Hey guys!

Hope you're having a great time, because it's currently technically Christmas eve. So Merry Christmas Eve, if you celebrate it. And just enjoy the holidays if you don't.

So this is the third and final part of this story. I'm going to cut it short here, because quite frankly, as I was writing this last part, I realized that my past and current writing styles look...very different. I intended this piece to be humorous. Dark humor, at times, sure, but it was supposed to be funny. And reading my first draft of this piece...well.

I feel like I changed quite a bit over this year, looking back on it. I've definitely gotten more cynical, amongst other things, and that did have an impact on my writing.

I would like to end the year on an up note. Say that the fact that you made it to the end of this crappy year is a testament to your resilience and courage. And yes, that is definitely true. This year's definitely been a trying one. The fact that you're reading this message is a way of congratulations, I guess. You made it.

But a lot of people didn't. And some of these deaths had been perfectly preventable. And for all that we praise essential workers for going to work, risking their safety, risking their family's health and safety...we (and I am including myself in here, just in case you thought I'm being preachy) haven't done a thing to make their lives easier (and I'm not talking about sending people pizza). A lot of essential workers, which by definition is vital to our society's continued existence, are still being paid minimum wage and (hot take) I feel the reason we don't do anything to change it is that we benefit from screwing them over.

It's made me reflect on what kind of person that makes me, and what kind of society I want to live in.

I just feel powerless, at the end of the day.

But what would I know about society? I'm just a fanfic writer.

Have fun and review!

Video Conference

"Are you really Apollo?" A tired voice spoke up.

"Yeah, I am," Apollo's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"So, you exist in a world in which my Mother's gods are real," Greece summed up. He absentmindedly petted his cat as his green eyes gazed intently at the god. By his standards, he was practically jumping off the walls in excitement.

"Your mother?"

"Her name is Ancient Greece," he offered. "Are there truly no nations in your world?"

"Not human ones," Apollo said. "At least, not to my knowledge."

"And non-human ones?"

"Well, yes. We have political borders, but we don't have personifications as you do."

"Hmm," Greece closed his eyes. For a second, Apollo thought he was about to fall asleep again. The Greek nation reminded him of Hypnos. The god of sleep had an unfortunate habit of falling asleep at the oddest of times. Apollo had once recommended that he be checked out for narcolepsy. The sleep god had recommended that he fuck off, right before falling asleep again. Hypnos was cranky when disturbed.

"If there are no human nations in your world, then what makes a nation in your world?"

Apollo blinked, "What?"

"In our world," Greece explained, "Nations are people. We say that we represent nations, but in truth that was somewhat misleading. We are nations, whether that makes sense to you or not. To say that we are a representation is to say we are a symbol. A mascot, if you will, that acts as a shorthand for a country. To say we are nations is to say that we embody the whole of the country. The question I pose, then, is how a nation in our world would map onto a nation in your world."

Huh. Athena would have liked this guy.

"Well," Apollo leaned back, thinking. His best guess was that countries in this world functioned similarly to Gaea, before she had been killed by Leo. She had a consciousness, but her body was literally the Earth. He wondered how much autonomy the nations had, though. Gaea, were she to fully wake, would have been able to shift continents around and end all life on Earth. Could nations do the same?

"That's kind of an unfair question, isn't it?" he inquired. "Like, I don't even know how you guys work. How does one map a nation in my world to one in yours? What even counts as part of a nation? Culture? People? Economy? Landmass? Heck, how do wars work?"

The nations stiffened. Some of them were distinctly avoiding eye contact, suddenly.

Evidently, that was a bit of a touchy subject.

"The device is almost fixed," Japan said, his smile a bit strained. "Please be patient."

Olympus

"Percy Jackson?" the man in the Hawaiian shirt leaned forward, suddenly very interested. "What do you know about him?"

The throne room fell silent as all attention was suddenly on him again.

Oh fuck. This guy was Percy Jackson's father, wasn't he?

How the heck did he manage to hear him over the shouting? The dude was twenty feet tall. What if he spoiled something? He couldn't be sure when he was in the timeline, after all. This might be before the events of The Lightning Thief, for all the information he had.

America swallowed. The lightning dude's hand was creeping steadily towards the aforementioned lightning. America figured that he had a matter of seconds before he was attacked again.

Part of him was tempted to point out that the bolt of divine retribution was useless last time, just to buy some time. On the other hand, if Zeus was anything like America, he'd just strike him repeatedly until he did die. America was extra like that. Besides, that first bolt had hurt. He couldn't be sure if it wouldn't actually cause damage this time around. He shuddered. Think of the economy. He doubted he could handle another financial crisis on top of the one he was already going through.

With that happy thought, he blurted out the first non-spoilery thing he could think of. "He's an excellent swimmer!"

Dead silence. Even Zeus paused in his lightning-related aggression to stare incredulously at America.

America for his part was feeling pretty proud of that one, actually. Sure, he might die in the next few seconds, but he could die knowing he had successfully baffled the entirety of the Olympians. If that wasn't an achievement, he didn't know what was. Even though they were fictional. Oh God, he was going to be killed by a fictional character. He wasn't sure if he should be honored or depressed.

Someone in the periphery started clapping. "Well, he's not wrong."

"Hermes," Zeus said, sounding very much done with his son's antics. "Do not compliment the intruder."

"Sorry, Father," Hermes didn't sound very sorry.

"Yes, Hermes," A man drinking a diet coke looked up lazily. "You should be glaring at him until he drops dead, instead."

The two gods exchanged air high-fives.

Zeus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just tell us what you're doing here."

"Well," America rubbed the back of his neck. "That's a good question, actually."

"So you have no idea how you came to be here?"

"I really don't! One minute, I was in a Zoom Conference-"

"What's a Zoom conference?" Hermes leaned forward, possibly sensing the opportunity for investment.

America stared at him. Oh, the poor soul. He'd have no idea what hit him.

"Just...don't ask. It's too painful."

"Alright?"

"Right. So anyway, I was at my house, in a Zoom Conference with other people, and a bunch of my friends developed a machine that lets people look at alternate realities. And then another...acquaintance...fucked with the device, and the next thing I know, I'm here."

"Right," Zeus glowered at him. "A remarkable story. Can you explain why the lightning bolt didn't hurt you?"

I'm a nation. You can't find a lightning bolt big enough. Not that America would tell them that. As far as he was concerned, the existence of nations was a secret he intended to keep, alternate universe or no. "Uh...seeing I'm in an alternate universe...maybe there's some kind of law against getting destroyed by things not in my universe?"

"Hmmph," Zeus said, apparently unable to find a hole in that logic. America gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder for that one. "And your name?"

America was about to respond, when the flash of light came back and swallowed him whole.

Right before he disappeared, America, feeling particularly brave, turned and waved. "So long, suckers!"

The...Void?

This isn't Olympus, Apollo thought. He was perceptive like that.

"Uh…who are you?" said a voice behind him.

Apollo spun. A blond guy with glasses was staring back at him. He did look a bit like his current form,though the resemblance wasn't perfect. Really, Apollo didn't really see how this was supposed to be his counterpart.

"America, I'm guessing?"

The blonde blinked, "So you know about...us?"

"Yes," Apollo offered a smile. "Your friends are quite welcoming."

"Thanks," America smiled back. "You're...Fred?"

"Apollo," he corrected, wincing. Seriously, he dressed up one time as a hobo and they never let him forget it.

"Hold on," he said suddenly, as if he had just come to a realization. "You don't know who I am. So that means that none of them noticed that I was missing?"

America frowned, "Well, they certainly didn't bring it up."

Apollo tried not to feel hurt.

"Hey," America put a hand on his shoulder, probably as a gesture of comfort. Unfortunately, it was clear he didn't have much experience in that, so it just looked like he was trying to stir fry something that was spraying hot oil everywhere. "Your family seems pretty cool. Some of them, at least."

"You've met my Father, I assume?"

"Yes. Not to offend you or anything, but was threatening to blast people a regular staple of his vocabulary, or am I just special?"

"Oh, you have no idea," he reassured him. "I've been trying to distance myself from him lately."

"Like dumping all his tea into the nearest harbor and declaring independence?"

Apollo stared at him, before realizing America was joking. "If only I could. Unfortunately, as much of a horrible person my father is, he is a powerful horrible person. The most I can do is spend less time with him."

"Sounds like it's time for a revolution, my dude."

"Yeah, I'll think about that," Apollo reassured him sarcastically, thinking about the last time he tried that. "Have you any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Right on cue, the...Void? Started flashing colors again. Apollo could see flashes of Olympus again.

"I guess this is Good-bye," Apollo said.

"Oh, here," America handed him something sleek and rectangular. A cell phone. "So we can keep in touch, just in case."

"Would that work across universes?"

"Hm, I don't know. Tony-" the light enveloped them both.

Apollo found himself on a stone-paved road on Olympus.

Right. Time to join the others.

Two weeks later

America's cell phone started ringing. Apollo stared at it, before picking it up.

"Hello?"

"America, you cannot keep ignoring me. Your situation is bad enough as it is, and mine is getting worse. Tell your stupid boss-" the voice was, as per usual, grumpy and more than done with the antics the world had to offer.

"England?"

"...What are you doing with America's work phone?"

So yeah, have fun, spend time with family, etc.

(Also, I know this doesn't concern a lot of you, but please refrain from posting comments like "Covid is a hoax" in the reviews. I know people who had gotten it, and I received news of someone who had died from it. Today, in fact. Quite frankly, I don't know who you're trying to convince, and I'm not going to insult your intelligence by assuming you genuinely believe that and trying to prove you wrong. It's not my job to educate you on such matters and I don't really care what some random troll on the internet thinks. Thank you for your cooperation.)

Happy holidays!