(A/N: Well, hey again! Sorry for the lack of updates. Mainly because I sometimes have trouble with Nico chapters. Might take a short break to sort of get my wits about me before writing the next Nico POV. Sorry if it's bad, kind of a filler chapter, kind of not really. But yeah. I love criticism, as long as there are suggestions for improvement, so don't forget to review it! I always feel happy when someone reviews. Enjoy!)

XXVIII

Nico

Nico hurt. His head hurt. So did his arm, leg and pretty much every part of his body.

In the dim light, he could just barely see that half of his body was pinned underneath the Athena Parthenos, which lay on its side on the ground. That was why it hurt so much. As he tried to crawl out from underneath, his vision blurred. He knew that they had roughly travelled five hundred miles- more than they had travelled before. But this time, he didn't feel as tired as before.

A few grunts from the other sides of the statue told him that he wasn't alone in his little dilemma.

"Well, that sure was a short stay in Milan." Reyna muttered, barely loud enough so that Nico could hear.

"Hey!" Coach Hedge yelled over at them. "How do we get out from under here?" a few shifting leaves told Nico he was also trying to wiggle out.

Thankfully, the statue was too heavy, and Nico managed to get out after a bit of struggling.

He brushed himself off and saw the glint of a sword- Reyna's sword. Both her and Coach Hedge had gotten out already.

"Where are we?" Reyna muttered. Her eyes glinted dully in the light.

Looking up, Nico could see the faint outline of trees. Above them, the sky was pitch-black, with the moon barely lighting up their faces.

"A forest." Nico realized. Naturally, because most monsters lived in forests. He loved how every single time they shadow-travelled, they had to go into a monster hotspot. He felt really honored to know that he had an all-you-can-eat buffet for the monsters wherever he went.

Strangely, Nico didn't feel as tired as before. Usually, he would have drifted off to sleep. Now, he felt more awake than before. Maybe he was getting better at it. He didn't care. So long as he could get the statue to Camp Half-Blood in time, it was all good.

The forest was, well… strangely peaceful, actually. At least, until a giant boulder came flying at him and nearly broke the statue's hand off.

It had been so unexpected that Nico was at a loss for what exactly had just happened. He just stared, dazed, at the human-sized boulder that was now wedged in the ground a yard behind him.

Then more boulders came, each one narrowly missing the Athena Parthenos.

"It's too dark." Nico realized. "They can't aim properly!"

The boulders kept flying, landing mere inches from them. "Run!" Nico yelled. He ducked as a giant rock flew over his head, and ran into the bushes. The others followed suit.

"What about the Athena Parthenos?" Coach Hedge yelled, which was strange, considering Coach Hedge didn't really think a lot. His general battle strategy was to 1. Charge in, 2. Beat everyone to a pulp, and 3. Leave while singing The Star-Spangled Banner. He never usually minded this kind of stuff, but as he had journeyed on with the crew of the Argo II, he seemed to have become more and more… fatherly.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Nico yelled back, rather cleverly, "I have no idea!"

So they waited for an agonizingly long time. Unfortunately, Nico still couldn't shadow-travel. Which meant the whether or not the Athena Parthenos stood was entirely dependent on whoever was throwing them. Whoever they were, they did not have good eyesight, because even when the sun started to come up, casting its faint rays across the clearing.

Then, the rumbling started. Apparently, whatever had been throwing the boulders at them had been trying to get them until morning, when it was bright enough to see what was going on.

They all crouched down when a dozen or so clay people with six arms- three on each side. They all had incredibly deformed faces and spoke haltingly, like they weren't familiar with English.

"We-kill-them?" one said.

"Yes." Another one said. "We-kill-them."

A large cheer came up from all around and they carted the statue away using only their bare hands, almost like it was about as heavy as a book. Like, no effort at all. Literally, they just picked it right off the ground and carried it away.

"What are those things?" Nico whispered.

"Gegenees." Coach Hedge whispered back. "The Earth-Born."

They slowly sneaked out of the bushes, following them as quietly as possible. It wasn't too hard, due to their loud noise. They trampled through the woods, oblivious to the loud clamor they were making. No point in fighting monsters that could kill them with their fists.

"Are these monsters deaf or something?" Reyna yelled over the loud clanks, slaps and squelches.

Finally, the monsters stopped at a giant cliff face. Slowly, the very mountain split open cleanly through the middle, creating a giant crack in the cliff through which the Gegenees marched.

It was definitely Gaia. Only she would have been able to make it split so cleanly. Not a single pebble dropped down.

As they sneaked into the cave, the sun was over their heads. It was nearly noon. As they followed, the Gegenees twisted and turned down a giant hallway. A they progressed further and further, the air also got hotter and hotter. They finally found themselves in yet another giant chamber with a pool of lava in the middle.

"Gaia must have these all over Greece." Reyna whispered. "So that as soon as a group of monsters intercepts the statue, they can quickly destroy it."

They ducked behind a stone pillar to avoid being seen. "Well, I don't think we should even go out there." Coach Hedge whispered.

Nico peeked out from behind the column to see one of the Gegenees crush what looked like a giant diamond in between his fingers.

"Yeah." He muttered. "Probably not."

Well, this looks awfully familiar, he thought, looking around. Even up to the ghost. Wait, ghost?

The spirit from before was lying on his side, right against the walls, in a pose that screamed Draw me like one of your French girls.

Nico made a mental note to never, ever ask this guy for fashion choice. He was wearing a deafening Hawaiian shirt, business pants, high heels, and a pair of the most ridiculous sunglasses Nico had ever seen.

"New fashion statement, huh?" Reyna said. He flashed her a murderous glare, but kept his focus on Nico.

"So," he said, looking extremely bored. "I could certainly help you get that statue, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"So why, exactly, are you here?" Nico asked.

The ghost pouted. "Well, I'm not obligated to, so that's a big no-no question."

"I am the ghost king, and I demand you to tell me!" Nico yelled, as quietly as he could.

He kept his annoying pouty face. "No." he said in a little girl voice. "I don't wanna. You're not the boss of me!"

Nico was shocked. Usually, ghosts would bow down head-over-heels to please him. But nope, not this one.

The ghost got up. "Well, son of Hades," he said. "Show me you are worth saving."

He disappeared. Nico sighed, and peered back over at the statue, which was being hoisted up to the chains. Then he noticed it. His blood turned to ice.

"Where's the tiny statue of Nike?"