Chapter Text
The three other demigods looked downright trodden as they climbed on board, Piper having just finished wishing broken promises into her father's arms as they hugged. Apollo can't help but feel his hearth break even more, looking at the daughter of Aphrodite's tear-traced face as she takes the seat nearest the front, away from where her dead ex-boyfriend laid. Leo pulls her closer, the son of Hephaestus barely managing to look back at the ex-god and his master as his best friend again bursts into a fresh set of tears, sobs echoing around the silent seats.
Apollo wants to reach out and try to heal her heartbreak, but knows that what'd done can't be healed, especially by the one who had a hand in the son of Jupiter's death. Jupiter… His father was going to be so livid when he realised that Apollo killed his favourite son, but the former sun god almost relished in that thought. The healing arrow wound ached as he shifted in his seat, uncomfortable in the company of the others, unlike his companion. Meg was silently cross-legged on the seat next to him, switching from playing with her rings to staring at his face, which had begun growing more confused as the two other demigods had joined in as well. Fingers shaking, he doesn't realise the strings plucking and the sorrowful notes overwhelming the minds of the others until Meg grabbed one of his hands, clutching it tightly in her own.
Surprised at her sudden, and unexpected show of affection, Apollo suddenly notices the tears streaming down all their faces, Meg's especially. The girl never showed weakness in front of anyone, particularly not her 'servant'. But now, all three demigods stared in awe at the former god, sadness reflecting off them. Confused, he tries to read their expressions, but nothing comes forth. Instead, he quickly stashes the ukulele away and turns to gaze out the window next to him, trying to ignore the disappointment of the others. He wasn't their entertainment. Not now, not ever. The burns around his wrists and ankles still hurt, but he ignored it, favouring the pain over showing the others how truly weak he is.
The clouds seemed to collect around them, the winds turning harsher as they glide closer towards their destination. Lightning flashes around them, and Apollo can't help but grip the armrests as if they were his lifeline. No my father wouldn't dare to blast me out of the sky… His father may be the god of the skies, but in his sun chariot nothing could harm him, let alone his father's lightning bolts. But now, outside of the safety of his chariot, Apollo reckoned that his father had every chance to blast his now mortal son and companions out of the sky as if they were flies. Apart from Python, nothing terrified the former sun god more than the lightning bolts of his father. Having been at the receiving end of them for thousands of years had taught him to even feel the electricity building up to run and hide.
Trapped in a metal contraption, there was nowhere to run. His companions, no friends, would die alongside him. His breath catches as Apollo tries to distract himself, desperate to flee from the dark thoughts flooding him. But it was too late, the feelings when he plunged that arrow into his chest, witnessing Jason and Crest fall to the evil emperors, and now the constant rocking of the plane threw him off his guard. Without warning, he raced to the bathroom, locking the door behind him as he fell, struggling to reign himself in. The past seemed to weigh down on him, the future becoming bleaker as the world becomes darker. As a roll of thunder crashes overhead, Apollo can't help the scream that catches in his throat, and despite the constant knocking on the door he can't pull himself off the ground.
Apollo feels the charmspeak before he hears it, but it's useless as he flounders like a fish out of water, desperate to even catch his breath. The sound of door crashing and the thunder exploding set him off again, and as arms reach for him he reacts harshly, fighting back with tooth and nail, screaming at the unknown in Ancient Greek. The soothing voice telling him to calm down does nothing but agitate him more, and the crowding to two bodies pressing him against the wall cause him to hiss and snarl at them like a caged animal.
Meg can't help but grow afraid at the teenager in front of her, pressed back into the tight corner of the bathroom. It was obvious that Apollo wasn't seeing them, and the conjoined efforts of Leo and Piper were doing nothing to help him. As the thunder echoes overhead, the shaking of his body grows, and it doesn't escape anyone's notice. The fear in his eyes, the anguished way he was trying to flee from them, and the way he was reacting didn't take long for Meg to realise. Pushing her way past the two older demigods, she comes face to face to her friend, the lights in the plane brightening in a way to was unnatural. Not wanting to terrify her friend, and have him potentially blow the lights unknowingly, she reaches into her pockets and tries to find the right seeds. She jerks off Leo and Piper as they try to pull her away, she stares hard and knowingly into the blank gaze of her friend and grows the seeds in her hands into full bloom.
The beautiful pastels of purple in hand intrigue her and the others, but they ignore it as Meg carefully reaches out and offers the bunch to her friend, the hyacinth in her hand offering a sweet fragrance from the stale air. The nearly exploding lights seem to fade before their eyes as Apollo takes one of the flowers, rolling it between his thumb and index finger. Cautiously, in order to not break the peace, the daughter of Demeter slowly guides Apollo back to his seat, choosing to ignore the way he seems to tremble in her hands as every rumble and flash of lightning terrifies him further. It's clear to the others now what's wrong, and the slight tinkering of Leo's nervousness seems to agitate the former god more than before. Gesturing for the ADHD boy to stop for the moment, Meg tries to regain eye contact with Apollo as he glances out of the nearest windows, fear still reflecting in his eyes.
The faint whisper of Ancient Greek still streams out of Apollo, and he knows that he should know these young demigods in front of him but can't fit the names swirling around in his head to the faces in front of him. The young girl with the cat-eye glasses and the sweet hyacinths in her little hands was obviously trying to communicate with him, but words and meanings escape his understanding. The older two try to hand a pen and writing pad to him, but Apollo can't stop the trembling in his hands in order to properly write. He throws the writing utensils in a fit of rage, cursing at them all.
The sight in front of her terrifies Piper, the former god's anger pulsating with the lights. The lightning cracks remind her of Jason, but she pushes that to the side in favour of trying to calm Apollo down. Her Ancient Greek is barely passable at best, but she tries her hardest as she catches glimpses of what the petrified teenage in front of her is saying. It's weird to think of the thousands-year-old being in front of her as a teenager, but in that moment, all Apollo was, was a panicking 16-year-old. Trying to listen carefully, she hears Artemis, no and Father don't! as the young girl in front of her tries her hardest to calm her friend with the flowers. The flower that had originally allowed the three demigods to take Apollo out of the bathroom laid crushed near his feet, somewhat steaming in the harsh lights blinking at them.
With trepidation, Piper knows that it's going to sound awful, but it seems like the best course of action, tries to talk back to him. Apollo looks shocked at a response, and the already rapid fire talking increases tenfold, her confusion hurting him as its obvious she doesn't understand. It doesn't stop her from telling him their names, and slowly speaking English to him. Apollo seems to understand somewhat, and they're all curious when he reaches for yet another hyacinth, cradling it within his hands. The fog lifts from his eyes, and he can't look any of them in their eyes from embarrassment.
Without warning, the plane seems to hurdle, throwing the occupants into a frenzy, and the lights finally explode, leaving them all in darkness with a now sobbing former sun god.