Percy Jackson, The Missing Hero.

26. A Counsellor's Meeting - The 2nd Attempt

"I believe we need some answers about what happened this morning." Chiron was the first to speak when the meeting commenced, cutting over the individual conversations and various chatter that had filled the room while they waited for people to arrive.

They were all crowded into the Rec Room in the Big House, various extra chairs produced from around the house so they could jam Percy and the rest of his team on one side of the pool table and the Camp Counsellors on the other, with Chiron stood at the head of the table with a long-suffering expression on his face. At first, Percy had just planned to take Luke and Nico along with him, but after their arrival he had been promptly turned around to fetch the rest of the team. Apparently Chiron wanted to speak to all of them about facing Kronos.

Then, when they finally thought they were ready to start, the Camp Counsellors - Jason and Leo in particular - had been reluctant to start as Nico was yet to show. None of them realised that the hooded figure curled into Percy's side and keeping quiet was one and the same with their resident son of Hades. Nico hadn't made any move to reveal himself, content to indulge in the comfort of Percy's presence.

"Kronos showed up. We didn't want to wait and risk the campers becoming casualties and we knew he was growing impatient. It would have gotten far worse if we'd waited for the Camp to arm themselves. So we did what we're used to doing and handled the threat. We borrowed Nico who was able to Shadow Travel to collect his armour and Lord Apollo was here to speak to me about a matter anyway, so he decided to aid us." Percy condensed the explanation, looking directly at Chiron as he answered. "We went to Olympus to give a report to the gods and so Lord Apollo could check Heros after he collapsed. When we returned I had to speak to my team about something important, which is why we had to postpone this for a few hours."

"Where is Nico?" Jason asked, jumping in before anyone else could. It was the first time he had asked Percy directly and when he turned his gaze from Chiron to the blonde, he was staring at Percy specifically.

"You went to Olympus with Heros, Apollo and Nico. You came back with Heros and five members of your team that you did not leave with." Annabeth spoke up and Percy had to refrain from flinching.

"Chaos dropped by while we were speaking to the gods. I informed him that we needed reinforcements and if he could not let the rest of our team join us, he had to let some of them join us," Percy responded to her, purposefully not answering Jason's question. "Since more than half of our number went on a separate mission, he stole some of them so that we would have the larger group here."

"So who else have you got?" Clarisse asked before Jason could point out that he hadn't answered where Nico was, which he had obviously been about to do if the scowl he was now directing at her was anything to go by. "Anyone interesting?"

"And is one of them a Pegasus?" Leo asked, confusion playing on his face.

"One of them goes by the name Pegasus, but he was accompanied by his namesake who is just very attached to him." Heros snorted.

"That's me!" Bellerophon offered from where he sat beside Chiron. He'd made a beeline for that seat when they had entered and Percy was yet to decide whether or not he should be suspicious.

"And then we've got Sagitta," Luke listed, giving time for Lee to wave, "Aurum," Patroclus reluctantly raised a hand, "Solis," Apollo nodded at the room from Nico's other side, "and Exspiravit Rex is the one tucked under Blue's arm."

"We just call him Spooky when we don't want to pronounce the full thing, which is always," Bellerophon added helpfully. "Since Heros was the idiot who picked it and it's somehow fancier than Caeruleum."