Chapter Text
Dodge.
Bash.
Duck.
Apollo barely slipped past the last slash dealt by his opponent, nearly taking his head if he hadn't dropped to his knee fast enough. He twists, spinning on his knees, and targets his opponents legs. Hades simply diluted into shadows and Apollo’s blades passed through nothing.
Jab.
Apollo tilted sideways as his uncle re-materialize and drove his blade straight down. It cracked the ground, Stygian iron millimeters from his left ear. The god of foresight gritted his teeth.
Kick .
Slash.
Block.
A leg sweep did nothing as Hades spinned back when Apollo advanced from his lower position. He followed up the sweep and twirled like graceful dancers back to his feet, blades circling like a cyclone. Irritating, Hades somehow managed to slip away from him, managing to gain enough distance to launch a throwing knife at him. Apollo’s blades came up to deflect the projectile just before it could puncture his throat.
Lunge.
Grapple.
Slam.
Apollo threw himself forwards to close that distance- Hades was deadly up close and even more lethal at a distance with his fast and quick throwing skills- and slashed downwards. He got too close. And that was the mistake. Within a second, Hades caught his twin blades with his sword, his uncle’s free hand wrapped around his left arm and-
Suddenly Apollo was treated to a view of the ceiling, his left shoulder screaming in pain, a bruise forming on the back of his skull, and the tip of a sword at his throat.
“Good.” Hades hummed, nodding to him in approval. Apollo tried to blink the stars away from his vision. “But not quite enough- what happened?”
“Uh…” Apollo groaned. “I got too near?”
“Not quite.” Hades removed the blade from his neck. “Closing the distance was the correct choice,” His uncle sheathed his blade, Apollo slowly eased himself up and Hades offered him his hand. “ But I’m twice your size, stronger than you, and I have a free hand. Both yours are occupied.”
His uncle was less than gentle as he hauled Apollo to his feet. It was so sudden that Apollo staggered as a wave dizziness threatened to take him back to the ground.
Concussions were kind of fun. They make the world go spinning.
“There is an advantage to wielding more blades than your opponent, but the downside is that you lack the ability to change styles, or adapt to changing styles from the attacker.” Apollo swayed a little too much to the side and Hades grabbed the back of his collar to stop him from falling over. “You need to be more aware of what options you do have in battle. And options you opponent may have to use against you.”
Apollo let out a hiss of pain as his shoulder crunched back in place.
“Take your time,” Hades instructed, “Heal. We’ll go again.”
“No, you will not be.”
Hades gripped at his collar jerk slightly in surprise. “ Persephone!”
“That boy should be resting,” Her voice got closer, Apollo squinted as a familiar person-shape approached. His headache was starting to ebb away as his healing caught up. “And you should be preparing for his departure. So imagine my surprise when I find you here, putting him through another training exercise he doesn’t need and ignoring your duties.”
“Hecate is preparing the cleansing spring.” Hades lets go of Apollo's collar as he finally manage to find his balance again, “And there is no harm in brushing up on his combat skills, I’m ensuring he’s ready.”
“Fates- he’s not marching into a killing-field.” Persephone rolled her eyes and Apollo silently cheered that his vision cleared enough to see it. “He's going to Olympus with me, it's safe.”
“Olympus is hardly considered safe.” Hades snorted. “And he does need these sparring sessions, he still lacks experience. I can teach him all the weaponry in the world, but won’t teach him situational awareness, which he is so lacking, like his common sense.”
“I’m like, 2 feet away from you.” Apollo muttered. “I thought you restrain yourself from insulting people if they are within ear-shot.”
“You jumped into the pit because you wanted to ‘site-see.’” Hades responded exasperatedly.
“That was 13 years ago! Are you just never going to let that go let that go?” Apollo whined. “Besides, Tartaus has some great view-points. I just wished I had a camera with me, the photos would have been a great memorial.”
Persephone stared at him, “What's a camera?”
Hades quickly shook his head, “Don’t ask, I don’t have enough patience for that nonsense- not today.”
Persephone blinked, then shook her head, “Regardless, the best experience is out there, in the land of the living. If you want him to improve his experience, he’s not going to learn from fighting the same 4 people and winning repeatedly .”
“He has not bested me yet.” Hades objected.
“No one has bested you in combat.” Persephone sighed. “And Apollo will certainly not do so, if you keep beating him to the ground.”
“I’m not beating him to the ground.” Hades argued. Persephone arches an eyebrow, Apollo swayed a little bit more one his feet. His uncle rolled his eyes. “It's an educational beating.”
“That sounds terrible.” Apollo announced. “Never say that again.”
“That did sound awful.” Hades agreed. “I’m never saying that again.”
Persephone punched Hades in the shoulder, she pointed at Apollo, “Make yourself presentable, I’m not arriving at Olympus with a bleeding child.”
Was he bleeding?
Apollo swiped his hand across the back of his neck and he realized that he was in fact bleeding when his fingers came back sticky and gold.
Maybe the cleansing spring will help with that.
This was- technically- illegal, since Apollo’s imprisonment ends when the full moon reaches its zenith. But over the years, Apollo had gotten exceptionally good at sneaking out of the Underworld. Hecate and Hades had found that teaching him the doorways and the paths in the shadows was a bad idea very quickly.
Some of those trips had been supervised by Hades himself, but they have always done so in the cover of the night. Where not even Zeus’s eyes could pierce through the dark of his skies.
To step out where the sun is still shining- where the shadows are lacking to conceal himself in- where Apollo so easily observed- It felt distinctively wrong. Apollo had grown accustomed to the Underworld shadows- they way that they allowed him to hide while his prey is oblivious that it’s every move is being analyzed and cataloged.
Apollo felt like prey.
(He was light. When did he become afraid of the light?)
He felt like prey as Hades guided him into a secluded area in a forest Apollo could not quite recognize. Hecate greeted him with a simple wave and nodded.
“Greetings, cousin.” She smiled. “Well met.”
“Well met, indeed Hecate.” Apollo returned. The sun’s rays burned his skin. “Let us get this over quickly?”
“It shall be quick.” Hades tilts his head. “Is something wrong, Phoebus?”
“I- uh- It’s too bright.” He instinctively wrapped his arms around himself. “ I don’t remember it being this bright.”
“Let us hurry,” Hades said. “ Submerge yourself into the spring, cleansing yourself of your sin, and rise anew.”
Apollo took a step, the water was like heaven compared to the Sun’s relentless rays- he took another.
And another, and another.
Until he was waist deep, then Apollo plunge into the depths.
“Do you feel any different?” Hecate asked, her hand coming through his still wet hair, her quick knife making short work of Apollo’s hair. The sun had finally set, and Apollo rested in that comfortable place between this realm and the next. “Any weird tinglings?”
“No.” And that was the truth. “ Cleansing rites are for those who carry guilt.”
Hecate's fingers paused, “You have no guilt for slaying Tityos?”
“I have no guilt in defending my family.”
“This is new.” Persephone bushed her fingers through his shortened tresses, the gold used to go down to his waist. “What made you cut it?”
Apollo shrugged, “Cleansing rites. Hair holds memories.”
Hades made a face, Apollo didn’t comment on it. Hades doesn’t explain it. Perhaps he’s running out of buildings to throw at Apollo, or hasn't figured out it was a reference to the future.
“I loved your long hair.” Persephone gently tugged on one of the messily sliced locks. “It’s too short, how will you tie it back?”
“It’ll grow back,” Apollo reassured. “It’ll work out.”
As things always do.
He’ll have to trust that, even if it doesn’t.
Denial is a river in Egypt, right?