Haha! Fast update! :D Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!


Next Stop: Chicago

The three demigods and sun god gathered around a secluded part of the park. While Annabeth consulted with Nico, explaining all that had happened at Camp, Thalia sat on the half-broken bench so that Apollo could heal her leg.

There was a tense, awkward silence that was thickening between the two. Thalia was staring unseeingly towards his hands, which glowed a light green over her leg from his healing powers. She felt warmth and seep into the cut, instantly relaxing her whole leg. Ironically, it was the same leg that had gotten shot with an arrow. Funny how things worked like that.

On the flip side, Apollo had a flurry of thoughts running through his mind. One of them being—of course—Thalia. It was like Meliboea all over again. Now that it was confirmed that Cephissus was the enemy here, his worries about her safety increased tenfold. Cephissus was a dangerous man. He was one of the most power-hungry people in their history. That's why Apollo had to turn him into a sea monster: he was just too dangerous. He had the knowledge and means to obtain mighty power, but he used it for evil ways.

It was obvious that Cephissus was bitter and angry towards Apollo. (Who wouldn't be after being turned into a sea monster?) And like most of Apollo's enemies, they sought revenge on him by hurting his loved ones, not he himself. He'd rather take the brunt (he knew he could handle them—he'd done it before) instead of someone like Thalia.

He swallowed hard, pushing back all the worry and anger he felt: anger towards their fight, worry about her safety. He knew that between their impasse and the new threat, things were not going to be very pleasant between them.

Apollo sighed softly, leaning back when he finished healing Thalia's leg. "There," he spoke, an edge of bitterness to his voice as he stood up. Thalia stared at him, a pang of hurt striking her along with anger. "Hey—"

"Alright," Nico interrupted, standing up to Apollo. "Explain to me what the Hades is going on."

Apollo sighed and leaned against the stub of the tree that had been knocked over, crossing his arms and staring at his colorful shoes. "Fine. A while back, the gods started having troubles with this river god, Cephissus. He was a real power-hungry man, intent on using his power to basically unleash chaos on mortals—causing floods, droughts, and even a mini hurricane once. Honestly, I couldn't stand the guy. He was a no-good, cocky prick. I suggested turning him into a sea monster and letting Poseidon control him, knowing that Poseidon would be able to keep an eye on him and contain him if necessary."

Nico blinked. "Sounds pretty bulletproof to me. How'd he escape?"

"Some foolish demigod was tricked into releasing him some thousand years ago," Apollo said grimly. "Rage and power don't mix well together. It causes a man to go crazy—uncontrollable, unpredictable. Poseidon and I fought hard to contain him. Eventually, we were able to constrain him to the Underworld with the help of your father."

Nico let that process as Annabeth mentioned, "And now we need your help to chain him back."

Apollo nodded. "Only Hades or a child of Hades can bond a creature to the Underworld. Unfortunately, your father wasn't too happy to help us the first time, and I highly doubt he'd help us this time around."

He thought about it for all of two seconds before finally shrugging. "Sounds cool to me. I'm in."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"So now we head to the Underworld, right?" he asked.

"Right," Apollo responded. "He'll no doubt be following us, trying to kill us, so when we finally get to L.A., it'll be easier to capture him and get him down there."

And so, the quartet gathered their stuff and started chasing the sun towards L.A.

They got to the edge of the city before finally stopping to make camp for the night. When asked why Apollo was still traveling with them, he simply replied, "He…somewhat challenged me. As far as I'm concerned, that's good enough, meaning I don't have to hold back as much."

And that was that. Apollo would be travelling with them.

"But doesn't that upset the Golden Three rule?" Annabeth asked, glancing towards Nico. No one, especially Nico, could forget what happened when more than three demigods went on a quest. "I know you're a god and everything, but even gods have to obey by Ancient rules."

"We'll be fine, I'm sure," he mumbled, not exactly looking at her.

Annabeth just bit her tongue. She wanted to say more, but she knew it would be done in futile. Nothing was going to keep Apollo from staying with Thalia now.

As Nico and Annabeth started setting up camp, Apollo went to lean against a tree, staring at the outline of Manhattan, one of the greatest cities in America. He would always remember his time there last Christmas, when he fell in love with Thalia.

"It's pretty cool, huh?"

The sun god glanced over and found Thalia standing beside him, her black hair blowing softly in the breeze as her electric blue eyes lit up the night.

"Hm," he hummed, looking back towards the skyline.

"That man could build something so…complicated."

Thalia glanced towards him, watching as his face tensed and his jaw clenched. His eyes became guarded, hiding all the emotions she knew he was feeling. She hated that when they fought, their fights lasted for days on end. Thankfully they didn't fight too often, but when they did…She just hated it.

"Why didn't you just tell me when you realized it was him?" she asked softly, breaking through his thoughts.

He swallowed away his bitter feelings, shaking his head lightly. "I didn't want you to worry. I knew that if I told you, you would only try to help, and I don't want another repeat of Meliboea," he muttered darkly.

Thalia gave a humorless chuckle. "Well it pretty much is a repeat."

"Yeah, and I almost lost you," he pointed out, standing up to tower over her. He stared into her eyes, trying to convey his feelings, to show her why he had lied to her: to protect her.

"I could've helped you," she said strongly. "I'm not weak!"

Apollo didn't say anything for a minute. Then… "I can't risk it," he muttered quietly.

Thalia stared back into his eyes, trying to understand exactly what he was thinking. She was starting to see just exactly how much he cared for her. All the worry and concerns he held for her…all the love…it caused her heart to burst to know that someone cared so deeply for her.

But there was always that one problem.

"How can I trust you if you won't let me in?" she asked softly, almost too lightly for him to hear.

Apollo froze, stunned by her accusation. On the contrary, he'd shown her more of himself than he'd ever shown a woman. None of his ex-girlfriends or past lovers could measure up to Thalia. She loved every aspect of him, the good and the bad. She'd lost her position as his sister's lieutenant, and yet she'd stayed with him.

But she was right. Why couldn't he trust her?

"I'm sorry," he suddenly apologized, never breaking eye contact with her bright blue eyes. "I'm sorry for lying to you and for not trusting you. I'm just so scared," he said honestly, grabbing her upper arms gently. "I'm scared of losing you. I'm scared you'll get hurt…" He swallowed hard, his voice lowering to a low mumble. "I'm afraid that I'll break my promise to you, or that you'll realize how much better you can do."

All of the jumbled thoughts and feelings in Thalia's head suddenly came to a halting stop. Understanding slowly filled her body as she finally realized exactly why Apollo had lied to her. She knew it took a lot for a man to admit he was scared, but to know that he was scared because he loved her so much…it did wonders to her heart.

Slowly, she grabbed his strong jaw in her small, lithe hands. She smiled softly, staring into his sad, bright green eyes. She leaned in and placed her lips onto his in a soft, reassuring kiss. He gratefully kissed her back, loving that familiar feel of her soft lips against his.

She pulled back but kept him close. "I'll always love you," she murmured. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

And he believed her, even if the feeling only lasted for a few days before that constant, lingering fright settled back in.


The next day, the sun was shining bright and hot and there was a slight breeze in the air. The four had packed up camp and was now conversing about travel plans to get to L.A.

"What about the entrance back in Manhattan?" Nico suggested. "It would save a lot of time."

"But we need Cephissus to follow us," Annabeth reminded.

"And besides," Apollo spoke up, "Hades blocked off the exit. He probably figured we would try to use it. He's going to try to go against us as much as possible, even if you are here," he clarified, looking towards Nico.

"Okay…" Thalia trailed. "So then how do we get there?"

Apollo then produced four tickets from thin air. Upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be train tickets that would get the group all the way to Chicago.

"Unfortunately, we have about a two hour drive to get to the train station, and after Chicago, we're on our own," he said.

"Alright…" Thalia trailed again. "And how do we get to the train station? Good old fashion walking?"

He smirked. "Nope."

And then suddenly, a black BMW Convertible appeared in front of them with the top down. There was a sun key-chain hanging from the rear-view mirror. The seats were gray leather, and the vehicle purred nice and low. It would give any car guru the goose bumps.

"Shot gun!" Nico shouted, practically sprinting over to the passenger's side and jumping in. Annabeth just sighed and climber in the seat behind the driver's seat.

"Ostentatious," Thalia said through clenched teeth, glaring at Apollo before crawling into the seat behind the passenger's seat.

Apollo just grinned, pulling his Aviators from his shirt and putting them on.

He loved being a god.


Some drama and then light-hearted fun at the end. Hope you guys like the ApolloThalia bit in the middle.

I miss writing Percy :( I might have to bring him in sometime soon...

Thanks for reading and review please! Again, thanks to all of my supporters and to all those who reviewed last chapter!

-Akatsuki Child