Freedom

~.~.~.~

Part III: Chapter VII

Break Free

KDOH: The next few chapters are kinda filler chapters to fill the blank gaps that lead to the final ending scene of the last chapter but they will clear up any gaps and confusion anyone had on how we ended up where we were, so bare with me on these flashback scenes. And also I apologize to anyone in advance if the Gods feel OOC but i tried my best to make their reactions not only realistic and authentic to the story but also as close to the characters of the books so hopefully i did okay. BTW I love writing Nico, don't sue me hahaha. And ontop of it i have been suffering for a week with a bad migraine but I wanted to finish this for yall so hope you like it.

…Flashback…
Takes Place after Part III: Chapter II

Warm…

Nico felt warm. For many years all Nico knew was the chill of the cold loneliness of isolation and distance. The last time he remembered being this warm was days before he left camp Half-Blood after he and Will fought.

He remembered it vividly, one of the rare days that Gaea let Apollo shine the sun. He remembered the warmth more so when he lay on Camp Half-Blood Hill, eyes closed for a moment before he turned his head and saw the familiar son of Apollo laying next to him, oblivious to the fact that Nico was watching him.

Rarely had Nice seen such a peaceful smile, such a happy smile in the midst of the darkness of the world ruled by Gaea, but that smile on Will's face warmed Nico's cold soul. It warmed his heart, his soul, his face and cheeks when Will opened his eyes, turned his head and directed that smile at Nico, "Hey sleepy head."

Nico found himself both blushing and smiling shyly, the warmth and life spreading through his body made everything within feel so alive and happy. "Hey yourself. Feeling better with the sun?"

Will smiled and nodded and opened his mouth and spoke, "Oi-"

"Oi, quit zoning out, Nico." Hazel said with a frown as she flicked the top of Nico's head, drawing him out of his lost memory, wincing as he rubbed the tender spot of his forehead.

"Sorry Hazel." Nico sighed as he realized he had gotten lost in his own head. Nothing wrong thinking of warm and happy thoughts when you wake up next to the blazing warmth and odd comfort of the hearth. He still had trouble catching his breath having only come too moments ago thanks to some aggressive but kind encouragement from his sister. "What was it you were asking again?"

"How are you feeling?" She said softly as Nico flicked back to some time ago where he came too with a gasping breath and saw Hazel's panicked but relieved face hovering above his. He hated the panicked look on Hazel's face but she looked so relieved which meant he wasn't dead, he was alive and breathing. "Sorry for scaring you again Hazel." He apologized softly as she shook her head.

"Thank goodness you are okay. I thought I had lost you again." She said as let out a breath before swatting him upside the head, "Stop having near death experiences already. It feels seriously awful feeling you dying ya know. I'm already old, stop trying to make it happen quicker." She said with scowl as Nico chuckled and shook his head.

How he loved his sister. She and Bianca are honestly so alike. It made him sad thinking of his sister who had chosen rebirth before he could say goodbye but he liked to think she was happy and safe in a good home.

"It is good he survived the ordeal, he is still needed. Eat this, you need your energy." Hestia said as she roasted another marshmallow on her hearth and handed it to Nico who accepted it and ate it. "Once you are able to move, you must free the rest of the rest of the Gods. They are needed for this fight too."

Nico sighed, knowing they needed to complete the mission but he honestly was not looking forward to that feeling of once again feeling like a pawn in fate's game, the pawns of the God, easy objects to discard, to the demigods he called his family and friends. "What happened to the twin terror giants?" Nico asked calmly.

"They are learning what it feels like to be in a jar after messing with a daughter of Pluto." Jason said with a cheeky chuckle as he sipped some water, a trickle of water running down his chin which he wiped away after closing the plastic bottle and tucking it away in his backpack.

"I will say one thing Di Angelo, your sister is terrifying." Michael said as he glanced at Hazel, "But she is also remarkable. She possesses the true qualities of a Praetor." Nico glanced at his sister who was blushing.

"Alright, alright, let's stop there and get our stuff together. Who knows who and what creatures are still down here." She said as she looked around the room. "I have no idea where we are supposed to go from here to be honest."

Calypso was rummaging in the rubble of the throne that had been destroyed in the midst of the fighting. "Ah found it." Calypso said as she displayed a clipboard. "When I first came too, I heard him reading the daily schedule-" She bit her lip as she winced, "Today was going to be a really painful day it seemed, at least we saved them from that I guess, not that some did not probably deserve it. But this list does tell us who is down here and there is a very disappointingly drawn map. Guess none of those three knew how to use a ruler." She said as she walked over to Nico and handed him the clipboard.

Daily Roster

Lord of Lighting in his Pants
God who plays with Zombies
King of Swimming Cartoons
Mr. I have No Smarts or Brains
Angry Queen of the Virgin Cultists
Mr. Drunk on Kool-Aid
Miss Know It All Imma Punch
Mr. I Can Only Fly Cause of my Shoes
Mr. I'm So Ugly They Threw Me Out - Transferring Down

Nico rolled his eyes at the listed names, "Honestly, they are giant children, not immortal deities responsible for one of the greatest wars in our history." Nico said with a shake of his head. "It appears my Father, Lord Poseidon, Lord Zeus, Ares, Lady Artemis, Lord Hermes, Dionysus and Lady Athena and Lord Hephaestus are all imprisoned here, Lord Hephaestus is getting brought down it seems. From memory, Hera, Lady Persephone, Aphrodite and Apollo were imprisoned in Olympus but it appears Lady Demeter joined them as she was just moved out. So there must be a gateway or a way somewhere out of here if they move freely other than through the main gate."

"So let's split up." Michael said as he stretched and glanced at the crude map. "This place isn't as complex, so I say me and Jason can go and release Lord Zeus, Lord Ares, Lord Hermes and Lady Athena. You and Hazel can go to the other side and release Lord Poseidon, Lord Hades, Lady Artemis and Lord Dionysus."

"I will go with Lady Hestia to find the vault where all the Gods' weapons are being kept." Calypso said as she opened her bag she had managed to find and pulled out a few glass containers that would most likely turn into Greek fire when ignited. "If that is alright with of course my lady. I know that usually you cannot assist but I think this world requires more than just us mortals..."

Hestia smiled, "Usually we Gods are not meant to travel freely with demigods but you break all those rules to an extent, besides, you need the light, and I will bring it to this fortress. We shall also try and find that exit gate. It should be somewhere nearby." Hestia said as she picked up her fire poker which morphed into a gleaming sword, "I have waited years for the fates to decide it was time for the Gods to fight once more. Pandora's Pithos never once tempted me, because I had faith in you all when you were children and I have even more faith in you now young demigods." Hestia said with a smile.

"You really are different from the other Gods, Lady Hestia." Nico said as he glanced at the Goddess, "I truly am grateful to have talked to you that day." Nico said with a softer smile than he had imagined. "Your faith and trust and hope is astounding."

Hestia smiled as she sheathed her sword, "I once said to a young Perseus Jackson, 'I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian,' and I am proud of this fact." She said as she rested her hand on Nico's shoulder.

"You are more than you know my Lady." Hazel stepped forward, "Even though you are in your Greek form, Vesta or Hestia, you are the heart of the Gods… you kept the hearths burning, kept the hope of home alive with your hope and flames of determination and unyielding faith and trust." She said with shining eyes, "Years went by and your fire always kept me warm, it kept Camp Half-Blood alive, it kept the home of the Gods alive. Because of you, we can stand, we can fight; Olympus, the home of the Gods, can be reclaimed Lady Hestia. I wish to help you reclaim the home of the Gods and earn you the recognition you deserve."

Hestia smiled, "You are all heroes, truly brave and amazing heroes." She said with a smile that rivaled the warmth of her hearth, "Come, you have much to do. Let us free Olympus and the world from Gaea." She said as the demigods all looked at each other and nodded.

Nico was grateful to at least have one God on their side. Nico was quietly musing to himself as the others left the room, "You know there were rumors that the thrones in Olympus were destroyed." He muttered quietly to his sister as they gathered their weapons and bags. Hazel glanced at him wearily and nodded, the rumors were always frequently spoken when Hazel was under Circe's tutelage. "The Gods are practically powerless if it's true, there is only one God who can mend or make the new thrones, but who knows how long it will take."

"We have no idea where Lord Hephaestus is or what they had him do, but we need him if the thrones are damaged or destroyed. We can only hope they are fixable or else the only God who can help us right now is Lady Hestia." Hazel muttered as they walked through the dark hallways.

Years ago Nico would have been praying to his father for a hopeful miracle to give him the strength, but he was here to free his father and the Gods in the hopes that they would be the miracles they needed.

In the quiet silence, the two eventually arrived at their destination, they arrived at a large ominous door, obviously big enough for a giant to pass through. "Looks like we will need some assistance to get this door open." Nico said as he glanced at his sister, "I'm a little out of touch with my geokinesis. You seem to be better at it. Can you help me Hazel?" Nico asked softly as Hazel smiled.

"Of course. Together." She said as they stood on either side of the door embedded in the wall a short distance away. They both took a breath, focusing on the task before them before they thrust their hands forward, their palms hitting the wall with a loud thud. For a moment Nico felt his teeth rattle in his mouth but remained focused as the wall trembled. With a yell and a twist of their bodies, they ripped the door out the wall, throwing it against the wall behind them as the chilling air hissed out, the temperature dropping to a bone chilling cold.

Nico grabbed up his torch lit with the warmth and fire of the hearth as they stepped into the room, the room instantly growing brighter thanks to the torch. For a moment the room felt empty before Nico took in the sight before him and his sister.

The aura of the room itself reminded Nico of the cold embrace of death he felt when he was fading in the forest of curses. The cold mist of the room itself smelt of golden ichor, burnt meat and something else truly dark and horrifying. The walls were caked in splatters of gold that shined in the pale light of the torches that illuminated the room. But that is not what drew his attention, the haunting sound of metal tapping each other drew his eyes forward and up.

Suspended above them, from an intricate series of chains made of celestial bronze, above a pool of sulfur smelling water was a haggard, thin and weak looking figure. The pale stringy salt and pepper shaded hair hung from the person's head, looking singed and burnt on the edges, some areas painted in gold. The figure, a man had a long beard that too looked burnt and caked in ichor, the weak sounds of pain echoed in the empty room as Nico came to startling realization.

He knew this man… no not man, this God. He almost did not believe it but it was the truth… This was the Lord of the Underworld, their Father, Hades.

The last time Nico had seen Hades was the day they fought together, but it honestly looked like the God of the Dead had aged centuries. Even from a far distance Nico could hear the weak sounds made by the God over the intense wailing of the water … wailing water. Nico gasped along with Hazel, both having realized the truth. Somehow the monsters had gathered water from the Cocytus to put in the pool and the two treaded carefully towards the pool of water but the closer they got the more Nico saw that there were not one but two pools. The second held another cursed water, the water of the Acheron, the voices and screaming so loud it almost entranced Nico to leap into the water to be punished.

It was Hazel's quick thinking, having had the strength to reach out and push Nico out the way, a desperate push before she turned towards the open, gaping hole in the wall, her hands extended out, clenched. She let out a yell as she twisted her body, wrenching her hands from one side to the other, and Nico felt the tremble as he watched Hazel use her powers to pull the slab of the door back into the room, throwing it over the pools of water, dragging Nico towards the hanging God.

"The water talks far too much. Stupid spirits acting louder than a session of Roman War Games." SHe grumbled as she flicked a stray pebble off her shoulder before sighing in relief. With the water covered, both felt more comfortable before they charged forwards, "Father!" Hazel called out to Hades to see if he was aware and awake.

The being above them opened his eyes weakly and looked below him before they opened wider, the black pools that were his eyes seemed full of pain and anguish but it was clear to see the relief, the surprise, the relief as he recognized those beneath him. "Nico? Hazel?" He croaked out in a hoarse voice, his throat seeming like it was years dry. Nico could see the strain in Hades face, the obvious pain etched in his features as he hung from the walls, his hands and legs held uncomfortably at angles behind his back.

It made Nico grit his teeth in anger and determination.

"Hold on Father. We are here to set you and the Gods free. We're going to get you down and out of these shackles." Nico said as he tested his stance before he aimed and shot bolts of darkness at the chains stringing Hades above the ground. Each bolt ripped through the chains and Hades fell towards the ground. Hades wasn't suspended too high above them but still it was a decent fall that Hades was too weak to catch himself. Nico was barely able to catch him from landing heavily on the ground, the air leaving Hades' chest upon the impact. "It's alright Father. We've got you." Nico said softly as he pulled his Godly Father's arm over his shoulder, Hazel holding the other over her shoulders as they carried the weak God out the room.

Nico could see the proud look in Hades' eyes, the obvious wish to stand on his own two feet to walk out this room but he reluctantly let Nico and Hazel help by carrying him out the room.

"How long… How long has it been since the Earth Mother seized control of the world." Hades asked as they set him down on the floor propped against the wall as he weakly tried to gain use of his arms and muscles.

"Seven years." Hazel answered as she opened her bag and pulled out the ambrosia and Nectar she had been carrying. "Your battle, the Gods' battle is once again about to begin. The fight for freedom is just beginning." Hazel said as she handed him the cubes of Ambrosia. "Nico go ahead, I will stay with him whilst he recuperates his strength." Hazel said as she glanced at the God who remained silent.

Nico did not always have the best relationship with his father, but the God he knew that once refused to stand with the other Olympians when the War of Manhattan had begun was not the same God whom Nico fought against. Whilst the laws of the Godly world were so absolute, Nico found himself smiling to himself as he remembered the times where Hades seemed more Human than a God. He stood up, unsure if he should share his sentiments with his father, not sure if the prideful, at times angry man would accept the sentiment of Nico being grateful his father was alive.

He took a few steps but stopped when he heard Hades speak, "We as Gods always look as though everyone is beneath us… for a long time they too would look down on me because of who I am and what I do. Be that as it may, we all abide by one rule, never show favouritism for our children. This world should not have existed, but it does and you've both done well… you and the rest of those who fight for us today. You are all braver than centuries of demigod heroes who have come and gone... My daughter Hazel, my son Nico, I am… I am proud of you both." Hades said softly, not looking directly up at his children but he did not need to.

A passing glance between Hazel and Nico reflected one of warmth, understanding, surprise and happiness. Happiness to be recognized by their father, not a God, but their father. The softness of the rough parched voice of the God of the Underworld told them that it was genuine. They for all they knew would die today, but dying knowing that their father acknowledged them with gratefulness and pride meant the world to the both of them.

"Thank you, Father." Nico noticed the slight warmness on Hades' features, he was so used to the harsh steel resolve of the lord of the underworld, but even before today the God had changed, become softer, gentler towards him and it made him smile as he rested a hand on the God's shoulder.

It made him think back to that day in the monk chapel where he remembered that Hades told him that notion, that some deaths cannot be prevented, that some deaths should not be prevented, he wondered if he made the right call that day but there was no dwelling on the past. He rather prefered to remember those kinder words from his father, and how today he felt the same way he did that day.

"My son." Hades's tone was almost gentle. "Whatever happens, you have earned my respect. You brought honour to our house when we stood together against Kronos in Manhattan. You risked my wrath to help the Jackson boy – guiding him to the River Styx, freeing him from my prison, pleading with me to raise the armies of Erebos to assist him. Never before have I been so harassed by one of my sons. Percy this and Percy that. I nearly blasted you to cinders."

Nico took a shallow breath. The walls of the room began to tremble, dust trickling from the cracks between the bones. "I didn't do all that just for him. I did it because the whole world was in danger."

Hades allowed himself the faintest smile, but there was nothing cruel in his eyes. "I can entertain the possibility that you acted for multiple reasons. My point is this: you and I rose to the aid of Olympus because you convinced me to let go of my anger. I would encourage you to do likewise. My children are so rarely happy. I … I would like to see you be an exception."

Nico stared at his father. He didn't know what to do with that statement. He could accept many unreal things – hordes of ghosts, magical labyrinths, travel through shadows, chapels made of bones. But tender words from the Lord of the Underworld? No. That made no sense.

For a long time Nico felt the lingering questions on his mind, was it acceptance, understanding or yet another manipulation because of his father's anger. For the first time he could solidly believe that his father had no ill intentions, only to form a bond with his son, his son Nico Di Angelo whom Hades, Lord of the Underworld called him son with nothing but pride and mauve even tender love.

"Thank you." Hazel said softly, feeling her own emotions overwhelming her as she watched Hades settle a hand over Nico's which rested on his shoulder, an acceptance of the gods touch, considering how much Nico used to hate being touched. He had come a long way and it made him lightly squeeze the Gods shoulder.

Maybe it was because Hades for the first time in centuries truly felt powerless, maybe it was because he had finally relented on centuries of unexposed anger, maybe it was building bridges but maybe it was a start they needed to win this war. Hades accepted his son, whom his son loved, whom he fought alongside and Nico thanked him for that with a single nod and squeeze of the shoulder.

"Rest father. We will handle the rest from here." Nico said in a firm tone, confidence flowing off of him in waves that left no room for a comeback, a retort or remark. He turned and moved on his heel, running down the hallway to the next door, not needing to look back to know his sister and father were looking at him with. Nico felt like cursing the world, it took war, destruction, imprisonment and torture Nico to truly realize the God cared about him, his son and it made Nico boil and damn near explode with confidence and renewed fire he had no idea he had burning inside him.

He was no failure, he was a fighter, a warrior, a survivor. Their war was not over, it was just beginning.

Nico had no idea how long it took before they had freed all the Gods but thankfully they had done it. The second God Nico had freed was Poseidon who was entrapped in a celestial bronze sarcophagus in a pit of dead soldiers stabbing spears through the gaps in the walls of the sarcophagus. The stench of the room was dry and dusty, the walls weren't painted with ichor like Hades' cell had been.

Thankfully it had been fairly easy dispatching the soldiers and releasing the god who was locked in place in chains with a few slashes of his sword. It couldn't have been very comfortable lying on those chains. It was the first thing that Poseidon said when Nico freed him as he weakly stood up, although he fell over a few times like a newborn lamb and Nico almost laughed, almost. He didn't wish to invoke the wrath of the God by laughing at him trying to learn to walk again.

Poseidon was not as skinny in his weakened form compared to Hades, and Poseidon certainly wasn't as weak compared to Hades. As gory as it sounded the only reprieve Poseidon usually had was that his golden ichor blood was liquid… made it easier to heal his wounds. Poseidon wasn't as hesitant as Hades had been to thank the Demigod for freeing him, must be the whole intense personal loyalty to family or something since Poseidon said Nico was Percy's family and that was good enough for him to trust a son of Hades.

After reuniting the two brothers, who greeted each other like an old married couple, 'You look like death,' Poseidon had said to Hades who retorted with a, 'Pft, at least my beard is shorter than yours. Are we sure you aren't the oldest brother?' Nico had never felt the urge to roll his eyes and smile at the same time, it was like the two were acting that they had not been tortured and imprisoned for seven years, but then again they had probably gone through worse.

Hazel and Nico charged forward, leaving the two to their own devices and set to work on freeing Artemis and Dionysus. These two had been easy, the latter not really caring as much as he should about being freed, not that Nico cared that much. If it hadn't been for Dionysus' lackluster performance when facing the twins the first time, maybe their future wouldn't have been what it is right now considering a lot of people would have suffered less. They appeared to have been lenient on Dionysus punishment, he looked a lot healthier than Poseidon and Hades but still had a lot of bruising and what looked to be kick me painted on his back… stupid giant twin children.

When they found Artemis, she was strung up from the ceiling, barely able to stand on her toes from how they had hung her, although the welts on her back and the gauges in her wrist from her shackles meant she had been roughed around a lot. She was stoic, staring at the television screen that replayed the horrors of countless of her hunters executions, namely Thalia. Nico could see the relief of not having to watch their deaths anymore. She said nothing, Artemis was scarily quiet, but grateful to be free of the shackles that strung her like a hanging carcass or fresh kill.

He knew it wasn't much but he knew the words she needed to hear, "I got her into Elysium before they found out. I got as many as I could in Elysium, and took as many as I could to a safe place." He said softly to her as he broke her shackles and freed her wrists.

Nico knew that Artemis regarded very few males, so when she was rubbing her sore wrists and looked at him with a almost soft and grateful expression coupled with a quiet single nod and whispered, "Thank you," he felt as awkward as Percy had been when a man hating goddess had decided not to turn him into a jackalope and hunt him.

It honestly wasn't that long before they reunited with the rest of the Gods back in front of the hearth. Poseidon had helped his begrudging brother walk to the hearth, Dionysus and Artemis following behind the demigods who reunited with the rest of the Gods, Hestia included who stood at the hearth.

Nico found himself next to Jason who eagerly started whispering about how apparently he found Ares with a head mask on with these cartoon devil horns on his head, hanging upside down because of an apparent temper tantrum he had thrown a few days ago. It was a sight to see, but so was seeing a muzzle on Athena apparently. Nico fought the urge to snicker, he could not wait to tell Percy that Athena had a muzzle on or the predicament Ares had been found in. Jason told him how Hermes' release had been simple and easy, same with Athena but Zeus was another challenge. It turned out there was a guard they had to fight who broke through the numerous doors for them chasing Jason, threatening to swat him like a fly.

It wasn't pleasant smelling singed monster flesh after he fell into an electrocuted pool beneath Ares but getting the Gods free was their biggest accomplishment. The Gods all looked more… healthy than when they had when the demigods found them. They had looked like the demigods had been when they were imprisoned in the Camp Half-Blood jail. It had been a shock to see the Gods look like such human beings versus the ethereal beings that had been once upon a time before the war. But still even if they were recognized as Gods, they looked more like demigods.

"Have we found a way to get out of this place? Smells worse than a rotting carcass." Artemis said as she adjusted the fresh tunic she had found to wear, her silvery yellow eyes reflecting the warm fire of the hearth as she gathered her hair into a neat ponytail.

"We should just blow our way out this place." Ares muttered as he stomped round, making Nico roll his eyes. Such an immature God Ares was sometimes, would have been better if it was Mars. At Least he had some respect for the art of battle strategy. "Gimme a machine gun and I'll spill the blood of war and blast us out of here." He said with a scowl on his face.

Athena let out a sigh of annoyance, standing next to Hermes who looked equally as exasperated. "Enough of these pig headed, idiotic, brutish proclamations Ares." She said as she glanced around, "At least be thankful we aren't imprisoned anymore, though it was bound to happen anyway. The fates dictated it, although it could have happened sooner." She said with a stoic expression on her face.

Nico could feel his own muscles tense as he glanced at Zeus who looked thunderous. Nico could smell that the air smelt a little different, almost fresh but dangerous, "This should not have happened!"

"Brother, remember your son's words that day upon the Acropolis." Poseidon stepped in, placing a hand on Zeus' shoulder, "Blaming anyone for the events of the world will not change what happened. We are here in the now. This time we will fight with them as we once have many times. It is our duty to our children, to the world." Poseidon said as he glanced at Nico and the small gathering of Demigods. "These demigods could not have predicted what would have happened, they were thrust into this prophecy, and now here they are trying to save the world. Honestly they should get more credit than the previous acknowledgement you gave them." Poseidon said with a dark scowl.

Zeus' frown on his face darkened as did the storm in his eyes and for a minute Nico could almost see lightning crackling in Zeus' eyes, his rage and anger growing like a literal thunder storm. Can you hear lightning and thunder in Tartarus? "You dare to lecture me? You dare challenge me?!"

"Forgive me brother but I am with Poseidon as much as it pains me." Hades said as he stood up, "Being angry with one another is what led to this future, the war between our greek and roman children could have been prevented, all of this could have been prevented if we acted less proud and acknowledged our children better." Hades said as he weakly stood up, his steps still a little wobbly as Poseidon wrapped an arm around his brother's waist to support him up and Hades didn't scowl. "If I have been taught anything by my Son and my daughter, it's that being a demigod, a mortal is harder than we give them credit for, and essentially that's what we are. Powerful demigods until we reclaim our thrones."

Athena let out a sigh, "Well I can not refute or challenge the logic of both Poseidon and Hades, father. They are right. We may be gods but right now, we need these mortals more than they need us now." Athena said as she glanced at Poseidon who looked at her like she had turned into scylla, "Grow up Poseidon, you and I have had our differences but our children love each other, and you are sometimes smarter than I care to admit. The only one I trust to free my daughter is yours…"

"Annabeth's alive?" Hazel gasped out with wide eyes, staring at Athena whose stoic expression dropped for a moment, the anguish clear in her grey eyes even though it was barely present.

Athena sighed, "I watched what they did to her, it was more horrifying than I expected. Death is one thing to watch, mental torture till you break the mind is worse." She said with a calm tone as she crossed her arms, "So far, for once we as gods have to swallow our pride and walk among demigods into the battlefield until we reclaim our powers."

Nico bit his tongue as he glanced at Jason who stood before his quite honestly murderous looking father and bowed his head, "Father, it will be the greatest honor and pride as your son to fight beside you once more and help you reclaim your throne." Jason said with a soft but proud tone.

"It will be an honor to fight alongside the Gods." Michael said as he bowed to the gods, ever the respectful Roman.

"Whilst we Gods are not meant to show any favoritism to our children, I speak for those who will now speak," Poseidon said as he stood proud, looking at the demigod children before them, "Those who fight today are all heroes. You are heroes whether you believe yourself to be or not. We are proud and imperfect beings, but we do love our children, and whilst we may never change in the future, we will fight today. Regardless of status, powers or who we stand with, I, Poseidon, a God will fight with you demigods and end the Earth Mother's reign of tyranny."

Hades stood up a little straighter even though he was leaning against hades still, the fight in his eyes was present, "You all willingly entered Tartarus, a foolish, idiotic endeavor but a brave one nonetheless." He spoke in a calm voice, his eyes looking upon Hazel and Nico, "The House of Hades will stand with the House of Poseidon and fight alongside you."

"Many times my warriors, my hunters fought with you in my honor. Today, I will fight for them with you." Artemis said as Hestia stood beside her.

"I just wanna go to war so of course I'll fight. As long as I get to blow stuff up you got my fight, although you're all still a bunch of disrespectful punks." Ares boomed with a loud jeer, a smirk on his face, his thirst for a good fight ever present.

Zeus stepped forward and looked at Jason, his eyes speaking the words the King of the Gods was too proud and law bound to speak, "You freed us. We should not fight with you, but we will."

Nico wanted to roll his eyes at Zeus' and his stupid pride but as long as the Gods fought with them, then so be it. Nico would never forgive Zeus for what he did, for the cold blooded murder of his mother, the horror of realizing how much it hurt his father losing his mother. Nico knew his father never forgave himself but Maria Di Angelo had forgiven Hades, but Zeus, even if Nico despised the God, he would still fight for them.

"So what do we do now?" Hazel said as she glanced at Nico who smiled as he directed his gaze at his father.

"The prophecy says, from beneath the dead, an army must fight…" Nico said as he glanced at Calypso who smiled, "Did you fight the entrance into the Underworld that they were using?"

Calypso nodded, "Yep, lead right into the judgement room in the Underworld, there is a secondary elevator to Olympus. Considering they were fighting in Elysium, it is empty, easy for someone to reclaim their throne in the Underworld." She said as she glanced at Hades who had his hand outstretched and Nico stepped forward and placed the Sword of Hades inside the Lord of the Underworld's hand, the power seemingly rejuvenating the God of the Underworld who could finally stand on his own two feet.

"In many centuries I abided by the oaths I made, guess it is time to break a few rules since they are made to be broken as the modern mortal youth would say." He said as the sword glowed in his head, "The guardian has fought well, it is time for me to aid her. I will bring the army, the rest will reclaim Olympus."

"Who put you in charge, Death-Breath." Poseidon chortled as he clapped his brother's back with a slight fondness in his tone.

"It has been centuries since you entered my domain after all, so the only one who can allow you entry is me, and for this one time, you will be welcome." Hades said as he glanced at Nico, "Lead the way out of Tartarus and I will open the way to wherever you need to go." Hades said with a proud voice and Nico nodded.

"We will have to come back to finish this fight." Nico said as he glanced at the large doors leading out the fortress, "The rest of us are facing Gaea as we speak, they will need our help. A few demigods versus an army, we have to level the playing field." Nico said as he glanced at Calypso, "Lead the way to the door. We are busting out of here." Nico said as Calypso smiled.

"Thank you for allowing me to be your guide. This way, this way leads to the future, to the final fight, to the world's freedom." She said as she started walking, Nico and Hazel following close behind her with Hades just behind them, the rest of the gods following behind him, and bringing up the rear was Jason and Michael.

Jason looked at Michael with a smile, "The Greeks really aren't that bad hey he said with a chuckle."

Michael chuckled, "Yeah I guess, so unstructured and free… challenges everything we know but it does make me miss home." He said as he mind wandered to the fond memories of Camp Jupiter, "Wherever they are, we will find them again."

Jason nodded as they looked forward, "We are going to win this fight, no matter what." He said as they walked forward.

They were going to win this war.

They were going to win their freedom today and change the world.

KDOH: well i hope you enjoyed my take on the Gods, and the events of this chapter were not as exciting but its necessary for the future chapters, but I will see you again soon with the next chapter.