Told from the perspective of Apollo - The Writer
He had hope that his dearest Isorreth would pull through. They were fighting a battle only they could compete in, and he knew that the Gods they protected provided no reason to be defended. And yet, here they were. Most of the Olympians, Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, and the corpse of Luke Castellan watched as his child stole the darkness of night away from themselves, all to rid their world of Kronos.
He knew that it would come to this. Being the god of prophecy, he had heard the same lines repeated over and over throughout his years.
An eye for an eye
With darkness comes light
From pain only joy
Overcome titan's might
Our balance, shall come
Only when night is none
History won't repeat
When his soul is gone
The Dead and Sun
Preserve or raze
Not only did he have to live with this prophecy looking over his shoulder, but he knew that he couldn't change it. He loved Isorreth from the moment they were born, but could not change the plans of the Fates.
Watching as his young child use their strength of darkness to kill Kronos once and for all, he wondered what would happen next. They have come to acceptance, and found peace with themselves, but will they spend the rest of their days with the fallen hero, or in the land of the living? As the blast of energy subsided, dawn struck the sky. There, lying in the painfully repetitive fetal position, was his child. Their left arm was no longer attached, leaving only the bloody socket with splinters of bone peaking through torn muscle. As well, their right leg was mangled beyond logical repair, everything below the knee. Their chest barely moved, but the tiniest bit of light was still shining under their blanket of darkness. Of course. Thank the Fates, of course! Of course! Before he could let his smile show, an aura of fear and death approached. Scratch that; 2 auras of fear and death approached.
"Where are they?" A young boy demanded from the King of the Gods. His father only continued to stare at the child's limp form, since he could see over the rubble, but his shorter son couldn't.
"Nico, their life force-" The boy-Nico-ripped Hades' soft hand from his shoulder. He ran to their body and held their one hand in his. Zeus didn't even acknowledge that Hades was on Olympus, and just continued to watch as Isorreth's friends, no, family rushed to meet the young boy. Hades tried once again to come through to his son, but was cut off by the anger filled voice.
"I know! I can feel it, too. It's not gone yet. Seth, please, you're not dead yet! You can't leave!" The scrawny boy's cries began to crack open the rock pillars around him, and the temperature dropped with shadows convulsing. Bones emerged from the tiled floor of the Hall of the Gods, and shadows dynamically faded lighter and darker.
"Firefly?" All of the demigods; Athena's daughter, Poseidon's son, and Hades' son; whipped their heads around to see the ghost of Luke Castellan. The hero of the Great Prophecy. The hero of Olympus. The Hades' child must have raised the fallen hero's ghost from his rest with his outburst of anger. The son of Hermes ran at light speed to hold the child of the night in his arms. At that instant, Perseus looked around to the gods.
"Please, they're not dead yet! They need our help, please! Anything!" The gods remained silent. The son of Hades became even more enraged at the God's silence.
"Help them! Just let it go that they're Nyx's kid for a second and help the person who just saved you all!" Hades looked to his son, almost proud of him for sticking up for the beings of the Underworld. The Gods, either too shocked at his child's sacrifice, or too dazed by the Hades' kid's painfully true reasoning, remained frozen. All except one. His sister, Artemis looked to him, in which he returned a short nod. Approaching the demigods, he locked eyes with the ghost. That's when Nico looked down as Isorreth squeezed his hand back with as much strength as they could muster.
They had a weak smile on their face, and sent nothing but love from their heart out their eyes. "You're here." They locked eyes with the Hermes child, and he nodded, tears in his ghostly eyes. Being the god of music, he knew what Luke wanted, and who was he to stop his child from receiving their last gift from the fallen hero? He handed Luke the guitar, from all the way back at Camp Half-Blood, and already tuned to perfection.
Without a second thought, Castellan took the instrument of so many warm memories, and began to play Isorreth's favorite song for them. Right as he begun to solemnly strum the chords, allies gathered around the scene. The battle was over. The war was done.
"Oh things couldn't be worse
When your parents run the universe" Luke's voice was tightened from holding back sobs. He sat at their left with one knee up to support the guitar, and his eyes never leaving theirs. Percy had sat them up almost in his lap, leaning against his chest, and blood flowing onto his shirt as their head was cushioned by his shoulder. On their right side, sitting next to Percy, Nico held their hand, fingers intertwined, while Annabeth was at his side, a hand on their leg. Seth smiled at Luke, and leaned in to Percy comforting form. The song was a classic for all of the half-bloods, so the star-crossed lovers joined in. Percy's voice was quiet, and didn't carry the confident cockiness he usually had, while Annabeth's was gentle without the sassy flare she prided herself in.
"Oh things couldn't be worse
When your folks run the universe" Nico looked up from his hunched position, locking eyes as the trio of older demigods sang in their moment of victory. Luke smiled back to Seth, a tear running down his face, mirroring the scar.
"My dad is Hermes he messangers things
You'll know his sign by his shoes with those wings" Hermes watched on, pain and pride mixed beautifully as he listened to his son. Luke stopped before continuing what he usually sang, instead changing it.
"But I know how it goes
It's just demigod things" The usual 'oh no' was unspoken, but Perseus knew it was there in everyone's heads. This time, Luke, Annabeth, Percy, and a few select demigods watching the scene sang along to the music. Among them were 3 Hermes kids and 1 of his own half-bloods, Will.
"We're all pretty odd
And that's fine 'cuz we're tough!
We're torn between worlds
And it's never enough
Oh things couldn't be worse
When your parents run the universe"
The gods surrounding them didn't expect the chorus of singing from every demigod present, but were not disappointed. Everyone, no matter who their godly parent was, or if they knew who they were, sang to give Isorreth the spark of life that they needed. Even the Hades' spawn sang with his people.
"Oh things couldn't be worse
When your folks run the universe" Luke's eyes continued leaking, but he played on.
"Your mom is Nyx, a primordial bitch
She's no better than trash, just thrown down in the ditch" The edge in the Hermes' kids eyes was fiery, but restrained. What shocked everyone was the force of Isorreth pulling themself up with Nico's hand. Luke froze, as did every other being in the room, and looked into his child's eyes as they caressed his scar. They smiled, a tear falling.
"Careful what you say
or she'll drag you through hell
Oh no" As it had always been, Seth's singing was like ambrosia filling his wounded heart. Did he, Apollo, the god of too many titles, know that they would live? Yes. The second he heard the Hades' child say that they were still alive, and saw the dimness of their inner light, he knew that they would live. Being the god of healing and music led to interesting powers. One of those, for Isorreth, was their ability to be healed by music. The added truth and honesty behind the music only strengthened the power.
"I can't say that I've won
'Cuz of all that's now gone" Their singing was slightly more than a whisper as they leaned against Perseus' chest and clutched Nico's hand firmly.
"So the change starts today
With the rise of the dawn" As their strength began to return, they motioned to the sky, and everyone stared at the rising sun. It truly was beautiful. Being the god of light, it was ironic how little he appreciated the transition between light and dark.
Luke's rhythm accelerated as the entire crowd gained energy. Each and every one of the demigods present sang with pride, either leaning in to the touch of their fellow half-bloods, or joining hands.
"But I don't care where our parents may be
As long as you are here with me" With a new found vigor, they all continued as Isorreth smiled at the sound, allowing themselves to rest in the arms of their family.
"We don't care where our parents may be
As long as you are here with me
As long as you are here with-" Luke stopped playing, instead tracing a soft hand down their scar and brushing their uncut hair off their forehead.
"Me" Once Luke sang the final note, ending the moment, he began to fade. Locking eyes with all of the demigods, including the daughter of Zeus, he smiled and allowed himself to be swept away as a ghost. The demigods were silent, a rare occurrence for them, but began to shift again as the Fates arrived to escort Luke's body away.
It all was a blur, as demigods rushed to help the wounded, hugged each other, cried with each other, and acknowledged that they had won. Perseus, Annabeth, and Nico clutched on to his child like a life-line, their light warming as they hugged back. Zeus called a meeting for all of the gods, including Hades, and ushered the half-bloods out of the demolished Hall of Gods. As all of the Olympians began to recollect themselves, Zeus looked him in the eye.
"Apollo," he began, "you truly are full of surprises, Son." For the first time in generations, he shared a smile with his father.