AUTHOR'S NOTE: See that! I'm on time! A week early even! One might argue that I never gave you guys a schedule for when I would publish stuff and hence I can't "technically" be early but here's what I have to say to them: *blows raspberry*

My muse had been most generous this week which is why I had been able to finish this chapter so soon. It was originally going to be up on Friday(Day before yesterday for people from other time zones) but I ran into some minor issues but fear not! It is here now!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its various prequels/sequels. The rights solely belong to... *looks over shoulder* *hushed whispering* Sorry about that! I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It belongs to Uncle Rick and whomsoever he considers worthy of the ownership. *looks over shoulder and nods* I also don't own Harry Potter if that was ever in question.

The Fire that Does Not Burn

"Normal Talking"

'Mental Conversations/Thinking'

'Magic Speak'

Date: 19th May 2005

Location: The Sanctuary

Time: 1030 hours

"What do you know about the celestial weapons used by the Elder Olympians," Selene asked Misty. Both were resting in the Entrance Chambers, one with a book in hand and the other taking notes just in case.

"Uhh... Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were the first generation of the Olympians that had been given weapons crafted by the legendary Hundred Handed Ones and the Elder Cyclopses. The Hekatonkheires made the weapons while they were trapped in Tartarus, under the orders of the Titan-Lord Kronos. Zeus has got a Lightning Bolt which, mythologically, can smite anything that it is aimed at but according to your books blasts a strong concentration of lightning, heat, and raw spirit energy that causes the target to fade from existence instead of 'dying' and going to the Underworld or Tartarus." Misty was prepared to continue on to the Trident and the Helm but Selene held up a hand asking her to stop.

"What would you do if your enemy had managed to capture the Lightning Bolt?" Selene asked what Misty assumed was a rhetorical question.

'I don't suppose lay down and die is an adequate answer?' she questioned Mystery in her head.

'Not unless you want toilet duty.' her friend answered honestly.

"Try to hide from their sights so they cannot aim at me?" she said tentatively.

"I would award you a silver star for your idea if I could find the remains of your body after it had been blown apart by the Bolt."

Misty sweatdropped and asked Selene what she would do; after she scratched off 'HIDE' from her notes.

"The Lightning Bolt utilizes a large amount of spirit energy. When I taught you spirit magic, I told you that spirit energy that has no purpose does not stay stable. It explodes soon after exiting the user's body and is forever lost to the user. A waste of energy unless you are trying to commit a kamikaze move. The lightning bolt works by pulling the wielder's spirit energy. However, instead of shaping it into a particular function, it stores it in its raw form until it is discharged along with the lightning and the heat. Which means that the target will be sufficiently tired after the first blast and unless you are battling someone above or on Olympian level, you will be able to take them down before they can prepare a second blast."

"Which means that you need to appear to be, at all times, the second-most threatening person in the room even if you are the largest threat in reality."

"Okay... but why are you telling me all this?" Misty said.

"Because Zeus' Primary Lightning Bolt has been stolen."

…

…

…

'Tee? You alright? Want me to give you a little pick-me-up?' Mystery asked.

"Where was it stolen from?" she nonchalantly asked Selene, almost being afraid of the answer.

"From Olympus during the Winter Solstice," Selene answered knowing where her Sentinel was going.

"So let me get this straight..." Misty began putting aside the notebook and the pen, "One of the strongest weapon, and perhaps the strongest weapon if I consider only raw offensive potential, that can annihilate any god, demigod, immortal, mortal, and perhaps even a weakened Titan with a single hit, with a nigh-inevitable targeting system, was stolen from the very palace of the Olympians. A place where at least 40 major or minor gods and immortals could be found awake regardless of the time. A place which houses the currently ruling celestial race. A place which would have been the prime target for any enemy and should be almost impossible to infiltrate, much less escape from. And then," a small vein bulged on her head when she said this, "someone managed to steal The Lightning Bolt of the current King of the Olympians on the liveliest day of winter?"

Selene winced at the frank admission of their stupidity but she had little pity left for the Olympians after they had voted her out of Olympus. "Well when you put it like that, you are simply highlighting their incompetence. Regardless, the bolt has been stolen. And here's where it gets tricky."

"Zeus is accusing Poseidon of the act. It is widely known that other gods cannot lay their hands upon any celestial weapons that belong to somebody else. However, demigods are exempt from this law. And it has recently come to light that Poseidon might or might not have a demigod child that he has hidden from the rest of the Olympians."

"Does Poseidon having a child with a mortal not violate the Treaty of Olympia signed after the second world war?" Misty asked.

"It does but since Zeus broke it twice, and with the same woman, he is hardly in a position to bring it up."

"What about Hades?"

"He still has the moral high ground but he has holed himself up in his palace in the Underworld."

"Is he hiding something?" Misty asked suspiciously.

"Hardly," Selene scoffed. "After his throne was taken away, he often withdrew into social isolation in the Underworld when Persephone had to leave. If not for his wife returning to him, the geek would probably spend all his time without seeing another face. It isn't a secret that the Furies are more of an interaction buffer than peacekeepers for the Underworld."

"Okay... If Hades is simply being a social loner and Poseidon has only circumstantial evidence against him, whom does that leave?"

"We don't know yet. But you are going to find out," Selene said.

"Who's our informant this time," asked Misty.

"It is not an informant this time so much as our ally," Selene spoke. She got up from her chair and moved to the fireplace. Misty got up to follow her and stopped beside her. "It is time that you met up with Hestia, the only Elder Olympians who still supports us."

Date: 19th May 2005 of the Gregorian Calendar.

Location: Ares' Palace, Mount Olympus.

Time: 1900 hours || local time

Ares, God of War and Blood lust, Son of Zeus and Hera, Member of the Olympian Council, Lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love was not happy. Of course, if one were to ask him if he had any reason to be unhappy, he would laugh at their faces after he smashed their nose, urinate on their knocked-out body, and depending upon the day of the week and the mood that Aphrodite or one of his myriad of other mistresses were in last night, have his way with their wife. Ares was one such god that had few,, if any, restrictions set upon his actions and as such was free to seek his happiness where his soul, and in many cases his cock, directed him.

Being a god who reigned over the domains of war-slaughter and battle-lust, he had no shortage of power. The mortal world was rife with conflict and more often than not there was someone on the land below Mount Olympus who was either partaking in war and feeding Ares from the resulting slaughter or someone who had been overwhelmed by their blood lust and assaulted someone in their haze-filled stupor. This led him to be what many considered one of the stronger Olympians.

After all, the gods were only strong for as long as they were remembered and praised. Else they would end up fading, much like Helios had.

Having that sort of power with him had left him with a much looser lease around his neck; as compared to Hermes or Dionysus. His father was aware of the fact that trying to curb some of his more violent tendencies would inevitably lead to conflict. A battle which would lead to him getting stronger. There was nothing worse than an enemy who gained his strength from an act of violence. It made him theoretically infallible.

But despite his usual carefree attitude, he was troubled. It had been a scant-few month since he had been leading his sons Phobos and Deimos to hunt for the suicidal demigod who dared to steal Zeus' Master-Bolt. It had been a point of pride for him when he caught the rag-tag crew of the four demigods who had Hermes' stench over them before the others.

Athena, who prided herself over her much prized "strategy" and Artemis with her gaggle of stuck-up prudes had both looked down upon his more brutish practices over the millennia. It had been particularly delightful when he put the two dried-up hags in their places. Aphrodite had walked bow-legged for a week after his victory.

Shaking his head to get back to his original thoughts and away from the luscious legs of his lascivious lover, he thought about the proposal that Luke Castellan had offered him. A chance at war. A war between the Olympians and the Titans.

He had scoffed at the audacity of the boy. The Titans had often led an uprising over the centuries and each was put down before they could gain even a smidgen of ground. There was simply too much pathetic blood amongst the Titan-Lords to defeat the might of him and the other Olympians. Ares did not concern himself with the fact that the ichor that flowed through his veins was the same that flowed through the veins of many of the Titans he had defeated over the years. His brain had not yet evolved to reach such simple conclusions without outside influence. But he had no need for something as useless as a brain for he had the strength in his arms and courage in his heart. And as long as he had those two, he would win any battle he took part in no matter how skewed the odds may be.

He shook his head again to clear the invasive thoughts and got back to that night. The Castellan kid had revealed that they had plans to free Kronos from his prison in Tartarus. Ares was confident in the strength of his sword-arm and the integrity of his shield. But he too knew how strong the Titan-Lord of Time was. If he were to join the battle, many of the stronger Titans who had previously stayed out of the war would raise their arms, leaving behind centuries of subservience.

His first thoughts had been to butcher half of the motley crew before taking their leader back to Olympus on charges of treason. His father would reward him greatly for such an act and it would bring down Hermes a notch. The slippery wimp had played one too many pranks at his expense on the urging of Hephaestus. And the hunchback was too well fortified in his fortresses below the ground for him to attack him. But perhaps he should attack them. Both of them considered themselves above him. They belonged at his feet, polishing his sandals before he went off to war.

He paused in his pacing. What was he thinking about? Ares moved to a basin of water near him and splashed his face with cold water. His head was wandering off too much this day. He needed to concentrate.

He went back to that night. Luke Castellan. Yes. The boy he was going to capture and present to his father. However, he had not done so. For the boy had presented to him an opportunity that he could not have denied.

The Master-Bolt of Zeus and Hades' Helm of Darkness. Two divine weapons. Both stolen. Poseidon still has his trident. He just had to wait for a few months and soon the three brothers would be at each other's throats trying to kill each other. And he would gain the strength from the blood that would be shed from that war. A war amongst the mortals was enough to slake his thirst. But a war amongst the gods? Olympian pitted against Olympian as the ground ran gold with ichor? The thought of such ecstasy almost sent him into orgasmic bliss.

He had already set his sons to gather their strengths. They were his right and left hands and also a source of some of his strength. When they grew stronger, so would he.

So he had set them off in the mortal to spread their fear and terror. He could already feel a steady stream of power filling his immortal body at the moment, making him stronger by the moment. There was always the chance that one of the other Olympians, perhaps Athena or Apollo, would notice his rising power but it would be too late by then. He would be too strong and they would be too late and the war would have begun. He would be nigh-invincible at that stage and even the Elder Olympians would have a hard time challenging him in that form.

He knew that all three Elders could defeat him if they united. There was a reason that the Titan-Lord Kronos was not able to measure up to the might of the three brothers together. But the civil war would guarantee that there would be nobody standing in his path when he finally made his bid for power. He could taste it already. The power, the strength. The same fools that ridiculed him today would be lying at his feet the next day. Hermes, Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Hephaestus, Demeter. All those cunts would be having their turn soon. He would humiliate them as they did to him. And he would live in comfort with Aphrodite on his arm and the choicest maidens from all over Olympus falling over themselves to kiss his manhood. But...

Why was he feeling this hesitation? He thought about it again. Apollo and Artemis were his siblings. And though he had no warm memories of the latter, he had often fought side-by-side with the former. He had stolen a lot of maidenheads along with Hermes. The small pranks that he played upon him were just as much a piece of him as his network of messengers was. Should he hold his kinsman in fault for his domain? Should he condemn himself for getting a hard-on during battles as well?

And what of Hephaestus? The copper-skinned brute had often ambushed him and Aphrodite whilst they were in some very compromising positions. But he only used those opportunities to nail her all the harder. He hardly found them embarrassing since those orgasmic cries had often sent nymphs flushing at his sight as they recalled the images of him railing it up the hottest goddess on the continent. He certainly felt bitter for the many interruptions that had ruined the mood but maybe such actions warranted a more personal and upfront attack rather than a civil war amongst the gods. After all, everyone knew that Hephaestus only felt safe within his fortress because Ares was not really trying to beat him up. His mother would be very cross with him if he beat up his deformed half brother.

Maybe... maybe it would be for the best if he sent the bolt and the helm back to their owners and turn Castellan in. The sight of Hermes when he watched his eldest be found guilty of such a crime would certainly be worth it. Maybe he should do it.

He got up and moved to step outside of his palace. He would flash down to Camp Half-Blood and collect the little thief and deliver him to his father and uncle.

But before he could open the gates to his palace to step out, a black mist descended upon his head. His eyes glazed over and turned red. Images of himself being humiliated flashed through his head in quick succession. Anger flowed through him. Raw red rage. A madness that called to be quelled upon the bodies of his conquered enemies. The black mist left him after a moment.

He blinked to clear his eyes up. He could see it now. Artemis and Athena on his arms as he tamed them and claimed their maiden-heads. Aphrodite pleasuring him while Hephaestus watched, reduced to the task of polishing his weapons and armour before he left for war. And Hermes... he would make the little arse serve him food. A fitting job for someone who would deliver messages; he would him deliver his meals. And Apollo would forever be chained up to his chariot as Ares delighted in the fact that he would no longer be allowed to have any kind of fun.

Yes... Ares could see it all now. The power that awaited him if he played his cards right. The orgasmic bliss that he experienced earlier returned and much stronger. He felt a familiar tightness in his pants and started moving towards Aphrodite's palace. He would ravish her all night long. Her body would go a long way towards calming down his blood lust until the war actually began. It was her duty as his woman and since he was going to give her such a grand position when he ascended to the throne, he deserved to ravage her smooth insides all he wanted.

Date: 20th May 2005.

Location: The Sanctuary

Time: 2000 hours

Misty hesitantly walked into the fireplace at the Sanctuary. Selene had told her that she wouldn't be hurt but there was still a tiny amount of paranoia left in her that did not want her to step into the hot and flashing fire. However, when she walked into the burning piles of logs and got covered by the amber flames, she did not burn. Instead, she felt the same sensation that she did when the Sentience teleported her.

'Thank the Elders I passed through. It seemed too much like a Harry Potter rip-off to be true for a moment.'

A moment of passing through a water-filled pool later, she was standing inside a wooden cottage. There was a kitchen in front of her where a woman –she appeared around 40-ish to her eyes but Mystery had advised her to not believe her eyes when it came to the divine world– appeared to be cooking a meal.

Upon her arrival, the woman looked up and smiled warmly at the teen Sentinel. Misty returned the smile and walked towards the kitchen. In front of her, a stew was being prepared in a metal pot, and every few seconds Hestia would add in some spices to the dish. Misty did not know much about cooking, and neither did Mystery despite her pre-initiation style of living. But whatever Lady Hestia appeared to be doing to the dish was definitely working.

"Greetings, Lady Hestia."

"Greetings, Sentinel. And call me Aunt Hestia. I do not stand by such formalities. You're practically family." Hestia said. "Now, wash your hands and face and take a seat at the table. Dinner's almost ready."

Misty resisted the urge to give out a flustered smile. "Then, please, call me Misty." Selene had told her beforehand of Hestia's tendency to induct everyone in the room into her family. However, nothing could have prepared her for how warm and motherly the woman really was. She moved to wash her hands in a small basin of water kept nearby. She looked over her shoulder and saw Hestia placing a lid over the steaming pot of stew. Washing her hands, she moved to the pot and casting a quick ice spell on her hands, held the hot pot of stew and carried it to the table despite Hestia's refusal. "If you consider me family, Aunt Hestia, then let me help you. I can hardly let you do all the work, can I?" she said with a wry smile after placing the pot at the table. Her mother had drilled manners into her at an early age and although most had bled out with the arrival of teenage-hood and hormones, some had stayed.

Hestia gave the girl another warm smile and then both sat down to eat their dinner. Misty had wanted to broach the subject of the theft of the lightning bolt while they were eating, but Mystery had sent her a mental warning to not discuss such matters during dinner. And so the meal had continued with any interruptions. They had made small talk about how Misty was fitting in among the Order, how Selene was doing, whether she missed being a boy (apparently Artemis' mouth loosened when she sat with her Aunt Hestia for their monthly get-together.) Misty answered the questions as best as she could, eating the food with great gusto. After the meal was finished, Misty helped Hestia carry the dishes and pans to a sink where they started to wash.

Later, they sat comfortably in plushy armchairs and Hestia brought up the reason Misty was there. Misty sat up straighter and started talking, "Lady Selene informed me that Zeus' master-bolt is missing. Presumably stolen. What news have your sources given to you?"

Hestia looked at Misty with a measuring gaze. Softly, she asked, "Tell me, Misty, how do you think I gather the information I provide to the Order of the Waves?"

"You are the goddess of family. But also the goddess of the hearth. Lady Selene told me that your spirit is joined with the hearth and you could move from one to the other with ease whenever you are called. So I presume, you might also have some way of listening in on conversations that happen around your hearth." Misty looked at Hestia after her answer to gauge her reaction. A stoic, yet not bereft of warmth, face met hers.

"Don't you think it would be really ignorant of people to not notice a blazing fireplace when they discuss anything that they do not want outside ears to notice? Do you really consider a majority of the celestials so ignorant? After all, it is but a common and well-known fact that I am the Goddess of the Hearth."

Misty thought about what Hestia said. It was true that everyone knew that Hestia was the goddess of the hearth. It was a fact so common that even the mortal books had it in them. And her being the sister of five Elder Olympians would mean that almost everyone who heard of the tale of Zeus' rebellion against Kronos would hear of her too. But there was one thing that separated most people from the Sentinels. And, more importantly, her.

"It is true that most people, if not all, are aware of the fact that you tend to the flames in the hearth," she began with a firm voice, "but most people also have very shallow conceptions about power. They tend to notice only what is put in front of their eyes, and disregard that which they cannot see no matter how feasible it would be."

"The minor gods and other immortals fear and respect the Olympians not because they were the race of celestials that defeated the Titans. They fear and respect them because they sit upon the council that rules Olympus. Zeus is feared and respected not because of his prowess over the skies or lightning, but because he wields the lightning bolt and sits upon the throne at the top of Mount Olympus. The same people disregard you and many other powers because you do not have a seat upon the council, and neither do you hold any domains that make you fearsome. They tend to disregard power when it is subtle."

"Which is why even though most people know that you are the goddess of the hearth, they do not think that you are a threat to them. They would have a hard time believing the fact that you could spy upon them from within the warmth of the hearth. They forget that you too are an Elder Olympian and that you too held a seat upon the Council before the children of Zeus were given your seat. To them, the power which cannot be presented is not power. A foolish philosophy if you ask me. The kind that gets you thrown to Tartarus."

Hestia smiled warmly and nodded at the smart Sentinel sitting in front of her. She had her reservations about speaking of everything that she knew to the, obviously, green-behind-the-ears warrior. She did not doubt Selene's mentorship. They had been fast friends even after the original Selene had died and the "spectre" had been banished from Olympus and effectively put under house arrest. They had spoken at length after that and Hestia had realized that whatever magic Selene had weaved before her death had worked and the newly born goddess that sat in her seat in the Sanctuary now was just as smart and capable as she, if a bit lacking in overall strength. But that was no cause to cut ties with her. After all, the game they played relied on subtlety and subterfuge. As long as Pseudo-Selene could train the Sentinels effectively, Hestia would treat with her just as if she was the original Selene. However, when she had heard of her decision to send out a fresh recruit to battle what looked like The Second Titanomachy, she had been doubtful. Not of her prowess in battle but how she smart the new recruit was.

Her doubts had been removed by Misty who had displayed to her that she knew what the price of subtlety was. Hestia could now only hope that the young Sentinel also had enough insight to use that same subtlety to her benefit instead of charging in wildly to save the day. She did want the death of a Sentinel on her conscience; she would be the one responsible since she shared her findings.

Taking a deep breath Hestia spoke, "It was the Night of the Winter Solstice when it happened. The throne room had been vacated after a council meeting. The demigods and other nature spirits that were visiting the council had already left. You must understand that these council meetings are less like civilized debates and more like intimidation games where the god who can grunt the loudest gets what he wants. And as it stands, the loudest grunts are heard when there are divine weapons present."

"So most of them brought theirs to the meeting. The meeting was about something that Demeter brought up. She wanted her daughter back early from the Underworld. Because of that, and the Winter Solstice, Hades was also present in the room that day as a temporary council member. When the meeting ended and all the gods retired to eat some food, they left their weapons and effects near their thrones. I was still tending to the flames at that point since I knew how bad the food served at Olympus' canteen is," Hestia said.

"I was sitting there by myself when the thieves came in. There were four of them and they had a scent on them that told me that they were Hermes' spawn. I watched as they entered the room and made their way to the master-bolt lying on Zeus' throne. They were disabling the meagre protections that Zeus had laid around his throne when one of them spotted me. They erected a field around themselves that hid them from me for a while. While I could have broken past that field if I wanted to, I did not."

"It was imperative that we find out whom they were working for. This was not unlike one of those times when Selene would lay out bait to catch other enemies of Olympus. I shifted from the hearth in the throne room to the one outside, waiting for them to show up."

"To my surprise, they never came out the door. I was suspicious of what was taking place but before I could return to the Throne Room, Zeus returned, found out about his missing bolt and the hostilities were already underway. The other gods had already been sent to recover the bolt and apprehend the thief. I did not tell them about the children of Hermes who broke in. They would have accomplished nothing except slight Hermes and warn off the real ringmasters."

Misty narrowed her eyes. 'Never saw them come out?' she thought to herself. 'Does this reek of a crime novel to you, Mystery?' she asked her friend.

The answer came back immediately. 'Something was fishy.' she said and then added with a mental smirk, 'And without Poseidon being involved.'

While Mystery was cackling inside her head at her own immaturity, Misty looked at Hestia and asked her something that had been bugging her since that morning.

"Aunt Hestia, Lord Hades.. has he been acting weird since the incident? Lady Selene had told me that he was not present during the aftermath of the event and I have been wondering whether there might be a reason behind his disappearance..."

"Do you think that he stole the bolt? Or at least hired the band of Hermes kids to steal it," Hestia asked with narrowed eyes.

Misty shook her head. "Not him. If I did not know of the ones whom you had seen, I might have reasons to doubt it. But I do not believe now that he could be guilty. But I am wondering if there is anything suspicious happening around him which could be related. I have a hunch that he is somehow linked to this whole debacle."

Hestia leaned back on her armchair and steepled her fingers. She shut her amber eyes and thought for a moment. With nothing but the sound of the crackling logs in the background, Misty too leaned back and entered a contemplative state wondering who could be responsible.

After a while, Hestia spoke. "There is one thing..."

Misty leaned towards her.

"You must be aware of how much Hades loves his wife, Persephone. My brother is practically wrapped around her pinky finger. So much that his mood is actually edgier when she is not around. All of us were very heartened to see Hades becoming more sociable to others during winter because of Persephone —except for Demeter. However, Hades was not one to stay away from her wife because of something as simple as the bargain struck between Demeter and him."

"But I thought that Lady Persephone could enter the Underworld in winters? How would she meet Lord Hades otherwise?" questioned Misty.

"Persephone was forbidden from returning to the Underworld," Hestia explained with a twinkle in her eyes, "but nothing was stopping Hades from visiting her. It is a secret not known to many of the Olympians as they consider their brother and uncle to be heartless enough to not miss his beloved wife for six months. However, he often goes up to the surface and meets her behind Demeter's back."

"Okay... but how does that relate to suspicious behaviour?" Misty asked. "Unless he really does not have a heart and showing emotions is suspicious for him?" she added with a raised eyebrow.

Hestia gently laughed and shook her head. "The suspicious part is the fact that despite the many hearths that I have around Olympus and near to where Persephone is, I have yet to see the two meet. Persephone is understandably upset that Hades has not turned up to visit yet. And I do not believe that they are meeting somewhere I cannot see them. Persephone does not have a great poker face and if she was lying, I would catch her immediately."

Misty narrowed her eyes again, something that Mystery remarked had been happening a lot lately. "Working on the assumption that Lady Demeter would obviously be against these secret meetings of theirs, how did Lord Hades manage to keep it a secret over all of these years?" she asked Hestia.

"His divine weapon. The Helm of Darkness," was the answer. "He uses it in battle to strike dread in the hearts of his enemies and paralyze them with it. However, it has many other uses; it is, after all, a divine weapon belonging to an Elder Olympian. One of them is absolute invisibility. The wearer wouldn't even be seen by gods or smelled by the sharpest hellhounds. The only way to find him would be to spread dust around the area to outline his body. He used it to hide from Demeter and meet his wife," Hestia explained. "He's a right romantic, I tell you."

Misty leaned back and mused about what she heard. She had read about the Helm in her studies. It was and maybe is, the greatest mind-based enchantment that there was. Such a great tool also allowed its wearer to hide from the sight of the others. Even hide from other gods and... other goddesses... Her eyes widened and she looked at Hestia with panic. "Aunt Hestia, could it be possible that the Helm was stolen as well?"

Hestia's eyes also widened something which Mystery thought was a dire contrast to the earlier trend of eye-narrowing. Misty, as always, asked her to shut up while trying to not face-palm in front of the goddess.

"It could be possible... The evidence certainly points that way..." she said slowly. She stood up from her seat and clapped her hands. A large book with tons of loose sheets of paper in between materialized on the table. "I am sorry for cutting this short, Misty, but this information is most concerning," she said walking towards the large hearth that was in the centre of the cabin. "First the uprising of the Titans and now the disappearance of not one but two divine weapons belonging to the Elder Olympians... And if these items are not found, then it would lead to a war that would end up ravaging the mortal world and scarring the celestial world enough that the Titanomachy would not face much resistance. I must investigate your claims at once. My brother will listen to me, he still likes his elder sister."

Hestia moved away from the Hearth and stretched her arms on either side of her. In a flash, she transformed from the 40-year-old motherly goddess to a 10-year-old little girl with her auburn hair braided behind her in a single plait. Misty almost wanted to jump over to her and hug her but held herself back, if only barely. She looked at Hestia's new form and walked over with the book in her hands.

"In that book, I have stored my findings of all of the Elder Olympians, the members of the Olympian Council, their relatives, and anyone who could have had a hand in the heist. If they are a threat to the Olympus, their name is in there. I have followed Selene's request and focused more on the activities of Phobos and Deimos, which are very suspicious indeed." Hestia stopped her speech and after another flash, a large stick came to her right hand. "Look through the entire book and ask Selene to take a look through it as well. If what I doubt is true, the theft of the Master-Bolt and the Helm could potentially lead to The Collapse. I know that Selene does not have much sympathy for the rest of the Olympians, but tell her that I requested that she help us out in this matter."

"There are things at stake here which are larger than her fractured ego," she remarked with a grave demeanour.

With that, Hestia jumped into the raging hearth and disappeared. Misty stood there, dumbfounded, wondering how bad things were about to get.

She was also wondering how she was supposed to get back to the Sanctuary.

She let out a sigh and as if by magic (Mystery claimed that she did it) a note materialized in front of her. Upon the browned parchment, Hestia had written in a neat script.

"Just jump in the fire. It will take you home.

Yours lovingly,

Auntie Hestia.

P.S There's hot cocoa in the black pitcher if you want any. Sorry I had to leave so soon. Tata!"

Misty sighed again and moved towards the kitchen.

One does not simply say no to hot cocoa.

Date: 00/00/0000

Location: SomeWhere in the Middle of NoWhere

Time: ∞#∞#∞#∞#

On a plane of existence that is hidden from the eyes of both mortals and immortals, three faceless entities sit together on a throne made up of yew. Their hands spun around a ball of yarn, weaving a shawl at a speed that could not be fathomed by the human eye. The three sisters Klotho, Lakhesis, Atropos sat on Their throne deciding what the fate of the world would be, even though They knew They had already "decided" what it was going to be. For in the place that They were —or mayhaps where They weren't— was at the same time, everywhen and nowhen. It had all happened here, and at the same time, it had all yet to take place; all the while it still took place as we speak.

They carried on with Their jobs, unaware of the tiny branches growing from their throne, unaware of the yew berries that fell upon the floor, unaware of the leaves that dried up and died on the self-same branches, unaware of everything but it.

With a deft hand, Klotho used the two needles in Her hands to spin the fabric into existence, and in some cases, spin lives out of existence, Lakhesis used Her wrinkled hands to measure out the length of the threads being spun, making seemingly random measurements while her eyes moved over the collective unmoving thread as if they were swarming with life, and Atropos sat at the other edge of the throne, with a silver-golden scissor in Her hand, snapping at bits of thread and cutting it short.

The plane of existence where this happened had no external stimulus present. The three faceless beings, the throne made of a live yew tree, and the rapidly transitioning berries and twigs that grew out from the base of the wooden throne. That was all there was, all that there is, and all that there ever will be.

They had been doing this for time eternal, deciding what direction Fate would carry the mortals in with an almost flawlessly synchronized determination. There had been few times since the beginning of times when the three sisters had not looked eye-to-eye regarding a particular action.

This time, whatever it was, was going to be one such time, whenever it was.

A long grey thread made its way in Klotho's hands. The grey had a small smattering of black in the middle of it. Klotho stopped Her movements. The two sisters noticed it. Lakhesis stared at the thread of smooth silk that She had passed to Her sister scant moments ago. Her eyes came to rest upon the black patch that rested in the centre of it. Taking it in Her hands again, She ran wrinkled fingers over the black spot.

The answers ran through Her mind.

"What do your eyes sense, sister?" Klotho asked.

"Curious. Most curious indeed," She began. "I see darkness where earlier there was light. I hear... coal. And ash. Coal and Ash. And a hint of calcium and carbon... A most intriguing combination."

"It could not be, sister," Atropos interrupted. "It has not been for ages. Not since it last was."

Klotho chuckled. "It was so not many ages ago, sister. Do not speak of it as if it were before many more ages than it were."

Lakhesis' hands left the thread and let it drift back towards Klotho. "I have seen the omens and cannot unsee them. Such is not our way. I say we spin the fabric as it wants to be spun. There is a reason Fate sent this young one our way. Who are we to deny Fate her misery?"

Atropos did not agree. That startled Klotho more than the discovery of the black patch had. "Fate cannot be allowed to run rampant, my dear sisters. There are times that Change must be brought about. Chaos heralds the arrival of Change. Without Change, there can be no Order," Atropos advised. "Were We to bend to Fate yet again, We would be condemning the world, this one and countless others, to another age of Chaos without any Order. Change is inevitable. We cannot thwart it forever. Only delay it."

Klotho knew what was to come. There had been scant few occasions when the sisters disagreed. But whenever they did... the consequences had lasting effects. As one all three rose from Their seats and placed aside Their respective gears.

No sooner had They risen from the throne did it disappear and the plane widened till the limits of it could no longer be perceived. Klotho clasped both Her arms in front of Her and concentrated Her powers to ensure that the damage would be limited to this plane. Other than that, She hoped that a resolution would be reached soon.

A finger on Lakhesis' right arm twitched and a fireball was hurled at Atropos from nowhere. The elder in question blinked Her eyes and out of nowhere, a barrier appeared that absorbed the brunt of the attack. Her own fingers twitched and a million hornets flew towards Lakhesis. A finger snapped and the flying swarm of insects froze in the air and then turned around and the ice-bullets flew back towards Atropos. She literally swatted aside the projectiles and with a stomp of Her foot sent a massive volley of rocks and boulders towards Her sister.

Lakhesis moved out of the way of the speeding rock and answered back with a torrent of boiling water that sped towards the scissor-bearing Atropos. Her sister answered with a torrent of blazing green flames that met the water in the middle and turned it to steam, clouding the entire plane from sight.

Within the murky confines of the plane, a twang of a string was heard and a moment later hundreds of metallic thuds were heard as weapons cluttered to the ground after hitting a ginormous bronze shield. The battle only escalated as thousands of skeletons rose out from the feature-less white "floor" of the plane and started to battle against one other. Volleys of arrows and burning rocks met each other in the air and every other second the sound of a fireball going off was heard. Conjured direwolves were set upon summoned mammoths and both started to tear into the other. Swarms of locusts and wasps flew towards the armies of the opponent to tear apart the very magic that held the skeletons together. Cannons shot everything ranging from iron utensils to grenades. Turrets materialized in the air and shot bolts of plasma at the other and pits of molten lava opened up beneath the feet of soldiers who fought despite missing their skulls.

All throughout the chaos, Klotho kept Her hands clasped in front of her as a golden glow surrounded Her body, keeping the destruction confined to this plane.

Escalating the battle further, Lakhesis grew in size and glowing blue armour-plates enveloped Her form. Matching Her sister's moves with Her own, Atropos summoned an ethereal image of a gigantic bipedal hawk around Her form to battle Her sister's avatar The two giants dashed towards the other as the soldiers and animals brought to this plane earlier were trampled upon regardless of whose side they fought on. The two manic avatars met in a grapple hold and started pushing for dominance.

The hawk's eyes glowed gold and a blast of concussive force rained down on Lakhesis' armoured samurai. The armour glowed brighter and suddenly the hawk avatar found its feet covered in burning oil as it lost its footing. Both warriors glowed again in an attempt to defeat the other.

Klotho seeing what was coming squeezed Her eyes shut and clenched every muscle in Her current body as Her hands started radiating a blinding light which spread all over the plane they were in.

The light had stretched beyond infinity and had penetrated the borders of the surrounding planes when it happened. Lakhesis abandoned Her warrior avatar and shifted to Her strongest form.

A black hole abruptly formed where She had stood and started sucking in everything that it could. Not to let Her sister's move go unanswered, Atropos replied in kind by switching to Her strongest form. A massive six-dimensional mass of shapeless matter formed in front of the black hole. It started radiating enough energy that its edges began bleeding in colours unseen by the human eyes. The black hole slowly started to shrink as it got sucked in by the mass instead of sucking it in.

An eternity passed as Klotho held the fabric of reality from collapsing in the plane that they were. The battle had kept on as it were with both sides gaining the upper ground for a while before losing it to the other side. But finally, Atropos' 6-D form managed to subdue the blackhole and won the battle.

Atropos and Lakhesis reverted back to Their original human form, looking as energetic and collected as if They had not just strained the fabric of reality by transcending Their material forms and transitioning to Their True Forms. However, whereas before Lakhesis was in the form of an elderly hag, now she stood in the form of an 8-year-old girl with a pout on her face while Atropos, still in her old lady form, was pinching her cheeks as old people are wont to do. Lakhesis smiled at Her sister and conceded Her defeat. Both looked at Klotho who struggled to hold the plane together and giving Her a nod flashed out of the plane. Just as it collapsed under its own weight and shifted itself into oblivion.

They met back in a similar plane and sat down upon Their throne of Yew. In the new endless expanse of white, the sisters resumed Their task of weaving the fates of mortals. They came back upon the patch of black that was within the silver-grey thread. Atropos cut the black part out of the thread and with a flourish of her fingers and intoned, 'Reform' , the two edges of the silver-grey thread joined back together. Klotho resumed her knitting with the now edited string. An hour passed in Earth's time and finally, Atropos snapped the string off as the shawl was completed. Lakhesis held it up for their sisters to see plainly and both were clearly satisfied with the result of Their work.

Lakhesis floated the shawl away from them and it disappeared only to hang itself in a room surrounded by many such items of clothing. Placing itself between a yellow-black hoodie that depicted the First Rise of the Giants and an extra-large white cap that showed Zeus bedding a mortal woman as an anteater, the shawl rested. Its surface portrayed the Second Titanomachy being played out on a plot of grey. Standing amidst the turmoil was a raven-haired green-eyed boy dressed in the orange of Camp Half-Blood standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a raven-haired blue-eyed girl garbed in silver and black Sentinel robes.

And the world burned around them.

A/N: 1. If it wasn't obvious earlier, things are going to be very AU. And it has already begun. I always found it weird how a single demigod could steal two divine weapons from the Throne Room. No matter how crafty he is. So now there is a entire crew doing the job. And they even took care of Hestia.

2. I have slightly tweaked what the lightning bolt does using my writer's license.

3. Ares is still a dick in this story. However, I have not made him overly stupid and/or cruel in this one. He just has an ego the size of the Empire State Building. And it is being used against him. Luke tried to rally him to the side of the Titans but it didn't work so the "mysterious black mist" wiped his mind and made Luke use a different strategy. And with enough persuasion, Ares was under their spell. The "mysterious black mist" is a secret. It is not Kronos.

4. Hestia is an underappreciated character and she will be having a much stronger role in this fic. But she is not going to be paired off with Mystery/Misty! Don't consider this a Hestia-romance fic! It is not!

5. The Fates or the Morai are the three goddesses. Fate is an idea. In this fic, they take their cues from Fate but sometimes they rebel against its choices for the greater good. This is one such time. What it means to have that black patch cut out of the silver thread will be revealed later. Or maybe not.

6. Selene calls Hades a geek. Trust me, not a mistake. They have a special relationship. And no, it is not what you think it is. The first person to correctly guess what their relation is will get a cookie!

That's it! Review! I NEED THEM! THEY ARE PRECIOUS TO ME!

until next time.