~ Camp Half Blood ~
Dawn was on the verge of breaking, the sky waiting to flourish in baby pinks and fluorescent oranges interlaced with wisps of cloud in a fairy tale like magnificence. At the very top of half blood hill a single pine tree stood surrounded by the shadows of a small group of demigods. Amongst them, the children of the elder Gods sat, as well as three other demigods, ushered hastily up the hill by flustered counsellors and made to sit just inside the boundary line to avoid unnecessary trouble.
It had been no issue for Malcolm to get Annabeth ready; she was more than excited to be leaving the camp and had organised her own things. Likewise, the Aphrodite cabin had been excited to get a travel bag ready for their youngest sibling, as well as get the girl ready herself.
For Katie it had been a completely different story. She'd had the foresight to get the demigod's stuff ready the night before and shepherd them all to one cabin. But of course, there was the risk of one brother killing the other two's children, and she really didn't want to be responsible for a war just because she wanted a bigger lay-in. After a lot of indecision and a chat with Chiron, the daughter of Demeter had decided on putting Thalia and Nico in Percy's cabin, since Poseidon was likely to be the most forgiving of his brother's children's presences in his cabin. Besides, she was sure he was (sometimes) laid back. Well; she'd prayed extra hard that night to him.
All that aside, remarkably they'd managed to get to the hill on time and stood talking about the transport. Chiron had said England but failed to mention how.
"You think they'll go by plane?" Beckendorf asked Malcolm unsurely.
Athena's son shook his head; "No, not with Percy and Nico there. I'd say boat but … unless they took the road but that's basically impossible …" Thinking hard, they left him to ponder.
But it wasn't long until the sun began to peak over the horizon, and with it Malcolm's realisation. "Of course!" He exclaimed, at the same time as Annabeth who shouted; "Apollo!"
The sun was rising, yes, but the light was driving towards them and they all knew that it was Apollo who drove his chariot across the sky. Of course, they also knew that he was sometimes lazy enough to tip a minor God, but with the threat looming over their shoulders it was probable that only a major God such as himself who had been tasked the escort.
Thalia paled to think of herself flying. It was absurd, she knew even then, that a daughter of Zeus should not fear the sky, but she couldn't help herself. Dreams tortured her of flying; of falling to her death, of her father, whatever he was like, watching from his throne whilst she fell.
The light became so intense that they had to shield their eyes. When it felt safe to look without burning their retinas away, the light had subsided somewhat and in its place parked a steaming (literally) red Maserati spyder. Propped against it stood a blonde man of about 6ft with Ray Ban shades over his eyes, tanned arms crossed over a muscular body and a large, stark white grin on his face. They didn't shine a lot less than the car.
Apollo: Twin archer, Olympian God of light, music and healing. And of course, the sun.
It was at this point that Chiron galloped up the hill, bowing down to the 22-year-old looking man before them all. It did look strange; a weathered and undoubtedly wise centaur, a bow gripped tightly in his hand, bowing before such a young looking man.
However strange it looked, however aged Chiron seemed, had Apollo lifted his shades, their eyes would have screamed the same length of life; the same battles gained and lost and the much the same suffering, though on different scales through the thousands of years.
"Welcome, Lord Apollo." The centaur greeted.
"Chiron!" Apollo exclaimed, his smile widening if possible.
"I thank you for your help in this," Chiron declared, straightening up. His mahogany eyes caught the light as he gazed across the skyline, and they were dark. Darker than Malcolm thought he had ever seen during his nine years at camp. The centaur was certainly colder, more uptight than ever before.
It made the son of Athena think that maybe, this time he had misunderstand the severity of the situation.