Percy Jackson, The Missing Hero.

32. How to Resurrect Apollo's Bloodline: Tried and Tested.

After all of the Head Counsellors had been corralled together and Jason had begrudgingly let Nathan borrow some clothes, they found themselves sitting in the lower tiers of the Amphitheatre. Percy sat between Nico and Luke, their parents stood before them and poised to start speaking.

Percy couldn't help but hope that this was quick, eager to return to the Chaos Cabin so he could begin to read Nathan's journal. He was still curious about the composition of his sword, the whole reason they had staged the night of pranks in the first place, but his attention was drawn elsewhere due to the possibility that Nathan's journal could provide them with insight into the enemy's plans.

"You may be wondering why we have gathered you together." Zeus was the first to speak, the corner of his mouth visibly twitching as he tried to maintain a straight face. To be fair to him, the group of demigods before him did look fairly ridiculous. They were all still in pyjamas and Clovis had already fallen asleep on Butch's shoulder, feathers stuck in his hair. Several of them were creating a shower of glitter every time they moved and Piper's hairstyle would make Cindy Lou Who jealous.

They'd remembered that Hazel had been staying in Nico's Cabin after seeing Frank on one of the spare bunks in the Ares Cabin, forcing Luke to readjust his plan of action to include an excursion into the Hades Cabin. Nico had supervised them closely, grumbling the entire time Luke had him pinning fake cobwebs around his collection of photographs and questioning Luke's desire to make his usual haunt into a Haunted House. Percy had wisely kept his mouth shut about the fact Nico's Cabin already looked like it wouldn't be out of place at Halloween, letting Luke make the comment for him. Seeing his Lieutenant be chased from the Cabin by a skeleton was one of the highlights of the night.

Reyna had wisely sought refuge with the Hunters of Artemis, declining Clarisse's invitation to another of Ares' spare bunks and unwittingly sparing herself from a night of madness. Percy made a mental note to corner the trio from Camp Jupiter at some point to ask them a few questions about Octavian. And also to simply talk to them since he had missed them.

"Where's my dad?" Percy heard Kayla muttering to Lou Ellen behind them and he had to refrain from wincing. It dawned on him that the last time he had seen Apollo he'd been standing amongst Percy's team in silken pyjama shorts and a light pink sheer robe that was trimmed with feathers around the hem and the sleeves, acting as if it was just something he'd happened to casually pull from his closet. In reality, he looked as if he was due on set any moment to film a scene in which he would be told his very wealthy husband had died under mysterious circumstances.

"Sorry I'm late." Apollo strolled into the amphitheatre, as if on cue, and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He'd reverted back to his Olympian guise, though the blinding white skinny jeans and tie-dye crop top was something straight out of the wardrobe he'd unpacked into the room he had claimed. The Starbucks Frappuccino in his hand was just the perfect added touch to give him a plausible reason to be late. "Line was longer than expected," he grinned as he brought the metal straw to his lips.

"You could have got me one," Hermes grumbled.

"Sorry, sugarplum." Apollo cooed. "I can go back and get you one?"

"Apollo." Poseidon sighed.

"Sorry Uncle Don, did you want one too?" Apollo asked sunnily. "I probably should have taken everyone's orders but I think I would have broken a nail carrying that many drink trays."

"No Apollo, just-"

"So, why are we here?" Apollo interrupted, staring pointedly at his fellow Olympians. "You didn't inform me before arrival. I thought we said that we weren't interfering."