This chapter is rated T. (Innuendos boy/boy, Bad language)

Chapter 5: Apollo Get's Shot

I walked up the stairs and knocked on Apollo's door. "Who is it?"

"Percy." The door opened. I walked in. "Just wanted to know how you were. You looked pretty pissed."

Apollo looked at me. I shivered slightly. Something was off about him.

Everyone has a darker side to them. I shook Kronos' words away. He had been really harping on how the gods had a darker side to them, filling my mind with their past exploits.

"Apollo?" He looked up at me. His eyes were a darker yellow.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

He closed the door behind me. The click shouldn't have sounded as ominous as it did. He walked up to me from behind. Something told me to turn around; I tried, but he stopped me. He placed his hands on my shoulders from behind.

"Now that you're here? Yes." His hands slipped down from my shoulders to my hips, moving toward my front. I placed my hands in front of me to stop him. He sighed into my ear. "Why do you fight it? Why do you insist on having only one lover? Zeus loves Hera, no matter what he claims, yet he has lovers. Hermes claims to have genuine love for you, yet he will love others too. Ares and Aphrodite are lovers yet Clarisse La Rue is not a daughter of Aphrodite, is she?"

I shook my head. "It's not for me. I'm a monogamous kind of guy."

Apollo chuckled darkly. "That is your mortality talking. With such short lives, it is no wonder you cling to only one, but if you have all the time of eternity then you will want to play a little." He brushed my hands away and caressed me. I hissed and shoved his hands away. I heard him growl as I pulled out of his grasp.

"You don't want this, Apollo. You're not thinking straight." It was hard to keep a tight grip on my power. Whenever I was feeling a strong pull of any emotion, lust, joy, anger, or just pure pleasure, then my control slipped. I knew for certain that would not help the situation. I straightened and bravely walked past Apollo for the door, but he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. He started attacking my neck and jaw with kisses. My control flickered. I knew he could feel it just beneath my skin.

Apollo pulled away. "No…I don't want your power to interfere. I want your self control to crumble without it teasing you." I sighed.

"I'm afraid that will never happen."

Apollo smiled. "I have a drug that I made." Before I could fight back, he uncorked the bottle and forced me to swallow. I spat and spluttered but the majority went down. I never knew Apollo could move so fast. Note to self: gods are faster than they appear.

I felt the drug slide down my throat. "What did you give me?" My voice was deceptively calm. Internally, I was having a panic attack. I should have sucked his power dry when he first attacked me. Damn me for having morals.

Next time, I would not hesitate. Never. Again. I would attack first and leave the suffering to my enemies. I tried to ignore the cold feeling in my gut. It was growing larger everyday.

I turned my eyes back to Apollo.

"It will suppress all of your power. I've been working on it since I first found out about Grandfather giving you his power."

I gave him a baleful glare. "A little late in coming, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "I have it now at least. Not everything is perfect timing like those Hollywood movies you see. Sometimes the antidote comes after the hero is dead."

I sighed. I knew what he meant. "Well, thanks for showing it to me. I really must be going now." I tried to walk but collapsed on the ground. I growled. "You mixed that other drug in with it, didn't you?"

Apollo smiled sweetly at me. "Yes."

I shuddered with anger. "What is it about you that loves drugging me?" Yep. Definitely going to attack first next time. Never again would I show mercy. It always ended up with me injured or in danger somehow. I would crush Apollo. I blinked and shook my head. No, wrong choice of words. That wasn't me talking…

Apollo shrugged. "You're too powerful to leave drug free. In order for me to win you over, I have to keep you subdued. To keep you subdued, I have to drug you. There is no other way of subduing you. Chains can't hold you, neither can magic."

I didn't know whether to feel complimented or disturbed. "Has it ever occurred to you that I might not even want to be subdued?" I had to work hard to keep the bite out of my voice. Apollo grabbed me and put me on the bed. He smiled and rubbed up against me. I clenched my teeth. His eyes grew mirthful.

"It has. I won't force you to do anything, Percy. That's not my plan. My plan is to show you how much I love you, without you getting up and spouting some rubbish about seeing that girl." He bent down to kiss me.

An arrow sliced through the air and hit Apollo square in the back. A voice intoned. "Forget the love that you thought you had, for it was nothing but friendship." Apollo groaned and slumped onto the bed unconscious.

I attempted to shoot off the bed and draw my sword, but the room spun. I slumped against the wall and stared into the shadowed corner. I didn't know what Eros was up to. "Show yourself, Eros."

Eros walked out of the shadows. "Put your sword away Percy. You are not well enough fight, or even walk. Right now, you would probably fall on it."

He moved quickly towards me as I swayed dangerously. I gritted my teeth. "I am getting sick and tired of being drugged, manhandled, and dragged onto beds!"

Eros had the nerve to chuckle. He helped me walked to my room. As I collapsed onto my own bed, he wasn't on it with me thank you very much, I turned to looked at him. Eros was staring out the window at the sky. The moon was bright that night.

"You broke oath."

Eros shook his head. "I am no longer in the competition, therefore I can do anything I so desire to the other contestants, except Annabeth Chase. I swore not to touch her by name. It wasn't as vague as the other oath. Besides, since the Council has dissolved momentarily, the competition rules have also dissolved."

I nodded. Word wizardry, how the gods loved it.

"What will happen to Apollo now?"

"He will go back to being friends with you. Don't worry, I know my magic. He will be a good friend, but that is all. He will still be on your side."

I sighed with relief. "Good. Thank you." My eyes suddenly narrowed. "Nothing comes free. What did you want in return?" I gazed at him with suspicion.

He smiled. "When this is over, I want you to visit my palace with me. Alone. For twenty-four hours." His eyes twinkled with dangerous mirth, as if he was promising to fulfill all of my filthy dreams and make me want to dream up more. I gasped for breath when I realized that I wasn't breathing. He was extremely handsome, dangerously so. Suddenly, I wanted Annabeth by my side.

He smiled as if knowing my thoughts.

"Anything that I need to worry about? Remember your promise."

He gave me an impatient look. "Yes, yes, I remember. I will not interfere with your love life with that mortal girl. I also understand that you are not interested in having two lovers at the same time." He looked disgruntled. I started laughing. He blinked at me in surprise and then chuckled. "I suppose I do sound slightly ridiculous, don't I?"

I nodded. He smiled slightly. "Very well, Eros, I'll visit your palace with you and stay there for twenty-four hours. I swear on the Styx. Thank you for releasing Apollo from his self made prison."

Eros nodded. "Actually, it was more of a power made prison. The power from Kronos caught him. He found you pleasing to look at, and he was addicted to the power from you; so, put those together, and he thought he was in love. I merely cleared his head. He still remembers everything, but now he remembers with a clearer mindset. He understands that he really didn't love you. Not a lasting love anyways."

I nodded again. That made sense. I felt sorry for Apollo. I guess it showed on my face. Eros smirked. "Don't feel sorry for him. He's had some very good lovers. He's called the Heart Throb of Olympus for a reason. He'll be okay."

I snickered. "Fine."

Eros shook his head. "You care too much about everyone except yourself."

I stared at him. "That so? Care to look outside? This whole disagreement between me and Zeus is because I want to take care of myself."

Eros smiled. "Point."

I tried to get up, but nothing happened. I groaned. Eros looked at me. "When will this drug wear off?"

I tried to shrug, but the drug had taken full effect by then. I couldn't move a muscle. "A few hours."

Eros stared. "And you can't move at all?"

"Zilch." I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn't use my weakness to his advantage.

He frowned. "I will stay watch. I do not want you to be defenseless."

I smiled. "Call Hermes. He can watch with you."

Eros snickered. "Hermes and I do not see eye to eye on many things. I would rather watch on my own."

I laughed. "Suit yourself. Night."

"Good night, Percy."

I drifted off right where I was. The bed was practically made of clouds. The only bad thing was that I felt myself descend into the depths of Tartarus.

"The little demigod is a little god now. Will wonders never cease?"

I sighed. "Tartarus, what is it that you want?"

"Freedom." He stepped into my line of vision. He looked exactly as he had when Damasen fought him.

I shook my head. "Impossible."

Tartarus smiled. "Ah, but I have something you want…"

I looked at the black sky of Tartarus. "And that is?"

"A way to escape this power of Kronos'."

I froze. There was a way? Apollo and Hermes hadn't even tried. Kronos was far too above them in caliber. Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon didn't even know that this could be done. Athena was researching it, but I had doubted that she would find anything.

"Explain."

Tartarus laughed. It was malevolent and cruel. "Kronos is channeling his power, his essence, his spirit into you. The only reason he is able to do this is because he is still conscious. If you force him to fall to sleep lose consciousness, then the power inside of you should fade."

I glared at him. "Should? Not very convincing."

Tartarus shrugged. "This is Gaea's magic. I never went into that. I'm only giving you an educated guess from experience."

I frowned. "But why even offer to help me? What do you want in return?"

Tartarus smiled. Really, he shouldn't have even tried. I honestly don't think he's physically capable of smiling. "I said it before. I want freedom."

I gave a bark of laughter. "You are Tartarus. What could you possibly do with freedom? You are the Pit itself!"

Tartarus sighed. "Not freedom to leave boy. I could never leave myself. I mean freedom to rule the monsters. Freedom of the gods orders and regulations. I want a kingdom of monsters. My own power over the laws dealing with the monsters."

I shook my head. "Out of the question. Sorry, but no. I don't even have the jurisdiction to do that anyway." I was about to force myself to wake up when he spoke again.

"Have you forgotten Iapetus so easily? Damasen? They are still trapped here, slowly forgetting what the stars look like, while you live a high life in a villa!" He chuckled darkly. "I have allowed them to reform. They have died a thousand times since you have left. I've sped their process of reforming just to give them a more painful death than before. You could save them though…"

I heaved a shuddering sigh. My flaw. To destroy the world to save one soul. My heart screamed at me to make the deal. I clenched my hand into a fist. Annabeth…Athena… "I will not damn the world to save them. Bob wouldn't want to have his freedom that way, neither would Damasen."

I sensed it before I saw it. Tartarus swung his fist to grab me. I somehow knew that if he succeeded in touching me then my soul would be pinned to Tartarus forever. I dodged him and forced myself to wake.

I jerked awake with a shout. Eros was at my side in a minute. "Percy, you're drenched in sweat. What happened?!"

I stared at him. "Call Hypnos!" He nodded and swept out of the room. I took stock of my surroundings. "And Hades!" He nodded again and closed the door behind him. I sighed an slumped against my pillows. At least I could move on my own again.