"Oh my gods oh my gods oh mMYGODSOHMYGODSOHMY-"
"JULIE!" Paul interrupts her, which makes her remember which pedal is the brake. The car screeches to a halt at the end of the alley. All three of them lurch forward against their seatbelts. Once the car is in park, there's a moment where Percy, Paul, and Juliette gape at each other with wide eyes.
Then, they all start scrambling to the doors.
Juliette frees herself from her seatbelt and leaps from the driver's seat, bolting down the alley towards where the boy was. Is. Oh gods, he's laying on the concrete. OhgodsohgodsOHGODS!
"Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead," She mumbles frantically, skidding to her knees to kneel over the boy. She turns him over.
She's greeted by an acne riddled face and poofy brown curls. Julie doesn't recognize him (thank gods), but he looks her age. She doesn't see any serious outward damage, but his eye is swollen, and his bloody nose looks pretty crooked. Julie presses her ear to his chest and nearly explodes with relief.
"He's breathing," She tells Percy and Paul as they come to crouch beside her.
"Holy shit, Jules!" Percy exclaims, hands on his head. "You just ran a kid over!"
"I didn't do it on purpose!"
"I SURE HOPE NOT!"
"I TOLD YOU I WASN'T READY TO DRIVE YET-"
"OH, BELIEVE ME, I AM NEVER GETTING IN A CAR WITH YOU AGAIN!"
"Kids!" Paul interrupts. "He's waking up!"
Julie and Percy's attention snaps back to her attempted vehicular manslaughter victim. True to observation, the boy's face is scrunching with discomfort, his eyes starting to pry themselves open.
Juliette leans over him, ready to start spouting apologies. But, the boy opens his eyes fully, and the color of them causes her words to stick in her throat.
She'd know that sparking sky blue anywhere.
Did Julie just make roadkill out of a Big Three kid?
Dazed, the boy blinks at her, a goofy smile spreading across his pimpled face. "An angel...?"
Percy gags. Paul snorts. Julie feels herself flush and scowls at the both of them. She looks back down at those uncomfortably familiar blue eyes. "Um...no. I just kinda...hit you with my car."
"You..." He blinks a few more times. Then, his eyes widen, and he sits up so sharply that he collides foreheads with Juliette. They both yelp and scramble away from each other, nursing their respective new goose eggs.
"Oh jeez," Paul frets, hands hovering over the boy's shoulders. "Are you okay, son? Is there anyone we can call for you-"
"Call? Ha! No, mortal, unfortunately, my dear family hath forsaken me to wither away in this flesh priso-PERCY JACKSON?"
The three of them startle at the shout, and Percy's face drops in horror as the boy runs up to clutch Percy's hands to his chest, beaming at him tearfully. He looks a second away from kissing his knuckles like a princess.
"Oh, thank Olympus!" The boy cries as Percy blinks at him confusedly, eyes darting to Julie for help. She continues standing beside them gawking. "I have had the most dreadful start to this mortal quest! First, I fell from the sky and landed right in the depths of that foul smelling dumpster back there-"
Sky?
"-and then, these two hooligans attacked me! See? They injured my face, which I suppose is hardly a loss since it was already so dreadful to behold, but-"
Oh, so Julie didn't break his nose? Whew, there's one less criminal charge.
"-then, this awful child went and claimed my service, and-" He cuts off abruptly and turns back the way he was running from. "Why are you hiding back there, you cretin?! This is the man we were on our way to find!"
Julie is at a loss. Paul is looking between his stepchildren like he's hoping they know what's going on. Judging by the uncomfortable, baffled expression Percy's got on, they very much do not.
"I-You-Do I know you?" Percy stutters.
The boy releases his hands to pull at his own bruised face in distress, letting out a wail of sadness. "Ooooh, I suppose you would not recognize me. How could you? When I was once so beautiful and now look like this!" He gestures at his body, pinching at the bit of chub he has going on at his midriff. Then, he sighs. "It is me, your dear friend! Phoebus Apollo!"
Julie stares at the boy.
...What?
This time, Percy fully turns around to look at her in horror.
He's...That's...
Apollo?
She is speechless. Apparently, so is Percy.
Apollo turns back to the alley again and stomps a foot impatiently. "Would you get out here?! Percy Jackson is a noble hero - he means you no harm."
Who is he talking to?
Julie leans to the side to look around him.
When Apollo's companion emerges from behind the dumpster, it's not Percy she's staring at in dread. Her wide brown eyes are locked onto someone else.
Juliette.
An electrifying shock of terror zaps Julie's heart as she once again stands face to face with Meg McCaffery.
Hit and runs are wrong. Percy's mom has always taught him that if you make a mistake, personal integrity is key.
Hit a random kid with your car? You stick around to help him. Make sure he's okay! That is the right thing to do.
Zeus' sandals, Percy wishes they'd just kept driving.
Apollo has not stopped talking since they - Jules, that is - ran him over in the alleyway. What has he been saying? Who knows. Percy tuned him out the third time he started over on the 'thrilling tale of vanquishing the nose-stomping street thugs.'
Honestly, if Paul weren't here to have already invited the god over to get patched up, Percy probably would have jumped right back in the car and gunned it before the guy could rope him into anymore world-ending shenanigans. The nervous expression on Jules' face makes him pretty confident she'd have been right on his heels too.
But, no. Paul made the rookie mistake of mentioning they live just on the other end of the alley. So, now the five of them are rounding the last flight of stairs up to the apartment, and Percy is going to shove Apollo right back down all of them if this ends up being as much of a pain as he expects it to be.
Juliette gets to the door first. Unsurprising, since she's been somehow in the lead this whole time even with a fake leg. The moment Apollo introduced himself as a god, she totally clammed up and has been speed walking ahead of the group without a backwards glance since.
Normally, Percy would be thrilled with the rare silence because, gods, can that girl talk. But, seeing his sister so unnerved by this is making him worried.
Eh. Maybe she just feels bad about the god-shaped dent in Paul's Prius.
They all file inside the apartment and, the moment he shuts the door behind everyone, Percy turns to Apollo with a scowl. Might as well cut to the chase.
"Why?"
Face still covered in blood, 'Apollo' smiles at him brightly. "I am in need of your assistance."
"Are you," Percy glances at the grubby kid that's been practically clinging to the god's back. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Meg McCaffery," Apollo introduces, gesturing at the girl, who visibly gulps and steps further behind the god. "A demigod who must be taken to Camp Halfblood. She rescued me from the street thugs-"
"Right, right," Percy quickly interrupts before he can start the story over again.
Meg McCaffery. Why does that name ring a bell?
At that moment, Percy's mom comes around the corner out of the kitchen, chocolate and watermelon smoothie in hand (Percy thinks that sounds disgusting, but she's been adding chocolate to everything these days. Cravings, or something). She sees their company and stops short, looking surprised.
"Oh, hello!" She greets.
"Sacred Sybil!" Apollo yelps. "Madame, there is something wrong with your midsection!"
His mom looks at him in bewilderment and glances down at her giant belly. "Well...I'm seven months pregnant."
The god looks horrified. "How can you bear it? My mother, Leto, suffered through a long pregnancy, and-"
Percy tunes Apollo out again. He's been talking to this dude for less than twenty minutes, and he's already exhausted. At least he hasn't whipped out the haikus yet.
Maybe he should be less mean to Jules. Compared to Apollo, she's the least annoying person to ever live.
Speaking of annoying little sisters, he turns to make wide 'can you believe this guy?' eyes at her as the Sun God continues rambling on to his mom. Juliette isn't looking at him, though. She's staring at the kid, Meg. And, the kid seems to be doing everything she can to avoid staring back.
"What brings you here, Apollo?"
Percy looks back at his mom, guilt twisting in his chest. She asked the question nervously, like she's bracing herself for Percy to run off and disappear for weeks again.
Yeah, no. Absolutely not. Especially not after he just spent all last semester going on stupid little quests to pay off his 'debt for existing.' Percy has a full ride now. He's going to college. With Annabeth.
Nothing is getting in the way of that.
"Jules hit him with the car."
"What?!" His mom gasps.
His sister finally tugs her eyes away from Meg. Whatever is bothering her can apparently take a backseat to glaring at him in betrayal. "Percy!"
"What?" He grins, hands up. "You did!"
"It is quite alright, sweet Juliette," Apollo dismisses. He takes one of Jules' hands and raises the other like he's reciting an epic poem. "After all, once I got past the pain, awakening to a face as lovely as yours was quite a pleasant experience."
Oh gods, Percy's gonna be sick. "Dude."
Jules' face goes entirely purple as Apollo clears his throat and wiggles his eyebrows at her.
"Hair of fire and gold,
My heart's been hit by your car,
You are quite pretty."
The god smirks at her and bows. She looks like she's about to faint. Percy can't decide whether to be horrified at what he's witnessing or to write that haiku down so he can read it aloud next time he hangs out with Jason.
There's a long awkward pause. Apollo uses it to preen. Percy wonders if he's forgotten he's now a pimply teenager with a bloody nose.
Oof. Bloody noses...
Finally, Jules clicks her tongue and gingerly extracts the god's hand from hers. "Yeah...um...I have a boyfriend, so..." She glances down the hall, cringing, and starts backing towards the bathroom. "Why don't I...? I'm gonna go get the first aid kit. For, y'know...you. I-I'll be right back."
Percy watches her scurry down the hall in retreat, deciding to find this situation funny after all. He snickers when he turns back to the conversation and Paul has crossed his arms, glaring down at the teenage god.
"She's also sixteen," Paul reminds him, scowling. Percy's actually impressed. He's never found his stepdad to be intimidating before, but Apollo shrinks a little under the 'dad glare' he's got pinned on him. "Take a step back, son."
Another awkward pause.
Then, Percy's mom claps her hands together and smiles down at Meg. "Well," She breaks the tension. "Julie should have some old clothes that will fit you. Why don't you come with me, and we'll get you cleaned up, dear?"
The grubby little kid goes starry eyed when his mom offers a welcoming hand to her. Percy gets that. His mom is awesome.
He, himself, turns back to Apollo and sighs. "Alright, man, come on. I've got something you can change into too."
"Can you stop eating for two minutes so I can set your nose, please?" Jules asks irritably.
"My apologies," Apollo replies. He still eats another dip laden chip, though.
Percy snorts and grabs a chip for himself, watching Juliette patch up the former god's swollen face while Meg sits stiffly beside them on the couch. His mom clearly had fun dressing the girl up like a barbie doll in one of Jules' old dresses. Gods, between her and Juliette, his new baby sister is going to be covered head to toe in glitter before she even opens her eyes.
There's still a weird tension in the room as Apollo recounts his fall from Olympus. Percy isn't sure if he's the one causing it by refusing his offer of a quest, or if it's the weird way Meg and Jules haven't looked at each other once since they sat down in here. Probably some of both, but Percy's starting to wonder just what's up between those two.
The Aphrodite cabin must be wearing off on him. He wants the tea.
"So...you have to be Meg's servant?" Percy clarifies.
Juliette pauses where she's smoothing down a bandaid on Apollo's face. The god nods.
"Unfortunately, that is my predicament. My fate is now linked with the young Meg McCaffery's. In claiming my service, she bound my will to hers for the duration of my stay in this mortal shell."
Jules leans back and fiddles with the first aid kit. Percy notices her cut her eyes at the girl beside her.
"Did she now?" She asks lowly.
Meg shifts uncomfortably under his sister's sharp eyes. "We're...cooperating."
"And, you have to be Meg's servant for..." Percy asks, eyebrows raised at Apollo.
The god shrugs. "Some unknown amount of time. Probably a year. Possibly more."
"And during that time-"
"I will undoubtedly face many trials and hardships," He sighs, crossing one leg over the other. "What those trials will be, I do not yet know. But, I will suffer through them and prove I am worthy, and Zeus will allow me to become a god again."
SNAP
They all pause and look at Juliette. She shakes her head dismissively, not making eye contact, and starts cleaning up the parts of a now broken pair of medical scissors off the floor. Did she just break those in half with her bare hand?
"Right..." Percy mutters, pulling his gaze off his strangely behaving sibling. "But, Apollo, if you're mortal, can you even get into Camp Halfblood?"
The god blanches in horror. "Don't say that! I have to get in."
"But, you can get hurt in battle now," Percy reminds him. "Although, if you've lost your powers, maybe monsters would ignore you because you're not important?"
He might as well have just shot Apollo through the heart with a crossbow.
"I'm sure I've retained some powers!" He insists. He doesn't look all that sure. "I'm still gorgeous, for instance! If I could just get rid of this acne and lose some flab. I must have other abilities!"
Uninterested, Percy looks at Meg instead. The girl is tugging at a string hanging off the end of her green overalls. Julie does that when she's nervous. Percy leans forward and tries to give her a comforting smile.
"What about you?" He asks. "I hear you throw a mean garbage bag. Any other skills we should know about? Summoning lightning? Making toilets explode?"
The little girl looks at him funny, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "That's not a power."
"Sure it is," Percy grins. "Some of the best demigods have gotten their start by blowing up toilets."
Meg giggles. Percy smiles in triumph. Gods, this kid looks a lot like Jules. Laughs like her too.
Meg McCaffery. Has he heard that name before?
"When can we leave?" Apollo interjects.
Percy sighs and leans back to take a glance at the oven clock. 5:48 PM. Ugh, traffic is going to suck, but they may as well get this over with. He'd really rather not play house with an Olympian any longer than required.
"Right now, I guess. If you're being followed, I'd rather have the monsters on our trail than sniffing around the apartment. Just, let me grab my keys-"
"I'll take them," Juliette interrupts, standing abruptly.
Percy raises an eyebrow. "I think you've done enough driving for today, Jules."
"Yes, please!" Paul's voice calls from the kitchen, making Percy snort and Juliette scowl.
"I'll fly them, then."
"Jules, it's fine, really. I just need to be back by tonight 'cause I've got a lot of studying to do," He gestures at his test manuals on the coffee table with a grimace. He doesn't mind having a reason to procrastinate on those. "The first two times I took the SAT, whew. If it weren't for Annabeth helping me-"
"Who's Annabeth?" Meg chirps from the couch. Julie stiffens, and Percy looks at her weirdly before answering.
"My girlfriend."
What is with Julie tonight?
"Mom, don't freak," Percy calls, grabbing his keys from the hook by the door.
"I hate it when you say that," She sighs, peeking out of the kitchen with a concerned frown.
Percy smiles guiltily. "Jules and I are just gonna drop these two at camp. That's all. We'll be right back."
"I think I've heard that before."
"I promise," He insists.
His mom looks worried, but nods. Like she always does. She never tries to keep him from doing what he needs to, even when it pains her. Heart squeezing, Percy makes sure to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he heads for the door.
Promise or not, he'll never forget to hug her goodbye again. Not after last December.
"Jules, you comin'?"
He turns to collect his sister when he realizes it's just him and Apollo by the door. Percy spies the end of yet another tense staredown between Juliette and Meg McCaffery. Every time he notices, the dread building in his gut curls a little bit tighter.
At her name, though, Jules jolts out of the staring contest and nods, smiling at him and heading over to follow them outside.
Percy frowns as he watches her hop down the first set of stairs.
That was a very fake smile. Percy won't call her on it, though. She's not a kid anymore, and he trusts her. If she needs help, she'll tell him. They've always been open with each other like that.
It's probably nothing. It's been a weird day for everybody. He's sure everything's fine.
Juliette is absolutely tweaking.
She didn't think her life could get any weirder, and then her least favorite Olympian is flirting with her in her living room while her traitorous little sister burns a hole through Julie's left jacket sleeve with her eyes. And Apollo's mortal now?
This is really not what Julie expected to be dealing with on a random Tuesday after flunking her Algebra II quiz.
Here she is, though, sun visor mirror open so she can watch Meg McCaffery like a hawk as they drive the two hours between the Upper East Side and Delphi Farms.
"I am not giving you my bow," Julie groans for the fiftieth time since they sat down in the car. "Hades gave her to me, and she's my baby."
"I am the God of Archery!" Apollo exclaims, looking aghast. "You should be honored! Besides, I could do far more with it than you ever could."
Percy snorts, and Juliette turns around fully in her seat to glare at Apollo. "Former god. Remember, Lester?"
He scowls at her. "Well, that was simply uncalled for."
Julie's eyes drift to her sister where she's turned around to stare out the back windshield. She's now in one of Juliette's old sets of green paisley overalls with a fresh pair of yellow tights (Julie forgot she even owned those) and her short black hair pulled up at the sides with red ribbons. Her color choices could definitely be better, but, dressed in clothes that Julie once loved and sitting in the backseat of the car she's learning to drive in...Meg looks like a regular kid. Which makes the question that's been playing aloud on max volume over and over again in Julie's head scream through her brain once more.
What is she doing here?
Meg turns around from staring out the back windshield. "At least we're not being-"
"Don't say it!" Percy interrupts sharply. Julie groans.
Meg frowns at them. "You don't know what I was gonna-"
"You were gonna say, 'At least we aren't being followed,'" Percy corrects. "That'll jinx us. Then, we'll immediately notice that we are being followed-"
"Probably by some powerful enemy with a special grudge against one of us-" Julie agrees.
"-then, we'll end up in some big battle that'll probably wreck our family car-"
"-at least one of us will end up getting knocked out or captured-"
"-it'll destroy the whole freeway, and we'll have to run all the way to camp."
"Speak for yourself, some of us have wings," smirks Juliette.
Meg gapes. "You can tell the future?"
"Don't need to," Percy snorts. He changes lanes and jerks his head at Julie - their signal to send the driver they're passing a disappointed thumbs down as they drive by. She obliges. "We've just done this a lot. Besides, no one can tell the future anymore. The Oracle isn't working."
"What Oracle?" asks Meg, looking befuddled.
Apollo's face crumbles a bit, and Juliette almost feels a twinge of sympathy. "It still isn't working?" He asks.
"You didn't know?" Percy asks irritably. "I mean, sure, you've been out of it for six months, but this happened on your watch."
"That is true," Julie nods.
Apollo waves his hands defensively. "I just-I assumed it would be handled by now!"
Percy scowls, switching on the headlights as the shadows on the road begin to stretch. "What, by demigods? Going on a big quest to free the Oracle of Delphi?"
"Exactly!"
Juliette scoffs and sends Apollo what she hopes is a venomous glare. "Where do you think Jason Grace and Piper McLean are right now?"
He crosses his arms. "Making s'mores at Camp Halfblood?"
"No," Julie snaps. "They're off in California trying to find another one of your Oracles. The Eryth-whatever."
Apollo pales suddenly. "Herophile?"
"Yeah." She glowers. "And, they're doing it without a prophecy-"
"Which is what we need to make it an actual official quest-" Percy adds.
"-so, who even knows what they're up against right now!" Julie scolds, voice rising. "All because you didn't keep track of your Oracles."
"HEY!" Meg suddenly interrupts. Both Julie and Apollo turn to her irritably. She jabs a thumb at the back windshield. "There are three shiny blobs now."
"What?" Percy asks.
"Look," shrugs the girl. He adjusts the rearview mirror to where she's pointing.
"Shit. Jules, what are they?"
Juliette unbuckles so she can roll down the window and crawl halfway out, squinting to take a better look at their pursuers. Percy groans at the spew of Ancient Greek profanity she starts hissing at what she sees.
"Great Olympus, what a potty mouth," Apollo gasps.
"Some kind of ghost," She tells them, sitting back down and rolling the window up. "Shadowy guys. Nothing we've ever fought before."
"Fantastic," He sighs. "Alright, everybody hold on. We're going cross country."
"This oughtta be fun," Julie comments flatly, rebuckling her seatbelt.
Apollo and Meg both yelp as Percy hits the gas and speeds down the nearest exit ramp going 90. They fly through a red light and cut across the mall parking lot, zooming through a Taco Bell drive through and across a row of old warehouses. Julie grits her teeth and tries to keep herself from pointing out that this never would have happened if he'd have just let her fly them to camp.
"IS YOUR PLAN TO AVOID A FIGHT BY DYING IN TRAFFIC?" Apollo screeches, clutching the grab handle (or, as Julie has dubbed it, the oh, shit bar).
Percy scowls. "Ha, ha. I'm getting us to the water. I fight better by the ocean."
"Because Poseidon?" Meg asks.
"Yep. That about sums up my entire life: 'Because Poseidon.'"
Meg gasps and leans between the front seats, stars in her eyes. If she hadn't tried enslaving Juliette to one of history's most ruthless emperors less than two months ago, Julie might find the girl's very obvious crush on Percy to be cute.
"You're gonna be like Aquaman?" She asks excitedly. "Get the fish to fight for you?"
Juliette cackles as Percy scowls at the road ahead. "Thanks. Like I haven't heard enough Aquaman jokes my life."
"I miss Leo," Julie sighs. Then, she looks at their surroundings and huffs in complaint. "This is a terrible rout to have taken. Why didn't you just wait 'til the next exit and then cut down the fishing piers?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you driving this car right now?"
"Are you driving it or flying it-LOOK OUT!" Julie warns.
One of the smoky spirits manifests right in front of the car, making Percy grunt in surprise and swerve off the road. They crash through a chain-link fence and into the fields of an orchard. Somehow, Percy manages to avoid smashing into any of the trees, but by the time the car skids to a stop in the mud, Julie has bonked her head on the window and is feeling much more sympathetic towards Hazel's motion sickness.
The air bags don't go off - thank gods - and no windows are broken so maybe Julie can still afford to go to college once Sally and Paul have to pay for the damages they just caused. Percy unbuckles and spins around to check on their passengers. "You guys alright?"
Meg and Apollo groan in response. Juliette dabs irritably at the cut on her forehead. "This never would have happened if you'd taken the exit to the piers instead."
He glares at her. "Sometimes, I miss being an only child."
A throaty growl from outside the car snaps them all back to attention. Julie goes to open her door just to find it jammed shut. Meg complains of the same, and Percy also sighs in frustration when his won't open either. They end up all crawling to the back to exit through Apollo's door, and the moment they do, Julie's bow is in her hands.
The three shadowy figures slam down on all sides of them, black smoke billowing out as they start to take on physical forms. They advance on them slowly, growing arms and legs, faces splitting into fanged mouths that stretch from ear to ear beneath sets of endless black eyes.
They almost look like ghouls, but that's not right. These are definitely new monsters to her. Julie keeps an arrow levelled at the one directly in front of her, back to Percy and Meg's shoulders as they somehow end up in a protective triangle around Apollo.
Isn't this his fault? Why are they defending him, again?
"STOP! I am the god Apollo! Leave us, or be destroyed!"
Yeah, like that's ever worked before. Friggen noob.
True to Julie's prediction, the monsters just snarl and continue to solidify. Juliette hears Percy uncap Riptide as Meg's swords gleam gold in the corner of her eye. The sight of the weapons makes Julie tense, but she doesn't really have time to be concerned about the girl's motives right now. Especially once Apollo whimpers and starts mumbling under his breath.
"Oh dear," He laments quietly. "I remember now."
"Remember what?" Percy asks. "How to kill these things?"
"That'd be great."
"No," winces Apollo. "I remember what they are: nosoi."
"Which means...?" Julie snaps.
The god laughs nervously. "Plague spirits," He translates. "And, they can't be killed."
Alright. If they live through today, Julie thinks she's going to rebreak that nose of his.