Hey, Kitsune. Today's reply is a little lengthy so scroll to the bottom. :)

They arrived in Titus in the middle of the battle. Jupiter and his team were fighting with all their strength against the thousands of swarming Shadow Titans.

"Where is Saturn keeping the weapon?" Joel asked Prometheus.

The tall Titan pointed to Saturn's palace. "He developed it deep underground and then it was delivered there. That is where they were launching from. But we are too late."

"How do you know?" Emily demanded.

"Because I am well," said Prometheus sadly. "So are the Olympians in their fight against the Shadow Warriors. If the weapon were still here, we would be very ill. It must have been sent to Olympus already. It will destroy everything there first before the powers reach here. It will soon kill all of us."

"No!" Emily howled. She realised Prometheus was right. The Big Three looked young and strong as they took on the Shadow Titans. The Four Warriors were almost unstoppable as they used their flame-swords to dispatch all who came near. "No. This cannot be true. We can't be too late."

Was this why the commanders helped her? So that they could revel in her grief as she witnessed this scene? No. Percy once told her there were always two sides of the story and not to rush to conclusions. Never had her advice been so crucial.

She lifted herself off her feet and into the air. Trying to find something. Anything that could convince her it wasn't real.

She flew towards Saturn's palace. There was Stella. And Agent B who held Stella in his arms, about to walk off. No golden box.

Emily landed in front of them. "Where's the box?" She nearly shouted.

"Is the weapon still here?" Joel demanded as they landed on the roof behind Emily.

The two had a silent debate before Agent B eased Stella down to a more comfortable sitting position.

Stella sniffled. "We came as fast as we could. There was this monster who was about to take the weapon to Olympus."

"Stella stopped him and managed to put the weapon in the box." Agent B declared with muted pride. "But we ran into a problem."

"The weapon's on Olympus?" Emily cried anxiously.

"No." Stella said hoarsely. "The monster fell into the Solar Stream without it."

"Then where is it?" Joel glanced around as if waiting for the box to just magically appear.

"Ekdikó has it." Agent B said gruffly, interlocking his fingers. "He threatened me at knife-point and managed to reclaim the weapon. But Stella locked it."

"How did you lock it?" Emily asked in amazement. "When was it even able to be locked?"

"It was unintentional." Stella's voice was barely higher than a whisper, trembling. "I didn't know- I was desperate. Ekdikó and Agent B were about to fight. I already witnessed one fight. Eight against him did nothing, I didn't want to watch him die. I had dreams. They told me what to do. I locked the box. He was furious at us, but left."

"With the box." Agent B finished heavily.

Prometheus sighed. "What is done is done. Nothing we can do can change that fact. For now, we need to focus on others.There are still many Shadow Titans to be destroyed. And although you wounded Saturn, you did not defeat him. He will rise again."

"He will. No doubt he will. But we will be waiting." Joel declared. "We're not going anywhere until the box is recovered and we can destroy the weapon."

"It's not that simple." Stella cried. "There are conditions to unlock it. Conditions that were placed so that the commanders could not unlock it alone."

They turned to her. Emily crouched down, putting her hands on Stella's shoulders. Although Stella was older, she flinched. "What. Do. You. Mean." Emily seethed, her fingers digging into skin. "What conditions? Tell me now!"

"You're hurting me!" Stella cried. Joel rushed forward, pulling Emily away. "It's ok, Em. We'll figure it out. Do not blame Stella, she was left with no options."

Emily sighed. Losing her temper, hurting her friend, wasn't going to make the situation any better. "You're right. I'm sorry, Stella. I just hoped to see Pegasus again. Can you tell us, without leaving out details, what you mean by conditions?"

Agent B gently rubbed Stella's left shoulder. "The fire and the ocean." He said, almost stiffly. "Only by working together willingly—no conditions attached on either sides, it must be completely by their own will—will the box open for them."

"Emily is the Flame. So we have the fire part checked." Joel scowled. "Who's the ocean?"

"Oh dear Gods." Emily breathed, eyes wide. "Must we return to our time after all without the weapon?"

Her absurd question almost made Stella laugh. "What? Emily, don't be insane!"

Emily fumbled around, pulling out a piece of torn up, raged paper. Months old, but still readable. "I wondered why Percy would send me such a weird letter with this farewell." She said, holding it trembling. "Daughter of the sea. Everyone knows the ocean is just another word for the sea. Do we need her?"

Agent B turned pale. "No wonder." He let out a breathy laugh. "Oh, Gods and Titans. This was what she hinted all this time. Why we were drawn to each other. We would have crossed paths in our future. No wonder!" He leapt to his feet and began to pace around.

They didn't pay attention to him. "Your friend?" Joel frowned. "What can she do? Also, didn't you say she's human? How is a human going to help and isn't that title made up for fun?"

"I don't know, but stranger things has happened. I don't know- urgh! I don't know anymore!" Emily held her head, crumbling the piece of paper. It just added to the number of creases. "This was supposed to be our last fight before we could go back. So why! Why are we still stuck in this time? Why?"

Emily, calm down. Riza ordered. Your emotions are out of control. You'll bring the whole place down if you keep this up. Stop this immediately.

"Stop telling me to calm down!" Emily raged. "How can I be calm at a time like this?"

Riza stayed silent. Emily got that sense of foreboding again, like Riza was purposely keeping quiet. She knew something, but she wasn't telling Emily.

"We regroup for now." Emily sighed heavily, tired of secrets and lies. She raised her hands. They were suddenly standing alongside the Big Three. They had stopped suffering from the effects of the weapon and by now, had dispatched all the Shadow Titans.

Neptune's eyes widened with recognition upon seeing Prometheus. "Prometheus! I have not seen you since the day you outrightly challenged Saturn."

"Neptune. Dashing as always."

Joel explained what happened to Jupiter as Emily found a slightly smooth rock and sat down, bringing her knees to her chest. After a moment, she felt a cool breeze pass her. "Pluto."

The God sat down next to her, no longer out of breath. "How are you, Emily?"

"We failed." Her bottom lip trembled. "They got the weapon. Now they will have even tighter security and I cannot return to see my Pegasus."

A look that almost resembled irritation flitted by. "Is Pegasus really that important to you? I know he is your best friend, but surely you love your Joel more."

"Is romantic love always better than platonic? Would you accept that I love both of them equally?" Emily asked despondently. "Pegasus and I will always have a strong connection, but I will always love Joel."

"Then for now, focus on Joel. Pegasus is dead," Pluto did not butter up the words, "but Joel is still here. If you are always grieving for Pegasus, you might not even notice until it is too late. Focus on the present, and not the past. You will see Pegasus soon, but for now, it is best to keep your head up."

She nodded, slightly pained about the brutal truth. "Thank you. Is there anything else?"

He was hesitant. "How is Góissa? Did you see her?"

There was something off about that sentence, but Emily didn't think much of it. "Góissa… is doing amazing. She is confusing, but there were things she told me."

"She is confusing." Pluto agreed. "She tells you so many things that make you almost feel victorious about gaining so much information only for you to realise she has not actually told you anything of importance. She plays with her words, and none of us has ever seen her real face."

"Hidden by the fog." Emily murmured, recalling the prison cell. "Her greatest strength is hiding. In shadows. In illusions. Behind what is not there. She can stab with something non-existent and you would still feel the pain."

"Indeed." He nodded gravely. "But enough of this. We have gained a new ally. We have successfully taken back Delphi and our medics are working on healing the humans. Or at least the humans we have managed to salvage. As much as we have lost, we have also gained. Jupe, Neptune and I will think up a new plan. Do not fret too much, Emily, we will do something."

Emily nodded. She believed them. No matter what happened, the Gods will prevail, she was sure of it. The process may have changed but the outcome never can.

"La, la, la. La, la, la, laaaaa!" Vesta was almost amused as I hummed absent-mindedly. Hazel sat cross-legged on the top-most branch when sunlight shone on her as she played with nature. The vines would swing out of her reach when she raised her hand. Flowers bloomed where she placed her hands.

Frank was dusting a bloodied sword. One of the many swords from fallen soldiers. Occasionally, he would glance up but fall back to what he was doing. After a while, he got up and sat down in front of the box again, contemplating. No one blames him, and he doesn't blame himself, but it is troubling what Stella said.

Hazel told us what she told Emily after I left to visit Elpis. It's true, honestly. We wait for the end. The Fates' interference, we don't know how, was making us rethink things. Were they on our side or not? Or are they on our side but want the Gods to win? Either way, it might cause our end. Better to leave before that actually happens. This is a trial run. We cannot be defeated before our actual Gods come into the picture. (They already are, but we have not left.)

"What made you so cheerful?" Vesta asked with a small smile as she tended to a fire that warmed our room.

"Emily has gone against Saturn and she won." I shrugged. "I do not worry for her anymore."

"A blatant lie." Frank said from under the willow tree. The leaves danced apart as he walked out. Titus was slowly recovering from the effects of Saturn's age-increasing weapon, but our room stayed intact. "You will always be worried for your young girl."

I kissed his cheek, brushing away the dirt on his shoulder. "You are right. You're always right. But I need an image, don't I?"

"I do not get it." Vesta stated. "You care for Emily, yet you hurt her. You care for humans, yet you kill them. I understand that for humans, you have no choice and tend to only kill those who have no right to live. It's either you kill some and leave the rest, or the Titans will leave no mercy regardless. What of Emily? Has she offended you, my dear vasilissa?"

Hazel landed next to Vesta soundlessly. "No. It's just the way of war. Kill or be killed. Had to make the show convincing for the Titans."

"I healed her as fast as I could but… I don't know. Something is off." I ran a hand through my hair. "I could not sense her, Vesta. There was nothing about Emily that made her Emily other than appearances. Like she didn't exist. Like she has died on the inside."

Vesta remained quiet. We shot each other a defeated look. Frank was the first to snap out of it, summoning a scroll. Phase 2 was up. Phase 3 begins. Leave the damn war.

"How are things coming along?" Hazel asked.

I let a smile appear, sighing with satisfaction. "Kydria is coming along perfectly."

"Kydria?" Frank tapped his chin. "Sounds beautiful, really."

"We agreed that the country's name is something related to its cities. I used Kydilla and Parigoria to signal the start and beginning. My girls have met. Luckily, they all adore each other." The name Kydria appeared on the scroll. "I have a shield around it to protect my people. Those who are not welcomed will be electrified. I will return to govern my people." My people. Never had I ever thought I would do such a thing. Never did I think I would be a queen. But that's how it is. I will guide them. I will help them. In Kydria, it will be a utopia. No one will suffer like I have."

"I had a similar thought like yours, Sia." Hazel said. "Elacia will be a place where no one will be singled out for their birth. Their skin colour will not matter. People will help instead of laughing."

"Elacia…" I tried it out. "Stunning name, Góissa." Frank quickly added it to the list.

"A country hidden from the world." Hazel said, shifting in and out of the Mist. "My people will be protected and safe. No one can find them in Elacia. The world of Gods will not be hidden from them, mortals and demigods alike. Should they wish to leave, they can. Anyone they invite will see Elacia."

"That sounds marvellous. And you, Ekdikó?" Frank wrote down one word. Myliraki.

"The name's been stuck with me ever since Mygeneia." He explained. "I don't want to be surrounded by magic, that's not my strong suit either."

"So a war kingdom?" Hazel asked, kissing his knuckles.

"You read my mind, sweetpea." Frank said adoringly. "Exactly. A place where it doesn't really matter who you are or how godly your blood is. Anyone can fight. To protect the innocent. I want a place where monsters and mortals can coexist. We all know I can talk to other monsters when shapeshifting. I wish to find those who are more peaceful, and help them survive the world."

"A bridge." I smiled brightly.

"I think your ideas are all magnificent." Vesta declared, having been on the side listening. "Have you already started?"

"I have talked to some cyclops." Frank said thoughtfully. "Hellhounds as well. As of right now, nothing has been ready. Still we invade until we can close in and no town not under my name remain in Myliraki."

"I as well. I have connected over seven cities, and they have started prospering as we speak. We are still closing in, like Ekdikó. It wouldn't be right if right in the middle of Elacia, there is a town that does not belong. It is not fair for either side. However, we are making wondrous progress. Some call us living in the future already. Elacia has many potential magic-wielders as it is. Anysia, my lieutenant, along with Actë and Vettias are working to test their powers out. The Mist shield is up and running. They are happy. Soon, the last three will join, and I will build an empire like no other, with help of course. Really, I don't know what I would do without them. " Hazel said. "Under them, they also have another council dealing with separate things but sometimes I have to ask them myself if they are being overworked. I try to give them a lesser workload but I'm afraid that since these are the earlier years, things won't be calming down for the next 12 decades or so."

"I agree, Góissa. Really, my girls are angels. Aristorine, well, if I hadn't gone to Ephicca, she might as well have taken over herself. A master of disguises, she had all the men wrapped around her fingers. Aura has stepped into position as queen and is loving it. Cecelia also does wonderfully. Kydria would not have survived without all of them." To Vesta, I said, "I am faster than them, but only because I was not as focused on rebuilding. My cities have grown in size to be about ten times larger than they used to be. Kydilla alone is made of 11 towns and Aura is rushing to get everything perfect. Thyia is a wonderful mother, and she helps Aura as much as she can. They invade, and they rebuild. We may conquer more towns later on to add to Kydria, but that is in the future."

Vesta smiled wanly. "They all sound beautiful. The people are blessed to have you. However, I do wish to ask; what is your plan for Emily?"

Frank closed the scroll with a snap, sending it back where it belonged. "To be very honest with you, Vesta, I do not care about the girl."

"Neither do I." Hazel agreed. "What her fate is will be decided by Sia. She is the one who knows Emily the longest."

I hummed sadly. "She cannot return home unless we work together. I fear we cannot. She would rather die than work with me."

"You helped her, did you not?" Vesta pointed out. "After she escaped the Energy Void, you helped her. Surely she will remember that."

I recalled the letter I wrote to Emily and snorted. "Yeah right. Emily doesn't care much about what people do for her afterwards. She revels in the admiration and respect shone on her. Doesn't really care about anything else."

I curled my fingers. "She was the highlight of my life outside the chaos." I said wistfully. "A beautiful, capable girl with such a bright future. She was my anchor, stopping me from descending to insanity. Now we are reduced to enemies."

"Why must that be the case?" Vesta reached for me. "You care so much for Emily, why must you fight? Would it not be simpler if you just tell her?"

"Right. In battle I can just be like; oh, Emily, just wanted to tell you, I'm your best friend from the future! I don't think that's going to happen."

"It doesn't have to be in battle." Frank said thoughtfully. "Just send her a message to go someplace else and talk to her then. No risk of the Gods finding out."

"You're on her side?" I arched my brow. "Thought you hate her."

He rested his arm on his forehead, lying back down. "Hate is a far too strong word for how I feel about little Jacobs. She is your friend, though. The sooner you stop having to fight her, the better it is for you. I don't care about Emily, but I do care about you."

"He's right." Hazel announced. "These past few days, you have been thinking of what happened more times than what is considered healthy. It's like you're obsessed. That isn't going to leave until you embrace it and talk it out with Emily."

"A heart-to-heart about how I nearly killed her." I said, nonplussed. "About how I controlled the entirety of Delphi to attack the Olympians."

"Better than nothing. What will we do now anyways? It is bound to happen if you two are going to work together to unlock the box." A look of anger and bitterness crossed Frank. "They will not leave. They cannot leave. The war may stretch on. If they do not leave, they will hunt us down. That is not part of our plan to attain peace, Thyella."

I tried to block out their convincing. I lost after Hazel used her puppy-dog eyes on me.

Vesta left to get Paelen. Frank got me a piece of paper and I sat down to write.

This is what I wrote:

We were once best friends, Emily. This is the second letter I have sent you and I hope you will read this one better. My brother will bring you to me, should you decide to trust him. You don't have to trust this letter, cutie, but you can trust the delivery man. Consider him my gift to you. I'll even throw in a bonus eventually if you're good.

Prodosia

As I finished my signature, Vesta walked in with Paelen in tow, walking painfully slow. Frank went over to guide him to a seat. Paelen scowled, but accepted the help.

Hazel didn't bother with a disguise. "Confused, Paelen?"

"Are you going to kill me?" He inquired. "If you are, please just hurry."

"Quite the opposite. We're setting you free." I said, with a careless wave of my hand as I folded the letter and wrote Emily on the top. "If you're good."

"Honestly at this rate, I do not know what to believe anymore." Paelen muttered. "What is it?"

"What's what?" I asked blankly as Frank left the room. To get Brue, I think.

"The catch. I have spent Gods' know how long here. No news from the outside. My only visitor is Vesta. Now suddenly all this talk about setting me free? And Juno?" He demanded.

He's so cute, really. "Juno's fate will depend on Emily's behaviour. For now, she will remain untouched. If you do what I say." I showed him the paper. "Give this to Emily. Do not read the contents. I will know if you do so and Brue will be the one to pay. Am I clear?"

Any confirmation was stopped by Brue appearing from the doorway. Paelen's face lit up and he hobbled his way closer to the beast. "Brue." He said, her name like a caress on his tongue. Brue stopped snarling at Frank and instead started licking Paelen.

"She will go free as well." I promised. "I will not touch her, not even if we meet in battle, if you listen to me carefully. Do not bother to try and hide from me, I will know if the letter did not reach Emily's hand."

"Through your spies?" He said scornfully. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Take it, Paelen." Vesta said, her words calming down the rising tension. "It is the best offer right now. Emily is distraught. Pegasus has died and she thinks you have as well. She will be cut down in battle if her spirit does not recover. You need to help her."

Colour drained from his face the more Vesta said. He didn't look at us as he voiced his agreement to the deal.

Hali glowed. Using two fingers, I extracted one more shard. My darling never runs out, forever replenishing. "Your age can deteriorate you, Paelen, but until you reach Olympus, I can protect you."

He flinched as I flicked the shard his way, creating a leather cord that bounded the shard on his wrist like a bracelet. Brue almost bit his hand off trying to take it off. Hali sent a powerful shield, warding herself.

"Vesta, will you escort Paelen to the borders of Titus? He will leave from there. Return only when you no longer see him. We have more to discuss."

Vesta placed her arm around Paelen, steering him away. Through Hali, I heard his whispers. "Come with me, Vesta. We can escape together. We will come back for Juno another day."

I heard Vesta's response as well. "Paelen, I adore you for your concern, but I cannot go with you. I will not leave my little sister here alone. If I am not here, no one will care for her, how can I bear that? Prodosia will no longer show restraint." I smiled a little at that. I have shown restraint, but not in the way Paelen thinks so. We planned for this should anyone plead with Vesta to escape. That I have a soft spot for her and if she stayed, she might be able to convince me otherwise. A truth yet a lie. I do have a soft spot on her, who wouldn't? Yet no one can convince me to stop hating the Gods. Not all. Some of them do not deserve the hate, mainly the minor gods. But at the end of the day, those who crossed us will not live another day after we are done with them. Zeus. Hera. Poseidon. Athena. Ares. Dionysus. Apollo. Artemis. So many more, they were just at the top of my head.

… sorry. Side tracked. Anyways, Vesta isn't going to be leaving. Not only because she hates war and fighting. It is a big factor, not going to lie. A little guilty, but no one can do anything about that. She is happier here. She takes care of all the prisoners here on Titus. They no longer ask for her to free them, but she can go anywhere without arousing suspicion and she uses that to help her side without being violent, healing the prisoners so that if they were to ever get freed, they would be in a good state to fight. We don't do anything about that, and Saturn doesn't know. Main thing is, she isn't going to leave. Yeah, I'll leave it at that before I get sidetracked again.

Life was strangely calm after Jupiter and the others took back the Flame shard. There were lesser attacks. More humans, which wasn't so well, but none were good fighters. I hardly went out. There was no point in me fighting.

Joel and I used the time to understand our feelings for each other a little better, and also spent more time with Stella. We couldn't do anything since the weapon could not be found. Agent B sometimes helped the Olympians fight, but we focused more on rebuilding Olympus. Mostly on blueprints, nothing has been set up yet. Never the right time.

My hair was flying over my left shoulder, being gently carried by the soft breeze as I stared out one of the still attached windows. It was a big arch with curtains at the side. No grills. Anyone could just fall over. This is the few windows left for all the giant creatures who could not enter Olympus to watch any of the serious meetings happen. I wanted to be alone. They left me be. It was only the morning, but I felt lethargic. My bones weighed me down. I felt too tired to do anything.

"Oh, Riza." I said sadly. "It has been almost a week. It is hopeless. What am I supposed to do? How will I find the ocean Stella spoke about? Is it Percy? You seemed distressed when I said her name."

In my mind, a warmth filled the emptiness in my heart. Riza did not respond. Things were not life-threatening. She had spent most of her energy in Tartarus, talking to Prodosia. Until I needed her desperately, she wasn't going to come.

I curled my hand around the letter. These days, I just held onto it, wanting to remember. I have read it, over and over again, shed tears for the people she lost, and tossed and turned, trying to understand my childhood best friend's vague words.

The people she lost. Betrayed. Killed. Yet I did nothing but scream at her. A girl who was in mourning and came to find me anyway, disregarding her mental health to care about me. If her mission was to fill me with guilt, she succeeded with flying colours alright.

I rocked on my heels, watching people come in and out of Olympus. There was a knock on my door. I sighed. "Joel, please. I want some time alone."

He hesitated before walking away. I listened as his footsteps became softer and softer until it was drowned by the chatter outside.

"Percy would have told me a funny joke and told me that nothing was hopeless." I murmured. "She always knew what to say. Pegasus would have coaxed me into going for a fly. My worries were washed away with him. Now both of you are gone. My mother is dead. My father is in a different time. I have Joel, Agent B, Stella, Jupiter, Neptune and so many more people, yet without the four of you, I just feel so alone. Prodosia hasn't been sighted since the day we escaped Tartarus. Neither has Góissa. Reports said that Ekdikó was destroying cities, leaving them in rubble. All say he has been driven in rage, not bothering to talk. Not bothering to be civil, he just destroys. Not alone. The first ten cities he conquered, they have been helping. All the cities he has attacked, (23 so far) it was all close to the first ten. We suspected they were conquering, making their sphere of control larger, taking more of the Gods' lands and making them for their own. Once, that made me angry. Now I just feel numb.

Pushing away from the window, I grabbed my food pouch and made a blue cookie appear. I raised it in the sky like I've been doing these past few days. "Cheers, Percy." It wasn't the same as Mrs Jackson's. In fact, it lacked the care and thought she would put inside, but it was still okay, making my heart heavy.

I must have dozed off because when my eyes opened, someone was staring down at me. I screamed, scrambling away. He cursed in Greek, muttering sorries and moving as well.

My heart thumped wildly against my chest. I think I was disoriented from sleep but I don't think I'm suffering from hallucinations. Especially since the next second, a large tongue licked my hair.

Paelen flashed me a slightly pained yet happy smile. "Emily."

I said nothing.

"Emily. Hey, Emily. Emily, please, you are worrying me." Paelen was still very much old and he carried himself wearily. He was still very much my Paelen.

"Paelen." With a sob, I lunged forward, almost crushing him in a hug. "No. It's not possible." I cried, even as he wrapped his arms around me. "Vulcan told me you died. He said… Prodosia killed you."

He winced. "In a way, she did."

"How are you here? Vulcan wouldn't lie."

Paelen pushed me off, drying my tears. "Vulcan did not lie." He said gently. "He told you what he saw. Prodosia wanted you to believe what she wanted you to believe. She used some kind of illusion to show that Brue and I perished in the flames but in truth, the fire missed us. Prodosia took us prisoners on Titus."

It was all so hard to believe yet I was staring at him with my own two eyes. "I mourned." I whispered. "We all mourned for you."

"I am sorry."

"How did you escape?"

"Prodosia allowed me to leave yesterday." I guess he was expecting me to explode. When I didn't, he took a deep breath and continued, fumbling with something in his hand. "Yesterday, I was talking to Juno. The two of us were kept on Titus, in a room I did not know of. I could not risk her, and there were no doors, no openings that were safe to go through, nothing to escape from. Then, Vesta came in. She has access to all prisoners on Titus, I think she can go to Tartarus as well. She led me out with this door that appeared only when she went close."

"Vesta is siding with the Titans?" I muffled my sob with my hands. "Everyone knew she was most reluctant about this war and never wanted to fight. Did we force her hand so much she would side with them?"

"No!" Paelen cried. "Vesta, although she has freedom, is still very much a prisoner. She is oath-bound, Emily. Should she try to escape, she will meet a fate much worse than death. She told me when I asked her to leave with me. Besides, the prisoners are relying on her. The Titans do not care about them so they would have starved if not for Vesta. She seems happier, despite things. She is helping our side, and getting to stay mostly out of this war. Besides… she would have stayed regardless. When she and Ceres were caught, she made a deal with Prodosia, which was why Ceres goes free."

"Oh." Guilt and shame stabbed me. Of course Vesta would not betray us.

"Prodosia was acting strangely nice." He continued his story. "She started off by saying she will let me go. Then she gave me some paper. She said to give it to you and not open it. She is tracking me." He showed me his wrist. "I think. So far, Brue and I have not been attacked at all, I suspect it is also because of this."

I inspected the tiny blue crystal. "Looks like a sapphire. There are some crazy power waves coming from it but nothing deadly about it. There is a connection but the other end is too far for me to sense. Can I see the note she gave you?"

He opened his palm. I took out the paper. My name was written neatly on the centre, my heart flipping at the handwriting. "Prodosia wrote this?"

"She was ending just as I came in."

I didn't have time to examine it as the doors flew open. Jupiter and Neptune stood side by side as Ceres, Stella, Vulcan and Joel hurried in. Only to stop short.

"We heard you scream. What the…" Joel gaped. "Paelen?"

Paelen smiled weakly. "Hey dude."

A dam broke. Stella practically jumped on him, almost pulling him to the ground. I inched away, giving them space while wiping away my own tears. Back in Tartarus, Prodosia, you knew perfectly well what I was talking about. Why did you not deny it? Why did you take the blame when you protected Paelen? Why give him now? Is it because of what Góissa said about you leaving the war? What are you playing?

Jupiter approached me. "Emily, dear, do you know what is going on?"

Ceres interrupted me. "Is it not obvious? Prodosia decided to return Paelen." Her eyes searched me, landing on my clenched fist and she relaxed almost immediately. "There must be a reason, brothers."

"Indeed." I managed to get out. "Perhaps Paelen will have more answers."

Jupiter nodded, leaving Ceres and me. I whirled on her. "You know what this is?" I demanded, raising my fist and shaking the paper in her face.

Ceres's face was ashen, but she nodded. "Read it, Emily." She whispered. "You will know why I did it."

"She is the enemy and you spy for her?"

"Occasionally, she calls for me. She never asks me for information. Merely where you sometimes are… and she would attack anywhere but there. When she sends a messenger, she always asks me to confirm if they reached. I was sceptical at times but my sister is happy and safe from the war." With this kind of loyalty, how could Saturn not resist exploiting it? Should I be happy Prodosia got her first. "I talk to her sometimes. She is happier away from the war. Once it is over, she is released from her oath and she will return. Until then, she is protected by Prodosia. I will do what I can to make sure Vesta remains safe. I will not risk Juno either. If Prodosia cannot bear to hurt Vesta, she can surely hurt my little sister. I cannot risk it. It pains me to go behind my family's back, but she does not require much, never my family's weaknesses or how to defeat us."

"Will Jupiter know?"

"Maybe." Ceres was out-of-this-world beautiful. She was a goddess. It hurts to see her look so vulnerable. She placed her hand over the hand holding onto the paper. "This brings me relief as much as it can for me. Prodosia did not share all the details, but she shared enough. Please do as it says, I beg of you."

"You are truly unremorseful of your actions."

"What can remorse do for me now?" She has a good point. "It has been months since Vesta was taken. I have accepted what I must do. On her side, Prodosia is not purely evil and I am just relieved I am under her and not my father. If I was…" her hand trembled above mine and she quickly snatched it back. "My brothers are holding a war meeting as we speak. Your friends are distracted by Paelen, exactly as she intended for." She said in a low tone. "If you make a decision, I suggest you do so now. He is by the place you call the Temple. He waits. However, he has no love for you, child, he does it for the sake of his sister. He will leave if you do not go. Should you not hurry, do not blame me for my anger."

She walked away and I quickly unfolded the paper. Then I dropped it.

No.

Dearest Kitsune,

So, um, I'm going to break down my message into a few parts, each addressing one comment. I like to do this so I don't miss anything. (Also, I kinda feel bad that you comment so much but I only respond after a few days.) I'm going to go in order, starting from the latest comment.

Also, I want to apologise in advance. Because school is starting soon (tomorrow in fact) I won't be able to post new chapters as often. This fic is ending really soon and I'm kinda struggling to write the sequel, mainly because of writers' block. Hence, I won't be able to respond to your comments as often. However, I want to tell you that just because I don't respond, doesn't mean I don't read them. I do. As soon as I get a notification from Gmail, I will open it just to read your comments. I said that they brighten up my day, and I wasn't joking. I'm telling you this so that when I don't respond, I hope you don't feel disheartened.

To try to resolve this matter, I was thinking maybe I'll write a review (to my own story. Kinda bad but well… -_-) on a certain day to respond. It's because I hate it when I'm left on read, it's not a really good feeling, and I don't want to do it to others. If you think it's okay, then I'm thinking maybe Monday and Friday, maybe even Wednesday if I can't wait, at arnd 9. So that you have a fixed day and won't have to constantly check for msgs. Also, I doubt you'll ask why but I just want to tell you why, I choose 9 because that's when I have my break time. Not supposed to use my phone but… ;) _ :3

Okay! That aside, let's get into your reviews. To make things less confusing, I'm going to copy paste your review above my reply in italics.

Kitsune:Hi thank you for acsepting what i sead , and you didnt enforcing anithing on me promis and its britens my day to avre time we chat my life is changing alot and you halp me thank you.

It probly sonds stopid but i feal like we a friens and you are halping me so mach i hope i can halpe you to,

By and have a good day see you later

Firstly, and I hope that I don't sound too insisting, but we are definitely friends. We're from different countries (I'm from Singapore, jic you want to know) and we don't know each other's faces, but we are friends and I care and love you. A lot. That will never change, I promise. And you're helping me everyday. I'm insecure about my work and to read all your lovely comments really boosts my confidence. I don't have the highest English score, literally no one knows that I write, so I get my confidence in my writing through my readers.

:I love the new xhpter and what animel is percy is she a wolf like hazel if she is are the like a pack i hope she is a wolf (a big black wolf) i love wolfs the are one of my fiverits along with foxs

Next review. Thanks for the compliment. Okay, so for Percy, I don't actually know if I'm going to give her an animal. It was a split thing for Hazel, to kinda like show off her boyfriend's power. I think it's like a spiritual animal kinda thing. If you search up wolves spiritual meaning, I think it really fits Hazel. For Percy, if I ever give her one, I'll need to do a bit more research especially with her character development over these few years. I'm considering the black wolf, especially because of her hair, but I don't know if I should really make it so similar to Hazel. Once I make a decision, I'll either inform you or write it out in a chapter. :)

:In one of the future chapters can emily and the gods go to one of percy citys

Thirdly, yes. The Gods will certainly go to Kydria, though not all of them. I think, as a kind of bonding thing, I'm going to get Neptune to go to Kydria but it's still up for debate. There are a few gods I'm already certain of but I don't want to spoil it for you. All I can say is that they aren't going to visit for this book, rather the sequel. (Speaking of which, I'm all ears for some title suggestions because I'm like really stumped right now. Even for SeaFire, I literally couldnt think of something until the day I decided I would post it)

:Whan cronos say 'My Prodosia won you quite easily' what dose he main by 'my' like in a brotherly way friendly or what can you please acsplain i persenaly think cronos woad by a great overprotective big brother

So, for Saturn, we have two versions. The mean, rule the world, version and the kind, grandfatherly version. He could have meant it in a possessive way, like "oh, this super powerful being is mine. She belongs to me" and, like you said, he could have meant it in a "she is my family" kind of way. When I first read your comment, I was leaning towards the first, possessive manner, mostly because I first read Percy Jackson and we all know Kronos from his stories. However, this isn't Kronos, this is Saturn. He literally forgave his children for locking him up in Tartarus for thousands of years, of course he is going to care for Percy. So, to answer your question, Saturn said "my Prodosia" in an overprotective, familial way. I have tried to show that Percy does care for Saturn, here is a small example that the feelings are reciprocated. (I definitely did not just type out a whole paragraph when I could just say "yes, he said it in a brotherly way". I ramble a lot about the most random thing when trying to explain stuff, all my friends have to suffer through this. Sorry _)

Congraglashan your wanderfoal story have more than 100k woards im so proad.

P.s i read it and im not sarcastic sorry if it sond like that

THANK YOU FOR THIS COMMENT. For other writers, 100k isn't much but this is the first time I write so many words and I'm really proud. I'm glad you're proud too! None of my friends or family know that I write fanfiction (kinda my fault because I don't tell them but I'm scared they're going to read it and cringe, especially because they don't read the Pegasus series, none of my friends even read the Percy Jackson series, and won't understand it) so you're the first one to congratulate me and I love you so much for that :) I can't use emojis because fanfiction gets rid of them when i post the chapter so this is the best I can do :(

Kitsune:I wanted to say thank you for your story and your reaplais it maykes my day avery time and wan im sad i reread your story so thank you

I'm so glad that I can help brighten someone else's day. In real life, I'm very awkward around people (I'm introverted) and they don't come to me for comfort and I'm terrible at comforting and helping others. To hear that I'm helping means a lot, so thank you. (I teared up while reading this, and I rarely do it. I'm good at hiding my tears)

Can i say i love it whan the "villan" and the "hero" have some personal conacshen' and i wanted to say you did it so wal

Once again, thanks for your praise (you're going to make me blush one day, I just know it)

Kitsune:Hi im confyozed i hade a conversayshan with a girl in my class and she slapt me i dont noaw why we tact aboat pet is that bad

Lastly, and I posted this chapter specifically for this review, (I was going to put it off a few days because I wanted to try revert back to school but I just had to once I read it) I'm really disappointed in this girl. I don't know what your conversation was (talking about pets of all things is even worse) but under no circumstance was this girl justified in slapping you. That was immature and she owes you an apology. Violence is never the answer, especially when you did nothing. It's not your fault, it's hers, and even if it was in retaliation (which I'm sure it wasn't, 100%) she had no right to hit you. This girl sounds like a bully (I wouldn't know, but I'm just talking from my perspective) and she shouldn't have hit you. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me such things.

Just a random question, because I'd like to get to know you better, what's your zodiac sign? I'm a Pisces, 8 March, 2009. Also, some might say that with the new zodiac sign, I'm technically an Aquarius but I don't accept it. I'm a Pisces through and through. It's okay if you like the new zodiacs though, I'm just really curious. It's also okay if you don't want to share, I don't want to force you to answer. It's just that I've taken a liking to astrology these past months, I just have these random bits of knowledge stored up. ;)