So before we begin I want to talk about a review I got recently. It goes like this

"To be honest, not only is it filthily offensive to use actual still being worshipped gods in your fic, but this fic is one of the most overly convoluted crap I've read. Please do something about it so that you don't waste the one saving grace that is your premise."

First of all, I want to thank whoever you are for the review. More than positive, negative reviews are what help me out. However, you must understand that I'm a Hindu as well and greatly inspired by Amish Tripathi and his works (great author btw, please check him out) especially the Immortals of Meluha series. There he completely reinterprets the stories of Shiva, Nandi, Kali, Ganesh etc. Is he also filthily offensive? Rick uses Gods which, although aren't worshipped nearly to the point of Hindu Gods, are still worshipped. Over 100,000 Greeks still follow Hellenism. Isn't Rick being offensive too?

As for your second point I get why you'd think that. But after all, this is my first work and can be considered my 'breaking in' to writing more fanfictions. Yes, there is a lot of slow burn, but that's the price you and I pay for having an entirely new set of characters added in as the main cast. If you have any ideas to make this "crap" less convoluted, please advise and I'd be happy to incorporate them. Take care, my friend.

Anyways sorry for that, back to the chapter.

I'm a son of Krishna. My father, who I haven't seen for 16 years is Krishna. The God, Krishna. The 8th avatar of Vishnu. I looked down at my hands, the hands which apparently flowed with the blood of a God I had spoken to just an hour or so ago. I whipped my head around, not entirely sure what to do with myself, while my teammates were staring in shock at the symbol. I heard Daksh mutter, "Krishna's child... The camp hasn't seen one in centuries.."

Stefano squatted next to me with an understanding smile. I looked into his sky blue eyes with my own bewildered, deep brown ones. He told me, "You are confused, you're trying to make sense of everything in there, aren't you?" He tapped my temple. I nodded mutely, still in shock. He took my hand and hoisted me to my feet.

"Now you are one of us, properly. There is no time to be confused. Accept your destiny and become the warrior your father will be proud of. Maybe also teach Shawn some of your moves, he is a tragedy at close quarters." I laughed a little at Stefano's weird, military mindset way to cut the tension and Shawn's sputtering defense.

Arasu settled on my shoulder again, "So, son of Krishna? I had a feeling you were special." I smirked and stroked a part of his wing that was ruffled, smoothing it back into place. I looked into his striking green eyes, "Really man? You really thought that?'

"Sure I did. I mean, the Nest was so hyped over you getting sent to camp, I knew something was up." He preened his feathers, "The thing is, we haven't had a son of Krishna in years. The last one I'm told came around in the 1700s... A certain Alexander Hamilton if I remember correctly. Since then he's been largely to himself, never really venturing out of camp since Hamilton died. Was a pretty big shock when we heard of another child, almost 300 years later."

I took in what he said. Alexander Hamilton was a child of Krishna? And so am I... So that makes me Hamilton's-

Yeah, best not to think about that too much. Stefano called up Arasu and I with the rest of the crew. They were standing near the trunk of a tree when I jogged up to them, just a little exhausted. Stefano motioned up to his bird, "Karna tells me that we need to move. Now. Scouts have detected a... disturbance of sorts heading for UC Berkley. Here is the plan. I will accompany Ajay to Berkley and retrieve Chase. Shawn, Khadija, Daksh: I trust you enough to make your way through New Rome University and get Jackson for us." He scanned around our huddle to make sure we all understood the gravity of the plan.

In my chest, I could feel something buzzing. Not the same buzz as the energy I felt while fighting Khadija, but more... human. I realized it was my own heart. Thumping so hard it felt like a motor. I breathed deeply, I gripped Daksh's shoulder to ground myself. He rotates in surprise, but one look in my eyes makes him turn back to Stefano.

"Suit up and go through the bridge. We'll meet you at UC Berkley." I turned and started to walk off with Daksh, not actually sure what to "suit up" into when Stefano called out, "Ajay! Stay, I need to give you something."

I jogged back to him, seeing him holding a black duffel bag. I watch him curiously as he unzips it and takes out a shiny, sturdy looking set of armor. He smiled in an almost paternal way as he hands the set to me. My first set of armor. It was colored in a gleaming, freshly polished bronze, with accents of sea green along the collar and arms. down the chest was a pair radiant purple curves. It was beautifully crafted and clearly of good quality.

The belt was a lot shinier, looking more like gold than bronze. It was built with a sheathe for any knives and daggers I wanted to carry, or maybe a shuriken if I wanted to do some shiny ninja cosplay. Along the back, there was almost a clip - kinda thing which slotted in my khanda with a click. I looked up at Stefano, speechless for the third time today. All he told me was, "Your father sends his regards."

Man, if I'm going to live up to the role of the son of the Pandavas' spokesperson, I really need to learn how to respond to things. I quietly fastened the armor over the T-shirt the Vishnu cabin had given me today morning, taking in everything so far. Just yesterday I'd been a boy sitting in an apartment playing Pokemon and browsing socials, now I'm here, treated like a soldier. Someone with a destiny. No, a purpose. It was disquieting and yet, oddly elating.

Stefano sent off Karna and beckoned me to follow him through a cavity in the trunk of the tree we were next to. Blinding sunlight enveloped my face as I stepped into the hole. I blinked a couple times and scanned the surroundings. We were surrounded by white, prestigious looking buildings and a couple trees and bushes. Green glades, just like where we were in Camp Mahadev. I glanced at Stefano, who was picking leaves out of his hair and twigs from chinks in his armor.

"Are we?.." I began to ask, already expectant of the answer.

Stefano grunted his out of the bush he was stuck in and nodded. His eyes lingered over the building right in front of us. "Welcome to the University of California, Berkeley." He waved me on to follow him down the street on our left. He told me, "I know you may be a little confused-"

"Environmental link enchantment, I know. Suryakapoor told me." He smiled a crooked smile and said, "Well, you're learning quickly, huh? Anyways, what happens now is crucial. Step one was sneaking into UC Berkeley, which we can do through maya easy enough. Now for step two..."

He picked up the pace, his armor producing a sound like the jingling of keys as he sped up into a fast walk. In the distance, I heard what sounded like the echo of a scream. I paused for a second, confused, but then kept moving.

Stefano slowed down as he walked through the campus doors and strolled through the halls, as if he was some regular student over here. "You know, it is possible the girl isn't even here. I'm told that sometimes she goes back to New Rome and takes classes there. Only time will tell."

Great, so you're telling me this entire little field trip could be all for nothing? That's motivational. As we were walking, Stefano kept muttering under his breath about "the architecture class... who does an architecture class?" I didn't want to tell him that architecture was a pretty popular course as far as I could tell, so I kept walking with him, looking for the architecture class.

As I was walking past a room, I was pulled back by Stefano, putting his finger on his lips. He pointed to the class I just walked past, "The girl in the front row... She perfectly matches our description given. Now we've officially completed step two. Now it's time for step three."

"Getting her out of our class?"

Stefano nodded, "Exactly."