Leo looked back and forth between Apollo and the twins with raised eyebrows. "Dad?"
"Yeah, he's our dad," Pat said. He began to sing, "You are my dad —"
A brick fell from the rafters, landing two inches away from his foot.
"Even the Waystation is asking you to stop," Via told him. "Scootch your bootch." She pushed past him as the infirmary appeared. It looked as it normally did: a fully stocked supply cabinet with medicine, surgical tools, and potion ingredients; a hospital bed with built-in monitors, GCI interface, and levitating bariatric slings. Racks of healing herbs dried against the wall next to the portable MRI machine. And in the back corner, a glassed-in habitat seethed with poisonous snakes.
"Oh, my," Apollo marveled. "Your med bay is cutting-edge."
"Yes," Emmie agreed. "And the Waystation is telling us Via should treat your friend immediately."
Leo poked his head into the infirmary. "You mean this room just appeared here?"
"No," Emmie said. "Well, yes. It's always here, but...it's easier to find when we need it."
Leo nodded thoughtfully. "You think the Waystation could organize my sock drawer?"
A second brick fell from the ceiling and clunked at Leo's feet.
"That's a no," Via interpreted. "Now, if you'll excuse me... Injured patient. Must heal."
"Uh..." Leo pointed to the glass habitat. "You got snakes in there. Just saying."
"I'll take good care of Calypso," Via promised. "Healing people is my thing."
"It's her thing," Pat agreed.
"You guys go ahead and find Jo," Via said, carrying Calypso into the med bay. "I'll heal her."
No longer concerning herself with the people who weren't hurt, she lay Calypso down on one of the beds. She'd been able to read her heartbeat, so she knew that it was steady, but the fractured bones would take a while to deal with. She'd need an x-ray to see what she was doing. She grabbed her special glasses from her medical bag. Jo and Pat had made them for her; they were more efficient and more effective than any x-ray or MRI machine. Switching them to X-ray mode, she started with Calypso's hand.
The phalanges could be put back into place, and the fracture wasn't serious enough for a full-arm cast. the metacarpals would eventually heal themselves; the best thing Via could do at the moment was to give Calypso nectar and ambrosia. As for her ankle, she could easily pop it back into place, splint it, and allow ambrosia and nectar to do its job there, too.
Via exhaled in relief. This was more easily treatable than she'd originally thought.
For someone who hated danger as much as Via did, she sure did find herself in a lot of it.
Camp Half-Blood was supposed to be a safe place for her Pat. A monster-free camp with free food where you were trained to survive and encouraged to develop skills for the mortal world? That sounded ideal. That sounded safe.
And for a while, it was. She'd wake up every day in the Apollo cabin with Pat in the bunk next to her and her several half-siblings in their own bunks around the room. She'd get to eat whatever she wanted for breakfast, as all she had to do was ask her plate for food and it would give it to her. Then she'd take archery class with Pat, help out in the infirmary with Will, and in the evenings, jam out with all of her siblings at the campfire.
But when Luke Castellan decided he wanted more from the gods than what they were giving and betrayed the camp, things quickly changed. Until Percy Jackson found the Golden Fleece and healed Thalia's tree, camp was constantly invaded by nearby monsters. Then, a couple of years later, monsters flooded into Camp through an entrance to the Labyrinth and launched a full-scale battle, taking a few of her half-siblings with it. She lost even more in the Battle of Manhattan, and she almost died herself.
After three demigods arrived at Camp by crash-landing in the lake and proceeded to go on a quest to save Hera, during which they discovered another war was brewing, Via decided it was probably best for her and Pat to go back home year-round, so they did. But the monsters kept attacking them at school, at the store, on their way home, and Via knew they had to find somewhere else to go before their family was killed, too. Jason Grace, one of those three demigods, had mentioned a Roman camp in California, so that's where the twins headed.
They never made it there, because instead (thanks to Thalia) they found Emmie, Jo, and the Waystation.
The Waystation felt like more of a home than Camp Half-Blood ever did. She would wake up every day in a comfortable bed in a comfortable room. Sometimes if Georgie, Emmie and Jo's daughter, had nightmares, Via would wake up with the seven-year-old cuddling with her. She'd go to the nearby high school with Pat, her twin brother, and the other teens that made the Waystation their home. She'd live a practically normal life. Via was content to live there without having to worry about danger again.
But then, of course, as always, danger had to follow. Soon the emperor came. He took over the city and the nearby oracle. He made the blemmyae his army and stole the griffins that lived at the Waystation. Anyone who tried to get them back was captured and never heard from again.
As this went on, Pat looked to Via with the question in his eyes that always made Via uneasy: are we leaving again? Are we ditching this place that gave us a home because it isn't safe anymore?
Via didn't like the question, mainly because until then, the cowardly answer was always yes. Yes, they were abandoning the place they'd loved as a home again. They were running away again because this place didn't guarantee their safety anymore.
And until then, despite the unease and the guilt building up inside her, it had always seemed like the right thing to do. Via wasn't a fighter; she was a healer. Sure, she could shoot a bow and had excellent aim like most of her siblings, but she felt most comfortable in scrubs, stitching up cuts and fixing broken bones. Pat was the real archer, and even he wasn't very cool under pressure. He got conscious of how many arrows he was using and started trying to use them for only what he decided were the most threatening enemies.
But now Via was rethinking her usual decision. Emmie and Jo had given them the Waystation as a home. What had Via given them?
So when Emmie and Jo told the twins that they understood if Via and Pat wanted to leave while it was unsafe, Via shook her head and said, "No. We won't run when our family needs us."
She doubted if it was the right decision, but Pat had given her a huge, proud smile that reassured her it was.
(Then, of course, he pointed out after Emmie and Jo were out of earshot, that technically to help their actual family, they had run. Via punched him.)
And so here she was, a few months later, fixing the broken wrist of an ex-immortal titaness with her dad and one of the Seven demigods of the Great Prophecy hanging out a couple rooms over.
This was so weird.
Calypso came to as Via was treating her ankle. She looked extremely disoriented and confused. "I... who...?"
"Sit tight," Via said. Will had always told her that her bedside manner was "very chill." She tried to maintain that for all of her patients. "You're injured and over-exhausted. Just have some of this ambrosia, okay? I'm almost done with your ankle."
Calypso allowed Via to feed her the ambrosia, but as soon as she'd swallowed it all, she asked, "Where... where am..."
"You're at the Waystation in Indianapolis," Via told her. "You're safe from the blemmyae. My brother took care of them."
"The blemmyae... right..." Calypso frowned. "And... Leo? what about Leo? He's... um... he's my —"
"Boyfriend?" Via finished. "Don't worry. He and my dad are down the hall."
"Your — your dad?"
"Apollo. Or, Lester, as Leo keeps calling him."
"Oh."
"Yep."
Calypso managed a weak smile. "It must be strange, meeting your father while he's... you know..."
Via shrugged. "I guess it's no stranger than the rest of my life." She finished wrapping Calypso's ankle. "Good? Not too tight?"
"No, it feels great."
"Good." Via put away the roll of bandages, turned off her glasses, and stashed them in her medical bag. "Well, everything else seems to be healing nicely, but you should still get some more rest. We can talk more later."
"But what about...?" Calypso trailed off, clearly indecisive between sleep and the guys. "What about Leo and Apollo?"
"I'll come and check on you in about half an hour," Via promised. "Depending on how you are, I'll bring you to them, okay? I just want to make sure you're rested up enough to function."
"Okay," Calypso said. "I'll just... okay... tell Leo not to worry..." she drifted off to sleep. Via turned off the overhead lights in the med bay but left the lamp on Calypso's bedside table on just in case she woke up before Via came back, but Via doubted that would happen.
When Via found Leo and Apollo with the current Waystation residents, Pat was giving his "why-I-play-the-banjo" lecture. Via thought it was absolutely ridiculous, but at the same time it was funny to watch the faces of whoever he was talking to. The most common expression Via found on Pat's listeners was an "is he serious?" face. Nobody ever knew if he was kidding or not, and they didn't want to laugh in case he wasn't.
"So, yeah," Pat finished. "I have found that people who play the guitar get laid, and since I am asexual and refuse to get laid, I had to find a different instrument to play. And that is why I chose the banjo."
"I'll say what everyone else in the room is thinking," Via said as she entered. "Weird flex, but okay."
"Where's Calypso?" Leo asked immediately. "Is she okay? Is she asleep, is that why she's not here right —"
"Woah, okay, calm down, lover-boy," Via said, raising her hands. "Calypso's okay. She was really tired — she could barely process or respond to anything I said — so she's sleeping now. But her fractures have all been taken care of, and I've given her plenty of ambrosia, so she's not in any pain. Jeez, now I see why she told me to tell you not to worry."
"When will she be joining us?" Apollo asked.
"I'll go check on her in half an hour to see if she's up for walking and stuff."
"Thank you, Olivia," Emmie said. She explained to the newcomers, "Olivia is our best healer here. She's better than I am, and I've been alive for thousands of years."
"It's too bad she wants to actually pursue a career in healthcare," Pat said. "I still think she'd be a better singer."
"Who wants to mess around with lyrics and keys when you could actually be helping people?" Via retorted. "Besides, it's..." she trailed off. Pat had come to hate the word "safe" since that was always her excuse for leaving, and she didn't want to use it right now. "It's more fulfilling."
"Okay, nerd," Pat said.
"Pat, te robaré las rótulas."
"Woah, you can speak Spanish?" Leo asked, looking excited.
"Yeah, both of us can," Pat said.
"And our family," Via added. "Learned it from our grandpa. He's from Spain."
"Via also speaks nerd."
"Pat, I repeat, I will steal your kneecaps. And then I will shove them down your throat until they become a bolus and your esophagus delivers it to your stomach. And know that your stomach is not acidic enough to digest bone, so unless you're lucky, mechanical digestion won't grind the bones down and they will perforate the intestines."
"See, I told you," Pat said cheerfully.
"Okay, as much as we all love detailed anatomical threats," Jo intervened, "I think we should get our guests settled."
"Agreed," Via said, looking at Leo. "I'm sorry, but it's hard to take you seriously when you're wearing nothing but asbestos underwear. Pat, do you have clothes that would fit him? I mean, I know that you're a beanpole, but you've got something, right?"
"I would repeat your earlier threat to you if I could speak nerd," Pat said, rolling his eyes. "But yeah. Come on, Leo, we can find something for you to wear."
"Yes, we should show you to some guest rooms and, uh, maybe get Leo here some clothing," Jo agreed. "These days, we've got plenty of vacancies, unfortunately."
Via's gaze dropped to the floor.
"We appreciate your help," Apollo told Josephine. "But I still don't understand. You say Artemis knows about this place. You and Emmie are — or were — Hunters?"
Jo's neck muscles tightened against the collar of her pink polo. "We were."
Apollo frowned. "But—"
"Long story," Jo cut him off. "I probably should let Hemithea tell it."
"Hemithea?" The name seemed to hit Apollo like one of the Waystation's bricks. "Emmie. Short for Hemithea. The Hemithea?"
Jo glanced from side to side. "You really didn't know?" She jabbed a finger over her shoulder. "So...I'm gonna get back to that welding now. There's food and drinks in the kitchen. Make yourselves at home."
She beat a hasty retreat back to her workshop.
"Dang," Leo muttered. "She's awesome."
Via smiled. "Good observation."
"Humph." Apollo turned to Via. "You... you said your grandfather was from Spain?"
"Yes," Via replied. "Our grandmother's parents, too."
"I remember your mother now," Apollo said. "Elena Ilzarbe."
"Congratulations, you remembered our mom," Via deadpanned, not in the mood for this kind of conversation. "I mean, I do it every day, but not everyone can be amazing like me, I guess. Anyway —"
"My mortal brain leaves me with many gaps in my memory!" Apollo said defensively. "I doubt you can remember everything you've ever experienced as a mortal, and I have a thousand times as many experiences as you do!"
"Okay, whatever," Via said, rolling her eyes. "I'm gonna go check on Calypso."
She found Calypso already awake and checked up on her. Everything seemed to have healed just fine and she seemed much better rested, so Via took off her bandages and decided to test how well she walked and used her arm.
"Everything is fully functional," she told Calypso cheerfully. Taking off bandages, casts, and splints for good always put her in a sunny mood. "Are you ready to join your friends?"
"Of course," Calypso replied. "Leo didn't worry too much, did he? He can be a bit... what was the word again...? Clingy?"
"Oh." Via didn't want to get into the middle of a lovers' spat, so she tried to dismiss it without completely blowing her off. "You were hurt pretty bad. It's understandable that he was worried. My brother can be the same way, though, so I understand how you feel. Shall we?"
Via proffered her hand for Calypso to take and steadied her as she stood up. They made their way out of the med bay and found that Leo had changed into a pair of Georgie's overalls and was chatting with Pat and Jo. Leo almost immediately fussed over Calypso, asking if she was alright, and Via didn't think clingy was the right word. Pat was way less chill than this whenever she got hurt badly. Clingy didn't begin to describe it; the proper word for Pat was suffocating. No, Leo wasn't clingy. He was just concerned and caring.
Still, Via wasn't going to get involved in that.
They ended up chatting for hours. Leo regaled them with tales of his adventures in the ancient lands, most of which were funny stories about the weirdest things they experienced. Presently he told them about his run-in with Narcissus and his nymph fan club.
"So, let me get this straight," Pat said disbelievingly. "You slicked your hair back with machine grease and had your friend right 'Team Leo' and 'Hot Stuff' on your shirt, and all of those nymphs just bought it?"
"For a bit, yeah," Leo said, grinning. "Echo helped a lot. Most of the time when she talked, the other nymphs thought someone in their group had said it."
"Ah, the psychology of following," Via sighed blissfully. "All it takes is that first follower, following the variant, and it's all smooth sailing from there. Everyone wants to be a part of the trend that they thought was weird five seconds ago."
"You're a nerd," Pat told Via fondly.
"That makes me the smart one," Via retorted. "But where does that leave you, dear brother?"
"I'm the hot one."
Via snorted. "Keep making jokes like that, and one day you might be the funny one!"
Leo, Jo, and Calypso all chortled at Pat as he gaped at Via in mock offense.
She looked around for something new to talk about and spotted Agamethus floating into the workshop. Since he didn't have a head, there were no facial expressions to make, but Via could still read the ghost's body language, and she could tell he needed something. Judging from the briskness with which he entered the room, it was urgent. He gestured fervently at the sun in the sky and cupped his hands like he usually did when he wanted his Magic 8 Ball to communicate.
"I think he wants to speak with you, Apollo," Jo said.
There was no response. Via frowned, looking around the room.
"Dude." Pat shook his head. "I could've sworn he was right — oh, there he is. Hey, Dad — holy shit, that's creepy!"
"What?" Via looked where Pat was pointing and saw Apollo sprawled across the couch, unmoving. If he hadn't been twitching and shaking, Via would've thought he was dead.
"That is creepy," Leo agreed, approaching the former god cautiously. "Hey! Lester!" Nothing. "Okay, fine. Apollo!"
Apollo gasped, his eyes darting around the room; he was clearly shaken up.
"I—I had a dream." He pointed weakly at Emmie. "And you were there. And...the rest of you, not so much, but—"
"A dream?" Leo shook his head. "Man, your eyes were wide open. You were lying there all twitching and stuff. I've seen you have some visions before, but not like that."
Apollo seemed to realize he was shaking and clasped his hands in his lap, which only made it worse. "I — I heard some new details, or things I didn't remember from before. About Meg. And the emperors. And —"
Jo patted his head as if he were a cocker spaniel. "You sure you're okay there, Sunny? You don't look so hot."
Apollo scowled like a petulant toddler. Apparently he hated the nickname Sunny.
"I'm fine," he snapped. "Wh-what's going on? Calypso, you're already healed?"
"You've been out for hours, actually." She raised her recently-broken hand and wriggled her fingers. "But yes. Via is a healer to rival Apollo."
"You had to say that," Apollo grumbled. "You mean I've been lying here for hours and nobody noticed?"
Leo shrugged. "We were kinda busy talking shop."
"And roasting Pat," Via added.
"Yeah. We probably wouldn't have noticed you as soon as we did except, uh, somebody here wants to talk to you."
"Mmm," Calypso agreed, a worried look in her eyes. "He's been very insistent about it."
She pointed toward Agamethus, who was hovering around the rose window.
Apollo gulped. "Ah, yes. We should probably talk."
INFO-DUMP CHAPTERRRR LET'S GO :D
Wow this chapter took literal weeks. Y'all probably can't tell because I've posted this two weeks after the previous chapter, but I kid you not, this took almost a month. I'm so glad I decided to prewrite several chapters.
So today (November 27) I got the special Lavender edition Midnights vinyl so I could finally listen to Hits Different, but I wasn't paying attention to which cord I was using to plug in my record player and I did a very stupid thing. I plugged in the charge cord for my hoverboard, which is apparently way too powerful for my record player. As soon as I turned it on the thing went POPOPOPOPOPOP like a bag of popcorn in the microwave and started smoking. I tried switching the cords out but it won't even turn on now. I think I just fried my poor record player and now I feel bad. Little guy did not deserve to go out that way.
At least the vinyl record is okay, though. Relative gains, my friends. Relative gains.
Hopefully by the time I publish this, I will have a new record player. I'm not sure how broke I'll be after Christmas shopping. Only time will tell.
Enjoy and comment for more!
~~~~ Kingfisher ~~~~
P.S. Update: It is January 5th and I can confirm that I have a new record player from Christmas and I was able to listen to Midnights Lavender edition, including Hits Different. It was beautiful. I cried.