A/N: I know the last time I updated was in January... And I am reaaaally sorry about that. However, I will always finish a story. It just may take me a while to get there. I vowed to not sleep today until I finished and updated the chapter, so here I am. Since this thing is so long, I sort of gave up on the editing process, so if anything seems out of place that's the reason why. I know there shouldn't technically be any reason for my laziness, but you're lucky to even have a chapter anyway. Beggars can't be choosers, especially when this writer tends to get horrific writer's blocks. Anyway, here's the chapter! Only one more to go...

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Shadow Traveling to the cave was the easiest part of the journey. Facing my fears and nervousness however, was another story. I had appeared on some uneven ground in the cave, throwing myself off balance before clinging to the wall just to keep on my feet. Once I settled myself, I inched myself through the underground pathway. Due to my impulsive behaviour, I had walked blindly into battle, without any thought. Because of that, I was now sightless and exhausted from my choice of travel. I gripped onto a spike coming up through the floor, my fingers nearly slipping off the smooth stone. I slithered forward, watching where I placed my feet.

"I'm going to die before I even get to Erebos." I said, my voice coming back to my ears. I couldn't say I was surprised at how my worrisome my voice sounded.

I ventured on slightly further until rocks jutted out from underneath my feet. Yelping, I clung onto the nearest solid thing my flailing arms could find. I cursed loudly, the cave flinging the words back at me.

"I've made a mistake." I told the cave walls, who parroted me once again. I lowered myself to a sitting position, sucking in the breath that I had lost during my scare. I calmed my frantic nerves the best I could. I forced my pounding heart to level out to a normal pace.

I decided then to take a minute to plan out my already tricky position that I had simply waltzed into.

"Okay," I started. Speaking aloud somehow made me feel like a real thing, rather than just another shadow in the dark of the cave. "What do you have for resources?"

I fingered my bow and quiver, filled with less than a dozen arrows. I sighed. I drew from the shadows another bow, setting the wooden one down. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. The faintest sense of a solid weapon. If I didn't know it was there, I could have easily mistook it for nothingness.

I let the bow go then, allowing it to fall back to the shadows. "I can't use that."

Erebos was darkness, nothingness. He was shadow and the abyss, all in one. I had learned from the Shades that I couldn't fight shadow with another shadow. I unslung my bow from my shoulder, testing the draw weight. It was light, for a naturally gifted archer. I guessed it was nearly forty pounds. Testing the string experimentally, I chewed on my lip.

What had I been thinking when I set off to fight a god, armed with nothing but a yew longbow and a couple of arrows? I wasn't thinking.

"Although," I argued myself, "When have gods ever been defeated with just brawn?"

Sisyphus, the mortal who had tricked the gods into living again had managed to trick not only Hades, but Persephone as well. Most of the legend had escaped me, but the idea of trickery still drifted about.

"Alright, now all you need is cunning plan."

I leaned against what I presumed was a slab of stone in the cave, drumming on it with my fingers. I had never been a thinker, or even a kid of action. My actions were simply made on the spot, something I had come to regret. Minutes bled by and eventually, I carefully stood up. There was no point in trying to create a plan, when there wasn't one to be had.

Somewhat aggravated, I collected my bow and slung it over my shoulder.

I slipped then, as I moved forward to carry on my path of suicide. I crashed onto my back and started sliding down the cave, hitting one thing after another on my way down. I couldn't stop myself from shouting. I desperately searched for something to hold onto to stop my increasingly dangerous situation.

That's when I really began to fall.

I tumbled off the edge, feeling nothing as I plummeted through the air. It was over in the longest heart beat I had ever been forced to suffer through, and with a painful thud, I crashed onto the ground. The jolt jarred me from one bone through another.

It was then when I realized Sisyphus had been pushed for his trickery, forced to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have it crash down to the bottom just before he reached the top.

I laid there for what seemed like hours. I was perfectly content to give up, to lay there as my body ached and complained about the abuse I had put it through. I stared with open eyes at the ceiling, as black as ever. I closed my eyes, seeing the same blackness.

"Quit reminding me." I growled at the black. I took a few deep breaths, finding that I could finally breathe freely after the fall had taken my air away. I struggled up to a sitting position, flexing my muscles.

A sharp pain ran up my left right arm, at first an ice cold stinging that started to burn. Biting my tongue to keep in my flow of words, I wished that I could see the problem. Flexing the arm more slowly than before, I tried to decipher how bad the injury was to my arm. When my bow arm refused to feel any better after a few minutes, I knew then that it wouldn't, or at least not for a while. I unsheathed my bow, and attempted to pull back the string with my right, chewing on my lips. When I only made it to half draw before my injured bow hand gave way, I felt my already slim chances sputter out to pure failure. I crawled to my feet, stretching out my back. The tiny cracks it made were amplified by the cave surrounding me.

"Alright, let's keep going." I told myself.

"Yes. Lets."

I almost took the voice for the cave parroting me again. I paused in my steps, stupidly looking over my shoulders. Suddenly, a light flickered on at the end of the cave. The dim flame was blinding, stinging my eyes with the sudden change. I flinched way from it, bringing up my arms to shield myself from it. Slowly I got used to the light. With my eyes open, taking in the cave, I could see him sitting at the far end of cave.

Erebos was perched lightly on a throne made of the cave itself, a naturally made chair. He stood at his godly twelve feet, an oil lamp at his feet. Even on the other side of the cave he appeared daunting.

"I see you've already established a nice chair to sit on." I said, testing the bow in my hands. If Erebos saw the action, he didn't seem fazed by it.

"I believe the word you are looking for is throne." He said in an educating manner. He sat with one leg crossed over another, he played with his hair with one hand while the other rested on the armrest of the stone throne. His pose seemed elegant, as did the outline of the suit he wore.

"I'm sure…" I replied. With that, I brought up the bow and the arrow I had nocked and fired it into the dark.

I heard a faint snap as Erebos' large hands caught the arrow and broke it in half. He threw back the splintered pieces of the arrow.

"Nice trick." He seemed unimpressed by my actions. Shaking out my already aching wrist, I realized that sheer force wasn't going to be the answer.

"You have to leave." I told the deity, rather boldly.

"Do I?"

"You can't hope to accomplish what you want to achieve." I heard what seemed like an amused snort come from the god, sitting relaxed in his throne. "Kronos tried to do what you're doing. He was brought down. By Percy Jackson. Surely you've heard of him."
I could see the god waving his hand passively. "Yes, yes the little mortal hero. He hasn't been around much, has he?"

"Well-"

The god stood from his chair in one fluent movement, taking large steps towards me. He waved his hand, the shadows coming together like a screen. I could see in shades of black, white and grey the camp. Surely enough, Percy had just come through the camp borders with Annabeth at his side. Narrowing my eyes, I watched as Chiron trotted up the hill, greeting them both.

"There's not much he can do. I'm an old god, Lyn Barker. Very few understand the prowess I have, and even fewer know who I am."

"Why now, so soon after the Second Titan War?"

"What do you know of that war? You are very ignorant Lyn Barker, thinking that you can come into a world like this. You were better off being a mortal. It is unfortunate that boy had to find you."

"That boy saved my life. I would have been hunted by now, by some monster."

"Your chances of being destroyed by a monster as you put it, have only increased. Your death is right around the corner. Very few of your kind survive to adulthood."

"Because of creatures like you." I spat, my short temper rising.

Erebos receded back to his throne, sitting bolt upright on the stone. "I could keep you safe."

"You couldn't even keep your own name alive. How do you expect to keep me alive? I've been told that I attract the worst in the world."

That seemed to hit a nerve with the god. With a simple gesture I was thrown on my back, pinned there by a covert force.

"This is not the first time I have tried to talk sense into you." The god said, sounding annoyed.

"Really?" I questioned. "Because to me it seems like the opposite."

A low growl erupted from his mouth, the cavern shaking along with it.

"Your potential is wasted."

"What potential?" I asked, half-sarcastically. I found it harder to breathe with the weight of the hidden force weighing down on my chest.

"If you would have paid attention, you would understand. Yet, you are mortal. Your tiny brains can never comprehend much."

"Explain it to me… then." I tried shifting, hoping that the pressure would ease. I was out of luck.

"Your potential is simply your heritage. Of what you are."

"Speaking… in riddles…" My strength was faltering, red spots flickering in my sight.

"The Prophecy child, may not concern you but it involves you."
"Really not helping…" I gasped. "Could you lighten it up some?"

"No. You are finally listening." His tone almost mirrored a parent talking to a stubborn child.

"I might listen better if I could breathe!"

Rolling his eyes, the god released the pressure. I sucked in a deep breath, rolling onto my side.

"Now will you stop your insufferable complaining?"

I sat up, clawing back my hair. I nodded to the god. There was little else I could do without a decent weapon, or even a plan.

"So you're saying I'm special." I said eventually.

Erebos, now leaning back into his throne comfortably, began to explain.

"No. You're nothing more than a mere mortal. However, I could make you more than that. If you realize your potential, I could take over and shape up the human race, create new immortals."

I opened my mouth to argue, but snapped it shut again. It would be best for my endeavours to keep myself on the god's good side.

"Yet again, the 'potential' you speak of."

The god exhaled his exasperation "In your ignorance, you fail to see the scripted right and wrong. You go off on your own accord."

I nodded, pretending to understand.

"I can show you what the world should be. What it can be."

"Why do you need me? I'm all but worthless in comparison to you."

"Although that is true," Erebos purred, "I do have a desire for you."

"Desire to do what? As far as I am concerned."

Erebos smiled then, a ghastly looking thing. "Bring as many as you can onto our side. Those who you fail to convert, we get rid of. We can start anew."

I tried to hide my shudders. The idea of teaming with the half-insane, long forgotten god unnerved me.

"Why do you want to start a new breed of people?" I asked, keeping as much respect in my voice as I could.

"Come and see." The god invited, lowering his hand to the floor. I shuffled to my feet, kicking something as I went. Looking down I saw it was the broken arrow shaft that Erebos had thrown back at me after my foolish attempt of injuring the god. I stumbled forward, tripping up on my own feet. Down on all fours, I flicked the arrow underneath me. I concealed it up my jacket's sleeve and got back up again. I looked back up at the god who waited patiently for me to come to him. I trotted over, looking down at the hand he offered. When I refused to use it at as a lift, he snatched me up in his hand before roughly placing me on the arm of his throne.

Same as before, he brought up a screen in dark shades. With the images he created, he portrayed New York. The symbolic Empire State Building in the background towered over the other buildings around it. Feet below were men and women and children, hurrying about going from place to another.

"I don't see the problem. It's just the way-" I was quieted with a glare. I cringed away from his gaze and went back to watching the scene.

"You mortals have lost your way. You lazy about, doing absolutely nothing to help yourselves. Just like the gods. I can do much better."

Not wanting to look at his face, already too close, I stared straight ahead. "You want to make the people better?"

"If that is the way your mind perceives it, then yes."

"But why all of the violence?" This time I looked to him, trying to keep a level gaze.

"In order to rebuild, something must be broken."

I felt my brows crease together. "You're willing to destroy the Earth's population, just to rebuild it?"

"Not all sacrifice is horrendous, Lyn Barker."

"I yet to understand how I have any part to play." I said.

"Simply, I will take you on behalf of the demigods of the word, a human, one of every kind of being to help reform the world."

"Only one?"

"One is all I need."

I looked back to the screen. It had shifted from modern day New York, to nothing but a flat earth. The mountains had broken, cities turned to rubble. Sitting on a solitary throne on Mount Olympus- the original Mount Olympus, in Greece- with surprisingly, me at his side.

"Power is the key to loyalty. Promise a man his weight in gold and he will come to do you bidding. That gold gives him power." Erebos explained. "I can offer you power. Control. I know you do not like orders. Frankly, neither do I. We could rule ourselves."

I licked my lips in temptation. I had always enjoyed the aspects of being free roaming, living life the way I dictated.

"Rule over what? A god has never shared with a mortal before, and I doubt that will change."

"The demigods that come to us. I would rather not bother myself with them, although I'm sure you would disagree."

I dared a glance up at the god, who was staring straight ahead.

"It sounds… agreeable. However, there's just one problem?"

His gaze was unmoving. "And what would that be?"

I loosened the arrow in my sleeve, letting it drop into my hands. I turned slowly, scowling.

"I'm not you."

Springing to my feet, I leapt up onto his shoulder and drove my arrow down into his skin.

The god snarled, swatting left and right.

"You insufferable creature!" He yelled, the cave shaking with his outrage. Before I could jump off the throne myself, I was thrown off. Erebos' hands swooped me off my feet, sending me crashing back down to the floor.

Breathing heavily, the god was no less hurt than he was pleased with my actions.

"You are still blind!" He seethed. I got to my knees and then to my feet, staggering forward.

"Can't you understand?" The god bellowed.

He extinguished the oil lamp at his feet, leaving me in the pitch black.

"Maybe this will convince you."

Encasing me in black, I finally saw what had been hidden. I finally saw the Prophecy.

Never before had he been as vulnerable as he was now. Apollo, like all of the gods and goddesses had some form of prophecy. He would receive bits and pieces of the future, but being the sole patron of prophecy, Apollo was able take larger glimpses.

He was sitting in his chariot, legs swinging over the side as he waited for sun up when he first saw the Prophecy in his head. Apollo's back stiffened as he saw flashing images. He saw black clouds rolling across the earth, threatening and dangerous. At first he thought them to be his Uncle Zeus' storm clouds, but quickly discarded the thought when the clouds seemed too dark to be the King of the Gods' creation. Suddenly, the visions stopped. Confused, Apollo searched. He was always able to steal glances into the future, whenever he liked. Now he saw nothing, just emptiness. The god began to feel something he hadn't felt in a very long time… panic. His visions came often and vividly, but now to see nothing? He tapped a nervous beat on the floor of his drifting chariot. He searched as deep as he could, wanting to know more about the symbolism of the clouds. What he received after his searching however, was not what he had expected. In the rubble of what had been Olympus, sat two. A deity, but importantly, a child. It was a girl…

No. A boy. A girl. A child?

The child's face changed seconds after it had solidified. That meant to the god that the events had yet to take place, or so he hoped. He decided eventually that he would watch the problem, and take action later. Something he had never done before.

Short months later, during the meeting of the winter solstice, Apollo joined the other gods in the great all, taking a seat upon his throne. As usual, he took up a casual posture with one leg thrown over the arm of his throne, a music device in his hand and headphones in his ears. He watched as gods entered the hall in all of their elegance. As normal, the gods receded back to their original forms. Ares had his armour, as most did the gods, while the goddesses wore their elegant cotton gowns.

"Did you forget the meeting?" Came a voice. Apollo unplugged one headphone from his ear, looking to Hermes with a blank face.

"I'm here are aren't I?" The god retorted. Hermes, in reply, gestured to Apollo's non-traditional clothes.

He had taken the form of a younger man, as he was often seen in old legends and myths. However, replacing the armour, he wore a simple leather jacket and jeans, along with a dusty pair of shoes, far beyond recognition of what they once were.

Putting his headphones back into his ear, he said, "I wanted to change things up."

Hermes regarded him suspiciously. Before he could question his half-brother, his father Zeus called the Olympians to order. The gods and goddess seated themselves, paying attention to Zeus. Even Apollo turned his head that way, watching with minimal interest as usual. The King began discussing matters that had been brought to his attention, whether from the Olympians or minor gods and immortals.

Exhaling, Apollo prepared himself for dreadful hours to come. Increasing the volume of his music to unhuman levels, he sank deeper into his throne. His mind began to wander. He thought of the black clouds that had been haunting his mind, and the child, his child as he had learned through continuous pressing into the future. He saw some of his more recognized children, cabin leaders at the camp they had gone to. Then they shifted into children he had never seen before. He figured those were children he had yet to have. No matter how much he searched, all her received were blurry, short glimpses into a future so threatening and worrisome, it had just about turned the god from a carefree immortal into somebody more like his father, constantly moody and serious. He didn't like it.

Suddenly, Apollo felt eyes upon him. Closing his eyes momentarily, he reopened them and sat up straight, wrapping up his headphones and music player, unceremoniously shoving them into his pocket.

"Can I help you?" He asked no one in particular.

His sister replied coldly, "If you had been listening, you would know that we were discussing."

Rolling his eyes towards his sister, he looked around the room, expecting an explanation.

"We were wondering if you had anything to say. You've always got something to complain about." Hermes said, sitting close by.

Apollo shook his head with a surge of confidence.
"But you always have something to say." Artemis argued, raising a brow suspiciously towards her brother.

"Well, now I have nothing to say."

Each god and goddess was looking to Apollo at that point. Of course, some with more interest than others. Aphrodite yawned, showing her own disregard for the matters at hand.

"Does it really matter? We have much more important things to discuss. Now-"

"Shush!" Artemis demanded, leaving Aphrodite to force away a scowl from her face. Apollo wondered if it was because of the potential wrinkles it would leave behind.

With the attention of the gods on Apollo once more, he could feel questions burning their tongues. The God of the Sun begged, hoped that they did not ask him anything. It was rumoured that the deity did not tell a lie, and it was a rumour known to be true amongst the gods.

"Have you seen anything?" Demanded Athena. The blonde-haired, grey-eyed goddess was strict in her tone.

"Yes." Apollo replied as quietly as he could.

Leaning forward on their thrones, the gods waited for a more elaborate answer.

"We too have seen something." Came Athena. "Something potentially dangerous."

Apollo frowned, his thoughts piecing together the puzzle.

"Tell us what you have seen, Apollo." Zeus said, narrowing his dark eyes towards his immortal son.

Apollo shook his head once. "I cannot, and you know I cannot tell you. Only my Oracle is allowed to speak of the future. Otherwise, what is the point?"

"If it involves us…" Warned Athena, her voice directed not only towards Apollo but the others in the council.

"Then we will know." Apollo reassured them. Zeus refused the god's calm words.

"If you see even a fraction of what we have, we must all discuss our plan of action."

Ares grunted from near Apollo, "It'll be another war."

Ignoring him, Zeus sat in his throne, his hands curling into fists.

"Apollo, tell us what you have seen." It was more a demand, than a request.

"But-"

"But nothing!" Roared the King, the sound of thunder evident in the hall. "Kronos almost over threw us, now the future refuses to be!"

"There must be a future. There will always be a future." Apollo uncertainly argued. "I have been looking for what has happened."

"And?" Pushed the Goddess of Wisdom. Her grey eyes were untrusting and angry.

Apollo's fist slammed down on the arm of his throne.

"Enough!" He roared. "You all know very well that I can't say a thing!"

"Little brother, you do not understand. We have all seen what you have, but you have seen more and you must tell us what it is we can expect."

Suddenly, all of the gods in the hall began shouting out and hollering, demanding answers. The loud noises became unbearable for the god, reduced to feeling aggravated and pressured. Massaging his temples, Apollo listened to their questions.

"Are they one of us?"

"Is it betrayal?"

"Is it a mortal? Or another demigod?"

Question after question was asked, all going without an answer. Until, he snapped.

"A god and a child! Is that what you wanted to know?"

The barking of the immortals ceased in a split of a second. Eyes burned into him, still questioning the god.

"Who?" Hephaestus questioned, his baritone voice echoing off of the marble walls and pillars.

"I don't know." Apollo said. "All I know is that-"

The god froze midsentence, snapping his mouth shut. Although it had felt nice to release what he had kept pent up inside of his mind, he edged around the topic of the child who always appeared in his visions. His own child, his instincts told him. He'd recognize his own eyes anywhere.

"What do you know?" Zeus asked, sitting taught in the throne he had claimed. When Apollo said nothing that only seemed to frustrate the King of the Gods more.

"Tell us, Apollo. I demand it."

"It's against the laws."

"Who is the child?" Zeus was bristling at this point. Children had never been a good topic with the gods these past few years. The god had decided to keep his distance away from them after the Second Titan War, despite their vital roles.

Reluctantly, Apollo took a breath to answer. "One of mine."

The words flowed out of his mouth, tearing at him as he said them.

The gods stared at him with a variety of expressions. When he expected growls and more shouting, he received none.

"One of your own betray us?" Zeus' voice voiced the thoughts of so many. Apollo glances to his right. Hermes was there, a sad, sympathetic look in his face.

"We can't let this happen. Not again." Zeus decided. Apollo looked up to his father, a frown lingering on his features.

"And by what means do you propose to take care of this situation?"

Zeus, with a blank and pitiless face replied, "Their termination."

Apollo was on his feet before he registered his own movement, shouting towards his father. "They are children!"

"They are threats!" He argued.

"You made it illegal to harm another's child. What are you going to do, turn them all into trees?"

A deep rumbling shook the hall as faint sparks crackled around Zeus. Apollo stood his ground, hands curled into fists.

"I shall not do such a thing." Zeus decreed. "You created the problem, it is your task to get rid of it."

"By killing my own?"

Apollo's mind pondered his order, emotions swelling up inside of him. He had learned over the eons he had lived to stay out of his children's lives as much as he could, here and there sending them gifts when his children were out on quests or had pleased them. Apollo kept his eye out for them and looked after them in the best way he could.

"It is for the greater good. A sacrifice."

"Is that what you are going to call it?" Apollo asked bitterly. He sat back in his throne.

"I want you to do it after the council concludes." Zeus decided. "I don't want this problem lingering around any longer than necessary."

The King of the Gods regarded his son with darkened eyes, without a hint of sympathy for what the immortal would have to do.

"Children are replaceable. We are not."

Apollo passed through the camp's borders that night. Guided by his sister's silver moonlight, the god made his way to the gold cabin that his children rustled about in, preparing themselves for the night. As he walked to fulfill his ghastly order, he tried to tell himself why he was doing it. As Zeus had stated, it was for the benefit of the gods, as with the mortals. Another war would just kill those who had survived the last one. Surely the death of a few children…

Your children, he thought to himself. Looking down at himself, he realized he was flickering. Stress had never suited the care-free immortal, and now with the biggest load he had ever suffered through, he risked losing control of his physical form.

"It's for the better." He told himself, the sound of his own voice doing nothing to help him.

He reached the cabin and pushed open the door, refusing to hesitate now. Several pairs of eyes met his gaze as he walked in, hands in his pockets. The children, varying in ages, began to whisper to themselves at the appearance of the godly stranger. They all knew it was him. Each recognized features about the god that made it perfectly clear.

"Dad!" A close by girl exclaimed, a grin coming across her face. Apollo's frown only deepened. The children began to form a tight circle around the god, each wanting to get a closer look at their divine parent. It was a rare treat to receive face-to-face contact.

"What's wrong?" Asked one, pushing his way through to the front of the tightly packed center.

"Ah, Alan."

The blonde haired and blue eyed boy was the eldest out of the group, named temporary councillor, seeing as the old one had died during the Second Titan War.

Apollo sighed, forcing a half smile on his face. He held out his hand to his son, who stared at the invitation with wide eyes. Eventually, the boy took the gods hand. Apollo brought him forward, wanting a better look at the son he had sired. He looked similar to the form Apollo often chose when dealing with mortals. It different greatly from the older age and black curly hair he sported now. He said no words, but simply held his son still by the shoulders. He glanced around the room. Wide eyes were everywhere, the campers in awe at the sight of their godly parent.

"Come on, into bed. It's getting late." He finally said, sounding much like a father should.

Apollo sat down on the foot of the bed, unsure if it were occupied or not. Children dashed around the cabin, finding their spots. It was Alan the Eldest who stayed on his feet, watching his father closely, almost with suspicion.

A smaller boy called out from the top of a bunk bed, "Alan! Get into bed!"

"Yeah, Alan!" Whispered another. "Don't ruin this for us."

The sandy haired boy finally submitted to his half-sisters and half-brother's request and slid into his own bed.

Suddenly, there was a tug on his old leather jacket. Looking down, Apollo saw a little girl no older than eight standing there. Realizing he was sitting on her bed, Apollo shifted over to the end of it, pulling back the covers for her to slide in.

"Thank you." She said as politely as she could. Smiling quickly, Apollo put back the covers, looking about the room once more.

"Why are you here?" Asked a girl. "I thought the gods weren't allowed to interfere in our lives."

"I have an exemption." Apollo replied. The answer seemed to be enough for the kids in the cabin. They didn't push anymore.

"You have a big day tomorrow. Going up against Ares' kids in Capture the Flag?"

"Are we going to win?" One girl asked excitedly, hanging over the edge of the bed railing.

"We have a great plan!"

"Shut up, Dawn."

She scowled but followed the order of her elder.

"We'll win." Yvonne said, sounding as confident as ever. Apollo remembered her mother, who she looked fairly similar to. She was a French women who could play the violin better than any mortal he had ever heard. He remembered all their mothers, as he remembered their children together. It made his task that much harder.

"I just wanted…" He began, allowing his sentence to trail off. Apollo had never been loss for words of any sort. It was strange for him to struggle to explain.

"I just wanted to check in." He decided to say. As unrealistic that may sound to him, his children all smiled both to each other and to him.

"Now, it's getting late." He said. "You need your rest to win Capture the Flag. Do me proud, won't you? Ares has been flaunting his victory for some time."

"We've got Cabin 11 on our side. All of Hermes' kids plus us? We've got numbers on our side, and speed!" Yvonne said, rallying the spirit of her siblings with her.

"Calm down now." Apollo said, standing from the bed. "I'll sing you a song to help you sleep."

The prospect of being sung to by their father seemed to excite the children, as it would any other demigod, but they did as they were told and all assumed a comfortable position. Apollo counted the beds and his children. They were all accounted for.

He began his song, a chillingly beautiful melody that hadn't been heard by mortal ears since the time of Ancient Greece. Replacing the modern day lullaby, it was filled with low, extended notes. Its true meaning had been lost to the world when the Ancient Greek way had been demolished and rebuilt over the centuries, but Apollo knew what he was singing. His tones set the children to sleep, without knowledge to them. He tapped his fingers against his thigh, adding to the trance like song. He went around to each of his children, touching them on the shoulder, holding their hands, ruffling their hair.

Those still awake smiled under the touch, but all Apollo could do was frown. He paused in his singing, surveying the damage he did. He had inflicted upon them their eventual death. By morning, the sickness he had given them would steal their breath away and the deed would be done.

He made his way to the door, only to be stopped by a sound. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized that he had missed a girl. The same girl who had snuck up on him earlier. Once again, he sat on the edge of her bed. He started to sing again, smoothing back the hair on her head. She too soon enough fell limp to the song.

"Goodnight, Cassandra." He whispered. Ensuring he had finished, the god left the now quiet cabin.

He hurried through the strawberry fields, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his head bent. He was not finished, not yet.

He still had one more child to take care of.

Standing in front of the apartment door, the last gateway he had to pass through to complete his task at full, Apollo thought of the children that had been discovered back at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron had discovered the children in their beds, not one of them breathing. Using his blurry far sight, Apollo had watched their funeral pyres being built while the Athenians quickly sewed their gold shrouds for all of the children. He wished he could see more, but without the sun, it was nearly impossible. He knew that by now the sun must be shining, but he couldn't bring himself to drag the sun across the world. Guilt chewed away at him. He didn't like being reduced to feeble emotions like this.

The door opened, revealing Charlotte. The brown haired woman stared at him with little interest. Her hair was tousled, her pyjamas hanging off of her skinny frame.

"I came to see Lydia."

"Lyn is asleep."

Apollo frowned. "It's midday. Nobody should be asleep."
"I was. It's dark out." Charlotte growled. Apollo rolled his eyes at Charlotte's opposition.

"I need to see Lydia." Apollo said again, his tone turning from a sunny tone, to ice.

Charlotte followed his hostility. "You will not see her. You lost that privilege."

The woman blocked his way with her body, closing the door as much as she could for added protection. Making his never-ending life even more difficult, Apollo decided to do something he would later regret.

Grabbing a hold of her wrist, he forced blindness onto Charlotte. Her eyes went from a lovely hazel he used to love into an ugly white.

"I can't see." She gasped as Apollo pushed his way through into the apartment. "I CAN'T SEE!"

"I'll mute you in a minute if you don't shut up." Apollo growled. He had never shouted at any of his previous lovers before, or at Charlotte, no matter how angry she had gotten at him four years ago during his departure. Now, was different however.

Wisely following the god's instructions, she began to weep to herself, sinking to the floor where she stood.

"Where is Lydia?" Apollo asked. He looked around the tiny apartment. "Lydia!"

He called her name, and sure enough, a tiny voice could be heard.

A toddler came barrelling around the corner of the couch and stopped behind the makeshift coffee table, looking frightfully towards the stranger. She had heard her mother's shouting.

"Lydia, come here." Demanded Apollo, holding out his hand. Little did the infant know, the same illness that had killed her half-brothers and sisters rested in his divine palms.

Crouching so he was on the same level as the toddler, he called her name more softly. She still didn't come, sharing in the family stubbornness.

Apollo sang then, like a siren. He lured her forward with his voice. She slithered forward like a charmed snake, standing just before the god. Her undeveloped mind was easy to access. She took his outstretched hand, and like any toddler, looked up curiously to see the effects of what it would cause.

Scooping up the child, Apollo went to the couch and took a seat. He waited for the illness to start working. Already, the child's skin tone had dropped to sickly pale shade. She'd be finished within a couple of minutes.

It was then as Lydia, or Lyn as her mother called her, was kept in Apollo's lap when he saw the future return.

The god and the child, now a teen, still lingered. However, what seemed so promising was that the image Apollo saw flickered uncertainly. The strange deity disappeared while the teen still stayed. The same scowl seemed to be a permanent feature, but she was standing in the throne room.

Another deity stood nearby, grinning delightfully as the council talked.

"Oh." Apollo breathed, looking down at the child in his arms. She had fallen limp, her glazed over eyes staring hollowly at the ceiling.

Smiling, Apollo placed a hand on her forehead, reversing the illness.

"A loophole. A delightful loophole." He laughed, the sound reaching the quieted Charlotte's ears.

"What are you doing?" She cried out, still clawing at her eyes violently as if the action could bring back her sight.

Apollo didn't answer her and instead focused on the colour coming back to Lydia's face.

"Good girl, Linnie."

He placed her back on the couch, and with a snap of his fingers produced a shimmering yellow blanket. He wrapped the blanket around the girl, wrapping her up in a protective cocoon. Satisfied that the girl would be alright, he crossed the room and put a hand over Charlotte's eyes, giving back her sight, although the woman was none the wiser at this point.

"Goodbye, Charlotte."

Apollo lifted his hand, and when Charlotte opened her eyes, she saw no man standing there. She only saw her daughter, fast asleep on the couch.

The god himself, however, was quickly travelling to California.

Breaking the law for the second time that day, Apollo marched along the path to the gates of Hell, shrugging off Charon's lecture about the rules he had just broken. The god was filled with a newfound sense of confidence and determination, ready to save the one child he had left. Cerberus growled a warning as the god passed through the gates, but Apollo took no notice. He shuddered as he made his way to Hades' Palace. He hated the underground. The sun couldn't shine here, which resulted him in having limited power.

After what seemed like hours of furious marching, Apollo stood at the palace's gates. Knocking once, the door swung slowly open, allowing the god access to the entrance hall. Apollo already knew the request he had in mind for the God of the Underworld, and he knew how he would achieve the deal he planned for.

Entering the dimly lit throne room, Hades slouched in his ebony seat of power, regarding Apollo with interest.

"Naughty thing to do, nephew. I did not invite you here."

Apollo ignored the slight sarcasm in Hades' voice and replied seriously, "I need to ask you a favour."

A slight smile covered a pair of thin, pale lips.

"Go on."

And with that, Apollo explained his plan.

A short while later, both Apollo and Hades were in agreement with the idea of events.

"I must say, I am quite proud of you. Willing to do this to your father, just for the sake of some… how did he put it? Ah. Replaceable girl."

Apollo sighed. "If you follow up on your part of the bargain and trick her intro agreeing to serve you, Zeus won't be able to touch her and in return, you'll have power over Zeus."

Hades was pleased with the deal he had made.

"And you promise to fulfill your half?" Apollo pushed. Hades waved his concerns away.

"Yes, yes. I should be asking about you."

"I will vote for Persephone's permanent placement here, yes."

"Good." Hades nodded once. "It shall prove to Demeter that she cannot call me a-"

Apollo held up a hand. "I frankly don't care. Now if you excuse me, I will be leaving. I have a sunrise to conduct."

I stared at the darkened screen, bringing up my hands to cover my eyes. Had I really just witnessed the Sacrifice? I tried forcing away the images in my head, but found that I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried.

Suddenly, a hand took one of my hands. Lowering them, I looked to the figure standing beside me. I half-expected it to be Erebos, ready to snap me in half the like the nuisance I was.

"Lydia." Apollo called. I narrowed my eyes at the darkness. I could only just make out the shape of a man.

"You're here?" I questioned, outstretching my hand.

"I am. Listen, I can't help you in the dark like this. You need to find a way to bring in light."

"I don't need your help." I found myself saying.

"Of course you do. You just need to accept it."

Something was thrust at me. I fumbled in the dark to take hold of it.

"An arrow? I don't know if you saw, but arrows don't seem to work!"

"Stop talking, and just listen. I don't have enough time. Erebos will lower the screen soon."

"He can't see you?"

"Would you listen to me for once?" Snapped Apollo, his tone rising.

"Sorry, go on." I muttered.

He continued, "You need to create light. I will take over the rest. Remember, create the opening."

"But why should I help you?" I demanded.

Apollo, somewhere in the dark, sighed. "What did you see?"

I chewed my lip, unsure of what I saw.

"Go!" Apollo ushered. "I'll help you. Just give me the chance."

The figure in the dark ceased to speak, leaving me alone with Erebos. The God of Darkness had relit the oil lamp at the bottom of his throne, which cast a dim light in the cave. I had already trotted over to the entrance, where my bow laid useless to me. Or so I thought.

Perhaps Dad will prove me wrong, I thought.

"Lyn Barker." Summoned Erebos, his voice still livid and angry. "Do you see now the benefits I can grant you?"

"All I saw was a reason to slay you." I said, scrambling to a curve in the floor which would hopefully provide me some shelter.

"I showed you the world, Lyn Barker." Erebos snapped in a correcting manner. I frowned. I had been shown something else…

Ignoring my curios thoughts, I nocked the arrow my father had given me on my bowstring, raising the bow to a level position.

"Oh, please. This again?" Erebos complained. "You are making me want to kill you."

How am I supposed to create an opening? I asked myself. I looked up to the ceiling of the cave. It was a long way to the Earth's crust. Yet… I was tempted. Apollo had given me the arrow for the reason.

"Better than nothing." I said to myself as I pointed the arrow tip to the ceiling of the cave before releasing.

At first nothing happened, sparking my worry. I thought I had wasted my shot. That was, until the cave began to shake and rumble.

Erebos cursed under his breath, looking up at the ceiling. The ceiling exploded with a deafening roar. I was thrown back by the force of the explosion, left to do nothing but cover my head and hope for the best.

Rocks and boulders crashed down through the cavern as the entire cave became deadly and unstable.

A bright light shone through the crack in the ceiling, a crack that grew with every second.

I closed my eyes to shield myself from the sunlight.

No, that's not sunlight, I thought. That's my father.