Leo wasn't feeling so hot. Shadow-travel didn't agree with him.
"You know...I think I'll sit down." He promptly collapsed. His friends didn't tease him about it, which he was thankful for. They sat down with him. After a quiet moment, they shared stories.
Frank got promoted to praetor. Cool, Leo thought, at this rate soon most of us would have a chance at praetor. Octavian's face would be priceless.
Everyone was happy for Frank but he acted all humble, he just shrugged it off. "But-" he said, probably trying to direct their attention to someone else when he was saved from the attention.
The Argo II sailed towards them with a very grumpy looking satyr at the railing. Leo figured Coach Hedge was secretly happy to see them.
"About time," He yelled, "It's not polite to keep visitors waiting, cupcakes!" Beside him stood a visibly exhausted Reyna. Covered in scratches and soot, she was barely recognizable.
The cavalry had arrived.
Jason flew Piper up to placate Coach Hedge. She told the coach that the worst was over so he could watch his martial arts TV marathon. With a lot of charmspeak she kept him calm enough to listen to all that she had to say.
Leo sullenly munched on some strawberries as Reyna filled them in on her hard journey to catch up to the Argo II and losing Scipio in the process. She still looked distraught at the coup de grâce she had given Scipio. Her resilience was admirable. The rest of the seven and Nico let her talk at her own pace out of respect for her sacrifice.
After sitting down for an impromptu picnic on the hillside, they talked strategy.
They figured it might take a bit for the Tartarus Trio to arrive so he let the pulley system lower the Athena Parthenos. The gold and ivory cult statue glinted in the sunlight. Her dress seemed to say, Look at me! Look upon the Athenian war treasury and add to its glory! Hopefully, the cult statue protected them from any actions Gaea might make against them.
Mostly, Leo figured they were all thinking the same thing as him. Everyone focused on Nico in case he made any indication of the status of their friends.
They didn't notice the time before the weary Tartarus Trio made an appearance. They seemed worse for wear, Gaea probably tried to eat them alive most-likely.
"Ah, good, we have found you," Damasen said.
Coach Hedge bristled, and tried to reach for a weapon but forgot they forced him to leave it on board the ship for this exact reason. They didn't trust his word to not try to attack their new allies. Piper gave him a warning for good measure. Play nice, she seemed to say. Coach just bleated in annoyance that he won't get to beat anyone up.
The trio looked at the new arrival but said nothing. Reyna just stared at the odd trio. The sabre-tooth tiger seemed to sniff her and purred as he rubbed against her.
"That was fast." Frank noticed. Like Frank, Leo figured it might take them longer. Without Nico, they wouldn't how to exit the Necromanteion. Then again, the giant and the titan probably have been there before or smelled their way out.
"We had to fight off mother, but she is used to her sons wanting to be hidden rather than fighting her will. We must hurry, I do not know when she will try again," Damasen said.
"Oh-h-kay," Jason replied and looked at Leo questioningly.
"What's the hurry?" Leo said, trying not to look too much like he was stalling. "Won't Her Glaring Highness protect us?"
Bob looked to Damasen and scratched his chin, making himself look like the titan version of Einstein. "He is right, I can feel the statue's presence."
Damasen just looked at the Athena cult statue thoughtfully. "Very well, but it would not be wise to linger too long."
"Great! Grab some snacks, we're planning how we're going to save our friends!" Leo said cheerfully. Nico looked even more gloomy if it was possible.
"Leo, I haven't felt anything yet, but they are in Tartarus. Who knows what's going on down there," Nico said glumly, "We can't do anything,"
Jason put his hand on Nico's shoulder who looked at his uncertainly. He probably wondered if he would shadow-travel Jason's hand away from him, Leo thought, Nico was still seriously creepy.
"That is not necessarily true," Damasen began saying, "We know what happened there, more or less. They were defending the Doors of Death. They were cornered and weak. They could not have lasted long. Even so, the fact that you know nothing of their death, son of Hades, says much about their status. They are either suffering a slow and painful death or escaped. The first option is unlikely, Tartarus seemed to favour absorbing the essence of his enemies. The second option is plausible given the experienced demigods, but in my years I have known little hope to be present in these situations."
"If they aren't dead yet, then I would bet on them surviving," Piper stubbornly said.
"It is true. Percy and Annabeth seem quite powerful and resourceful," Reyna said.
"So what do we do now?" Leo asked.
"Something has to be done about the statue," Reyna said, "That was part of the message Annabeth sent me. A Roman leader must return it as a peace offering to the Greeks."
"Yes, Annabeth did write something on a napkin, we burned it at Hermes' altar," Bob spoke up helpfully.
"But don't we need 'the giants' bane' for the final show-down with Mother Nature?" Coach Hedge asked. "We can't be at both battles, cupcakes."
"The camp needs it more," Jason said. He turned to their new allies. "We have all the help we need."
"And," Nico began saying, "Since the cult statue is a pretty big symbol, it would help resolve the long-established tensions between the Greeks and Romans. It might even do something about the gods' split-personality. They wouldn't be at war with each other."
"Jason's right, too many of us have had a vision of Gaea rising at Camp Half-Blood." Piper added while twirling Katoptris in her hands,
"Besides, Katoptris has been showing me that the Roman legion is gathering reinforcements. They are too close to Camp Half-Blood for comfort."
Reyna cursed in realization.
"Octavian seriously needs to get a one-way ticket on a catapult," Frank murmured.
"Okay but..." Leo started saying, "What about the deadline? Feast of Spies, anyone?"
"Spes," Jason corrected, "The Feast of Hope is on August 1st."
"Which makes fourteen days till our deadline," Frank reasoned.
"We wasted eighteen days on a journey that typically takes two or three days," Hazel lamented.
"Well, that's just a sunny prognosis for us isn't it?" Leo added. Their past trip didn't bode well for their future journey. "Ignoring all the possible ways this could end. It still leaves us with the next problem: the size of Miss Popularity." He stuck his thumb out over his shoulder to indicate the gleaming cult statue.
"I was hoping some of you would have the answer to that issue," Reyna looked at them.
"Maybe the Labyrinth?" Hazel offered.
"That would not be wise, even if we joined Reyna we would not be able to guarantee her safety and timely arrival," Damasen replied.
Leo shivered. That place was not something you just casually visited. Nonetheless, Leo tilted his head in contemplation, It could work if Hazel joined her to keep her safe. "You're needed here. Plus the Prophecy of Seven. So how about: No?"
Hazel nodded glumly realizing the only way to use the Labyrinth was if she joined Reyna.
"I'll go." Nico said and looked at Hazel, "Before you argue, I can shadow-travel-"
"But-" Hazel started saying. Jason also looked like he was about to protest.
"I can take short-trips, Reyna will make sure nothing happens to me," Nico looked at Reyna.
Seeing everyone's reluctant agreement, Reyna said, "Very well, but I would have preferred it to have a third person on this quest."
"Coach Hedge," Frank said, then after a pause said, "He's a good warrior, perfect for the role."
Reyna turned to Hedge, "A faun."
"Satyr," Hedge corrected. "You'll need my diplomatic skills to not get attacked by the Greeks. I'll just make a call-er..., I mean, get my baseball bat."
"Alright then," Leo said clapped and rubbed his hands, "Places people. I'm just gonna get something rigged up for the statue." He turned around and got back on board, he couldn't take much more of talking. He felt he needed to do something proactive. If this is my fault, then I need to do something to fix it.
Leo's friends still hung out down below as he worked onboard the ship. When he first got back he told Festus of their new friends but he didn't have time to rig up anything more concrete for the giant and titan.
Sure the ship could hold the Athena Parthenos but a giant and a titan might be stretching things a bit. If one of them stood on the shoulder of the other like some strange cheerleading routine, they would roughly equal the height of the cult statue. Still, that doesn't really give an estimate as to the added weight to the ship.
Leo, knowing now that the statue would be taken care of, figured the fuel required would go back to about the normal rate. When taking into account the two guests meant more fuel, he can't exactly measure the dudes' weight now, can he? Even Leo's not that insensitive.
That meant he would have to guess and hope they wouldn't run out of fuel till Festus found another place to fuel up. Not like they had any other choice, they were their allies so they can't leave them behind to fend off Dirt-Face.
Besides the matter of fuel, there's the question of where to house him. Small Bob could still fit in the lower levels, though Small Bob would have to be careful of his tail. Damasen and Bob were another matter, should he rig up a tent on the upper deck? Would they mind? What if one of them or, gods forbid, both get seasick? The statue at least was placed horizontally so it fit well enough but he figured their twenty-foot allies wouldn't like that. Tents it is then. One could have to stay near the foremast and the other near the quarterdeck, or stick near the mainmast. Leo decided not to pursue it further without their opinion.
Instead, he went to the main engine room. He spoke with Festus on keeping a closer eye on the ship's equilibrium, even more so than before. Festus responded in his typical language of mechanical creaks. Before Leo left the engine room, he told Festus if he could look into the schematics for how to best add a gangway. The rope ladder wouldn't work well for giant and titan. Even if they didn't rip it out, they could have to get on board at the same time on opposite sides or risk tipping the ship over. Or that's at least in theory. Festus creaked confirming that he would look into it.
Leo then ran back to rig up a harness of Nico. That was easier to do. Soon he was done and was about to go back but saw Jason already running towards him looking excited.
Jason tacked him in a hug, "They're alive!"
"Who?" Leo thought, did he miss a monster attack or...Wait-.
"Percy and Annabeth are alive. We just got an Iris message."
A/N: Thank you for the reviews!
Sorry, it took me so long. At the latest, I was hoping to update every 2 weeks but university got in the way.
I'm not sure if the formatting will show so fingers crossed.