This was inspired by an idea I had several months ago. At the time I wrote it in the form of an analysis post on my tumblr titled: "The fight with Otis and Ephialtes in MoA takes on a whole new meaning in the context of ToA."

Here's the link if you wish to read it for yourselves. flightfoot. tumblr post/177141669997/the-fight-with-otis-and-ephialtes-in-moa-takes-on

Sadly you'll have to remove the spaces to get the URL, since FF won't allow actual links.

Anyways, now that I can actually write pretty well, I wanted to take a crack at the idea in fanfiction form. I hope I did it justice!

Oh yeah, some replies to Guests, since I can't PM them:

Guest: I'm so glad you liked it! I've been wanting an Apollo reads/reacts fic for awhile too, which is why I wrote it. And I would gladly take the hug!

Guest: While I like the idea of having Apollo watching other demigods' past quests, I don't really feel up for writing a whole "Reading the Books" thing with Apollo. I wouldn't want to attempt that until ToA was over anyways. That being said, The Imaginative Babbler has written a "Read the Books" series set just after the Hidden Oracle, with Lester, some of the Kane Chronicles characters, the Magnus Chase characters, and people from PJO and HOO reacting to the events of PJO. The first one is called "Percy Did What?", so maybe that'll help!

When the world solidified, we were surrounded by a chaotic scene. Fireworks of some sort were going off over our heads, though I was more concerned by the Giant in front of us… until the roof above him fell and crushed him.

I looked around wildly, trying to figure out where and when this was. I saw Piper sitting down, badly injured next to a barely conscious Nico. I instinctively started towards them, then froze. Someone else was already on his way. A young man with blond hair rushed towards them.

Jason.

My mind stopped working, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. I started forwards as if in a trance, but only got a few feet before Meg grabbed my arm. I looked back at her, not understanding. Jason was here! Why didn't she want me to go to him? She looked back at me with uncharacteristic gentleness, stating quietly, "Apollo, this is the past. You can't interact with Jason. This already happened. He's gone now." Her grip loosened, allowing me to continue to Jason if I wished. I didn't move. Meg was right. I could only observe.

Get it together Apollo, I scolded myself. You don't know what this memory will show, so you need to brace yourself.

I looked around some more, trying to determine when and whose memory this was. If there were Giants around, then it would likely be taking placing during the war with Gaea last year. Meg wasn't involved with that, so it couldn't be her memory, and I only remembered facing Giants at the very end of the War at the Parthenon, and we certainly weren't at that point in time, which meant…

I glanced back at the third member of our party. Percy looked tense, ready to pull out his sword and start slashing at a moments notice. I glanced around, and sure enough, there was another version of Percy present in the past here, standing in front of a weird machine, looking out at everything that was going on… which was a lot. One of the Giants - Ephialtes I believed, from what I could dredge up from the depths of my memory - was already reforming, dragging himself out of the pile of his own dust, his head, arms, and shoulders already reformed.

On the other side of the room, the rubble from the roof exploded, showering debris everywhere. I ducked instinctively as a piece of it the size of a basketball rocketed towards me, only for it to pass right through me.

Ah. Yes. I couldn't be hurt here, not by the past anyway. It could only inflict emotional pain, not physical damage.

"Percy! The controls!" Jason yelled. Past!Percy unfroze, pulling out his sword and slashing at the control panel with it.

"No!" Ephialtes wailed. "You've ruined the spectacle!"

Percy started turning around to face him, but it wasn't fast enough. Ephialtes swung his spear at him.

I lost control of my legs, crumbling to the floor. Distantly I heard screaming emanating from somewhere. It took a moment to realize it was from me.

"APOLLO!" Meg yelled at me. It felt like I was hearing her through a fog. "APOLLO!" she screamed again, kneeling in front of me, blocking my view. Slowly, I focused in on her face, the terror and worry in her expression, the tears in her eyes… all directed at me.

Slowly, I came to my senses. This was the past. Percy was alive and next to me in the present. I looked back wildly to make sure of that fact. Percy was still standing perfectly still, staring at the scene in front of him, looking like he wanted to rip someone's throat out. I shivered at his expression, but at least he was alive.

Meg cupped my face in her hands, an unusual show of support from her. "No one died here. You KNOW that. You saw them later. They survived this."

Shakily I drew breath, and attempted to get to my feet. Meg helped me up, supporting me until I could stand up straight on my own. I wobbled a little, but didn't fall.

I could do this. I had to. I had to know why Percy, Meg, and I were drawn into this flashback. The last flashback sequence I'd been in had been highly painful for both Meg and I, but we'd learned a lot - especially me. Seeing how I used to act and how people reacted to me had solidified my determination to never be like that again. And Meg had learned that people she cared about may have been assholes in the past, but still genuinely cared for her and wanted to rectify their mistakes. I wish she hadn't had to learn that way, though.

I only hoped that this flashback wouldn't be as harrowing for Meg as the last one had been. Let all the pain fall on me. I deserved it. She didn't.

I gathered myself and looked around. past!Percy and Jason were side-by-side, looking tired, but still determined to save themselves and their friends. Piper and Nico were over by the dais on the floor, barely able to move.

Ephialtes smiled at past!Percy and Jason. I shuddered. "Tired, Percy Jackson? As I said, you cannot kill us. So I guess we're at an impasse. Oh, wait… no we're not! Because we can kill you!"

That's right. Giants could only be killed by a demigod and a god working together. And they'd all survived this fight. Which meant that a god must've helped out somehow. But who, and how?

I looked around, as if merely willing for a divine being would make it happen. Alas, I saw no sign of a god.

His brother Otis picked up his spear. My eyes locked onto it as he spoke, "That is the first sensible thing you've said all day, brother."

The giants pointed their weapons at past!Percy and Jason. Jason growled, "We won't give up. We'll cut you into pieces like Jupiter did to Saturn."

past!Percy joined in on the attempt at intimidation. I was pretty sure they were trying to convince themselves more than anyone else, "That's right. You're both dead. I don't care if we have a god on our side or not."

"Well that's a shame," a voice cut in. I perked up. I KNEW that voice!

A platform lowered from the ceiling, revealing a man with a pinecone-tipped staff.

BACCHUS!

I smiled, hope blooming in my chest. They had a god on their side now! They'd fight together and defeat Otis and Ephialtes, at least long enough for everyone to get away safely.

I glanced at Percy, expecting to see him smile now that help had arrived. Instead he narrowed his eyes to slits, breathing heavily, his face contorted into an expression of hatred and disgust.

My heart sank. What had happened? Bacchus had helped… right? He must have. They wouldn't have survived otherwise. So why did he look like he wanted to turn the wine god inside-out?

I very hesitantly called to Percy. I didn't want that expression, that anger turned on me, but I needed to know.

"Percy, what happened here? Why do you look like you want to rip Bacchus apart with your bare hands?" I asked carefully.

Percy gave me a withering look. I tried not to whimper. I didn't think it was truly directed at me, but Percy was REALLY mad, and he couldn't just turn that off. Through gritted teeth, he muttered. "Just. Watch."

So I did.

Bacchus glanced over at Ephialtes, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Really, Ephialtes? Killing demigods is one thing. But using leopards for your spectacle? That's over the line."

I gritted my teeth at the casual attitude towards the demigods' lives, but didn't react beyond that. That was typical, as horrible as it was. I didn't think that would cause this reaction from Percy.

Ephialtes looked terrified of Bacchus, making a small squeaking noise as he stuttered "This- this is impossible. D-D-"

I missed being able to make my enemies quake so much. But at least I wasn't scaring my friends anymore, which was nice.

Bacchus cut him off before he could stammer at the rest. "It's Bacchus, actually, old friend. And of course it's possible. Someone told me a party was going on."

Ephialtes quivered, attempting to intimidate Bacchus, and failing. "You- you gods are doomed! Be gone, in the name of Gaea!"

"Hmm." Bacchus grunted, not looking the slightest bit afraid.

He waved at all the various junk that the Giants had evidently set up, now scattered around the area. "Tacky. Cheap. Boring. And this…" here he pause to examine some sort of rocket-like machine. "Tacky, cheap, and boring. Honestly, Ephialtes. You have no sense of style."

On that, I agreed. Ephialtes didn't. "STYLE?" I have mountains of style. I definestyle. I- I-"

"My brother oozes style," Otis said, helping his brother out.

"Thank you!" Ephialtes cried.

Bacchus stepped towards the giants, causing them to stumble back as they tried to put some distance between themselves and the god. After seeing them try to kill Percy and Jason, it was gratifying to watch. "Have you two gotten shorter?"

Apparently one thing Ephialtes couldn't take was height jokes. "Oh, that's low. I'm quite tall enough to destroy you, Bacchus! You gods, always hiding behind your mortal heroes, trusting the fate of Olympus to the likes of these."

Jason raised his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to kill the giants, or what?"

"Well, I certainly hope so," Bacchus said. "Please, carry on."

I blinked. Then I blinked again. WHAT. He could NOT be about to do what I thought he was going to do. We'd be on the chopping block too if the giants succeeded, it made no sense NOT to help as much as he could. Simple self-preservation should have been enough motivation, even if compassion wasn't Surely I was the only one who had been THAT idiotic about helping the Seven.

Past!Percy was also shocked. "Didn't you come here to help?"

Bacchus shrugged, not seeming to care much. "Oh, I appreciated the sacrifice at sea. A whole ship full of Diet Coke. Very nice. Though I would have preferred Diet Pepsi."

"And six million in gold and jewels," past!Percy muttered under his breath.

My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. That big a tribute?! I hadn't had that large a tribute in one go in centuries! That HAD to be worthy of Bacchus's help.

"Yes, although with demigod parties of five or more, the gratuity is included, so it wasn't necessary."

"What?"

I shared past!Percy's confusion. He'd gotten an awesome tribute, just take it and help them!

"Never mind," Bacchus said. "At any rate, you got my attention. I'm here. Now I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead. Battle. If I'm impressed, I'll jump in for the grand finale."

If they're WORTHY?! They had both proven their 'worthiness' ages ago, between all the quests they did for us gods, with how they had helped to save us time and time again, with barely any recognition, even a 'thank you'. They were far more worthy of help than most of the gods were. I growled lowly. I was beginning to understand why Percy had looked at Bacchus with so much hatred in his eyes.

Meg stared at him too. Abruptly she declared, "He's stupid." I didn't disagree with her.

Meanwhile, past!Percy was still trying to figure out what it WOULD take to get Bacchus's help. "We speared one. Dropped the roof on another. What do you consider impressive?"

"Ah, a good question…" Bacchus tapped his staff in thought. Then he smiled. A cold trickle of dread ran down my back. That was the same smile he gave whenever he came up with an interesting new way to drive his enemies mad. I didn't want to see it on him here, in these circumstances. I silently prayed that Bacchus would see sense and just help the demigods without playing any games, though I knew even then that it was a futile hope.

I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. Percy was shaking even harder, his eyes eyes as stormy as a hurricane. I felt the intense urge to fall to my knees and beg him not to hurt my friends, but fought it off. He wasn't angry at me this time, and there was no way he'd hurt Meg.

"Perhaps you need inspiration! The stage hasn't been properly set. You call this a spectacle, Ephialtes? Let me show you how it's done."

Bacchis vanished, taking Piper and Nico with him. Jason shouted, alarmed, "Pipes! Bacchus, where did you-"

Jason was abruptly cut off by the floor rising and reshaping itself, the entire area reconfiguring. Meg shouted in surprise, "Percy, what's going on?! What's Bacchus doing?!"

Percy yelled back, disgust dripping from his words, "He's setting up a show. Jason and I are the main entertainment."

I flinched. This… this was way too familiar. I remembered all those times in the past when I had watched demigods fight, not caring whether they died. No, that was wrong. Wanting them to die in entertaining ways as I ate popcorn. I'd used demigods lives for entertainment myself, and never gave a thought to the demigods' welfare.

Still, I'd never done anything like this, deliberately making demigods fight for my amusement before intervening. This… this was WAY too far. It seemed familiar though…

From way up above, I heard Bacchus's voice. "This is a proper show!" he boomed. He sat resplendent in the emperor's box, clothed in purple robes and golden laurels.

And then I realized.

This… this was just like when Commodus had made Meg and I fight for our lives in his arena. He had treated the whole thing like a giant game for his entertainment, a celebration of his ego and a way to stave off his boredom. Bacchus was acting the same way. He even LOOKED similar, wearing similar robes and headwear, giving that same smug expression, secure in his own superiority, in his ability to force others to do as he wished.

We gods could be just as bad as the Emperors. And not only the more well-known vindictive gods and goddesses (looking at you, Hera), but even the more ordinary gods and goddesses behaved like this. And Bacchus… of all the Olympians, he should have known better. He HAD BEEN a demigod. He should have known, should have been the one to champion demigods' values. Instead here he was, smiling condescendingly down at past!Percy and Jason, safe from harm while the mortals fought to survive.

I choked down bile as it rose up my throat. I welcomed the burn. It hurt less than the realization of how BADLY we gods had screwed up, how much pain and suffering we had put others through, people far more deserving of adulation than we were.

"Commodus," Meg stated. "He's like Commodus."

"Yes," I replied, loathing coloring my words. "Yes, he's just like Commodus."

I looked to Bacchus's side and let out a sigh of relief. Piper and Nico were sitting next to him, being tended to by a nymph. I let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps Bacchus was slightly better than Commodus - but only slightly.

pastPercy glared up at Bacchus, joining our Percy's hateful stare. "You're just going to sit there?"

"The demigod is right!" Ephialtes bellowed. I'd jumped. I'd somehow forgotten he was there with how caught up I was in my own head, "Fight us yourself, coward! Um, without the demigods."

Bacchus smiled down lazily. I wanted to punch him in the face. "Juno says she's assembled a worthy crew of demigods. Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Being a god has its privileges."

Being a god has its privileges. I had heard that sentiment before, both from Britomartis when she insisted that as a goddess, her needs outranked Jo's and Emmie's… and from myself in an earlier flashback, when I had agreed that heroes were for running gods' errands.

We took demigods for granted, all of us. Treated them like dirt, then expected them to bow and scrape for us, be delighted at any scrap of compensation we threw their way.

We were bullies. That's all we were. Bullies with an insane amount of power, but bullies nonetheless.

past!Percy's expression was nearly the same as present Percy's; incredibly pissed off. Jason didn't look much happier. They didn't have time to stand around however. The two giants picked up a fake mountain - why had Bacchus included that? - and hurled it at the two demigods.

Jason yelled something to past!Percy, but I couldn't make it out over the roar of the crowd as they chanted "Fight! Fight!". They conferred for a moment, exchanging words quietly enough that the giants couldn't hear them, which meant we couldn't hear them either.

They charged out of the trench together. I'd hoped they'd come up with a more sophisticated plan than attack-them-until-either-they-or-we-die. past!Percy caused a water pipe to explode, sending gushing water everywhere. Meanwhile, Jason summoned a howling gale of wind. The combined force of the two elements caused the brothers to lose their grip on the mountain and topple to the floor. They had bought time, but not much.

past!Percy yelled loudly "Hey Otis! The Nutcracker bites!"

I had to snort at that one. Even now, Percy was cracking jokes.

Then Otis picked up his spear again. I tensed, breathing hard. It's okay, it's okay, he lives through this, I WILL NOT HAVE TO WATCH HIM DIE AGAIN.

The spear sailed far over past!Percy's head. I relaxed slightly. At least Otis didn't have it now.

Otis charged towards past!Percy… bad idea, with the body of water behind him. Otis seemed to realize this as well. Unfortunately for him, giants have a LOT of momentum. past!Percy and Jason dodged out of the way, Jason sending a gust of wind to help push Otis into the water. They brought their swords down onto Otis's head while he struggled vainly to extract himself from the water. He exploded into dust, but even seconds later, he started reforming. past!Percy churned the lake into a whirlpool, Jason sending lightning bolts onto Otis's head whenever he started reforming. But Otis kept on trying to reform, and Ephialtes wouldn't be down for much longer.

"Bacchus, HELP THEM ALREADY!" I screamed at the lazy, selfish, IDIOTIC god. He couldn't hear me, but it made me feel better. "They've done the most they can do on their own, what more do you need to see?!"

"He won't help; not yet," Percy growled. "He doesn't want to lift a finger. He won't join in unless they've already been defeated. He doesn't care whether we get hurt or almost die in the process. He's a god, his whims," Percy spat out venomously, "matter more than our wellbeing. We're just demigods - we're disposable."

He's a god, his whims matter more than our wellbeing. We're just demigods - we're disposable. I wished I could deny Percy's implication. I wished I could say 'Oh no, we value demigod's lives, what Bacchus did was horrible and crossed the line, most of us would never have acted like Bacchus did..' But I couldn't. We didn't value demigods as much as we should. What Bacchus did here was awful, absolutely horrible, but I would barely have batted an eye at it when I was a god. I would've just watched - just like Bacchus now was.

The fake mountain exploded, Ephialtes emerging from the rubble. He looked PISSED, his snake feet hissing and spitting. I shuddered. As if I needed ANOTHER reason to hate these giants. To make it worse, HE hadn't lost his spear.

Jason called down some more lightning, but Ephialtes deflected it with his spear. He charged at Jason and past!Percy, forcing Percy to stop swirling Otis's essence around and to help Jason fend Ephialtes off.

They lunged around him, trying to stab the giant, but he just parried or dodged out of the way of every blow. Jason and Percy were slowing down. Ephialtes was not.

"I will not yield!," Ephialtes roared. "You may have ruined my spectacle, but Gaea will still destroy your world!"

past!Percy slashed Ephialtes's spear, breaking it in half. For a moment I dared to hope that Ephialtes would throw it away, would at least pick some OTHER weapon, but no. He held onto his (now considerably shorter) spear, sweeping Percy off his feet with a swipe at Percy's feet (with the blunt end of the spear at least, so there was SOME small favor there). Percy fell hard, his sword clattering out of his grip. My heart skipped a beat. I knew Riptide would reappear in his pocket in a few moments, but I wasn't sure that he HAD moments.

I looked over at our Percy, staring at the scene in front of us intensely. He had survived this. I had to keep remembering that.

I switched my attention back to the past. I wished I hadn't.

Jason stepped forwards, stabbing at Ephialtes's chest while his attention was still on past!Percy. Ephialtes was not THAT distracted unfortunately. He parried Jason's strike and lashed out himself, slicing the tip of his spear down Jason's torso, then kicked him away.

I screamed.

The world wavered around me. I collapsed on the ground, my legs folding underneath me. I was on Caligula's ship, Piper on the ground next to me, watching in horror as Caligula plunged his spear into Jason's chest, unable to do anything but observe, useless. Distantly I heard Piper cry out.

Wait… I actually HEARD that yell. The world snapped back into focus. I looked up. Piper was yelling down from the emperor's box, her eyes wild and panicked. I had seen those eyes before.

They were the same eyes she had when Jason was murdered in front of us.

She'd had to watch, horrified, as Jason and Percy were almost murdered in front of her, herself too injured and far away to intervene, an uncaring god by her side, just WATCHING. Who COULD help, but who DIDN'T CARE. As I glared at Bacchus, he smiled lazily at the terrible scene, munching on a Dorito chip.

This… this was why Piper had lashed out like she did after Jason died. "You don't care because you're a god. You'll go back to Olympus after you free the Oracles, so what does it matter? You're using us to get what you want, like all the other gods."

She'd seen it before. She knew that the gods didn't care, that the gods would just use her and her friends, never mind the destruction we left in our wake, not caring about the aftermath.

Not caring that her friend had almost died for a god's sick amusement.

Not caring that he did die, on a quest that wasn't even his.

No wonder she hadn't wanted to see me after that. No wonder she wanted me to leave and never return. At this moment, I didn't want me around. I didn't want the reminder of all I had been, of all I had done. Of all I hadn't done.

My mouth felt dry and sandpapery as I gazed up at the vile being lounging in the Emperor's seat. He revulsed me.

No… the entire attitude of gods towards the demigods, towards our children, our FAMILY revulsed me. I couldn't pretend that it was just Bacchus. Most of us had this attitude, this utter disregard for anyone who wasn't in our weight class. If they weren't strong enough to seriously harm us, and we weren't personally attached to them, then why should we care about their lives at all? They were pawns to use and discard as we pleased.

This HAD TO END. It wasn't enough to just change myself. That would NEVER be enough. For the first time I truly appreciated what Percy had said after the Second Titan War, when he turned down godhood, and asked us to grant his wish instead. I had been annoyed that he would presume to bind us, that he would have the AUDACITY to tell us how to treat our children and each other, though I secretly agreed with him.

But now?

Now I understood. We had been monsters, only barely better than the beings we had rebelled against. I couldn't blame Luke or any of the other demigods from rebelling. When the people who should care about you, your family barely acknowledges your existence, uses you as they please and throws you away, anyone who promises a better future, a way out, sounds tempting. The alternative was to continue the status quo, and the status quo was intolerable.

Percy had done the best he could, forcing us to send help for our children, to bring them to camp, and to actually claim them. But it wasn't enough. We had obeyed his wish to the letter, and things HAD improved, but there was still a long way to go.

We had to change. All of us gods. We had to start treating demigods better - and not only our own children, but other gods' children as well. They were NOT our playthings. They were PEOPLE. They were FAMILY. It was time we started treating them as such.

Time moved forwards, as it inevitably does. Ephialtes raised both halves of his spear above past!Percy's and Jason's heads as they lay on the ground, weaponless, barely able to move.

Meg screamed up at Bacchus, fear coloring her face, but her voice quivering with anger, "Help them NOW, you STUPID GOD. They'll DIE!"

"He won't help yet," Percy growled, his voice low and even. I wished he had yelled. It would have been less terrifying. "He doesn't care."

"Then how…?" I croaked. I could see no way out of this without outside help.

Then I looked up.

"Oh."

Ephialtes hadn't noticed. Otis tried to warn him, but his head still wasn't full reformed, so it came out as, "Uh-umh-mooo!" which wasn't very comprehensible.

Ephialtes couldn't understand him either. "Don't worry, brother!" he proclaimed, his eyes fixed on both of the demigods, and unfortunately for him, NOT on the sky. "I will make them suffer!"

"Actually," past!Percy said," Look behind you."

Percy and Jason rolled out of the way just before the Argo II fired its first shot at Ephialtes. It didn't destroy him, but it left him charred and exhausted on the ground. Otis wasn't much better. He was still trying to gather himself together, but he looked like burnt oatmeal from the arms down.

The ship descended to the ground, Leo at the helm, Hazel and Frank grinning by his side. I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. Of course Leo had come through - when had he not?

past!Percy turned around and yelled insults at Bacchus, still lounging in the emperor's box. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but it was satisfying to watch. "Well? Was that entertaining enough for you, you wine-breathed little-"

"No need for that," Bacchus cut him off. "I have decided that you are worthy partners for this combat."

"Partners? You did nothing!" both Jason and I yelled. I blinked, startled. I guess we thought alike at times.

Bacchus strolled over to the pile of Otis mush. Bacchus smacked him with his pinecone staff, disintegrating him completely. The crowd cheered wildly, as if Bacchus had accomplished some great feat, instead of smacking an immobile and helpless opponent with a stick.

He strolled and strutted over to the other giant, basking in the adoration of the crowd. I felt sick. What was he trying to prove? And to who? Everyone had seen what had really happened. Percy and Jason had done most of the work, while the Argo II had finished them off. The ONLY reason Bacchus was required at this point, was because of the technical requirement that a god and demigod had to work together to defeat a giant. He hadn't done anything great, or worthy of applause. He'd barely done anything at all!

As Bacchus raised his pinecone staff (a stupid-looking weapon if ever I had seen one, but I had learned better than to insult other gods' symbols of power to their face), the crowd roared "DO IT!"

Ephialtes yelled in a panic, "DON'T DO IT!" but Bacchus wasn't about to listen to him. He tapped Ephialtes on the nose. He instantly crumbled to ashes.

The crowd in the stadium cheered and threw confetti. Bacchus strode around triumphantly, arms open, basking in the applause. "That, my friends, is a show! And of course I did something. I killed two giants!"

Who was he trying to convince? He certainly wasn't convincing the demigods. THEY had done all the work, had endured all the danger, while he just lounged around. And yet he wanted the credit. Saying that he had killed the giants may technically be correct, but he was exaggerating his role, making it seem like he had done more than he actually had.

Exaggerating his role…

I had done much the same thing over the years, spreading tales of what I had done that weren't strictly accurate. I had told myself at the time that they were essentially true, even if they weren't technically true. I hadn't quite been able to fool myself.

I misrepresented the truth sometimes. Partly I did this to spread a certain reputation around, be seen in a certain way. I didn't think the truth was enough, so I'd spin things to make myself come off differently.

Sometimes though, I was really lying to MYSELF. After I had defeated Python, I had declared how easily I had bested him, that a single arrow from my quiver had turned him to dust. This wasn't to make myself look better to my brethren, though I told myself that that was the purpose. Hearing the TRUE story, how I had fought and struggled, had almost been destroyed several times throughout our battle, but had won in the end, would arguably have been more impressive.

But that wasn't what I had WANTED to happen. I WANTED to tell myself that I had easily destroyed Python, that he didn't haunt my nightmares, that I didn't flinch when I heard the rustle of scales on stone. It was my way of rewriting history, of coping with the trauma of that battle.

And I just… kept on doing it. when reality didn't line up with my needs or desires, I told myself that it was different. That was why I had my motivational pep talk, you are gorgeous and people love you. It was an attempt to persuade myself that it was true.

What did it say about Bacchus that he was attempting something similar, trying to persuade himself that he had been more impressive, had done more than he really had? Perhaps we weren't so different, in the end.

Still, regardless of his personal issues, he should NOT have taken them out on these young demigods. They had enough on their plates already.

The Argo II landed, Leo, Hazel, and Frank leaving the ship. Piper and Nico struggled down from the emperor's box as best they could, until they reached the rest of their friends. The Colosseum which had only moments ago held a roaring crowd (granted, mostly of ghosts, but still a crowd) slowly dissolved into mist.

"Well, that was fun," Bacchus said, looking satisfied. "You have my permission to continue your journey."

"Your permission?" past!Percy snarled. I had much the same reaction. They didn't need Bacchus's approval. Besides, if he HAD stopped them, Gaea would have destroyed us.

"Yes, though your voyage may be a little harder than you expect, son of Neptune."

"Poseidon," Percy corrected. "What do you mean about my voyage?"

It seemed that Percy had already moved on from his fury. Of course he had. This was typical for gods; he hated it, but he would be used to it by now.

"You might try the parking lot behind the Emmanuel Building. Best place to break through. Now, good-bye, my friends. And, ah, good luck with that other little matter."

Bacchus vanished.

What was he talking about, Percy's journey being harder? Not for the first time, I wished that I had paid more attention to the world around me while I was trapped on Delos. But seeing the pain Artemis was going through, aware of what her Hunters were going through, but unable to intervene, had dissuaded me from doing so. I had been miserable enough as it was.

The world vanished. We were back at Camp Jupiter.

Percy turned to face me, his eyes stormy and full of resolve. He put his hand on my shoulder, looking me squarely in the eye. "Promise me," he stated. "Promise me that when you regain your godhood you will never do what Bacchus just did. Promise that you won't just stand aside and use us as your entertainment. That you'll value our lives."

A promise, oh-so-similar to the one Jason had extracted from me on the day he died.

How could I not give my word?

I stared back into Percy's eyes. Beneath the undercurrent of anger, I could sense how tired he was, how afraid that this would all be for not. That even after all that had happened, history would repeat. That the gods would continue on their path. That he and his friends would be toyed with again by those who were ostensibly on his side.

"I promise. If I regain my godhood, I will fight to stop the gods from using demigods only to throw you away. I will not allow this to continue if it is in my power to change it for the better. And I will not forget the worth of a mortal life, nor will I toy with them for my own amusement. How we treated you demigods was wrong. You are our family. We should have treated you as such."

Percy held my gaze a moment longer, searching for sincerity in my words. Finally he nodded. I saw a sliver of cautious hope enter his eyes.

I took the opportunity to do something I should have done a long time ago.

"I'm sorry."

Percy looked back at me, surprised. "For what?"

"I shouldn't have treated you and Grover so badly, back during Grover's birthday. I sent you two to retrieve my wayward automaton. That should've been MY responsibility. I completely ignored your objections, convinced that my needs outweighed yours. To make it worse, I threatened Grover. I saw that memory recently. I was a tool. I won't do it again, force demigods and satyrs to take on a quest that should have been MY responsibility. It was wrong."

Percy's expression softened slightly. "Thanks. Make sure to apologize to Grover too, alright? He's the one whose birthday was ruined, and he was the one you scared."

"I will, next time I see him. I've got a long list of people I need to make amends to."

"You do that."

As he walked out the door, Percy paused and looked back at me. "Oh, and Apollo? I stand by what I said at camp. You HAVE changed."

He went out the door.

A warm glow filled my chest. Before I hadn't been thrilled to hear that I had changed. I didn't want the reminder that I was less than perfect, that I could change like any human. But now? I could think of no greater compliment.

I had changed. I would ensure the other gods changed as well. They had to. I couldn't let our neglect and abuse carry on. Not anymore. Never again would I sit on the sidelines.

I would keep my promises to both Jason and Percy.

And I would remember.