Percy Jackson, The Missing Hero.

19. Apollo wants to be a Disney Princess.

"How long do you think we have until someone at Camp tells Zeus that we're here?" Percy asked once he was sure that distracting Apollo wouldn't endanger Luke. "Because no doubt he'll visit to ask what happened there."

"He probably already knows, he'll send someone along to fetch us soon," Apollo responded, scowling down at Luke's mask. "I need to check his eyes and I can't exactly do that without taking this mask off. And I don't want to do that because that would be a betrayal."

"Crap." Percy slid off the hospital bed that he was sat on and took a few steps to reach Luke's side. "I can't take his mask off because that would intentionally reveal his identity and break our Oath."

"Fucking Oaths." Nico cursed, tone poisonous. He moved from where he had been sat beside Percy, dragging his IV pole along beside him with a pointed glare at Apollo who had insisted on hooking him up to it on arrival. "Good thing I came along. Looks like using Shadowtravel was a good idea for once, who knew?"

"What?" Percy asked, confused. He was asking about the middle part of Nico's proclamation, not wanting to start off another dispute between the two about the pros and cons of Shadowtravel so soon after they'd finished their last bout.

"I didn't make an Oath and I won't feel too terrible about removing it because it means he'll get the necessary medical treatment." He grinned. "Apollo, you won't freak out, right?"

Percy realised with a start that Nico was, in fact, not one of his team and therefore wasn't bound by the same Oaths. The close proximity Nico had kept to him and the team, along with the fact Nico had stayed in their cabin whenever Percy hadn't invaded Nico's had made him forget such a simple fact. He'd had his brother back and had completely forgotten the degrees that separated them.

"I already have my suspicions." Apollo admitted, eyeing Luke's unconscious body. "And it won't leave this room. Doctor-Patient confidentiality and all that jazz."

Nico removed the mask before Percy could say anything in response.

"Oh." Apollo blinked, looking at Luke with slightly watery eyes. Despite his admission that he had suspicions, he still seemed slightly surprised. Though, Percy supposed, there was a difference between having suspicions and having said suspicions confirmed. He then looked up at Percy. "Will he tell Hermes?"

"I don't think he really wants to tell anyone." Percy winced. "I was shocked when he showed himself to Nic, Jay and Leo."

"Hermes has missed him," Apollo spoke while examining Luke's eyes with a magically procured miniature flashlight. "He would take messages to Hades, just so he could visit Luke as he passed through. I remember when he freaked out when Luke disappeared from the Underworld. Said that Luke had never given him reason to think he was going for rebirth. He confronted Hades, of course, but Uncle H wouldn't tell him a thing."

"I never thought about people noticing who went missing." Percy bit his lip. "I never really thought about people noticing that people had gone missing. It's not exactly like the Underworld is a much-trafficked place by the living when you think about it."

"I thought Bia had gone for rebirth when I couldn't find her, especially after the time when I was looking for her when Thanatos was in chains. I thought I could sneak her out then but couldn't find her, which is why I snuck Hazel out instead. Dad told me that she had gone for rebirth like she had been talking about but he'd actually hidden her in the Palace so I wouldn't get into trouble - this time I thought she genuinely had gone." Nico nodded. "I never thought to check if there was anyone else missing."

"Next time, I'll be more discrete." Percy joked.

"Next time, I'll bloody be coming with you." Nico was not joking.