”

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo. He was too arrogant, too vain, and flirted with her and her fellow hunters incessantly. He always appeared in their camp at the most inconvenient times, offering archery tips no one wanted and being a persistent source of annoyance to Lady Artemis near constantly.)

“What would you have me say?”

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but she did not hate him either.)

“The truth.” Zoe said. “Thou is also the god of prophecy. Surely thou must know.”

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but she never forgot that it was Dorothy who’d been the first Hunter to develop the ability to glean useful information from her dreams.)

“Yes,” Apollo said at last.

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but when Dorothy died, and Lady Artemis had broken the news to her brother, Zoe had seen the devastation flood his face. )

“It is you that the prophecy speaks of.”

(Had heard him sob that he should have done more, should have warned his daughter earlier.)

For a moment, Apollo seemed at a loss for words. Zoe wondered how many others he had seen die before their death, known their fate long before they passed and been powerless to stop it. She wondered if Apollo ever regretted making prophecy one of his domains, the day he slew Python and claimed Delphi for his own.

(And that… that was when Zoe began to wonder.)

Apollo whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Zoe breathed in. Breathed out. Breathed in again, and nodded slowly.

“Okay.”

Apollo opened his eyes. “Okay? That’s it?”

“I swore on the Styx that I would do anything to rescue my Lady, even if anything means dying. If this is my fate, then so be it.”

Apollo did not seem to understand her calm acceptance, or maybe he did, but did not want to admit as such. He told her: “I would have wished to change your fate if it was in my power.”

Zoe frowned. “Why? We are not friends.”

“You are my sister’s closest companion. Her chosen Lieutenant of the Hunt.” Apollo’s eyes made contact with Zoe’s. “I could not have picked a better person to lead the search for Artemis, but that does not mean I am not sorry you will die for it.”

And with that, Zoe received the final confirmation of her suspicions from all those years ago.

(Zoe did not like Lord Apollo, but she could never hate someone who risked their father’s wrath to give Hunters and demigods alike a chance against the enemies they faced because of their parent or patronage.)

“Does my Lady know that it is you who has been sending prophetic dreams to help demigods and Hunters in their quests and battles?”

A flicker of surprise passed over Apollo’s face, but then, for the first time since their conversation began, he smiled. “I should have guessed that it would be you who would first discover my little secret,” he said. “And no, she doesn’t.”

“Why not?” Zoe said, offence on her Lady’s behalf flaring up inside her. “Do you not trust even your own twin sister?”

It was Apollo’s turn to look offended. “Of course I do. But what I do goes against the Ancient Laws. If word got out to the others…” he paused, then shook his head. “No, it’s better this way. Let them all remain oblivious.”

“Why?” Zoe was confused, not that she would admit it outloud. Gods did not go out of their way to help demigods. It was a fact, a truth, ingrained in the stone of millenia’s worth of dead children. Apollo may have claimed all his children the second they reached Camp Half-Blood or joined the Hunt, but this was bigger than that.

“Why what?” asked Apollo.

“Why hast thou send such dreams? Why risk the wrath of Ze-”

“Don’t, Zoe. Names have power, remember? Be careful whose you speak.”

“Of your father then. It is still the same question whatever name I say.”

Apollo took a moment to consider her question. Since, as far as she knew, Zoe was the only person, except perhaps his children, to know that it was Apollo behind the dreams, she doubted anyone had asked him this question before now. Finally, the god said slowly:

“I am the protector of youth. Once, I set up Camp Half-Blood to be a safe haven, but now it is out of my control. I cannot interfere with quests without risking the wrath and punishment that my father might bring down upon those I helped. But I am also the god of prophecy and knowledge. This, at least, I can do.”

Zoe digested this slowly. She wondered how it must feel to be a god, to have unimaginable power, and to be powerless to use it.

(Once, Zoe had not liked Apollo. Now, all she felt was pity.)

“Thou hast not made a single haiku since we have begun to converse,” Zoe noted.

“I thought you didn’t like them,” said Apollo. “I can compose one if you want.”

Hurriedly, Zoe reassured him, “There is no need. I was not complaining about their absence.”

Apollo chuckled. “Yeah, fair enough.”

There was a pause. In the distance, the first rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon, signalling the dawn of a new day, even though it felt like Zoe had only been talking to Apollo for an hour or so. And even though it was only the two of them in the forest, Zoe could have sworn she could hear the sound of footsteps approaching, quiet, for the person was still far away, but harsh, as if they were walking not on mossy grass, but on a metal floor.

“You have to go now,” Apollo said. “Someone comes to speak to you. It is almost daytime.”

A shiver ran down Zoe’s spine. She turned her head away to face the sunrise. Somehow, inexplicably, she knew that it would be the last one she would see. The Winter Solstice was not until tomorrow, but one way or another, everything would end today.

“Apollo…” Zoe began. The god looked questioningly at her. She stopped, unsure if she wanted to know the answer, but Zoe Nightshade was not a Hunter of Artemis for nothing. She asked, “How will I die?”

A sigh. “Honestly? I don’t know. Even as the god of prophecy, there are some things clouded from me. The location of Mount Othrys, for starters. How you will die, too, is something the Fates have not allowed me to see.”

Zoe tried not to feel disappointed. Maybe it was better this way, not knowing how she would die in advance. It was a dangerous thing to know the future, after all.

“I can tell you one thing though,” Apollo said. Zoe turned to face him again. “My sister will put you in the stars after you die. She will not forget you. You gave up your immortality for Heracles, but Artemis will immortalise you in another way.” He looked at her with uncertainty. “Does that help? Maybe not. Music, art, and poems I can do, but comforting people is not my forte.”

“I think thou hast done a good job.” Above them, the sun’s rays hit the leaves of the trees they stood beneath, illuminating the leaves in all shades of red, orange, and brown. The footsteps grew louder. “But thou is right. I must go. I must keep my promise.”

“You are far braver than I could ever be,” Apollo admitted candidly. “I could never go to my death so easily.”

Zoe shrugged elegantly. “I would die if it meant saving my Lady. For me, it is an easy choice to make.”

Something like understanding shone in Apollo’s eyes.

“Goodbye Zoe,” he said.

“Farewell,” she replied.

He placed a hand on her forehead, and at the same time, the scenery around them began to fade away. Zoe caught her last glimpse of Yellowstone National Park, and her Lady’s twin, Apollo, standing there in the centre of it all, before she was in the Lexus once more, sat in the front seat with her head resting against the window.

——

As a constellation, Zoe could watch over those down below with ease.

She watched as her fellow questers accompanied Lady Artemis to Olympus, as the gods voted against killing Perseus, and Thalia became the new Lieutenant of the Hunt (a fine choice: Thalia would do well in her new role, and from the stars above, Zoe wished her good luck in it).

She watched the following years leading up to Kronos’ defeat, the Battle of the Labyrinth and a year later, the Battle of Manhattan.

She watched as Hera put Perseus and Jason (Thalia’s brother!) to sleep, and took their memories; she watched the rise of the giants, their defeat, and the fall of Gaea.

She watched as Lord Apollo was blamed for the war, drained of his immortality and powers, and sent down to Earth as punishment.

She watched as his children were kidnapped, as he rescued them, and as Meg betrayed him. She watched as Nero was revealed to be the force behind it all, and then Commodus, and then Caligula.

She watched Jason Grace die. She watched her Lady save Apollo from a fate worse than death. She watched as Reyna Ramirez-Arellano was sworn into the Hunt, and as Apollo and Meg left to travel back across the United States of America to confront Nero (and for Apollo, Python) in one last, final battle.

The night before the pair reached Washington, Apollo took first watch. He often did that, Zoe had noticed, and then conveniently ‘forgot’ to wake Meg up until long after the four hours they had agreed per shift had passed. Considering they had a digital clock on the truck’s display board, she highly doubted this was accidental.

The former god rested his head against the side window of the truck. From his pocket, he pulled out an art gallery postcard and began to trace the outline of the figures on it softly. Zoe remembered Apollo picking it up to look after he and Meg had been chased into an art gallery by a manticore; after defeating it with the power of a dozen arrows, a rose bush, and some 12th century pottery, they had decided to take a break from driving to look around for a few hours.

Zoe knew what picture was on that postcard.

She knew it was of a painting that depicted Apollo’s triumph over Python all those years ago.

“Oh us,” Apollo murmured. “How am I ever to do it? How could I? I am mortal. Curse you father, Python is bigger than your punishment. If I fail…”

His voice broke. Shaking fingers tucked the postcard away again. Apollo twisted in his seat to look at Meg as she slept, then raised his head upwards.

“Zoe.” A jolt went down Zoe’s non-existent spine. “I know you can’t hear me right now, but I just wanted to tell you that I understand now. Your acceptance of your death, I get it.”

Unable to reply, all Zoe could do was watch in silence; Apollo resumed his original position in his seat and stared out into the dark of the night.

Hours passed.

Eventually, Meg McCaffrey woke. Too used to Apollo’s forgetful tendencies, she did not bother to protest the extra four hours of sleep she had been given. Instead, she grabbed a granola bar out of the glove box and began to take bites out of it, in between the quiet conversation Apollo struck up with her.

Zoe had no desire to eavesdrop on them, so she took the moment to check up on Apollo’s kids back at Camp Half-Blood, as she had been doing for the past few months. She did not know why she felt such a desire to do so – after all, even if Zoe did see something bad happening to one of them, she would not have been able to do anything – but she did as such anyway. By the time she had assured herself they were all safe, tucked away safely in Cabin Seven and fast asleep, and looked back at where Reyna’s old pickup truck was parked, Apollo too was in Hypnos’ realm.

And as she looked down at him, Zoe came to a decision she had been mulling over for weeks now. She was going to speak to Apollo, just as he had, three and a half years ago.

Zoe was no goddess of dreams, but Apollo was not the god of them either, and he was behind the ‘standard demigod ability’ that saved so many lives. Dreams were a power all immortals shared, and once, Zoe had been a Hesperide, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. Even now, Artemis had placed her soul in the stars, immortalising her forever, albeit in a different way.

Trees and rocks began to form around Zoe as she concentrated hard. Mossy grass grew from nothing beneath her feet, and once more, she found herself standing in the Yellowstone National Park, this time with Apollo standing opposite her, not behind her, and with a confused expression adorning his face.

“Wha- what?” he muttered. “This is Yellowstone, but-”

He noticed Zoe. All the tension seemed to drain out of his body, only to be replaced by a new apprehension.

“Zoe Nightshade.” It was not a question. “What am I doing here? Did… did you bring me here?”

A strong sense of deja-vu washed over Zoe, and it was a couple of seconds before she had recovered enough to say: “Yes. It was I.”

“Why? How? You’re dead.”

Really, Zoe thought sardonically, I had no idea.

“Thou art not the only person in this world who can speak to people in dreams,” was what she said instead. “As for why… I am not sure. I suppose I just wanted to be able to reply to thee when thou talks to me.”

Apollo’s face took on a pinkish tinge. “You heard me.”

“I have been watching thee throughout thy quest. Of course I did.”

This did not seem to help. “Oh,” said Apollo.

“Thou has not been the only one I have observed though,” Zoe said, by way of reassurance. “I watch over the Hunt too, and thy children.”

Apollo blinked in shock. “My children?” He took several steps forwards, pressing Zoe for answers urgently. “How are they? Will? Austin? Kayla? Are they okay? What-”

“They are all fine. Three more of thy children have made it to Camp Half-Blood too – Yan, Gracie, and Jerry, I believe are their names.”

Relieved by Zoe’s words, but now evidently worried for a different reason, Apollo asked, “Have they been claimed yet? I enchanted the borders of Camp Half-Blood to do so as soon as a child of mine crossed over but…”

“Yes, they have all been claimed. It did cause a debate as to how exactly they were, since thou art currently a mortal, but they all reside in Cabin Seven and are sleeping there peacefully as we speak.”

“Good,” Apollo murmured. “Good. I wouldn’t want them to have to sleep on the floor of the Hermes cabin, or think I didn’t care.”

“I’m sure they know thou cares,” Zoe said; she asked: “How art thou?”

Apollo laughed brittlely. “Good, awful, scared, and restless with anticipation all at once. Nero draws closer every day, and P- him too, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to defeat them. And even after that, after everything, my father might not deign to give me back my immortality, and everything will have been for nothing.”

“Not nothing,” Zoe said quietly. “Thou hast not only fought this war to regain thy godhood, not for a long time. Perhaps never.”

“You give me far too much credit, Zoe.”

“No, I do not.”

They stood in silence for a while. Apollo seemed to have realised something, and was trying to bring himself to voice it with some difficulty, so Zoe searched for her own constellation in the night sky above him to give some privacy while she waited.

“Am I going to die?”

The question was quiet, barely a whisper. Rushed, as if Apollo wanted to get the words out as quickly as possible. For all his earlier declaration that he understood Zoe’s calm acceptance of her upcoming death, the possibility of his own seemed to scare him still, which Zoe understood completely.

She may have accepted her death if it meant her Lady’s rescue, but she had not gone to it without fear.

Zoe asked, “What do you mean?”

“Am I going to die?” repeated Apollo. “Is that why you’ve called me here? When I spoke to you last time, it was to warn you of your own upcoming death.”

“I don’t know.”

“Zoe please…” Before, Zoe had only heard Apollo beg once, to ask her to stop questioning him if she would be the one to perish as the prophecy foretold. She had heard him twice now. “If I am going to die, I want…” Apollo’s voice broke. He closed his eyes. Breathed in, breathed out. Opened them again. “I want to know.”

“Truly, Lord Apollo, I do not know. That was not why I called thee here.”

Apollo tried for a smile, though it came out more like a grimace. “Please, call me Apollo. We are long beyond titles like ‘Lord’.”

“Apollo then. But truly, I do not know. I am sorry,” she said apologetically. “Prophecy is not within my power.”

“Currently, it’s not within anyone except Python’s,” Apollo pointed out dryly.

Zoe bit her lip, the question that had been at the back of her mind, ever since Apollo had declared to his son Trophonius that he would die to save Meg McCaffrey, burning more fiercely than ever. She debated with herself whether or not to ask for a few seconds, before deciding that she had nothing to lose from doing so.

She asked: “Would thee mind?”

“What?”

“If thou was fated to die, never to reascend to Olympus, would thee mind?”

“Of course I would mind,” said Apollo, a vaguely offended look adorning his face.

“But if it meant the downfall of Nero,” Zoe pressed. She wasn’t quite sure why the answer meant so much to her, but still she pressed on. “Or if it meant the downfall of Python, would thou accept thy death and make thy peace with it?”

(The day Jason Grace died, to give his friends a chance at escape, Apollo stabbed himself in the chest with the intention of death.)

“Yes.” Apollo said, without a shred of uncertainty. “Yes, I would die if my death brought down Nero or Python with me.” He paused, then chuckled grimly. “Oh us, I’ve really changed a lot, haven’t I?”

(And maybe he had known that Medea would heal him, for that was what the desperate plan hinged on in the first place, but that was never really the point, was it?)

“No. I don’t think thou hast changed at all.”

“What do you mean?” Apollo frowned.

Zoe thought of the way Apollo had taken in Chiron as a baby and raised him like a son. She thought of the story Lady Artemis had told her once of the day she and her brother had woken to discover they were the new celestial gods – in her Lady, the mortals saw protection, a guiding light through the darkness of the night; in Apollo, they saw brilliance, gold and warm and shining. She thought of Anius(1), and Asclepius, and Dorothy. She remembered the way Apollo had been so ready and willing to give his life to save his kids, only a mere couple of hours after death had become a much more real possibility for him.

“I think that Phoebus is a very fitting epithet for thee,” she said at last. “The shining one. The mortals began to associate thou with the sun for a reason. Thou art annoyingly shiny, overbearingly bright, but warm.” Zoe did not know what she was saying, or why she felt the need to reassure Apollo that he was not as bad as he thought he was, but she had known him for over three millennia now. She may have disliked her Lady’s twin, but it was never because he was cruel or heartless. Zoe did not want him to die. “Thou burns hot enough to scorch, but would never hurt thy friends with thy heat.”

By the end of Zoe’s small speech, Apollo looked utterly dumbstruck. “Why are you being so nice to me?” he asked. “You hate me, but now you’re saying I’m… what did you call me? Warm? Yes, that was it. What’s changed?”

Zoe said simply, “I never hated thee. I did not like thee, but I have never hated thee.”

“You could’ve fooled me.”

“I did not like thee because thou… hits on me and my fellow Hunters. I believe that is the modern phrase for it, no? Hits on, flirts with, even after we told thee it is unwanted. And,” Zoe added on, a little defensive now, “thine mere presence is of great annoyance to my Lady, with thine awful haikus and all. On her behalf, too, I do not like you.”

Apollo ignored the second part, with only a stiffening of his shoulders to even show that he’d heard, to guiltily focus on the first. He opened his mouth, at a loss for the right words, before settling with a simple: “I’m sorry.” He met Zoe’s steady gaze unflinchingly. “Truly, I am. I… it was wrong of me. I can see that now. And if I survive this, I promise you now, I will apologise to your fellow Hunters too, and do my utmost best to make it up to them as best as I can.”

Once, Zoe would not have accepted such an apology and been done with the matter. Now, she just nodded.

All of a sudden, she felt very old and very tired.

“I accept thine apology. And I rescind what I said earlier about thine mere presence being only an annoyance to my Lady. It was unfair and untrue. Most of the time thou is a great irritation, yes, but I have not just been watching over Meg and thee. I have seen the way my Lady has worried over thee these past few months. Thou is not just an annoyance to her.”

Apollo smiled gratefully. The stiffness in his shoulders relaxed. “Thank you Zoe. I appreciate your words.”

“Thou had better not die though.” Zoe threatened. “If thou does, I swear I will come down from Ouranos myself to resurrect thee and kill thee all over again. Thy death would break my Lady.”

“Would that not be a little counterproductive? Apollo laughed. “To kill me for the crime of dying in the first place.” After a few moments however, he sobered up. “You know I can’t promise you my survival,” he said, “but I promise that I will try. I will try my hardest to return to my sister. I swear it.”

Despite everything, despite what they were discussing, a smile tugged at the corners of Zoe’s mouth. “Thou do not want to swear thy promise on the River Styx? Have I, by mistake, summoned the wrong Apollo?”

“What?” Apollo frowned, then his expression cleared with a stunned laugh. “You’re… you’re joking. That was a joke.” He shook his head. “Zoe Nightshade teasing me? I really must be dreaming.”

“Thou is a massive hypocrite by the way. I distinctly remember thou telling me that to swear on the Styx is a dangerous thing, did thou not?”

Apollo rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, well, I…” He trailed off sheepishly. “Oops?”

(Zoe did not like Apollo.)

She smiled at Apollo, which, for her, was the equivalent of a full belly laugh. He returned the smile with one of his own. In the distance, the first rays of sunlight began to peak over the horizon.

(But in another life, they could have been friends.)

Zoe could tell the moment Apollo noticed, because it was then that something heavy settled between them. Their smiles faded, the almost camaraderie between them was replaced once more with a cordial, but more distant, relationship, and Zoe knew what she had to do.

“I have to go now,” she said. “And thou must wake. It is almost daytime.”

For a moment, fear flickered across Apollo’s visage.

Then, it was replaced with the face of someone who knows his fate, accepts it, and goes to it with courage and resolution.

(It was replaced by the face of a real hero.)

Apollo tentatively reached out and placed a hand on Zoe’s upper arm. With her opposite hand, Zoe reached over to cover his with hers.

“Goodbye Zoe,” Apollo said. “I never got to say so before, properly, but it seems I have been given another chance. Farewell my friend.”

Slowly, Zoe removed Apollo’s hand from her arm. She let it go, and his hand fell to his side.

“Goodbye Apollo,” she said.

“If it had been in my power, I really would have changed your fate, you know. You didn’t deserve to die.”

“I know.” Zoe gave him one last half-smile, and this time there was a hint of melancholy in it. “I know you would have.”

Apollo closed his eyes. “I am ready now,” he said. “I am ready to wake up.”

Zoe placed a hand on his forehead. “Then I bid you farewell, my friend…”

The figure of Apollo began to shimmer, dissolving like dust into the night air, a mirror echo of Zoe all those years before.

“…and good luck.”

——

Far down below, in the driver’s seat of an old pickup truck two inches away from breaking to bits, Lester Papadopoulos began to stir.

The morning sun began to stream through the windows; illuminated by the light, his hair looked as if it were spun from shining gold.

———————

Author’s note:

So, what do you think? 5818 words including title and footnote, it’s one of the longest things I think I’ve ever written, both in length and in time spent between the start and finish, which is technically over three weeks (in my defence, I was on a no-phones summer camp and then my Silver DofE expedition for like, half of that time). I’ve truly loved being a part of this collab, and would like to that this moment to thank Tsari most sincerely for organising the whole thing. Can’t wait to see every else’s submissions! (Only 23 hours, as of right now, to go!)

“I have to see if I’m strong enough,” Meg tells him, explaining why she wants to confront her abuser again. But Apollo already knows that the previous times he wasn’t strong enough. He knows that he’d surrendered. That he’d let himself become complicit. He’d finished his father’s work for him, finished tearing apart everything that made him him, that made him Apollo, with his own hands, until the resulting wreckage was enough to his father’s liking, because it was either living in pieces or not at all. He’d done it with his eyes wide open, not out of ignorance but simply out of sheer impotence. 

Because that is the source of his problems. His impotence before his father, his entire family. And reclaiming his godhood brings him right back in the middle of them. Right back where he started.

But still that’s what he chooses. That’s been his goal from the start and he’s never doubted it, not even for a second. It’s only after he’s achieved it that he allows himself to mourn what he gave up in pursuit of it: the sense of belonging that only people who experience life at the same time, at the same pace, who grow old together, and then die and in death reunite for one final time, can share. The comfort of knowing that the good things he’s built will survive him. 

Apollo started out this story terrified of death, thinking of immortality as a refuge from the responsibility of having to make the right choice, clinging to the certainty it gave him that he would always have another chance, that he’d always have tomorrow to make things right… and in the end, he’s conquered that fear. He’s finally stopped waiting for tomorrow. He’s started making things right today. That’s what allowed him to make peace with the very real possibility that he might die. It’s why he now openly allows himself to long for what Lu has, what all mortals have. You don’t need to fear the end in sight if you know that, in the limited time you had, you’ve done your best. And Apollo has.

But he has not changed his mind. 

“Think of yourself as dead,” recites the maxim by Marcus Aurelius that Apollo remembers by heart. “Now take the rest of your life and live it properly.” 

That is what Apollo really wants. To live properly. So he mourns the things that he lost when he chose to reclaim his own immortality, his own power for himself one final, perhaps definitive time, pulled himself up from that ledge, remade his divinity from scratch out of sheer willpower. He mourns, but he does not regret his choice. Because no matter how tempting it may be, to renounce the immortality that sets him apart from humanity, to renounce the power that makes his father feel threatened, the power to make things right… that would not be to live properly. 

Gods can do anything, even choose to die. It’s the choice that, in different ways, both Hemithea and Harpocrates made. It’s also, in a sense, the choice that Pan, and Helios, and a lot of deities big and small who lost faith, who lost sight of themselves, ended up embracing in the end. It’s a choice that Apollo could also have made, that he also could have embraced. But to Apollo the freedom that mortality would grant him – from his father, from his family, from accountability for his own mistakes, from the responsibility to do more and better – will never be worth the price. 

“Call on me. I will be there for you”. Apollo wants the power to make that promise. 

But even as a god, especially as a god, back in his home that isn’t a home, once again subject to the rules of non interference that in the millennia have been tightened to the point of stifling the gods’ very reason of being: not just the people’s belief in them, but their belief in themselves… does he really have that kind of power? Does he, when even just to go back to visit his children, his friends that he’s made in the brief time he was allowed to walk the earth among them, he already has to lie? 

There’s no answer to that question, no certainty at the end of the story. There’s hope, yes, that this time will be different. That this time Apollo will remember that he is not alone, and allow himself to draw strength from the people who believe in him. That he will be strong enough to reach out again to those who did not have the strength to reach out to him. But there is no certainty. There can’t be. And the truth is, there would not be even if the series ended with the revolution we are all rooting for. As Apollo’s family history demonstrates, it’s far, far too easy for the killing of an old tyrant to give way to the crowning of a new one. 

“Power,” Apollo says, “should make good people uneasy.” And right after he’s reclaimed the power of a god, he is full of uneasiness. He finds that reassuring. But how long before he stops feeling like that, after he’s rid himself of the one person who had the power to oppress him? How long before he forgets what it was like to be under his father’s talon? Eternity is a really long time. Millennia after the fact, Apollo looks at the laurels that his sister’s put on his head, at the hyacinths that adorn the balcony before him, and he wonders whether he really meant for them to commemorate the people they represent, or if he just wanted to wallow in self pity. He’s not sure anymore. Perhaps he’s being unkind to himself, as he tends to do. But with the power of a god at his fingertips, he really can’t afford to be very indulgent with his own flaws, his own weaknesses.