Percy Jackson, The Missing Hero.

46. Percy Hates Being the Bearer of Bad News. (He'd Rather Be Isildur's Heir.)

Percy didn't know how to respond, the words sticking in his throat. He couldn't believe how unfortunate Nico's timing was – couldn't quite believe that he'd missed seeing Will by a margin of minutes. Not even minutes, seconds.

A small, guilty part of him couldn't help but be relieved that Nico hadn't woken to find Will hovering over him unexpectedly, well aware of the fact that it would have resulted in a lot of shouting, followed by tears.

Now, he suspected, there was just going to be tears.

"Percy?" Nico frowned when he didn't respond, scrambling to his feet with the same amount of coordination as a baby deer. He looked around the room for an explanation for Percy's weird behaviour and his eyes widened when he saw the bloodstain on the floor where Leo had been lying. "Percy?" He repeated, sounding terrified. "What happened? Where's Leo?"

"Leo is... I-" Percy choked out, not knowing what to say or how to say it. "Well, you-"

The sound of stone grating against stone silenced him, attention drawn to the sealed entrance as the large rock began to visibly shift. Apprehension washed over him as he prayed that there were friendly faces on the other side and they weren't about to come face to face with another of the Maze's monsters.

Their companions poured through once the gap was big enough, Apollo at the helm. All of them skidded to a halt when they realised that they needed to go no further to facilitate a reunion. Suddenly, a snake slithered its way from the now open doorway to Hazel's feet, looping around her legs before settling beside her and transforming into Frank, confirming that their separated friends had suffered no casualties. Apprehension gave way to a tide of relief; particularly when it registered that their godly companion had returned and the group was almost whole, Apollo's look of delight upon seeing them lighting up the room.

"Percy, Nico!" Apollo was the first to speak, delight colouring his greeting before he took a proper look at the room. His eyes went wide as he seemed to notice the look on Percy's face, the terror in Nico's eyes, Thalia's unconscious form, Leo's absence, and the conspicuous bloodstain that marred the tile. "What in my father's name happened during your separation? Seashell, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Funny you should say that," Percy murmured, the words feeling hollow and heavy as they slipped out before he could stop them.

"Where's Leo?" Jason asked, confusion and fear flashing in his eyes. He seemed transfixed by the large bloodstain before he tore his eyes away for a moment to look at Thalia. "And why is my sister unconscious?"

"We got attacked," Nico responded, eyes going to his forgotten trophy. The broken Minotaur horn lay innocently on the ground where he had dropped it, not caring for the reward when the price had been so heavy to pay. "The Minotaur was chasing us."

"Leo antagonised him by accident; we didn't know that he would react so badly to Leo throwing fire. He was after him from then on, we tried our best to distract him but he was having none of it," Percy explained, feeling slightly numb. He still didn't know what to say about Will and his predicament had just gotten ten times worse with the arrival of Apollo. "The Minotaur ran for Leo and Thalia and they didn't check to see which way the other was running. They collided and then he collided with them. He gored Leo and sent Thalia flying into the wall where she hit her head pretty hard. We managed to defeat him and then tried to help them the best we could; Nico summoned a spirit to give us a helping hand. One of Apollo's dead children."

"So it actually worked?" Nico asked, still looking fearful and confused. "Who in Zeus' name did I summon that has you so freaked out? I swear I was only joking about summoning Louis XIV."

"What do you mean 'so it actually worked', Moonshine?" Apollo frowned. "Why are you asking who it was, surely you know if you summoned them?" His frown deepened before he placed his hands on his hips and started scolding the son of Hades. "Nico di Angelo, did you pass out?"