***Here's the "bonus" Nico chapter (since Rick Riordan said on Twitter that there will be some Nico chapters in the real Blood of Olympus), hope you like it! Chapter 21, from Leo's POV, will be up by Tuesday, May 13. And to answer the questions of the Guest reviewer, the story is going to be 40 chapters total and I hope that the ending I've planned feels realistic, that's my goal. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!***

NICO

Nico was beginning to regret coming to the Triple G ranch. Not that Eurytion, the giant cowherd, and his two-headed dog Orthus weren't good hosts; they were great, actually, and Eurytion's barbeque was the best Nico had ever had. But it was currently 110 degrees in the shade in Texas and Nico was not enjoying it. Plus, his skin honestly wasn't used to this much sunlight. Nico was pretty sure he was going to look like a tomato soon. He'd already been turned into a cornstalk in Venice; he really didn't feel like resembling any other vegetables. So he stayed on the farmhouse porch, in the shade, wishing for a breeze to make the day a little less sweltering. But, like most of the things he wanted, he didn't get it. The air was as still and suffocating as the jar Ephialtes and Otis had trapped him in.

Okay, don't think about that, Nico told himself sternly. But if he stopped thinking about the jar, and Tartarus, and Greece, he started thinking about Reyna. The image of her collapsing to her knees with a knife in her back was burned into his brain. And what had he done?

Run away. Because apparently that was what he was good at.

Telling himself he had saved the statue (and the satyr) didn't help. Nico glared at the Athena Parthenos standing in the front yard. Waves of heat rolled off its gilded surface, making the statue shimmer. So much effort, so much sacrifice for one stupid object that so far had done nothing except make everyone's lives miserable.

And after all that trouble to get the thing across the Atlantic, here they were, stuck in Texas almost two thousand miles away from where the statue needed to be. Nico slumped in his chair. He decided that if someone killed Octavian before he got a chance, he'd resurrect the skinny augur just long enough to punch him in the face. The thought marginally cheered him up.

The only good news was that, as far as Nico could tell, Reyna was still alive. At least, he hadn't noticed her die. Same with Hazel, Percy, Jason, and the others. Nico kept checking in with the Underworld, but he hadn't seen any of their spirits show up.

"So there's that," he muttered.

Coach Hedge came out onto the front porch. His baseball cap was pulled down low to shade his eyes and he was tapping his bat against his leg. The coach had thrown a fit when Nico shadow-travelled them away from camp, and not just because of Reyna. Hedge had come clean to Nico about his wife and baby. Nico had apologized for taking him away, but he finally made the coach understand it had been the best choice at the time. Once Octavian labeled them assassins, there was a good chance the Romans would have shot first and asked questions later. "You can't help your family if you've been executed," Nico had told him and, grudgingly, Coach Hedge had agreed.

Now, the satyr, too, shot a glare at the statue. "We need to do something about this. Feast of Spes is tomorrow."

"I'm open to ideas," Nico said.

"What, I have to be the brains and the brawn?" Hedge said indignantly.

Nico didn't respond. He was staring across the fields and animal pens (which were all in much better shape thanks to Geryon not yet reforming) and thinking about the last time he'd been at the ranch. He'd been lost and angry, avoiding dealing with his grief over Bianca's death by obsessing over bringing her back. Percy, and Annabeth, had helped him then. Nico wanted to help them, and Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, and Leo, by delivering the Athena Parthenos. If the statue could heal the gods, maybe the Olympians could help the demigods in Greece to defeat Gaea.

But Nico couldn't take the statue back to Camp Half-Blood. Without Reyna to mediate, there was almost no chance the Romans would listen. However, as Nico thought about it, there might be one other place he could take the statue. It wasn't exactly what they had planned, but he thought it might work.

Nico hated to admit it, but he needed help to make this plan work. He just had absolutely no idea where to get it. The only person he'd ever really gone on quests with was Percy and he was in Greece, probably preparing for the final fight with Gaea and the giants. Same with Hazel.

As he watched the river snaking its way across the fields in the distance, Nico was vaguely reminded of Percy telling him about Bob the Titan, who had helped him and Annabeth through Tartarus. Nico rememebered fighting the Titan on the banks of the Lethe before Percy blasted him with water and erased his memory. That had been during a less-than-fun quest when Nico's goddess stepmother Persephone had recruited him, Percy, and Thalia to the Underworld to retrieve Hades's lost sword.

Nico sat up straight liked he'd been jolted with electricity. That's appropriate, he thought wryly. He looked at Hedge, who was still grumbling at the statue. "I have an idea," Nico told the satyr.

Nico and Thalia had never been close. She was Annabeth's friend, and Percy's. But, Nico remembered, she had also been Bianca's friend. Plus, he had a lot of respect for the daughter of Zeus and the things she had done.

Thalia listened closely as he explained the situation through an Iris message. Her blue eyes were piercing, like her brother's, and Nico fought hard to ignore the memories of Croatia and Cupid. Focus, he thought. When he finished explaining, Thalia didn't ask questions. She just nodded and said, "We'll help you."

"We?" Nico asked.

"Grover and I." Thalia gestured to the satyr standing next to her. Grover waved. "We're in Colorado right now, but I can call in a few favors and we'll be there in a couple hours."

"Great, thanks," Nico said, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. It always half surprised him when people were willing to help him out. "See you soon."

He swiped through the Iris message and turned back to Coach Hedge. "Come on, we'd better get ready to go."

Eurytion was helping Nico attach a rope harness to the Athena Parthenos when Thalia and Grover walked up the gravel driveway. Orthus barked in two-part harmony and ran to greet them. Thalia scratched the dog's ears, but Grover cringed, remembering, Nico guessed, that the two-headed dog hadn't been quite as friendly the last time they'd been at the ranch. Orthus led the way back up the driveway, with Thalia and Grover following. They both froze when they saw the statue.

"Zeus Almighty," Thalia muttered. She looked at Nico. "And you say this will cure the gods' schizophrenia?"

Nico shrugged. "Supposedly. Athena told Annabeth in a dream that the statue needed to go to Camp Half-Blood, but with the war and what happened to Reyna, that's not going to work right now."

"So you want to take it to Olympus, instead?" Thalia asked.

Grover eyed the statue. "That thing's never going to fit in the elevator."

"No," Nico agreed, "which is why we're going to shadow-travel."

Grover gave a nervous bleat. "Shadow-travel onto Olympus? Without an invitation?"

"Pretty much."

"We are so going to get incinerated," Grover mumbled.

"Relax, goat boy," Thalia said, though she looked a little pale. "If this works, the Olympians will be thanking us."

"Let's get a move on, cupcakes," Coach Hedge said, coming out of the house where Nico suspected he had been sending an Iris message to his wife. "First stop, Olympus. Second stop, Camp Half-Blood." He eyed Nico. "You can get us past the barriers?"

"I've done it before," Nico said.

Hedge jerked his head in a nod. "Good. And, uh, the sooner we can get back to camp, the better, because the baby's coming soon."

"How soon?" Nico asked.

"Let's just say, I'd appreciate it if this Olympus business doesn't take too long."

Nico felt a jolt in his stomach. It took him a moment to realize that the feeling was excitement. With everything bad that was going on, it was a relief to know that something good, like a new baby, could happen, too. "Don't worry, Coach. You have my word that once we're done on Olympus, I'll get you home to your wife."

"Appreciate it," Hedge said gruffly, clapping Nico on the shoulder before going to the statue and picking up his part of the harness.

Thalia and Grover followed the coach's lead, strapping themselves in. Nico turned to Eurytion. "Thanks again for letting us stay."

"Glad to have the company," the cowherd said. He squinted at the statue, then held out his hand to shake Nico's. "Come back and see us again. And good luck."

"Thanks," Nico said again. For just a moment, despite the blazing sun and the humidity, he wished he could stay here on the ranch. It was peaceful. But he couldn't stay. He had to get the statue to Olympus and try to heal the gods so they could help his friends in Greece. Hazel needed him. Percy needed him. Nico couldn't let them down.

So he shook Eurytion's hand, gave Orthus a last pat, and stepped forward to take his place between Thalia and Coach Hedge. As he pulled the ropes over his shoulders, Nico said a silent prayer that his plan would work. He hoped at least one of the gods was listening. Then, he took a deep breath and stepped into the shadows.