Healing a Broken Angel

by CrimsonSayian12

Aeons ago, before the present time, there was a prophecy announcing the deaths of the Olympians at the hand of a God Killer. Someone was said to stop this God Killer, a powerful half-blood hero: a Nephilim child. But...what if he didn't want to save the gods. What if he knew how they behaved and what if he wanted to kill them, believing them to be threats to humanity? OC Centered

38. Ch20: Enemy of my Enemy

Chapter 21: Enemy of My Enemy

Sometime later…

Kian took to the pedestal of the heavily attended press conference. Out of 200 seats, all 200 were occupied and more stood up with notepads. He glanced upward, at his audience: the flashing cameras of the hungry journalists and news reporters who awaiting their star hero's words.

He was right in the middle of the Media District of Eden. Cameras were pointed at his face, from the left, correct and in every direction possible. Every movement was captured, and every detail was broadcast to the audience in front of him and to everyone watching. He had to stay calm under this pressure, he was their hero, a hero they placed their trust in and he was determined to pay it back.

Before he began, Kian took out his phone to place it on the stand. He cleared his throat to speak, earning the silence that he needed to talk.

"Welcome everyone. Firstly, I'd like to say that it's great to be back. I wanted to introduce myself more discreetly but…obviously, certain events meant that I couldn't. Who would have thought that as a superhero, you had to do your job?"

The audience chuckled at the dry joke and Kian continued. "Moving on to the incident that happened today. My team and I dealt with it like we knew how to and you can be assured that you're all safe. I'll take questions now."

"Archangel, why did you leave?" A curious reporter asked first and kicked off a low level of chatter that Kian could very much hear.

Kian took a breath to collect his words. "I left because I was overwhelmed. I've been doing this since I was 16 when I was first granted my junior and later senior license. I've been training to be a superhero since I was 11. I needed a break." He calmly answered. "While it wasn't my intention to abandon you, I knew you would be taken care of by the remaining superheroes that I knew. I hope you understand."

The reporter nodded and the crowd seemed to murmur in agreement. The same reporter asked another question. "Carran Voxos and Amanda Ferris went to the same school as you, were there any feelings of regret when you fought them?"

"You could say that," Kian answered him. "They believed because they were privately hired superheroes, they were superior to me…but in the end, they were the very thing they said they were not. Ironic isn't it? That those who call themselves superior are anything but that. I think this explains the reason why the ban on cooperate-owned superheroes must continue on Locus."

"And the monster that vanished, do you know what that is?"

He wanted to answer who exactly it was but Kian took a moment to calm himself. He was so close to telling them about who was behind the invasion 12 years ago. He waited for his phone to go off but it didn't. Kian waited for a second, two seconds, three seconds…

"Archangel?" the reporter said to get his attention.

"Come on!" Kian said in his head. Still no answer. He had to stall.

Kian glanced up and smiled like Lucifer had taught him. "That monster you saw was a genetically engineered creature that was rampant in destroying the Eden District Center. Amanda obtained it through unknown means but I assure you what I did was as painless as possible for the poor creature."

"There were rumours that you left because you were in a relationship with a lingerie model. Is this true?"

The reporters murmured in curiosity and instead of blushing, Kian scowled at the question. For a hero of his popularity and his handsome face, he was constantly bombarded with these kinds of questions. It was flattering at first when he was 16 maybe but eventually, it had become very annoying.

Ding

Kian's eyes glanced at the push notification that Harry had sent him.

Harry: 12:14 PM:
We f*cking got him!

"Firstly," Kian began, earning a quick silence from the reporters. "That's not true, never has been true and I don't know why you keep asking me these questions. Stop, I won't answer them. I'm not even 18 yet! You-" Kian took a second to stop himself from launching into an angry rant about how he had been asked these questions since he was 16. He took a moment to breathe before settling down and readying himself to talk. "When I was asked to attend this press conference, I was initially hesitant but I will tell you something that you deserve to know, something you should have known for a long time."

The crowd's interest peaked and they looked at Kian with eager eyes. Kian looked at the friendly faces of Percy, Annabeth and Sophiel somewhere in the crowd and he began to speak.

"What do you know of the Great Disaster?"

"That was where millions died, we think the Evians and Vorakians did it." The reporter replied. "At least, that's what is assumed."

"And do you believe it?"

"Well, there are some gaps in that theory. The Evians and Vorakians were said to be extinct a long time ago so they couldn't survive to cause a rampage on Locus, there's also no motive and we know from the historical efforts of former heroes Blue Angel and Red Devil that near the end of their vast empire, they advised and guided civilisations that they met so, this is out of character for them."

Kian's heart lightened a little, at least someone wasn't blinded by hatred. "Exactly. How could they? They're nearly extinct. I know why this false theory was circulated. They were framed by the real culprit behind the Great Disaster to make sure no one knew her. Her name is…Empena."

The crowd talked among themselves, having no idea about the name but Kian continued to speak. "She's a galactic overlord whose only purpose is to add planets to her empire, subjugating and controlling them like they're her toys. Her eyes are on Locus because of its technological advancements and superheroes. She's the one who killed Dominion, Rebellion and Obsidian."

The crowd went silent at the mention of the names, they were incredibly loved and respected by the crowd of Locus and when they learned of their deaths, they mourned for weeks, unable to believe that their beloved superheroes had died.

Kian took a breath before speaking. "And there's one more tragedy that I have to tell you. There was a mission last year that was falsely fabricated to be a major accident. In reality, I led an ill-fated mission to finally defeat her in which she took the lives of so many young heroes."

The crowd broke into higher rates of camera flashes but Kian stood strong, trying to hide the grief and guilt he was feeling for leading his fellow superhero friends to their deaths. A different reporter asked a question.

"Why tell us now, Archangel?"

"Good question. We kept this information secret because we believed that her agents were still a part of this planet's government. I believe this led to the disaster last year and only from Amanda's comments today were we able to move with confirmation and take out the network that we believed was informing her. I can confirm that this happened a few seconds ago. I can only apologise for keeping this information but this was done with the best of intentions to keep you safe. I hope you understand."

"How are you going to deal with this Empena?"

Kian chuckled darkly. "It's simple of course, Bring her to justice for the crimes she had caused," his eyes flashed red for a second. "We believe that Amanda Feris has information about where Empeana is located. Until then, you have our promise that-"

As Kian was about to finish the sentence, he heard the running footsteps of someone breaking their way through security and he immediately went on edge. His eyes settled on the sound source and as he made his way through the crowd, he emerged right in front of Kian

"You're a filthy rotten person!" the person yelled.

"Am I?" Kian asked sarcastically. "Why is that?"

"You're an Evi-"

The security guards around the press conference immediately dog-piled the person and started to hold him in place so that they could arrest him. "You may have fooled everyone but soon they will see! 3…2…1.."

Nothing happened.

Kian looked at the person and saw him looking around, at the billboards and the giant screen of a front view of Kian's face.

"No…!" the person's gleeful expression changed into one of despair and anguish as he was finally arrested

"Well-" Kian said as his eyes glowed bright blue for a split second, he looked back to the shocked reporters. "I can only apologise for that."

"One more question," A reporter asked. "While what you say sounds true, how can we believe you?"

"Information regarding who Empena is will be released shortly. It's been fact-checked by the government. That's all. Take care and goodbye."

Kian stepped off the podium as the camera flashes increased and he discreetly made his way backstage where Percy, Annabeth and Sophia came running in.

"Who was that guy?!" Sophia asked him. "You know him?"

"Do you?"

She shook her head. "Why would he have done that?"

"I read his mind. He tried to expose me for being a Vorakian Evian hybrid," Kian said. "It was all pre-planned, he would have exposed me and my reputation would have gone down the drain. At least that's what was planned, didn't happen."

"Well, it looks like you shouldn't have been scared of what the public thinks about Evians and Vorakians." Sophia smiled. "Looks like that hatred isn't as strong anymore."

"Yeah, well it's thanks to my parents," Kian said. "I've explained the situation but they need more proof that my species didn't bring destruction 12 years ago."

"Well, what should we do now?" Percy asked

"Let's go see who the traitor is shall we?" Kian said with a determined look in his eyes.

---

"Who is it?"

"It's someone we know."

Kian stood just before a door, opposite Sakua as the rest of his friends waited with him. "What's taking so long?!"

"We're protecting him."

"From who?!"

"From you."

"Why?!"

"You'll see."

The door beeped open and Kian rushed in, the rest of his friends and demigods following suit. And as soon as Kian looked at the traitor, his rage overcame him.

"YOU BASTARD!" He charged forward with a punch only for him to strike an invisible barrier and shake the foundations of the building they were in. "OF COURSE IT WAS YOU!"

"Well, looks like the barrier works," Harry said as he put a small device into his belt.

Marcel laughed and looked at him. "You're lucky that we need you for questioning, otherwise we would have killed you on the spot...Marrow."

"You think death scares me?!" Marrow screamed at him. "I would happily die if all the Evians and Vorakians died!"

"Who is this?" Annabeth asked Kian.

Kian breathed in and out as everyone filled the interrogation room around him. It was clean, dark with a single light source in the form of a bulb from above and no table. It usually had one but Marcel and Harry probably used it to contain Marrow, he didn't question where the remains of the table might be.

"He's the son of the former council members of Eden," Kian answered. "He's a real piece of shit, a racist and a creep. He was given a job to stabilise the transfer of the old council to the new council when the public voted to remove them. Of course, it was you! How did we not see it!"

Marrow grunted against his leg restraints, two pairs of thick iron chains placed against the corners of the room. "How the hell did you know I was the traitor."

"You can thank Amanda for that," Kian smirked. "After she confirmed what we thought, we acted on our suspicions and then here we are."

"Stupid bitch!" Marrow said. "Why haven't you killed me yet then?"

"Because you still have some information we need from you."

"I won't answer you, filthy half-breed."

Kian thrust his palm forward and Marrow went flying backwards like he was caught on a fishing line until he hit the wall. The sickening crunch noise reverberated through the room and the demigods flinched while the rest of his friends looked unfazed.

"You better talk or I'll make you feel pain that makes you wish you were dead," Kian said without blinking. He turned to the demigods. "You better leave and watch from elsewhere it's not going to be pleasant to see."

"We're used to this stuff," Percy replied casually. "We can stay if we want to right?"

Kian wanted to argue but he didn't go ahead with it. Instead, he sighed and nodded. "You can if you want."

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Annabeth asked him.

"Of course it is!" Kian growled as he looked at Marrow. "He was feeding Empena everything about what we tried to do to stop her Everything I did to hunt her down, to make sure that she couldn't hurt anyone else he was undoing!"

The sound of Marrow coughing in pain and wheezing earned their attention and Kian asked his first question. "Did you tell Empena about my attempts to invade her?"

"Like I would ever tell you!"

"How about a simple yes or no question, you just have to say yes or no, can you do that or are you too far into your ass to do that?"

"Fuck you!" Marrow coughed.

Kian sighed. "This is going to get hard to deal with…Marcel, poison him."

"What?!" Marow's eyes widened. He looked around but none of the people in front of him did anything, that was until he felt a spike of pain in the left side of his chest.

"Feel that? That would be the venom taking effect," Marcel said casually, his eyes flashing red and a shadow of darkness surrounding him. "You have until about 1 minute until your heart stops and your brain dies of oxygen starvation.."

"No!" He screamed.

"You can't poison your hostage!" Thalia cried. "That's…cruel."

"Cruel? He killed my friends!" Kian's voice was louder than normal. "This is more than justified!"

"But..isn't this what bad guys do?"

Kian grunted with annoyance. "There are no good guys or bad guys, remember what I told you?" He turned to look back at Marrow. "Well, I guess that's that for you. Rest in peace."

"B-but you need me?" Marrow pleaded with him but he was not convinced.

"Need you? That's an over-exaggeration. My friends already have access to your computer and information from when they took you here. I can simply get the information I want by backtracking the steps you took, I just needed you for the extra confirmation, you know, to make sure." Kian shrugged. "After you die. I won't give you the privilege of a decent burial, you'll be thrown into an empty grave, left to rot like the filthy rat you are. It's the best I can give you."

"NO!" Marrow screamed with fear. His heart tightened in his chest and his breaths became harder and harder as he felt the life within him escape him slowly. "I'll tell you!"

Kian smirked confidently. "That wasn't so hard, was it? You haven't got much time before you meet your inevitable demise so answer quickly. Someone tried to expose me for being an Evian/Vorakian Hybrid. Did you send him?"

"Yes."

Kian waited, his eyes scanning him. Harry turned to him. "True?"

"True." Kian nodded. "Next question, did you let Empena know about what I wanted to do?"

Marrow took a moment to answer him. "Y-yes."

Kian grit his teeth. He telekinetically grabbed Marrow and slammed him against the wall. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" he roared. "YOUR QUARREL IS WITH ME, THEY WERE INNOCENT CHILDREN!"

"Anyone associated with you is automatically as worse as those war-hungry animals." Marrow sneered.

Kian let him to the floor and watched as Marrow groaned in pain. "Anyone else have any questions?"

Harry stepped up. "What was the point of exposing Kian to the public? "

"It was to ruin his image, turn the people against him. After all, they still hate the Evians and Vorakians." Marrow answered.

"Hate is a strong word," Violet disagreed. "That false theory that Empena spread is slowly being phased out, they are starting to learn the truth."

"Lies!" Marrow barked. "They cannot change, they care about war and power, they remember the pain that the Mistress caused them and the Evians and the Vorakians are the ones who they blame."

"You know?" Percy said out loud. "Empena and you keep going on and on about how she'll bring peace, how war-hungry Kian's species are….but isn't she the one causing all the destruction? Sounds pretty ironic to me."

Kian chuckled at the statement and looked at Marrow. "He's hit the nail on the head right there, Percy. She's a monster."

Marrow lunged for Percy only to fall face-first onto the floor and groan in pain, his restraints tight against his legs. His face was sweating, his skin running cold.

"What has Empena promised you?" Mia asked him.

"M-money…power…" Marrow groaned the effort to speak just painful. "A chance to return to my original position, Eden Academy itself."

Kian air-kicked Marrow across the face, drawing blood with the force of the strike and creating a slightly strong blast of air around him. "You don't care about the school, you love the chance to prey on young girls, you creepy fuck."

"Can I kill him?" Marcel's eyes glinted and his fingers curled around his fists. "There's no point in keeping him alive is there?"

"Just…kill me…" Marrow agreed and begged Kian.

Kian's almost insatiable lust for vengeance filled his body, his head running through the methods to deliver the most painful method of death possible for Marrow's crimes. He could avenge the person indirectly responsible for the death of his friends and so many others so easily, all he had to do was take his life, easy as walking right?

Marrow looked up at Kian with fear, his life already away from his hands as he looked at what he was so afraid of. He saw the red eyes of the Reaper, a monster who killed without logic, a monster whom Empena feared was in front of him and he knew why Empena was so afraid now.

This was the being that Empena feared, a being of pure power with hate as its driving force.

Someone who was virtually unstoppable.

Kian saw the look of fear in Marrow's eyes, his reflection an-

No

This…wasn't right. This isn't right.

"As much as I want to see him as a lifeless husk," Kian said, his hands shaking as his rage dropped drastically. "Killing him would give him a painless death. He needs to be tried and placed in prison, let him suffer the weight of his actions alone. Let him support what I said, and have him speak directly to the media. Expose his actions. We've taken what we need from him."

Marrow gasped and clutched his heart as he went slack. Kian turned to Marcel. "Cure him and transport him to prison. Explain the situation, don't bother giving him a trial."

As Marcel extracted Marrow to a different location, Mia spoke. "Dividing the public would make it harder to authorise a mission to kill Empena."

"That mission would have worked if Empena didn't know if it was coming, the Owl gave us the correct intel. Marrow snitched on us and Empena was just waiting for us. We already decimated her Grigori to fractions, it was almost perfect."

"What's the plan now Kina?" Sakura asked him. "You aren't going to charge headfirst at Empena and try and kill her are you?"

Kian didn't reply.

"No way," Sakura said blankly.

"It almost worked the last time!" Kian snapped and then sighed. "Well, I would have if Bella hadn't turned up."

"It's impressive and all but I don't think Empena would have gone down so easily." Harry shrugged.

"Yeah," Kian sighed. "She just doesn't want to die."

"If only there was some magic spell that could let us kill her over and over again," Mia sighed. "Then everyone could get their revenge. You could get it, I could get it, Marcel can get it and so on."

"As much as I hate needless violence, I've got to agree on that," Violet agreed. "How can we kill someone that can't be killed?"

"Well, we aren't going to get a task force or any heroes after what Kian has said," Harry said. "Although that won't be a bad thing, we're the only ones who can deal with her."

"I think you're forgetting my parents," Kian smirked. "Mum and Dad nearly took her head off."

"But we're not going to ask for them to help us fight are you?"

"Not a chance," Kian agreed. "They aren't as strong as they were once before and now, they're responsible for raising the last of the Celestials, that and raising three of my siblings is occupying their time right now."

"What should we do?"

"We don't need a task force, we can do it. Right now, we're the only ones who know about Empena's strengths and weaknesses."

"She knows ours too."

"I know that. If we don't stop her once and for all, she'll keep coming after us until we're all extinct. We're the last defence against the universe going full 1984."

"Understood." Harry agreed. "So, what's the next move?"

"We need to go back to Eden. Tell Kaya that we're coming."

"Kian," Annabeth said his name and earned his attention. "Why didn't you kill him?"

"What?"

"I saw that look when he was on the ground. You could have killed him. Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to, so badly, but there's been enough bloodshed spilt from this war. I didn't want to spill anymore."

Annabeth nodded but kept her stare on him. "And..?"

"And..and what?"

"That look, it was something more than just not wanting to spill more blood wasn't it?"

Kian sighed. "I saw the Reaper in his eyes and I didn't like it. When I killed the Grigori that would have hunted you, I did it as a way to protect you and protect others. This one was fuelled by pure hatred. I won't do it out of rage. It's now what a hero does. That answer your question?"

She nodded. "I'm happy that you didn't. You're better when you're not in that state."

"Yeah," Kian agreed. "Me too. We need to go somewhere, come on."

Sometime later

"So?" Percy asked Kian. "Where are we going now?"

Kian, Harry, Violet, Sakura, Mia, Chris and the demigods all sat inside a big SUV-like vehicle as Harry drove everyone to their destination. Kian was at the front with Harry to his right, Percy sat behind him, Annabeth, Thalia and Nico were adjacent to him and Mia sat behind Harry. Sakura, Chris, and Violet filled the rest of the car.

"We're going back to Eden," Kian clarified. "We need more answers."

"Back again?" Annabeth sighed. "So much travelling."

"Travelling is a good thing," Harry replied. "Opens your eyes to the world."

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth asked

"We've been to a lot of places," Harry said as he took a left turn. "Visited many planets, seen many aliens, some human-like, some insect-like, some really weird ones too."

"What was it like?"

"Well, some planets were good. Asgard was good, so was Xandar. Hala wasn't a big fan of superheroes. Went against their military empire." Harry explained. "Other than that, surprisingly good people, nice food."

"If we think about stepping foot on the planet, we'll be arrested," Kian said as he reclined his sear back. "I don't care, they had it coming."

"Do you always cause trouble where you go?" Annabeth asked him playfully. "You did it on Olympus, you've done it here and who else knows where else."

"Only if I think I see injustice" Kian shrugged.

"Spoken like a true rebel," Violet said from behind. "Lucifer's tendencies run in the family huh?"

Kian rolled his eyes. "By the way, when we get to where we're going, keep a low profile-"

"Yeah, because you're famous right?" Thalia interrupted

"No-well yes, but not this time. There's a facility in my school where I train and others like me to earn their skills. Because of what I did, and my accomplishments, I'm kind of like a celebrity there. I didn't exactly say when I was coming back and when I did, I was going to visit them first." Kian winced. "They know that I'm back and if they see me, they won't let me go."

"Let you go as in?"

"They won't let me go until I've talked to everyone." Kian put his head against the window. "And I'm afraid I won't stop until I've talked to everyone too. I was by myself back on Earth, with no parents, no friends, only myself and the neighbours around me. I'm afraid that if I see them, I won't stop talking to them."

A moment of silence passed as they imagined what Kian's situation was like. Kian's friends knew how he asked them to forget about him for a while and it broke their heart to hear him say that.

"You can save time for Kaya right?" Mia broke the silence.

He nodded. "Of course I can, she'll be the first person I'll talk to."

A few minutes passed before anyone talked. Everyone enjoyed a silent but comfortable silence together. The demigods took in the sights around them, enjoying the evening skyline of a new planet.

"So," Percy asked Kian. What are you going to do after Empena's defeated?

Kian went to speak but he stopped. "You know…I haven't thought about that. I don't know, I guess keep being a superhero to Locus, probably go to a university, and get a degree. You know, standard adult stuff."

"Degree?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"We have universities here too you know. We're not savages."

"No, it's not that. It's just I didn't expect you as the studious type."

"The best warriors in history are scholars, there's a lot more than throwing your body around in a fight. A warrior is useless on the battlefield if they don't know how to use their brain."

Annabeth nodded. "What is it in?"

"I don't know yet."

"Have you given it any thought?"

"I don't know what to do. I'll make that choice after I defeat Empena."

"Have you thought about doing Architecture, or History?"

"Maybe but I don't think I can sit in the classroom long enough while an old man talks for hours about a historical event, I prefer getting heavily involved in it," Kian shrugged. "Besides, I'm curious to know what else is out there, Can't just know one thing only."

"You could be an engineer." Harry laughed. "Build stuff as I can. You are already powerful enough, why not take my abilities too."

Kian playfully punched Harry's left shoulder. "Says the Enhanced Super Soldier with his mechanical suit and Excalibur.

"I thought Excalibur was just a myth," Nico said to the pair.

"It's very real. I'm a descendant of King Arthur from my father's side so he knew where the legendary sword and scabbard was-well, we made a guess but it was a little off." Harry explained. "Turns out that you couldn't wield it without some strength."

"And some sword training," Kian said casually. "You almost took your head with it trying to do a fancy trick."

Harry chuckled, remembering how the blade almost chopped his head off if it wasn't for his enhanced durability. "Well, turns out you shouldn't just try and copy YouTube videos without some training."

Mia giggled and playfully messed up Harry's hair from behind. "I was so scared for you, Don't do that ever again."

"I don't plan to." Harry laughed. "We're here."

The entire party was behind a large industrial building car park and as everyone got out of the car. Kian stood outside with a determined look on his face. He pulled a black hoodie over his head, his jet-black hair almost hiding his purple eyes.

"Follow my lead, don't bring suspicion to yourself."

"We aren't going to bump into someone that hates you are we?" Percy asked. "Because the last time you said that we bumped into Carran."

"Haha," Kian said sarcastically

"Where are we going to?" Percy asked as he walked behind Kian. "And why are we just walking around?"

"I can sense everyone in this building," Kian answered. "They're all crowded around the TVs most likely watching the news interview."

"And where is that?" Annabeth asked

"In the middle of the compound, second floor. If this situation was different, I would have taken you there first. " Kian smiled a little. "We have gaming consoles that would have made the ones on Earth look old."

"Where are we going now?"

Kian took a moment to speak as he approached a T junction. He looked left and walked deeper into the compound. "Somewhere I can get some more answers."

"There's no way it's this empty," Annabeth said. "Look at the size of this place!"

"It isn't like I said, they are mostly in the TV rooms. It's the evening shift but we have-"

Kian heard approaching footsteps and raised his hand quickly. "Two, 5 meters ahead. Hide. I'll make us invisible for the moment.

The demigods did as he asked and waited while the two people that Kian warned them off walked past. They paid no attention to Kian or his team as they continued their footsteps. They were a couple, a tall girl and a short boy who talked about how they missed Kian and wanted to help him against Empena.

Kian looked at them as they walked away and turned the corner. He knew who they were, acknowledged them and continued to go down his original path, his hands shaking.

Thalia noticed it. "Are you okay?"

"Never better. We're here."

Kian opened the door and everyone shuffled in quickly. The demigods were met with the sight of a long corridor with a single tall woman standing in the middle of it. She was dressed up in a costume, a heavy-duty jacket and a pair of worn-out trousers, both of them brown. She turned around and her worried expression was replaced with one of joy and relief at the sight of Kian.

"Kaya-"

Kian didn't get to finish it as she wrapped him up in a tight hug and lifted him off the ground easily. "KIAN!" she laughed as she held him. "I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

"Can't…Breathe!" Kian wheezed.

She put him down and quickly fixed his hair and clothes. "I missed you so much, You should have told me you were coming!" She played with his hair and despite Kian trying to act grumpy, he was loving it.

"Come on, you know why I'm in a rush." Kian sighed. "Why do you think I came here first."

"Have you been eating well?" Kaya asked him. "What was it like on Earth? Did you make any friends, please don't tell me you were all alone-"

"Who's this?" Percy interrupted her to ask Kian.

Kian pointed at her and then at Percy. "Demigods, this is Kaya Garcia, she's Bella's older half-sister, related by the same father."

"Hi." Kaya waved cheerily. "Who are your new friends?"

"Greek demigods," Kian explained. "They've gotten involved in this prophecy. Says they'll help me defeat Empena so." Kian shrugged.

"Great, nice to meet you all." Kaya smiled at them warmly.

Percy could see Kaya much closer than before. She had bright orange eyes and bright blonde hair that went down to her waist almost like a burning flame. From her height and figure, he could tell she was strong, reminding her strongly of Clarrise. But unlike Clarrise, Kaya's personality was much friendlier, almost like a friendly dog that hugged the people she cared about.

"How do you know Kian?" Annabeth asked her

"Well, I met him when he was 14. He was much more adorable than handsome back then" Kaya giggled, making Kian blush a little. "He was with my sister who unfortunately passed away last year."

No one replied to her and Kaya noticed it. "What?"

Kian whispered the reason why and her eyes went wide. "N-no."

Kian nodded sadly. "Don't worry, I have a plan to get her back. That's why I came here. I need answers. Where's Rashomon?"

"He's here?!" Percy shouted.

"Yeah, where did you think he went?" Marcel laughed. "When we teleported, he was sent here. We were not leaving him on Earth."

"Why's he here?"

"I need answers," Kian explained. "I have no idea what Empena's planning and Rashmon's one one of the highest Dark Moons and he's the only one we can obtain information from. We need to know what she's going to try."

"You won't lose focus right?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Because you know-"

"I know, I know. I won't lose focus." Kian agreed. "Besides, I don't think going full Reaper state in this enclosed area full of villains is a good idea."

Annabeth looked around and the light bulb went off in her head. "This is a prison."

Violet laughed lightly. "We don't pretend like it isn't."

"Well, you'll have to try something new. We already tried interrogating Rashomon and we haven't got any results."

"We? I thought you were alone?" Kian asked her.

"Wow, can't I try to help you guys?"

Kian spun around to see Auras walking in, a faint smile on his lips. The demigods went on alert but Kian raised his hand to calm them. "He won't attack you, I promise."

"Look," Auras looked at them directly. "I didn't want to attack you guys, I was forced to."

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"I was embedded with a powerful neurotoxin which if I went against Empena's orders, I would have died. One of my orders was to attack and gather enough demigod DNA to help her." Auras explained. "I thought the only way to remove it was for me to die but these guys helped me."

The demigods looked at Kian and he nodded. "He's telling the truth. I don't need to use my true sense to tell you that."

The demigods eased but they still didn't remain convinced. Percy spoke first. "So…what were you doing?"

Auras pulled up the black sleeves on his shirt. "I was talking to Rashmon. Didn't give me anything."

"I didn't get anything out of him either.." Kaya's fists clenched and her long blonde hair ignited almost. "If I could, I'd kill him."

"Kian got close," Nico said quickly.

"Should have finished him off." She said nonchalantly. "What he almost did to my sister…"

"Trust me, I wanted to but keeping him alive to get information is a much better idea."

"How?" Thalia asked him. "Did you take lessons on how to do it?"

"Interrogation requires some study but most of it is built on exploiting someone's weakness, turning it into your strength and getting them to do what you want. It's like an art form, the more you do it, the better you are it. I can get what I want from him. You guys can help Kaya clean up the place."

"Clean up?"

"It's the evening shift and Kaya took it on her own to cover for everyone. I thought it would be a nice way to help her out. She's been leading everyone when I wasn't here so this is my way of easing the burden on her."

Kaya hugged Kian, only this time softly and she giggled. "Thanks, Kina."

Kian smiled warmly, remembering the pleasant memories that he could remember before he broke away. "Team, be on comms, I'll be interrogating and it'll be worth it having another pair of ears to listen in."

"I want to interrogate,"

Kian stared at Annabeth, his eyebrow raised and head tilted. "...Why?!"

"Because the last time you did it, it didn't end well for you did it. Besides, if he sees me instead of you, he might open up and tell us what we need to know."

Kian glanced at Kaya and his friends before looking back at Annabeth. His expression tightened before it relaxed. "What's your idea?"

"We do good cop, bad cop, I'll be the bad cop and you be the good cop. It'll throw him off."

"Good idea but it's not going to work. I'm not trying to stop you because I don't think you're ready or whatever but remember what I said about what Rashmon did?" Kian explained. "There's a reason why back on Earth, he looked at you and Thalia with…interested eyes."

"What do you mea-" her face realised what Kian meant and her eyes widened. "He's a-"

Kian nodded. "Back on his pantheon, he was exiled because of it. He looked at them like items. It reached a boiling point when he murdered a school full of them after having his…fun." Kian shivered as he said it. "If he saw you, well you know what could happen next."

"But you'll protect me right?"

"I would yes but I'm not sure if I would do it for your protection or just out of rage," Kian explained. "He tried to do that to Bella and when I found out he almost did, I ended up nearly killing him, twice. No one should ever be in a position like that ever again and I won't let you put yourself in that level of danger. I'll talk to him and me only. If you want, you can watch I can make you invisible if you want to."

"That's not a problem." Annabeth brought out her Yankees baseball cap. "I can go invisible when I want to so it's not a big problem."

"What is that?"

"This is a magic cap that my mom gave to me, makes the wearer invisible."

She demonstrated the ability and the rest of Kian's friends raised their eyebrows at the lack of Annabeth in front of them. "Invisible by absorbing and reflecting no light at all. I can't even see your thermal signature either. Very interesting."

Pretty cool right?" Invisible Annabeth said.

"It is cool but I'm afraid that you'll have to help Kaya clean up," Kian said to Annabeth's disappointment. "You can listen in using the phones Sophie gave you but it would be unfair if I take you and leave your boyfriend and your other friends to help."

Annabeth sighed but she nodded. "That's fair enough."

Kian walked toward Rashomon's cell. He walked a long corridor full of cells, some empty, some full but he didn't know which was which. It was dark, only the lighting of the ceilings and the floor allowed him to see his way through this prison. He knew exactly where Rashmon was and after taking a right turn, he was in front of his cells.

It was a little bigger than the others but it was appropriate given who it was containing. It was lined with special power-dampening technology, gifted to Locus after Kian had revealed Rashmon's crimes to his family and pantheon.

Kian tapped the touchscreen display on the outer layer and it faded to reveal Rashmon lying on the floor, his arm slowly regenerating. He looked up at Kian and growled.

"What do you want?!" He demanded. "Have you come here to gloat?!"

"Trust me, I absolutely want to but I want answers. So no gloating for now." Kian said with a smile. "Don't act like you are the one in charge here, you have no power within those cells,"

Rashmon growled and sat up. He paced around the small cell clenched his available fist and growled again. "You won't get anything from me, mortal!"

Kian chuckled lightly. "Don't use it as an insult. This mortal is stronger than the God of Speed in front of him. Why do you think you're in here? I was the one who tore off that arm of yours. Would you like some tea, or do you want some snacks?"

"What's the point of keeping me here?!" Rashmon demanded from him. "You already beat me!"

"Okay, no snacks. But we're getting somewhere. What is Empena's plan?"

Rashmon sneered. "I don't know."

Kian tilted his head and scanned his aura. Obviously…it was a lie. "Oh, ok. I'll let you go then."

"Really?"

"Of course not!" Kian snapped. "I know you know!"

Rashmon chuckled. "Is that why you held me against my will? To get answers about her master plan? You won't get anything from me."

Kian chuckled. "I understand why you're hesitant to give me what you want…. but want you to consider something: cooperation, you know what that word means, right? The more you cooperate, the more we can work together to find a resolution. We can help each other. And trust me, it's in your best interest to cooperate fully."

Rashmon sneered. "Help you? I want you dead!"

Kian chuckled."I don't think you could even if you tried! Or have you still forgotten our previous battle? Imagine calling yourself a god and losing to a mortal, not just once but twice. Twice! One of those times, I was still 14!"

Rashmon punched the outer layer of the room but it didn't break and Kian didn't bother to flinch. "The Mistress will give me the power to defeat you. She has promised all of us gifts after her greatest victory."

"Oh yeah?" Kian smirked, "How will you defeat me?"

Rashmon laughed. "The Mistress will share her power with us, the ability to kill any Angel scum in front of us. She will give me immense strength that not even you can stop!"

Kian found that idea a little strange. No amount of raw strength was going to win a fight, you had to use it correctly. It wasn't strange for Empena to share powers, her rise to power was based on theft so what Rashomon was saying was plausible.

It also lined up with what Marrow had told him. Empena secured the loyalty of her minions via the promise of gifts, gifts that most likely were not going to be given knowing Empena's treacherous nature.

That begged the question, what was Bella promised? Or did she not receive any promises? Was she even herself under that brainwashing? What horrors did she experience...

No, he had to stay focused, he could rescue Bella when he could, defeating Empena was the priority right now. "

"And how is she going to do that?" Kian asked.

Rashomon laughed loudly. "After we destroyed this pathetic planet to pieces. No one will stand in our way!"

"How?!" Kian shouted, his hands shaking. "There's no way that's possible."

The god of speed cackled, his confidence seeping through for a moment. "Her warships are nothing like the universe has seen before, they will blow this world into atoms before they can even know what's about to happen."

"There's no way that can happen!" Kian repeated. "We have the best defences. We can prevent it!"

Rashomon laughed once again. "Even the best defences have weaknesses, especially ones as fragile as yours. You don't even know who to trust, do you? This is how the mistress knew when you would come!"

Kian's shaking hands stopped and his expression of terror melted away into a confident expression. "Yeah, we've dealt with that little bug already."

"What? How?! Rashomon demanded, surprised by the statement and the change in Kian's expression.

"We got rid of that mole feeding Empena questions." Kian shrugged.

"LIES!" Rashomon roared.

"I could be lying, or I could be telling the truth to you but frankly it doesn't matter to you. I know a special secret about Empena, you want to know it?"

"What?!"

"She hates any kind of god. They stand in front of her universal conquest and you know who's a god? I'm looking at him right now. What do you think she'll do to you after she's done?"

"B-Bless me with gifts?"

"No, dummy," Kian shook his head. "She'll slaughter you and any other gods like helpless animals. She doesn't care about you, Split, or anyone else. The only person she cares about is herself!"

"You lie!"

"Am I?" Kian laughed. "She knew I was stronger than you, hell, I almost killed Empena twice and you thought that you could kill me and my friends? She let you know that she had nothing to lose. Either you're a bit crazy in the head or you're too arrogant but that wasn't going to happen. No matter what gift she gives you, no matter how many powers, you can't defeat an Archangel!"

"NOOOOOO!" Rashomon roared and sank to the floor.

"Unlike a god, our lives can be taken easily so we train hard, we train with purpose, we train to break our limits and be stronger than our previous selves. That's how we get stronger, it's how we get better. A god, like yourself, believes that he doesn't need to practise to defeat anyone. I've earned this strength through battles and hard moments, something you'll never experience. You can never hope to beat me even with the gifts that she has promised you. So, tell me, god…what is Empena's plan?" Kian looked at him coldly as he finished the sentence.

Rashomon clutched his blue hair, his eyes erratic and chaotic. "I already told you, she plans to destroy this planet. She knows she can't control it and she wants to kill all of the remaining Celestials."

"Now see, that wasn't so bad was it?" Kian chuckled

"How will you help me?"

"What?" Kian asked

"You said if I cooperated, you would help me. So, how are you going to help me?"

"I haven't thought about that yet," Kian shrugged. "Besides, with the crimes you've committed, I don't think there's much I could do,"

Rashomon growled and went face to face with Kian, standing opposite him and his sinister mind came up with something. "You want to know something about your darling Bella?"

Kian's confident expression changed into one of shock and anger that he managed to hide well. "What?"

"When we first found her, abandoned by you, she kept screaming your name, fighting to try and find you but it didn't work, she was turned into one of Empena's loyal puppets. How does that make you feel?"

Kian clenched his fists, this time for real behind his back. His eyes turned red and the air around him warmed up rapidly yet his expression remained neutral.

"I did all sorts of things with her, stuff that'll probably kill you if I told you." Rashomon laughed cruelly. "The woman you want so bad is mine and mine only. She doesn't know you anymore."

Kian clenched his teeth behind his neutral expression. He wanted to so badly, rip that prison door open and beat Rashomon to death. He wanted to relish using that rage that he built up against the God of Speed and release it like an angry animal.

Luckily for Rashomon's life and the situation. Kian could see that he was lying through his teeth to infuriate him.

He breathed in and out, his eyes returned to their natural purple colour and his anger subsided. "You won't rile me up." He smirked. "Even if she was brainwashed, I know anytime you tried to do anything to her, she would have kicked your godly nuts every time."

"You let her die!"

"She's still kicking so how did I let her die? She sacrificed herself for me, thinking that it would save me and it did. Now it's my turn to help her just like she did for me. You won't understand that of course, you have no understanding of honour or decency."

"The Mistress will kill you, mark my words," Rashomon shouted at him.

"She's tried multiple times and failed. She's afraid of me. Do you know how powerful I am? The mention of my name makes her scared, my existence is a threat to her plan and I've proven that I'm a match for her. I've already killed her by tearing out her heart so what's stopping me from doing that again?!"

"She's gotten stronger, powers that you've never seen. A level of strength that will blow your puny mind. This is her final move, once she kills you, she'll march over this world and destroy it like a house of cards, I-"

So that was her plan.

Destruction and Genocide.

Kian falsely assumed that she wanted to conquer the planet but now it sounded like she just wanted to raze it to the ground until there was no trace of it left. It made sense. Some powerful heroes could stop her on Locus, it was a planet built by the Celestials, a beacon of freedom, of a world where every form of life had a choice. It was everything that Empena hated. If this planet were to fall to her, there would be no one in this universe to stop her.

As Rashmon was going on and on with his rant, Kian shut the view into his cell and walked away, ignoring the sounds of Rashomon banging on his cell door as he was ignored so swiftly.

"You heard that right?"

"Yup. She knows she can't conquer us so she's going to destroy us." Harry said through his earpiece.

"This is bad, very bad," Marcel said. "I'm not sure our defence systems can handle her might. What kind of ships did Rashmon mean?"

"I have no idea and I don't think Rashomon or Marrow knows about it either," Kian grunted. "Can we request it from the Owl?"

"I'm not sure," Nigel explained. "I'll try and send a request to the Owl but you know he's not always available."

"Do it as quickly as possible. If we know what kind of ships she's bringing. We'll know what we're dealing with."

"Why does Empena hate the Celestials so much?" Annabeth's voice chirped through the earpiece and Kian raised his eyebrow.

"What are you doing on comms?"

"Well, your friend let us listen in on the conversation between you and the speed god," Annabeth answered.

"I have a good reason but I can't explain it well enough. Are you sure you're done with helping Kaya?"

"Yup!" Kaya said in the background. "They've been telling me such lovely stories about the adventures!"

"She likes our adventures a lot," Percy said happily. "Please tell me we're free, I don't think I can tell any more stories."

Kian laughed. "Yeah, you're free. Everyone else, try and find the type of ships that Emepna might invade with. Go through the historical footage, there's bound to be something in there."

"We'll get to it. Empena hides in the shadows but we'll root her out somehow. Ships cost money and even that can be traced."

Kian smirked. "Good. Demigods, you want to know why Empena hates my species. Let's go meet the people who were there from the start."

xXx

Kian and the demigods stood outside an old but modern-looking household. It was a pretty big house with a patio, a well-moved garden with a small football field to go with it. They stood outside and waited for Kian's move.

"Where are we?" Percy asked him.

"Remember back on Earth when Annabeth mentioned my parents? This is where they live." Kian told him.

"So, what do they look like?" Thalia asked him out of the blue

Kian raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean what do they look like?"

"Well, you said you were a Nephilim right? So do your parents look like-"

"They look human," Kian answered her. "No horns, no halo, no whatever you associate with angels and demons, it's all stereotypes and misinterpretations."

"Cool. Kian, why is there a smaller house in the garden?"

"That's to keep Alciel in."

"Who?"

Kian smiled "You'll find out."

Kian walked in and stood just outside the door. He went to knock but stopped before he could. He looked at it and then at the floor. "I haven't seen them in a year…"

"Look man, if they shout at you, we'll have your back," Percy said supportively. The rest of the demigods agreed but Kian just shook his head.

"No, it's not that. I left because I didn't want to bother them with my problems and I didn't want to make them sad but, I guess it had to happen sometime didn't it? Well, come on in."

Kian opened the door and to his surprise, no one was in front of him. The demigods walked in and were met with the appearance of a long hall. It was filled with photos of the Taylor family as well as a shoe rack, a rack of coats and a welcome mat. Annabeth's attention was drawn to the picture of two figures holding an adorable baby dressed in a onesie.

She didn't get to comment any further as she heard running footsteps and turned to see a small girl charge headfirst towards Kian. Annabeth's heart melted at her expression of pure joy, her little purple eyes filled with happiness as she jumped into Kian's arms.

"KINA!" she giggled. "YOU'RE HERE!"

Kian grabbed on tight and smiled at her. "Hey, Diana."

The little girl Diana had the same skin complexion as Kian, the same dark black hair, held back in a silver headband and the same purple eyes. She wore a little dress and she giggled happily as she held herself tightly against her older brother as she held on to him with her little arms.

"Aw, that's adorable!" Thalia squealed.

Another figure ran into view of the demigods. This time an older boy. The demigods were almost shocked by how similar he looked like Kian. The same physical features were there except for the appearance of a few dark marks across his cheeks and nose. He ran like a blur and grabbed onto Kian's right leg.

Kian tried to shake him off but had little success. "Eren, come on man."

Finally, two more figures walked in and now, Thalia had her question answered about what Kian's parents looked like.

It was a couple, one man and a woman. The man had a light bronze complexion, red eyes and spiky black hair that pointed up with a little weighting to one side. He was tall and well built, almost reminding her of how her dad was: powerful and unrelenting, but the kindness on his face put a stop to the Zeus comparison right then and there. The woman had cream-coloured skin, bright blonde hair that well over her shoulders and a hoodie as well as sparkling sky-blue eyes. She held a young baby in her hands. Both of them looked like they were in their late 30s with little wrinkles around their eyes and forehead.

Kian smiled warmly. "Hey, Mum and Dad."

Kian's mum placed her daughter into her husband's hands and rushed forward to immediately hug her son. She wiped a tear away from her eyes as she went on her tiptoes to hold him close. He ran her hands through his hair and kissed him on the forehead. She pulled back and lightly slapped Kian's shoulder to his surprise.

"Why haven't you called?! Do you know how badly your father and I were worried about you?!"

Kian went to speak but his mum hugged him tightly again to his surprise. "I'm so glad you're okay."

As Kian let Diana walk on the floor, Kian's mum looked at the demigods and then at Kian. "Are these the demigods that you talked about?"

"Nah Mum, these are some random people I just dragged into the house," Kian said sarcastically making his Dad laugh. "Yes, these are the people I mentioned."

"Hi," Percy said. "I'm Percy Jack-"

"We know your names," Kian's dad said warmly. "We've been expecting you."

"You didn't get into trouble with the Greek Gods did you?" Kian's mum asked him.

"Define trouble?"

Kian's mum raised her eyebrows before just sighing. "Come sit, we have plenty to discuss."

xXx

The demigods, Kian and Kian's parents sat around the coffee table. Kian had given them snacks while Kian's dad had made everyone one of them tea, which they, bar NIco happily accepted. Kian's parents introduced themselves to the demigods as Ace and Mikayla Taylor, which they found much easier than mentally having to call them Kian's Mum and Dad

"So?" Mikayla said with a little smile as she sat next to her husband. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions."

"Yes so," Thalia asked first. "How old are you?"

"Really Thalia?" Kian asked her. "That's your first question?"

"Well," Thalia started. "They look human and well, you said they were a demon and an angel so?"

"It's alright," Mikayla said looking at her son and then at Thalia. "We look human because that's how the Spiritual Angels designed us. Looks like the rest of the universe evolved like that too!"

"How old are you exactly?"

"Well, it's hard to say, the earliest thing I can remember anything major happening was the the formation of Earth."

"That's about 70 million years," Kian said as he sipped his tea.

"You look really good for your age," Percy said out loud.

Mikayla laughed. "Thank you. I'm afraid that we've gotten a little older since Kian was a baby. I remember how cute he was." She turned to Kian with a smile. "Would you like me to show the baby pictures or do you think it's a bit too embarrassing if I do."

"Let's not" Kian said, hiding the little blush in his ears. "Can we please stay focused on the task at hand?"

"How did you guys get together?" Annabeth asked her. "Because you know how demons and angels are sworn enemies right?"

"Annabeth was it?" Ace asked.

She nodded

"It is true, we were sworn enemies at one point after the Rebellion and we fought for millions of years. Eventually, our hatred for each other fizzled out, we didn't know what the point of fighting each other after. That's when we decided to call a truce, and work with each other instead of trying to kill each other. Me and Mikayla were the ones who started it. We didn't like each other at first, I thought she was a stuck-up goody two shoes, she thought I was a handsome devil that-"

Mikayla elbowed him in the ribs and he laughed at it. "But eventually, we grew to respect each other, then we realised we loved each other, then we were a couple, then we got married. One thing led to another and we had Kian, Eren, Diana and our youngest child, Kamala." Ace held Diana in his hands, she was sleeping soundly dressed up in a baby-sized onesie and sucking on a pacifier that kept her calm.

"Unfortunately, when we visited Earth for the first time and left, it looked like the humans made a religion out of all of us. 3 in fact! Unfortunately, it seems like they're missing some key information in some areas."

"Some areas?" Nico asked with curiosity.

"Don't get me started." Ace laughed. "They made the Cherubs nothing but adorable baby angels but that's not what I'm upset about, for some reason, they think that same-sex couples are somehow a disgrace to 'God'"

"Really?" Nico asked again.

Ace nodded. "It's ironic, they preach about acceptance and equality but when it's something they don't like, they conveniently forget about what they just said. The real truth is that the early humans didn't like it and put it into the religion which is where the misinterpretation comes from. Everyone should be able to love who they choose to, and trying to prevent that well…that's infringing on the right of free will that we pride ourselves on. It's plain evil. They've got so many things wrong about us that the versions of ourselves in their holy textbooks aren't us. And if an angel were to reveal themselves to humanity to tell them they're wrong, they won't accept it."

"And they'll be a war," Kian added. "One side thinks they are the only truth in the world and would try to force it upon others, justifying their crimes by the end goal."

Ace nodded. "There are a lot of rules we follow as Celestials but these are the important ones. 1. Protect everyone who needs your help, regardless of who they are, 2. Do your best to help everyone, 3. Make sure you're strong, 4. Do not infringe their free will and teach them how to choose the best choice."

"Sounds a lot simpler than what those priests say right?" Thalia asked

Ace nodded. "It is and some of them do that, it's just the ones who's got the wrong idea that is the problem."

"Wait, I noticed something," Annabeth spoke up. "When did you visit Earth?"

"Somewhere around…let's see, around 10,000 BC and we left around 5 AD your time," Ace replied. "It's hard to keep track after being alive for so long you know?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Y-you started Christianity?!"

"Well, we didn't start it," Ace chuckled. "The humans looked at us, took our stories and then they made a story out of us. We simply were the spark that ignited their imagination."

"So did all the things in the Bible happen?" Percy asked him.

Ace and Mikayla shrugged. "Well, it's hard to say. Some of it's true, some of it's based on true stories and some of it didn't happen, it's very hard to say what is what because we weren't there."

"What about Heaven..and Hell?" Annabeth asked the pair. "How do they work, because we have an afterlife and well-"

"Well," Mikayla started. "All afterlives exist, Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Irish, etc etc."

Annabeth blinked. "They do?"

Mikayla nodded. "All of them contain the soul of a living being and we realised when a Greek man found himself at the gates of Heaven, expecting…Charon, I believe. After we cleared up the confusion, we sent him on his way to your Underworld."

"So how do you get there?"

"Well, standard rules apply, Live a good life, try and do your best to help others and try to make a difference. Be strong when you can and learn when you can. Then an angel or fallen angel determines whether you've been a good person and then sends you to where you've earned."

"I think we should move on to the elephant in the room," Kian said finishing his tea. "The demigods asked why Empena hates us and I think you can help them."

The parents nodded and Mikayla glanced at her happy children outside in the garden, playing with a German Shepard.

"Kian has told you the basics, right? I assume he did. Her quarrel with us started against us a long time ago and I mean a really long time ago. Her mother was a god of a local pantheon and her-"

"Father was a mortal, she's a demigod, right?" Annabeth said. "She told us directly."

"Told you-" Mikayla looked at Kian directly, putting him on edge immediately. "Kian, did you put them in danger of Empena?!"

"I took them out of there just as quickly! They were under my protection at all times."

She looked at Kian and then back at Annabeth. "She's a demigod but there's also one more reason. During the Warring Periods, when angels and demons fought against each other, we each tried to conquer a planet and use it as a base. So many innocent civilisations died against us and one of them…was Empena's planet. This planet was chosen by a demon to strengthen their hold on the war. His job was to conquer the planet but he fell in love with a god there before he began his plan."

Annabeth connected the dots and her eyes went wide. "She's…half demon?"

"Yup," Kian nodded.

"You've known this whole time?!" she demanded from Kian.

Kian shrugged. "Well, I didn't know it when I was 12 but again, timing is important. You must know now."

"She had a happy childhood for a while, the demon that needed to conquer the planet didn't need to, the war against the angels was at a stalemate, that was that. Then the war was turning into the angel's favour and that demon killed her mother and the descent into madness began," Ace explained.

"How do you know all of this?!" Annabeth asked,

Ace's expression darkened. "Because I sent the demon that was responsible for this mess." He said sadly. "I came to help him and I saw his head get taken off by her daughter, her eyes full of tears as she cradled her parent's bodies."

He wiped a tear as he said it. "If I knew the monster she would become, I would have killed her right then and there but I left her there in anger for what he did to my friend. If I had helped her, maybe she wouldn't have become the monster she is today."

"Don't blame yourself over it," Mikayla put a hand on his husband's chest. "We don't know how things could have changed if you did that. She was just a scared child and you wouldn't hurt a child."

Ace nodded sadly. "That's part of the reason why she hates us. She wants to kill every last one of us so something like that doesn't happen again to anyone. She sees us as monsters and she's right."

Kian clenched his fists as he went to speak. "Monsters don't change! We knew what we once did was wrong and then we stopped! We helped others but Empena doesn't see that, she just wants us gone for the people we once were."

"She destroyed our planet and then she invaded her 12 years ago to try and kill my child and two others," Mikayla said sadly. "They survived but I lost my best friend and Kian's godmother."

Kian grasped both of his hands as he relieved those horrible moments. "She looked after me when my mum was busy with superhero work. She was busy herself but she always took care of me when I was by myself. S-she was like my second mother."

"I should have been a parent first," Mikayala said sadly, wiping away her tears. "Maybe she might have been alive if I was."

"Mum, don't blame yourself for it. The reason why she's not with Bella right now is that Empena killed her! She wants to conquer the universe and we're the only ones who can stop her. That's why she brought us to near extinction, that's why she tried to kill me, Bella and Marcel."

"She killed your Bella too," Mikayala teared up. "I couldn't stop crying at her-"

"She's alive," Percy said out loud Kian's parents didn't respond for a second.

"What?!" Ace blinked. He turned to Kian. "Is this-?"

"She's alive," Kian confirmed. "She's a lot tougher than I thought." He smiled at the end of the sentence. "

"How?!"

Kian explained the situation to his parents and continued. "I have a plan to return her to normal."

"I know you will." Mikayla smiled. "If there's one person who gets through to Bella, it's you. You two were always so close."

Kian nodded. "She's almost like a family member, I guess all of us were."

"Who?" Annabeth asked.

"We don't have a lot of friends who know what's it like to be us but we have a few. We were very close, it was Bella's parents, Marcel's parents and a few more. Unfortunately, Empena killed Bella's parents who both sacrificed themselves to save Kian."

Kian glanced at the floor, the guilt weighing down his soul as his mother continued.

"Then there's Sophiel's parents and Violet's father. Then there's also Alvennan and Rennan, young half-angels who we trained 20 years ago. Rennan also died against Empena unfortunately."

"He was my teacher and guardian angel, it was his job to protect me and I failed him by letting him die."

"Kina, don't tell yourself that!" Mikayla said compassionately.

"Why not? I just watched him while I couldn't do anything!" Kian cried. "The way his body just dropped…"

"If Rennan could tell you from beyond the grave, I know he would tell you that he didn't mind that at all," Mikayala said.

"But he can right?" Annabeth asked. "You guys are angels, so you can talk to the dead right?"

Mikayala and Kian shook their heads. "That's not how it works," Kian explained.

"Why not?"

"Because it would make living worthless," Mikayla answered her. "No matter how you want to argue with it, death is what gives life its purpose. Without it, we would not be where we are today."

"Only the Spiritual Angels, aka Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel are immortal, it's their job to be ever present in this universe and keep it in order. The physical angels aren't. We live very long lives, sometimes too long but we have an end…eventually." Ace explained.

"And communicating with the dead would just mean that there was no point in living or dying. Communication with the dead is only allowed in extreme emergencies, such as when the fate of the universe is in danger." Mikayla finished the explanation.

"I wanted to talk to Bella after I recovered. I knew she would be in Heaven but I knew there was no point in asking despite how important she was to me." Kian said sadly. "I wanted to break that rule so badly but…some rules can't be broken or bent, and sometimes we have to accept that."

A moment of sombre silence passed through the room before the pitter-patter footsteps rolled across the ground and he turned to see the family cat walk in, Eren and Diana walked in happily.

"Wait," Annabeth blinked. "I thought you had a dog."

"Oh, we do," Kian smirked. "Alciel, can you turn into a golden retriever please?"

Alciel looked at him and in a shimmer of blue and red light, turned into an adorable golden retriever. Alciel charged into Kian's arms and happily wagged her tail as he held her.

"Meet Alciel, he's like me. His parents were demonic and angelic dragons. Only one in existence and we've had her since I was a baby." Kian explained. "Pretty cute right?"

"Y-yeah," Annabeth nodded. "Can I pet him?"

"Alciel will decide if you can pet her or not," Kian placed Alciel on the floor she approached Annabeth and she put her hand out for the dog to sniff.

"He can sense the type of person you are. If she likes you, you're in good hands, if not…."

Alice growled for a second at Annabeth before the dog happily jumped into her arms, snuggling up warmly.

"Great!" Kian laughed. "She likes you."

Eren and Diana came running in and pouted at Alciel with some strangers. "I wanted to play with him!" Eren cried

"They aren't staying for too long," Kian explained. "They are just visiting!"

The demigods looked at the two and were again struck by how closely they looked like Kian, the purple eyes, caramel skin and jet black hair direct indicators.

"Hi," Annabeth asked them. "We're your older brother's friends."

Kian's phone beeped and he checked it quickly. His eyes went wide and he quickly put it away. "Guys," He looked at the demigods. "We have to go, now!"

"What happened?!" Percy asked as he was petting the dog.

"Emergency, like a really big emergency." Kian turned to his parents and siblings. "Sorry it had to end this way, I'll visit later…after I defeat Empena."

The parents nodded sadly. "Take care Kian, remember we'll always be here for you."

xXx

Kian in an attempt to reach his destination, walked faster and faster until he was jogging at the speed of a small car, almost blitzing past the demigods that were left behind. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he came to a stop before a turn and didn't notice Thalia bumping into him.

"Dude!" Thalia exclaimed. "What's got you so worked up?"

"We've got a breakthrough against Empena a-and-"

"Why not tell us?"

"I can tell you when we get there. Besides, if I tell you before, you'll expect something else."

"You could have at least." Thalia doubled over to take a breath. "You could have run a little slower."

"I was walking!" Kian shrugged. He looked up to see the other demigods not present and he looked around. "Huh, where did they go?"

"They're following the trail I left for them. I know you fast and all but come on," Thalia wheezed.

"If I was so fast, how did you keep up?" Kian asked her, curious to know how a demigod was able to match his increased pace.

"I'm a Hunter, I do this kind of runs all the time," Thalia said. "You won't believe the speed of those harpies that we have to hunt down."

"That explains it. Well, I guess we have some time off before the demigods get to us."

"We do."

"I guess you know what my parents look like now."

She nodded. "I do. I can see where you got your good looks from."

"Yeah, so I've been told." Kian rolled his eyes.

Thalia stood up and looked around, taking the sights of a street that looked so familiar to Earth but so different. There were signposts in different languages and cars that looked a little strange to her.

She looked back at Kian. "Your family…they're very lovely."

"Thanks."

"You know…" Thalia fiddled with her fingers. "When I saw you holding your sister, I was reminded of my little brother."

"What's he up to?"

Thalia started to tear up and Kian spoke quickly. "Thalia, I'm-"

"No, it's not your fault. My mom, Beryl Grace…died a few years ago in a car crash. She had two children with my dad. He came, left and repeated it, each time Dad wasn't there, she would go crazy, demanding that he came back."

Kian went to speak but he closed his mouth. "Go on?"

"The second time he came back, I had a little brother," Thalia smiled at the thought. "He was very adorable, full of energy and he always used to play hide and seek with me."

"That sounds exactly like me and Eren." Kian smiled. "It sounds like you cared about him a lot."

Thalia nodded. "I stayed behind to look after him, I couldn't trust my mother with looking after a 2-year-old. That was until he went missing. She took us on a picnic and when I went to put away something, he went missing. I kept on looking until she had to drag me away. That's when I ran. I never looked back since."

"Was your mother the Beryl Grace? Popular Hollywood actor back in the 80's right?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Bella was a big fan of 80's American shows and dragged me to watch it with her. When we visited the US a few years ago, It was local news. Bella was heartbroken about it. I'm..I'm sorry for your loss."

A moment of silence passed before Thalia looked at Kian directly. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I stayed, or tried to be a happy family…"

Kian sighed. "Thalia, the chance of having a happy family when one of your parents is from the Greek Pantheon is extremely difficult, you know that I know that. Especially when you are a child of Zeus."

"I know," Thalia nodded sadly. "If I could take it back, be born as a normal human, I would take it."

"I would too. Don't get me wrong, I love my powers but I've sacrificed a lot to gain them. Humans think they have it so hard when they have it the best out of all. They get to deal with normal problems while I have to save the world."

Thalia chuckled. "Yeah well, I know how that feels. But you have an amazing family, parents that love you, a brother and sister who adore you, not a lot of people have that you know?"

Kian nodded. "I know."

"So haven't you visited them?" Thalia asked.

"Thalia, do you think I wanted to be on my own?!" Kian asked her. "Do you think I abandoned them because I wanted to?!"

"You didn't?"

"Of course I didn't!" Kian replied. "I did it to protect them! No one on that planet except my friends and a trusted few know about their presence. They gave up their identities to protect their family from Empena's grasp and if I was with them, I'm sure I would have killed them! I don't want to lose them…I don't know what I would do if I lost them."

To Kian's surprise, Thalia hugged him and he reluctantly hugged her back. "It's okay, I understand now.

"T-thanks."

Thalia pulled back and looked at a person who hadn't noticed her, using their powers. It was just a simple ability which allowed them to extend their arms and pull them back.

"Can they always do that?"

"Well, the usage of powers unless it's in the use of self-defence is banned. But I'll let him go because he's just getting used to it." Kian chuckled.

Thalia looked around where she stood. "This is strange to get used to. This planet looks like so much Earth but there are superpowers. I wish Earth was like that, you know, full of superheroes and powers."

"You know what would happen if that was to happen. But I agree. If Earth was like Locus, there would be a lot less hiding and a lot more justice."

"Can a demigod live here?"

"Like I said when you first came here, anyone can live here. You'll just have to get used to the difference in living situations and the aliens that you might see all around us." Kian explained. "I had to get used to it but it was easier said than done because I didn't need a reason to feel weird. Everyone is nice and welcoming and above all else, looks after the other."

Thalia snorted. "Well, Earth isn't that."

"Tell that to my young self. I made the mistake of saying I had superpowers, knew I couldn't use them and got bullied mercilessly for that." Kian scowled. "If I lived here, I wouldn't have been."

Thalia laughed before asking an unrelated question. "Do you believe in Fate?"

"Fate?"

"Yeah, you know, like Fate fate."

"You'll have to be more specific."

Thalia chuckled. "I mean like the idea of Destiny. Like you know, some things will always take place."

Kian thought about it before speaking. "I'm not a fan of that. Varahard's mother when I visited his house for New Year, tried to tell me about horoscopes and I didn't like the idea that your life was already decided for you before you could say anything about it."

"Yeah, well the Three Fates might have to say something about that," Thalia shrugged. "No one can defy them. Not even the Olympians."

"I don't think the Three Fates applies to us Archangels. We kind of decide our fate, it's just how we work."

"Well, I think that there was something special about us getting involved in your lives. Like everything we did, let us meet you."

"Well, there was a reason." Kian agreed.

"What..reason?"

"I didn't just come to Goode High School because I wanted to experience the typical American High school student life. If I wanted to be normal, I would have gone to Sixth Form in Wimbledon, where I grew up. I went there because I knew Percy was going to be there."

"How?"

"Alveus told me. He said that Percy, Annabeth, You and Nico are all going to be important in the final mission to defeat Empena."

"Did he tell you what's going to happen?"

Kian shook his head. "No. Ironically, he said if he told me about the future, it wouldn't happen. Like come on, what's the point of seeing into the future if you can't tell me about it."

"So what?" Thalia asked. "You were blindly following it? I thought you said you decided your destiny!"

Kian shook his head. "I'm not. Whatever choices we make will create a possible future. There is no fixed future that I'm following, I'm creating my future. I just hope that the future isn't one where Empena is alive."

"So it's not like Back to The Future?"

Kian laughed. "No one has time travelled from the future until today. When Alveus looked ahead in time, he saw multiple possibilities, there was only one way to defeat Empena."

Thalia nodded. "Cool."

I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see the demigods run and finally catch up. They were out of breath and wheezed out loud.

"Dude!" Percy complained. "Why were you running so fast?!"

Kian chuckled. "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts so I just kept running."

"What were you two chatting about?" Annabeth asked.

"You know, family, multiverse, fate." Kian chuckled. "Normal teenage stuff that an Archangel and a demigod talk about. I'll take you where we want to go and don't worry, I'll stick to a good pace."

---

They all walked into a big room and in front of them stood a tall man with slicked blonde hair and amber eyes. He wore a long overcoat with a scabbard on his left. There were a few people around them all huddled around talking to someone.

"Alvennan?" Kian greeted him. "What's up?"

"Kian…there's someone here to see you."

"Who?"

He took a moment to think. "Can you promise me that you won't attack him?"

Kian chuckled. "If I had a penny for every time that was said to me today, I would have 2 pennies which isn't a lot but, strangely, that's it's happened twice."

"Can you promise me?"

Kian shrugged. "Sure."

Alvennan sighed and slowly moved away but the flash of green hair and eyes already made up Kian's choice for him.

"Ki-

Kian thrust his palm forward and Split was suddenly suspended mid-air. His eyes burned red. "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!"

"I'm h-here-" Split choked out. "S-stop, I'm trying to help you!"

Kian brandished his red sword and it ignited in flames as the rest of his team readied themselves on instinct. "How did you get past security?!"

"Kian, he turned himself in," Alvennan explained, getting in between Kian and Split. The rest of the people behind Alvennan did the same, trying to protect their special person.

"What?!"

"It's true." Split agreed.

"Why?!" Kian growled.

"Because I know what Empena's plan is!"

Kian scoffed. "I know her plan. Rashomon and your traitor buddy Marrow told me."

"They don't know enough!" Split grunted. "I know everything that she's going to try and do!"

Kian grunted but he relaxed his grip and let Split drop to the floor. He groaned at the impact and he stood up, meeting the terrifying gaze of Kian and the team behind him.

"Talk."

Split coughed and slowly stood up, facing his former allies. "Empena isn't just going to try and invade the planet to kill you and the Celestials. She wants to raze the entire planet!"

Kian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Rashomon let it slip."

"He's here?!"

Kian nodded. "Why?"

"Okay…." Split's eyes frantically looked around before he calmed down. "I have a plan…it's dangerous and risky but if you work with me, we can bring Empena down."

Kian scoffed. "Why are you so against Empena now?"

"My family…she wants to kill everyone on this planet." Split sad sadly. "My family still live here…at least…what remains of it. My brother, my mother..my sister. They're all I have."

"Then why did you join Empena?" Kian scoffed.

"Because I thought she was doing the right thing! I thought that…I thought that your people were monsters but…looking back on what Empena has done, and what she wants to do…she's the real monster, not you. I was lied to and….I believed her."

"He's lying right?" Harry aimed an armoured covered hand at Split.

Kian shook his head. "No, he's not. I don't need my truth sense to know that. I know his family, I met them when they invited me and everyone to a barbecue. I still talk to them…you joined her."

"Look man, can't you just work with me just this once?" Split pleaded with Kian. "I'm trying to save my family, save everyone on Locus, not just the Celestials that live here. Look, I might be your enemy but Empena is my enemy too. The enemy of my enemy-

"-Is my friend, I know the saying." Kian finished Spli's sentence. He pursed his lips before speaking to Alvennan. "What has he told you?"

"What he just told you now," Alvennan replied. "He explains that you're the only one who can understand his plan."

"Throw him into the special containment cells for now." Kian turned to Split. "I'll hear your plan out but don't think that I'm fine with this. If I had it my way, I would have taken everything from that brain of yours before leaving you to die alone and cold."

Split sighed but nodded. "I know what I did was wrong, I know it hurt you deeply but…let me amend my mistake. I swear that this plan will take Empena down and she won't see it coming. She's too arrogant to think that she can be defeated."

"Yeah, I know."

"One more thing. Bella…she's still fighting to gain control. She's not the loyal footsoilder that Empena thinks she is."

"Rashomon told me that-"

Split laughed. "Bella kicked Rashomon's arse any time he even tried to talk to her. Idiot didn't learn."

Kian smiled faintly, the moment almost making him remember when they were on good terms.

Almost.

"Alvennan, can you escort Split to the cells?" Kian asked.

Alvennan nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you." Kian turned to the other council members and a woman with wavy blonde hair and red eyes rushed forward and hugged Marcel tightly.

"I'm so happy that Kian's with you," she said softly.

Marcel hugged this woman back happily and Kian just smiled at it. "I'll talk to you later after discussing this with the team, is that okay?"

They nodded and agreed while the woman from earlier hugged Kian tightly. "Welcome back."

Kian smiled at her. "Yeah, it's good to be back too."

"Kian who is this?" Thalia asked him. "This is the 3rd time that a tall woman has hugged you."

"That's my mum," Marcel said proudly. "She's on the council member and well, she's in charge of the hero government on Eden."

"Hi. I'm Marceline Lysander," she introduced herself to the demigods. "We all know who you are. We'll need to talk to you after Kian has discussed this so-called 'plan' with Split."

"What did Split do?" Percy asked her.

"He helped Empena murder Rennan, my teacher," Kian answered. "Right in front of me."