When they appeared just across the Little Tiber, Messoria fell to the ground, exhausted. Perhaps she wasn't quite ready for travel.

Reyna pulled her up and she and Len helped her across the river and into New Rome, chaos had erupted. "Len, take Messoria to the Praetor's living quarters, tell Zhang she needs to be present for our discussion." Len nodded and took Messoria off in a different direction.

Almost immediately after the warmth of Messoria's body had disappeared from Reyna's body, a large group of legionnaires swamped her. "Praetor! Zhang, he's ordered-"

"Dakota," Reyna snapped, a different legionnaire stepped forward. "Control him. I need information on the progress of the evacuation-" A large bald eagle swooped down from the sky, landing as Frank Zhang. "Praetor Zhang." Reyna greeted, shaking his hand and giving him a half hug. "How are things going? It looks as if chaos-"

"Yeah," Zhang glared at a small group of stagnant legionnaires, they burst into motion, back to the work they had been assigned to do. "The veterans aren't thrilled about jumping back into service, and we have nowhere safe to evacuate the others."

"I think we should send them to Camp Half Blood. They have a magical barrier that will keep monsters from catching them, and all of Thanatos' forces will be concentrated here."

"Why here? And what in Pluto's name is going on?"

"That's a story for somewhere safer. I believe you understand the gravity of the cargo Grayson Marx is carrying?"

"I'm aware, and I have it in the safest place I can think of, the castle we use for War Games."

"Perfect, we know all of the weaknesses and can defend it well."

"I called in Percy and Annabeth. They're on their way."

"Good, we have to keep things moving. I need to contact our allies."

"I'll organize the evacuation more. Children and elderly to Camp Half Blood!" He boomed, his voice carrying over and catching the attention of the nearest legionnaires. Mothers were torn away from their children and husbands from their wives. Reyna caught a glimpse or two of people she had known during the Titan War, who had retired shortly after for the sake of their own sanity. Guilt wrenched her gut and she nearly doubled over as she marched to find a safe place to message her sister.

She found herself back at her own Praetor's quarters. Len waiting beside a barely conscious Messoria. "Orders, Praetor?" Len stood ramrod straight.

"Find the Seven, they'll be a wealth of information. Bring me Nico di Angelo, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Clarisse la Rue, if you run into Zhang ask him for Jason Grace and Piper McLean. I need the best of the best to help me with this." Reyna ran a hand over her face. "Go,"

Len took off running, scythe, given to her by Messoria, bouncing on her back and clinking against the metal of her dented and grimy armor. Reyna turned to study Messoria, she had fallen asleep during her orders, but she supposed it wouldn't matter, she was only of use to them if she were ready for battle.

Reyna moved Messoria herself to the couch in her own flat, finding her way back into the Crisis Room. Reyna spread out huge maps over the table, studying the layout of her own Camp. She already knew every stone and blade of grass by heart, but she needed to be sure. Percy and Annabeth arrived first, in full Greek battle gear, weapons sheathed at their sides.

Reyna spared them a greeting and immediately turned back to her maps. "New Rome is going to be attacked by an incredibly powerful force and I need everyone to be here before I can explain anything in detail." Reyna was in full battle mode by now. She had taken charge of her own emotions, put aside her worry for the Reaper asleep on her couch, and instead allowed the feeling of being back in her comfort zone to wash over her. She knew what needed to be done. She was a daughter of Bellona, the one thing she knew how to do was wage war.

Annabeth and Percy nodded and took a seat, Annabeth carefully eyeing the maps with as much attention as Reyna herself. "We've heard you're evacuating New Rome."

"I'm evacuating those who can't fight, we've recruited every single able bodied person in all of New Rome and it's still not enough. I've got to message the Amazons, I've got to gather every ounce of demigod that could possibly fight on our behalf and get them here, now."

"What in Hades is going on?" Piper McLean demanded, as she entered the Crisis Room alongside a very pale Jason Grace. Clarisse followed shortly after, but she already knew the state of affairs. Nico was the last to appear and Reyna felt even more guilt at the sight of him. Reyna started to make markings on her maps with the help of Annabeth, she may not know what was going on but her natural brilliance in battle strategy was starting to get to her.

Reyna gestured for her to sit and wait as Clarisse joined them with strategy. "I can get the Spartans over this way, hold off that entrance."

"We'll need a patrol, the arrows seemed to work well with them, I'm thinking Apollo kids on the roofs of buildings and a patrol of archers, if we can get the Hunters with us-"

"Praetor, what are we going to do about the temperature?" Len asked from the back of the room. Reyna hadn't noticed her entrance, and she didn't mind, the kid was surely gifted enough and her question was very valid and very distressing. The other members of the room looked at the kid in surprise.

"Oh gods," Reyna rubbed at her temple, gripping the sleeve of Messoria's jacket with her other hand. She hadn't noticed the temperature in the cave, simply because she had yet to give Messoria her jacket back. "They'll freeze to death with that many Reapers."

"Can we have an explanation now?" Zhang entered, still miffed about the chaos going on outside. "I left Dakota in charge, he should be okay."

Reyna sprang into action, moving the white board, as if giving a presentation for school. Not that she had even attended a school since she was ten.

"Thanatos, the God of Death is about to wage war on New Rome." Reyna stated simply. "He wants to take the throne from the King of the Underworld, depending on who you are, that's either Hades or Pluto. However, in order to do so he wants to unleash the evils contained in Pandora's Box, which my team and I recovered earlier today." That statement only reminded Reyna of her own exhaustion. "The Box is hidden within New Rome right here in this castle. We will be defending it against the strongest army we've ever had to face. You don't want to know what will happen if we fail."

Annabeth and Percy both had matching looks of disappointment and terror. "Reyna-" Percy began.

"Should I explain to them?" Reyna looked to her sister and then to Nico and Clarisse. Each gave a single nod. "This war, if it is directed at the King of the Underworld will tear apart the Underworld. Ghosts you will never want to meet will rise. Gaia will rise, the Titans will rise, the Giants will rise, the only people, basically, that won't rise will be the Olympians. Even worse, they will all rise at the same time. It was hard enough with them one at a time!" Reyna in frustration turned away from the two. "I understand, believe me, I understand that you're tired of fighting. I am too. But the world is at stake and the Gods best line of defense is a group of teenagers."

"Then, if this army is so powerful, how are we going to defend ourselves?" Piper asked carefully.

"Don't worry about that," A tired voice from the back of the room spoke. "I have a plan." Messoria stepped forward. "There's a few catches, I mean, there always will be. But that's not the point. The point is, we need to engage Thanatos himself before the battle gets too bad. It won't just save lives but it will keep our army moving. If we can kill him quickly, then the temperature won't drop so bad-"

"Temperature?" Jason asked. "You keep mentioning the temperature?"

Percy and Annabeth were completely bewildered, they didn't know Messoria, and they were shocked Reyna allowed such a low ranking legionnaire in this discussion. "Hold on, who are you?"

Messoria flashed a smile. "Yeah, I'm a Reaper, prime example of what's to come, however, I don't have wings, kinda sucks but we can't all be perfect."

Reyna snapped her fingers to catch Messoria's attention. "Stay on task. Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, this is Messoria, she's a Reaper, one of Thanatos' children. Her siblings are this army that is coming after us. They have a few things that make it much more difficult to fight them."

"Such as, the ability to kill on contact, the ability to spawn our own weapons, these weapons are super deadly by the way, and we can fly. Well, 'they' can fly." Messoria pouted slightly. "Anyway, I don't suspect Thanatos to leave any Reapers guarding the underworld. So that should make it easier for us to avoid death, but that does mean that these Reapers won't be dying either. Also, when we fight, get emotional, and such, the temperature drops a huge amount, especially when there's a large group of us. These temperatures are difficult for even us to function in, each of my siblings have a magical jacket just like that one," She pointed to Reyna, who in turn blushed a little. "To protect ourselves. However, demigods like you will freeze to death way before any of us get even slightly uncomfortable, that is, without our jackets. But they'll be wearing them which means they're pretty much good for subzero temperatures downwards of thousands below."

"Good Gods," Annabeth rubbed her temple. "How long has this been in the making?"

"Only since Frank over there freed my father from his chains a year or so ago."

"You didn't tell anyone-"

Messoria turned to Frank abruptly. "Traitor of Death, pleasure to meet you." Her words were like ice and everyone in the room froze. "I didn't know any of you two weeks ago, so give me a break would you?"

The silence in the room was unsettling. Reyna sighed. "Jason, could you get into contact with your sister and ask her for aid? Clarisse, we're going to need every bit of backup you can pull together, any allies of the Greeks will be greatly appreciated."

"We're in the process of transporting all of the Greeks this way. They should be here soon enough, by tomorrow if we're lucky."

"Gods we don't have until tomorrow." Reyna mumbled to herself. "Thank you, Clarisse. We should move this meeting closer to the Box, we'll decide our course of action there."

They nodded and the entire room stood, shuffling out of the door, fear evident on their faces. Reyna gathered her maps and a few other useful papers and followed. Messoria waited for her at the door as the others walked on ahead. "Reyna, we can't hold them off for long. You know that."

"Messoria, you can't possibly expect Nico to-"

"I know!" Messoria growled. "I know, look, I hate myself for it too, but the prophecy states clearly that I'll only be aiding a new king. I can't take the throne and you know that. Nico's the only option-"

"And it'll destroy his life." Reyna snarled. "If you knew half of the things that kid has gone through, gods if you knew you wouldn't suggest him."

"Reyna, I know, believe me I know. But if he doesn't take the throne then who else will? No one else has the power or the control that he does!"

"You do!"

"I'm the Traitor!"

"You can't do that to him!"

"You're letting your feelings get to you." Her entire body language changed. Messoria straightened her back, jutting her chin out slightly and squaring her shoulders. "Are you emotionally compromised Praetor?"

Annabeth and Piper had noticed their hushed arguments and stood a distance off, waiting for them to catch up. Reyna could see the curiosity on their faces. "Of course not."

"It seems like you are."

Reyna wanted to punch her, but she knew she couldn't. "Messoria-"

"Reyna."

She looked away from the icy eyes boring into her skull. "Messoria, he's broken enough as it is. Becoming a god, tearing him away from the friends he only just began to trust, uprooting his entire life, that's worse than the Fields of Punishment."

Messoria seemed to sag. "I know." Her voice cracked. "But there's no one else."

Reyna marched away, joining Annabeth and Piper. "Everything alright, Reyna?" Annabeth asked carefully.

"Not really," She snapped, picking up a fast pace as she scanned the streets.

"I don't think that's what she meant." Piper smirked. "What was that argument about?"

"Very dark things," Reyna grumbled. "We have to get moving, we need to be organized by nightfall tonight, I'd hate to see what happens if they attack us while we're so vulnerable."

Both girls dropped the subject and allowed their friend to lead them to the castle. Legionnaires parted like the seas for Reyna as she led everyone up several flights of stairs and onto a veranda overlooking the battle fields. Soldiers dashed back and forth, preparing projectiles and moving weapons back and forth across the field. Arrangements had to be made to make the castle better equipped for defense against an actual army, but Reyna knew it was very possible. With all of the Fauns now working under her control she had rudimentary mechanics capable of climbing walls and fixing damage made by projectiles.

Zhang was talking, explaining things to their centurions, making battle plans. Reyna didn't really want to listen to him, she was engulfed in her own worries. She looked over at Nico, who was smiling and talking to Annabeth and Percy, he still looked tired but gods he didn't look so sad anymore.

She couldn't let his life be destroyed again.

"Reyna," Messoria called out. "Do you have any ideas on how to keep things warm enough for the legion?"

"Fire?" Zhang suggested.

A shadow fell over everyone as they remembered their dead friend. "That would do it." Messoria shrugged. "But how would we keep the fire, one, from killing your legionnaires, and two, spread evenly around New Rome?"

Annabeth snapped her fingers. "Trenches, we dig trenches a few feet deep and fill it halfway with flammable material, set fire to it and we've got warmth. If we design them just right, the layout of the trenches could even help us in the long run."

"What would we put in it?" Percy asked.

Reyna groaned. "Of course!" She glared slightly at Annabeth. "The buildings of New Rome are pretty flammable." She growled, looking away. "I do everything I can to build this place up and look what happens…" She rolled her eyes. "Why do I bother?"

"Because you love New Rome." Messoria rolled her eyes. "Now let's get over this whole 'I hate my job' thing because we all know it's garbage." She teased.

Reyna glared a little more before she turned back to Annabeth. "I trust you can design the trenches? I'll give you the authority to command a few hundred soldiers in the digging."

"I've got another idea!" Percy smiled. "You said these Reaper guys can't get killed right? Thanatos won't let them. Well, if the temperature drops then water freezes! I can soak them in water and let them just freeze solid! That'll work right?"

Piper shrugged. "Worth a shot right?"

Percy nodded. "We have those water cannons from the War Games, they're not uninstalling them are they?"

Reyna shook her head. "No worries. You don't happen to have any fish friends you can recruit from your father's side?"

Percy tilted his head. "I might be able to get a few people in…"

"Go then," Reyna flicked her wrist. Annabeth had already buried herself in designs and Zhang was working with Clarisse on defensive designs. Jason stood near Reyna with Piper beside him. "Jason," She nodded. "I need someone down there who can direct the legionnaires in evacuation procedures."

Jason saluted and took off. "I'm going with him, I can keep people calm."

"Go," Reyna nodded. "Nico, Messoria, I believe we need to talk."

The two children of the underworld followed her a distance from the rest of the group. "Yes, Reyna?"

"Why don't you explain this one?" Reyna sent a pointed glare at Messoria.

Messoria cleared her throat. "As you've probably guessed, you can't really kill a god. Much less the god of death."

"So?"

"So, er, we need to replace him. With someone who already has power over the dead." Messoria scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "You,"

Nico stared at them, and for a moment Reyna thought he might kill them. She had seen some of the things that he could do and it was terrifying. "Nico-"

"No!" He shouted, tears streaming down his face. "No, you can't do that to me!" His fists were balled at his sides, his black eyes glared holes and Reyna flinched. "You can't do that to me! I've just-"

"Nico," Messoria spoke softly, softer than Reyna was aware that she was capable of. "Nico, listen to me. I don't want this anymore than you do. But you're the only one who can."

"No," His voice was hoarse, and he'd attracted the attention of everyone around them. "No I can't! You can't do this to me! I- I have friends, I have a boyfriend, and family, and you can't do this to me!" He screamed.

"Nico-" Messoria began, but Reyna cut her off with a light backfist to her gut. Probably a much worse hit than she deserved, she was still working on getting her intestines in the right place, but it shut her up all the same.

"Nico, we don't want to ask this of you."

"No, you can't."

Reyna allowed him to storm away. She allowed him to run off and she forced Messoria back. She knew she'd lost Nico's trust in that moment. He probably thought that she wanted this. He probably hated her and honestly she couldn't really blame him, she'd supported Messoria in a way.

Messoria slumped against the railing. "What are we going to do, Reyna? He's literally our only choice!"

Reyna rounded on the Reaper with a withering glare. "He's been through enough, it isn't fair."

"Gods none of this is fair!" Messoria shouted. "None of it! It's not fair that Thanatos was Hades' slave for thousands of years, and it isn't fair that I was Thanatos' slave for nineteen years! It isn't fair that I've betrayed my family, and it isn't fair that you think that you have too! It's not fair that Nico has had a crappy life, and it's not fair that Clarisse lost everyone she loves, it's not fair that Len has nowhere to go, and it's not fair that Grayson is ignored so much, it's not fair that Frank is thought of as weak when he's clearly not, and it's not fair that your home will be destroyed, again! It's not fair, it never will be! If you want someone to blame, blame the gods, because I can't control them. Gods if I could make things easier for you, I would, but I can't!"

Reyna was speechless. Messoria glared just a little longer before looking away. "Messoria, we can't force Nico to do anything."

Messoria snorted. "Well, we'd better figure something out."

"C'mon, I have to go talk to my sister."

"And you need me to come along?"

"No, but it's better you come with me than risk someone beating you to death for something you said." Reyna smirked, pulling Messoria along. "C'mon, we have to go to San Juan."

A/N One of the perks of working through writer's block, you get crap done, and quickly. Of course, if I were studying like I should be then perhaps this would have taken longer. *cough cough* Anyway, build up to some stuff about ready to go down, I definitely feel like Nico should have been a bit more PO'd, but oh well, he tends to bottle things up anyway. Please drop me a review and enjoy!