06.     THEO

In retrospect, Theo had probably overreacted.

When Percy had disappeared over the edge of the ship with Jason and plunged right into the main wrath of storm tossing the Argo II back and forth like a spinning top, Theo had freaked. She had screamed and at one point there was a very bright light and she damn near threw herself overboard after him if Frank and Hazel hadn't worked together to stop her. Besides, they pointed out, Percy could breathe underwater. But that didn't stop Theo from worrying.

She didn't have a logical explanation for it, either, which was the worst part. She knew underwater was literally Percy's domain. She knew he would arguably be safer there than anywhere else. And she knew, once the storm calmed down to nothing, about five minutes after Jason and Percy's submergence, that they had figured everything out all fine and dandy.

But Percy had launched over the side of the ship and into the storm so easily that Theo couldn't help but think he was throwing himself into danger—the kind of danger they faced together in Tartarus.

But this wasn't Tartarus, Theo had to keep reminding herself. They had made it out. But Theo's mind was stuck down there, she thought, and it always would be.

Percy and Jason filled everyone in on what had happened in the fathoms below after they'd returned, about twenty or so minutes after diving down. They described an encounter with Percy's sister, Kympoelia, a daughter of Poseidon and the wife of Briares—who Theo actually remembered meeting, back in Daedalus's Labyrinth. Initially, Percy and Jason said Kym was on Polybotes's side—because, hey, he was down there, too, and just about poisoned Percy to death—but Jason got Kym to change her mind, yadda yadda yadda. Theo was used to one of her demigod friends sweet-talking an enemy into being on their side.

In other news, Kym had decapitated Polybotes. Which took kill Polybotes off Theo's to-do list.

For days after their encounter with Kym, the Argo II limped through the Aegean, too damaged to fly, too slow to outrun monsters. They fought hungry sea serpents about every hour. They attracted schools of curious fish. At one point they got stuck on a rock, and Percy and Jason had to get out and push.

The wheezing sound of the engine was getting on Theo's nerves like crazy, but she could tell it was killing Leo. Over the course of three long days, he finally got the ship more or less back to working order just as they made port at the island of Mykonos, which probably meant it was time for them to get bashed to pieces again. That seemed to be a pattern when it came to repairs.

Hazel and Frank went ashore to scout while everyone else stayed on the main deck. When the couple returned, Theo's day got a whole lot better.

"Hey, guys," said Frank, grinning. "Gelato."

The whole crew sat on deck, without a storm or a monster attack to worry about for the first time in days, and ate ice cream. Well, except for Frank...

"Lactose intolerant," he mumbled when Leo asked why he was picking at an apple instead of an ice cream cone. "My life sucks."

Percy shot Theo a glance. "You haven't told him?"

Frank perked up instantly. "What? Told me what?"

"Oh." Theo grinned, sticking a plastic spoon into her bowl. "I'm lactose intolerant, too, Frank. Surprise. Strawberry sorbet for your thoughts?"

Theo thought Frank very much enjoyed hearing that.

The day was hot and windy. The sea glittered with chop, but Leo had fixed the stabilizers well enough that Hazel didn't look too seasick. Theo didn't feel too bad, either, but she chalked that up to an accustom to Percy ridding her of her seasickness problem.

Curving off to their starboard side was the town of Mykonos—a collection of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors.

"We saw these pelicans walking around town," Hazel reported. "Just going through the shops, stopping at the bars."

May furrowed her brow. "Monsters?"

"No," Hazel said, laughing, "just regular old pelicans. They're the town mascots or something. And there's a "Little Italy" section of town. That's why the gelato is so good."

"Europe is messed up." Leo shook his head. "First we go to Rome for Spanish steps. Then we go to Greece for Italian ice cream."

Everyone laughed and ate their ice cream (save for the lactose intolerants, of course). The sun was warm on Theo's face for the first time in a while, and she couldn't help but let it soak over her. Once she'd thought she would never get the chance to see the sun again. Now she could appreciate it more than ever.

It was easy to imagine she was just hanging out with her friends on vacation, not sailing the world to stop the earth goddess from waking and destroying all of humanity. Which made her wish—if she was on a real vacation, of course—that Annabeth, Will, Grover, and all of her Camp Half-Blood friends were there; which made her wish the war was over and everybody was alive... which made her sad. It was the thirtieth of July. Less than forty-eight hours until the day Gaea would awaken in all her dirt-faced glory.

The strange thing was, the closer they got to August first, the more upbeat Theo's friends were acting. Or maybe upbeat wasn't the right word. They seemed to be pulling together for the final lap—aware that the next two days would make or break them. There was no point moping around when you faced imminent death. The end of the world made gelato taste a lot better.

May set down her ice cream cup. "So, the island of Delos is right across the harbour. Artemis and Apollo's home turf. Who's going?"

"Me," Leo said suddenly—which surprised everyone, because they all had looked to Theo immediately.

Everybody stared at him.

"What?" Leo demanded. "I'm diplomatic and stuff. Frank and Hazel volunteered to back me up."

"We did?" Frank lowered the now-empty cup of sorbet. "I mean... sure we did."

Hazel's gold eyes flashed in the sunlight. "Leo, did you have a dream about this or something?"

"Yes," Leo blurted. "Well... no. Not exactly. But... you got to trust me on this, guys. I need to talk to Apollo and Artemis. I've got an idea I need to bounce off them."

"That's not happening," Theo said immediately, trying not to sound too immature, which was quickly lost with her next claim. "It's my dad!"

Nobody said anything for a moment. Frank and Hazel were looking to Leo, clearly declaring him the leader of the quest to see Theo's father. But Leo was looking down, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes. Obviously he hadn't put much thought into his little plan other than about the idea he needed to "bounce off them."

"Four demigods is pushing it," May said, if only to break the silence. She glanced between Leo and Theo. "You'll be sniffed out easier."

Theo furrowed her brow, turning to May. Was she saying what Theo thought she was saying? Since when was Mayfair Alvarez a mediator? Fuck, Theo must have missed some huge character arcs when she was in Tartarus...

"Okay," Leo said, nodding. "We can handle that. I'm sure our little ball of gas here will come in pretty handy, anyway."

"Hey," Frank said, offended.

"I meant Theo," amended Leo. "You know, the whole sun thing. Anyway, guys, if they have a souvenir shop on Delos, we're totally bringing you back some Apollo and Artemis bobbleheads."

Something told Theo her dad wasn't in the mood to hear about his daughter's escapades in the deepest pits of Hell. Actually, he barely seemed in the mood for a haiku, which was definitely saying something.

Frank had turned into a giant eagle to fly to Delos, carrying Leo in his claws. Theo had caught a right with Hazel on Arion's back. They'd found the island deserted, maybe because the seas were too choppy for the tourist boats. The windswept hills were barren except for rocks, grass, and wildflowers—and, of course, a bunch of crumbling temples.

"It's abandoned," Frank said, looking around with an affronted expression, as though he couldn't believe the nerve of the monsters or gods to not be around when the Argo II arrived somewhere. "There's nothing here."

"Not true." Hazel stopped at the summit of a low hill. "Look. Down there."

Below them, the hillside had been carved into an amphitheatre. Scrubby plants sprouted between the rows of stone benches, so it looked like a concert for thorn bushes. Down at the bottom, sitting on a block of stone in the middle of the stage, the god Apollo hunched over a ukulele, plucking out a mournful tune

Now that she thought about it, Theo hadn't seen her dad in a while. Not since their argument last year while Percy was missing. And even then, he had seemed older than Theo still, more weathered with stress and the whole conflicting sides of war thing. But he always presented himself as a seventeen-year-old surfer boy, and now that he looked more depressed than Theo had ever seen him, he felt younger.

His hair was curly and blond, and he had a perfect tan still. He wore tattered jeans, a black T-shirt, and a white linen jacket with glittering rhinestone lapels, like he was trying for an Elvis/Beach Boys hybrid look.

"Woah," Theo murmured, unable to hide her disappointment. "He looks... like a kid."

She couldn't help thinking it, even if he was centuries older than her. His presenting as a teenager really didn't help. And now that Theo was eighteen, and after all the things she'd been through, she felt a lot older than her dad looked.

"Those are the gods?" Frank asked. "They don't look like twins."

Sitting in the front row was a young girl of about thirteen, wearing black leggings and a silver tunic, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was whittling on a long piece of wood—making a bow.

"Well, think about it," Hazel said. "If you're a god, you can look like whatever you want. If you had a twin—"

"I'd choose to look like anything but my sibling," Frank agreed. "So what's the plan?"

"Don't shoot!" screamed Leo. Theo thought he deemed it a good opening line, facing two archery gods. He raised his arms and headed down to the stage.

Neither god looked surprised to see them. Apollo even sighed and went back to playing his ukulele.

When they got to the front row, Artemis muttered, "There you are. We were beginning to wonder."

Ouch, Theo thought. Hey, dad, I'm back from Tartarus by the way. Miss me?

"You were expecting us, then," Leo said. "I can tell because you're both so excited."

Theo's father plucked a tune that sounded like the funeral version of 'Camptown Races'. "We were expecting to be found, bothered and tormented. We didn't know by whom. Lest my own daughter. Can you not leave us to our misery?"

"You know they can't, brother," Artemis chided. "They require our help with their quest, even if the odds are hopeless."

"I love the twin gods of optimism," Theo said, her voice dry. "Why are you both here, anyway? Hiding out? Shouldn't you be... uh, fighting giants, or something?"

Artemis's pale eyes made Theo feel like she was a deer carcass about to be gutted, which was weird, because usually Theo could be positive she was her aunt's favorite niece.

"Delos is our birthplace," said the goddess. "Here, we are unaffected by the Greek–Roman schism. Believe me, Theodosia, if I could, I would be with my Hunters, facing our old enemy Orion. Unfortunately, if I stepped off this island, I would become incapacitated with pain. All I can do is watch helplessly while Orion slaughters my followers. Many gave their lives to protect your friends and that accursed statue."

She shot Apollo a glare with the last sentence, as if having a counterfeit statue formed by Roman hands amidst the siege was his fault.

Hazel made a strangled sound. "You mean Nico? Is he alright?"

"Alright?" Apollo sobbed over his ukulele. "None of us are alright, girl! Gaea is rising!"

Artemis glared at Apollo. "Hazel Levesque, your brother is still alive. He is a brave fighter, like you. I wish I could say the same for my brother."

"You wrong me!" Apollo wailed. "I was misled by Gaea and that horrible Roman child!"

Frank cleared his throat. "Uh, Lord Apollo, you mean Octavian?"

"Do not speak his name!" Apollo strummed a minor chord. "Oh, Frank Zhang, if only you were my child. I heard your prayers, you know, all those weeks you wanted to be claimed. But alas! Mars gets all the good ones. I get... that creature as my descendant. He filled my head with compliments. He told me of the great temples he would build in my honor."

Artemis snorted. "You are easily flattered, brother."

"Because I have so many amazing qualities to praise! Octavian said he wanted to make the Romans strong again. I said fine! I gave him my blessing."

"As I recall," said Artemis, "he also promised to make you the most important god of the legion, above even Zeus."

"Oh, my gods," muttered Theo, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please don't tell me he fell for that."

"Well, who was I to argue with an offer like that? Does Zeus have a perfect tan? Can he play the ukulele? I think not! But I never thought Octavian would start a war! Gaia must have been clouding my thoughts, whispering in my ear."

"So fix it," Leo said. "Tell Octavian to stand down. Or, you know, shoot him with one of your arrows. That would be fine, too."

"I cannot!" Apollo wailed. "Look!"

His ukulele turned into a bow. He aimed at the sky and shot. The golden arrow sailed about two hundred feet, then disintegrated into smoke. Theo shivered with deja-vu.

"To shoot my bow, I would have to step off Delos," Apollo cried. "Then I would be incapacitated, or Zeus would strike me down. Father never liked me. He hasn't trusted me for millennia!"

"Well," Artemis said, "to be fair, there was that time you conspired with Hera to overthrow him."

"That was a misunderstanding!"

"And you killed some of Zeus's Cyclopes."

"I had a good reason for that! At any rate, now Zeus blames me for everything—Octavian's schemes, the fall of Delphi—"

"Wait," Theo said, shaking her head. "Delphi?"

Apollo's bow turned back into a ukulele. He plucked a dramatic chord. "When the schism began between Greek and Roman, while I struggled with confusion, Gaea took advantage! She raised my old enemy Python, the great serpent, to repossess the Delphic Oracle. That horrible creature is now coiled in the ancient caverns, blocking the magic of prophecy. I am stuck here, so I can't even fight him."

Theo froze. She felt Frank, Leo, and Hazel watching her, waiting for her to say something, but her voice was stuck in her throat. She was back in Python's cavern, choking with fear, stuck limping across a woven floor hanging above the pit of Tartarus.

Finally she drew in a sharp breath to steady herself. "Python is.. back?"

"Bummer," Leo said cautiously, still watching Theo.

"Bummer indeed!" Apollo sighed. "I was so positive my old enemy would be gone for eternity, now that my daughter emerged victorious from his cavern. But Zeus was already angry with me for appointing that new girl, Rachel Dare, as my Oracle. Zeus seems to think I hastened the war with Gaea by doing so, since Rachel issued the Prophecy of Seven as soon as I blessed her. But prophecy doesn't work that way! Father just needed someone to blame. So of course he picked the handsomest, most talented, hopelessly awesome god."

Artemis made a gagging gesture.

"Oh, stop it, sister!" Apollo said. "You're in trouble, too!"

"Only because I stayed in touch with my Hunters against Zeus's wishes," Artemis said. "But I can always charm Father into forgiving me. He's never been able to stay mad at me. It's you I'm worried about."

"I'm worried about me, too!" Apollo agreed. "We have to do something. We can't kill Octavian. Hmm. Perhaps we should kill these demigods."

"Whoa there, Music Man." Leo spread his hands like a peace gesture. "We're on your side, remember? Why would you kill us? Your kid?"

"It might make me feel better!" Apollo said. "I have to do something!"

"Or," Leo said quickly, "you could help us. See, we've got this plan..."

He told them how Hera had directed them to Delos, and how Nike had described the ingredients for the physician's cure.

"The physician's cure?" Apollo stood and smashed his ukulele on the stones. "That's your plan?"

Leo cleared his throat. "Hey, um, usually I'm all for smashing ukuleles, but—"

"I cannot help you!" Apollo cried. "If I told you the secret of the physician's cure, Zeus would never forgive me!"

"You're already in trouble," Theo pointed out.

Apollo glared at her. "If you knew what my father is capable of, you would not dare... It would be simpler if I just smote you all. That might please Zeus."

"Brother..." Artemis said.

The twins locked eyes and had a silent argument. Apparently Artemis won. Apollo heaved a sigh and kicked his broken ukulele across the stage.

Artemis rose. "Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, come with me. There are things you should know about the Twelfth Legion. As for you, Theodosia, Leo Valdez—" The goddess turned those cold silver eyes on them. "Apollo will hear you out. See if you can strike a deal. My brother always likes a good bargain."

Frank and Hazel both glanced at them, like Please don't die. Then they followed Artemis up the steps of the amphitheatre and over the crest of the hill.

"Well?" Apollo folded his arms. His eyes glowed with golden light. "Let us bargain, then. What can you offer that would convince me to help you rather than kill you?"

Theo pursed her lips, willing herself the strength not to explode on her father. That would probably not be her best business decision to date.

But when was she ever the master negotiator?

via cornur :P

Apollo so drama that even THEO was in shock. And we all know she is The drama ever....

By the way we are 2/3 done with the Blood of Olympus. Hello? Anyone else baffled? Anyone else in disbelief? Anyone else feeling like they could choke?

Love you all mwah mwah bye