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?"
Nico groaned, hiding his head in his hands for a moment before peeling them away and looking at the gold dust that had transferred onto them with confusion. "What's on my face?"
"I was going to ask about that too, is gold dust a new look, Moonsparkles?" Apollo fussed, trying to brush said dust from Nico's shoulders. "It doesn't hide your pale exterior very well kiddo, let alone those dark circles. You need to rest."
"Get off!" Nico pulled a face at him and tried to wriggle away. "You're worse than Demeter, honestly."
"My Aunt may be right, you do need more iron," Apollo mused before he shook his head and scowled. "Stop trying to distract me! Did you or did you not pass out?"
"I hate you," Nico groaned. "I'm fine. Wake Thalia up if you want someone to fuss over or treat Percy for shock so he can tell us where in my father's name Leo has disappeared to."
"I can be a pretty effective shock blanket if you need a hug, Seashell?" Apollo wiggled his eyebrows at Percy before he reverted to the same look of concern he'd had for Nico. "You really do look like you've seen a ghost, Little Starfish, what have we missed?"
"I don't know how to explain what happened," Percy blurted out, shaking his head.
"How about you start with where Leo is?" Jason repeated his earlier question, an annoyed expression on his face. "You said he was gored?"
"Nico summoned someone to help us with their injuries," Percy explained, wondering how he should insert Will's name into the conversation. "And he determined that there wasn't much that could be done, especially with his limited capabilities as a spirit."
"What?" Piper cried out.
Percy held his hands up to stop an onslaught of shocked exclamations before he could finish. "But, he did have the ability to send him elsewhere for treatment. So he's going to be fine!"
"You just let some random ghost dude send Leo off to some undisclosed location?" Jason's jaw dropped slightly.
"It wasn't some random ghost dude!" Percy swiftly defended himself. "And it wasn't some undisclosed location, he sent him to Calypso. ...I think."
"You think?" Annabeth fixed him with an incredulous stare.
"It was implied!" Percy defended himself. "He couldn't exactly say where he was sending him; I sort of got the impression that he was trying to maintain a low profile, shouldn't have been out of the Underworld, that sort of thing."
"Shouldn't have been out of the Underworld?" Hazel repeated.
"He was worried about his absence being noticed?" Percy winced, knowing that he may as well be digging his own grave.
"His absence from where?" Nico looked horrified. "Perce, tell me I didn't summon anyone from the Fields of Punishment, my dad would murder me if I did - even by accident."
Percy knew at that moment that the gig was up, he'd have to tell the truth. Even if he still didn't know how to tell it.
"Hey!" Apollo protested. "I don't think any of my offspring have ever been sent to The Fields of Punishment. Asphodel, yes, but I don't think-"
"Apollo," Nico cut him off. "Believe me, you have children in the Fields of Punishment."
"What?" Apollo looked stunned. "Are you sure?"
"It wasn't a spirit from the Fields of Punishment!" Percy interrupted before they could truly start bickering.
"Then why was this mysterious spirit dude worried about his absence being noticed?" Jason asked. "From what Nico has told me, nobody really keeps track of who is floating around Asphodel and if spirits wander off from Elysium or the Isles of the Blest, no doubt they expect them to return in due time."
"He was worried about The Fates noticing his absence." Percy winced. "Since, y'know, they're the ones holding possession of his soul."
Nico went the same shade Will had been.
"What?" Apollo whispered softly.
"It was Will." Percy blurted out, unable to stop himself now. "Neeks, you summoned Will. I didn't know how to tell you, I still don't really know how to tell you, but you did it. You summoned Will."
"I did what?" Nico blinked at him, all colour well and truly gone from his cheeks.
"We'll give the three of you some privacy," Annabeth announced, swiftly ushering the rest of the group over to where Thalia was still unconscious. Percy felt a flash of guilt, having honestly forgotten to pay her any attention while he had been distracted with how to break the news.
"Annabeth?" He called out before she could follow the others. He ignored the shock in her eyes as she turned, giving her a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Will said that she'd be fine with some nectar, it's just a concussion and nothing more."
"Thanks Percy," She acknowledged, giving him a small smile in return. "I'm sure she'll come round in no time. We'll let you three talk."
She backed off, leaving him with a stunned demigod and an equally stunned god - both of whom looking as if they were the ones who had seen a ghost.
"Sorry, I know I didn't break that very well," Percy apologised with a wince.
"I don't think there was a good way to break that news." Nico shook his head, his voice slightly strained and raspy, as if he were on the verge of tears. "I can't believe I passed out. I can't believe I-"
He was cut off by Apollo shoving a square of ambrosia into his mouth, turning to glare at the Sun God as he chewed. "Was that seriously necessary?"
"You look pale," Apollo defended his actions.
"You look pale," Nico retorted.
"Maybe we should all sit down?" Percy suggested, a little worried about the pair of them. "And then I'll start telling you what happened."
Moments later they were sat down, both of them looking at him expectantly. There were different emotions in their eyes; Nico's wild with confusion and upset, while Apollo's gaze was vulnerable. Fear flashed in the god's eyes, as if he was scared of what Percy had to say.
Percy was beginning to think that Will's theory about his father blaming himself for his death may have more merit than Percy originally thought. In that moment, his heart broke slightly for Apollo and he couldn't help but wonder if it was true, and if so, how exactly he'd managed to hide said self-blame from Nico. He knew he couldn't ask Apollo about it in Nico's presence, resolving to pull Apollo aside and speak to him privately later, instead of bringing up a painful event that Nico had been explicitly clear about not wanting to know the full details of.
Now knowing the full details, Percy didn't blame him.
"Will wanted me to make it clear that he loves you," Percy started off, directing his gaze pointedly between them. "Both of you."
Apollo relaxed, ever so slightly, though the fear didn't melt from his gaze.
"I can't believe I passed out." Nico shook his head. "What else did he say?"
"You sure you want to hear this right now?" Percy asked, biting his lip. "There were a few things Will wanted me to tell you but I don't know if you'll want to hear them."
"Either you tell me or I'll summon him so he can tell me himself," Nico threatened. "It worked once, it's bound to work again."
"Nico, there's no easy way to say this." Percy took a deep breath before continuing. "But that's exactly what he doesn't want you to do."
"What?" Nico asked, shock and hurt written all over his face, plain to see.
"Let me explain before you jump to the wrong conclusion." Percy held his hands up to placate him. "I know what you're like."
"Don't we all," Apollo muttered, earning himself a scowl from Nico.
"Will didn't know that he could be brought back," Percy admitted, intervening before the two could start bickering. "He thought it was a permanent change, that the Fates would hold his soul and allow Octavian to use his life force until he died and then they would perhaps release him into the Underworld. I told him that we should be able to trade Octavian's soul back for his. That's why he said he doesn't want to see you Nic, he wants to wait until he can touch you, and hug you, and kiss you again."
"Oh." Nico looked surprised before shaking his head. "Honestly Percy, you do know how to terrify a guy."
"He also told me to tell you to rest, Doctor's orders." Percy smiled softly.
To his surprise, it was that simple instruction that caused tears to well up in Nico's eyes. "Oh." Nico laughed at himself as he wiped away the tears. "That's what he used to say to me to get me to look after myself."
"Someone needed to say it," Apollo muttered.
"I-"
"I hate to interrupt," Annabeth spoke up, cutting Nico off before he could issue a retort. "Thalia is awake and I was just wondering if Apollo could check her over properly? She's saying her head hurts."
"Duty calls, Moonshine, Seashell," Apollo sighed, looking torn. He stood and Percy watched as he followed Annabeth across the room, feeling bad about the fact he couldn't reassure Apollo that Will didn't blame him for his death without Nico asking too many questions.
"I can't believe I summoned Will," Nico admitted once more, shaking his head. "What else did he say?"
After Percy had detailed the rest of his encounter with Will – minus what Will wanted to tell Nico himself and the admission that Will had deliberately ignored Nico trying to summon him because that was a conversation Percy did not want to have – and Apollo had ensured that Thalia was okay, they decided to start moving again.
They were all careful to avoid standing on the tile that had triggered the door to close in the first place, giving it a wide berth. None of them relaxed until they had all made it through the opening and Icarus had taken them to the left at the next turn without a hesitation.
"How much further do you want to go today?" Icarus asked him when he had left Nico and Apollo to talk at the rear of the group to check in with Icarus and Luke for the first time since they had reunited.
"Not too much further, both Thalia and Nico need to rest though neither of them will admit it," Percy sighed, taking a glance over his shoulder to look at Annabeth and Thalia walking side by side. Thalia looked as if a strong breeze could knock her flat, but she was stubbornly walking unaided.
"Doesn't that sound familiar?" Luke muttered. "Have you seen yourself?"
"Rude," Percy huffed. "I'm fine! And it's not like there's any mirrors down here that I can look at, you try fighting an abnormally resilient Minotaur and come out of it looking this good."
Luke gave him a critical once over and snorted. "Good?"
"I thought you'd at least be happy to see me." Percy scowled at him. "It's not like I'm your best friend and you should have been worried about my survival or anything. You'd have to find a new best friend who can stand to listen to you lament over-"
"I know someone who was happy to see you," Luke cut him off before he could finish, trying to torment Percy instead. "And I know that you were probably-"
Percy decided, then and there, that the best course of action would be to shove Luke into the wall to shut him up. It was only logical.
To his complete and utter surprise, Luke fell through said wall with a shout.
"Oh!" Icarus sounded thrilled. "I was wondering why the floor was glowing in front of that spot."
"Did you seriously just shove me through a wall because I didn't give you a hug when we reunited?" Luke asked, voice slightly muffled – as if he actually was on the other side of a wall. "Woah, it's weird in here."
Percy reached out to touch the spot that Luke had fallen through, feeling weird when his hand passed through what appeared to be an extremely solid wall. Despite knowing that Luke was on the other side, he still let out an involuntary yelp when his hand was grabbed and his Lieutenant dragged him through to join him.
Once on the other side, he took a nervous step closer to Luke when he registered what Luke was calling 'weird', though Percy would use a whole range of other expletives to describe it, alongside the word 'weird'.
There were three archways, one in the centre of each wall, that led out of the chamber that they were in. Behind them was a similar archway, though it was seemingly bricked up with cold grey stone. Both the floor and the ceiling seemed to be cut into the rock, plain and grey with no adornments or tiles to cover it. The walls themselves...
"Did we walk to Paris or have we found an entrance to Antaeus' Arena?" Percy asked softly, eyeing the skulls that lined the walls. "Or when I raise my sword, will the ghosts of the men who betrayed my ancestor's Oath be forced to fight with me against the Black Ships invading my Kingdom?"
"Hermes' sweaty sandals, you're a nerd," Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Get Apollo to grow his hair a bit longer and you'll have a pretty blonde archer to run around the plains of Minas Tirith with you. You'll just need someone short and ginger to complete your trio."
"Who's ginger?" Apollo asked, having been the first one to push their way through after Percy. "I have an aversion to my hair being turned ginger thanks to dear old dad- Speaking of, where in dear old dad's name are we?"
"Zeus above," Thalia whispered, having followed Apollo.
One by one their companions stepped into the room, all of them flinching at the sight. Though Hazel was obviously unsettled, Nico's reaction was the worst; rearing back as if he was about to exit the room before he'd even stepped two feet into it, shuddering as he made eye contact with empty sockets.
"Icarus, tell me that you know which way we should go to get out of here?" Percy asked, feeling unnerved with all of the hollow eyes watching him.
"Please say back through the magic wall we just came through?" Nico pleaded. "I don't like it in here, these souls..."
"So my chances of them agreeing to fight for Gondor are pretty strong then?" Percy couldn't resist asking in the hope that it lightened the mood.
Luke slapped the back of his head. "Icarus? The exit?"
"This way!" Icarus practically sprinted for the archway opposite them, groaning when he found that the corridor was lined with skulls too. "Why couldn't it have been anything but skulls?"
"Weapons of dead demigods?" Luke suggested, ever the optimist.
"And you slapped me?" Percy protested. "At least I was joking!"
"Can we just start walking and hopefully find somewhere with less angry souls of the dead?" Nico asked, being the first one to start after Icarus who was slowly getting further and further away from them.
"Need me to hold your hand, Moonshine?" Apollo asked.
"I'll add your skull to the collection if you try," Nico threatened.
"Of course you will, Moonshine," Apollo humoured him, patting him on the head and flouncing after Icarus.
"Let's go." Percy made a beeline after them, not wanting to be the last one stood in the chamber. "The faster we get out of this section of the Maze, the sooner we can rest."
"Now you sound like you are in need of a lovely hand to hold, Seashell?" Apollo offered. The smile he gave Percy was tight, obviously still bothered by the revelation that someone had spoken to Will for the first time in four years but determined to put on his usual mask.
Percy couldn't help but offer him a gentle smile, hoping to convey the words 'Will doesn't blame you and if you actually blame yourself, you've spent far too much time in your sun chariot, frying your brain' with his eyes. "Well," he settled for laughing warmly instead, "if it carries on for too long, I may take you up on that offer."
"Where do you think this section ends?" Nico asked after they had walked through corridors lined with skulls for what felt like hours.
None of them wanted to stop.
"I haven't a clue but I hope it's soon," Percy admitted, casting an uneasy look at the wall to his left. "I'm getting sick of looking at the wall and having it stare back."
"Just be thankful you can't feel what I feel." Nico shuddered.
"Turn ahead!" Icarus called back to them, interrupting before Percy could reply to Nico.
"Left or right?" Percy asked, giving Nico an apologetic look.
"Right!" Icarus answered before promptly disappearing around said corner.
They all hurried after him, sighing in relief as they registered the lack of hollow eyes watching their every move once they stepped into the new corridor.
"I feel weird," Icarus warned, taking slow and steady steps towards a sharp turn that lay waiting for them. He withdrew his sword from his belt and pressed his back against the wall before moving swiftly around the corner.
Silence followed.
"Icarus!" Percy ran forward, bypassing the few members of the group that lay between him and Daedalus' son to reach him. He was relieved to find him standing just around the sharp turn, despite the fact he was frozen still. "What is it?"
"It's glowing gold," Icarus whispered. "Behind there, that's where our god is."
Percy followed his gaze to where a metal door stood, heavy chains barring their entry.