I am really sorry for having taking so long! I hope you can forgive me!

But hey! It is here!

Gigantomachy part 4

Apollo learned a very valuable rule: always trust his instinct. If his guts told him something was wrong, he would always be right. He didn't steal his status as the God of Truth.

The Aloades were indeed a distraction They were so busy with the rescue of Ares that each god left their sanctuary unwatched. His father would probably say that Olympus was their top priority and with good arguments. However, although there would be no interest for Gaia to take, let's say, the Acropolis of Athens, Delphi was a different beast.

Not only it was the center of the Universe and his main sanctuary but it was also the main source of prophetic powers.

Of course, it made sense. Usually, a war was won with numbers, strength, ability and strategy. But they always underestimated how much the capacity of predicting events could be useful.

Their greatest mistake was not realising this fact before Gaia.

And now it was too late.

Apollo pointed his arrow the goddess. "Tell me where is she?"

"You know it is useless to threaten me like this? I can shapeshift into dust at any moment and run away with the wind back to my home through the earth."

"Then why did you take the risk to come here if I could easily chase you by making you want to run away?"

She smiled. "You are smart but still ignorant. Of course, I will not leave. It would be too much stupid unpreparedness from my part. However, don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Your connection to the sanctuary."

He closed his eyes. He attempted to reach the halo of this place. The touch of his ground, the wind blowing around it. He tried to grab with his mind the pure essence that provided his ability to receive prophecies.

But every single fiber of his being couldn't feel it. For the first time since that day when Python's corpse had lain under his feet, he felt like a stranger in this sacred place.

He opened his eyes once again and Gaia ashamedly smirked at him. "For the God of knowledge, you still have a lot to learn."

"How?" Apollo didn't panic. He suspected Gaia would win this confrontation since she had been many steps ahead of him but he needed to understand.

"This land is unique. Unlike any other, it has a soul. As the center of Earth, so much of my power is concentrated there that it birthed a will of its own. This sanctuary can choose its own master. Even I cannot order it to chose one above another. For a long time, I held the power of prophecy it contained and had Python to protect it. Until the day you killed my child, of course. Then, it accepted you as its new master. It frustrated me but I had to bear that reality. But now, as I made Delphina leave on her own will, I convinced it to let me claim it back."

Hearing this name, Apollo saw red. He held his bow firmly and said. "I got it. You won this battle. I will leave this place and only come back when we will win the war but first you tell me where is Delphina."

"I'm sorry but I don't know. She left without telling me where she was heading to. This information didn't matter to me. Now, it is your problem."

He stayed calm despite a growing frustration wanting to get out. But showing off his worries would only make him appear weak and it couldn't give her this satisfaction. She smirked. He kept his cool.

Then he heard her voice. 'Apollo, I hope you can hear me. I am in a village where there is a small shrine honoring you. I am praying to you from there.'

He froze. His heartbeat increased as he kept listening.

'You have probably learned what happened by now. Well, just know that I am unharmed. Please, don't do anything foolish. Take care of yourself. I sent away all the nymphs since I didn't want them to follow me and attract on them possible troubles. But I am not planning to remain alone. I am on my way to join Asclepius and Chiron where I should be safe. Please, let me know news of yourself soon. But don't evade your responsibilities for my sake. I promise to remain careful. Now, I have to go."

Apollo breathed with tension in his body diminished. But he couldn't let down his guard as another big problem remained standing in front of him.

He stared at Gaia. As a primordial goddess and carer of Zeus, she often came to Olympus and he had met her before countless times. Yet, her presence still impressed him. Both powerful and fragile, she always fascinated him. She managed to remain such a great enigma and masked her true feelings pretty well that even the God of Truth couldn't read her.

He also suspected how dangerous she could become if she ever turned her back on them while sadly happened.

"I will leave." He said. "This place is yours as I must respect its will. But don't think it is over. We will win this war and when it will happen, I pray for my father to have the strength to forgive you."

"So much confidence. Did you see a prophecy predicting your victory?"

"No, I simply have faith. And now that you are back here, did you receive one?"

"Not yet, but you must know that Fates are even more cryptic about gods' matters. They would never let us know what we are looking for but we can pick up the hints."

"Well, good luck." And Apollo changed himself into a raven and exited the room by the balcony.

His greatest desire what to look after Delphina to make sure she was safe, however his duty commanded him to prevent the Olympians of the usurpation of Delphi by Gaia. They were at war and he had to select his priorities. Anyway, she could perfectly handle her situation by herself.

Once he arrived in Olympus and put a step back to his original form, he was welcomed by his entourage scolding Ares.

"How could you let yourself be caught like this? We are used to be disappointed by you but this is a new low. I hope you are embarrassed!" Demeter screamed.

Ares fumed but still tried to maintain his calm. He appeared clean and healthy. A proof he hadn't been tortured, but his temper had been highly tested during his captivity and it showed.

"It wasn't my fault. I fought with honor but they cheated and managed to trick me. Don't forget they were two of them and I was caught by surprise with no time to prepare myself!"

Apollo sighed. Another typical confrontation involved his half-brother. Of course, Ares lied in some parts of the story. He was too proud to reveal the whole truth in particular if it would humiliate him. Apollo rarely pointed out the lies. What would be the use anyway?

"Sister, leave him alone!" Hera intervened. "He has been through a lot of hardships recently. Your comments are unwanted."

"Mother, I can handle it on my own."

"Well, I am still waiting for a word of gratitude from you." Artemis said. "After what I had to do in order to rescue you, it is the least you can do. But of course, you never learned proper mannerism."

And it kept going. Louder and louder. Somehow, he wondered if he should allow Gaia to win. She seemed so much more mature than most of them and she would probably make a wisest leader. But his loyalty will remain for his father.

Talking of his father. Where was he?

"Silence!" As if he had been summoned, Zeus appeared in the hall at this exact moment with the sound of thunder in the background. Angry, he still appeared in perfect control as he scanned every single person in the room. They were all looking at him, not uttering a single word, waiting for their king to speak.

"Well, I see that Ares is safe and sound. Now, move on. It is very late at night; you should all be asleep. We will deal with our next actions in the morning."

"But..." Hera began.

"No protest. We are at war and I have no patience for your childish quarrels anymore. You remember how it was during the Titanomachy so I expect better from you." Then, he looked at everyone else. "Dispose yourself. We need rest in order to reflect clearly about our next move."

"Wait! I have important news to share?!" Apollo screamed.

Despite his orders, Zeus was wise enough to respect the seriousness of his tone to delay the disposal. He looked at him. "You may speak."

"Gaia has claimed back Delphi."

He heard "what?" from literally everybody while his father maintained his coolness but still didn't mask his shock from his eyes.

Ares, not bothered at all, had the audacity to say. "So what? My half-brother lost his main place of worship. Why should we care about it? He still got plenty others."

Apollo gave a deadly stare to the God of War. He really hated when he acted like an idiot and couldn't use his brain to analyse the meaning of such information.

Ares stared back with even more coldness. Truth to be said, there had always been an unspoken rivalry between them. Overshadowed by the one Ares shared with Athena though, but it still existed.

Just like Hera always got jealous of Zeus' preference towards Leto, Ares resented his father's favouritism towards Apollo.

God of so many things while Ares was obligated to share war with Athena. Patrons of so many cities and sanctuaries while Ares had none. Member of the Olympians as soon he was born while Hera had to pledge Zeus for her son to receive a seat.

Apollo was always perfection and Ares always an embarrassment. It seemed that only in love Apollo had less luck. The God of Truth could always see the envy in his half-brother's eyes. But what could he do? Ares rarely helped his own case considering his hot-tempered behavior. Most of them only tolerated his presence.

And again, Apollo had to tolerate his idiocy and bring him back on his senses. "Ares, you perfectly know that Delphi is more than that. The power of prophecy comes with whoever commands it."

"And it is a prophecy that allowed us to get some advantages in advance a long time ago." His father added, determined to silence his legitimate son.

Ares stared coldly at Zeus but didn't reply. He could never defend himself and only bear the disapproval. Apollo could feel some empathy towards his sibling but there was no more time for that.

"Father, we need to discuss this matter. Gaia may have a new advantage but we can still win with enough planning. I propose…"

"Emergency!" Hermes penetrated the hall in the speed of thunderlight

Apollo growled. How he hated being interrupted, in particular by this particular brother of his. However, he took seriously the panicked expression of the messenger god.

"Speak." Zeus said.

"There are numerous giants coming now on their way toward Olympus."

…

Delphina continued to walk in the forest. It wouldn't take too long. She could see a light with smoke above it from a short distance in the meadow where Chiron lived. Soon, she will be safe and sound with Asclepius.

She was exhausted. Usually, she could walk many miles on land really fast without any trouble. The joys of being immortal. But so late at nighttime, her body was tired, craving for rest. Her mental state also got hit.

Gaia… What will they do about Gaia? What Apollo will do now without the Oracle of Delphi? What would happen if Gaia won? Would she keep her promise to spare the Olympians? The more she thought about it, the more her brain hurt. But she still advanced. She couldn't contribute to this conflict as she had no fighting skills. She simply needed to remain in safety. She knew Apollo, Artemis and all others who cared for her safety would not be concentrated very well if they were worried. It is the least she could do.

Once she entered the meadow, she adjusted her eyes in order to see. Outside a tent shaped like a dome, there was a big fire with many men reunited around it. The easiest to recognize had half the body of a horse and a long and white beard.

"Chiron!"

The centaur turned his back and opened his eyes his eyes in shock to see her here. Beside him, a young man began to run to her.

"Godmother!" Asclepius put his arms around her torso. She hugged him back. Everything felt alright. She was safe.

"I am happy to see you but what are you doing here? It is the middle of the night." The future god of medicine asked.

"Well, it seems news didn't travel fast while I can understand." She let go of their embrace to look at him in the eyes. "Can I stay here? It is quite a long story."

"Of course, you can. What a question! But you will have to share your space because we are more numerous than expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Come."

He offered his hand and she took it. He brought her gently toward the tent and once at the entrance, they penetrated it with Chiron following behind.

She opened widely her eyes in shock.

As if her evening had not been wild enough, she now found herself face to face with…

"Heracles?"

I realise the quality of writing isn't as high as it used to be.

So, I want to apologize and hope you still enjoy this spin-off. But I will be honest, editing the main story is way harder than I thought and requires more time but I promise to provide you details for fall. (And obviously more of my efforts go to the editing than the spin-off) And I want to thank you in advance for your understanding.

In this chapter, I really wanted to dig more into Ares' point of view. I am really fascinated by this character as I always had to feeling he was unfairly judged in greek mythology. Sadly, I didn't get that much opportunity but if you want me to explore it more, you can let me know. In the next chapter, you can expect to explore more about Heracles.

Thank you for reading.

See you soon.