CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
The first time Leo took Calypso to the city, their date was going absolutely perfectly. And then a god showed up.
They'd spent most of the day at Central Park, much to Leo's amusement. Since they were already off camp grounds without permission, they decided there was little point in going back for curfew. So when the faint sounds of orchestral music trickled on the early evening air, Leo let Calypso drag him toward the park's amphitheatre where a musical concert had been set up, a fundraiser for disadvantaged kids, it seemed.
The gasp she made when she saw it was worth it. "It's just like I remember." She murmured, eyes suspiciously wet. "I didn't know they still existed."
He wasn't really a classical music kind of guy, but as they found themselves a spot on the grass as the orchestra began their set, he admitted they were pretty good for a free concert. He said as much to Calypso who shuffled closer beside him eagerly.
"What's that instrument, the one on the right?"
"Er, a violin, I think."
"And that one?"
He squinted against the growing dim evening light. "…well, it's not a violin."
They went on like that for a while, Leo trying his best to identify the woodwinds, percussion, strings and brass section but after a few sets, Calypso settled into watching with wide, captivated eyes.
It was half way through the second to last piece when he became aware of a presence beside him.
"Oh man, I love this one. Mozart really knew his stuff, although I had to give him an extra kick now and then."
The man was handsome, relaxed as though the cool night air didn't bother him one bit. He wore a pair of Ray Bans that would've looked out of place if he wasn't also glowing faintly in the dark.
"Seriously?" Leo hissed though Calypso hadn't noticed the god yet. "I'm on a date."
"And I'm not here to crash it for you," Apollo promised, shrugging and gesturing to Calypso. "I'm here to crash it for her."
Calypso caught sight of him a second later and instantly stiffened. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, what's with the attitude? You guys are kind of in my domain, you know that right?" Apollo complained with a frown. "You both look way too surprised to see me."
"Shhhh!" someone hissed from behind them.
Apollo winced. "I hate being the guy who talks during the show. Come on, lovebirds. Time for a chat."
Calypso scowled, staying put. "Why in Hades should we follow you anywhere?"
The god of music raised a brow behind his sunglasses. "Because last I checked, you two were the ones sneaking out of bounds without Big D's approval. You want me to turn you in or you want to do this the easy way?"
Calypso and Leo exchanged tired looks but stood nevertheless to follow.
They left the amphitheatre behind, headed back for the Bethesda Fountain where Apollo casually took a seat, glasses still fixed in place despite the time of night.
"Seriously dude?" Apollo frowned at Leo's outfit with a dismissive look. "You're dressed like that in one of my temples? You're lucky I like you."
The demigod scowled. "It's not your temple, it was a fundraiser for disadvantaged kids."
"Doesn't mean you have to look like one." Apollo replied blithely, then sent a wink to Calypso. "You, on the other hand, look lovely, Lady Tides."
"I think we've already discussed how little your flattery means to me." Calypso deadpanned with a stony look. "What do you want?"
The sun god's demeanour turned sheepish. "Well, here's the thing. I have this quest."
"Rachel hasn't sent anyone on a quest in ages." Leo countered, already sick of the handsome god and dreading what Calypso meant by 'already discussed'.
"It's not strictly speakingsomething I want to broadcast." Apollo snapped back, rubbing his forehead with an uncharacteristically weary expression. "You see, I kind of screwed up and I'm giving some lucky hero the chance to fix it before the Big Guy notices it."
"You mean-"
"Don'tsay his name." Apollo warned Leo before he could finish. "I don't want to draw his attention until its necessary. That's why I'm giving you two the chance to help me!"
Leo rolled his eyes. "Is it going to destroy the world?"
"No."
"Is it going to harm large numbers of mortals?"
"No."
"Is it going to harm the earth in any way, shape or form that will come back to bite me on the ass later on?"
"Err, no."
"Then I don't think so." Leo crossed his arms, unimpressed.
"Well, no offense kid, but I really only need her." Apollo jerked his thumb at Calypso who looked suspicious and confused.
"What is this quest, Apollon?" she asked, still unimpressed thus far.
Apollo beamed with a smile as bright as his sun. "I'm so glad you asked! So you know how my sun chariot takes on any shape I choose, right? Car, plane, helicopter, forklift. My sweet Maserati convertible, a minibus, one of those awesome V8 Super Cars. But it's true form is a proper chariot." He sighed with a dreamy smile. "You really can't beat the speed of four godly fire steeds. They're total babe magnets too. I never got shot down by a girl with those guys on my side. I mean, there was Daphne, but I like to think that was just her taking 'hard to get' a little far-"
"Does this conversation have a point or is it just a lecture in Admiring Yourself 101?" Leo muttered to Calypso.
"There were four of them, my babies," Apollo added. "Pyrois, Eous, Phlegon and Aeothon."
"The rising, morning, midday and setting suns." Calypso nodded expectantly. "What of them?"
Apollo suddenly looked evasive. "Let's just say, during a routine flight, personal circumstances may have contributed to the misplacement of one of my noble companions."
It clicked in Leo's head right away as he finally realised what the sunglasses and pained expression meant. "You got drunk and lost a horse!"
Apollo lifted his glasses revealing blood shot, angry eyes. "I did not lose Aeothon, I just forgot that he's taken an unhealthy liking to apples lately and he got away from me, alright?!"
"You were drunk." Leo snickered as Apollo's haggard face revealed the truth.
"Apollo," Calypso, on the other hand, looked horrified. "You let a sun horse escape?!"
"I don't know!" the god wailed, rubbing his palms into his eyes. "Maybe! Hermes found this bottle of Bacchante wine in the Unclaimed Mail Department, and we figured we'd toast to old times! The next thing I know, I'm waking up, it's nightfall, Artemis is looking angrily at me and I only have three horses left!"
"Can't you just summon him back?" Leo asked, stating the obvious.
"Usually." Apollo agreed miserably. "But not from where he is now. He's gone…native, you see."
"Apples…" Calypso breathed, her eyes widening. "Oh Apollo, no. Not there."
"He thought they were shiny." The might sun god offered weakly.
"Aeothon the horse of the sunset." Calypso shook her head, impatiently. "And you let him wander there?"
"Why?" Leo's stomach dropped. "Where is he?"
"The Garden of the Hesperides on the remains of Mount Orthys." Apollo answered Leo, gravely. "The Garden of endless twilight and Hera's golden apples."
"It's also the resting place of my half-sisters." Calypso sighed, pressing a hand to her head.
"See?" Apollo said brightly. "You can bring him back! You're family after all!"
"I helped topple Gaea and Calypso became mortal. I don't think they're gonna like us poking around their garden all that much." Leo pointed out, recalling Percy's story of rescuing Annabeth from Calypso's dad Atlas. From memory, the nymphs of sunset weren't super keen on demigods.
Apollo huffed. "Look, if you don't retrieve him, I'll have to tell Z- the Big Guy and things are gonna get messy. They were your sisters, Calypso. He might think you were working with them to steal Aeothon."
"But you lost him!" Leo protested indignantly. He couldn't believe the sun god was trying to pin this on them.
Apollo shrugged. "Since the war, his paranoia has been sky rocketing. Ha, get it? Sky rocketing? Oh I make myself laugh sometimes."
"You're the only one." Leo grunted.
"Look, I can own up to it all and the Big Guy still might see a nefarious plot in it." Apollo explained, frowning. "That's the kind of headspace in Olympus at the moment. It's better for everyone if you do it for me."
Calypso rubbed her forehead and exchanged glances with Leo. "We don't have to, hero." She told him quietly.
But Leo could feel an odd anticipation flooding through his fingertips. "You know, we've never really been on a quest together." He pointed out with a sly smirk. "Besides, maybe it'd be fun to meet your fam?"
"Oh, trust me, hero." She muttered as Apollo whooped with joy. "I had wished this day would never come."
Calypso agreed on two conditions. One, Apollo had to give them a ride back to camp. She refused to reboard the motorcycle.
Two, he had to be the one to convince Mr D to let them go on the quest.
In his mildly hungover state, Apollo looked petulantly resistant to the latter task but Calypso ignored his whining.
Besides, Leo had pointed out as they came to a halt at the Camp, they had to tell their friends about the situation. You know, just in case they didn't come back.
The news was not well received.
"He got drunk?" Annabeth sounded scandalised. "Does he even know what it would do if the sun doesn't set right?"
"I don't think he's sober yet, to be honest." Leo replied with a grunt as he set about getting Festus ready for travel. "But he said we had to make it before sunset."
"When one goes missing, the others pick up the slack and go even faster!" Annabeth ranted. "My mother once told me the last time Apollo lost his morning sun horse, the daytime went from being 12 hours to 9 hours! And the world lost a full week before they found it again."
"Great, so we have even less time." Leo said brightly.
"We have to find the bridle as well." Calypso added, rolling her eyes with exasperation. She felt like Apollo had cursed her with a permanent headache since the concert.
"Dare I ask?" Percy asked, wearily.
Leo winced. "Apparently Aeothon shook off the bridle that attaches him to the chariot and it landed somewhere in the Sierras so we need that before we can catch him."
"You can't use something else?" Piper asked, critically. "I mean, you're gonna be pressed for time anyway."
"Oh no, this one is special." Calypso muttered waspishly. Her anger wasn't really directed at Piper but still laced through her tone. "Tell them why Leo."
"It's on fire." He shrugged.
"On fire." Jason repeated.
"Yep."
"Oh, perfect."
"Look, it shouldn't be too hard to find." Leo sighed, tying down their last bag. "Apollo said it would look like a comet through the Mist so all we have to do is find a crater."
"A crater. In the Sierras." Annabeth echoed, flatly before sighing. "Good luck."
"Thanks. Any more tips before we go?" Leo asked, grinning half-heartedly.
"Here's one: let him get fried by his father." Calypso called out bitterly from atop the dragon.
"What's her problem?" Jason whispered to his friend warily.
Leo sighed. "The Hesperides are her half-sisters. I don't think it's going to be a warm family reunion."
"They're callous, insensitive, vain and rude!" Calypso added pointedly. "I can hear you Wonder Boy."
"I hate to say it but she's right." Percy agreed. "When we went, they didn't exactly come off as warm and cuddly."
"That's because they haven't met me yet," Leo boasted. "I mean if I can make one daughter of Atlas fall in love with me, the others should be a cinch, right?" As soon as he finished, his backpack crashed into his head hard.
"Hey! Not nice Sunshine!" he scolded.
Calypso scratched Festus' neck, innocently.
"Well, it's definitely going to be a memorable first date." Piper said in an amused tone. "Be careful Valdez. That's an order."
"Are you sure you don't want us along?" Jason offered. "I mean, Mount Orthys is kind of a Titan stronghold."
"Then it's a good thing we're not going to Orthys. We're going to the Garden and no further." Calypso stated, firmly. "And don't get any ideas, Wonder Boy."
"Be aware of Ladon." Percy suddenly added with a wince. "He's not as nice as Festus."
"Just get in, grab the horse and leave." Annabeth agreed with a firm nod. "In fact, maybe you should take Percy with you so you can talk to it."
"Apollo reckons as soon as Aeothon's out of the garden, he'll trot off into the sunset. Literally." Leo explained, shrugging. "I guess we'll see. If not, Apollo can wrangle his own horses."
"Hey," a voice suddenly complained. They turned to see Apollo returning from the Big House with a pained grimace. "I told you, this is a great opportunity! You should be thanking me-"
Calypso grabbed her own bag as though she'd like to throw it at the sun god's head too.
Leo cut in swiftly. "Did Mr D sign off on this or not?"
"I had to make some big promises I have no intentions to keep," Apollo replied sunnily. "But yeah, he's cool with it. Although, you know, he really does not like you, Callie."
"My name. Is Calypso." The ex-goddess snapped through gritted teeth.
Apollo raised his hands in apology. "Geez, touchy crowd, huh? Alright, I know when I'm not wanted."
"Where was that burst of awareness two hours ago when you interrupted my date?" Leo deadpanned. Piper smothered a giggle.
The sun god pretended as though he didn't hear the quip. "Well, you've got a long way to go. Good luck, heroes."
A single, bright flash of sunlight later and the man had vanished from sight.
"We really don't have to do this, you know." Calypso mumbled rebelliously.
"And lose a full week of daylight, not to mention poking the Big Guy's paranoia about you?" Leo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's a no go. Scoot over, Sunshine."
She shuffled so that Leo could climb aboard Festus without another word. "You ready buddy?"
The mechanical dragon gave an ear-piercing squeak of excitement, and their friends took a few steps back, arms raised as they took off, the night sky an explosion of stars above them.
A/N: I WAS WONDERIN' IF AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU'D LIKE TO MEET