Hey guys. I really don't have much of an excuse for my absence besides the fact that I got busy. Sorry about the wait!

Oh, there's a message that I'm going to put at the end of the chapter. Feel free to read it if you wish.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER TEN

The Ultimate Prize

Day: 10

Australia was the furthest Nico had ever been from home.

Well, first he had to exclude the Underworld, Mount Olympus, and every other mystical world of Greek and Roman mythology—then he could say Australia was the furthest he had ever been from home.

Leo docked the Argo II directly above a beach. Like usual, it was concealed from the mortals' eyes using the power of the Mist. He and Nico slipped off the warship, landing ankle-deep in the hot sand.

"P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney," Leo muttered, shielding his eyes from the harsh sun. "Think it's a real place?"

Nico actually understood that reference. Although he was born way before the movie came out, he knew it would have been impossible to live life in modern-day America without seeing Finding Nemo. Hazel had made him watch it back at Camp Jupiter.

"Probably not," Nico said. He took a good look around at the beaches and the tall buildings far off in the distance. "We're in Sydney?"

Leo cracked a signature smile. "You bet. Let's head into the city."

They hitched a ride on a tourist van as they left the beach and made their way into the heart of Sydney, Australia. The city as a whole felt strikingly different from the feelings Nico had in America. Sydney consisted of tall skyscrapers, standing several stories into the limitless sky. Light from the buildings refracted into the rippling crystal blue waters. The infamous Opera House rested on the edge of a small peninsula, its arches and architecture simply stunning. Sydney took Nico's breath away.

But it wasn't the physical aspect of the city that made it feel different from cities in America. It was the atmosphere. The air was light, content. Although tourists milled around frantically, Nico could sense a layer of happiness, as if everyone was laidback. It wasn't peaceful per se, but it was filled with good, fun vibes.

"Did you know that Australia has some of the most dangerous species in the world?" Leo said as he hopped off the tourist van. Nico followed right behind him and did a 360 to get a good look at the city around him.

"Is that supposed to make me feel comfortable?" Nico said, raising an eyebrow.

Leo merely shrugged. The two boys walked on.

"Did you know that Australia is the sixth largest country in the world?"

"I did not," Nico said. He was merely humoring his friend.

"Did you know that Australia has the largest Greek population—besides Athens, of course—in…." Leo pulled a small tablet out of his tool belt, shielding it from Nico with his back.

"Melbourne Victoria," Leo finished with a sly smile. He slid the tablet back into his tool belt.

Nico shook his head. "I did not know that."

"Did you know—"

"Leo," Nico interrupted, "as much as I'd love to hear your facts about Australia, what I'd really like to know is where we're going right now."

Leo pulled that tablet back out of his tool belt again. Nico glanced at it warily.

"Demigods aren't supposed to use too much technology," he said. "That can attract monsters."

"Don't worry about it, bro." Leo gave him a dismissive wave. "I lined this baby with some extra Greek magic stuff. It's supposed to make devices like this undetectable from any monster's eyes."

"I've never heard of that before."

"I didn't either before some of my siblings showed me it." Leo balanced the tablet between his fingertips. "I think it should work."

Nico wasn't sold on the idea, but he didn't say anything as Leo tapped away at the tablet. Nico couldn't help but notice how the sun made his brown eyes look almost gold, kind of like Hazel's. The color was intriguing to Nico, and he realized he could stare at Leo's eyes all day.

To save himself from embarrassment, Nico forced himself to look at anyone other than Leo.

"Aha!" Leo exclaimed. "Found it. And it's just up the road."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

The Sydney Sea Life Aquarium was definitely one of the most surreal experiences in Leo's life.

The attraction was huge, consisting of hundreds of wildlife sea creatures in large tanks. Some of these tanks were imbedded into the walls of the building; others sat in the middle of the floors; a few even made up the ceiling, like a large dome of water. The first time the boys came to one of these tunnels—the aquarium dome arching just overhead—Nico had to grab onto Leo's hand to force him to walk through. It was nerve-wracking for Leo; his element was fire, not water.

Leo jumped as a shark swam above them. Nico squeezed his hand to assure him that he was here, and he wouldn't let anything happen to Leo.

"Sharks are misunderstood creatures," Nico said quietly. His fingers were still laced with Leo's. "Do you know how many shark-related accidents occur per year?"

"How many?" Leo asked. His voice was surprisingly uneven.

"Fewer than twenty," Nico said. "And most aren't fatalities. Do you know how many car accidents occur each year?"

"I'm guessing a lot more."

"Exactly," Nico said. "So you have a better chance of dying in a tourist van than you do in this aquarium."

Oddly enough, those facts made Leo feel a lot better. Leo glanced down at his hand, which was still interlocked with Nico's. This made him feel even more better.

They continued throughout the aquarium. They got good looks at more sharks of all different kinds. They also saw manta rays, jelly fish, manatees, and ordinary fish. Nico forced Leo to get closer to the glass, even to put his hands on the tanks. Leo knew he had to act brave in front of Nico, or the son of Hades would think he was weak. That was the exact opposite of what Leo wanted.

Leo exhaled as they exited the building, returning to the harsh daylight.

"That wasn't so bad," Leo said.

"Why did we go in there if you knew you were going to be nervous the whole time?" Nico asked.

Leo lifted a shoulder. "I thought you'd want to see the aquarium anyway."

It always amazed Leo of how oblivious Nico could be sometimes. The son of Hades just couldn't see it—Leo would do anything for him! Leo figured Nico would love the marine biology here in Australia, so he knew he had to man-up in order to give Nico that opportunity.

And he held my hand, Leo thought giddily. That was a huge plus. Maybe being so visibly scared wasn't a bad thing.

Just down the road was the Wildlife Sydney Zoo. This attraction was outdoors and focused on land animals rather than marine animals, which made Leo feel more comfortable.

The first thing they did was enter the Bugs Garden, which was an indoor building full of creepy crawlers in glass tanks. Spiders, bees, and other creatures were displayed inside the attraction. None of the demigods were too fond of this, especially with stories like Arachne running through their heads.

The boys then made their way over to the butterfly exhibit, where the open glass tanks allowed the butterflies to flutter around the visitors. Leo and Nico laughed as a few butterflies settled on their arms. One even got tangled in Leo's mop of curly hair. Nico continued to laugh as he gently set the butterfly free, careful to not hurt the creature or Leo's hair.

"Thanks," Leo said as his ears reddened.

After the butterfly exhibit, the demigods visited other places in the zoo. They saw kangaroos, koalas, and snakes. Turtles, frogs, and parrots. Crocodiles, possums, and bats. Geckos, lizards, and chameleons. Strange species, interesting animals—all were found at this exotic zoo.

It was past noon by the time the boys left the zoo. They headed to a restaurant and sat down on a patio under a pavilion. A lanky waiter with a hooked nose took their order and left swiftly in the busy crowd of customers.

"Man," Leo said. "It's day ten."

It took a moment for Nico to realize what Leo was saying.

"Yeah. I guess it is."

Leo ran a hand through his brown curls. "It feels like we were in Camp Half-Blood just yesterday."

Nico nodded his head. "Never thought I'd be in Australia right now."

"Me neither." Leo eyed Nico carefully. "To be honest, I never thought you would actually agree to go on this trip with me."

"I wasn't going to let you have all this fun on your own," Nico said playfully.

"You know what I mean. I didn't know you would want to spend this much time with me."

"I could say the same thing," Nico pointed out. "I didn't know you wanted to spend this much time with me."

Leo smiled. "I always want to spend time with you."

Nico wasn't able to respond as two big plates of food were placed in front of him and Leo, courtesy of their waiter. The boys stared at their food with wide eyes.

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo breathed. "If I finish all this I'll surely explode."

"Dig in," the waiter said in his thick Australian accent.

Leo tried to wrap his hands around the humongous burger. Ultimately failing, he decided to start with his fries instead. He looked up just in time to see Nico nervously furrow his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked through a mouthful of fries.

There was a moment of silence before Nico responded. "Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing. Something bothering you?"

"No. Yes. I mean—no."

"Which is it?"

Nico took a long hard look at the skyline behind him. Leo tried to see what he was looking at, but all he could see was the coastline just in the distance.

Nico turned back around, facing his friend. "I'm not sure. Something feels off."

"Maybe it's the Australian air," Leo suggested. "It's a different feel than the air back in America."

"No," Nico said surely. "It's not that. Something bad is going to happen."

Leo's hand hovered over his plate of fries. His eyes skirted the faces around him.

"Don't say that," Leo's voice wavered. "Everything's going to be fine."

Nico was about to respond when a loud ding sounded from Leo's lap. Leo reached into his tool belt and brought out that tablet of his. He tapped a shaking hand at it. The blood rushed out of his face.

"No," he whispered.

Nico sat on the edge of his seat. "What? What is it?"

"The Argo," Leo said. "Something's wrong…"

He fiercely scrolled through the touch screen, searching for a report of some kind. When he found what he was looking for, his face became even paler.

"NO!" Leo jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over the table and all the dishes on top. The people around him looked at Leo in annoyance.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Nico said, gingerly standing up.

In one swift movement, Leo leapt over the gated fence next to him and began sprinting down the street, shoving his way past tourists and natives alike.

"The Argo II!" Leo shouted back at Nico. "It's been infiltrated!"

Nico dug in his pocket and slapped some Australian money down onto the table. He jumped over the same fence and raced after Leo.

He caught up with the son of Hephaestus when he burst onto the beach. Leo was climbing up the rope ladder to the floating warship above. None of the occupants of the beach seemed to notice the flaming Latino boy.

"Wait! Leo!" Nico cried. He grabbed onto the ladder and began pulling himself up the side of the ship. "Hold on!"

Nico climbed over the side of the Argo II a few seconds after Leo. The son of Hephaestus was already battling it out with a pair of hellhounds, which had made their way onto the main deck.

"Always the hounds," Nico muttered. He pulled out his Stygian iron sword, the dark blade gleaming in the Australian sun. He shrugged off his jacket and let it crumple to the ground.

Leo swung his flaming hammer over his head and attacked the nearest hellhound. The giant dog bared its teeth, saliva running down its chin. Leo got a big whiff of its nasty breath as the hound growled.

"You want a piece of me?" Leo taunted. "No one gets on my baby without an invitation."

The dog pounced. Leo tucked and rolled out of the way, his body still sore from that camel mishap back in Egypt. He swung his hammer, some of the flames singeing the tuffs of fur under the hound's belly.

The hellhound was hardly fazed. It dug its claws into the deck of the Argo as it slid backward. Its nails peeled away the wood.

Leo's nostrils flared. The deck was now another thing he had to repair.

"Leo! Look out!"

The second hound ignored Nico as it went after his friend. Leo just barely dove out of the way, the second hound's claws grazing over his left leg, slicing through his jeans and his skin. A flare of pain shot up Leo's leg. The wound wasn't too deep, but it still hurt like Hades.

Nico immediately noticed his friend's injury. Anger welled up in his chest, making it harder to breathe.

"Hey, mutts!" Nico shouted. He waved his sword in the air like a bone. "Step away from him so I can personally kick your furry little butts back to Tartarus!"

Leo clutched his wound, blood seeping through the gaps between his fingers. His attention tore away from the pain when he heard Nico's taunt. Sounds like something I would say.

The hellhounds faced Nico like bulls ready to charge. Nico gripped his sword tightly. Locks of long, black hair fell into his eyes. The sun broke out from behind a pair of fluffy white clouds, cascading its rays down onto the Argo II. Nico looked almost godly underneath the sun's light. Leo felt his heart flutter.

Nico and the hellhounds charged at each other. Nico raised his sword as the dogs extended their claws. Time seemed to slow down as Leo helplessly watched his best friend run singlehandedly toward a pair of giant dogs. Leo's breath caught in his throat as Nico and the hellhounds met at the center of the deck.

The first hound went down as Nico swiped at its back. It exploded into a puff of monster dust right as Nico rolled to one side, narrowly missing the second hound. Covered in its comrade's dust, the hellhound growled at its attacker.

"Want some more?" Nico sneered menacingly.

Only knowing one mode of survival—kill or be killed—the hellhound growled at Nico. It seemed to forget all about Leo, who still lay off to the side, nursing his leg. Nico backed up slowly, edging the hellhound away from his friend.

I can't let Nico take on this monster all by himself, Leo thought. I've got to do something.

Without thinking, Leo reached out and scooped up his hammer. He staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on his right leg. The hellhound paid no attention to him as it continued to circle Nico. The hammer in Leo's right hand burst into flames.

"Hey, ugly!" Leo shouted. "I'm much tastier than him. Come at me!"

And without a moment's notice, Leo chucked the hammer at the hellhound. The hammer twirled once, twice, three times in the air. It hit the hellhound on the head with a definite, skull-crunching thunk.

The hellhound didn't even have time to settle its eyes on Leo. Nico had already slayed it with his sword by then.

Chest heaving, his body covered in monster dust, Nico sheathed his sword. He brushed the dust off his shoulders just in time to see Leo collapse against the railing of the Argo.

Nico rushed to his friend's aid, muttering his name over and over again—"Leo, Leo, Leo!" He carefully examined Leo's wound, sweat beading his forehead.

"It's not that bad," Nico said, pulling a bag of ambrosia out of his pocket. "You've had worse."

Leo took the crushed ambrosia from Nico's hands. Their fingertips brushed against each other lightly. If Leo weren't in that much of pain, he'd probably blush.

When he finished the ambrosia, his wound was already feeling better. The blood had stopped and the slashes from the hellhound's claws were closing slowly. He was able to hobble to his feet.

"Thanks," Leo said. "Sorry I wasn't that big of a help. You killed both those hounds."

Nico draped one of Leo's arms across his shoulders. He helped him to the helm of the ship.

"Your distraction helped," Nico said. "How did you even know those hellhounds were on the ship?"

Leo pointed to the tool belt at his waist. "I hooked that tablet up to the security system of the ship."

"The security system being the Archimedes sphere?" Nico said.

Leo nodded glumly. "Yeah. I don't know what's up with that thing. I thought I fixed it from last time."

Nico's mouth tightened in a thin line. "I thought so too." There was a hint of distaste in his voice.

When they reached the helm, Leo leaned against the control board, propping himself up with his elbows. He immediately went to work on the sphere, trying hard not to cry out in anguish at his failure. Why did this have to happen again?

Leo grabbed a screwdriver from his belt. "I'm going to have to check this thing out. Looks like our adventure in Australia has to be canceled."

Nico's shoulders slumped. "I understand. I'm sorry about all this."

Leo stared at the sphere, his stomach sinking at the thought of having to fix it for the second time.

"Me too."

Nico returned the helm of the ship a few hours later. It was nearing dinner time, and Leo hadn't left to controls of the ship since the hellhound attack.

"I brought you something to eat," Nico said. Leo was in the same spot where Nico had left him. His shoulders and back were rounded as he hunched over the sphere. He had to stretch out his body as he turned around to see Nico.

The son of Hades held out a plate toward Leo. A sandwich and some chips were on it—not the ideal dinner, but something the Ghost King threw together in a rush.

"Sorry it's not gourmet," Nico muttered. "It was the best I could do."

Leo took the plate of food and set it beside the controls.

"Thank you."

Nico leaned next to Leo, peering at the Archimedes sphere. It was nearly in pieces, its gears and wires sticking out in a tangled mess. Oil and grease stained the sphere as well as Leo's clothes and skin. The wound on Leo's leg was almost healed completely.

"How's the sphere coming along?"

Leo made a disinterested gesture. "It's coming."

"Think we'll be able to see the rest of Australia tonight?"

"Probably not," Leo said irritably.

Nico nodded slowly, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Right now Leo was a ticking time bomb and Nico would rather not set him off.

"I, uh, guess I'll get going then."

"Wait."

Nico turned around. He said nothing.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. It isn't your—"

"No," Leo said. "It is my fault. If I hadn't been more careful—"

"Leo, no one saw this coming," Nico insisted. "Even your brilliant, mechanical brain couldn't have predicted this."

"That's the problem," Leo said, his voice almost a growl. "I should have seen this coming. I rushed to fix the Archimedes' sphere last time it broke down. I should have spent at least a few more hours on it. I wasn't exactly sure if it was going to hold up. If I had just taken my time and made sure that it was going to work, this would never have happened."

"You can fix it again," Nico said. "You've done it before."

"I don't want to fix it again!" Leo said. "For once in my life, I just want something to go right without me having to fix anything."

Nico knew Leo's anger ran deeper than fixing some malfunctioning Greek device. Nico gingerly stepped closer to Leo.

"Hey," he said softly. "It'll be okay."

Leo slammed the screwdriver on the control panel. He tugged at his hair.

"No, it won't," he said. "It's going to take several more hours before I can get this thing up-and-running again. We need to travel to the other side of the world before tomorrow. We'll never make it to Rio now!"

Rio, Nico thought curiously. We're heading to Rio.

"Brazil," he mumbled out loud.

"Argh," Leo said frustratingly. "I didn't mean to tell you. I'm an idiot!"

"No, no you're not," Nico said. "Please, Leo, calm down. We'll be okay. If we don't make it to Rio on time, that's okay. As long as we're together on this ship, I couldn't care less where we are!"

Nico wasn't sure if his words broke through the barrier of Leo's thick skull. The son of Hephaestus paced back and forth, his head in his hands.

"Stupid, stupid," he said aloud. "I'm so freaking stupid. How could I actually believe this vacation would happen perfectly without any monsters? I was so blind—so stupid."

Nico rushed over and grabbed Leo's wrists. He stopped him in his tracks.

"Stop saying that," Nico snapped. "I hate it when you're so down on yourself. This wasn't your fault! So what if you didn't fix the sphere one hundred percent last time? You managing to fix it at all is simply brilliant."

Leo lifted his head, looking softly at his friend. "You think so?"

Nico's lips tugged up into a small smile. "Yeah. I really do."

Nico let go of Leo's wrists and raised his hands up behind him.

"This whole ship is fantastic," Nico said. "Anyone able to build a beauty like this is amazing. You figured out the Archimedes' sphere. You managed to build this ship from a picture you drew when you were little. You guided me and the rest of the Seven along a journey to Greece. You traveled with me to all corners of the world, showing me these spectacular places and giving me the time of my life! You, Leo Valdez, are amazing. Stop beating yourself up and look at what you've done for us—for me."

Leo studied every visible inch of the Argo II as if he were seeing it for the first time in his life. His head began to nod subconsciously.

"You're right," Leo said. "I—I did all this."

Then Leo clenched his fists, the scowl returning to his face, his moment of amazement passing. "But I also messed up our vacation. I only wanted to give you the best Christmas vacation ever, and I couldn't even do that. I'm such a failure, Nico!"

Nico helplessly spread his arms, palms facing up. He pleaded with his eyes.

"Come on, Leo. You and I both know that's not true."

"But it is." Leo kicked at the control panel with his right foot. "Do you know why I really brought you on this trip?"

"You said you wanted to give me the best vacation ever."

"Right. But it was also for more selfish reasons." Leo couldn't even make eye contact with Nico. "It was because I like you. Like really, really like you. And I wanted to spend more time with you. Just us two. Alone.

"But now look what I've done. We're stranded in Australia. We're not even going to make it to our next destination. All because I'm just a big screw up."

Nico stepped closer to Leo. "I don't think that."

Leo grumbled to himself.

"No, really," Nico continued. He forced Leo to look him in the eyes. "Leo, you are arguably the best person I've ever met. You took the responsibility to make sure I had the time of my life during what was going to be a lonely Christmas vacation. Although it's just the two of us, you make up for a hundred people all on your own. You've planned out this adventure to the smallest degree and made sure you knew all about the places we've gone to. I can't think of anyone who would do that for me. I never thought it would be you of all people."

Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course I'd do all that. I care about you."

"Yeah, I can tell."

Leo sighed. "I just really wanted this vacation to go perfectly."

"Sometimes the best adventures are unplanned," Nico said. "If we end up staying another day here in Sydney, then fine. If we spend another month in Sydney, then okay. As long as we're together, I really don't care anymore."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

"Really. I—"

Nico was cut off when Leo closed the space between them by taking Nico's head in his hands and pulling him into a kiss.

Their lips smashed together. It was rough at first, but then they relaxed into the kiss and it grew soft and light. It only lasted a mere second, but it felt like minutes to them. Their heart rates doubled, their hands clammed up, their eyes squeezed shut. Just as quickly as the kiss was initiated, Leo took a step back, breaking it apart all together.

Nico's lips tingled where Leo's were moments before. His throat tightened and he felt his cheeks flare bright red. Was he shaking?

Leo rubbed the back of his neck, his own ears hot pink.

"Uh, I—uh," Leo stammered. "I'm—er—sorry. Really sorry. Oh gods."

"No, no," Nico squeaked. "No. Don't be sorry."

Leo bashfully lifted his head. "Really?"

To his surprise, Nico actually laughed. "Yeah—really. That was fine—nice. Good. Yeah. Good."

"Good," Leo said under his breath. Then he found himself laughing. "All right. Good."

Nico backed up, tripping over his shoelaces. He nearly went sprawling on the floor.

"Er—I'm gonna head to my cabin," Nico stuttered, clearly off balance. "I—uh—I'll see you later!"

He disappeared down the stairs before any of the boys made this train wreck even worse.

Leo leaned against the control panel and buried his head in his hands.

Oh gods, he thought. What did I do?

The worst part about kissing Nico was finding out that Nico actually enjoyed it. Now Leo had no clue what to do. Rejection probably would have been easier to deal with than this.

Leo found himself smiling. I kissed Nico. Nico and I kissed. Nico di Angelo.

These thoughts sent something pumping through Leo's veins—adrenaline. Leo whirled around and faced the Archimedes' sphere. He scooped up his screwdriver and stared hungrily at the sphere. His mind raced, mentally working out how to fix the device. He was putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The prize was Rio.

No. The prize wasn't Rio. The prize was Nico.

Leo Valdez set to work. He was going to make it. He was going to get Nico to Rio.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Again, I want to apologize for the wait. I got caught up in stuff and didn't have much time to write. I'm also working on other projects.

As for my message, I just wanted to properly thank all those who have been sticking with this story from the start. Even those who are just now discovering this fic, I really want to thank you all. Those who have been reading this from Day 1 really know how to put up with me and my absences. I just wanted to let you know that every review I get simply makes my day and that I enjoy reading them! Even if I don't reply to each review individually, I seriously love them all!

So keep reading and keep reviewing as I finish up this fic. Two more chapters!

As a side note, sorry for the Leo-related angst in this chapter. It was bound to happen one of these days. Also, if Lico (or Leico or Valdanglo, which ever you prefer) actually became canon, I always figured their first kiss would be the most awkward and dorkiest thing ever.

Again, thanks for reading!

~Serena