The Warning Signal

Chapter Three Trigger Warning

Apollo kept his promise. He worked harder than anybody Adam had ever trained. In just under three weeks, Apollo could assemble and load a machine gun blindfolded in a minute and a half (despite being blind in his left eye and missing two fingers on his right hand.) He could pick locks with that rusty nail of his or a needle or a credit card. He wasn't quite at the level where he could hack into security cameras and security systems. Technology seemed to go haywire whenever he tried to use it, but that was slowly going away. There was no reason why he wouldn't master the skill of hacking within a few months. The kid soaked up information like a sponge.

What worried Adam was Apollo's low self-esteem. The fallen god thought he was an idiot. Whenever he would make a mistake, Apollo would mutter to himself, "Fuck, I'm stupid. The stupidest boy." He probably didn't mean for Adam to hear it, but Adam did.

Finally, Adam said, "Stop saying that."

Apollo looked up from the fifteenth ID card he had just messed up on. "What?"

"That you're stupid. You're not stupid, so stop saying it."

"Oh….I - I didn't even realize I was saying it," Apollo stammered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just stop it." Adam said, frowning. He didn't like that Apollo called himself stupid so often he didn't even realize he was saying it anymore.

He set down the gun he was cleaning, walked over to the table, and sat down across from Apollo.

"Let me see that ID card," he said, firmly but gently.

Apollo bit his lip nervously when he gave the card to Adam, as though he expected a reprimand or an insult. Adam studied it for a moment before handing it back to Apollo.

"You should stop making fake IDs," Adam said.

"But I'm still learning. I'm sorry, I know I should be learning faster, but I -" Apollo started, but Adam cut him off.

"I'm saying you need to learn how to be human."

"Human….what?"

"You don't know how to take care of yourself," Adam said. "You can't cook or fix a car. You can barely clean up after yourself. Your penmanship is abismal." Seeing Apollo's crestfallen expression, he quickly added, "That's nothing to be ashamed of. You just need to learn. It's my fault for not thinking about it sooner. I've been teaching you things in the wrong order. I should've started with the basics of life instead of with the basics of monster hunting."

"Basics of life," Apollo echoed.

"Yes," said Adam. "You should be a normal teenager, not just a hunter-in-training. You need to have teenager experiences. About how old -"

"But what about the Triumvirate?" Apollo interrupted. "They're still out there plotting world domination. I can't be a normal teenager when innocent lives are at stake!"

"You can. You will. I have friends who are working against the Triumvirate even as we speak." Adam said.

"You do?"

"Yeah. My brothers and a few friends. We had our eyes on the Triumvirate for awhile, but we didn't make a break-through until I found you. The little purple book you were carrying had a lot of information," Adam explained. "Most of the pages were ruined by water, but we have our ways of restoring perished documents."

"Oh."

Apollo remembered that book. He'd stolen it from Nero right before the fortress burned down. Well, stole wasn't really the right word. It fell out of Nero's pocket one night after he visited Apollo's cell to brag about he -Nero- was going keep Apollo alive just to see Olympus burn. Oddly, Nero didn't seem to notice that the book had fallen. Apollo had grabbed it, clinging to life, to the hope that there might be something written inside that would help him defeat Nero. Apollo thought he had lost it when he jumped off a cliff to escape Keviasne.

"I'm so sorry, Apollo," Adam said, sadly. "I shouldn't have started training you so soon. I should have told you about the book so you didn't worry."

Apollo blushed. "You don't have to apologize. I mean, asked you to."

"I should have said 'no'," Adam said. "You're not ready. You're not old enough."

"I'm over four thousand years old!" Apollo protested.

"Not in human years. How old are you in human years? Fourteen? Fifteen? How old did Zeus tell you you were going to be?" Adam asked.

"I - I don't -" Apollo's voice broke. "He didn't tell me. He didn't tell me anything. I just made up an age. I said I was sixteen."

Adam inhaled deeply through his nose, like he was trying not to lose his temper.

"You'd think the King of Fucking Olympus would have some fucking decency," he muttered, more to himself than Apollo.

"Adam, please," Apollo begged. "Please. Keep training me. I can learn, even with my handicaps. I have to learn. I won't survive long if I don't. I won't be worth anything if I don't."

"Okay, hold it right there." Adam had had it with the I'm-so-worthless-and-stupid speech. He'd heard it nonstop for four and a half months. "You are not worthless, Apollo. And you're not stupid, either. It hurts me when you talk like that."

"Why would it hurt you?"

"Because I love you, Apollo," Adam said. "Why else?"

The idea was so absurd, Apollo might've laughed if he wasn't so shocked.

"Me?" he said. "Why would you love me? I haven't done anything. I'm not good at anything. Why would I be worthy of your love?"

Ah, there it was. The root of the problem. When Adam had first rescued Apollo, Apollo was nearly dead. With all the injuries he had, it was a miracle the boy was still alive. Adam spent countless nights sitting next to Apollo's bed to make sure he was still breathing. When Apollo woke up, he was so scared of being touched, so horrified at the thought of physical contact, Adam knew without having to be told the boy had been raped. He also had to call his friend, Sabrina, to come and knock Apollo out with sleeping herbs so he (Adam) could continue to treat Apollo's wounds. It took weeks to convince Apollo that he wasn't going to be killed. And weeks more to convince him to go outside.

Looking at him now, the monster hunter could finally understand why Apollo's life had turned out the way it did.

"Listen to me, Apollo," Adam said, his voice cracking, "and pay close attention because this is very important. Love is unconditional. It's not something you can earn. It's not something you can prove yourself worthy of."

The former sun god was speechless. Nobody had ever spoken to him like this before. Nobody (with the exception of his mother) had ever looked at him like this before.

Adam continued, "Whatever relationship you had with your father, that wasn't love. I know just from what you've told me that your father was abusive. You were abused and neglected. And that was so wrong. However horrible you think you are, you're not. You're not stupid or worthless or cowardly."

"Then why doesn't my father love me?" Apollo broke down. He sobbed so hard he doubled over. "W-what d-hid I do? What d-d-did I not do? Why does he l-l-love my sister, but not me? Why did he let that - that thing rape me? Why did nobody want to help me?"

Adam pulled him into a bear hug, and this time, Apollo didn't flinch away.

"I c-can still feel it." Apollo shook in Adam's arms. "I still feel what It did. N-no matter what I do, no m-matter how l-l-long I stay in the bath, no matter how h-hard I scrub my skin. I still feel Its hands on my body. I c-c-c-close m-m-my eyes and I see It there. Why? W-why did nobody help me? All d-day I was in that cellar alone, but every night It c-came for m-m-me. I know I'm n-not the easiest person to g-g-get along with, but nobody? N-not a single p-p-person loved me enough to save me? If n-nobod-d-dy on Olympus l-loves me, it has to be my fault."

"It's not your fault," Adam said, firmly.

"It is my fault!" Apollo sobbed even harder. "I deserved it! I b-b-b-broke a sacred oath. I let M-m-meg die. Oh Meg!"

"It's not your fault, Apollo," Adam held him tighter. "And you did not deserve what happened to you."

"But-"

"No." Adam stepped back so he could look Apollo in his eye. He firmly but gently gripped the young boy's shoulders. "You are not to blame. None of this is your fault. Your father was abusive. He neglected you. The man - or demon, or whatever he was - who raped you was evil. It happened because no one protected you. Your family should have protected you. They had the power to - they're gods for crying out loud- and they didn't. You did not deserve it. It was not your fault."

"But why don't they love me, Adam?" Apollo whispered.

"Because they're stupid!" Adam's yelled. Apollo flinched and Adam lowered his voice. "Because they don't know how to recognize a blessing even when he's staring them in the face. I love you, Apollo. I love you like you were my own son. You don't need to prove yourself to me. I love you just the way you are. You are a blessing, you know."

Apollo took a second to absorb that new information. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm here for you. And I will never abandon you. I promise."

Apollo started to cry again and put his forehead on Adam's chest. Adam hugged him tightly, watching the sun set over the mountains.

Jason woke up in a cemetery. He sat up and looked around, completely baffled, because remembered dying. He was in Elysium only a few second ago. What had happened? Was Piper okay? Apollo? Meg? Why was he back? Who brought him back?

"Hey, kid."

Jason looked up and saw a man with black hair glowering down at him. There was a pistol in a holster strapped to his side and he was wearing black leather boots.

Jason blinked. "Did….did you bring me back?"

"No. My friend, Sabrina, brought you back. What's your name, kid?"

"Jason."

"My name is Ben Hawethad. If you don't want to become monster-chow, you better come with me."

A/N: Gods, this was an emotionally draining chapter to write. So, what do think of the story so far? To the people who came here from 'Apollo', what do you think of the changes to the story? And I don't know about you all, but Jason's death at the end of ToA 'Burning Maze' did not sit well with me. I really would have prefered it if Piper died. Or Meg. Or even Leo or Percy. Anybody but my boy, Jason.