There wasn't a lot Apollo could've brought back that would've surprised Via.
Or, at least, that's what Via thought until Apollo returned, not only with an elephant, but Lityerses.
When she saw Leo leading him over to her with an arrow would in his thigh, she seriously considered refusing to heal him. And judging by the look on Leo's face, he wouldn't mind if she did.
Unfortunately, though, at the end of the day, Via had a healer's instincts. She couldn't not heal him, otherwise she'd feel guilty and useless. So she had him sit down in a chair while she stitched him up and Leo got back to fixing Festus.
Via had been expecting the Son of Midas to make snide remarks while she worked, but for once he seemed to have nothing to say. He just sat, looking utterly dejected, as Via finished bandaging his leg.
"Better?" she asked.
Lit merely nodded.
"I don't suppose I could ask what happened and why you're here?"
"The emperor decided he no longer had use for me and decided to kill me," Lit said dully. "Then he used me as a shield when the Huntresses came. Your father ordered Valdez to bring me back here. I don't know why."
Via looked around at the bustling mess of Waystation residents. Josephine and Emmie knelt by the sofa where Georgina lay shaking, crying, and giggling. Emmie tried to get the little girl to drink some water. Jo dabbed Georgie's face with a washcloth. Every time they tried to put her on the Throne of Memory, she shrieked and thrashed, chanting, "Apollo, death, death, death!"
Over at Josephine's workstation, Leo was inside Festus's chest cavity, using a welding torch. The dragon had curled up as tightly as possible, but he still took up a third of the room. The side of his rib cage was propped open like the hood of a Mack truck. Leo's legs stuck out, sparks showering the floor around him. Festus didn't seem concerned by this invasive surgery. Deep in his throat, he made a low, clattering purr.
Calypso dashed around the room, bringing food, drink, and medical supplies to the rescued prisoners. Some of the them, the long-term residents at the Waystation, made themselves right at home, helping themselves to the pantry, rummaging through cabinets with familiarity.
Deacon and Stan sat at the dining table, trying to pace themselves as they chewed pieces of fresh bread. Hunter Kowalski stood in a tight circle with the other Hunters of Artemis as they muttered together and cast suspicious glances at Lityerses.
The dracaena, whom Via had learned was named Sssssarah (yes, with five s's) had discovered the kitchen. She stood at the counter, holding a basket of fresh henhouse eggs, swallowing each whole, one after the other.
Jamie, the tall, sturdy wrestler type, was up in the griffin roost, making friends with Heloise and Abelard. The griffins allowed him to scratch under their beaks —a sign of great trust, especially since they were guarding an egg in their nest (and no doubt worried that Sssssarah might see it). He'd changed out of his wrestling costume and now wore a caramel-brown business suit with an open-collared dress shirt.
The rest of the freed prisoners milled around, nibbling on bread and cheese, staring in awe at the stained-glass ceiling and occasionally flinching at loud noises, which was completely normal, seeing as they'd just been freed from prison. Agamethus floated among the newcomers, offering them his Magic 8 Ball.
Via turned back to Lityerses. "I'm not sure either. But now you have a second — er — third chance. I promise we won't kill you." She packed away her medical supplies. "Well, I'm going to go make sure Deacon and Stan aren't eating too quickly, and then I need to do another round of check-ups to make sure everyone is healing properly. Holler if you need me, okay?"
She received a noncommittal noise from Lit, which was probably the best she was going to get at the moment.
She hurried to check up on all of her patients. Pat helped her, which Via supposed was his way of letting her know that he'd forgiven her for running off and getting captured. He acted like this alone was a huge concession, which grated on Via's nerves. If he'd helped her instead of telling her to stay home and let him handle it, she probably would've been able to put up more of a fight at the very least.
"He's here!" Jo's voice caught Via's attention, and Via turned to watch as Jo hustled over, grabbed Apollo's wrist, and hauled him toward the couch. "We've been waiting! What took you so long? We have to use the chair!"
Apollo frowned. "You didn't have to wait for me."
"Yes, we did," Josephine said. "Every time we tried to put Georgie in the throne, she flailed around and shrieked your name."
Georgie's head lolled toward him. "Apollo! Death, death, death."
Apollo winced. "I really wish she'd stop making that connection."
Emmie and Josephine lifted her gently and set her on the Throne of Mnemosyne. This time, Georgie didn't resist.
Curious Hunters and freed prisoners gathered around, though Via noticed Meg stayed in the back of the room, well away from Georgie.
"The notepad on the counter!" Emmie pointed toward the kitchen. "Someone grab it, please!"
Calypso did the honors. She hurried back with a small yellow legal pad and a pen.
Georgina swayed. Suddenly all her muscles seemed to melt. She would have slumped out of the chair if her parents hadn't held her. Then she sat bolt upright. She gasped. Her eyes flew open, her pupils as wide as quarters. Black smoke belched from her mouth. The rancid smell, like boiling roof tar and rotten eggs, forced everyone back except for the dracaena, who sniffed the air hungrily.
Georgina tilted her head. Smoke curled through the choppy brown tufts of her hair as if she were an automaton, or a blemmyae with a malfunctioning fake head.
"Father." Georgina's mouth contorted into a cruel smile. It wasn't her voice that emitted from her body, but a man's voice, deep and malicious. "So have you finally heard my prayer?"
Everyone in the room looked at Apollo. Even Agamethus, who had no eyes, seemed to fix the former god with a withering glare.
Emmie tried to touch Georgina's shoulder. She recoiled as if the little girl's skin were molten hot. "Apollo, what is this?" she demanded. "This isn't prophecy. This has never happened before—"
"You sent this little sister of mine to do your errands?" Georgina tapped her own chest, her eyes wide and dark, still focused on Apollo. "You're no better than the emperor."
"Little sister?" Pat whispered from beside Via, so quietly that she barely heard it. "But that means..."
"She's our sister," Via finished, just as softly as Pat.
"Trophonius." Apollo could barely speak. "I—I didn't send Georgina. She isn't my—"
"Tomorrow morning," Trophonius said. "The cave will only be accessible at first light. Your prophecy will unfold—or the emperor's. Either way, there will be no hiding in your little haven. Come in person. Bring the girl, your master. You will both enter my sacred cavern." A horrible laugh escaped Georgina's mouth. "Perhaps both of you will survive. Or will you suffer the same fate as my brother and I? I wonder, Father, to whom will you pray?"
With one final belch of blackness, Georgina toppled sideways. Josephine scooped her up before she could hit the floor. Emmie rushed to help. Together they placed Georgie gently on the couch again, tucking her in with blankets and pillows.
Calypso turned to Apollo. The empty notepad dangled from her hand. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was no prophecy. That was a message to you."
Apollo looked uncomfortable with all the attention. He scratched his cheek as he searched for the words.
"You're right," he finally said, though it sounded pained, as if he regretted having to agree with Calypso. Honestly, couldn't those two just get along? "Trophonius did not give the girl a prophecy. He gave her a — a recorded greeting."
Via stepped forward, barely trusting herself to not lose her temper around him. "Will she be healed?"
"Yes, will she?" Emmie added. "When a prophecy's expelled on the Throne of Memory, the supplicant usually returns to normal within a few days. Will Georgie—" Her voice broke. "Will she come back to us?"
Apollo looked doubtful, which did not make Via feel better in the slightest. "I—I don't know. We can hope—"
"We can hope?" Emmie demanded.
Josephine took her hand. "Georgie will get better. Have faith. That's better than hope."
"Ahem," Leo said. His face was lost in the shadow of his raised welding visor, his Cheshire-Cat-esque grin fading in and out. "Uh...the thing about little sister? If Georgie is Trophonius's sister, does that mean...?" He pointed at Apollo.
Apollo flushed. "I don't know!"
"It would explain a lot," Pat ventured. "Why Georgie was so... attuned to the Oracle, why she was able to survive the experience. If you're her parent—"
"She has parents." Josephine put her arm around Emmie's waist. "We're standing right here."
Pat looked down. "Right. I just meant —"
"Seven years," Emmie interrupted, stroking her daughter's forehead. "Seven years we've raised her. It never mattered where she came from, or who her biological parents might have been. When Agamethus brought her... we checked the news. We checked the police reports. We sent Iris-Messages to all our contacts. No one had reported a missing baby girl like her. Her birth parents either didn't want her, or couldn't raise her...."
"Or maybe they didn't even know she existed," Via said bitterly.
"Georgina has excellent parents," Apollo said. "Whether she is a child of — of Apollo... I'm sorry, I can't say for sure."
"You can't say," Josephine echoed flatly.
"B-but I do think she will heal. Her mind is strong. She risked her life and her sanity to bring us that message. The best we can do now is follow the Oracle's instructions."
Josephine and Emmie exchanged looks that said, He's a dickhead, but we have too much going on right now. We'll kill him later.
Meg crossed her arms. Even she seemed to sense the wisdom of changing the subject. "So we go at first light?"
Josephine focused on her with difficulty, as if wondering where Meg had suddenly appeared from. "Yes, hon. That's the only time you can enter the Cavern of Prophecy."
Apollo slumped wearily. Via wondered how he could possibly complain. Out of everyone in the Waystation, he had the least to complain about. All of his missions so far had been successful. He'd found everything he needed to find, saved everyone he needed to save, and he had people who were willing enough to back him up on a mission.
Then again, maybe Via was being unfair. After all, he had been transformed from an omnipotent, flawless-looking god to a flabby mortal teenager with severe acne.
Finally, Thalia Grace stepped forward. "What about the rest of the message: 'Your prophecy will unfold—or the emperor's. No hiding in your little haven'?"
"I'm not sure," Apollo admitted.
Leo raised his arms. "All hail the god of prophecy!"
Via made a dry noise in agreement, shooting Leo a weary smile.
"Oh, shut up," Apollo grumbled. "I don't have enough information yet. If we survive the caverns—"
"I can interpret those lines," Lityerses said from his chair in the corner. He turned to face the crowd, his cheeks a patchwork of scars and bruises, his eyes empty and desolate. "Thanks to the tracking devices I put on your griffins, Commodus knows where you are. He'll be here first thing tomorrow morning. And he'll wipe this place off the map."
Via winced. If Lit was trying to make friends, this wasn't the best way to go about it. Half the crowd surged forward to kill him. The other half shouted that they, too, wanted to kill him and the first half should get out of their way.
"You dick!" Hunter Kowalski yanked Lityerses from his chair and shoved him against the wall. She pressed a screwdriver (which Via strongly suspected she'd borrowed from Leo at some point) against his throat.
"Ssssstand assssside!" Sssssarah yelled. "I will ssssswallow him whole!"
"I should've thrown him against the side of the building," Leo growled.
"STOP!" Josephine waded through the mob. Not surprisingly, folks moved aside. She pulled Hunter Kowalski off her prey, then glared at Lityerses as if he were a chariot with a busted axle. "You put trackers on our griffins?"
Lit rubbed his neck. "Yes. And the plan worked."
"You're sure Commodus knows our location?"
"He's telling the truth," Apollo said. "We heard Lityerses talking to Commodus in the throne room. Leo was supposed to tell you about that."
"Me?" Leo protested. "Hey, things were chaotic! I thought you—" His welding visor fell shut, making the rest of his sentence unintelligible.
Lityerses spread his arms, which were so scarred they looked like testing logs for hacksaw blades. "Kill me if you want. It'll make no difference. Commodus will level this place and everyone in it."
Thalia drew her hunting knife. Instead of gutting the swordsman, she drove the blade into the nearest coffee table. "The Hunters of Artemis won't allow that. We've fought too many impossible battles. We've lost too many of our sisters, but we've never backed down. Last summer, in the Battle of Old San Juan..." She hesitated.
Via had heard plenty of stories about that particular battle. It was horrifying and sad, how the Hunters and the Amazons had fought the giant Orion in Puerto Rico. An Amazon base had been destroyed. Many had died — Hunters who, if not cut down in battle, might have continued to live for millennia. It was difficult to imagine Thalia at the edge of tears, but she seemed to be struggling to maintain her punk rock façade.
"We will not lose the Waystation too," Thalia continued. "We'll stand with Josephine and Emmie. We kicked Commodus's podex today. We'll do it again tomorrow."
The Hunters cheered.
Lityerses shook his head. "What you saw today was only a fraction of Commodus's full strength. He's got... vast resources."
Josephine grunted. "Our friends gave him a bloody nose today, at least. Maybe he won't attack tomorrow. He'll need time to regroup."
Lit let out a broken laugh. "You don't know Commodus like I do. You just made him mad. He won't wait. He never waits. First thing tomorrow, he'll strike hard. He'll kill us all."
"Lityerses is right," Apollo said. "Commodus received a prophecy from the Dark Oracle. He needs to destroy this place and kill me before he can have his naming ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Which means he'll strike in the morning. He's not a fan of waiting for what he wants."
"We could ssssslither away," suggested Sssssarah. "Move. Hide. Live to fight another day."
At the back of the crowd, the ghost Agamethus pointed empathically to the dracaena, obviously agreeing with her idea. You have to wonder about your chances in combat when even your dead friends are worried about dying.
Josephine shook her head. "I'm not slithering anywhere. This is our home."
Calypso nodded. "And if Emmie and Jo are staying put, so are we. They saved our lives. We'll fight to the death for them. Right, Leo?"
Leo raised his visor. "Absolutely. Though I've already done the whole dying thing, so I'd prefer to fight to someone else's death. For instance, Commode Man's—"
"Leo," Calypso warned.
"Yeah, we're in. They'll never get past us."
Jamie slipped to the front through a line of Hunters. Despite his size, he moved as gracefully as Agamethus, almost as if floating.
"I owe you a debt." He inclined his head to the Hunters, to Meg and Apollo, to Josephine and Emmie. "You saved me from the madman's prison. But I hear much talk about us and them. I am always wary when people speak this way, as if people can be so easily divided into friend and enemy. Most of us here do not even know each other."
The big man swept a hand across the crowd: Hunters, ex-Hunters, an ex-god, an ex-Titaness, demigods, a snake woman, a couple of griffins, a decapitated ghost. It was quite the motley collection of defenders.
"Also, this one." Jamie pointed to Lityerses. "Is he now a friend? Am I to fight side by side with my enslaver?"
Hunter Kowalski brandished her screwdriver. "Not likely."
Via sort of agreed with Jamie, but at the same time, she felt like she could understand what Lityerses was going through. He was more like her than she'd originally thought. At the end of the day, they both wanted the same thing: safety.
"Hunter, wait," Via spoke up. She walked over towards Lit and stood between him and Hunter. "Jamie, I get where you're coming from. The guy's a jerk. He drugged me up so I'd be high as a kite. Then he called me short —"
"Because you are short, Via," Pat piped up from where they'd been standing.
"Pat, shut up. I'm trying to give a speech. Anyway, like I said, the guy's a jerk. But I know why he did what he did. I know because... well, if Pat and I hadn't found Jo and Emmie, I would've done the same thing. Because we were both looking for the same thing."
"And what would that be?" Jamie asked.
"Safety."
Jamie raised an eyebrow.
"The difference is that Pat and I looked for safety in comfort. In havens like Camp Half-Blood and the Waystation. Lityerses looked for safety in power. That's why he came back with his father to work for Gaea in the Giant War and why he joined up with the emperor now. They were the most powerful beings he could find." Via looked at Lit. "Am I wrong?"
Lit was speechless. Via decided to take that as a no.
"Via..." Pat frowned. "Did you just... psychoanalyze Lit?"
"I wouldn't say that — "
"You totally did —"
"How is this psycho-whatever supposed to make us comfortable with being on the same side as this guy?" Hunter asked.
"It doesn't have to," Via replied. "In fact, even if you were to ignore all of that, there's still a benefit to sparing him. He can be useful."
"How?" Leo scoffed.
Via rolled her eyes. "Because he knows stuff, stupid. Lityerses knows Commodus's plans. He knows what sort of forces will attack us."
"And Lityerses's life is at stake," Apollo added. "just like ours are."
Via was surprised that Apollo would side with her. She would've thought he'd find it counterproductive not to stay safe and popular with the group. He'd literally just made everyone mad enough just with the "pre-recorded message" from Trophonius, and he'd actually done the right thing.
Apollo explained how Commodus had ordered Lit's death, and how Lityerses had stabbed his former master in the neck.
"That doesssss not make me trussssst him," Sssssarah hissed.
The crowd grumbled in agreement. A few Hunters reached for their weapons.
"Hold it!" Emmie climbed onto the dining table.
Her long hair had come undone from its braid, strands of silver sweeping the sides of her face. Her hands were splotchy with bread dough. Over her camouflage combat clothes, she wore an apron with a picture of a hamburger and the slogan KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY BUNS. Still, standing on the table, she was the room's calm, steady center of gravity.
"For those of you who don't know me," she began, "my name is Hemithea. Jo and I run the Waystation. We never turn away people who are in trouble, even former enemies." She nodded to Lityerses. "We attract outcasts here—orphans and runaways, folks who've been abused, mistreated, or misled, folks who just don't feel at home anywhere else." She gestured to the barreled ceiling, where the stained glass fractured sunlight into green and gold geometry. "Britomartis, the Lady of Nets, helped build this place."
"A safety net for your friends," Apollo said, "But a trap for your enemies."
Everyone stared at him, and he turned a bit red.
"Sorry," he told Emmie.
She studied him as if wondering where to aim her next arrow, but then nodded brusquely. "Apollo is right. Tomorrow we may be attacked, but our enemies are going to find out that the Waystation protects its own. Commodus won't leave this net alive. Josephine and I will fight to defend this place and anyone who is under our roof. If you want to be part of our family, for a day or forever, you are welcome. All of you." She looked directly at Lit.
The Cornhusker's face paled, his scars almost disappearing. He opened his mouth to say something but managed only a choking noise. He slid down against the wall and began to shudder, silently sobbing.
Via's healer instincts hit her, like her own weird version of the Spider-Sense. She felt the urge to comfort him the way she'd comforted Pat, comforted Meg, to place her hand on his shoulder as a silent show of support.
And that's what she did. she crouched next to him, tentatively reaching out to him. She felt him melt slightly at her touch. Pat had apparently decided that if Lit was good enough for Via, he was good enough for Pat himself. Pat knelt down on Lit's other side and patted him lightly on the back a couple of times. Via didn't know if it was some sort of freaky twin ESP that she and Pat furiously insisted didn't actually exist, but a feeling of understanding passed between the twins, and after a miniscule nod at each other, they both stared at the crowd, silently asking, Anybody still got a problem with this guy?
"Well, then." Emmie wiped her hands on her apron. "If anyone wants to leave, now's the time to say so. I'll make you a brown bag lunch to go."
No one replied.
"Right," Emmie said. "In that case, everyone gets an afternoon chore!"
Lol Pat and Via really said SOLIDARITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
I gotta tell ya, I loved Lityerses' redemption arc. I'm a sucker for redemption arcs. I really wish Draco Malfoy had gotten one, too — it could've been really good. I think my favorite redemption arc — and a lot of people's actually — is Zuko's from Avatar. I thought it was really well-written.
Anyway, here we go, the Twins x Lit friendship has left the harbor screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Enjoy, vote, and comment "screeee" with as many e's as possible for good vibes
~~~~ Kingfisher ~~~~