Third person (Keith)'s POV

Turns out, there were also the Roman Gods. I mean, seriously! I can barely deal with Greek Olympians, and now I have to deal with the Roman ones too?! Which are next, Egyptians?!

Percy was at the Roman Camp. Leo and the Hephaestus Cabin were building a massive ship called the Argo II to sail over the Atlantic to Greece. Gaea, aka Mother Earth, was rising and wanted to destroy the gods, her grandchildren. Not the best grandma ever, I guess.

Anyways, these past few months, Nico had been going in and out of Camp, so I didn't see him much. I was normally alone, no one wanted to spent time with a child of Hades. I had some friends, I guess. Jake, the Stolls, Malcolm, Katie, Jason, Piper, and Leo were always nice to me and sometimes hung out with me.

I did the normal Camp activities. We mostly played Capture the Flag, and Canoe and Chariot races. I dedicated myself to train in my spare time, plus the lessons by the Athena kids. Unless I'm with Nico, I don't play Mythomagic anymore. I miss Beckendorf, Silena, Lee, and Michael, they were my only friends before the war, but they all died. After the war, we started building the Hades Cabin, a few skeletons helped. I also have accepted that these times are different than the 1930's and came out of the closet as gay, to myself. I didn't need another thing to make me more distanced from the rest of the campers. I spent some time at the Underworld too. I visited Bianca, Beckendorf, Silena, Lee, and Michael. I spend hours with them.

Anyhow, it's late at night, and I can't sleep. I heard the familiar whooshing sound of shadow traveling and saw Nico packing extra nectar and ambrosia along with survival stuff.

"Going somewhere?" I asked.

He jumped, then calmed down once he realized it was me.

"Yeah" he mumbled.

I started at him expectantly "Where to?"

"Tartarus" I fell off the bed.

"Seriously, where are you going?"

"I told you, Tartarus"

"You're not serious"

"I have to, the Doors of Death have to be closed, and they're in Tartarus. It's the reason why monsters have been reforming so quickly"

"Then I'll go with you"

"I have to do this alone"

"Well, too bad, 'cause I'm coming"

He sighed in defeat, knowing I was as stubborn as he was. I grabbed my things and left a note for Chiron. Together, we shadow traveled outside Hades's palace. From there, we walked to the entrance to the pit.

"You don't have to do this you know" Nico tried one last time.

"No, I have to. You're my brother and I'm not letting you go alone"

And with that, we jumped.

It feels like we've been in here forever. After what felt like days, we landed painfully in something that seemed like shattered glass. We are now following the Phlegethon to get across this disgusting land. Walking on skin is disgusting, how do mosquitoes and germs do it? I heard a sound behind us. Monsters were approaching, there were too many. I knew we wouldn't defeat them.

"Go" I told Nico.

"What?"

"GO! You and I both know we won't be able to defeat that many monsters in their home territory"

"But-"

"I promised Bianca I'd keep you safe, and I don't intend to break it. Now, GO!"

I saw him run, I could tell he didn't want to, but at least one of us had to make it to the doors. I hope they don't get him. I killed a couple of dracanae and some empousai, but they captured me, nonetheless.

I was getting closer to the Doors; I could sense them. When I was able to get a look at them, my blood froze. Monsters. Thousands of them were lined up in front of us, like they've been expecting us, which they probably were. If Nico managed to make it, there was no doubt he'd be captured.

They took me to some kind of base. There, a monstrous thing appeared, I could only assume this was Tartarus himself. I heard a commotion outside and looked just in time to see a giant grab Nico and put him in a jar.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? I haven't seen your kind in a long time" with that, Tartarus grabbed a knife and stabbed me in the arm.

I have been here for years, but time was different. Ten years in the pit would only be one month in the surface, I don't think anybody missed me. I didn't age, I don't know if that is good or bad, considering my circumstances.

I have my daily sessions of torture. Tartarus himself would come and do it. He would whip me, hit me, punch me, cut me all over my body, then stab me on my arms and legs, and sometimes on my stomach. Sometimes, he would shoot me with some poisoned arrows, but always stopped in time for some nectar and ambrosia to heal me. Every time, I wondered how Nico was doing in that jar they put him in. They moved it up after a month here, and I was left alone.

Tartarus came in, but with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Your friends have reached Rome; they shall come for you shortly" he said. I felt myself being picked up, probably by a giant and brought to the Doors. I lost consciousness.

I woke up just in time to feel the giant pushing me inside a jar, the same one Nico was in. If there wasn't any space before, there was less now. I saw him paler than before, he looked dead.

I was afraid he was for a moment; I couldn't have felt the ringing because I already was in pain, but then I saw the seed packet in his hands and realized he was in a death trance, clever. With that, I passed out again.

When I woke up again, I heard screams. Then, I hit the floor. Wait, what? I opened my eyes and saw Piper, Jason, and Percy fighting the giants. I caught glimpses of the battle but was too weak to do anything. I hated it. I sat up and saw the battle had already finished. Next to me, Nico was looking around in bewilderment.

Using the others as support, we managed to get out of wherever they were keeping us. I think Percy and Jason were fighting the giants along with the Roman version of Mr. D, since giants can only be killed by a combination of god and demigod, but I'm too tired to focus enough to see. After the battle, I walked into the Argo II, then was put into a room and fell asleep.

Apparently, Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, I winced at the name. I also had a half-sister named Hazel. She is really nice. When she said she is dating Frank, Nico and I gave him our best death glares. He shivered and turned pale, I guess he got the message, 'you hurt her, we hurt you'.

Nico was leading the crew towards the House of Hades, where the Doors were located. I spent all that time in recuperation along with Nico, he just had to eat more while I had to do a diet of nectar and ambrosia for the cuts.

That was practically all I did until they rescued Percy and Annabeth. Reyna had arrived while they were inside, and sadly had to sacrifice her pegasus, Scipio, because he had too many wounds.

A decision was made. Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge would shadow travel and bring the Athena Parthenos to Camp while the seven went to Athens to stop the giants from raising Gaea. I was still way too weak to shadow travel, I could barely lift myself up. Unlike Nico, I had gone through torture and then put in the jar. Surprisingly, Hades himself appeared.

"You have done well son, but your destiny awaits you"

With that, he touched my head and I was consumed by darkness.

Third person POV

Keith was floating in darkness. All around him were shadows. They whispered between one another. All hailing their king.

Keith's POV

I was unconscious, but that did not stop the dreams from coming. When I opened my eyes, I was blinded by the light for a moment. Then, everything came rushing back to me. Tartarus, the Doors, Hades.

I sat up quickly and a wave of dizziness overtook me. When my sight focused again, I saw I was at the Hades Cabin at Camp. It felt good to be home. It was just as we'd left it, apart from the dust. I walked outsidd and observed my surroundings. At the distance, I could see the Romans' flag. But it felt wrong, like I wasn't entirely there. I saw people coming towards me, but they passed right through me. That's when I realized, I was a shadow.

I saw the Greeks send Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Will as scouts to sabotage the Roman's onagers. It worked. Giant balls of fire flew through the sky and collapsed with each other. I followed the rest of the Greeks to the crest of Camp.

"Romans, you have fired on our camp! Withdraw or be destroyed!" Clarisse yelled.

"CHARGE!" Octavian yelled.

The Romans and monsters approached, when suddenly, Reyna and the Athena Parthenos came flying in.

"DON'T BE STUPID, LOOK!" Will yelled.

"GREEK DEMIGODS!" Reyna's voice boomed as if projected from the statue itself. "Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!"

"ROMANS!" Reyna yelled, "I do this for the good of the legion, for the good of Rome. Stand together with our Greek brethren!

"Listen to her!" Nico marched forward. "Reyna risked her life for all of you! We brought this statue halfway across the world, Roman and Greek working together, because we must join forces. Gaea is rising. If we don't work together-"

"YOU WILL DIE" a voice shook the earth, "A FUTILE GESTURE, BUT IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, YOU MAY DIE TOGETHER"

"CLOSE RANKS" Reyna yelled.

The monsters attacked. It was all out war, it brought back terrible flashbacks of the Titan War. At one point, I saw the Argo II fly in. I kept looking at the battle.

"Greeks!" Percy shouted, "Let's, um, fight stuff!"

I grinned. I loved my camp. Suddenly, they began to sink like they were standing on quicksand.

"AWAKE" a voice boomed all around.

"Stand fast!" Piper shouted, "Greeks and Romans, we can fight her together!"

Gaea laughed, "The whole Earth is my body. How would you fight the goddess of-"

WHOOOSH! In a flash of bronze, Gaea was swept off the hillside, snarled in the claws of a metal dragon, Festus.

"Piper, Jason, you coming? The fight is up here!" Leo shouted.

As soon as Gaea was up in the sky, the ground solidified again. Most demigods had sunk to their knees but managed to pull them out. A giant explosion turned the sky gold. The monsters ran away, knowing Gaea had been defeated. The celebration was muted, due to grief. There were few casualties, both Greek and Roman, but the real sacrifice, was made by Leo Valdez.

The next day, both Romans and Greeks worked side-by-side to clean up the war zone and tend the wounded. By evening, the general mood had improved somewhat. The dining hall Pavilion have never been so crowded. They welcomed the Romans like old friends. Coach Hedge ran among the demigods, beaming and holding his baby satyr. I smiled at this, even though they couldn't see or hear me, it made me happy that the two Camps had found peace.

Chiron stepped forward and raised his goblet. "Out of every tragedy, comes new strength. Today, we thank the gods for this victory. To the Gods!"

"To the gods!" the enthusiasm was muted.

Then, Chiron added, "and to new friends!"

"TO NEW FRIENDS!" everyone cheered. Me as well.

After a few songs, Reyna and Frank were called to the front.

"Tomorrow," Reyna said "we Romans must return home. We appreciate your hospitality, especially since we almost killed you-"

"You mean you almost got killed!" Annabeth corrected.

"Whatever Chase"

"Oooooooooh!" the crowd said as one. Then everybody started laughing.

"Anyway," Frank took over, "Reyna and I agree this marks a new era of friendship between the camps"

"We may fight a lot of battles in the future. But from now on, we fight together!"

Everyone cheered again.

"So, thank you, all of you. We could have chosen hatred and war. Instead we found acceptance and friendship." Reyna concluded, "We had one home, now, we have two"

The crowd roared with approval. That was a night to remember.

Everything around me was playing like an old movie, I don't know for how long it was like that, but I hated being not being able to do anything. I found myself in my Hades's throne room. I felt myself solidifying. I bowed to my father.

"Rise, my son" he said.

I quickly stood up.

"I suppose you must be wondering why you turned into a shadow, yes?"

I nodded.

"You see, the only way to heal you was by magic, you could say, so Hecate and I agreed to make you the Shadow King"

"The what?" I asked confused

"The Shadow King. As you already know, your brother, Nico, is the Ghost King, and you are the Shadow King. You have complete control over shadows, even more than your brother, and won't be tired if you shadow travel way too many times at once" he explained.

"Ok...?"

"You turned into shadow so your powers could develop, and the shadows would recognize you as their King. I know you want to go back to your siblings, but a more important mission awaits you. I will let you go to Camp for a while to spend time with them, but only for a week"

"Thank you, father" I bowed, and shadow traveled to my Cabin at Camp. Nico and Hazel came in a while later and launched themselves at me.

"Where have you been?!" Nico and Hazel exclaimed.

I quickly explained them about the whole Shadow King thing and the job Hades wanted me to do.

"I'm so glad you're ok" Hazel said once I had finished.

"When do you leave?" Nico asked.

"In about a week" I said.

Hazel and Nico hugged me, and we went to sleep.

The Romans left, but not before they were taught how to IM. Chiron decided to send some demigods to a school called Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted for the school year.

Before I knew it, the week passed, and I was at Half-Blood Hill in front of Hades.

"Keith, you will go to a school called the 'Galaxy Garrison'. In there, you will meet a legacy of Athena called Sam Holt. In case there are any monster attacks, you can go talk to him since he knows about the gods. You will be posing as an orphan, so start thinking about backup stories. You will be able to come back home for the holidays, but just say you want to explore for yourself. Ok?"

"Ok" I said. With that, the shadows engulfed us, and I was standing in front of what I supposed was the Galaxy Garrison.

"Be careful Keith" Hades warned, "do not reveal under any circumstances about the gods. Use the Mist in case you need to, like Chiron taught you. Zeus has granted you safe passage through the sky, I quote, 'only because he is the least annoying of the bunch'. Also, you will not need to sacrifice anything unless you're back at Camp, where you'll sacrifice to Zeus too. Good luck" Hades disappeared in the shadows.