helloooooo people! this just in- i am the worst! yall have no idea how much i've thought about this story and giving yall the updates you deserve. unfortunately i had a super busy semester and i tend to get sucked into whatever i'm doing. now that i'm on a break, i hope to update more, we've got some good stuff coming.
read94-you are the best motivator! i saw your comment and that felt like a final push for me to get off my ass and post. thanks for the sweet words!
Mrs. O'Leary, Percy's hellhound, didn't take well to the surprise landing. The two of them landed on top of the Colossus, with Mrs. O'Leary yelping in panic, a stream of urine landing onto the statue.
Percy nearly slipped off the now-angry automaton, grabbing onto the bronze shoulder.
Luckily, the chariot carrying Apollo and his crew approached the statue, plucking Percy and his hellhound off. The statue angrily swatted at them, and the chariot narrowly missed its palm.
As they landed, Percy's eyes met Rosie's, and she saw her brother's face explode with relief.
He approached her with arms open, but Rosie took a tentative step back, holding her hands up.
"Dog urine," she said. "Please don't, I'm already covered in a suspicious bandaid goop."
"Fair enough," Percy said with a shrug. He glanced up at the statue. "So, are we all in agreement that this is Apollo's fault?"
"Hey!" Apollo protested. "I'm only partially responsible! Forced into this by tragic circumstances! For god sakes, I have acne!"
"That would hold up in a court of law," Rosie said thoughtfully.
"Besides!" Apollo sputtered out. "I have a plan!"
"Oh yeah?" Percy asked with raised eyebrows. "And how's that going?"
Apollo held up an arrow with a sheepish smile. "If you can keep the Colossus from stomping on the camp's hearth, that would be so helpful. I just need a few more minutes to enchant this arrow."
Percy sighed. "Of course you do. Ro, follow me."
The two of them sprinted towards the beach, the statue clambering after that clumsily.
"So, we signed up to be the sacrificial lambs?" Rosie called out to Percy as they ran.
Percy pointed toward the lake. "Get him to water, and it's a fair fight."
She gulped, realizing that wasn't exactly true...for her. Her powers….
They were ankle deep in the lake, as Percy shot a stream of water up into the face of the statue. The automaton was not a fan of this, as the two of them had to quickly dodge the giant bronze feet over their heads.
Rosie reached into Leo's belt, rummaging around. If she knew Leo at all, he would have some crazy, definitely-not-safe contraption in here.
She pulled out a slingshot.
Crazy, definitely-not-safe contraption found.
"Cool toy," Percy said in an impressive tone. "And the belt…?"
"Some things have happened," she admitted, aiming a rock towards the statue. "POWWOW later?"
Percy quickly jumped over the bronze fist under his feet. "Yeah, I'll have time."
A group of campers congregated near them, helping them to distract the automaton. Harley had flamethrowers, CJ was popping in and out, Sherman Yang was handing out weapons. They flung insults and names towards the statue, seeing the reaction they got when Percy called the statue "bronze butt". Even Chiron was a part of the fun, directing campers as he galloped around.
CRASH.
The group of them turned to see the chariot in pieces, Apollo staggering out of it.
"Never fear!" He shouted triumphantly, waving around his arrow. "The plague arrow is ready, I just need to shoot it into the Colossus' ear!"
Mrs. O'Leary started distracting the automaton with a game of keep away, as the campers approached Apollo.
As they got closer, Rosie noticed Kayla and Austin, both curled up in balls and moaning in pain. Kayla began sneezing.
Cecil raised his eyebrows. "Are they contagious?"
"No!" Apollo said confidently. He paused for a second, his expression faltering. "Well- probably not? It's the fumes from the arrow-"
Everyone took a nervous step back.
"Cecil," Chiron piped in. "Why don't you and Harley take Kayla and Austin to the Apollo cabin so they can, er, heal?"
"But I want to use my flamethrower!" Harley whined.
"You can use it later," Chiron promised. "Run along. The rest of you, keep that statue at the water's edge. Percy and Rosie here are going to help me with Apollo."
As soon as the crowd dispersed, Chiron handed Apollo a bow.
"Make the shot," he ordered.
Apollo looked horrified. "This is not made for a puny teenager!"
"You created the arrow. Only you can shoot it without succumbing to the disease. Only you can hit the target."
"From here?" Apollo exclaimed. "Impossible! Where's that flying boy, Jason Grace, I want him!"
Rosie snorted- her and Apollo both. "Fresh out of flying boys, I'm afraid."
"Forgot my wings at home," Percy said with a sigh.
"You are the lord of archery and illness," Chiron continued on, ignoring Rosie and Percy. "You have to do this."
"I'm not lord of anything!" Apollo wailed dramatically. "I'm a stupid ugly mortal teenager! I'm a nobody!"
The three of them awkwardly stood in silence. It seemed like Apollo was waiting for some kind of reassurance, reassurance Rosie wasn't sure she could provide.
Rosie cleared her throat. "Um- you aren't nobody," she said in what she hoped was a cheerful tone. "According to your ID, you're Lester Papadopoulous."
Percy gave her a shove.
"Ow!"
"What she means," Percy said, giving her a look. "Is...you're Apollo! We need you. You can do this. And if you don't, I will personally throw you off the top of the Empire State Building."
Apparently, Percy's pep talk did the trick.
Apollo stood up a little straighter, giving a brief nod. "Right. Got it."
"We'll draw him into the water, we've got the advantage there," Percy said. "Good luck."
Percy gave Rosie a boost onto Chiron's back, following her up. They rode off to the lake, joinin the campers in their efforts.
"Yo, bronze butt!" Percy called.
"Yeah," Rosie began. "Over here, Bronze- ACHOO!"
"Ms. Reiger!" Chiron sounded disgusted as Rosie quickly wiped her nose.
"Chiron, I'm sorry!" Rosie said.
"Did the arrow get you sick?" Percy asked from behind.
"No!" She said defensively. "It's, uh, allergy- ACHOO- goddamnit, Lester!"
"Language!" Chiron chided.
"He hit him!" Someone yelled.
They looked up to see the Colossus throwing its head back, face scrunched up. The sneeze emitted shook the camp, and they watched as the automaton's head detached, flying over them into the deep end of the Sound.
"He just-" Percy started
"Sneezed his head off," Rosie finished in astonishment.
Camp was hit with a massive outbreak of hay fever, Rosie being one of the campers afflicted with it. She lay on a bed in the infirmary, shivering and sniffling. Will and Apollo stopped by multiple times, checking her out not only because of the hay fever, but for any lingering injuries for being captured. Harley had also stopped back- he was currently hoarding the smiley face stickers, leaving her arms covered in them.
Rosie looked up at one point to see her older brother standing over here with a soft smile.
"You weren't okay," he said, putting his hands into his pockets.
"Will slipped me something- I don't know what it is, but trust me, it's doing the work. I'm more than okay."
Percy laughed. "No- I mean before. You weren't okay, and I knew that, and I...I wasn't a good brother."
"Hey." She sat up quickly, only for the room to start spinning rapidly. "Whoa- spinning is not a good idea." She settled back onto her pillow. "You're a fantastic brother. Like- put it on a cheesy mug fantastic brother. I...I didn't even understand what I was feeling."
Percy sat down on the unoccupied bed across from her. "I could've been more of a friend to you. Piper, Jason, Leo- everyone was gone after August."
Surprisingly, a statement like that didn't make her burst into tears anymore.
"I know."
"And you died." Percy looked at her, his eyes glassy. "You were in my arms, and you died."
"Right," she said, gripping her blanket tighter. "There's that."
They never talked about it, not really. The events at the Acropolis happened, and then Leo happened...and they never brought it up again. Glancing at her brother now, she could tell it had affected him greatly.
"Hey." She held out her hand to him. "That wasn't on us."
"Dad…"
"I don't want to talk about Dad, Percy. Take my hand."
Percy gave her a small smile, entwining their hands together. He chuckled upon seeing the rows of smiley faces up and down her arm.
"Harley been here?"
She peeled a pink smiley face off her arm, pressing it onto Percy's. "Yup."
The door to the infirmary swung open, as Rachel Elizabeth Dare hurried in.
"We have a situation," she said as she approached, frowning at Percy. She looked over at Rosie. "Hi, Rosie, feeling better?"
"What kind of situation?" Percy asked.
"Apollo's leaving."
"What?" Percy exclaimed at the exact same time Rosie muttered, "It's about time."
"I think he got some sort of prophecy," Rachel said, shaking her head.
Caves of blue.
Strike the hue.
…Westward, burning.
Pages turning.
…Indiana.
Ripe banana.
Happiness approaches.
Serpents and commotions.
The one of the oceans.
The same one she had heard.
The one of oceans….
Leo's belt seemed so much heavier.
"Well," Percy said, hopping. "Looks like we have a god intervention to do. Rosie?"
She followed him up. "Let's go."
"I know what you're thinking!" Rachel said as they approached Apollo. He was sitting outside of the Big House, knees drawn up to his chest. "Don't do it."
Apollo gave her a surprised look. "Can you read my mind, Miss Dare?"
"I don't need to. I know you, Lord Apollo."
"Don't call me Lord," Apollo said with a loud sigh. "I am a mortal teen, I don't belong at the camp."
Percy sat down next to him. "I hear ya- I used to think I didn't belong here either."
Rosie found that hardest to believe- that her brother could ever not be confident.
"The other Oracles must be found and secured," Apollo said. "I cannot do that unless I leave this place. I cannot risk anyone else's life."
"You got a prophecy then?" Rachel asked.
"I'm afraid so." Apollo took a breath, then began reciting the prophecy...the same words she had heard.
The three of them were silent after he finished.
"Kayla mentioned you talking to an arrow," Rachel finally spoke. "I'm guessing the wood from Dodona?"
Percy snorted. "Wait, a talking arrow gave you the prophecy?"
"Don't be silly!" Apollo scolded. "The grove gave me the prophecy- the talking arrow gives random advice, it's quite annoying." He sighed. "At any rate, I must leave camp. The Triumvirate means to possess all the ancient Oracles. I have to stop them. Once I have defeated the former emperors...only then will I be able to face my old enemy Python and free the Oracle of Delphi. After that...if I happen to still be alive...maybe then Zeus will restore me to my full power."
Rachel tugged a strand of her red hair. "You know that's too dangerous to do on your own, right?"
"Listen to Rachel," Percy urged. "Chiron warned me about Nero's weird holding company-"
"I appreciate the offer of assistance-" Apollo began.
Leo could be alive. Sitting there, that was all she could think about. He could be out there right now.
The problem was, no one would believe her. They would think she was crazy- heck, she thought she was crazy.
Percy held up his hands with a nervous laugh. "Whoa, there, slow down. Just to be clear...that wasn't me offering to go with you. I've got SATs to pass and I'm pretty sure Annabeth would kill me if I went with you."
If she played this right, she could get out of here. She could find him.
"I can go then," Rachel volunteered.
"No," Apollo protested. "Absolutely not. My enemies would love to capture someone as dear to me as the priestess of Delphi."
"I'll go," Rosie piped up.
Three heads swiveled toward her.
"Rosie?" Percy asked. He shook his head. "You can't-"
"I've heard great things about Indianapolis," she said in a joking tone.
"Rosie, it's too dangerous-" Rachel began.
"Meg is out there," she argued. "She needs to be found, and I'm guessing Lester here can't do that alone." She felt a pang of guilt at using Meg's disappearance for her own good.
"You don't need to do this!" Rachel exclaimed. "You could die-"
"Prophecy," Rosie reminded them. "The one of oceans, I'm guessing that might be me?"
"Still," Percy said, shaking his head. "We can't ask you-"
Apollo held up his hand. "Wait a second." He put his hand on his chin, pausing thoughtfully. His eyes scanned up and down Rosie. "This could work. God-turned-lowly-teenager teams up with Poseidon's powerful daughter. One of the Eight."
His words angered her, but she couldn't show it. Acting like being one of the 'Eight' was special- like they had signed up for it.
Little did he know she wasn't so powerful anymore. She wasn't confident in her powers at all.
Apollo sighed. "But what about transportation? You said yourself, we're fresh out of flying boys."
"We'll take Keaton."
Apollo raised his eyebrows. "Keaton? Who is Keaton?"
"My Pegasus." That flying fear was going to be solved quickly.
"No- no way."
"I'm sorry, do you have a way we can become Peter Pan and fly?"
Percy looked amused. "Ah yes," he said, turning back and forth to Apollo and Rosie. "You two are gonna make a great team."
"It's settled then," Apollo said, giving his knee a slap. "Apollo and his handy, dandy sidekick Rosie Reiger."
"I didn't agree with that-"
"Perfect!" Apollo jumped up. "I'll gather my things, say my goodbyes, you'll grab Kermit-"
"Keaton." This was going to be harder than she thought.
"That's what I said, isn't it? We leave at nightfall!" Apollo skipped away.
"You're insane," Rachel decided, looking at Rosie with a bit of a scared expression.
Rosie grinned. "That's what the voices tell me too."
Percy gave her a playful shove. "Come on. I'll walk you to the stable, I have to get home soon."
The two of them stood in silence for a while in the stable, letting the horses' chatter take over. Percy helped Rosie groom Keaton.
"So," Percy finally said. "You're a big flyer now?"
"Uh-huh," Rosie said lightly.
Liar, came Keaton's voice.
Rosie shot him a look.
"Ro," Percy began.
"I fly, okay? I'm not Jason but I fly," she said quickly, brushing Keaton's mane with a little more force.
"I just want to make sure you aren't running away from anything by going on this quest."
If anything, she was finally running towards something.
"I'm good, Percy- really. I'm not the biggest fan of Lester, but I'll deal." She gave him what she hoped was a confident smile. "And, hey...after we pop into Indianapolis and deal with this Oracle thing, maybe I'll keep going west. Find the others."
"And the belt?"
She looked down at the belt, still wrapped tightly around her waist.
"Oh, yeah," she said with a light laugh. "Pretty cool, right? Jake made it for me. To, uh, cheer me up."
"But-"
"You should head out. You won't want to miss dinner."
"You are as stubborn as they come," Percy said.
"Hug for the road?"
Percy soon disappeared back into the sound with Mrs. O'Leary, and Rosie joined the small group that had formed to see them off.
Nico was the first to reach her.
"I hate this," he admitted.
"So you admit you love me," Rosie said with a grin.
"Something like that," he muttered, wrapping his arms around her.
Will had appeared now, holding a bag.
"Medical supplies," he said, handing it to her.
"Perfect, thanks."
"Try not to kill each other, okay?" Will asked, glancing over at Apollo, who was currently examining a stain on his sweater closely. "He...he's trying. He means well."
"I don't know how you came from that," she admitted.
"Good genes from my mom." He gave her a quick hug. "Be careful."
I have to show you something, Coach.
Show me, kid.
She paused, her muscles tightening as Jason and Coach's voices had rung out in her head, clear as a bell.
Her empathy link...was it coming back?
The thought was knocked out of her as a force ran into her, gripping her tightly. Harley buried his face into her.
"Harls-"
"You better come back," he said in a bossy tone as he pulled away. "And here, take this."
Harley's beacon was shoved into her hands.
That 10-year-old was smart.
"You know," he said in a whisper. "In case you find him."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Harley."
"Yoo-hoo, Rosie!" Apollo called from feet away, looking nervously over at Keaton. "I think Kabob is ready to go!"
"Keaton!" Rosie yelled in an aggravated tone.
"Ms. Reiger?"
Rosie turned around, finding Chiron wheeling up to her.
"Oh. Hey, Chiron. We're about to head out."
"So I figured," he said. "I just wanted to implore you to be careful. A god and a daughter of Poseidon will surely attract a whole slew of monsters."
"This isn't my first rodeo."
Chiron didn't even crack a hint of a smile. "Things are dangerous out there. I'm afraid you've been distracted by things elsewhere- that maybe your heart isn't in this quest for the right reasons."
She gulped. "Meg is out there, Chiron. She has no one. That's my reason...and I think it's a pretty good one."
She was going to hell.
Chiron nodded gravely. "Then, I wish you my best."
She left Chiron there, heading over to their ride. Apollo was struggling to get on top of Keaton.
"Need a hand, Lester?"
"No!" He snapped. "I'm just- your stupid Pegasi-"
Who's he calling stupid? Keaton complained.
Apollo finally settled onto his back with a huff. Rosie rolled her eyes, settling down in front of him.
"Alright," she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "We're doing this."
Whenever you're ready.
"I'm ready."
"You've done this before, right?" Apollo asked nervously.
"Go ahead, Keaton."
Aye-aye, Captain.
Keaton shot off into the sky, as the cheers of campers mixed in with the screams of Rosie and Apollo.
"You totally haven't done this before!" Apollo screamed in her ear.
But she wasn't listening to him. She glanced down at camp, at the sight of her friends now being as tiny as ants. And then, inexplicably, her scream became a laugh.
She was doing it- she did it. She was leaving behind the place she had been in pieces for six months.
"Higher, Keaton!" She exclaimed.
"Higher?!"
Keaton obeyed, Rosie cackling gleefully over the wind as they headed off into the night sky.
