Chapter Text
The Sun is dimming
People are freaking out now
Why me again…fuck
I thought my struggles would be over once my trials had ended and all would be right in the world. Well, news flash, it's not. Well, it was for a little bit. Adjusting back to godhood was certainly… an experience after being used to being mortal for so long. But it didn’t take long for it to all go downhill again.
The Petrova Line.
The sun was dimming.
See, you might think the gods are all-powerful, but that’s just a facade. Obviously. You really should know this now after my trials, dear reader. But anyway, we are sustained on belief. Belief is everything. So we simultaneously exist as these divine forces of nature along with mortal science. So while different gods of different pantheons take turns dragging around the sun, the sun is also a giant ball of gas out in space. It's a contradiction, but it’s all connected. The universe is weird like that. So whatever affects the sun in one place affects all of us.
It started as a cough for me. I would just randomly feel something stuck in my throat and then need to cough, and then it would be gone. Which should’ve been an immediate red flag to me, as gods do not get sick. But, of course, my recent time as a mortal skewed my perception. I was used to the aches and pains and random bouts of sneezing and coughing the human body made, as disgusting and annoying as it was. So I waved it off as something that had just carried over.
I shouldn’t have.
The coughing slowly increased, like a predator taking its time before coming in for the kill. And that’s when I noticed the other sun gods from other pantheons. They were also coughing. Though their symptoms seemed worse than mine. That’s when alarm bells started ringing for me. I called for Hermes. Though busy, he always made time for me.
In a whirlwind, he appeared. “What’s up, brother? Miss me already?” He teased. Now, while originally we got off on the wrong foot, Hermes is one of the gods I do have a good relationship with. He’s a menace, but he’s my menace of a little brother.
I only rolled my eyes, not bothering to repress my small smile, “Like I miss a barnacle attached to a ship.” I quipped back. I then continued, “I have a job for you.”
He laughed, smiling, “What’s it this time? Another love letter?”
I shook my head, rolling my eyes again. I haven’t even considered getting into a relationship after my trials. Being a teenager for a bit did something to how I viewed adults for the time being. “No, you won’t have to do that for a while.” I joked back. I held up a folded piece of paper to him, my tone shifting away from playful to serious, “No, I need you to deliver this to the God King and make sure it gets on the docket for the Winter Solstice meeting.” I have been trying to distance myself from calling Zeus my father after my trials. They made me realize that while he may be my sire, he was no father to me. Hermes had joined me in that as well, along with my twin sister Artemis, and Dionysus. It was clear to everyone that my trials were meant to kill me. And if Zeus could get away with that, what did it mean for the rest of them? Tensions have been high since then.
I could tell my brother’s interest was piqued, though, as he took the piece of paper, “And what is this?” He said musically, unfolding the paper to read the message. I made no objections to him doing so. He would find out eventually. He was the messenger after all. As he scanned the paper, his eyebrows began to furrow in confusion. “What is this?” He asked again, his tone more serious.
“It is what it says. Something is happening to the Sun, and it’s affecting all the sun gods.”
“What do you mean? What’s-”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as suddenly a coughing fit hit me. I doubled over, coughing like my lungs hated me. I felt hands on me, guiding me quickly, but gently, down to sit. After around 5 to 10 seconds, the coughing subsided, and I looked up to see Hermes looking very alarmed and worried. I took a moment, just breathing even though I didn’t need to, before saying, “I need you to get this on the meeting docket, no matter what. Do you understand? The Solstice is only a week away.”
Hermes gave me a complicated look, worry and concern evident, but after a moment he nodded, “I understand…”
I gave him a weak smile, “Thank you. Now go. We can talk later.”
He nodded, turning to go but hesitating. After a few seconds, he turned his head back to look at me, “Are… Are you okay?”
I was silent for a moment. Was I okay? I had no idea. I hadn’t even gotten a premonition or seen a prophecy for any of this. Hades if I know. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
Hermes was silent again, unusual for him, before he slowly nodded, “Okay,” and then he was off.
I sighed in relief and slumped back. My brother would make sure that message gets relayed. I don’t know why, but I looked at one of my hands for a moment. The warm light I naturally gave off… was it dimmer?
It was.
The solstice meeting was going so far as I expected. Lots of bickering. I wasn’t in the mood, so I didn’t participate in most of it. This Winter Solstice was different as well, though. With no threat to the gods, they invited the camps to join us for the meeting. It had been a while since we hosted them. And with the Greek side finally in tune with the Roman side, it was a bigger deal than ever to have both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter here. It was nice seeing my children and the friends I had made at both camps, including Meg. Oh, my sweet Meg. Oh my gremlin of a chosen sibling. How I missed her even though I visited often. My children had set themselves around the base of my throne as all the children of the gods present had with their respective parent. Those whose parents weren’t Olympians were sitting over by Hestia, getting spoiled rotten with cookies and the like. They would get to see their parents after the meeting.
Meg, ever the rebel, had joined my kids, and she would’ve been using my throne like a jungle gym if we hadn’t sized everything down for this meeting. Zeus had been convinced by someone, Hestia, that it would be better optics and show that we were finally united to be on similar levels as our children than the 12 ft we usually were during meetings. So, instead, Meg was busy sitting upside down, with legs draped over one of the armrests and her feet in my lap. I didn’t really mind, it was incredibly Meg of her to do this. Rachel was also here and sat around my throne, but was painting, ignoring what was happening. I was currently in a form that was halfway between Lester and what everyone else thought was “normal” Apollo. I knew it would annoy Zeus to see me embracing the Lester look, but didn’t want to fully look it because of what was at stake. So I went for just a little annoying. Blame Meg. She taught me spite.
Finally, it was my turn. I stood from my throne to present my topic. “Something is happening to the Sun.” I opened with, immediately drawing strange stares from the other gods and looks of confusion from all the children in the room. I continued, “I noticed that the other deities who share the sun domain across other pantheons are falling to some sort of sickness. Something needs to be done.”
My f-... Zeus only scoffed, “Why should we worry about other pantheons? They are of no concern to us. It only shows they are fading.”
“But it's-” I was cut off.
“No, they are of no concern to us. And you only just returned after your punishment. Your ideas are clearly clouded.” He insisted.
Hermes shot me a concerned look and stood up to speak as well when a surprise voice cut in.
Hera had stood, “That’s what you said about our Roman sides. And look what happened there. Gaia almost destroyed us all. Though these pantheons are separate from us in this case, we should look into this matter. Creating relations with them could be beneficial for us.”
I blinked, surprised she agreed with me and gave her an appraising look. Hera didn’t like the bastard children of Zeus. But I think my trials fundamentally shifted something in her, along with many others. She only glanced at me for a second before shifting her attention back to Zeus. There was something there. I don’t know what, though.
“And how, dear wife, would that benefit us? By solving their problems we would only make them stronger.”
“Maybe so, but it would strengthen possible cooperation between us if we ever need help from them.”
“And why would we ever need their help? No. I don’t think so. De-”
My twin went to stand up and object, but someone else beat her to it.
“I think we should put this to a vote, Father,” Athena spoke coolly, rising.
“And why should we put Apollo’s idea to a vote?” Zeus said my name like an insult, like I was lesser.
I stood there, looking down at my feet and trying not to show that it bothered me. My hands clenched and unclenched unconsciously, my anger starting to simmer at the god who claimed to be my father.
That’s when Artemis had enough. “He is a part of this council! You should treat his ideas like everyone else’s, God King.” She said firmly, “Besides, everyone knows how you tried to-”
I would’ve stopped my sister there before she got herself in trouble, but before I could, another coughing fit began. I doubled over, my lungs seriously sounding like they were trying to escape into the stratosphere. This one lasted longer than any of the previous ones I have had before. I was swaying a bit, covering my mouth to try and stop the coughs, when 2 sets of hands on either side of me appeared and steadied me before I could collapse. I could feel something wet come out of my mouth into my hand, but I paid it no mind. When it finally ended, my eyes were watering from the force of my coughs, and I opened my eyes to see Artemis on one side and Hermes on the other, keeping me steady. I looked around me to see my children and Meg had also stood up and were hovering around me anxiously, Will keeping them back from crowding around too close. They all looked at me, worried and concerned. I removed my hand from my mouth, and my sister gasped and grabbed it, forcing it open more. I looked at her in confusion and then looked at my hand that she wrenched open to see what she was gasping ab-... Oh…
There was ichor shining on my palm.
I looked up around the room at the other gods, staring at me in horror. Unbeknownst to me, there was a small amount of ichor staining my lips and a droplet making its way down my chin from my mouth. I then looked to Zeus. I couldn’t tell how he felt about it. His expression was just steely and cold.
Athena immediately jumped into action after that, “All in favor of acknowledging and investigating what is making the sun gods sick, raise your hand.”
Every one of the Olympians raised their hands. Everyone but Zeus.
“All opposed?”
Zeus still didn’t raise his hand.
“13 in favor and 1 abstained. It passes.”
There was a tense moment where everyone was silent.
“This meeting is dismissed. Everyone, Leave.” The God King said, his voice booming.
My children finally crowded around, Hermes backing off to make room for them. Once Will took his place in keeping me steady, he went back to tend to his own children. Artemis stayed by my side, though. Her hunters, who were also present, gathered around us. She stared at me for a long time, a silent conversation between us, before she started guiding me out of the meeting room, “Let’s go. Children, Hunters, follow along.” I didn’t say a word, following her guiding hand. Usually I felt okay after a coughing fit, but this? Something was different.
Artemis led us back to the sun palace and, once in my chambers, sat me down on my bed. My children crowded around asking questions, while my sister’s hunters stationed themselves outside the room. Meg wasn’t in the pile of children in my bed. I looked up to see her standing a couple of feet away, with a strange look on her face. I motioned to her, and she reluctantly joined the pile. Rachel was also not in the pile, but I spotted her furiously painting off to the side, so I let her be.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me. But that’s what I intend to find out. I will not leave you all in the dark.”
I gathered all my children in a hug with Meg in the center, and began to hum, hoping to soothe them. My precious kids hummed back in tune, almost like they were trying to do a healing hymn. Thinking on it now, I’m most certain they were. Meg, a little uncomfortable with the singing and cuddle puddle, eventually joined in after a minute. She was a little off-key at first, but she got there.
I learned afterwards that when my coughing fit started is when ArcLight sent back photos and videos live on television of what the Patrova line was made of.
The sun was being eaten.
Little dots were eating away at our light.
I realized in that moment, this wasn’t just about me. If I didn’t figure this out and set someone on the right path to figure this out, not only would the other sun gods die, but everyone would die. Humans depended on the light of the Sun to survive. If the sun dropped too low in luminosity, the planet would freeze, and they would die. And thus, it would kill the gods. We would cease to be, with no one left. I also cannot let Helios’ light go out. He may be faded, but I am his legacy. He was the closest thing I had to an actual father. I cannot let one of the last things I have of his go out. I hugged my children and Meg tighter. I would not let them die. I cannot let them die.