Riding the elevator up to Nero's throne room gave Apollo time to think. How was he going to help Meg? He could encourage her over and over, but she was the one who had to choose to stand up to Nero.
He was also worried about everyone on the floors below. He didn't know if anyone had left. He was worried for the minor deities' safety. He had finally realized how significant every one of them was.
They had done their best to fix the holes left behind by the Olympians through the main twelve's thoughtless action. To know they held on this long by either sharing their immortality with others or keeping their concept alive, was nothing short of a miracle.
They deserved to have the promises made to them to be kept. Heck, they might deserve the Olympian thrones more than him and the others.
Inside his pocket, he felt Sonya trying to be still as possible. Four inches was small but highly visible. An example was two golf tees lined up end to end. If she was going to be able to help, she would have to pick her moment carefully.
Apollo gently patted the pocket assuring the teenager it would be okay. The doors opened and he saw blast doors had replaced the regular doors to the throne room.
He knocked on the door and Nero's face appeared on a tiny video screen. "Well, you made it just in time. I was about to release the gas. Come inside and drop your weapons on the ground. I won't have you hurting my children."
The mortal god clenched his teeth as the doors went up. As he entered, he noticed the throne room had been repaired. At least fifty Germani were lined up around the throne.
Nero's foster children were dressed in high fashion. Modern suits and gowns had been altered to give them a touch of style from Nero's original reign as emperor.
Each child was holding a torch ready to burn down small potted trees. The dryads of the trees were fretfully wringing their hands.
The god recollected his dream of the children. He could still see signs of humanity in their eyes. The older ones appeared to have gained a bit more judging by the faint twinkle in them.
He didn't see Meg but sensed she was nearby. He lowered his weapons on the ground slowly. As he put down the ukulele, he spotted Sonya crawling out of his pocket and hiding next to it.
He wasn't sure what the plan was, but he needed everyone to stay focused on him otherwise Percy's step-cousin would be spotted. "Where is Meg?"
"Now, now, no need to rush. I thought you might want an update on what is happening at your children's home." Nero turned to one of the German who looked a lot older than the rest with his white hair.
"Vercorix, show him what's happening at Camp Half-Blood."
The Germanus walked forward with a laptop. He clicked a button revealing a live stream of what was occurring in real-time.
The barrier was holding up, but small fissures had begun to open on Half-Blood Hill. Enemy Germani were slipping inside the cracks. Then quickly expelled as Peleus lit them on fire.
The fissures were sealed by a golden glimmer, probably the Golden Fleece. There were two Hunters with a small pack of wolves attacking anyone who got too close to the barrier.
The feed switched to the inside of the camp thanks to a drone that had slipped inside Nero's troops must have pushed through an early fissure because the grounds had become a battlefield.
The satyrs were using their panpipes to manipulate the strawberry fields. Apollo nearly laughed as he saw two Germani being hit in the face with a giant strawberry, knocking them out.
The dryads had taken inspiration from the fairytale, "Sleeping Beauty." They had stimulated their trees to grow faster to allow the branches to entwine with one another. The other nymphs were filling in the gaps with their own plants, even if it wasn't suitable.
The footage did a wide pan across the rest of the camp. There was no sign of Dionysus, (what a shocker), but he did witness the Hunters taking down the Germani who had gotten through.
The stream cut out when the drone broadcasting was struck down by an arrow. "If you were trying to show me that you're failing to take the camp, I appreciate it."
The emperor sniggered in a creepy voice. "I thought I you should see the camp one last time. I've already ordered more troops and monsters to back up my army. Your allies will be crushed under their combined strength."
The mortal sun god struggled to keep control of his emotions. He couldn't react to anything Nero said. Any emotion or quips would be turned back on Apollo making him play further into the monster's hands.
The megalomaniac launched into another monologuing to get a rise out of Apollo. With everyone's eyes on the former god and the emperor, no one had noticed something moving on the floor.
Sonya's heart was pounding as she tried to cross the distance unseen. Her anxiety was very high. She was thankful that Rachel had told her to put on a black jacket beforehand.
Finally, she reached the dais. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vercorix coming her way with a tray of remotes. Sonya shimmed to the backside of the dais and then out of sight.
"Okay, you're safe. Just keep telling yourself your safe," the teenager whispered to herself. She turned her head to see what was going on in front of the dais.
Meg was standing next to Nero. The girl looked like a Roman princess. Not the same tough yet tenacious person from the apartment. The mischievousness was missing from her eyes.
The emperor started to lecture Apollo on his awful behavior. "No? When I warned you that this is a death trap for your demigod friends, did you rush down and save them? Did you inform your fellow gods about my deity virus so they would leave?"
"No, you used them for your gain. They were just a distraction for my gods while you went here to claim your immortality again. You accused me of not knowing who I really am in this room."
"Yeah, I did," Apollo shot back. He spotted Sonya slowly inching her way up the throne. Whatever her idea was, he needed to buy her a bit more time.
"Is this the part where you tell me that I'm an unscrupulous being who uses and discards people when they're not useful anymore?"
Nero was thrown off his game a little. Apollo was anticipating his next move faster than he liked. "Are you denying you're a murderer? You enjoyed killing Hyacinthus and Daphne. What about Niobe's children? Did you enjoy having their blood on your hands?"
He looked at Meg as he pointed to the former god. "You're lucky you haven't died because of him. He murdered anyone who thought they were better than him. Laid waste to entire cities until they were forgotten."
"My precious child, surely you have seen how dissimilar I am to him? I took you in and gave you everything you could ever need. I have always been there for you when you needed it, unlike your mother."
Sonya couldn't take it anymore of this. She had just climbed up what had to be the equivalent of the D.C Monument. She was about to jump on Nero's neck and activate the godly weapons.
She would start returning to normal size once the jewelry pieces were separated. She had to make this moment count. Focusing on her target, she jumped from the cloak to the neck.
Nero stopped talking and was reaching to scratch the itch she was triggering. Pulling the jewelry apart, she banged the shield twice. The man screamed as she sprinted to jump off his body.
Twisting in mid-air she fired the lightning bolts at his eyes causing him flash blindness. Sonya tumbled across the floor growing in size as she came to a stop close to Apollo.
"ASTRAPE! BRONTE! NOW!" she shrieked as she tossed the jewelry pieces into the air. The pressure in the room changed as the electricity crackled. The Shieldmaidens of Zeus materialized near the top of the ceiling holding their symbols.
"Sorry, we're late. It seems that our invitation was lost in the mail," Astrape remarked.
"Indeed, they started the party without us," Bronte sniped. She eyeballed the situation. "It seems we've interrupted someone's grand speech. A pity."
Nero's forces just blinked their eyes in confusion. They weren't sure what was going on. The boss had said nothing about size-changing humans or shieldmaidens appearing during this conference.
"TORCH THE DYRADS!" Nero shouted as he flopped onto the floor, still unable to see correctly. Nor could he really hear anything with his eardrums perforated.
Like Commodus, there was no telling how long his flash blindness would last. It would also take several weeks until his eardrums healed, so he couldn't hear much right now.
The Imperial children set the trees on fire. The dryads started screaming as their bodies started burning from the inside out.
"STOP!" Meg shouted at her foster siblings. Scrunching her eyes closed Meg reached deep down and her power exploded inside her. Huge bursts of pollen came out of nowhere covering everything in the room.
Her foster siblings dropped their now extinguished torches. The tree roots started to expand and broke through the pots. The trees kept growing until they blocked all the windows outside.
The daughter of Demeter looked at the dryads. "Go rest and recover. You will be fine, I promise." The dryads nodded and returned to their home trees.
The Germani looked like they were about to attack when the twins flew in front of them holding out their weapons. This caused them to pause. They had no desire to be blinded or deafened.
Bronte twirled her fingers and three helmets appeared next to their allies. They were the kind pilots would wear to protect their ears and eyes while flying. Sonya quickly put hers on. Apollo and Meg did the same.
Each helmet came with a built-in communicator. Meg turned hers on and asked Apollo a burning question. "Is Lu, okay?"
"The last time I saw her she was using her silverware hands to take out the prison guard."
Meg let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Turning her attention back to her foster father, she approached him.
The monster was sitting upon his throne again. Vercorix was standing by his side. He was holding the tray of remotes. On the other side was another Germanus.
Strangely, Nero had one of his hands over the soldiers who appeared to be using ASL. It seemed that Nero was prepared for every possibility. The Germanus started to look nervous.
Everyone in the room was holding their breath, sensing something bad was about to happen. Without warning, Nero jerked the man's hand and forced the soldier to plunge his fingers into his eyeballs and tear them out!
Sonya, Apollo, and Meg screamed in terror at the sight. Nero's wasn't down with the Germanus. After having the man dig out his eyeballs, the soldier was made to rip off his ears!
That was too much for everyone in the room. The Imperial children, who must have seen many horrors, started vomiting on the floor. The Germani were whimpering.
Astrape and Bronte were confused about why Nero would do this. Then the horrible truth clicked in their mind. Before the shieldmaidens could do anything, Nero snatched the body parts off the ground.
The Germanus crumbled to dust. Nero's hands started to glow bright gold. The eyeballs and ears hovered in the air. There was a loud snap and Nero's ears and eyes had been replaced with the ones with the Germanus!
"Ah, that's better. I must thank you, Apollo. If you hadn't destroyed my fellow emperors then I never would have had enough power to do this. Now, where were we?"
Sonya looked at Meg, who had lost a bit of her confidence thanks to witnessing Nero's homicidal actions. She had lost confidence that she would make it out alive.
Still, she refused to back down. Percy had told her that despite the fear and overwhelming dread he felt during a quest, his desire to keep people safe was the most important to him.
She boldly spoke up. "You were about to listen to what Meg has to say to you. You better listen carefully because she's only going to say it once."
Meg, encouraged by Sonya's statement, faced the Beast one last time. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, Nero. You're the one who killed my father and twisted my mind to make it my fault. You forced me to become someone I'm not to survive your abuse."
Nero started to interrupt only for Meg to talk louder preventing him from being heard at all. "Apollo was right before. He took responsibility for his actions, but your to cowardly to do that. Just like you took the coward way out by killing yourself in your first life."
She continued with her speech as plants spread across the throne room. "Lu protected me from you. She raised me not you! My friends and foster siblings have been more of a family to me than you."
"I'm killing the Beast, both in my mind and physically. You trained me to be your weapon. I'm going to make sure you never harm anyone else!" she shouted as the blast doors were torn off by a huge vine.
"You will regret your actions, Meg," Nero snarl. He stood up abruptly causing Vercorix to drop the tray of remotes. They scattered all across the throne room.
"Oh, for the love of me, find the remote now! The rest of you kill my enemies!"
The Imperial children lunged for a defenseless Sonya. Before they could get in striking range something kicked them in different directions.
Nico had arrived on his skeletal forest bull. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and blood was seeping through his right shirt sleeve. He also was wearing a cowboy hat.
Raising his Stygian Iron sword Nico shouted, "Kill Nero!" The forest bull followed the sword point and identified his target. Plumes of smoke came out of his nose as the duo charged ahead.
While the others were distracted by the arrival of the dead bull, Sonya pulled out the pocket knife her uncle had given her. It wasn't very big but it would do the job.
She tackled Cassius as they rolled into one of the overgrown trees. The kid tried to knock the pocket knife out of her hand. She elbowed him in the face.
Keeping a tight grip on her knife she cut off the top part of the suit off. Folding the blade Sonya ripped the rest of the shirt and jacket off Cassius.
She sprang off of him leaving the little boy confused. "The three main killing spots; lungs, heart, and carotid artery are exposed. I wouldn't risk fighting if you want to avoid dying."
Meg was attacking one of her older foster sisters at the moment. Seeing that Meg needed help, Sonya scampered over to help her.
Bronte was Nico's wingman. The Son of Hades was trying to get through the horde to Nero. The Germani weren't allowing it though.
She twirled her fingers again and the cowboy hat was swapped for a helmet like the others. Spotting a chandelier, the goddess flew next to it. A smile appeared on her face when she realized it was constructed from crystals.
"The bigger the bang, the bigger the boom!" The goddess of thunder struck her shield hard. A large boom echoed in the room as the crystals shattered.
Nico and his bull dove out of the way just as the crystals crashed on the horde. Several dozen Germani turned to dust instantly. He saluted Bronte before returning to the fight.
Astrape was having fun as she hurled lightning bolts at the scattered remotes. She had already destroyed a few of them. However, Nero was faster than he looked as he collected as many as he could.
Apollo fired two arrows at his nemesis. The arrows shattered on impact confirming Nero was still immortal at the moment. "Astrape, please help me! We can't let him find the right remote!"
I can't believe Apollo asked me for help. He also remembered to say please! I'm going to remind him of this once he's back on Olympus.
Astrape saw Vercorix reaching for a few of the remotes near the base of a tree. She swooped down and picked the man up. The Germanus flailed in her arms. It seemed he didn't like flying.
She flew back towards where the chandelier once was and tossed him. The Germanus managed to grab the remaining cord.
"I hope you enjoy hanging around. I doubt you want to fall from this height. Might turn you into dust. Ta-ta."
The shieldmaiden swooped back to pick up the remotes when Apollo cried out, "Watch out!"
It was too late. An Imperial Gold throwing knife embedded itself in her right-wing joint. Unable to control her flight she crashed into the floor.
Bronte gasped at the sight of her sister. A Germanus got a lucky shot in striking her back with a baton. She wobbled in the air trying to regain control of her flight.
A Germanus jumped up and grabbed her by the leg. She tried to kick him off but he slammed her on the ground. Nico came to help only to be backhanded into a wall.
Sonya and Meg were starting to lose ground to the Imperial Children. Nero kept mashing the buttons on every remote he came across faster than Apollo could destroy them. They had lost their advantage it seemed.
Apollo realized he was out of arrows save for the Arrow of Dodona. He couldn't fire it. Instead, he rushed Nero and tackled the man. The evil emperor had been holding the last working remote and it went skidding across the floor.
"Get off me, Lester!" Nero shouted as he punched the mortal god in the stomach.
Apollo grunted and then headbutted Nero. It was like hitting solid marble. Nero saw his chance and kicked his enemy off.
He rushed to get the remote. Sonya saw him going for it and pushed through the foster siblings. She dove for it at the same time Nero did.
She just missed it and Nero pressed the button. "Yes! All your friends are dead Apollo! The gods and goddesses are no more making room for me to take over!"
The good guys felt defeated. All their hard work was for nothing. They were all going to die in the next few minutes.
"I win Lester! You failed and now you'll die ahhh!" Nero was crowing his victory when a griffin came flying into the throne straight at him.
The man belly-flopped on the floor hard. He tried to get up when a loud growling filled the room. He looked pushed himself up and let out a little yelp. He backed his way into his throne.
Nero wasn't afraid of Ulster because of his size or flaming paws. He was used to hellhounds. No, what made Ulster scarier was the fact that this hound was looking at him as if he was a steak dinner.
Behind the animals were Chui and Uma, Aletheia and Isra, along with Brooke and Ulster, and lastly, Raquel and Roselyn.
They parted to reveal Will, Lu, and Rachel carrying Nero's fasces. Nero blanched and shrieked, "STOP!"
The Germani looked to make sure it was their boss who gave the command. Their boss had never told them to stop before.
He stared at Rachel completely transfixed on his fasces in her hands. "You're the Pythia, aren't you?" he whispered.
Rachel nodded. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Right now, I'm the girl holding your life hostage."
"How are you alive? Everyone should have died!"
Uma scoffed, "Why are you surprised? If you had been successful everyone in the building would be dead, including this room because the blast doors are gone."
"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!"
Screech-Bling stepped forward having been hidden behind Lu. "Gas traps clink clank are finicky human. You should make sure your detonators work beforehand."
He opened his hands and let the batteries to the remote fall to the ground. He crushed them under his foot. As he did that Will stormed over to Nico and picked him up.
Once he was secure, the teenager left the throne room to heal his boyfriend in a safer place. No one tried to stop him.
The evil emperor was still trying to make sense of what was happening right now. "You couldn't have defeated the leontocephaline! He would have killed anyone who tried to take the fasces by force!"
"I didn't defeat him," Lu spoke up showing off her new dagger hands. "My initial plan wasn't enough to satisfy the creature."
"One of my fellow daemons presented the leontocephaline a golden opportunity to guard something more powerful than your fasces," Alethea stated with mirth in her eyes.
She laughed a little before composing herself. "With that incentive, the creature accepted Lu's immortality in exchange for your fasces."
Nero was sputtering in disbelief. "You can't…! No, that's not fair! I'll summon the creature and…"
"Put a sock in it, will you. The leontocephaline is already gone from the premises. He's not yours to command anymore," Brooke informed the emperor.
Nero looked at Rachel pleadingly. "Raquel…."
"Hey, I'm Raquel!" the teenager said as she snapped her fingers at Nero. "She's Rachel the Pythia! Get our names right, Beasty."
"Rachel, please! You have to give that back to me. The source of my power is nothing compared to what will happen if you destroy it. You can't let the reptile get it!"
Apollo understood what the emperor was talking about. Python was the real power behind the human meat puppet. Destroying the fasces would give the creature a huge boost in power.
"That doesn't matter," Sonya spoke up as she helped the former god to his feet. "Even if it makes Python stronger, letting a sociopath such as yourself continue to harm people isn't something the world should endure any longer."
Nero pointed to Apollo and bellowed. "This pathetic nobody can't defeat Python by himself! Only I can do it!"
"No one ever said, he had to do it alone. We'll help him with whatever he needs to win against the snake," Chui remarked.
The other good guys voiced their agreements. Nero saw he was out of options. "I will not surrender to any of you! I am a god!" he snarled. He ordered his forces to kill everyone in the building save him.
Nero lurched forward to get his fasces back starting the battle once more. The goddess in the room converged around Rachel and Apollo to protect them
Chui and Uma ducked under some Germani. They were heading to Meg and her foster siblings. Hopefully, they could convince them to stop fighting.
Brooke, Ulster, and the troglodytes formed the first line of defense keeping the bulk of the Germani from helping their master.
Isra and Brianna had joined forces with Raquel and Roselyn. They were the second line of defense taking down anyone who got through the first line. Lu was right before them to gut anyone that slipped through the line
The goddesses were trying to break the fasces. "Maybe if all three of us work together we can break it," Astrape suggested when none of them could do it themselves.
"Worth a try. On the count of three. One, two, three!" Bronte counted down. She was tugging on the ax blade. Astrape had her arms around the middle of the bundle as Alethea tried pulling in the opposite direction.
The fasces bent slightly under the goddesses' power yet refused to break completely. The ladies looked at one another realizing the truth at the same time.
"Apollo! You have to break the fasces!" Alethea informed the mortal god. The boy jumped a little having momentarily forgotten the deities behind him.
"What? Why can't you do it?" he questioned in a panicky voice.
"The fasces is too powerful for a minor goddess to destroy. Only an Olympian has the power to cause its distraction," she replied simply.
"I hate it when your right," he moaned. He shot a look over his shoulder. Nero was plowing his way through the crowd. His eyes locked on the symbol of his immortality.
"Cover me!" he yelled as he seized the fasces from Rachel. He ran towards the entrance away from the others. He didn't want them to get caught in the explosion when the fasces blew.
He attempted to break the item over his knees and swore a curse from the pain. He tried to unfasten the rods only to discover the rope was unbreakable. He looked back at the fighting.
Nero had barreled past Lu and rammed straight through the Shieldmaidens. Alethea tried to stop him but he blasted her way with his godly aura. The others were too far away to help.
Recalling how he and Alethea had used their true forms to Commodus, the former god knew what it would take to break the item.
Sonya must have sensed what he was about to do. She was yelled at the foster kids to form a shield around the troglodytes to protect them.
Screech-Bling and the rest of his people quickly sped behind the human shield. Their quick departure caused the Germani to stumble into each other. They collapsed to the floor in a tangled heap.
As this was occurring Apollo was starting to glow. His grip on the fasces tightened. The air became warmer around him.
Nero's godly aura lit him up as well. He grabbed the fasces with equal strength. The air around him was incredibly cold.
It was a tug of war between the two of them. No one interfered to busy being transfixed by what was transpiring.
It was a good thing that there was a human shield protecting the troglodytes. This much light would have caused them serious injuries.
"You can't win Lester! Die already!" Nero poured all his power into his hands. He yanked on the fasces nearly taking it with him.
Yet the mortal god held on tighter. His warmth and light grew stronger. It overpowered Nero's.
"I am Apollo, the seventh Olympian. I revoke your godhood, Nero!" There was an explosion of light as the fasces broke into billions of tiny pieces.
Nero went flying through the air as his body started to burn. He hit the ground and gasped as he started to disintegrate faster. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
It was his last word as his body turned to golden ash. It sank through the floor to the lair of Python.
Absolutely exhausted, Apollo collapsed to the ground unconscious. He felt his astral-self disengage from his body. It went up into the sky going higher and higher until it reached Olympus.
His spirit took him into the throne room. Ten out of the twelve gods were watching his prone body via the viewing globe. Hephaestus was at the base tinkering with the controls. Off to the side tending the hearth was Hestia.
Apollo's astral-self took a better look at the globe and noticed the distortions. It appeared the Litai and Menai had succeeded in blocking Zeus from seeing the minor gods and goddesses from helping.
"How much longer is it going to take until your done fixing the globe?" Ares demanded at his younger brother.
"If you think you can do better by ramming your head into the globe again, be my guest brother," Hephaestus retorted back. Ares growled and settled down.
"Do we really need to see anymore?" Artemis asked. She looked at her father imploringly. "He's stopped the emperors and freed the oracles! Surely, he's proven himself."
Zeus glared at his daughter. "Delphi remains under Python's control. Apollo must defeat him once more before he's completed his quest."
"There's still time to get in the betting pool. Who wants in?" Hermes asked cheerfully.
"I'll wager five drachmas," Demeter remarked casually. She pulled the coins out of her pocket and they were passed to Hermes.
Hermes looked over at Poseidon, whose eyes were fixated on Sonya. "Hey, what about you Poseidon? You want in on the action?"
"No thank you. I cannot be distracted from my mission." He had heard Sally's prayer and followed through on it. Until Sonya was back at the family apartment it was his duty to watch over her.
"Ah, I can't believe you're still holding a torch for Sally Jackson. I would have thought you had given up on that," Aphrodite teased. She huffed when Poseidon didn't react to her comment.
Athena cleared her throat. "I believe we should consider who should take Apollo's place should he die."
"Don't you dare!" Artemis growled at her half-sister. "He'll succeed, I know it!"
"Enough," a harsh voice said. Everyone in the throne room straightened their posture. Hera removed her veil to get a better look at the viewing globe. She looked exhausted and her eyes were puffy.
"There will be no talk of Apollo dying or making bets against him. We will watch over our fellow Olympian. As my husband has commanded, we shall not directly interfere."
Apollo noticed how protective Hera was sounding. He had no idea his stepmother might care for him. At that moment, he was whisked back his body.
He woke up coughing in Rachel's arms. He tried to take a breath and went into another coughing fit.
"Here, Will told me it might help you," Sonya told him as she handed him a thermos. He nearly dropped it when he took it from her.
Leaning up a bit, he started gulping down the drink. It was an unusual blend of nectar, Mountain Dew, and fruity passion juice. The mixture helped immensely.
He could feel his energy returning. The pain was dulling while some of his minor injuries were healed. "Can I have another one?" he asked.
Sonya shook her head. "Your lucky that mixture didn't burn you up. Will wasn't sure if adding Hera's fruity passion juice would harm or heal you."
Ah, that would explain why he was feeling a little dizzy. He held out his hand and the teenager helped him stand. With Nero dead, everyone who had worked or forcefully adopted, were at a loss on what to do next.
Aphrodite's children were acting as grief councilors to Meg's foster siblings. Hypnosis's kids were singing lullabies to the youngest to help them calm down.
A couple of Ares's kids were keeping an eye on the Germani. The soldiers were in shock. After living for centuries as Nero's immortal guard they had no idea how to function as normal humans in this era.
The members of Demeter's cabin were figuring out how to transport the overgrown dryads back to camp. His children were doing triage taking care of his mortal helpers' injuries.
Alethea felt his gaze and turned slightly to give him a thumbs up. Apollo relaxed significantly, knowing the mortals weren't going to die.
He heard Chiron approaching him behind. Turning around to face him he had to ask, "What is the casualty count?"
Chiron giggled inappropriately. "Thankfully, none. Every camper is accounted for and expected to live. It will take some time for many to heal. A number of them are going to have to adjust to new limitations but it's better than being killed."
Apollo nodded and then asked about the other gods and goddesses. Astrape and Bronte landed on the floor next to Chiron to answer his question.
"Everyone is safe thanks to the troglodytes' efforts. Your granddaughters have contacts at the CDC. They'll be here in a few hours to secure the virus and ensure it's never released," Astrape explained in relief.
"All daemons and minor gods/goddesses are accounted for. There are a few cases where someone overstretched their powers. A few days of rest will help them recover quickly," Bronte added helpfully.
Apollo was pleased to hear this. At least he could battle Python with a clear conscience.
"I'm going to have a final talk with Meg before I go. I need to make sure she'll be alright."
"Go ahead, I'll gather your supplies so we can get going," Sonya commented.
Apollo glared at her. "I need to face Python alone. You can't come with me, Sonya."
She glared right back at him. "I know that, Apollo. I'm not going to help you fight Python. Somebody needs to be your witness to tell the others what happens in the end."
Rachel stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds. "I can't tell you the outcome of the struggle. What I do see is Sonya watching from a hidden tunnel. She needs to go with you."
Apollo pinched his nose in frustration but didn't fight it. Sonya stayed put as he went to speak with Meg.
Lu spotted him coming their way. She nudged Meg and the preteen saw him. Whispering something to her guardian, she walked over to meet him halfway.
"I'm so proud of you," Apollo began. He was trying not to cry in front of her. "You're so strong. So brilliant and…."
Meg told him to be quiet. "I know I am. I have to be for them." They both looked at the foster kids. Neither knew if any of them could recover from the darkness that nearly destroyed them.
"I'm not sure if they can grow new roots. I do know I'm not going to give up on them." She shrugged her shoulders and looked at him wearily. "You know me. I won't give up until I get what I want."
The former god dipped his head. "I wish you luck with your endeavor. I need to go now."
Meg embraced him tightly. "I know you can't promise you won't die. I'm ordering you to do your best to finish this quest."
Apollo assured her he would. After one more quick hug, they let go of each other. The former god walked to Sonya. His children surrounded her.
The mortal god didn't know what to say to them. How do you express how grateful you are to have children who teach you valuable life lessons? To share how much you love them despite your failings?
Words failed to come to him. Instead, the former god and children gave each other a big group hug. No words needed to express what they were feeling.
Splitting apart, the kids gave their dad his supplies and wished him luck. With a lump in his throat, he left the throne room with Sonya trailing behind.
As they descended, they were both given looks of respect. Some people wished them good luck.
Once they hit the basement, the smoke condensed around them. The air started to smell awful. Apollo used his shirt sleeve to protect his nose and mouth. Sonya pulled out two surgical masks she had obtained from Will.
With eyes watering, she gave one to Apollo and put hers on. The masks helped a little bit. They continued, pausing every few minutes to cough.
It was getting tremendously hot, and the smell had worsened. It was hard to breathe, and at the same time, their vision was getting blurry.
Soon they came to a small tunnel they had to crawl through. There was almost no headroom, and it was impossible to turn around. Apollo realized they were in the caves beneath Delphi.
The sounds of someone breathing echoed as they continued to crawl. It got louder as they got closer. Sonya struggled to remain calm as her anxiety built.
At last, they emerged from the crawlspace onto a hidden crevice. It was barely big enough to hold both.
Sonya peered down at the floor of the cave. Millions of bones and chunks of fur created a massive carpet. Large fragments of shredded skin wrapped around the volcanic vents.
Apollo brought a finger to his lips and pointed. Python was coiled around a huge mound. The monster was as long as twenty semis lined up to each other. His head was the size of a semi-cab.
Some of his scales were vestigial wings. His belly had nodules for clawed feet to appear. Some bumps ran down his upper body to the tip of his tail. Underneath them were retractable spines.
Apollo pointed his fingers at Sonya then at Python. He vigorously shook his head. She was not to get involved with the fight under any circumstances.
Sonya nodded and pointed back to the crawlspace. She mimed Python coming this way. She made it clear that she would withdraw into the crawlspace if the monster got too close.
Apollo used his fingers to demonstrate falling into the chasm. He held five fingers up to indicate five minutes. If he hadn't come back, she was to leave.
The mortal carefully handed the former god his bow and quiver. Apollo had already figured out how to keep his ukulele from making any noise.
Sonya scuttled back a few inches into the crawlspace. She watched as Apollo aimed. The next few minutes would determine Apollo's fate.