Chapter 4- The Alliance

"Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"So, you're telling me that you're actually a Greek demigod," Reyna said, her head still wrapping around what the son of Pluto— no, Hades— said.

"And there are a whole bunch of you out there, too?" Jason continued.

"And the gods were killed because of some… Assassin believed them to be evil."

"It wasn't just a belief. They were evil!" Nico snapped. He sighed, trying to rein his emotions back. Chiron sent him to try and gain their trust, not to frighten them into thinking they were the enemy.

"Sorry," Nico said in a softer tone. "It's just that…. Never mind. It's a complicated topic for another day."

"Right…" Reyna glanced at Jason, clearly not buying everything he had just said. "So anyway, you want our help?"

"Yes. Our trainer, Chiron, believes that it's in both party's best interests if we have an alliance so we stand a better chance of surviving what is to come. You have higher numbers and resources. We have the knowledge of what threat is coming next and a better scope of the situation. And we do have some magic items that could prove to be useful."

Reyna turned to talk to Jason in hushed voices, while Nico took the opportunity to survey the Principia. The ceiling was depicted with the picture of a wolf standing over two children. The walls within were covered in velvet which held many different medals. Military, most likely, if Nico had to guess. There was a long wooden table filled with scrolls, notebooks, those new…. small televisions (they were called tablets or something like that—he was still adapting to the new modern world), a few daggers, arrows and a bowl of jelly beans kept at the end.

"Give us a reason to believe you. How do I know that what you're saying isn't some elaborate trap to catch the legion off guard?" Reyna cut through his musings, her eyes hardening as she observed him.

"You don't have to trust us just yet. We'll prove it to you. We'll be willing to speak at any place you believe is the safest and you can bring as many people as you wish to ensure the safety of your people. In return, should the negotiation go well, we will share the exact location of our camp. We will also give you a tour of your camp should you be interested and bring a party of your choosing."

Reyna was silent for a few moments looking back at Nico. "Give Jason and I a few minutes to talk. We'll send for someone to collect you once we've reached our decision"

Nico gave a small nod as he headed towards the exit. Right as he was about to leave, Reyna called him. "Oh, Nico," she said, her eyes softening just a fraction, "Hazel should be on the Field of Mars with her Cohort. Let the centurion on site know I've given permission for her to see you for a few minutes."

Nico gave her his thanks before leaving the Principia. As he headed towards the Field of Mars, he took the time to view Camp Jupiter. Having only been there twice before, he never got the chance to see the entirety of the Legion nor the city within. As he walked on, he could see the main road. One side led towards the inner city that Nico had heard so much about. Even from a distance, Nico could see kids strolling around with their parents, happily eating candy. People bustling in and out of buildings, as though oblivious to the dangers outside their camp. The other side of the road led to the Temple Hill. Nico had half a mind to march there and tearing down every building and desecrating anything that resembled their existence. Especially Jupiter's temple.

"Hi, can I help you?" came a voice bringing Nico out of his musings to face a taller girl with a gladius in her arm. She was wearing standard roman armour with a bronze medal pinned on her chest signifying her as a centurion.

"I was told Hazel Levesque would be here. The praetor said she could be given time off while I was here," said Nico.

"Ah right. You're the one who brought Hazel here. Nico, right?" The girl nodded in recognition. She turned around and beckoned a boy who was overseeing a group of people, whilst holding a bottle of Kool-Aid in his hand. "Dakota, go fetch Hazel for me."

"Sure thing, Gwen," he said with a wide grin, giving both of them a thumbs up and running off at incredible speed.

"Is he…alright?" Nico asked, causing Gwen to laugh.

"Oh, don't worry about Dakota. He's just very enthusiastic all the time—side effect of drinking Kool-Aid constantly during the day. Being the son of Bacchus, he constantly likes to have a drink going through him and he's obviously not allowed to drink wine."

There was a brief silence as Nico observed the training session the legionnaires were doing. "How's Hazel doing?"

"A lot better than the last time you came to visit. She's fitting in quite well with others. Not the best timing for her to join with the gods completely gone and we're in lockdown at all times, but she's made the best of the situation. She's become close friends with one of our newer recruits. A boy named Frank. Ah, here she is."

Nico turned to see his sister walking with Dakota. At seeing him, a broad smile spread across her face as she faced her centurion.

"Legionnaire. Praetor Reyna has granted you a leave while Nico is here. Join back into rotation once you're done." They walked off, leaving the siblings alone.

"Give me a minute," Hazel said, undoing the straps on her armour. "I hate wearing this. It's so heavy and feels clunky." Nico watched in amusement as she grumbled for a few more minutes.

"Finally," she breathed in relief. "Any moment of freedom from that is something I'll treasure."

"You know it's meant for your protection. Keep your body safe against hits from weapons or monsters."

"You're one to talk. I've never seen you wear armour once."

"That's because I can take care of myself. You still need to do a lot more training."

Hazel rolled her eyes as they began walking down the road. "So where have you been? I haven't seen you for a while."

"Been busy. Since the fall of the gods, a lot of things have changed everywhere. I've been scouting around trying to figure out any new arising threats. And also, the underworld has been blocked off since Dad passed. But something seems off there. It's like something new is trying to emerge after the underworld had passed but I can't seem to get a read on it."

"Whatever it is, please just be careful."

"Don't worry about me. I'll manage just fine."

Nico was startled when Hazel grabbed his arm. He was going to say something but stopped when he was genuine fear and worry in her eyes.

"Please, I'm being serious. You're out there against dangerous threats all on your own. Just watch your back. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."

Nico was surprised to see Hazel so worried about him. Other than Bianca, no one had genuinely been this concerned about his well-being, so he wasn't quite sure how to react to this. He wrapped his arm around Hazel and pulled her into a hug, something that was very uncharacteristic for him, but it was enough to show his sister that he understood what she was trying to tell him.

"Hey, look. I get what you're saying. But I've been doing this for quite a while now. I'll be fine, don't worry too much about me. Just focus on training and keeping yourself safe. Being Pluto's daughter, you're going to attract a lot of attention from monsters and other threats out there. And I can't always be there to protect you as much as I'd like to. So, keep being aware."

The two siblings fell into a comfortable silence as they continued walking along the path.

"So, did you come here just to see me or was there something you needed to do?" Hazel asked.

"It's to do with the upcoming threats. I can't say more at the moment. Reyna will tell the legion later tonight. You'll find out with everyone else. It's too complicated to explain right now."

"Is there a monster we need to fight?"

Nico debated what to tell his sister but decided to just tell it as it was. She was bound to find out anyways, and there was no use in trying to hide her from her.

"We're not sure. But we think it's a bit more complicated than that. We may be facing a war soon."

"Does this have anything to do with… him?" Hazel lowered her voice, looking around to see if anyone was listening.

"Who?"

"You know…. Alcyoneus? Gaia?"

"Oh." Nico understood where she was going with this. "No, we don't think it's to do with them. With the fall of the Pantheon, their spirit should've passed as well. This is a completely different threat—something which could be more powerful."

"Why don't you ask Bianca to help out. She's also our sister. Wouldn't she want to help you?"

"Bianca's… she's been busy with some other things. And plus, until we figure out what we're up against, I don't want to put her in danger."

"I want to meet her."

Nico stopped walking and turned to see the serious look in Hazel's eyes.

"Are you sure? You said you wanted some time to get used to the world."

"I've had enough time. And Bianca is the last family I have left other than you. I really want to meet her."

"I'm going to see her today after I'm done here. I'll arrange something for you two," Nico said after a few moments. They walked on, Nico interested in learning how Hazel had adjusted into the legion. He was worried that she'd find it difficult to settle in the modern times. He was lucky because when he had left the Lotus Hotel, he spent some time in Camp Half-Blood where technology was used sparingly, so he had time to understand the future times and even after leaving Camp, he spent most of his time in the underworld with his father so he had it easier compared to Hazel. But he was glad to see that despite that, she was adapting quite well.

"Um excuse me," came a voice a few metres behind them. They turned around to see a boy around their age running towards them.

"Hi Scott," Hazel said. "You alright?"

"Hi Hazel. Sorry, are you Nico?" Scott asked, looking at Nico. "Praetor Reyna requests your presence in the Principia." Scott ran off again.

Nico turned to Hazel. "Duty calls."

Hazel waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you soon?" Hazel added hopefully.

"I'll try to come by more often. And I'll talk to Bianca today."

Hazel smiled, gave him a quick hug (which he returned somewhat awkwardly) and dashed off back to the Field of Mars.

"We've talked about it," Reyna started as Nico walked into the headquarters. "And we agree with your terms. We currently have a team of legionnaires and a centurion out on a reconnaissance mission and they're due to come back tomorrow. So, we'll meet 3 days from today so all of my officers are present. For the safety of my legion, we will meet in the Forum and as a gesture of goodwill, eat lunch there and discuss. Should my fellow praetor and I feel that you're genuine allies, we will allow you to tour throughout Camp Jupiter."

"We would also like to take up your offer on touring through your Camp," Jason continued. "Just so we know what resources you have and get a general idea of what other facilities are available in the area."

"Those terms are fine," Nico said. "Chiron won't mind having Romans in the camp if you wish to stay overnight. I'll go and inform him now."

"We'll see you in three days," Jason replied with a friendly smile on his face, shaking Nico's hand. Nico looked outside, seeing the sky begin to darken. That'd make it easier to shadow travel. He waved goodbye to them and closed his eyes, pulling the shadows around him and letting himself be engulfed in the darkness.

Leo studied Corazon. The object had been puzzling him for ages. The Entity person had told him that it'd be the answer to all his problems and it'd help him fix his issues. But he couldn't even figure out how to use it. It was just an ordinary metallic sphere with some knobs and sliding mechanisms. But when he tried using them, they didn't do anything.

A knock on the door brought him out of his musings. He pressed a button on the side of his bed, taking him out of his secret underground lair he built when he moved in.

"You seem to be spending a lot of time under there recently," came Chiron's voice. As he looked up, he saw Chiron in the bunker sitting in his wheelchair.

"Helps keep my mind focused when I'm down there. Just me, my thoughts and my small project ideas."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just thought I'd inform you that Nico came a few minutes ago. We've arranged a meet with the Romans in three days in hopes for an alliance, if you'd like to join us."

Leo's mind went back to the meeting he had with The Entity. His words echoed in his head.

"For now, I want you to help in uniting the camps, explaining to them what I have to you. You, Piper McLean and Nico di Angelo are the main hopes in uniting all demigods."

"Yeah, I'll join you guys. Is Piper coming along?"

"Yes."

Leo also remembered something else The Entity had said.

"I've spoken to your trainer, Chiron."

Maybe Chiron could help him understand Corazon and perhaps make sense of The Entity's words.

"Chiron, could you help me with something?" Leo asked as Chiron was about to leave the bunker. He turned around, gesturing for him to continue. Leo told him everything that happened when he met The Entity. He recounted all of his words, warnings and told him the gifts he had received. Chiron was silent for a few minutes once he was done, making Leo even more nervous than he felt.

"I'd advise you to be careful Leo. While I believe that The Entity is an ally and truly wishes the best for us, you must learn to be careful when dealing with immortals. He's the creator and lord of the universe. He controls forces of nature we may not even know exist. His mind and spirit are vast and expands beyond our knowledge—and to him, when dealing with mortals like us, we must learn to be careful and aware. That was one of Perseus Jackson's mistakes."

"That's the Assassin, right?"

"Indeed. He had a set goal to accomplish but he never stopped once to consider the ramifications that the death of the gods would have on the world. He went on a killing spree which he believed as justice against their crimes against mortals but not once did he think about how others could be affected. I watched a handful of nymphs and satyrs fade away as the pantheon fell. And know that The Entity would've known that spirits such as them would've passed but did not warn Percy. I don't deny that the gods were bad deities and that the planet is better off without them, but the lesson here is you must learn to consider all factors before making a decision."

Leo understood what Chiron was saying. He was witnessing first-hand the damage that the camp had endured as a result of The Assassin's murder spree, which served a lesson to always think things through properly before making a decision.

"So, you said the Entity said that you, Piper and Nico are the only people who could unite the demigods," said Chiron.

"Yeah, along with some more cryptic messages."

"No, I mean did he say Romans specifically or all demigods? Be specific about the wording."

"Um, I think he said all demigods. Why… why does the wording matter?"

"When dealing with higher powers, they tend to be cryptic like you said, but they also leave hints in their words. He didn't say unite Romans and Greeks. He said all demigods. I can assume he also meant some of the other Greek demigods that left Camp Half-Blood after the death of Zeus."

"You're saying we should try and convince the former camp people to re-join and help?"

"Yes. Let's face it, we do need as many numbers as we can get. This threat is potentially bigger than any other we may have faced. We could use all the help we can get. If other demigods understood what we're facing, I'm sure they'd be willing to help. To be honest, there's no better help out here than our own people."

"But why would he say Nico, Piper and I are the hope in uniting them?"

"Well, I can only theorise, but Nico would be an ideal candidate having played a part in the downfall of the gods but still wishes to protect the world. He also knows best about what we're up against other than you. Piper would be best for this as you may have noticed that she's good with words along with her charmspeak. She can understand people and help convince them to do the right thing."

"What about me? I mean, I'm just a half-god mechanic who likes making inventions. I'm not exactly a people person."

"That's for you to figure out. Each one of us has a role to play. If the Entity believes you can help unite them, he must have his reason. You just have to figure it out."

Leo groaned mentally. He knew he'd said this hundreds of times, but vague messages were really beginning to kill him. "Another thing. When I drank his blood, he said I'd learn what powers I had been given. Or more specifically, the powers that were rightfully returned to me."

Chiron was once again silent for a moment before his eyes widened. "Powers that were returned to you," Chiron pondered quietly. Leo could see his mind working quickly as Chiron was connecting the dots.

"One thing Nico told me that he learnt from his sister is that the gods weren't the true commanders of their domains. They embedded their powers into the elements they wanted to control, with that being Tartarus, Ouranos and Pontus."

"Zeus got the sky," Leo remembered from the orientation video. "Poseidon got the ocean. And Hades got the underworld."

"Exactly. Three of the four elements. The fourth main element, fire, was taken by Hestia. The eldest daughter of Kronos."

Leo's heart began to pound in fear. He could already tell where this conversation was heading and in the back of his mind, he could still remember the night—the night where his life changed forever.

"So, Hestia took command of fire. All the fires on this world were controlled by her. Now your father comes into the picture. One of Hephaestus's domains was volcanoes. Many of his forges were located in volcanoes. To gain proper control over them, he struck a deal with Hestia. In exchange for giving her a book that contained certain secrets about Olympus and other parts of the world, she'd allow him to harness her power over fire and control it however he wanted to. Hence why Hephaestus is known as the god of volcanoes and fire. Now if Hestia had a demigod child, he or she would have gained her powers over fire. And through history, Hephaestus has given his power over fire to some of his demigod children. But due to Hestia passing, all children of Hephaestus would've lost their power over fire," Chiron explained.

"Until Helix gave me his blood to drink. Which, if you're right, has returned my power over fire," Leo understood, his stomach beginning to sink at the thought of using fire again.

"There's only one way to find out."

Leo held his arm out, laying his hand out flat. All those years ago, he swore to never use fire ever again. He took a deep breath and focused. He extended his fingers and felt them tingle, almost like pins and needles shooting through them. Then a moment later, just as he expected, deep, red-hot flames flickered to life, slowly dancing along his hand.

"Incredible," Chiron said in a whisper, his eyes looking intently at the fire. "It's been almost 400 years since a fire user was born. The last one was in 1666, Thomas Faynor, who ended up starting the Great Fire of London."

"That's… great," Leo said, his stomach churning even more. More powerful. He didn't want more powerful. That's the reason his mother was killed.

"However, there is something I wish to know. While you have the ability to summon fire, I have not seen a child of Hephaestus control fire from an outside source. But if your power comes from the Entity, perhaps…" Chiron trailed off, but Leo understood what he was suggesting. He leapt off his bed and walked towards his desk, taking out a lighter. He grabbed a Bunsen burner from the side and lit a flame on it.

Chiron wheeled himself back to give Leo space. Leo stood a few steps away from the Bunsen burner, his eyes never leaving the flame once. By Chiron's explanation, it shouldn't be possible for him to control a flame that he hadn't summoned, but something in his gut told him he could do it.

"Take your time with it and be careful. Deep breaths and concentrate," said Chiron

Yeah, easier said than done. With Leo's ADHD, it was near impossible to just be still and concentrate, but he tried nonetheless. He focused solely on the flame, trying to project his power over it and trying to control it. He felt a tug in his gut and on instinct, he raised his arm and pulled it towards him. Immediately the flame rose from the burner and floated above his hand. He closed his hands into a fist and the flame snuffed itself out.

"Amazing," Chiron said. "You have an incredible ability, Leo. One that'll definitely come in handy with what's coming. You're one of the few true fire users I've encountered in my many years."

"True fire users?"

"Yes. There's a difference between a normal fire user and a true fire user. Anyone can be a fire user. Using magic, any capable demigod can harness it. But to truly be able to control fire, not just your own but one from a different source, is what makes a true fire user."

Leo just nodded, not trusting himself to say anything.

"Now, is there anything else you'd like to discuss, or may I leave?"

Leo wondered if he should ask Chiron about Corazon. After all, he had been alive for like thousands of years. Perhaps he could provide some help.

"Yes, one last thing," Leo said, grabbing Corazon from his bed and handing it to Chiron. He rolled it around in his hand, inspecting it closely.

"What is this?"

"The other gift by the Entity. He called it Corazon. He said this'd be the answer to all my frustrations."

"Did he say anything else about it?"

"Yeah, he did," Leo recalled. "He said at one time, it was a weapon of mass destruction, at another, it was the trident that slew many gods."

"The Assassin's original weapon was a trident."

"You don't think…" Leo trailed off

"I heard rumours about Perseus losing his weapon. Hermes said that when Atlas passed, a new, unfamiliar energy kept the sky standing. I think it makes most sense that Perseus gave up his trident to keep the sky and earth set apart. But that doesn't explain how it became the sphere you have and left its position from the Titan's base. Well, that's a mystery for another day. What seems to be your issue with it?"

"I can't seem to figure out how to use it. There's so many dials and mechanisms in there but I can't get it to work."

"In all my years, one thing I've understood about magical artifacts, it's that—in a way— they're alive themselves. And sometimes you have to prove yourself worthy to use it. And I believe that there is a way you can prove yourself," Chiron finished with a knowing look in his eyes, handing the object back to Leo.

"Yes, I know. I'll get to it today or tomorrow."

"Get some rest today. Work on it with a fresh mind in the morning," Chiron said, wheeling himself out of the cabin, leaving Leo to his thoughts.

"Get some rest." No chance. Leo's mind was swimming too fast with everything he had learnt from The Entity and Chiron. Reawakening his fire powers brought back too many painful memories. His mind flashed back to the night he lost his mother. He remembered how that dirt woman had caused him to get so angry and he had lost control over the flames and ended up burning his mother to death. And now he was expected to use those same powers again. Right there and then, he swore that he'd never let his flames lose control ever again.

Still, as the night began to progress, Leo couldn't get himself to sleep. His mind was filled with too many thoughts and he needed a distraction.

He jumped out of bed, grabbed his tool belt and Corazon, summoned a small flame for light and left the cabin. The forest awaited him.

Bianca was tired. It had taken her far longer than normal to hunt down the deer for dinner, but she was in new terrain with the ground being a lot more unstable, making it more difficult for her. She had been in the city some time ago, tracking down the location of her reincarnated mother. She didn't engage with her, not wanting to try and bring the madness of a demigod's life into her mother's life—not after she had already sacrificed her life against Zeus's wrath. She just wanted to make sure that her mother was having the happy life she deserved, and from what she saw, she seemed to be in a great relationship with a good man who loved her and seemed to be enjoying her life.

She wanted to return to Camp to help her brother by the end of the week. From his last visit, she knew that he had been busy hunting down new threats and running missions for Chiron to prepare themselves against some new upcoming threat. And, while she wanted to help him, she wanted to get her personal tasks finished along with fulfilling her father's last requests to be able to move on. She also wanted to hone her skills that she had learnt from Zoe. But now that she finished the last task, she wanted to go and help the rest. Her little brother looked beyond weary and had slight bruises from the last time. She wasn't sure, but she felt like she owed him an apology.

She was brought out of her thoughts as her senses began to tingle. She smiled, knowing her brother was on his way trying to locate her. Right on cue, the shadows began to thicken and out emerged the little troublemaker she loved.

"You've been a sight for sore eyes," she teased as she gave him a hug. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, I've not been the one living in isolated forest areas," Nico shot back, slightly out of breath. Bianca looked at him in worry as he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"Hey, deep breaths. Let me get you some water." She rummaged through her backpack getting out a bottle of water. As she touched his hand, she could feel his aura had weakened a considerable amount and his skin was a lot colder, suggesting that he had shadow travelled a lot recently.

"Where exactly have you been today?" Bianca asked as she cut her meat in half to give Nico some.

"It's a bit of a long story, but remember the other demigods I was talking about?"

"Yeah. The Roman ones, right?"

"Had to organise an alliance with them for Chiron. We're going to be meeting up and negotiating with them in three days. I've been shadow travelling back and forth between camps non-stop for the past two days."

"Here." Bianca handed Nico some ambrosia from her bag. "You need it more than I do right now. And you need to get some rest tonight. Stay here with me."

"You sure? I have enough strength to travel back—"

"I haven't seen you for some time. I'm pretty sure I can manage watching over and taking care of my little brother for one night. You can use my sleeping bag. I'm fine with sleeping on the forest floor."

Nico didn't have the strength to argue so he just shrugged and took some more meat.

"Your cooking has gotten better," he noted as he ate his third serving.

"Spend enough time surviving in the wilderness and you learn to cook properly."

They ate in silence for a few more minutes as Nico recovered his strength slowly.

"I'm sorry I've been slightly distant lately. I just wanted to get some time to focus myself," she started but Nico waved it off.

"It's fine. Everyone needs time to find themselves again," he said, remembering the day he went to the mortal world for the first time in ages after moving to the underworld and meeting that mortal girl. "Besides, you're not the only one who's gone off the grid."

"You're talking about Percy, right?"

His silence was a sufficient answer.

"He'll come back. You and I both know better than most the toll it took on him when he was on his killing spree against the gods. Going through something like that, a person needs his time to get over everything they've faced."

"Three months isn't enough?"

"Each person processes their emotions differently. For one person, it could take a week. But that same ordeal can take a year for someone else. In Percy's case, he sees his self-imposed exile as repentance. We just have to learn to be patient."

"But, with the war coming, can't he, I don't know, hurry his repentance?"

"If there's a war coming, you and I both know he's placing himself on the front line of the battlefield. Just be patient for now."

Nico didn't want to admit it, but he knew his sister had a point. He was just going to have to wait. Bianca put down her food and scooted next to him, pulling him in her embrace and giving him a light kiss on his forehead. He normally hated physical contact with others but between Bianca and Hazel, he could never find it in himself to pull away from them.

"Well, for changing topics, was there any reason you came to see me or did you just miss me?" Bianca asked.

"I did miss you. But yes, there is something I wanted to talk about with you."

"Go on."

"Well, to be blunt, we have another sister as well."

Author's Note: Well it has been a long time. School started up so you know it's been quite busy. No reviews sadly but I guess that's on me because you know I don't update sadly. Trying to get into a routine but trust me exams are a big pain in the ass. Anyways not much to say right now, 5305 words and a real start on the story.

Please review if you do find time, I'll try to update quicker (like an actual reasonable time), it'd help a lot to see some positive comments or even constructive criticism. Both are welcome.

Keep Safe Everyone

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See you all in the next chapter

SpiritsOfTheWorld