Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 6: The Return of Mr. D

   It was lunchtime at Camp Half-Blood when Mr. D finally came back. Everything was normal, and then quicker than Will could blink, Mr. D was standing in front of everyone, a faint smell of grapes accompanying him.  A couple of the younger campers screamed.

   "Dionysus, nice of you to join us." Chiron said, barely looking up from his book. "Why have you been gone? I take it it has to do with our problems with communication?"

    "More or less." He said in his usual grumpy voice. When he noticed some of the campers staring at him, he glared at them. "Yes, yes, I'm back. Now stop staring!"

   Mr. D sat down at his table at the front of the pavilion. With a wave of his hand, a glass of wine appeared before him.

   Still not looking up, Chiron said, "Mr. D, no alcohol."

   Mr. D muttered something under his breath, and made diet Coke appear instead. How many times had Will seen that scenario play out?

   Mr. D took a sip of his Coke. "Dear ol' dad thought it was time to get me back to my punishment, so here I am. Apparently the communication issues weren't even enough to get me away from my punishment for long."

   Will couldn't help feeling bad for Mr. D sometimes, even if he was a jerk. Who punishes their kid to a hundred years at a summer camp, banning them from the very thing that they created, just because his father wanted to date a nymph? The gods could be such assholes sometimes.

   "So, have you heard from Apollo lately?" Chiron asked Mr. D. Will could hear all of the talking die down around him.

   Mr. D took another sip of his soda. "Not since Greece. Why?"

   "I don't know, I was just wondering since he showed up at camp a couple of weeks ago."

   "Did he now?"

   "He did, and he was completely mortal, in a 16 year old's body."

   The god's hands stopped midair, the drink halfway to his lips. "What now?"

   "Dionysus, you have perfect hearing." Chiron remarked.

   Then he did something nobody was expecting; Mr. D started laughing. "You have to be kidding me!" He exclaimed.

   "I wouldn't make up something so bizarre."

   "No, you wouldn't, would you? Mr. D laughed. "Big brother Apollo is all human! I can't believe it! Dad really punished him this time, didn't he? Someone got it worse than me! Ha!"

                                                                                          ---

   "I'm surprised Mr. D is back." Rachel said. Her, Nico, and Will were all hanging out in her cave. She was currently repainting the walls.

   "You are?" Asked Nico.

   "Yeah, I mean I thought since communications are down, he wouldn't be making an appearance for a little while longer. Besides Apollo, he's the first god we've spoken to since September."

   Will watched Rachel as she painted. "So why did you paint over all of your paintings?"

   Rachel dipped her paintbrush into the green paint. "I was really stressed out because I wasn't having any visions. I still am, though I realize that blank walls don't help me think at all."

   "I'm sure you'll get your visions back soon." Nico told her.

   She sighed. "I hope you're right. Some people think I'm crazy for saying this, but I really do miss them."

   Nico and Will watched Rachel paint for a while before Will broke the silence.

   "What would happen if he died?"

   "You mean your dad?" Nico asked.

   "Yeah. He's completely mortal now. He could die at any time."

   "I'm sure he'll be okay." Rachel said.

   "But what if he's not okay? What if he's in danger right now? What would happen if a god truly died?" He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be the optimist."

   Nico grabbed his hand. "You don't have to be."

   Will laughed dryly. "If I'm not, then who will be?"

   Nico shrugged. "You don't have to worry about that. You have the right to be worried about things."

   Rachel put down her paintbrush and walked over to them. "Will, it isn't your job to be optimistic. Just because you're a child of the sun god doesn't mean you have to be cheery all the time." She turned to Nico. "That goes for you too, Nico. Just because you're the son of the ruler of the Underworld, that doesn't mean you have to be emo."

   Nico snorted. "I think we're about 5 years too late for that."

   It got quiet again. "I'm just really worried about him."

   "We all are." Rachel commented.

   Will started laughing. "Imagine me telling my mom that her godly ex-fling is in a mortal body that's only a year older than me. It just sounds ridiculous."

   "More ridiculous than the fact that gods and monsters are real, and their demigod children spend their youth at a camp where they train and fight and go on quests?" Nico asked.

   "I guess not." Will said. "I guess things are only weird when they're new."

   Will thought about his dad, and how he was out there somewhere with Leo and Calypso and Festus, possibly even fighting for his life. How he couldn't do a thing about it. He didn't even know where his dad was, he could be in Africa as far as he knew. The only thing Will could do was wait. Wait for Apollo to come back. Wait for him to need his help.