Chapter 36.8: The Terrible Banjo Prank – Part 2 (or Apollo Destroys a Warehouse from Orbit)

Percy should have known.

He should have known.

The moment he saw Travis and Connor Stoll snickering to themselves, exchanging quiet glances with the Apollo kids, he knew this wasn't over.

But did he do anything to stop it?

…No.

Because at this point, he had fully accepted that chaos was inevitable—and, well, he wasn't about to miss this level of insanity.

So instead, he casually pulled out his solar recorder and hit record.

"This is going to be good," he muttered under his breath.

Sure enough, the whispering huddle of Apollo kids and the Stolls soon burst into laughter, their shoulders shaking with excitement. Travis turned to him, grinning wildly.

"Percy," he said, barely containing his glee. "Did you really think we only had one shipment of banjos?"

Percy stared at him. "Please tell me you did not—"

"Oh, we did," Connor interrupted. "We may have also procured—"

"Somewhat legally," Travis added.

"—an entire warehouse full of thousands of banjos."

Percy inhaled deeply.

Then exhaled.

Then muttered, "Oh gods, this is about to go from bad to very, very bad."

Annabeth, who had been standing nearby listening, facepalmed. "I hate all of you."

"And yet," Percy said, smirking, "you're still coming with us."

She groaned. "I have to. Someone has to document just how stupid all of you are."

Percy simply grinned and snapped his fingers, summoning the Sun Chariot in a blinding flash of golden light. The doors automatically slid open—a feature he'd installed himself, because of course he had.

"Alright, everybody in," he said, hopping into the driver's seat.

The Apollo kids scrambled in eagerly, followed by Travis, Connor, Annabeth, and a few other campers who wanted to witness the carnage. Within seconds, the Sun Chariot took off, rocketing into the sky with a trail of golden fire.

As they flew, Percy couldn't help but shake his head.

"This," he muttered to himself, "is going to be so stupid."

The Warehouse of Doom

They arrived high above an unassuming warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

Percy hovered the chariot way up in the stratosphere, using the divine lenses he'd installed to zoom in on the ground below.

"Alright," he said, glancing at the others. "Who's breaking the news to him?"

The Apollo kids all turned to Austin, who sighed but nodded, pulling out an Iris Message device.

A few golden drachmas and a misty shimmer later, Apollo's very annoyed, very done-with-everything face appeared.

"What now?" he grumbled, rubbing his temples.

Austin cleared his throat. "Hey, Dad, um… so, funny story—"

"Not funny," Will cut in.

"Hilarious," Travis corrected.

Austin continued, "You know that whole banjo thing?"

Apollo's eyes narrowed. "What. Did. You. Do."

Travis grinned. "We found a whole warehouse of them!"

Percy barely managed to pull out his solar recorder in time.

Because the instant those words left Travis's mouth—

BOOOOOOOM.

A massive golden solar blast shot down from the sky, slamming into the warehouse with the force of a divine nuke.

The explosion was so blindingly bright that it could be seen from orbit—a golden mushroom cloud billowing into the sky, shaking the very atmosphere.

The sheer force of it sent shockwaves rippling outward, scattering clouds like they were nothing.

"HOLY HEPHAESTUS," Percy yelled, yanking the chariot higher just in case.

Travis and Connor were cackling like madmen. The Apollo kids were either horrified or deeply impressed. Annabeth was just rubbing her temples, muttering about how she was surrounded by idiots.

When the dust settled, Percy cautiously lowered the chariot to get a closer look.

Or at least—what used to be the warehouse.

Because there was nothing left.

No building. No debris. No foundation.

Just a massive, blackened crater where the warehouse had once stood.

The only thing remaining was piles and piles of banjo dust, still faintly glowing with divine energy.

And in the middle of it all—

Apollo.

Standing dead center of the destruction, slowly sweeping up the remains with a golden broom and dumping them directly into Tartarus.

Percy gulped.

"Uh," he muttered, "so... Apollo's starting to look a little unhinged."

"Little?" Annabeth deadpanned. "Percy, he just erased a building from existence."

"And," Percy added hesitantly, "he's still muttering in Ancient Greek while cursing them."

Travis nudged Connor. "Think we overdid it?"

Connor, who was still snickering, shrugged. "Nah. This was completely worth it."

"Hey, uh, guys?" Percy said, still staring down at Apollo.

"What?"

"I'm actually starting to get worried."

Everyone turned to him.

"About Apollo?" Will asked.

"No," Percy said, shaking his head. He pointed to the banjo dust being tossed into Tartarus. "About that."

The Apollo kids frowned, watching as the remains of thousands of banjos were funneled into the deepest pit of hell itself.

Austin paled. "Oh gods."

"Yeah." Percy sighed, running a hand down his face. "If there wasn't already an evil, vengeful, Apollo-hating banjo monster down there... I think we just created one."

The entire group fell silent.

Then Travis, very slowly, said, "Well, uh… that's Future Us's problem."

Connor nodded. "Agreed."

"Yep," Percy said, pressing the accelerator. "Not dealing with that today."

And with that, the Sun Chariot rocketed back into the sky—leaving behind nothing but a crater, an absolutely furious Sun God, and the lingering fear of what horror they might have just unleashed upon the world.