Ragnarok

by AttackPlatypus

Summary:

The long-awaited sequel to Primus Inter Pares (First Among Equals).

It's been two long years since the events of Primus Inter Pares, but now an old threat re-emerges that jeopardizes the world as our heroes know it. Can old friends and enemies put aside their grievances to stave off the end? Ragnarok is coming and it spares no one.

 

(Featuring some old friends and some new faces along the way)

Chapter 1: Chapter 1 aka Washed Up On A Beach

The grey heavily overcast skies and whipping wind only served to make Sasha Banks feel colder than she actually was. The former praetor of the Roman legion had been walking for so long she had lost all track of time. She was trudging along through the sand as a light rain fell from the skies, drenching her to the bone.

 

She had her arms tucked across her stomach as she fought her way forward. Her head was pounding like a drum, but she tried to keep going. In the distance, she could see a small mountain, a tiny flicker of relief coursed through her chest. She almost didn't want to believe it at first, thinking perhaps the rain was blinding her and she was just seeing things. Slowly she sank to her knees which were shaking, as she found herself unable to go further.

 

There was a small yet persistent voice inside her head telling her to push further, to get back up but she couldn't. If she crossed the boundary line past the mountains, her former friends would kill her. It had been two years she had last set foot in the Roman camp, two long years of banishment. For a long time, her heart had ached for the comfort of home, but Sasha had come to realize that she had no home.

 

Her strength failed her and Sasha collapsed the rest of the way into the wet sand. Memories of the previous day flashing through her mind. She had been on a ship with Charlotte and Ruby, still hunting down the remnants of Loki and Persephone's allies. For two long years, they had fought countless monsters together, with Sasha doing everything she could to redeem herself. They had captured or defeated many different enemies, the heat of battle helping Sasha bond with her former enemies.

 

Sasha had gotten used to the daily routine, working effectively with the other members of the ship. The day before had been so much like all the others, that the crew hadn't been prepared for when things went south. The ship had been attacked out of nowhere, and so quickly that it had caught everybody unaware. Sasha who had been on sentry duty had watched with horror as her friends had been attacked, beaten and captured. Sasha had been fighting her way to aid them when somebody had hit her in the back of the head. The last thing she remembered was injured Ruby stretching out a hand towards her and then having freezing cold shadows surrounding her and rushing her into the darkness.

 

Sasha wasn't sure how long she had been out, but she had woken up on a beach, with cold waves crashing over her and a mouthful of sand. When she had finally gotten her bearings about her, she had taken off, walking along the beachfront. It had only clicked in her mind that she was near Camp Jupiter when she saw the mountainous cliffs. On the other side of those mountains was salvation, but there was no telling if the legionnaires would kill her on sight.

 

It was almost bittersweet being so close to the place she had grown up. She had made mistakes, Sasha could admit that. She had allowed her mom to use her and manipulate her, that was something Sasha was going to have to live with. She had done everything in her power to make up for it, but now her former home was just on the other side of the sea cliffs and mountains. Temptation pricked at her, curling up in her belly and tugging at her.

 

The words Charlotte had spoken to her two years prior rang through her mind so loudly that Sasha let her head fall back to the sand. Memories and feelings of despair coursed through Sasha as she recalled the feeling of realizing her mother didn't actually love her and had been willing to sell her out. Sasha felt like she was being surrounded by the icy shadows Ruby had sent her way again, but that they were seeping into her very skin.

 

"Sasha Banks, you are no longer Praetor of Camp Jupiter. I gave you this position and now I take it away. You deserve death for your crimes but I spare you. I, Charlotte Flair, rightful Praetor of Camp Jupiter and Commander of the Roman Legion hereby strip you of all your ranks and exile you from Camp Jupiter. "

 

Sasha slowly repeated the words Charlotte had said, they had become her mantra during her exile. Her reason for fighting to earn back her honor. Thinking about her blonde friend gave Sasha enough energy to get to her feet, Charlotte was in trouble and Sasha needed to save her. Sasha might have deserved to die, but Charlotte deserved to keep on living, so eyeing the mountain Sasha began to make her way towards it. She didn't know what awaited her on the other side but she was about to find out.

-----

Two long years had passed since Bayley Martinez had become one of the Greek Ambassadors to New Rome. It wasn't that she didn't like Rome, but she was missing her life back at the Greek Camp. She missed seeing Chiron and all of her cabinmates. The daughter of Hestia felt most complete when she was surrounded by people she held dear. Rome despite being at peace was still very militaristic.

 

There was something off-putting about constantly being groomed for war. In the Greek camp, they trained to protect themselves from monsters, but in the Roman camp, they seemed to prepare for more offensive measures. After the last war had gone down, the legionnaires had wanted to be prepared for anything.

 

Bayley had done her best during the two years to earn the respect of the Romans, but even now there were some who thought of her as an outside. She wasn't a true Roman legionnaire to them, no matter what the tattoo on her forearm said. Bayley tried not to let their disapproval eat at her, but she couldn't help it. There was a part of her that wanted them to like her and hold her in the same regard that they might have held their former leader Charlotte in.

 

Charlotte was another sore spot for Bayley. They had grown close on their mission to save the camps, but now Charlotte had gone radio silent. Bayley had assumed that perhaps she had done something to offend the blonde, but nobody on the ship was answering Bayley's calls. She was starting to get really worried, but Seth and Finn who were the current praetors had just implied that she was overreacting and needed to relax.

 

Bayley didn't feel like she was overselling anything. She could feel in her spirit that something wasn't right, it bothered her that nobody seemed to believe her. She had tried to message her friends back at the Greek Camp and in Valhalla but so far nobody was picking up. Doubt was prickling at Bayley's heart but she tried her very best not to let it get her down.

 

One of the few places Bayley enjoyed was the little gardens that the camp had. The peace and serenity of it all reminded Bayley of being back at her home camp. She was sitting there writing in her journal, staying out of the rain by hiding in a little shed. The sound of the rain bouncing off the tin was soothing and had lulled her into a peaceful state. Her serenity was abruptly broken when an alarm sounded from inside the camp.

 

Bayley scrambled out of the shed, blinking against the falling rain that was now blowing into her eyes. She watched as all at once the camp seemed to come alive as the different legionnaires began to form up in the muddy fields just on the other side of the gardens. Bayley was confused as to why the alarm was triggered but quickly hurried to help her adopted camp. If somebody was attacking the Romans then she was going to fight by their fight. As Bayley ran out to join up with the other legionnaires, she saw Seth and Becky rushing past and quickly fell into step with them.

 

“What’s going on?” Bayley questioned, trying to get a read off of their emotions. The Praetor and his girlfriend both seemed unusually stressed.

 

It was Becky who answered her first. “As you know, I’ve been setting up alarms around our perimeter so we can better manage our territory. Somebody tripped one of our alarms on the beach, just on the other side of the mountains.”

 

“Did you get a look at who it was?” Bayley was curious now, wondering why they were reacting with such a heavy show of force for one person.

 

Seth shifted uncomfortably as he donned his armor. "It's Sasha Banks and she's alone."

 

Sasha's name drove an uncomfortable and uncertain feeling through Bayley. The daughter of Hestia had been a witness to all of the chaos the former praetor had caused. Bayley had been present at the final battle in the underworld when Sasha had tried to kill the god of death himself on her mother's orders. The way Sasha had cracked when Persephone abandoned her had broken Bayley's heart, so seeing her again had Bayley feeling uncertain in how to react.

 

"You didn't see any sign of Charlotte or Ruby? Charlotte wouldn't let Banks out of her sigh, so where is shet?" Bayley asked, finally finding her voice.

 

Becky shook her head. " There is no sign of them on the footage, so far it's just Sasha. She's made it to the top of the border mountain, she's on Roman territory."

 

Seth frowned as his pegasus was brought to him. He slowly mounted it and stared down at the girls. "As a praetor, I have to stop her from trespassing, she caused a lot of damage last time she was here. You heard what Charlotte said last time, Sasha coming back here will cost her, her life."

 

The praetor's words seemed to rub Bayley the wrong way. As the daughter of Hestia, she detested unnecessary violence, when diplomacy could work just as well.

 

"You don't have to kill her Seth. Sasha might have a legitimate reason for being here. Maybe something is wrong with the ship." Bayley argued, almost bristling at the idea of more blood being shed. She had seen enough violence in the last war, she didn't want to see anymore.

 

"Fine, come with me and we'll hear Sasha out. But if she tries any tricks, I'll behead her where she stands." Seth warned, before shifting his gaze to Becky. His face softened as he spoke to his girlfriend. "Tell Finn to gather the senators and catch up with me. Have the rest of the legion prepared in case Sasha's playing us, I don't trust her."

 

Bayley clenched her jaw and looked away from the couple. Sometimes the pair made her uncomfortable with how overly affectionate they could be. She followed Seth's pegasus on foot, which meant that the Praetor reached Sasha before Bayley did. When she finally caught up to him, he had his hand on the pommel of his gladius, clearly trying to win a staring contest with Sasha.

 

Now that she was close enough to see, Bayley could tell Sasha had seen better days. The exiled Roman leader was covered in sand and looked as though she hadn't slept properly since the last time they had been in the same place. Sasha's eyes seemed almost hollow but were still locked onto Seth's. Sasha was shivering, her clothes plastered to her skin, as the rain began to fall again.

 

"Sasha why are you here?" Bayley asked, her tone betraying her wariness.

 

"Charlotte and Ruby need your help," Sasha said, slowly tearing her eyes away from Seth and focusing in on Bayley. "Our ship was attacked, the last thing I remember was Ruby reaching for me and then darkness. I woke up on the beach about a mile back." Ruby said pointing over her shoulder.

 

Seth scoffed and shook his head. "So we're just supposed to believe you? What did you do to them?"

 

"I didn't do anything to them, Seth. I told you how I ended up here. Our ship was attacked, we were overrun, Ruby sent me here." Sasha protested, trying to proclaim her innocence.

 

"Likely story, but I don't believe you Banks. Why would Ruby save you of all people? Besides, you're on Roman territory now and last time I checked, you were banished for life." Seth didn't want to hear her out.

 

Bayley could feel Sasha's anxiousness, it was almost palpable. There was also an underlying spike of fear in the air, but Bayley couldn't pinpoint which of the two it was coming from. Sasha seemed upset and deeply troubled like she was grieving.

 

"Wait, Seth...I think she's telling the truth." Bayley said, stopping Seth who had started to advance on Sasha.

 

Seth's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't be serious, you believe her?"

 

"I-I am not sure if I believe her, but I think she deserves the opportunity to explain her case before the Senate. She doesn't appear to have any of her weapons, I'll vouch for her." Bayley flinched as the last words came spilling out of her mouth. She wasn't sure what possessed her to take responsibility for Sasha, but she wasn't going to take it back or recant her statement.

 

Sasha seemed the most surprised by Bayley willingly sticking up for her. "Really, you'd do that?"

 

Bayley gave a non-committal shrug. "Don't think too much into it. I want to know what happened to my friends and I think you have the answers, that's the only reason I am doing this." Bayley warned, her eyes narrowing.

 

Seth clearly didn’t want to trust Sasha, but he did trust Bayley’s instincts. “Alright since Bayley vouched for you, I will allow you into camp. But only on the understanding that once the senate meeting is over you leave. You don’t belong here.”

 

Sasha nodded slowly, not about to fight him on the issue. “I understand.” Truly she did understand his reasoning, but it didn’t make it any easier on her. However, instead of feeling sorry for herself, Sasha knew she needed to get help for Charlotte, Ruby, and the others on the ship. That was the real priority.

 

The trio began to make their way back to camp, Seth and Bayley on either side of Sasha. Finn and some of the senators of Camp Jupiter met them at the base of the mountain.

 

Finn looked even less happy to see Sasha than Seth had. "It appears the prodigal daughter has returned, uninvited too."

 

"She claims to need our help, that something bad has happened to Charlotte, Ruby, and the ship," Seth said, shaking his head.

 

Finn raised a brow as he studied Sasha. "Well, I guess we need to hear her out then, for Charlotte's sake."

 

Bayley could feel Sasha getting more nervous and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to send her calming vibes. The more anxious Sasha appeared, the worse it would be for her.

 

"If we're going to have Sasha tell us what happened, then let's do it elsewhere, I am tired of standing in the rain," Bayley said, trying not to react when Sasha almost crumpled in relief. "If what she says is true, then she's also going to need some medical attention."

 

Seth scowled but nodded and turned to one of the senators. "See that a medic is brought to aid Sasha." He then gestured for his soldiers to move out. "Let us all go back to camp then, it seems we have a story to hear."

----

The cave smelled musty, that was the first thing to cross Charlotte’s mind. She could distinctly smell the scent of saltwater, but her vision was hazy. It was hard to see out of her left eye and she very quickly realized it was because her eye was swollen shut.

 

The blonde slowly pushed herself to her feet, almost blacking out. She leaned against the damp cave wall, praying for her head to stop pounding. The daughter of Hera had no idea where she was, all she knew was that it seemed to be a cave of some kind. Charlotte wasn’t even certain how they had gotten to the cave, flashes of the ship being attacked were all she could remember.

 

Even though she couldn’t see very well, her survival instincts kicked in. She was a battle-hardened warrior and leader, she needed to find the rest of the people who had been on her ship.

 

“Sasha! Ruby?!” Even the effort to call out their names felt like too much, but leaning against the cave wall, Charlotte began to walk. “Alexa! Sarah, can anybody hear me?”

 

“Over here!” The unmistakable sound of the einherjar’s voice echoed around the cavern.

 

Charlotte grunted in pain and tried to follow the sound. “Keep talking Sarah,” Charlotte commanded.

 

“You need to hurry. Ruby isn’t doing so good.” Sarah sounded almost worried, which was unusual for her.

 

It took Charlotte far longer than she would have liked, but she found some of her group. Many of them were injured from the attack on the ship. Charlotte felt almost guilty seeing the shape they were in.

 

Ruby was not even conscious, Sarah was holding the girl’s head in her lap. Alexa had some scrapes and bruises but was busy checking on the others who were injured.

 

“Status report?” Charlotte asked, looking between Sarah and Alexa, who seemed to be the only ones really qualified to answer.

 

“We lost a few of our people. The attackers hit us hard, Sasha is also gone,” Alexa explained.

 

Panic quickly welled up inside of Charlotte. “Gone as in dead or she ran away?” Charlotte had actually grown attached to Sasha, almost counting her as a friend in the two years they had spent together.

 

Alexa shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure, I just know she isn’t here. We thought we lost you too.”

 

“I doubt Sasha’s dead, she’s too stubborn to die. I saw Ruby on the ship, I think she shadow traveled Sasha away.” Sarah explained, recalling what she had witnessed on the ship. “Maybe that’s why Ruby is so weak right now, she was not only fighting but also using her powers to get Sasha to safety.”

 

Charlotte slowly sank down and sat next to Sarah on the cave floor. She was totally exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. “Well, until Ruby wakes up, we won’t know where she sent Sasha. God this is a mess.”

 

“As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, we’re going to have to bury our dead, unless we want to worry about animals or monsters attacking us,” Alexa said, clinical as always.

 

The daughter of Athena tended to be thinking three steps ahead of everybody else. Charlotte normally found this quality annoying, but it was useful. Alexa’s battle plans usually kept Charlotte and the rest of the group on the winning side.

 

“Give me a couple of minutes to rest and then I’ll get on that,” Charlotte said, her good eye closing. She just needed a few minutes to rest, sleep was already threatening to claim her. She could hear Sarah and Alexa talking but their voices sounded further away with each passing second.

 

Soon Charlotte found herself in a large sort of throne room, it took her a moment to realize she was having a vision of some sort. She looked around, noticing a large peacock walking around a shimmering throne. It then dawned on her that she in Juno’s throne room or as her Greek friends called the Goddess, Hera. To Charlotte the woman was her mother, a mother who’s cold and unattached nature had crafted Charlotte into the warrior she was.

 

“Mother?” It had probably been over a year since Charlotte had last seen or talked to her mother.

 

An old woman was standing by a fireplace and at first, Charlotte thought the woman was her mother, but on closer inspection, Charlotte realized it wasn’t.

 

“Excuse me, do you know where my mother is?” Charlotte asked, assuming the stranger was some deity.

 

Warm eyes locked onto Charlotte, who was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of contentment and happiness. The eyes were almost familiar and then it hit Charlotte, this woman was the mother Bayley. They had the same warm eyes and soft features.

 

“You know who I am, child?” Hestia asked, returning her attention to the hearth, stoking the flames there.

 

“Yes, you’re Hestia, or as my fellow Romans call you, Vesta. You are the Goddess of the hearth. The first and the last Olympian.” Charlotte replied almost robotically. The Gods and Goddesses had been drilled into her brain for years. “Why am I here? Where is my mother?”

 

Hestia’s face softened and she gave an almost sad shrug. “Olympius is an unusual place right now, the Gods and Goddesses flicker in and out like lights. One moment they are bright, the next barely there. Something is coming, something we weren’t prepared for. The issue shouldn’t affect us like.” Hestia had started out answering Charlotte’s question, but now it sounded more like she was talking to herself.

 

Charlotte wasn’t sure what to make of the Goddess, but seeing her reminded Charlotte of Bayley and how much she missed her friend. It made her heart plummet in a painful sort of way.

 

“What is coming, Hestia? What do we need to prepare for?” Charlotte didn’t understand what was going on.

 

Hestia ignored her and stared into the flames of her hearth that she was tending. “I think everybody is doomed unless three become one and somebody saves the sun.”

 

“The sun?” Charlotte repeated slowly, trying to process and make sense of what the woman was saying. “What do-”

 

Charlotte was cut off as Hestia’s form flickered, her aura dimming before suddenly bursting back into a bright light that left Charlotte seeing stars. The blonde covered her eyes, trying to shield them from the bright light.

 

When at last the light began to die down, Charlotte found herself back in the cave with Sarah and the others. She took a shaky breath and made her way to her feet.

 

“Come on, we can’t say here, something is coming,” Charlotte commanded, feeling totally unnerved about the conversation with Hestia. “Sarah carry Ruby if you can, as much as I hate to do it, we’ll have to leave the dead behind.”

 

She felt bad about leaving them unburied, but there was no telling what else was in the cave. “We need to get out of this cave and figure out where we are.”

 

“Aye aye captain,” Sarah said, grabbing Ruby who was still out. She threw the daughter of Hades over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and trudged after Alexa who was leading some of the other survivors from the ship.

 

Charlotte decided to take up the rear, she wasn’t sure what was in the rest of the cave, but she wouldn’t let them be attacked from behind. Her current mission was now to make sure everybody else survived.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2 AKA Lost in more ways then one

Summary:

Ruby find herself in the underworld and has a talk with her father.

Charlotte and the survivors from the ship are still lost.

Sasha realizes that she can't truly escape the fallout from her past. Maybe she can find a way to be the real hero this time.

Ruby wasn’t sure where she was, well that wasn’t entirely true. She knew where she was, she was in the underworld, her father’s domain. She just didn’t know why she was there, she didn’t feel any more dead than normal. Ruby figured that if she was dead, then perhaps she would have felt different somehow.

 

She was laid out flat on her back, her eyes staring up towards the blood-red sky. In the distance, she could hear the agonizing screams of people being tortured. Something wet dripped on her cheek, causing her to shift her attention to ger right. She turned her head to find the hellhound Cerberus staring down at her. Ruby weakly reached out a hand patting the hell hound, before she tried to sit up. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside, but she forced herself to her feet, having to lean heavily on the dog to do so.

 

The three-headed dog kept pawing at her and lowered himself so she could climb on his back. Ruby was too tired to really resist so after a few weak attempts she managed to get on. In the distance, she could see her father’s castle and she nudged the hell hound forward.

 

“Do you know why I am here?” She asked, knowing good and well he wouldn’t answer her. She assumed her dad had somehow summoned her, otherwise, there was no need for her to be in the underworld. The last time Ruby had seen her father was when she had saved his life. The God had sent Cerberus chasing after Persephone, but Ruby had assumed the hound had returned to her father's side at some point.

 

She had wanted to beg him back then to restore her best friend to her. Liv's death still haunted Ruby, but her father hadn't allowed it. He had told her that they would talk someday, perhaps that day had finally come.

 

With Cerberus' speed, they managed to make it to her father’s house a lot faster than it would have taken her to walk. Slowly she slid off of his back and staggered forwards, her knees threatened to give out with every few steps.

 

“Father… Lord Hades.” Ruby called out, her vision swimming. She fell forward before his dark black and jewel-encrusted throne, knowing that if she could just reach it, she could tap into her father's energy. Ruby reached out a hand towards it, her eyes landing on a familiar face. She was almost surprised to see a blonde girl sitting sideways on the throne looking bored. Before she could question it further, the darkness claimed Ruby once again and she passed out.

 

When Ruby came too again, her father was on his throne, looking very concerned. Hades seemed to brighten when he realized she was awake. The God of the Underworld move off his throne and to her side, cradling her face. She could feel his long fingers stroking her cheek.

 

“I was worried about you, child.”

 

“I thought I saw Liv.” Ruby murmured, memories of her best friend flashed in her mind. “She was sitting on your throne.”

 

The Dark God grimace at that. “She tends to do that, that girl makes herself the minor goddess of everything. That's the last time I agree to grant some pesky demigod immortality.”

 

“Wait?! She was here?” Ruby asked, jolting upright. Her vision swam and for a second Ruby thought she might pass out again but it didn't matter. Something else was coursing through her, something she hadn't felt for almost two years - Hope.

 

She hadn’t seen her best friend in a while, not since Liv had been made a permanent messenger between the camps. All the Gods had agreed to make her immortal, but that meant that Ruby never got to see her friend. If seeing Liv die was painful, losing her like this was somehow worse.

 

Hades refused to meet Ruby’s eyes. “I sent her away child, she had messages to deliver or try to deliver, she’s always getting sidetracked.” He rolled his eyes at that.

 

Ruby frowned at him. “Why did you send her away, I wanted to see her.”

 

The God of the Underworld gave Ruby a pained look. “Why must you make this hard on yourself. You have to let her go, she doesn’t remember you, Ruby.”

 

“I’ll make her remember, she’s my best friend. I just need to be given the chance.” Ruby pleaded with him.

 

Hades shook his head, “Ruby she’s a minor goddess now with important things to do. She can’t interfere with your issues. It’s best to leave her alone, one day when you die and you truly are gone, you will be allowed to live in my palace. Then I will allow you to see her, not a moment sooner.” Hades warned.

 

Ruby’s eyes darkened and she pushed herself to her feet. “Why did you bring me here then father? You promised that we would talk about it. I saved you, rather it's the least you could do.” She snapped.

 

The room around the king of the dead darkened, indicating that his temper was flaring. “Do not speak to me like that child. You came here because you over-exerted yourself." He snarled, clearly pissed off at his daughter's lack of respect. "You’ve been doing that a lot lately. You are still human, you need to recharge. ”

 

Ruby scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. “Well I’m fine then, please send me back,” Ruby said, her anger at her father was palpable.

 

Hades stood to his feet and waved his hand. The last thing Ruby saw was a sad look in his eyes as her consciousness faded away. It was enough to almost make her feel bad.

 

Almost.

------

Sasha could still feel Bayley's eyes on her, the Greek demigod hadn't actually looked away from Sasha since she had got into the camp. Sasha would have been more comfortable if she didn't recall what had happened the last time they had been in the same place. It was two years prior that Sasha had tried to take over the Greek Camp, due to her mother's influence she had tried to kill Hades as well. Bayley had been one of the people who stopped her, so seeing her here now brought back a lot of unpleasant memories.

 

There was a feeling of regret welling up in Sasha, a lot of people had died thanks to her plan. She had served her punishment so far, but she could still tell that Bayley mistrusted her. Her former friends in the legion mistrusted her as well, which in reality was understandable.

 

"If you want them to believe you, you need to remain calm," Bayley said, finally breaking the silence. She had been watching the camp medic treat Sasha's injuries and hook the former praetor up to an IV-drip.

 

Sasha's eyes locked onto Bayley's and she slowly raised a brow. "I'm trying to remain calm, I need to save Charlotte and the others. Our ship got attacked and I have no idea where they are, or how I ended up here of all places."

 

"It wasn't your plan?" Bayley still wasn't totally convinced that Sasha was telling her the truth. Sasha seemed to be acting like she was genuine but Bayley couldn't be certain.

 

"Deep down I hoped someday I would make it back here, but I realized probably about a year ago that would never happen. New Rome is no home to me anymore. If I am lucky maybe the Einherjar will take me." Sasha said, thinking back to some of the conversations she had with Sarah on the ship. "Coming here is a death sentence, but I need the legions to help me bring back Charlotte. They owe her that much."

 

Bayley considered her words before nodding slowly. "We will do what we can to save Charlotte, but if you're lying to us-"

 

"I am not lying." Sasha snapped in irritation, her temper flaring dangerously.

 

Bayley's own eyes darkened and she stepped forward into Sasha's personal bubble space. "If I were you, I would avoid making an enemy of the only person who is on your side." She warned, before taking a step back. As the daughter of Hestia, it was her job to sue for peace. "Look, Sasha, I believe you for now, but you're going to need to expect that Finn and Seth won't."

 

"I admit they are probably right to mistrust me, I don't fault them for that. But this isn't about me, this is about rescuing Ruby, Alexa, Charlotte, the people we all care about." Sasha wasn't sure who she was without them. The legion had been taken from her, her mother didn't want her, Charlotte and the people on the ship were all she had left.

 

Sasha glanced at the IV in her arm, she was trying to pinpoint just when she had started to care about Charlotte and the others. She had been so broken after the battle, but they had brought out the good in her. They had saved her countless times and she had also saved them, they had become a unit during the two years on the ship.

 

“You care about them, like really care?”

 

“Yes, I do,” Sasha said forcing herself to meet Bayley’s eyes dead-on.

 

Bayley was about to say something else when Seth and Finn walked into the tent. She could still tell from their energy that they weren’t pleased with Sasha being there. Bayley remained quiet however letting Sasha explain to them in detail about what she remembered from the ship. The raw emotion that was pouring off of the disgraced Praetor was enough to make Bayley believe her.

 

Finn and Seth both looked like they needed a little extra convincing though. Finn was pacing in front of Sasha, trying to process everything he had heard. “So Ruby used her powers to get you here.”

 

“That’s the last thing I remember, her reaching out towards me and then icy cold. It was like falling through a shadow.” Sasha explained, the memory driving a cold chill up and down her back.

 

“There is no telling where the ship could be, or if there are any survivors.” Seth mused allowed, though he was talking more to himself than the others gathered in the room.

 

“We owe it to Charlotte to at least try and look. She’s one of us, once a Roman..” Finn didn’t like the idea of not even mounting a search party.

 

Bayley took that moment to step forward. “I’ll go and look for Charlotte, take Sasha and a couple of legionnaires with me. If we can find her or any other crew members, we’ll bring them back here. They can tell us what really happened.”

 

Seth rubbed his chin before nodding. “Alright, I’ll put the motion before the senate. Bayley, maybe you can call the Greek Campers, see if we might launch this search party together. But take Banks, maybe she can retrace the ship’s last known location.” Seth said, mostly wanting Sasha out of the camp as well.

 

“Take Evans, Murphy, Blake, Ciampa, and Yim with you guys. You’re going to need all the help you can get.” Finn said, knowing that the five he named would be a good protection detail.

 

Bayley knew for a fact that Finn had named those five because they were extremely loyal to New Rome and they hadn’t followed Sasha as blindly as the others legionnaires.

 

“Why not Belair?” Sasha asked quietly. She had been really close to Bianca at one point and wanted to know what had happened to her friend.

 

“That is so not gonna happen Banks. She was your right-hand woman, we aren’t going to give us people who are dedicated to New Rome. You haven’t met Yim or Evans yet, you should know the boys though.” Seth answered, before glancing to Bayley, he sized her up for a moment. “See Becky before you leave, she might have some equipment you can use on your travels. We still don’t have much of a navy, but I’m sure she can give you something useful.”

 

“Alright, we’ll be on our way then,” Bayley said, pressing a hand to Sasha’s shoulder and shepherding her out of the room before the Praetors could change their minds about the rescue mission. She didn't want Sasha to open her big mouth and get them into trouble.

 

"I am not a child, you didn't have to do that." Sasha snapped, her eyes blazing.

 

"Just go wait by the docks okay? I have to go see Becky, but can you stay out of trouble and not pick any fights while I'm gone?" Bayley questioned, wondering if it was a good idea to leave Sasha alone at all in the camp.

 

Sasha huffed in irritation. "I'll keep my mouth shut and wait by the docks. I don't want to be here anymore than you do. If I could rescue Charlotte on my own I would, but I need help. So get the stuff from Becky and meet me by the water." She tossed the words over her shoulder as she stomped off.

----

Charlotte was certain she was lost, not that she wanted to admit that to the people trailing behind her, but at this point, she was about ready to come clean. They had probably passed the same rock wall in the cave about six times by now. It felt like they were going around and around in circles. The others hadn't said anything yet, but she could tell they were getting restless and unsettled. Charlotte was feeling pretty unsettled herself, her mind still going over the battle and how her group had been taken unaware. The former Praetor didn't want that to happen to them again.

 

One of Charlotte's eyes was still swollen, some of the others had it even worse. Still, Charlotte kept marching them onward, hoping they would eventually make their way out of the tunnel system. She stopped abruptly when a noise caught her attention

 

"Ughhhh."

 

Charlotte heard the groaning sound again and turned around to see a groggy Ruby struggling against Sarah who was still carrying the daughter of Hades.

 

"Why was I staring at your butt, Sarah?" Ruby questioned as Sarah set her down on her feet. "Did you fart? God Sarah, I thought hell smelled gross. When was the last time you showered?" Ruby grumbled covering her nose.

 

Sarah scowled at her. "I could have left you where I found you." She warned.

 

"Well look who finally decided to join the land of the living," Charlotte said, holding up a fist to the group and calling a stop to their travels. She watched as her rag-tag group of demigods all slumped down. To be fair, Charlotte had been leading them through a series of caves for close to four hours straight.

 

Ruby flipped Charlotte off and did her best to remain standing upright, thankfully Sarah still had a grip on her shirt to keep her steady. "Where are we?"

 

"I don't think Charlotte even knows." Alexa pipped up from the spot she had plopped down on. She was looking disheveled and not at all amused about having to sit down on a damp cave floor.

 

"We've been walking for a couple of hours now. We somehow ended up in some caves." Charlotte said filling Ruby on what she had missed. "We thought you were dead."

 

"She was dead weight," Sarah grumbled, rubbing at her aching shoulders. "I've been the one carrying her the whole time. You could lay off all the junk food Rue." Even though she sounded bitter, Sarah still kept a protective hold on Ruby.

 

"Are you calling me chubby?" Ruby scoffed sounding a little affronted.

 

"I repeat I've been carrying you for hours. Please lay off the candies for my sake." Sarah muttered, but then playfully stuck her tongue out at Ruby to show she was just teasing her. "Do you think you could shadow travel us out of here?"

 

Ruby leaned back against her friend and sighed heavily. "My powers are kind of on the blink right now. I don't have a lot of energy, but maybe we can keep following the trail. Or maybe send a scouting pair ahead?"

 

Alexa got to her feet at this. "I'll go, I'll take Gargano and Ali with me." She said gesturing for two of the other demigods to follow her. The blonde daughter of Athena had never been good at being idle.

 

Ruby seemed to realize for the first time that they were missing people. "Where is Sasha, did she make it? Is this all that made it off the ship?" Their crew was a ragtag one at best. On the ship they had at least twenty demigods, right now Ruby could only count about ten people.

 

"You managed to get Sasha off the ship. We lost a few." Charlotte explained, before looking down at the ground. "We didn't have time to bury them, we're not the only things in this cave. It's not safe to stay put for too long."

 

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Now that you're awake, I am hoping we can pick up the pace. we're going to need a place to make camp for the night, so hopefully, Alexa finds us a safe spot."

 

Ruby felt a pang of guilt blooming in her chest at the news. "I wish I could have saved more, I just thought getting Sasha off the ship was the best bet. She was closest to me on the deck."

 

"You can't blame yourself, you did the best you could Rue," Sarah said gently bumping Ruby's shoulder with her own.

 

"I do blame myself though." Ruby shot back, running a hand through her hair.

 

"Blaming yourself isn't going to solve anything." Charlotte reprimanded, shaking her head. She heard footsteps coming back their way and only relaxed when she realized it was Alexa coming back. The shorter blonde was alone, however.

 

"Where are Gargano and Ali?" Ruby asked.

 

"Fifteen minutes up the tunnel is an opening, it's dry and has enough room for us to all stretch out and get some sleep. It's a good place to call our march for the day." Alexa explained, detailing what she had found to them. "Gargano and Ali are holding the place until we get back."

 

Sarah let out a big yawn. "I could use some shut-eye, I'm exhausted." She admitted, before wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist to help her friend get to the new campsite.

 

Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to not act as relieved as she felt. "Was there any sign of an exit out of this place?"

 

Alexa nodded slowly. "We heard the sound of waves if we find the source we can probably follow the beach to civilization." She pointed out, ever the planner.

 

"Sounds like a plan then," Charlotte said, taking up the rear and letting Alexa lead them for once.

----

The fact that the Romans had given Becky her own workshop was impressive in itself, it helped that Becky was a hero and dating one of the leaders of the camp. As Bayley made her way through the mazes of workbenches and experiments, she couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer size of the workshop.

 

Bayley found the fiery redhead tinkering with a green-glowing orb of some kind. "Your boyfriend sent me to ask for some equipment."

 

She wasn't sure if Becky heard her at first, it wouldn't have been the first time that Bayley had gone unnoticed in the shop. Eventually, however, Becky put her tools down and fixed Bayley with a stern look.

 

"Are you really going back out into the world on another adventure with Sasha Banks of all people. The last time around she was the one we were trying to stop." Becky said, folding her arms across her chest.

 

Bayley nodded slowly. "Charlotte needs our help, as does Ruby. We owe it to them..."

 

Becky pinched the bridge of her nose and then sighed. "I don't like giving weapons to somebody like Banks, but I trust you. I prepared some individual go-bags with provisions for you and your team. Seth may have told me to expect you."

 

"I know you're not thrilled about Sasha being here but thank you for helping," Bayley said, stepping forward and wrapping her friend in a hug.

 

They weren't close, not like they had been at Camp Half-blood, but Bayley still counted Becky as a friend. The two years in New Rome had changed them both in different ways. Becky hesitated at first but then eventually melted into Bayley's embrace.

 

"Please take care of yourself, I have a parting gift for you," Becky said, pulling away. She grabbed a staff off of her workbench and held it out. "I may have given your staff an upgrade, metal instead of wood. If you tap it on the ground three times with a bit of force, it'll send out a sonic wave. If you press your thumb to the button in the middle, it split into two and you can fight that way."

 

Bayley found herself oddly touched by the thought Becky had put into it. "Thank you, I'll treasure it." She said taking the staff. "Anything else I need to know about it?"

 

Becky chuckled quietly. "Can't ruin all the surprises." She teased, before clearing her throat. "Now get going, I have work to do. Don't forget the go-bags, you're going to need them. I'll have one of my assistants help you carry them. Sami, Kevin, please help Bayley carry her equipment."

 

Bayley found Sasha and her new crew standing near the edge of the camp. Sasha had her arms wrapped tightly around her middle and standing slightly apart from the other Romans. The former leader of New Rome looked nothing like the first time Bayley had seen her, back then Sasha had looked regal and confident. Now when Bayley saw Sasha, she saw a shell of the former praetor, a broken and hollowed-out shell.

 

"We're supposed to ship out with you for some kind of quest?" Lacey Evans asked, cleaning her gladius. It was a standard one but Lacey's cloak was an almost rainbow of colors. It had been granted to her by her father the Roman god of war Mars.

 

Since arriving a year and a half before, Lacey had quickly earned a great deal of respect in the legion. Even Bayley who wasn't the biggest fan of war, found herself impressed by the girl's abilities. There was no doubt that Finn's half-sister could follow orders and directions, which was why she was probably selected.

 

"Yes, we're shipping out," Bayley said, nodding to the go-bags that Becky had sent them. "Grab your bag, I am assuming it has everything you'll need. Becky probably overpacked for all of us."

 

Sasha was surprised to see a pack for herself but quickly grabbed it. She had thought that Becky would want to give her a weapon, she had been forced to give up her weapon of choice when she joined Charlotte. A lot of Sasha's friends on the ship hadn't felt comfortable with her having a whip, apparently that still rung true with Becky.

 

Lacey watched Sasha go through her bag, before glancing to Bayley. "Are you going to brief us more on the mission?

 

"We're going to find former Praetor Flair and a couple of other demigods. Their ship was attacked and so we're more of a covert search party." Bayley explained, locking eyes with the blonde. Lacey sort of reminded her of Charlotte, but like a knock off version.

 

"It's a body-recovery mission then?" Ciampa asked as he stepped forward.

 

Sasha regarded him uneasily. She didn't know Evans or Yim, but she had known Ciampa, Blake, and Murphy during her time in the camp. Murphy and Blake were strong and agile, but Ciampa was their leader. The trio had been ruthlessly effective in battle, but they hadn't been in Sasha's cohort. It seemed like Yim had fallen in line with Ciampa, because the girl seemed more interested in what he had to say, then what Bayley or Sasha did. She wasn't sure what to make of the group, but she knew they must have picked for a reason. Still, Sasha couldn't help but flinch at the blue-eyed man's cold words.

 

Bayley noticed Sasha's reaction and frowned. "More like a scouting and rescue mission. We need to figure out who attacked their ship and then see if we can find them. A covert search party, as I said."

 

Sasha shouldered her backpack and let out a sigh. "Let's get a move on then, we're wasting time." She said, itching to put as much distance between New Rome and herself as she could.

 

"You heard her, let's go. We have a few good hours of sunlight left in the day, we should make the most of them." Bayley said, leading her group towards the ship they had been loaned.

 

It wasn't as big as the ship that Sasha had set sail on two years prior when she went to take over the Greek Camps, nor was it as big as the ship she had been living on recently. Still, it was good enough that she had a feeling they'd all be able to sleep comfortably, as long as they didn't sleep at the same time.

 

"Well, this looks...interesting," Lacey said sounding disgusted. She crinkled her nose and clutched her cloak as she boarded the ship.

 

Sasha didn't care, she was just happy to be back on the water. She had originally not been a fan of sailing, but not it felt like second nature, it felt like home. She took a calming breath, taking in the salty air.

 

"I'm coming to find you Charlotte, just hold on." Sasha murmured quietly under her breath, hoping her friends would still be alive.

Notes:

I just want to thank each and every one of you who is reading this story. It means a lot to me, to have people on this adventure with me. Thank you for all the view, kudos, comments and support. Be sure to subscribe to the story so you can be up to date.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3 AKA A detour into the life of Liv

Summary:

So in the last chapter I mentioned Liv, what has she been up to the last two years. Following her tragic death in the first story, here is a look at her as a god. Written by my good friend AttackPlatypus. This chapter sets up the story thread of the role Liv is going to play in the story.

(Note: All credit for Liv's rapping goes to the one and only Relentlass)

“IF WE COULD PLEASE GET STARTED!” Zeus boomed from his throne. He was appearing in his true, glowing, twelve-foot form.

 

“Calm down brother, who doesn’t like an entrance with a bit of pizazz?” Poseidon put in with a chuckle from his own throne. He too was in his true form, as were all the other gods and goddesses present.

 

“I don’t…” Zeus grumbled a sound that was like boulders rolling down a mountain.

 

“Nor do I,” Hera said haughtily.

 

“Oh please, honey, your just mad because I’m so fab!” Liv said as she set the solid gold boombox she’d been carrying down. She was breathing a little hard but that wasn’t surprising given that she’d just gone through a whole choreographed dance routine on her way into the throne room.

 

“Why you-” Hera started to say as she half rose from her throne, the light emanating from her seemed to grow to a painful intensity as she did.

 

“Enough,” Hades called, sounding resigned. The lord of the dead sat on his own throne with his head resting on his right palm. He didn’t really want to be there, but his daughter would never forgive him for not attending Liv’s trial.

 

Zeus glowered over at him. “You would do well to remember who presides here, brother.”

 

“Perhaps we should return to the matter at hand?” Athena said.

 

“Yes, we-” Zeus began only to cut off abruptly. He’d been interrupted by a loud crinkling sound. All eyes turned to the small figure standing before the thrones.

 

Liv, who had just been opening a blue jolly rancher, looked up in mixed surprise and curiosity. “Sorry, did you guys want some?” As she asked this a winged silver plater appeared beside her. It was carrying a pile of the blue candies almost three feet high and it’s small wings were obviously struggling under the weight. It kept wobbling and shaking, sending candies all over the floor.

 

“THIS is the problem!” Artemis put in. The goddess sat on her throne looking highly disapproving. “She is totally irresponsible with her power.”

 

“How does the platter work?” Hephestus asked, leaning forward and sounding intrigued by the device before him.

 

“Silence!” Zeus roared. As he did so thunder rumbled the sky around them. This was fortunate as Liv was already opening another jolly rancher. “Olivia Goddess of...Goddess of Olympus, you are here to answer to the gods over your actions since gaining your seat amongst us.”

 

Liv had folded her arms and was sucking on her candy in a huffy sort of way. “You could have at least used my proper title,” she muttered.

---------

Liv woke up.

 

She didn’t remember why this surprised her, but for some reason it did. She was laying on something that was both impossibly soft yet perfectly warm at the same time. Looking around she saw in the middle of some kind of open-air courtyard.

 

“Well good morning,” a friendly and familiar voice said from behind her. Sitting up, Liv saw her father Hermes, the messenger of the gods.

 

“Daddy?” Liv asked, puzzled. Where was she? She’d only met her father twice before. Once, on her 5th birthday and again on her 12th when he had claimed her.

 

“Hey there kiddo, you look good,” Her father said as he came to sit beside the bed she was laying on.

 

“I...I feel good?” Liv phrased this as a question because it surprised her. Though she unsure why it should.

 

“We’ll need to get you some new clothes though,” Her father said as she nodded at her. Liv looked down to see that her camp half-blood t-shirt was badly torn, as though something had gone through it.

 

“How?” she asked.

 

“Nevermind that now, I’ve got some great news for you,” Hermes cut in. He then proceeded to tell her his news. Several minutes later, Liv was sitting on the edge of her bed in shock.

 

“I’m...I’m a god?” She asked.

 

“MINOR goddess, technically. But yes, you are ONE of the gods now,” Hermes explained patiently. This was a lot for Liv to take in, given that she’d grown up the daughter of a single mother who sold flowers in New Jersey. Liv had been in juvie by age ten and probably would have seen the inside of an adult prison soon enough if she’d been a normal human girl.

 

But then her mother had decided to send her to camp half-blood for the first time. Liv remembered this much but, for some reason, couldn’t recall anything about her time there. The harder she concentrated the more it seemed flit further away from her mind. All she knew for sure was that something important had happened there.

 

Before she could devote any further resources to this, her father cleared his throat. “I know you have a lot of questions, but first I need to tell you what is expected of you. Now that you are a minor goddess you will have certain responsibilities. Your primary duty will be to act as a messenger for the gods.”

 

Liv blinked at this. “But, you already have one...Iris.”

 

Hermes pursed his lips. “Well, let’s just say that she’s a bit busy with ROFL-”

 

“What so funny?” Liv interrupted?

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Nevermind.”

 

“She’s been busy with her new business so service has been...slipping. I remember the days when a drachma bought you personal service from Iris herself, now? She’s too busy to-” he cut himself mid-rant and forced a smile back onto his face. “In any case, you are a more specialized kind of messenger. Your charge is to deliver messages from Zeus himself to the Aesir in Asgard.”

 

Liv nodded, she knew all about the Norse gods and their home. But then she was confused again, how did she know that? She was going to voice this question but her father wasn’t done speaking.

 

“Zeus and that Odin guy reached a deal that this would be how we handled things between our two families from now on. However, we don’t anticipate having much to say to each other...they aren’t really our sort. So you should consider carving out a large role for yourself,” he said, his smile seeming more genuine now.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, I am the official messenger of the Olympians but you don’t see me doing that and nothing else, right?” Hermes asked. This was true, Liv had to acknowledge. Her father was also the god of travelers, thieves, roads, merchants, trade, sports, loads, and probably more.

 

“Soooo you want me to pick something else?” Liv asked, an idea forming in her head. Her father smiled at that as he handed her a small slip of paper.

 

“This seems a bit empty as is, doesn’t it?” he asked. Liv looked down at it and realized it was a business card. It read: Olivia Morgan, Messanger of the Gods. There was nothing else on the card, and it did seem that there was an unusual amount of blank space. As though it was meant to bear more information.

 

“So...how do I add to it?”

 

“Well, before you pick anything the first criteria is to make sure it’s not already taken. And it’s surprising how much some of us had spread out over the centuries. But beyond that, you need to make sure it’s something you care DEEPLY about. You will become the protector and steward of the things you choose. This is a heavy responsibility and-”

 

“Will I get the power of it?” Liv blurted out interrupting him.

 

Hermes looked non-plussed. “Well, yeah, but-”

 

“Blue jolly ranchers!” Liv cried. As she said this she felt the business card in her hand turn suddenly warm. Looking down she saw that it was glowing slightly. Below where her title was listed, an invisible had was writing the words: Minor Goddess of Blue Jolly Ranchers. Live watched the letters glow golden for a few moments before they faded into plain black ink.

 

“That...is...so...COOL!” Liv whooped.

 

“Now, Olivia-” her father started to say in a cautioning tone, but Liv had sprung to her feet and was running around the courtyard. She was cackling as she went and saying everything that came to her mind.

 

“Pigtails, ponytails, PIGS, rap music, no wait rap AND hip-hop, hair ties, PUNS, the color pink, french fries, movie quotes!”

----------

”-This...this...UPSTART has claimed over THREE HUNDRED spheres of influence!” Hera was spluttering.

 

“Don’t be all jelly that yours isn’t as cool as this!” Liv snapped back as she made one of her business cards appear in thin air. At first, it appeared like any other. But then, it began to fold outward and downward, like an accordion held at only one end. It kept unfolding for a long time. Liv had produced the card just a few inches above her own height but it still managed to fall all the way to the ground.

 

“I do not need to stoop to such cheap tricks to be recognized as a goddess, and goddess who is also your QUEEN,” Hera growled.

 

“Not MY Queen, I’m from America! That’s why we fought the Spanish-American war!” Liv shot back. She didn’t see it but behind her, Athena sighed heavily at these words.

 

“I think we should all take this as a good example…” Poseidon said “...We could all stand to take a bit more initiative nowadays.”

 

“It’s not just her obnoxious habit of claiming everything that isn’t bolted down!” Artemis said.

 

“Yes, she is also totally irresponsible in how she uses her powers. She was always a reckless brat at camp and-” Dionysus put in but he was quickly shushed by Zeus.

 

“Hey, wait-” Liv started to ask but thunder boomed again.

 

“Goddess Olivia, I too have had reason to be concerned over your use of your power. If it were up to me I would strip you of your divinity and exile you to the underworld-” Zeus began.

 

Hades cleared his throat here in a significant sort of way.

 

“But my ‘family’ has convinced me that this would set a dangerous precedent. So before we consider your punishment. I will give you a chance to explain your actions. For example, what exactly is a ‘Pigasi’?” Zeus demanded.

 

Liv shrugged. “What’s there to know, Unc? They are pigs that can fly.” She tried to stop talking there but she was overcome with a fit of the giggles at this. “Get it? Because...when pigs can fly?”

----------

Liv was laying on her stomach on top of a workbench as she watched Hephestus work. She had her chin in her hands as her feet kicked idly in the air. She was also biting her lower lip though she was glad the other god couldn’t see this.

 

“So, like...you’re REALLY strong…” Liv cooed.

 

She got a grunt in response but this didn’t deter her. She was watching the smith work on her chariot. She’d been delighted to learn that she would receive one of her own. After the Jackson reform act of 2009, it seemed that even the minor gods and goddesses received all the accouterments of an Olympian.

 

Liv had simply been eager to see her very own chariot being made but she’d become distracted. Very distracted. Hephestus was working with his shirt off and she was enjoying the show.

 

“Ain’t you got somewhere to be?” The god of the forge asked.

 

“Nowhere is more important than where I am right now,” Liv said dreamily. Hephestus didn’t seem to have any sort of answer to this so he just kept working.

 

“I usually make these pretty bare-bones and let you lot customize them on your own but your dad called in a favor. I hear you have some design ideas- oh…” he said this last as Liv made a piece of paper appear in the air in front of him. He took it and review the items on it.

 

“Pretty please,” Liv pouted. She swore that for just a moment the other god smiled.

 

“Fine, if I can find the time I’ll get to work on most of these. But you need to come up with your own propulsion!”

 

“My what?” Liv asked, barely paying attention. Hephestus frowned and turned to look at her.

 

“Hey, green eyes, do you see any engines on this thing? You need to get yourself some pegasi to pull your chariot,” he growled, sounding impatient. Liv was completely unperturbed as she giggled and touched her hair.

 

“My eyes are green.”

 

Hephestus was once again rendered speechless so he just wandered back to his work. But he had given Liv something to think about. She vaguely remembered riding on the back of a pegasus before but she couldn’t quite place where. This was happening to her more and more recently, as though she had someone else’s memories in her head. But she shook it off now. She had a plan.

 

One thing she did retain from her time riding one of the horses was that she had shouted to...someone...that she thought they were cool. But also, that they could be even better with some improvements. And as she thought about them a grin spread across her face.

 

“Hey, do you wanna-?” Hephaestus asked as he turned around only to find that he was alone.

----------

“And so you created those...things…” Zeus asked.

 

“Abominations, more like!” Artemis said angrily. She stood from her throne and turned to Zeus. “Father, am I not the goddess of the wilderness and all the beasts therein? Should it not fall to me and me alone to create new animals?”

 

“Uh, wow, OK…” Liv said as she held up a palm to the goddess “...First, throwing around the a-word? They can HEAR you. Second, flying pigs are the problem? Really? Manticores, minotaurs, chimeras, jackalopes-”

 

“Those aren’t real,” Athena put in.

 

“...And we draw the line at pigasi? THAT is going too far?” Liv demanded before she turned on Artemis. “And besides ‘Arty’ they don’t live in the wild, they live with me!”

 

“They are still beasts and thus under my domain!’

 

“Don’t you have some Birkenstocks to be trying on? Maybe some flannels to organize?” Liv answered sweetly.

 

“Why you-”

 

“Enough...was there anything else, brother?” Hades asked. He still seemed to be very bored with the proceedings. Zeus shot him a glare before turning back to Liv.

 

“This raises the next issue. I will not tolerate feuding or fighting between immortals! Since you have arrived here you have become embroiled with too many others!” Zeus said.

 

“Name one, Unc,” Liv said with a theatrical eye roll.

 

“Artemis,” Zeus said instantly.

 

“OK, well played…” Liv said before quickly adding “...But name any others! I’m super chill, everyone loves me!”

 

“Iris.”

----------

Liv stood at the bottom of the huge stone pyramid and groaned. She hated this part of her job. As the messenger of the Grecco-Roman gods to other gods she often had to go to the other gods’ homes. In this case, she was standing at the foot of a huge triple-layered mesoamerican pyramid.

 

Of course, Liv didn’t HAVE to walk up the steps. She COULD either fly, take her chariot, or simply appear at the top. But after a very long-winded and loud lecture from Zeus about diplomatic decorum over an incident with the Celtic pantheon, Liv now made sure to approach all other godly homes on foot.

 

“This sucks,” she whined as she began to walk up the stairs. Five minutes later she was still walking. “I HATE THIS!” Liv shouted into the air. No one else was around to hear though she did manage to scare some birds out of a tree below. As if in response, thunder rumbled far to the northeast of her. “Yeah yeah, whatever, unc,” she grunted as she turned back to the steps.

 

Liv blanched. When she’d stopped to yell she’d had three tiers left to climb. Now, looking back up she found that there were six. She stamped her foot in frustration as she clenched her fists at her side and glared up at the sky around her. A sky that seemed perfectly innocuous and free of clouds.

 

“REALLY?!” She raged. “Whichever one of you did this it’s NOT FUNNY!” Spinning around in a huff she began to stomp up the steps, grumbling the whole time. After she’d climbed ten more sets of stairs she stopped and dropped down right where she stood, her arms folded.

 

“Alright, fine! BE LIKE THAT! If you don’t want the message I’ll just turn around and leave!” There was another sound of thunder at this despite the clear day, in addition, the pyramid beneath her seemed to rumble. “Aww, I’m so scared,” Liv mocked. Just then, a voice called up to her from the steps below.

 

“Well, well, look what we have here. If isn’t the rookie…” The familiar voice said. Liv knew the voice and the tone full of fake sweetness.

 

“Hello, Iris…” Liv grunted as she stood. She started to smooth her outfit and then realized it was sticking to her with sweat.

 

“Oh, hey, Liv honey…” Iris said with a coy smile and batted her lashes “...I’ve got some great all organic deodorant and antiperspirant in my shops. Not that I’m saying you need it but in case you know...of an emergency.”

 

“Oh, thank you so much!” Liv said, perfectly matching Iris’ tone. “So good to see you out of the store...for once. What was it you did again? You used to be a messenger of some kind, right?”

 

Iris’ laugh did not reach her eyes. “Oh, Liv. You are SO funny. I’m glad you could be here too. Seems that Zeus wasn’t satisfied with how fast his messages here getting through so he sent me too on this one. You know, in case you needed to be shown how it’s actually done.”

 

“Ah, aren’t you sweet. Well, I’m fine, thank you. I’m just going to go deliver this message now,” Liv said as she stood and started walking up the steps.

 

“Oh, I’m walking that way too, mind if I join you?” Iris asked, hurrying to stay one step in front of Liv.

 

“Not...at...all…” Liv grunted as she picked up her own pace. She was about to pass Iris when she was suddenly dazzled by a bright rainbow colored light directly in her eyes. She felt herself tipping backward and before she could do anything she fell. Snarling she saw that Iris had already reached the top of the set of steps they’d been on.

 

“Oops, sorry about that,” the other goddess crooned. Liv narrowed her eyes and as Iris turned to hurry up the next step she suddenly slipped. A banana peel had appeared out of nowhere underneath her foot.

 

“Minor Goddess of banana peels!” Liv declared triumphantly as she began hurrying past Iris.

 

“You’re not-” Iris shouted after her.

 

“Just claimed it!” Liv called over her shoulder.

----------

“We were mortified! I could not look Metzli in the eyes for months after that scene you two put on. Imagine two messengers from Olympus squabbling and wrestling like mortals on the very doorstep of the Aztec gods!” Hera said sounding distraught.

 

“Wow...and the Oscar goes to…” Liv muttered.

 

“Excuse me?” The Queen of the Gods demanded.

 

“Nothing,” Liv said with a sweet smile.

 

“You haven’t answered Zeus…” Ares growled “...What have you got to say for yourself and your catfights?”

 

“Catfights? Iris clearly started that one! And I bet you can’t name a single other-” Liv started to say. But Artemis cut her off again.

 

“What about my brother?” She demanded.

----------

“I guess I’m the minor goddess of waiting in line forever!” Liv muttered to herself. She was standing in line outside a club in Newark and had been for over an hour. As she voiced this thought she felt her pocket suddenly burn hot. Looking down she saw it was glowing as well. “No, no, I didn’t mean to...nevermind…” Liv said. What was one more title?

 

Even when she finally did make it in, her troubles weren’t done. How could she be an immortal goddess and yet still be getting carded? She could appear any way she wanted and yet not appear convincingly 18? Then she realized that the problem was unlikely to ever get better, as a goddess she was eternally youthful.

 

Oh well, at least she was going to get to see her favorite band while here. Liv had never managed to see Dizzie Rascal as a mortal, but damn it she would as a goddess. She was after all the minor goddess of rap and hip hop. Finding a table she sat down and looked eagerly at the stage. A waitress came up to ask her if she wanted anything to drink but Liv declined. Still, something about the waitress drew her attention.

 

The other woman had dark hair, fair skin, was wearing dark makeup and had prominent tattoos. Something about this struck Liv deeply, though she couldn’t understand why. She’d seen a ton of people over both her lives with tattoos. But this combination of traits was tugging hard on the edges of her memory. She was so distracted by this that she almost missed the announcement from the stage.

 

“Bad news, folks, Dizzie threw up backstage and can’t perform.”

 

Liv was downcast and joined the general booing from the crowd. That jogged her memory and she made sure to claim both booing and tattoos as her own. As her card burned she turned back to the stage and sighed. Even as a goddess it seemed she wasn’t going to get the performance of her dreams.

 

Then her evening took a strange turn.

 

“I’m going to go check on Dizzie but for now we have a new act for you, the dopest MC there is...Rap King APO.” Liv sat up and looked at the stage curiously now. It wasn’t the dumb name, but rather how it had been said. The MC looked as though he were a robot who had been programmed to deliver the final line. She hadn’t been a god for long, but she recognized the signs of a mortal that had just been influenced by an immortal.

 

“Oh god...no…” Liv muttered as she realized what was happening. Sure enough, a moment later out onto the stage came Apollo. The god of sun, light, healing, disease, plagues, music, art, poetry, archery, reason, knowledge, truth, and prophecy. He was looking painfully out of place in the club, a bit like someone who had been told to dress like Vanilla Ice but had only the vaguest idea of what he looked like.

 

“Yo, yo, yo! Who’s ready for this!” Apollo called to the crowd. He got no response. Still, his ego was more than up the task of telling him that this was eager anticipation so a moment later a beat began to play and off he went. Liv had the loud off-key singing of thousands of Einherjar on her visits to Asgard and yet it had been so much better than Apollo rapping. He made it most of the way through a truly dreadful song that seemed to be about someone named Kassandra in ancient Greece when the booing became too loud even for him to ignore. Then he got hit by the drink.

 

Liv knew the danger even if no one else did. She could see Apollo’s eyes beginning to glow and knew that she had to intervene before the whole audience was turned into something unpleasant. So she quickly conjured herself a microphone and stood where she was. It wasn’t connected to anything but since it was a magical item this didn’t matter.

 

“Yo, why don’t you sit down before you bore these people to death again!” Liv called. Apollo whirled to face her, recognition on his face.

 

“Yo, fool, you think you can disrespect RKAPO?” Apollo demanded.

 

“Nah…” Liv said as she made her way to the stage “...because you won’t be any kind of challenge at all!”

 

Apollo spluttered something at this but Liv had mounted the stage and was facing him now. She was having a great time now, even though she knew she was flirting with disaster. Even as a minor goddess it wasn’t wise to antagonize one of the twelve Olympians TOO much. But this was a matter of principle for Liv. Apollo could mangle haikus all day, but this was rap.

 

“Get me a beat!” Liv shouted and someone must have obliged her because one started playing. Liv bobbed to the music for a few moments, getting the flow, and then started.

You the god of the sun, I'm about to throw shade, you could be the last man alive and you still wouldn't get laid. You’re the king of music lyrical royalty, but you need to shut up, you are just plain boring me. Your clothes are wack, your flow is so-so, your bars are softer than a melted ho-ho. I'll serve you disses with a side of candy, Zeus maybe your father but you can call me daddy. Give the w and we'll call it a win, apollo how does it feel being the uglier twin. I snap back like a savage, a tiger on the attack. Apollo the only thing you hunting is a midnight snack. I diss you in front of your family, make you scared to show your face. I may be a minor goddess but I straight up run this place.

 

When the music stopped Liv did something she’d never gotten to do as a mortal. She dropped her mic and walked backward off the stage.

----------

“I think you’re exaggerating...Apollo and I are cool now…” Liv explained.

 

“He sulked for days, followed me and my hunters and moped in my tent,” Artemis said.

 

“But you’re ignoring what happened afterward! We’re besties now! He’s my sassy guy friend who helps me pick out outfits and then criticizes them anyway!” Liv protested.

 

“Don’t remind us…” Hera muttered before looking around.

 

“Deciding if something is ‘fierce’ or not I’m sure,” Artemis groused.

 

“Moving on...there have also been some complaints from our counterparts in Asgard…” Zeus cut in.

 

“Pshhhh they’re fine, so I interfered in their little soldier games, I won didn’t I so GO TEAM OLYMPUS!”

 

“You SAT on the throne of the All-Father!” Zeus thundered.

 

“Uh, excuse me….” Liv said as she made her card appear again, this time fully unfurled. About 3/4ths of the way down a single line was blinking pink. “Minor Goddess of sitting on other people’s chairs and thrones.”

 

“That’s not a real thing!” Ares said. He was sick of finding Liv sitting on his throne.

 

“Disagree,” Liv said.

 

“Alright...alright, I’ve heard enough,” Zeus grunted, he sounded exhausted now. He turned to Liv and glared at her. “Goddess Olivia, since I cannot strip your divinity I will find another way to punish you.”

 

Liv swallowed hard and looked around the room. She saw Hera, Artemis, and Ares glaring at her. She knew that Hephestus and Athena liked her, and she sensed that Poseidon did as well. Unfortunately, Zeus seemed to be against her and so team Liv was down one person. She was resigning herself to some horrible fate when someone called out from behind her.

 

“Hey, everyone, sorry I’m late!”

 

Liv turned and saw the sun god striding into the semi-circle of thrones. He was was his usual glowing self, literally glowing. In fact, it was intense enough that Liv winced a little.

 

“Where have you been?” Artemis demanded.

 

“Oh, just being me, sis,” Apollo said as he walked toward his throne.

 

“Perhaps you could be a little LESS like you in the future?” Artemis asked acidly.

 

“Hey, gurl! You look great!” Liv called to him.

 

“Girl, please, you know I am a mess,” Apollo called as he sat down. As he did he took on his true form as well.

 

Zeus was shaking his head with a hand over his eyes. “I suggest that we send her to work for Iris. That way she can keep doing her job but under proper supervision.”

 

Liv’s eyes bulged. “Iris? Really? Eww! No!”

 

“It’s a punishment, runt…” Ares sneered “...You’re not supposed to like it.”

 

“All in favor?” Zeus asked, ignoring the talk. He, Ares, Hera, and Artemis all raised their hands. “All opposed?” Zeus asked. This time Athena, Poseidon, Hephestus, and Apollo all raised their hands. A tie. More than ever, Liv wished her father had been present but he and Aphrodite had apparently decided to skip the meeting.

 

“A tie…” Zeus said with a grin “...And since the king of the gods wins the case of ties…”

 

“Perhaps you hadn’t noticed, brother, but I haven’t voted…” Hades said in a silky voice from where he sat. The lord of the dead had sat silent since his early contribution and now was staring intently at Liv.

 

Zeus looked miffed but nodded. “And...your vote?”

 

“I suggest an alternative...if you wish to keep her busy perhaps we should. But not at camp, where her habits might spread to the demi-gods. Instead, what if we make her our messenger to the camps and the children. That would free Iris to attend to our more important messages and her other work.”

 

Zeus blinked at this suggestion and looked around. “You want to give her MORE responsibility?”

 

“It will force her to measure up or fail, and if she fails you can punish her further,” Hades said in a hiss. He had done his best to keep her out of trouble, he was hoping this would at least keep him out of the dog house with Ruby. Liv wanted to protest her punishment but even she knew she needed to be silent now.

 

“Very well, does anyone object to this idea?” Zeus asked. Apollo and Hepehestus raised their hands, but only them.

 

Liv pouted. “Ugh! So I’m stuck babysitting a bunch of kids?!”

 

Zeus just grinned at her and banged his gavel. “It’s decided then.”

 

“Not cool man, not cool at all!” Liv grumbled.

Notes:

Shout out to my friend Vegas, for spitballing with me all the things Liv is the minor goddess of. This story really came to life thanks to him. Speaking of which, if you are looking for good writers and stories to read you should check out his. In fact, a lot of my friends are great writers, so you should check out their wrestling stories. They've got video game stories, star wars stories, stories that will have you in your feels.

Here are their usernames:

AttackPlatypus
ahunter8056
Badgoose
LiteratureLocker
BingoHallOwner
NightsLikeThis
Slytherin_of_the_sith

My friends write great stories, so you should check out their works. There is something for everybody. Be sure to check out my other works as well, I dabble in a couple different fandoms.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4 AKA Things can't possibly get any worse right?

Summary:

Sasha struggles under the weight of the Romans' mistrust. Meanwhile, Charlotte's attempt to bond with Ruby doesn't quite go to plan.

Sasha was starting to get irritated, outside of Bayley, none of her new companions really knew how to sail. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that most of them had never even been on a boat before. It frustrated her to no end because Sasha was having to do multiple jobs due to their lack of experience. Once they had gotten underway, almost immediately Murphy and Blake had both gotten motion sickness. Sasha had banished them under the deck, not wanting them to be throwing up the whole time or worse yet having to clean it up.

 

Bayley had taken charge and assigned Ciampa to be their lookout, which he had eagerly accepted. Sasha knew a cold-hearted antisocial person when she saw one, and his ice-cold eyes unnerved her a bit. Evans and Yim had taken up a sort of sentry duty of their own, without even being asked. Yim, of course, had chosen the spot closest to Ciampa.

 

"You seem a little tense," Bayley said as she walked up behind Sasha.

 

Sasha's grip tightened on the helm, but she forced herself to relax. "I am worried about what is going to happen when we find Charlotte and the other demigods." She couldn't control much of what was going on, so being in charge of navigating helped.

 

"Are you worried that we won't find them?" Bayley asked, still trying to feel out Sasha's motivations. Being the only one outside of Sasha who had experience on a boat, she had taken it upon herself to make sure all their rigging was secure. Bayley wasn't oblivious she could tell that Sasha was off her game. "Or are you worried about what happens when we do find them?"

 

Bayley's question caught Sasha off guard and for a moment the former praetor was silent. She was worried more about the mental state, her friends would be in when she found them. Charlotte and Alexa were strong, but Ruby tended to border closer to insanity than the others due to her who father was.

 

"I have no doubts that Charlotte can take care of herself, she's one of the strongest people I know. I think what I'm worried about is that I don't even know what happened to them. Back on the ship, we didn't even know what hit us. We were getting our butts kicked and served to us on a silver platter. I have never seen somebody so easily cut through the team." Sasha shook her head, wondering if perhaps they had gotten sloppy along the way.

 

Bayley let Sasha talk, knowing it was important for the girl to get it all out. She could feel the fear radiating off of Sasha, an almost anguish at being apart from Charlotte and the others. "I don't imagine it would have been easy to get the jump on you all?"

 

Sasha shook her head, trying to think where they might have gone wrong. "We fought like a well-oiled machine, but something happened. We got caught sleeping and we paid the price. I would have died if it wasn't for Ruby. She saved my life, I just hope it didn’t cost her own life in the end."

 

"Nobody blames you for what happened before-" Bayley trailed off when Sasha leveled her with a look of disbelief. "Okay so maybe some people are going to be suspicious of you, but I believe you. I don't think you would have betrayed Charlotte and Ruby."

 

Sasha glanced back out at the water and frowned. "They saved my life. You know as well as I do, that my life was forfeit when I attacked Hades. I was so stupid, I caused so much pain..."

 

"You let him go in the end." Bayley pointed out, not wanting Sasha to go start dwelling on the past. It wasn't going to help them find Charlotte any faster. "We have to focus on the now, that's what is going to help us find where your ship went down, and where the others might be."

 

"That's a good point. This trip is going to go faster if we get our little rescue team ready. I doubt any of them know how to fight on the seas and they don't know how to sail correctly." Sasha knew that they needed to bring the others up to speed, otherwise they'd be useless in a fight.

 

Bayley gently nudged Sasha out of the way and took over control of the helm. "Well, it looks like it's time for Praetor Sasha to make a comeback. These are Romans are they not? Make them fall in line." Bayley said with a hint of a smile. She was thinking that if she gave Sasha something to do it would put the girl's mind at ease.

 

Sasha took a shaky breath, trying to remember how it felt to be in control of anything. "Alright, that I can do."

 

----

Charlotte was starting to get a little worried, she had sent Sarah and Alexa out on a scouting mission and the girls hadn't come back yet. After they had found a way out of the cavern, Charlotte had been the one to insist they set up a base camp. Close enough to the water they could see when ships passed by, but still, far enough back they could hide if they needed too. From her time in the legion, Charlotte had learned to dig in and make something out essentially nothing, but she wasn't feeling too optimistic.

 

There was no real telling of how long they had been on the island and it seemed like time was passing slowly there. Everything was just feeling really off and it greatly unnerved the praetor. Worse of all they didn't have any of their weapons, aside from a dagger that had been Alexa had strapped her thigh. Sarah had found a long stick and thanks to some quick thinking had fastened it into a sort of spear. She had promised to try and make more, but for right now, the makeshift spear and dagger were all they had.

 

Ruby was sitting with her back against a large boulder, looking even more moody than usual. Ever since she had fully woken up and regained some of her strength, she had been in a sour mood.

 

"How are you feeling?" Charlotte asked her.

 

Ruby slowly shifted her attention from glaring at a tree trunk to glaring at Charlotte. "The same as the last time you asked me - five minutes ago."

 

Charlotte sighed heavily and shrugged. "I am sorry, there isn't much to do here."

 

"Look you should know by now that I don't really do bonding. After two years of friendship, we're probably as close as we're going to get." Ruby said sharply. The whole incident with almost seeing Liv had her on edge. There wasn't a day that went by, where she didn't miss her best friend. Ruby didn't need Charlotte trying to psycho-analyze her or act overly friendly.

 

Ruby's words stung but Charlotte did her best to ignore them. "Are you feeling well enough to shadow travel yet?"

 

"If I was strong enough to shadow travel do you think we'd be here?" Ruby snapped, her frustration boiling over.

 

Charlotte’s eyes flashed dangerously and for a moment she was contemplating decking Ruby right in the face. Charlotte normally kept her temper under wraps but Ruby was pushing her buttons.

 

“I get that you’re tired and grouchy but you don’t need to take it out on me,” Charlotte said softly.

 

Ruby looked like she was about to pop right back off with a cutting comment of her own, but deflated. She knew it wasn’t Charlotte’s fault that she was angry or upset. “I’m sorry, things just aren’t going well.”

 

Charlotte gave her a sympathetic look. “I get it Rue, but we’ll get out of this mess. We always do.” The blonde said, ignoring the way that Ruby was looking at her devoid of any hope.

 

It was at that point that Alexa and Sarah cut back through the undergrowth, both of them panting as they slid to a stop in front of the group.

 

“We gotta go, come on,” Sarah said as she immediately began tugging the injured members of their group up and off the ground.

 

“What’s going on?” Charlotte asked, having never seen Alexa or Sarah looking this unnerved.

 

Alexa shared a look with Sarah, before meeting Charlotte’s gaze. “There is some good news and there is some bad news. I figured out what island we’re on…”

 

Ruby scowled and struggled to her feet. “What’s the bad news?” She questioned, wishing the smaller girl would get to the point already.

 

“We’re not alone on the island. It belongs to Calypso.” Alexa explained.

 

It took Charlotte’s mind a moment to catch up with her, but when it did she quickly shot to her feet. She had done intensive research on the travels of Odysseus and this specific island. “We gotta go last time I heard, this island was occupied by Amazons.”

 

“Ama-” Ruby didn’t get to finish what she was saying as a dart hit her right in the throat. She was passed out before she even hit the ground.

 

Sarah whirled around trying to figure out who was shooting poison darts at them. It took two darts before she finally hit the floor.

 

Charlotte was starting to have a bit of a flashback as memories from the ship flooded back. Something equivalent had happened on the boat, her group had been caught by surprise and they had been defeated.

 

Charlotte ran forward and grabbed the spear that Sarah dropped, taking it and charging into the bushes. “Stop being a coward and fight me.” Charlotte roared, a challenge evident in her voice.

 

The only response was a dart hitting her right in the thigh. She plucked her it out, dropping to her knees as figures slowly bled from the shadows and trees. The last thing she saw was a girl with choppy hair kicking the spear out of her hand.

 

Then like the rest of her friends, her world went dark.

Notes:

Sorry for the shorter chapter, I was trying to move some of the pieces of the puzzle into better locations so that the story can really start rolling. I also wanted to get something out for christmas. Merry Christmas everybody!

- Relentlass

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Aka do I know you?

Summary:

Ruby and the others find out who kidnapped them, only to be rescued by the one person Ruby thought she'd never see again. Except this person doesn't remember her at all. Also what is this about the start of Ragnarok?

The bright sun was making it hard to see, Ruby’s eyes felt like they were on fire. The upside was that she was finally feeling a little more rested. She tried to avert her gaze from the sun and make sense of her surroundings. The daughter of Hades could see her friends tied up around her, though none of them looked to be actually injured.

 

It took a while for her to make sense of where they were, it seemed to be a courtyard attached to the ruins of a resort. The paint was peeling off the wall, the walls themselves cracked in various locations. Ruby and all of her friends were tied to support beams that lined the borders of the courtyard. She reached a foot out and kicked Alexa right in the thigh. She felt bad for it but the petite blonde was the closest to her.

 

Alexa’s head jolted up and she groaned. “Where are we at?”

 

“I am not totally sure. I think we’re being held prisoner by Amazons, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.” Ruby said, trying to recall her memories. She could feel her powers starting to return to her, but she didn’t want to use them quite yet. She wasn’t sure if she could shadow travel while attached to a support beam.

 

Ruby watched as Alexa struggled against the ropes that had her tied to her own post. Ruby gritted her teeth, trying to wiggle against her own restrained.

 

“I wouldn’t do that.”

 

Ruby frowned at the voice, it was almost familiar but not quite. A female figure emerged from the edge of the courtyard where they had been waiting in the shadows. Their choppy hair was dark and choppy, Ruby was almost digging the girl’s aesthetic.

 

“Who are you?” Ruby asked softly.

 

“My name is Thalia Grace. I’m a Hunter of Artemis, the second-in-command to the goddess herself.” Thalia explained, before regarding Ruby carefully. "I am sorry if my fellow Hunters hurt you, that was never the plan."

 

“I thought we got taken by Amazons,” Alexa argued, still struggling against her restraints.

 

Thalia turned her attention to Alexa. “The Amazons are here, we were having a meeting when you all appeared on this island. We’ve been tracking you down for days, we saw the wreckage of a ship and weren’t sure if there were any survivors.”

 

“I didn’t know the Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons got along, is this a new thing?” Alexa questioned. The daughter of Athena had spent lots of time researching different fighting groups in an attempt to gain her mother's favor. Athena always did love a good battle strategy.

 

“They usually don’t, but I assume something special has brought you all together.” Ruby was thinking back to her father and the throne. Trouble was coming, she could fill it. She hadn’t had this big of an inkling for almost two years, but she could feel it now. Just a wave of uneasiness that seemed to run through her.

 

“You are correct, something big is coming. Something that has brought us together, an end of the world scenario.” Thalia answered, glancing skyward.

 

“Could you untie us at least or untie our friends,” Alexa asked, nodding to where Charlotte, Sarah, and the others were bound to the other support post. They looked like they were finally starting to wake up and come around.

 

Ruby nodded in agreement. “We deserve to be untied, we have no weapons.” She pointed out.

 

“She had a knife and the other one had a crude spear.” Thalia pointed out, but she was smiling. She knelt down to untie them when something or rather someone came crashing into the courtyard.

 

An explosion of shattered roofing tile, brick wall and dust exploded in the courtyard, and when the smoke finally cleared, Ruby felt her jaw drop in disbelief. There was now a chariot in the middle of the courtyard pulled by what looked to be pigs with wings. The person riding in the chariot took off a motorcycle helmet, shaking out their long pink and blonde hair.

 

"Well, that could have been smoother." The person said, shaking their head. "Oh well, you live and you learn."

 

“Liv?”

 

It had been two very long years since Ruby had actually gotten a long look at Liv. Her last real memory was holding her best friend as she bled out. Around the courtyard, the ground began to shake as a torrent of emotions welled up inside the daughter of Hades.

 

“That’s my name don’t wear it out.” Liv flashed a dazzling grin in Ruby’s direction. “See I knew somebody would know my name, I totally have followers. Though these days you can call me Goddess Olivia. Suck on that one Uncle!” Liv called, sticking her tongue out towards the heavens.

 

Sarah who had finally come to was tugging at her restraints. “Liv you’re alive!”

 

"Why wouldn't I be?" Liv looked confused and then glanced at Thalia who had pulled a sword. “I don’t know why you are all acting like this, it’s weird but I appreciate the support. Also, you can put that weapon away, I am not here to fight anybody, I’m here to help.” Liv said, plucking a blue jolly rancher from her pocket. She unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.

 

Ruby looked like she had seen a ghost. “Free me now!” She demanded to Thalia. She was desperate to get at Liv, to see up close if it was really her.

 

“Is it actually her or are we being tricked?” Alexa asked, she had heard about shape-shifting monsters, had even fought a few during her time on the ship. “Also are those flying Pigs?”

 

“They’re pigasi.” Liv wandered over to Ruby and untied her, giving her a wink. “Nice to meet a fan. The pigasi is one of the many things I am the goddess of.”

 

“Minor Goddess!” Thalia growled pointedly. She knew her liege Goddess Artemis didn’t like Liv very much.

 

Liv rolled her eyes. “Potato and fries man. Same thing, both delicious and great.” She said with a shrug.

 

Ruby launched herself at Liv, tackling her into a hug. Ruby didn’t much care for public displays of affection, but this was Liv. “I thought I lost you,” Ruby whispered, her fingers tracing Liv’s jawline.

 

“Um no touching me please,” Liv said trying to push Ruby back. “I don’t know you like that. I can see why they had you tied up, you’re a little crazy one aren’t you?”

 

Ruby looked like she had been struck. “Y-you don’t know who I am?” She asked, her voice quivering.

 

Liv looked like she had a headache for a moment and then shook her head. “Nope, can’t say I do. Never met you before.” She turned to look at Thalia. “Tell your leader, I’m taking these demigods.”

 

“Lady Artemis won’t be happy,” Thalia said crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“She has bigger fish to fry doesn’t she?” Liv snapped her fingers, freeing the rest of the group from their restraints.

 

Alexa shot to her feet and eyed Liv. “Why are you taking us? We watched you die...well some of us did.” Alexa hadn’t been there, but she had grieved for Liv like the rest of the Greeks.

 

Liv again flinched at the memory. “Stoppit, stop saying that.” She demanded, rubbing her temples. “You’re giving me a headache. I don’t know you.” She popped another jolly rancher into her mouth and walked back to her chariot.

 

Ruby was staring at her former best friend, trying to not act hurt by the fact that Liv didn’t remember her. She remembered her conversation with her father a few days prior:

---

“I thought I saw Liv.” Ruby murmured, memories of her best friend flashed in her mind. “She was sitting on your throne.”

 

The Dark God grimace at that. “She tends to do that, that girl makes herself the minor goddess of everything. That's the last time I agree to grant some pesky demigod immortality.”

 

“Wait?! She was here?” Ruby asked, jolting upright. Her vision swam and for a second Ruby thought she might pass out again but it didn't matter. Something else was coursing through her, something she hadn't felt for almost two years - Hope.

 

She hadn’t seen her best friend in a while, not since Liv had been made a permanent messenger between the camps. All the Gods had agreed to make her immortal, but that meant that Ruby never got to see her friend. If seeing Liv die was painful, losing her like this was somehow worse.

 

Hades refused to meet Ruby’s eyes. “I sent her away child, she had messages to deliver or try to deliver, she’s always getting sidetracked.” He rolled his eyes at that.

 

Ruby frowned at him. “Why did you send her away, I wanted to see her.”

 

The God of the Underworld gave Ruby a pained look. “Why must you make this hard on yourself. You have to let her go, she doesn’t remember you, Ruby.”

 

“I’ll make her remember, she’s my best friend. I just need to be given the chance.” Ruby pleaded with him.

 

Hades shook his head, “Ruby she’s a minor goddess now with important things to do. She can’t interfere with your issues. It’s best to leave her alone, one day when you die and you truly are gone, you will be allowed to live in my palace. Then I will allow you to see her, not a moment sooner.” Hades warned.

-----

Liv could feel the demi-gods staring at her. She knew she should remember them, but she couldn’t. The dark-haired one had the stink of Hades on her, yet there was something inside of her that tugged at Liv.

 

“You don’t remember me? It’s me Liv, it’s Ruby. You are my best friend.” Ruby’s tone had taken on a pleading edge to it. "We met at camp Half-blood, we were partners in crime. You were really the only friend I had all those years. It was you and me against the world."

 

Liv flinched as memories rolled through her mind, memories of sitting in a cabin. Images of her and Ruby running through the strawberry fields. Ruby always sneaking her extra candy or holding her hand when she was scared. They were hazy and far away. “Stop trying to make me remember. Whoever you think I was, that’s no longer who I am. The old me is dead and gone, you can't bring it back so stop trying.”

 

Ruby looked like she was about to cry or even protest, but instead, the daughter of Hades just let out a heavy sigh, turning away from Liv to help the other demigods.

 

“I don’t mean to be a bother, but we need to get out of here. I was sent to assemble a team of Demi-Gods and only half of you are here.” Liv said, glancing at her wrist where a watch should have been.

 

Zeus himself had punished Liv by demanding she act as the messenger between the Gods and the camps. But something worse was coming and Liv could feel it. She stooped down in front of one of her flying pigs and gently patted its head.

 

“Mr. Piggles, we’re going to need to stick together. I don’t know what’s going on, but something big is going to happen.” Liv mumbled, before standing back up. She could see the demigods staring at her and waiting for her instructions.

 

Thalia Grace stepped forward prepared to tell Liv to back off, she didn’t care if the blonde was a minor goddess or not. “Lady Artemis wouldn’t want you to take them.”

 

“Well, I don’t see her around to stop me.” Liv sounded almost bored and nodded to the group. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze, but please come to the chariot.” Liv hit the chariot with her hand, pressing a button and causing it to transform into a large SUV-looking thing, still pulled by the pigasi.

 

“Where did you learn how to do that one?” Alexa asked as she and Ruby struggled to carry Charlotte who was barely starting to come around.

 

Liv gave a smug little grin. “Would you believe it if I told you Apollo taught me that one? Now hop in, we have to make another stop.”

 

Sarah studied Liv for a second. “Where is this other stop? Also, we're kind of without weapons. So whatever monster or thing we're supposed to fight, we're kind of at a disadvantage.” She pointed out.

 

“We have a couple of other demigods to pick up. I do believe you are familiar with them, Sasha and Bayley? Also, you're with a goddess, I'll make sure you have weapons.” Liv sounded almost bored. She climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV and glanced into the mirror to make sure everybody was all buckled up. “We are only trying to prevent Ragnorok from starting. You’re Norse, do you know anything about that?”

 

Sarah blanched at the news, if Ragnorok was really starting then she felt like she needed to be in Valhalla with the other Einherjar. “Are you sure about this?”

 

“Sasha is alive?” Alexa asked looking shocked, not caring that she was interrupting. Sasha being confirmed alive was big news and while Alexa wouldn't admit it, she was secretly very thankful.

 

Liv started the car. “When we pick up the others I’ll explain what I know. I think the Gods are doubting you, they sent me to help.”

 

Ruby helped the last of their group into the car. She was still trying to process the fact that she was seeing Liv again. It gave her an uneasy feeling that the Gods had been denying anybody access to Liv and then all of a sudden they sent her to help.

 

“What’s going on?” Charlotte mumbled rubbing her head. She had a headache. “How is Liv here?”

 

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling we’re going to find out. She says she’s taking us to rescue Bayley and Sasha. I think she’ll explain everything then once we’re all together.” Ruby said, trying to get a read on the situation. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

Notes:

Welp Liv is alive-ish and she's reunited with Rue and everybody else, but it doesn't feel so good. Because holy memory loss, this ride is about to get bumpy.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 AKA It's raining jolly ranchers

Summary:

Liv attempts to bring all the demigods in the same place, but that goes as well as you might expect which is super angsty.

“Are we sure it’s really her?” Charlotte asked quietly, her eyes glued to the back of Liv’s head. The pink-haired demigod looked like Liv Morgan, even sounded like her too, but Charlotte was starting to have her doubt. She could see the pain in Ruby’s eyes as her friend stared heartbrokenly at Liv. She hadn't witnessed this look in Ruby's eyes since Liv had died, but Charlotte was convinced that a piece of Ruby had died that day too.

 

“It’s her alright,” Ruby said quietly almost feeling defeated about the whole thing. She finally had Liv back within arms reach and her best friend didn’t even remember her. If losing her once had sucked, losing her like this absolutely gutted her.

 

Sarah cleared her throat. “I get we are all upset about this, but we have bigger concerns. If Liv is telling the truth Ragnorak is coming. We have to be prepared. We didn’t capture all of Loki’s minions, this could be his fault.” She pointed out.

 

“Sarah’s right. We still have to find Sasha and Bayley, not to mention alert the other camps.” Alexa was already switching into her planner-mode. As the daughter of Athena, she liked to be organized. Back when Liv had been a regular demigod she had always joked to Alexa that she was some twisted love child of both Aphrodite and Athena. "Liv is important, but there isn't much we can do about her being a minor goddess, that's the least of our concerns." Alexa hated to be so clinical about things but that just how it was.

 

The rest of their traveling companions weren’t doing so well, Charlotte was feeling a bit anxious about forcing them to fight again. Between getting their butts kicked on the ships and then being drugged by Thalia and her forces, Charlotte wasn’t sure how much more her ragtag group could take.

 

“We need to figure out what our next move is,” Ruby said deciding for the moment to try and shelve her feelings. She wasn’t going to stop trying to get Liv to remember her, but they did have more pressing concerns at the moment. As much as it pained her, she could see the big picture.

 

Liv had been listening in on their conversation and chose this moment to speak up. “We’re almost there.”

 

“How can you even tell, we’re in a chariot turned SUV pulled by flying pigs, how do you even know where we are?” Alexa questioned, trying to process everything.

 

It was true that they had been flying above the clouds for a while, but it was Charlotte who had the distinct feeling that they were still over the Atlantic Ocean. “I can tell we’re over water,” Charlotte whispered to Alexa.

 

“Honestly I’d like my feet to be on the ground,” Sarah muttered, she preferred fighting on the ground. “I think I’ve had enough time being a ship or in the air for a while.” The Einherjar was starting to feel a little airsick.

 

Liv glanced in the rearview mirror that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago and locked eyes with the group. “Trust me when I say I know. I’m a minor goddess, it’s my job to know these things. Buckle your seatbelts, we’re here.” She said and with that jerked the wheel causing the chariot to plummet down out of the sky towards the rippling waves.

----

“I thought you said it was going to be smooth sailing,” Sasha muttered to Bayley as she chopped and slashed at the tentacles of a very angry looking sea monster. A sea monster that seemed very intent on getting its tentacles around them all. “You jinxed us, Martinez.”

 

Bayley shot a tiny glare the other girl’s way. “Isn’t this your second ship to get attacked by an unseen force? Less talking more slashing Banks.” Bayley’s face was splattered with sweat and flushed with exhaustion.

 

The ship’s crew had been fighting the monster for close to thirty minutes, but every time she thought they had made progress, the monster would come back even more aggressively.

 

Bayley had been on watch but even she hadn’t seen the attack coming. Being with the Roman legion had taught her to prepare for anything though and it had also taught her that just about anything could be used as a weapon if somebody was desperate enough.

 

One of the tentacles hit Bayley hard in the side, almost throwing her overboard. Her hand caught on the railing, her arm almost being pulled out of the socket as she roughly hit the side of the ship.

 

Sasha looked horrified, slashing and trying to get to Bayley. She grabbed the other demigod’s hand, trying to pull her back up while still trying to fight off the creature. Sasha could feel Bayley slipping through her fingers and tried to find purchase by grabbing her forearm.

 

“Don’t let go, Bayley.” Sasha urged trying to pull Bayley back up on the ship.

 

“Wasn’t planning on it Banks,” Bayley said, the fear evident in her eyes. She could see one of the creatures' tentacles starting to slither towards her to try and drag her and Sasha the rest of the way overboard. “Hurry.” She sounded almost panicked now.

 

Right as the creature was about to grab Sasha, it started to rain above it. Except it wasn’t water, but instead the creature was being pelted with some kind of candy. The candy skittered towards Sasha and Bayley. Sasha finally tugged Bayley back over the railing and frowned at the candy.

 

“Are those Jolly ranchers?” Sasha asked, picking up a piece of the blue hard candy off the wooden deck of the ship

 

Sasha’s question was answered as Liv Morgan’s chariot armed with angry flying pigs and battle-tested demi gods landed on the deck. Liv Morgan stepped off the chariot and held out a hand summoning a flaming sword. It had been a gift from Hestaphus, which Liv now used to run at the monster and drive the sword through its eye.

 

The monster let out a hiss as it began to dissolve but apparently, Liv wasn’t done, because she charged it again, slashing at the different tentacles until nothing was left from the creature except monster dust.

 

The blood lust was evident in Liv’s eyes, the minor goddess’ form shining brightly enough to make most of the demigods flinch away or at the very least avert their eyes. Liv glanced in their direction, before marching back to her chariot and climbed back aboard. She sheathed her sword and took a deep breath.

 

“I’ll scout ahead, make sure that was the only monster in the vicinity, but when I get back we are all going to have a long talk,” Liv warned, snatching a blue jolly rancher off the ground and popping it into her mouth, before taking off.

 

Bayley was stunned at the sight of Liv, unsure if she should believe her eyes. However, her attention was soon drawn to the people that Liv had brought with her. It appeared that the minor goddess hadn’t come alone but had found the exact people they had been looking for.

 

Charlotte, Sarah, Ruby, Alexa and a few people that Bayley didn’t know stood on the deck looking just as shell shocked as she was.

 

Sasha felt like her knees were going to give out as she was reunited with the people she had spent the last two years with. She dropped her gladius which wasn’t very Roman of her, but she didn’t care. She ran towards them and launched herself at Charlotte, burying her face into the blonde’s neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

“I thought I lost you…” Sasha breathed out, unable to even process everything she was feeling. She felt so relieved that they had survived. Her gaze flickered to Ruby, and she moved to hug the girl who had saved her life multiple times over.

 

Ruby looked utterly uncomfortable, everything that had happened to her was weighing heavily on her. She awkwardly patted Sasha’s back before pulling away. “I’m sorry, I need to check on the others.” She was clearly trembling under the weight of her emotions.

 

"Ruby?" Sasha looked a little hurt by the girl's reaction. Sasha wasn't the type to be super vulnerable with her emotions and Ruby's response to her. Ruby gave her a pained look but walked away, not ready to talk to Sasha.

 

“It’s not you, she’s struggling. We all are.” Charlotte said, pulling Sasha back into a hug. They had become close friends and she felt equally relieved that Sasha had survived. She ran her fingers through Sasha’s hair and took a deep breath. “I am glad you’re okay Sash, I thought I lost you too. I am glad you’re okay.”

 

“She missed you a lot like she wouldn’t shut up about it,” Alexa said with a huff, enjoying the chance to tease the normally put together and in control leader.

 

Charlotte shot the tinier blonde a dirty look. “It wasn’t like that.” She warned

 

“It kind of was,” Sarah said smirking smugly, before looking at Sasha. “Glad you’re okay, we were all worried.”

 

Sasha chuckled and patted Charlotte’s back. “Missed you a lot too blondie. It seems that we have some things to catch up on.” Sasha said noticing for the first time that it didn’t look like everybody had made it from the original ship, there were some people missing. A solemn look crossed the former praetor’s face as she exchanged a knowing look with Charlotte.

 

"You know you kind of hurt Banks' feelings back there."

 

Ruby glanced at Bayley, knowing she shouldn't have been surprised that Bayley had been the one to hunt her down. Ruby had gone to the opposite side of the ship, trying to put some distance between her and the others. She was feeling a lot of complicated emotions and didn't want to hurt anybody while she was processing.

 

"I'm surprised that you care about Sasha." Ruby retorted, trying to hide behind her walls of deflection.

 

Bayley arched a brow at her as if to ask if Ruby really wanted to go that route. "You should know by now Ruby that you acting like this doesn't work. The lone wolf persona that you're trying to pull with me and the people that care about you never really works in your favor." Bayley said, trying to nip Ruby's attitude in the bud.

 

"I'll apologize to Sasha in a little bit. I just am going through a lot, I mean we all are I guess.." Ruby said, staring out at the water. The ripples of the waves seemed to reflect her mood.

 

Bayley moved up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to send her calming vibes to soothe the storm that was raging inside of Ruby. "Is this about Liv? It's hard to see her again isn't it?"

 

Ruby's silence was enough of an answer, but Bayley decided to just give her a moment. She could feel the sadness radiating off of the daughter of Hades. Bayley wasn't even sure if she could say anything to make it better, but she was spared from having to say anything as Liv landed her chariot back on the deck.

 

Now that Liv was back near them, Bayley got a good look at her. The energy radiating off of Liv wasn't like anything that Bayley had ever felt before and it left her feeling a little off-kilter. She could also feel Ruby tensing under her hand and was hit with another wave of overwhelming sadness.

 

Liv glanced in their direction, before quickly looking away when she saw Bayley's hand on Ruby's shoulder. "We have a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to do so. I was sent down here to help you guys, but I can't help you all if Ragnarok starts before we're even prepared. So come gather around, we should get started and I brought candy." Liv said waving her hand to make a large bowl of candy appear.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7 AKA It's Liv's world and we're all just living in it.

Summary:

After saving the demigods, Liv makes a pitstop in Olympus to get her wits about her and to get a break from her pesky new charges. Along the way, she has to deal with finding a new godly weapon and confront a painful memory or two.

As Liv got a final look at the faces of the demigods around her, she rolled her eyes muttering something about going back to Olympus for a few seconds. She seriously needed a break from these teeny boppers. They were kind of a bunch of downers, she had explained what she knew about Ragnarok but that wasn't a lot. The teenagers looked like she had kicked their puppy which made the minor goddess feel somewhat guilty. It wasn't her fault that the end of the world was coming, it wasn't as if she could delay it. Besides this, the dark-haired one kept staring at Liv in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. All in all, she was happy that she had a reason to go home. Even if it was only for a short time.

 

Liv found an irate Goddess of the Hunt waiting for her when she returned to Mt. Olympus. This wasn’t unusual in itself, Artemis was often annoyed with her. But somehow the goddess, in the form of a young girl, was giving off an air that made it seem like today’s argument would be extra spirited. And, frankly, Liv wasn’t in the mood.

 

“Hey, Arty, what’s going on girl?” Liv said as she tried to walk past the goddess. But Artemis moved to block her path.

 

“How many times must I tell you, upstart, that my name is not ‘Arty’?”

 

“Hmm...like...five more times? Probably?” Liv suggested.

 

“I am not amused, Olivia!” Artemis snapped as she put her fists on her hips.

 

“Who are you? My mom?” Liv muttered, growing irritated at the other Goddess.

 

“My sanctuary is destroyed! What do you have to say for yourself?!” Artemis demanded. Before Liv could happen a loud airhorn sounded from somewhere higher up the mountain. Smirking, Liv shrugged at Artemis.

 

“Sorry, you know the rules!”

 

“This is absurd! I will not be-” Artemis started to say but she was speaking to air. Liv had vanished with a pop. In her place there sat a can of shaving cream and a razer on the ground. Bending down, Artemis picked up the note that was leaning against the can. It read: ‘PS - Sweetie, you have some problem areas that could use these’.

 

Artemis snarled as she squeezed the note into a ball in her fist. The paper was actually starting to smoke when there was another pop followed by a clang. Looking down, Artemis found herself staring at a set of hedge clippers lying beside the razor and shaving cream. Attached to these by a pink bow was another note.

 

‘PPS - In case the other stuff doesn’t work’

----------

Liv reappeared a moment later in her home on Olympus.

 

Ever since the Jackson reform acts, every god and goddess, even the minor ones, got their own dwelling on Olympus. Liv had seized this opportunity and fashioned herself perhaps the most eye-catching dwelling on Olympus. Most of the homes inhabited by various gods and goddesses were made of white marble with columns and porticos. Liv had...gone a different direction.

 

If one had to describe the place succinctly the term would probably be...amusement park. A huge pink sign with gold letters stood in front, the letters blinking like a neon sign. The sign read: ‘Liv Land’. In a bit of physics-defying magic, the wall surrounding Liv Land probably wasn’t longer than thirty or forty yards. Yet, visible behind it, was a large roller coaster, water slide, treetop village, a skyscraper, a stadium, and castle. At all times there were fireworks going off overhead and the occasional Pigasi flapping lazily through the air.

 

Liv Land was a very divisive topic on Olympus. Many thought it was a gaudy eyesore. The most vocal among these was Hera and Artemis. On the other hand, the place was very popular among the minor deities as well as Olympians like Hephestus and Apollo. In particular, the Liv Land nightclub called ‘So Extra’ was usually full of divine beings enjoying themselves.

 

It was inside So Extra that Liv materialized. As the minor goddess of spontaneous dance parties, whenever the airhorn sounded on Olympus she automatically appeared here. As soon as she did she began dancing to the music and reveling in the flashing lights. The club was mostly empty except for a few minor deities and Dionysus who was asleep at the bar. Other than these the only living things in evidence were the Pigasi staff.

 

“Thank you, Bellingham!” Liv called to the Pigasi hovering near the dance party button.

 

“Of course, ma’am. It is always my pleasure to serve. Is there any other way I might be of service to you?” the Pigasi asked as he floated toward her on his small wings. He spoke with perfect Oxbridge diction.

 

“You could talk in front of someone else, so they don’t all think I’m crazy?” Liv suggested.

 

“Oh dear, mistress. I’m afraid I am not at liberty to do so.”

 

“But you’re my butler!”

 

“Indeed ma’am and may I say what a distinct pleasure it is to fill this esteemed post. However, I fear I am bound by the decisions of the Pigasi council,” Bellingham explained with what sounded like real regret.

 

“Yeah, yeah…” Liv muttered. You create a flying pig and this was the kind of gratitude you got from them. Liv danced for a while longer before remembering that she actually did have something to be doing. Hurrying out of the club she left Liv land and made her way to Hephestus’ forge. Where she found the god of the forge hard at work, as usual.

 

Liv indulged herself in a few minutes of watching silently. It was only when she realized she’d been biting her lip that she shook her head and stepped forward. “Excuse me? Festus?”

 

“I told you not to call me that, blondie,” the god said without turning away from the metal he was hammering.

 

Liv giggled. “My hair really is blonde…” She stared for a moment before she cleared her throat “...I had a question for you.” She got a grunt in response which she took to be affirmative. “Could you tell me what your return policy is?”

 

Hephestus turned and glowered at her. “Excuse me?”

 

“I want to return the flaming sword, it’s really not me.”

 

“This isn’t Amazon, I don’t do returns. Every god and goddess gets one weapon from my forge,” Hephestus said. He sounded like his usual grumpy self but Liv knew that he actually liked her.

 

“You wish you were as good as Amazon,” She said happily.

 

The god of the Forge grunted and then fell silent for a few moments before he answered. “Yeah...yeah, I do.”

 

“What if it’s not a return, can you like...mod it?” Liv asked in a sing-song voice that usually worked for her to get her way from Hephestus. She knew she’d won by the way his shoulder sagged but it seemed he wanted to argue a bit longer.

 

“Can’t you see I’m busy here, blondie?”

 

“Pleaseeeee, Festus, for me?” Liv asked as she batted her eyes. Hephestus wasn’t looking at her but given that he was an Olympian she knew he’d be aware of the gesture.

 

“Fine…” He muttered, “...come back tomorrow.”

 

“You’re the best!” Liv cheered as she scampered out of the forge.

----------

Time moved differently on Olympus than it did in the mortal world. Though Liv spent a restful night sleeping on a particularly soft cloud, the pack of demigods she’d left on Earth would perceive it as only a few seconds. This meant Liv had time to relax a bit. After a hearty breakfast of blue jolly ranchers with blue jolly rancher juice, she took a step outside and frowned.

 

“What the hell? Hey! Larry-Steve!” she shouted. A moment later, with the sound of rushing tiny wings, a pigasi appeared beside her.

 

“Howdy, boss, what can I do you for?” the pigasi asked in his usual drawl.

 

“Where is my ride? I parked it here!” Liv demanded as she pointed to the empty space where her chariot usually rested.

 

“I don’t rightly know…” Larry-Steve said in a puzzled tone.

 

“Well? Go look for it!”

 

“Yee-haw!” the pigasi whooped as he shot off into the sky. Liv sighed as she watched him go. She regretted being so abrupt with Larry-Steve but at least he hadn’t seemed offended.

 

She knew that Hephestus wouldn’t be working yet so she was forced to kill time. She spent some of her time waiting in the arcade, rode the roller coaster, drew wings on her sneakers with a sharpie, and then spent an hour lazily making bonus fries appear in the bottom of fast food bags on Earth. All in all, she was very grateful when Larry-Steve finally returned along with another pigasi.

 

“I found your wheels boss!” the pigasi said as he landed beside Liv.

 

“Hephestus has your car,” the other Pigasi said in a voice that sounded like it had been heavily autotuned. This was Mr. Piggles, Liv’s first pigasi and probably her best friend on Olympus. She’d been bored when she’d decided on the voice for him.

 

“Why does he need the car?” Liv asked. It wasn’t easy for animals built like the pigasi to shrug, but somehow both Larry-Steve and Mr. Piggles managed it. Liv sighed.

 

“Alright, let’s get down there then.”

-----------

When Liv and her pigasi arrived at Hephestus’ workshop, she was excited. She didn’t know why the god of the forge had wanted her car, but she knew it wouldn’t just be to admire it. That and the fact that she was getting a new weapon today meant that she was about to have a lot of fun whenever she rejoined those demi-gods. By Liv’s calculation, to their perception, she would have been gone for about forty seconds.

 

“Festus?” Liv called when she didn’t see the other god anywhere in the shop.

 

“Don’t call me that!” came the distant reply from behind the shop. Smiling, Liv exited the garage and ran around the outside of the building to find Hephestus standing beside a long table of weapons. When she looked at them, her eyes lit up.

 

“Are these for me?” she squealed as she ran over to the table.

 

“ONE of them is, blondie,” Hephestus grunted as he approached the table from where he’d been standing. It was only then that Liv noticed the two weird bronze statues that were standing near the table. Both looked like Greek soldiers wearing corinthian helmets and chest pieces.

 

Liv pouted but knew the god of the forge wouldn’t budge on this point. So she walked over to the table and inspected the items on display. She ran her fingers over several of them before she picked up a pair of folding fans like a southern belle might hold. Turning to Hephestus Liv raised her eyebrows.

 

“Open them, but point them away from yourself,” He answered. Intrigued, Liv stepped away from the table and turned away from it. With a flick of her wrist, Liv opened one of the fans and very nearly dropped it. The fan bucked in her hand and then, with a surprisingly loud metallic sound, a razor-sharp fan sprung into existence. Beaming, she opened the second fan and turned to Hephestus.

 

“These are dope!”

 

“Go give them a few swings on those,” He replied softly as he pointed at the statues. Liv hurried eagerly over to where the marble figures stood. Positioning herself between them Liv set her feet and began to swing the fan in her right hand toward one of the statues. She had only a moment to see the statue begin to move before she suddenly found herself looking up at the sky from the ground.

 

“What the hell?” She asked in wonderment.

 

“Gotta be faster than that, blondie…” Hephestus said from above her “...those training statues are no joke.”

 

“What?” Liv still didn’t understand what had happened.

 

“The one you swung at split your skull open with his sword,” Hephestus explained as though this were the most normal thing in the world.

 

“WHAT?!” Liv demanded as her hands flew to her head. She found it intact, but her heart was still pounding.

 

“Relax...you’re a minor goddess. You can’t actually die here but I think I did a pretty good job of simulating it,” Hephestus sounded legitimately impressed by his accomplishment. Liv was just annoyed.

 

“You could have told me!” She snapped as she stood and dusted herself off. Turning to where Larry-Steve and Mr. Piggles were hovering, making sniggering sounds. “You two aren’t helping! You could have warned me too!”

 

Neither Pigasi said anything. Hephestus raised an eyebrow at Liv. “Still doing that thing where you pretend they talk?” he asked in a voice that mixed bemusement and exasperation.

 

“They CAN talk they’re just being buttheads!” Liv insisted as she glared at the pigasi. She wasn’t sure why but for some reason they had decided as a group to never speak in front of other gods. This wouldn’t have been an issue if they’d let Liv in on the joke. They hadn’t, so she’d spent several days talking up her pigasi to her friends on Olympus and then when she’d finally been able to show them...nothing.

 

Liv was fairly certain most of the gods already thought she was a little crazy, and she didn’t mind this. She was fun crazy, spontaneously crazy, that sort of thing. But now she was being pushed into the wrong pigeon hole. People were assuming she was ‘crazy guy talking to himself on a park bench crazy’!

 

“Uh-huh…” Hephestus said as he moved the weapons on the table around and selected one “...You know, blondie, you’re a minor goddess now. If you want them to talk, ACTUALLY talk, you can just make them. No need to pretend.”

 

“They CAN talk!” Liv shouted indignantly.

 

“Yeah, sure, whatever. I didn’t think the fans would be your thing. Maybe this is a bit more your speed,” Hephestus said as he held another weapon out to Liv. Despite how frustrated she had been a moment before, Liv felt this emotion melting away as her eyes lit up as she reached for the weapon.

 

“Oh, Festus...yes...YES...one thousand times yes!” She squealed as she brandished the chain wrapped baseball bat. Despite its crude appearance, Liv knew it would never break or weaken. This weapon came from the god of craftsmanship himself.

 

“The chain comes off at your command and could stretch to any length you need..” Hephestus started to stay but Liv held up a finger.

 

“Shh...don’t ruin it…” she said reverentially as she turned the bat in her hands “...now THIS is Jersey…”

 

For a moment, a smile touched Hephestus’ face but he hid it quickly by clearing his throat. “You gotta name it, blondie.”

 

Liv didn’t hesitate. “RATCHET!”

 

Hephestus sighed but waved Liv toward the training statues again. “Give it a shot.”

 

After Liv had spent twenty minutes wrecking the statues, Hephestus called a halt. Liv was pouting about this but then Hephestus told her he needed to show her something in the garage. It was only then that Liv remembered that he had her car/chariot.

 

“What is it?” She asked suspiciously before her eyes widened in alarm. “You didn’t touch the rims did you?!” she demanded.

 

“Nope.”

 

“The chrome?!” She squeaked.

 

Hephestus shook his head. “Nope.”

 

“Oh gods...you didn’t put a muffler on it...did you?!” Liv demanded, horrified and angry in equal measure.

 

“Just relax, blondie, I’ll show ya,” Hephestus said, obviously trying not to look smug. Then he did. If Liv had thought her day couldn’t get better than when she had received ratchet, she was wrong this was even cooler.

 

Not only had he pimped out her chariot but prominently on the front sides were mounted machine guns. "Do they do what I think they do?" Liv asked her voice shaking as she went to check out the new paint job. Liv felt like a kid on Christmas except she had never really had a good Christmas.

 

For a moment Liv was struck by memories of sitting in a cabin with the pesky dark-haired demigod who wouldn't quit staring at her. Ruby or whatever her name was had given Liv a model of a muscle car that she had painted by hand. Liv remembered being disappointed that everybody else in the camp had gotten a gift and she hadn't. Hermes had been ignoring Liv, and her human mother had other expenses and hadn't been able to buy her a gift. In her memory, Liv could see a younger Ruby painstakingly wrapping the gift and making a big show of presenting it to Liv. Ruby had even managed to sneak her some cookies from the mess hall for just the two of them. Despite it being dark in Ruby's cabin, they had spent that Christmas together telling stories and secrets.

 

The memory stung and was tinged with sadness because the demigod had been watching her with this look of utter loyalty and adoration. Liv knew that Ruby wanted her to remember, but Liv wasn't sure she wanted to go back to that. Despite her friendship with Ruby, her time prior to being a minor goddess hadn't been good. There was a reason the other Gods had blocked out her memories. Perhaps in a weird way, it was a mercy.

 

"Yeah, they fire jolly ranchers, just like you want," Hephestus said cutting into her walk down memory lane. He seemed to notice she was a little bit distracted. "You okay there blondie?"

 

Liv shook her head, trying to push those thoughts away. She had to get back to her mission with the demigods. "Yeah just had a weird flashback, nothing to worry about. Thank you for Ratchet and for the new ride. You're the best." She said, leaning up and pressing a kiss to the other God's cheek, before getting onto her chariot.

 

Focusing her powers and summoning her Pigasi so they could pull her new ride, she gave Hephestus one last look. "I owe ya one Festus." She called, before tugging on the reins and heading back to help her demigod charges. If they were going to save the world, then they'd need her help.

Notes:

So first off the majority of this chapter was written by my homie AttackPlatypus, he writes a very convincing and funny Liv. Honestly, most of my stories would be garbage without him, he helps make them so much better and is a great sounding board. That's my homie right there and you should check out his other works.

~ Relentlass.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8 AKA I think we need to split up

Summary:

Liv tells the group about the upcoming Ragnorok and they group decided to split up. Charlotte and Bayley reunite with some family members and things aren't going to swell at Camp Half-blood.

As Liv's form flickered out of the view of the demigods only to reappear a few seconds later, she was sporting a different weapon. Gone was the flaming sword she had used to slay the sea monster that had been attacking the ship, replaced instead with a baseball bat wrapped in chains. It looked ghetto, like something one might find in a sort of zombie apocalypse movie.

 

“Did you seriously just go to Olympus for a weapon and outfit change?” Charlotte asked, raising a brow, the irritation evident in the former praetor’s voice. Charlotte and the others were clearly unimpressed by Liv abandoning them just for a wardrobe change.

 

“So what if I did? I feel like the bat suits me more. It even has a chain on it! Besides not that you would know anything about it, but a grand adventure requires a grand outfit.” Liv shrugged and glanced around at the faces of the other assembled demigods. They weren’t the avengers that was for sure, but they had been picked for a reason. Liv just hoped that they’d be able to come together to defeat the upcoming threat.

 

“You mentioned something about Ragnarok and preparing for it. What do you know?” Ruby interjected, her eyes locking with Liv’s. There were so many questions she wanted to ask the minor goddess but since Liv didn’t seem keen on answering them, Ruby was trying to stick to things Liv would respond too. She was trying to push her own feelings to the side and ignore the knife that felt like it had lodged itself in her heart.

 

“Ragnarok seems more my area of expertise,” Sarah interjected. She was the sole Einherjar on the ship and therefore the most qualified. “If this is going to happen, then I need to go home to Hotel Valhalla. Odin and the Norse Gods will need every Einherjar they can get. I made a vow.”

 

Liv looked annoyed that everybody was interrupting her and not letting her talk. She leveled Sarah with a pointed look and snapped her figures to get everybody’s attention back on her. “Look I am not a god of prophecy but the first thing we need to do is sure up the defenses. There are way too many demigods on this boat. You are going to attract some really bad things.” Liv warned.

 

Bayley exchanged a look with Charlotte and Sasha before clearing her throat. “You’re right, but if we’re going to split up the group we need to have a plan. If Ragnarok is coming then we need to warn the different camps and get ahead of things..”

 

“I’ll go to Hotel Valhalla. Ruby, are you going to come with me?” Sarah asked, looking at the daughter of Hades. She knew how important it was to delay the upcoming apocalypse and there was nobody else Sarah wanted at her side. Ruby didn’t say anything, she just nodded in agreement. "What about you Alexa, we could always use a brain."

 

The pint-sized blonde didn't hesitate, as the daughter of Athena, she enjoyed planning out battle strategies. "I am curious enough to go, yeah I'll come with you two," Alexa replied.

 

“If you three are going to hotel Valhalla, then I’d like to go to the Greek Camp. I haven’t been home in over two years.” Bayley said. If the end was going to come, then she wanted to see her friends and her half-siblings one last time.

 

Charlotte swallowed hard as Bayley’s words reminded her of Reid. “I’ll go with you Bayley, Sasha you’re with us.”

 

Sasha shrugged her shoulders but didn't dispute what the blonde had said. “What about everybody else?” She questioned, nodding to the other demigods. Most of them looked scared and confused as well. She didn’t blame them, fighting a huge sea monster would cause even seasoned quest-takers to panic.

 

Liv scowled at Sasha, her hands tightened into fists at her sides. “Send the Romans back to Camp Jupiter. They can warn the Praetors about what is going on. The rest just split them among the two groups going to Camp Halfblood and Hotel Valhalla.” Liv grumbled, rubbing at her temples. She had forgotten how taxing being around the mortals could be. She was now beginning to understand why the other Gods tended to hideout all the time.

 

“Okay, but how are we going to do all of this? We only have one ship and you’re trying to send three groups to different places.” Ruby pointed out, wondering what Liv’s big plan was. As nice as it was to see her former best friend, it was incredibly painful for Ruby. It hurt that Liv wouldn’t look her in the eyes, and there was a coldness about the goddess that Ruby didn’t recognize.

 

“Ugh, must I do everything myself? Are you really all that helpless, I mean how did you all survive the last time.” Liv snapped angrily before she turned to look at Sarah. “Call on the all-father or your valkyries. Have them send the Bifrost for you or something. I can use my chariot to take Charlotte, Bayley, and Sasha to Camp Half-Blood, and the rest of the Romans can take the ship back to camp Jupiter.” Liv said, clapping her hands together like it was settled.

 

The demigods all exchanged wary looks, but none of them argued. They weren’t too certain what Liv would do to them if they tried.

 

“Come on Ruby, let’s grab our gear,” Sarah whispered into the daughter of Hades’ ear. She took Ruby by the elbow and began pulling her away from Liv. She could feel the tension that was rising between the two and wanted to prevent any potential fights. She motioned for Alexa to follow them, the Greeks seemed to be having the most trouble with Liv's attitude.

--------

- At Camp Half-blood-

 

Reid Flair had excelled as one of the lead counselors at Camp Half-blood. After everything had gone down during the last war, Reid had found that he had a calling for helping the Greek demigods. They had needed some adult supervision and he had been more than willing to supply it. To a lot of the kids that had felt abandoned and alone, he was the cool older brother figure who listened to their stories and helped them learn to use their powers. He had even earned a place as Chiron's assistant until the camp director had left a month prior. Chiron had left Reid in charge saying that he would be back, but Reid was starting to wonder if Chiron was coming back at all.

 

Communication between the camps as well as with the Gods had started to fail. Reid had a sinking feeling in his gut that another war was brewing, but there was no prophecy forthcoming. Apollo had been just as silent as the rest of the Gods. Reid didn't want to panic his campers so he tried to keep things calm and running like business as usual.

 

That didn't stop his heart from pounding when Billie Kay and Peyton Royce came rushing to his cabin to tell him that a chariot had crashed from out of the sky and onto the nearby river embankment. Reid had grabbed his gladius and a shield, ready to go confront whatever had crashlanded on his camp's doorstep. As his long strides carried him to the crash site, he saw a flash of familiar blonde hair which almost stopped him dead in his tracks.

 

"Charlie?"

 

Charlotte had soot and some mud on her face but had otherwise remained unharmed. "Reid?" She all but ran towards her brother, tackling him in a big hug.

 

Reid let out a shaky laugh and just patted her back. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, happy to see her but still confused. He noted that she had brought two other with her. "You brought Banks and Bayley?" He still didn't trust Sasha, they had their own history but he was glad to see Bayley.

 

"Yeah, it's a long story. Liv is around here too." Charlotte said, burying her face into his chest. She had missed her brother so much during her two years on the ship.

 

"Awh look, Billie, it's a family reunion," Peyton said nudging her co-head counselor.

 

Billie's eyes widened as she and Peyton came to a stop behind Reid and Charlotte. Some of the other demigods were slowly making their way out of their cabins to see what all the fuss was about. "You gotta be joking me mate, I love a good reunion. This is better than soap operas. We got reunited siblings, people back from the dead." Billie said way overdramatically.

 

"That's my cue to leave before dumb and dumber start asking questions.." The minor goddess poked her head up from where she was inspecting her crashed chariot. "I need to take my chariot to the Hephaestus cabin." She announced, pushing it towards the cabin without asking Reid's permission.

 

"Um, I thought she was dead," Reid whispered quietly to his sister.

 

"It's a long story and we'll be happy to tell you all about it, but I'd like to go back to my cabin and freshen up," Bayley said, excited to just be home. She had missed the smell of the strawberry fields that lined the perimeter of Camp Half-Blood. It felt familiar and gave Bayley the warm feeling she usually got from being around the hearth.

 

"Go ahead and freshen up, Billie and Peyton will escort you back to your cabin. We'll see you for dinner," Reid said giving her a friendly smile before his gaze landed on Banks. All signs of friendliness evaporated from his face. "Do we need to put her in a holding cell."

 

Sasha stiffened and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey, I have been serving my time already, you're welcome to try though." Sasha challenged her gaze darkening. She did not want to go back into a holding cell.

 

Charlotte placed a hand on Sasha's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Sasha is still with me. You can trust her, she's a...friend."

 

Reid didn't look all that convinced but shrugged. "I guess all is forgiven then. Very well, follow me I am sure you both have quite the stories to tell." He said gesturing for them to follow him back to his 'office' in the Big House.

 

-----

"So how was your trip? We want to hear all about it." Billie said excitedly as she and Peyton followed Bayley towards the Hestia cabin.

 

Peyton nodded rapidly. "Did you fight any cool monsters on the ship?"

 

Bayley cleared her throat and stopped walking. "I wasn't on the ship ladies. Remember I was over in New Rome, helping out Camp Jupiter?"

 

The duo looked a bit disappointed to hear that, but Peyton quickly recovered. "Well were there any hotties over there?"

 

"I'd imagine so with all that training they do. Did you find yourself a boyfriend or a date? We don't judge, we just want you happy. Do you have a significant other?" Billie questioned, clapping her hands together.

 

As much as Bayley liked the two daughters of Aphrodite, they weren't really the ones she wanted to see. "I wasn't really looking for romance over in Rome. I made a lot of nice friends though." She offered politely, before shifting her attention to the cabin. "I'll catch up with you two a little later, I'd like to see my siblings," Bayley added, before excusing herself.

 

One of the things that Bayley loved most about Hestia's cabin was the huge hearth built inside of it. During the rainier months the hearth provided warmth and during summer instead of being overly hot, it seemed just to remind everybody inside of the campfires. After having been away for two years, it felt right to be back home. She moved to her old bunk, running her fingers over the words she had etched into the frame.

 

"Hey don't touch that, it's not-"

 

Bayley turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. Standing before her was Izzy, her half-sister, looking a lot taller and older, flanked by some familiar and new faces. "Izzy?"

 

Izzy took a cautious step towards Bayley, her gaze full of disbelief. "Bayley? You cut your hair, I almost didn't recognize you without the side ponytail."

 

"You've grown like a foot and a half. What happened to my little baby sister?" Bayley teased opening her arms and dragging her younger sister into a hug. "Gods I missed you," Bayley whispered, squeezing her tightly before looking to the rest of her half-siblings and cabin mates. "Looks like we have some more siblings."

 

Izzy laughed a little bit. "Yeah we have a couple, mom took over for Hermes in claiming the unclaimed kids. Said everybody deserved a place around the hearth."

 

"You must be Bayley, I'm Shotzi Blackheart." A girl with lime green hair announced, sticking her hand out towards Bayley. She had a nose piercing and on top of her head was an old school army helmet. "Your sister doesn't shut up about you. She's always going on and on about how you saved the camp and what an awesome person you are."

 

Izzy blushed a little bit. "Shotzi has been at the camp for about a month or two, she's really smart. The pegasi love her." Izzy explained.

 

Bayley shook Shotzi's hand and then crack a smile at Izzy. "Well, I am glad she has a cabin leader like you to show her the ropes."

 

"How long as you sticking around for?" Izzy asked, concern filling her gaze. "Did you get kicked out of New Rome?"

 

"No, I didn't get kicked out. Something weird is going on with the Gods, the ship that Alexa, Ruby and some of the others were on got attacked. Sasha washed up on the shores of New Rome and I came to help her find the others when our ship was attacked." Bayley pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that the story was a lot more complicated than that. "I am sure Liv will explain what's happening when we all meet in the mess hall for dinner."

 

Izzy's eyes widened. "Liv is alive? I thought she died after she rescued us from the hotel Valhalla."

 

"Izzy a lot of weird stuff is going on. Liv's a minor goddess now, she'll probably explain everything. I'd avoid her for now though, she's kind of temperamental." Bayley wasn't sure how else to put it. She didn't want Izzy to get her hopes up about Liv, being a minor goddess had seemingly changed the once-friendly girl.

 

"Maybe she just needs to remember who she is. Did you try having Ruby talk to her or that Viking chick? They were super close." Izzy said trying to be helpful by throwing out suggestions.

 

"There's always a chance that your friend's brains were scrambled by Aliens. I know a dude that happened to once." Shotzi added, nodding her head slowly.

 

Bayley blinked in surprise and let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I don't think it was aliens, but I'll keep that in mind. I'm gonna fresh up and maybe grab a nap before dinner. Save me a seat next to you at dinner Iz?"

 

"Yeah, of course, Bayley," Izzy said, hugging her sister one more time and then all but shoved Shotzi out of the cabin so that Bayley could take a nap.

Chapter 9: Chapter 9 AKA All is not well in Valhalla

Summary:

Ruby, Sarah and Alexa make it to the Hotel Valhalla, only to find that things are not going so smoothly. They get reunited with Roman and Ember, but an old foe is back roaming the halls of Valhalla too.

Two years was a long time to be away from home, it felt like even longer for an Einherjar like Sarah. She had been one of Odin’s warriors for a long time until the last war had gone down. She had fought alongside the heroes from both New Rome and Camp Half-blood and then continued to fight alongside them on the ship.

 

Nothing compared to being back in the Hotel Valhalla and walking in Odin’s halls. The second that Heimdall pulled them through the Bifrost, Sarah was smiling brighter than she had in years. She knew that she shouldn’t be so giddy considering that Ragnarok was on its way, but it felt good to be home. She hadn’t even realized just how badly she missed the atmosphere until she saw the familiar wooden shields on the wall and old friends running through the corridors.

 

“It’s weird not having to sneak in,” Ruby commented.

 

Sarah startled for a moment, forgetting that she had brought guests with her. Ruby had been here before when the daughter of Hades had snuck in to rescue Liv and the Greek hostages. Alexa for her part was quiet and just drinking in the sights, undoubtedly trying to map all potential exits and strategic points.

 

“Welcome to the Hotel Valhalla,” Sarah said, sounding more than just a little bit proud. “We should probably find Ember and your friend Roman.”

 

“Are you going to get in trouble for bringing us here?” Ruby asked quietly, she really hated the feel of the place. As the daughter of the God of the dead, it was a weird feeling to be around all the people in Valhalla. It made her very uncomfortable but she tried to push that down. “Will Odin even meet with us?”

 

“There is always a chance that he won’t, that’s why we need to talk to Ember. She’s always had a way of getting through to him, she’ll be the one who knows the most information.” Sarah mused, glancing down the hallway.

 

Ember wasn’t the only person Sarah was looking forward to seeing. While she may not have talked about Rowe much, she had missed her boyfriend a lot. She had written him letters while on the ship, but two years without seeing him had been rough.

 

“Where is everybody, I thought there would be more people,” Alexa questioned, only seeing a couple of handfuls of Einherjar.

 

Ruby snorted quietly. “You don’t even want to know how many floors there are in this place. Honestly, everybody is probably in some sort of competition to the death, it’s how they train for Valhalla.” Ruby explained to Alexa, wanting to feel her in. “They resurrect, but I am not sure that we will, so stick close.”

 

Alexa looked, even more, unnerved now. “Sticking close to the Viking lady, got it.” She knew Sarah would protect her, but Alexa was definitely feeling out of her element. She was a planner and she hadn’t planned for any of this.

 

“I am not sure where they would have put Roman, but I know where Ember’s room is. Come on.” Sarah said, gesturing for them to follow her.

 

It still took a solid fifteen minutes of walking, but they ended up outside of Ember’s room. The massive door had the valkyrie’s name carved into it in old Norse. Sarah traced her fingers over the runes, before knocking on the door.

 

The solid oak door slowly swung open, revealing a very worn out looking Ember. The valkyrie stared at Sarah for the longest of minutes before realization dawned on her face. Ember launched herself at Sarah, hugging her tightly.

 

“What are you doing here?” Ember asked, squeezing Sarah hard enough to make the taller girl flinch.

 

“It’s a long story. I was told that Ragnarok is happening, is there any truth to that?” Sarah asked, her gaze searching.

 

Ember pulled away and grimaced. “We can’t talk about this here.” She grabbed Sarah’s wrist and dragged her into the room, before noticing Alexa and Ruby for the first time. “I see you brought company, they can come in too.”

 

“Nice to see you again.” Ruby quipped making her way into Ember’s room. She plopped down on the corner of Ember's bed, looking bored out of her mind.

 

“At least you were invited in this time and didn’t sneak in the back exit. I suppose I should be thankful. Also please keep your combat boots off my bed, I don't know where you've been.” Ember mused, still a little bitter about Ruby’s first appearance in the Hotel Valhalla. “Who is the blondie?” She questioned as she shifted her attention to the one person she didn't know from the trio.

 

Alexa scowled at Ember. “The blonde’s name is Alexa. Alexa Bliss, daughter of Athena.”

 

Ember raised a brow and considered the short greek woman. “So that’s what you’re sticking with? Alexa Bliss?” She chuckled and shrugged. “I guess I can’t really judge, but anyways these two are friends of yours? You claim them?” Ember asked Sarah.

 

“Yeah, I claim them. They’re with me.” Sarah replied quickly. She didn’t want Alexa’s sassy mouth or Ruby’s snarky attitude to get them into trouble. She knew that if she claimed them, then hopefully Odin would grant them immunity. That way should they die in the hotel they would most likely be resurrected.

 

"So what do you know about this Ragnorak business?" Ruby asked cutting right to the chase.

 

Ember began to pace, trying to gather her thoughts. "I don't know how things are out in Midgard but right now things are going a little crazy in the Hotel. Communication with the Gods has fallen through. I swear with how much that goes down you'd think they'd start investing in better coverage."

 

"What about Odin? Is he around, if Ragnarok is starting then my place is here. But something is attacking my friends, I thought perhaps it might be Loki or Persphone again." Sarah wasn't sure they could delay Ragnarok but she wanted to try. At least for the sake of her friends.

 

Ember seemed to pale a little bit. "Odin is missing. I have my best people on it, Magnus and Samirah have been out trying to look across the different realms for Odin. So far they haven't had much luck." Ember admitted as she continued to pace.

 

Alexa turned to look at Sarah and Ruby. "The Gods have been acting weird, I don't think this is just a Norse issue." She whispered to them. "I think we should strategize about what to do next. I have a feeling this could be happening the Greeks as well."

 

"As much as it pains me to say it, Alexa might be right," Ruby admitted, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "This feels like a prelude to something bigger. We need to get into contact with Liv and everybody back at the different camps. Access what is going on."

 

Ember turned to look at the three of them. "How is Liv doing?"

 

Ruby's eyes narrowed slightly. "You've gotten to talk to Liv?"

 

Ember shrugged at the question. "Yeah, she sat on the all father's throne. Odin was pissed but I think he has a soft spot for Liv so he didn't smite her. She does seem different though, never stays too long in one place."

 

Looking away Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat and shrugged off the hand Sarah had placed on her shoulder to comfort her. "We should go look for Roman. See if Posiden has appeared to him."

 

"You guys are in time for dinner to the death," Ember said, allowing the change in subject. She could sense it was a sore subject for Ruby and she didn't wish to piss off the daughter of Hades.

 

Alexa looked a little nervous. "Dinner to the death? I am not so sure about this."

 

Sarah just gave a boisterous laugh and clapped Alexa on the back. "Come on short-stack, isn't your mom the Goddess of battle strategy, you're going to love it here."

 

"I somehow doubt that," Alexa mumbled under her breath, but followed after Ember as the Valkyrie lead them to the dining hall.

----

Roman Reigns hasn't expected to love the Hotel Valhalla as much as he did. He had thought it would be cool to check it out, but the son of Posideon had found himself a home away from homes. He thrived in the more combative environment and he loved the constant drills and general chaos that happened. That didn't mean he no longer missed the Greek Camp if anything sometimes being around the Einherjar made him miss his greek compatriots even more. The distance had definitely made his heart grow fonder.

 

So when he spotted Alexa and Ruby entering the great dining hall, he far to quickly ran in their direction ready to pounce on them. What he didn't count on was Sarah being nearby because her instincts kicked in and right before Roman reached them. Sarah grabbed him and shifted her weight, throwing him over her hip and planting him roughly on the ground.

 

Roman grunted as the air was driven out of his lungs, but a dopey smile crossed his face. "What are you all doing here?" He wheezed out.

 

Alexa gave Sarah a dirty look and shoved the Einherjar off of Roman. "Came to visit you I guess." She said offering a hand to help him up.

 

Roman waved away her hand and quickly picked himself back up, dusting his clothes off. "Any special circumstance? What has it been like a year"

 

"Two years actually." Ruby said shifting awkwardly. She was feeling uncomfortably again, surrounded by all of Odin's warriors. "We were on our ship when it was attacked."

 

"Wow, I guess time passes differently here. Wait if you're here does that mean you're dead?" Roman asked a confused look crossing his features.

 

Ember shook her head. "They aren't dead, something weird is going on. I told them about Odin." She whispered shifting her gaze to the head table. Odin's chair sat empty, but nobody made a mention of it. It wasn't like Odin hadn't disappeared before, but Ember felt like something was different this time. "Apparently they think Ragnarok is starting, which considering all the weird events it might be true."

 

Roman sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "There have been a lot of weird things going on."

 

"More than what you've told us?" Sarah asked looking at Ember.

 

Ember frowned and glanced down at the floor, suddenly finding it very interesting. "I didn't want to say anything, but Odin being gone isn't the only thing strange happening in the Hotel. Certain Einherjar that died over two years ago have been brought back to life. Just like Liv, they seem to no longer have their memories though."

 

Ruby felt like she had been suckered punched. "Are you trying to tell me that the vile waste of space who killed my back friend is back?" She asked, her voice eerily calm and devoid of emotion despite her words.

 

"She doesn't remember killing Liv. Ronda and her associates who aided Loki have been put under supervision. If Ragnarok is really happening it would make sense that Loki is resurrecting them." Ember said, trying to calm Ruby down before the girl started raging.

 

Sarah ran a hand through her hair. "Why didn't you tell me Ronda was back," She asked, the normally tough warrior looked greatly unnerved by the news.

 

"We've tried to reach out. I tried to send a message to the camps myself but I just thought nobody was responding." Roman pointed out, placing a hand on Ember's back to comfort her.

 

Alexa eyed Roman's hand on Ember's back and scowled. "So you're just letting the enemy hang out with you in the hotel? Ronda and her cronies sold you out, they killed Liv and countless others. They aided Loki, are you all really dumb enough to trust her?"

 

"Like I said Ronda doesn't remember killing Liv." Ember protested, not liking Alexa's accusations. "We don't trust her!"

 

Ruby had taken the distraction of them all fighting to slowly start backing up from the group. Her mind was flashing back to Liv dying in her arms and how Ronda had impaled her best friend. "I am going to kill Ronda as many times as it takes for her to stay dead," Ruby growled, as the ground around her began to shake.

 

"Ruby you can't use your powers here, you don't have the authority. This is Valhalla." Ember tried to argue even as large cracks began to appear in the ground.

 

Skeleton like figures began to claw their way out, ready to serve at the Daughter of Hades command. Ruby's eyes had turned completely black, anger and pain radiated from her in a wave that's threatened to choke out the people around her.

 

"Liv wouldn't want you to do this Ruby," Roman called, trying to bring Ruby back to reality.

 

"Traitor!" Ruby snapped, pointing a finger at Roman. The skeletons that had crawled up from the ground began to make their way towards him.

 

Right as they reached him, Ruby abruptly slumped to the ground as she was bashed over the head with something. Sarah stood behind Ruby with a broke water pitcher, looking utterly heartbroken and gutted. The skeletons fell to the floor, disintegrating back into dust.

 

"What the heck?" Alexa snarled glaring at Sarah. "Why did you do that, whose side are you on?"

 

"She just saved your friend's life," Ember replied, exchanging a meaningful look with Sarah.

 

"I am taking her back to my room. You had better keep Ronda away from Ruby, next time I am not going to stop her. In fact, you better keep Ronda away from me too or I'll kill her myself." Sarah said. She carefully picked Ruby up, humming a soft song to the unconscious demigod as she carried her out of the dining hall.

 

Even out of it, pain and anguish still radiated from Ruby. It was enough to break Sarah's heart.

Notes:

I hope you all are enjoying the story. Be sure to leave some comments and kudos.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10 AKA The past stings a lot

Summary:

Things in Camp Half-blood continue to get worse as our heroes discover that the Oracle of Delphi is missing. It seems like an old enemy is coming back into play.

Sasha was feeling uncomfortable, which meant she felt stressed out and was tense. Every other person in the camp was either glaring daggers at her or coldly ignoring her. The only people who seemed willing to talk to her were Charlotte and Bayley, it felt like. Even Charlotte's older brother Reid clearly hadn't forgiven her war crimes. Sasha was wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole, that was sounding more enjoyable than a camp dinner with the people who still held a grudge.

 

She slid a hand to the whip that she kept on her hip and sighed. She had used it to tutor him and countless others, she could understand why they were angry at her.

 

"If I was you, I wouldn't do that girl."

 

"Bianca?" Sasha asked, her head snapping up. She knew there were some Romans who had been sent over to Camp Half-blood, but for some reason, seeing Bianca almost made her emotional.

 

Bianca Belair gave Sasha a warm smile and hugged her. "Girl I didn't know you went here," Bianca said chuckling.

 

"I don't go here, not really. I am here with Charlotte and Bayley, our ship got attacked and we're trying to figure out what's going on." Sasha explained. She tensed at the hug, but slowly relaxed into Bianca's strong arms.

 

"A lot of weird things have been happening here too," Bianca explained, a deep frown etching on her face. "The Greeks have an oracle and it's missing, or rather was kidnapped."

 

Charlotte who had returned at this point carrying two trays of food for her and Sasha cleared her throat. "What do you mean the oracle was kidnapped?"

 

Bianca gave a salute to Charlotte and then sat down at the table across from the two former praetors. "From what I have gathered, the oracle has been missing for about a month."

 

Charlotte glanced at the head table where her brother sat and narrowed her eyes. Reid hadn't mentioned anything about the oracle being missing, but perhaps he was just waiting for the right time. It made her frustrated though because he would have had plenty of time to bring it up when Sasha and Charlotte were in his office. She could see Bayley making her way over to Hestia's table and called out to Bayley, gesturing for her to come to join them. There weren't many people at Zeus' cabin table which suited Charlotte just fine because she could talk to Sasha, Bianca and Bayley in peace.

 

"What's up?" Bayley asked quizzically. She had planned to sit by her half-siblings, but she could tell from Sasha and Charlotte's body language that something was up.

 

"Did your siblings or anybody mention anything to you about the Oracle of Delphi missing?" Bianca asked, her gaze searching.

 

Bayley's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "What are you talking about?"

 

Charlotte scowled. "I'll take that as a 'no'." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "It appears to me that things are much worse than Reid originally let on."

 

"He didn't say anything in the office. Your brother is holding out on us." Sasha remarked grumpily. She was still angry about the way he had treated her earlier but was trying to push her temper down.

 

Bayley reached across the table and took Sasha's hand, trying to calm Sasha down. She didn't need the girl causing a fight. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but if the oracle is missing, we need to talk to Reid and the other head counselors."

 

"I'll go tell my brother that we request a meeting with him," Charlotte said, getting up and heading to the head table.

 

Sasha watched her go before a thought occurred to her. "Wait, speaking of missing people, where's Liv? Did we somehow manage to lose her again? I swear all we do is blink and that girl is halfway across the world."

 

Bayley turned around in her seat glancing at the Hermes table and then the Hestaphus table, but Liv wasn't there either. It was only when Bayley glanced to the corner where the Hades table sat, that she noticed the minor goddess. Liv was sitting in the spot that Ruby had usually sat in, tracing her fingers over some marks that were etched into the table.

 

"What is she doing?" Sasha asked quietly.

 

Even from across the room, Bayley could sense the emotions swirling inside of Liv. "She's remembering some stuff. Ruby and Liv used to sit at that table every day. Ruby was this moody kid, but when Liv was around it's like the dark clouds lessened. Liv was the light and I think when Liv died, Ruby lost all her hope. The only thing she has left is her desire to avenge Liv and bring Persephone to justice. "

 

"So that is why she looks sad," Bianca commented, tilting her head to the side. "That whole situation is really sad."

 

"Liv is sad right now, but she'll be okay. There are just going to be some things that she has to process through while she's here." Bayley explained, before looking down at her meal. She was no longer feeling hungry.

---

“Why didn’t you tell me the oracle was missing?” Charlotte demanded, staring her brother down.

 

She had successfully convinced him to gather all the heads of the different cabins into The Big House for a meeting. Charlotte had also made sure that Bayley and Sasha were invited to the meeting too. Even Liv had decided to show up, though the minor goddess had separated herself by sitting by the window and looking like she was a million miles away.

 

“I didn’t know how to.” Reid fired back, irritated that Charlotte was questioning him in front of all these people. “When Chiron left he made me the Camp Director, he said he would be back, but he hasn’t been. I am trying to keep everybody safe and not incite panic.”

 

“It’s kind of the information we need to be aware of though!” Charlotte snapped in irritation.

 

“When was the last time anybody saw Rachel Dare? She’s the host for the Oracle, she has bright red hair, sound?” Bayley asked, deciding to step in and prevent the siblings

 

Billie and Peyton exchanged looks with each other before Peyton spoke up. “I saw her last about a month ago. I was offering to give her a makeover when she said she didn’t feel well and was going to lay down.”

 

“She had a real bad rash looking thing. Like she had rolled in poison ivy or something.” Billie added, backing up what Peyton had said.

 

“There isn’t any poison ivy around the camp for about a mile.” Mickie James, head of the Demeter cabin spoke up. “I know because Chiron asked me to clear it back, three summers ago. He was tired of the campers getting the rashes from it.”

 

Bayley gave a thoughtful hum. “So maybe that means that she had to go further out. We should stage a search party.”

 

“We already tried that,” Reid interjected, shaking his head. “This isn’t my first go-round in a position of power. I was a former Praetor of the Roman Legion, I know how to keep my campers in line.”

 

“Reid is right, we did look there wasn’t any sign of her. The Gods aren’t answering our calls Mates.” Peyton replied, before glancing over at Liv. “We do have a minor Goddess, why isn’t she telling us where the Oracle is.”

 

“Liv, do you know where Rachel Dare is?” Sasha asked, walking over to where Liv sat. She had to snap her fingers in front of the Goddess’ eyes to get her attention.

 

Liv’s face paled as she turned to look at Sasha and lightly swatted the demigod’s hand from her face. “The Oracle isn’t here, Rachel isn’t on Olympus either.” She responded.

 

“How do you know that?” Charlotte questioned curiously. She wasn't sure exactly the full extent of Liv's powers, but she wanted the smaller blonde to be sure.

 

“Yeah, I am with Charlotte, do you know that for a fact Liv?” Bayley believed Liv of course but she wanted to make sure the Goddess was telling the truth and not just making stuff up.

 

“Apollo would have said something, but he’s been acting strange. Ragnarok has screwed things up with the Pantheons.” Liv replied, rubbing at her temples. She had a splitting headache and it was only getting worse the longer she was around the arguing demigods. “I am the Minor Goddess of lost things, I can usually find them. Since she is the Oracle of Delphi and she’s lost, she counts. She’s in the Sahara desert.”

 

“What would she be doing there of all places? I mean it's the fricken desert, why would she just abandon her post here without saying a single word?” Reid asked.

 

“My mother, Demeter. She has a secret oasis, a special garden in the Sahara desert. If she wanted to hide somebody she’d take them there. Plus if Rachel did have that poison ivy rash it could make sense, since my mother is the Goddess of plants.” Mickie piped up, before blushing when everybody stared at her awestruck. “I hung out with Alexa long enough, she made me memorize a few things.”

 

“Why would Demeter take Rachel, this doesn’t make sense,” Bayley interjected. Of all the Gods and Goddesses, besides her own mother, Bayley actually liked Demeter the best. Demeter was usually peaceful and didn't take anybody's crap unless she felt like she was personally wrong.

 

Sasha stood to her feet. “Actually it does make sense, Bayley. Demeter doesn’t like to meddle in people’s affairs, but when Persephone is in trouble, Demeter would do anything for her. My mother’s Roman form got her into trouble, we haven’t been able to track her down, maybe she wanted to hide in her mother’s garden oasis.”

 

Mickie nodded in agreement with Sasha. “There isn’t anything Demeter wouldn’t do to help Persephone, and if it makes Hades mad than all the better. That’s probably where Persephone is hiding out and it’s also where you’ll find Rachel.”

 

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “We should probably send a group to go rescue Rachel and bring Persephone to justice.”

 

“We’ll do it,” Charlotte said, nodding to Sasha and Bayley. “We’re already on this quest, so we might as well finish it.”

 

“How are you going to get to the Sahara Desert? None of our Pegasi can fly that far without needing a break.” Reid pointed out to them. He didn’t like the idea of putting his sister in danger. “It doesn’t have to be you, Charlie.”

 

Liv rolled her eyes. “As touching as this family reunion is, it does have to be Charlotte. I’ll get them there, my boys in the Hestaphus cabin fixed up my ride. So my chariot is good to go.”

 

“I guess it’s settled then. We’re going to the Sahara desert to confront two Goddess and get back an oracle.” Bayley mused. She felt a little bit anxious about the task ahead of them.

 

“We have to delay Ragnarok as well. I hope Ruby, Sarah, and Alexa are doing better than we are.” Charlotte muttered.

 

“We’ve faced worse odds, this is just a normal Tuesday.” Sasha deadpanned. She was nervous as well to come face to face with Persephone. Her mom’s roman form of Prosperina had tried to sell her out and kill her. Sasha hadn’t forgotten how her mom had manipulated her, she was worried about seeing her again.

 

“Come on ladies! The first one of you three to the chariot can the front passenger seat!” Liv said, suddenly seeming more energized now that they were going to leave the Greek Camp.

------

-In the Hotel Valhalla-

Ruby was pretty sure she was dreaming again, that would be the only thing that explained how her dreamscape was Camp Half-blood. She was younger again, not screwed up by the war and the subsequent fallout. She hadn’t been to the camp in over two years, not since the battle. She had, of course, sent flowers to Liv’s memorial, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to visit it.

 

She could see the cold grey monument and slowly made her way towards. It looked out of place with the memories that she held, but Ruby ran her fingers over Liv’s name and day of death.

 

“It’s strange how things end up.”

 

Ruby spun around, finding herself face to face with Liv. Her best friend wore the same clothes she had died in, the shirt still bore the stain of her blood, where she had been impaled.

 

“What’s going on?” Ruby asked, wondering if perhaps she had died in Valhalla and was now in some weird form of Purgatory.

 

Liv laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re not in Purgatory and before you ask, yes I can read your thoughts. One of my godly powers I guess. I would assume that you’re dreaming, you must have taken a good hit to the head.” Liv said as she moved closer. She touched the back of Ruby’s head, causing the daughter of Hades to flinch. “You might need stitches but you’ll survive.”

 

Ruby wasn’t sure what to make of Liv touching her when she saw her on the ship, Liv had been nothing but cold to her. “Where is everybody else?” Ruby finally asked.

 

“Right now, the rest of the group is in the Big House, you’re dreaming so it’s only you and me right now,” Liv explained, before tilting her head to the side. “Do you remember the days when we used to get to camp early so we could sneak food out of the kitchen.”

 

“Of course I do, we carved our names into just about every surface. Our friendship was supposed to last forever.” Ruby mused, giving her a look. She hadn’t planned on living a life without her best friend in it. “Every day without you has been a living hell.”

 

A small frown etched itself on Liv’s face. “You were supposed to find happiness, I sacrificed myself so there could be peace for everybody.”

 

Ruby looked down at Liv’s gravestone and sighed. “Revenge against Persephone and Loki has been the only thing motivating me the past two years. I searched for you after I heard you were made a Minor Goddess, why didn’t you come for me?” Ruby asked. Her insecurities were telling her that Liv had forgotten about her or no longer cared.

 

Liv flinched as she read Ruby’s thoughts, the girl’s words washing over her like a stinging rain. “They wiped my memories of you Rue, but they couldn’t erase everything completely. They kept me away, I think they were worried I was going to mess things up. It hurts to remember but I could never forget you.” Liv said, tugging Ruby into a hug.

 

“When this is over, promise me you won’t leave.” Ruby wasn’t good at the big emotions, wasn’t sure how to continue to live a life without Liv in it.

 

Liv kissed the top of her best friend’s head and gave her a sad smile. “I can’t make you that promise Rue, fate is a hard thing to fight. You need to wake up now though. I have to go help the others find Persephone in Demeter’s desert Oasis. ”

 

“No, wait! Please..” Ruby pleaded even as Liv and the rest of the camp dreamscape faded back into her mind. Her plea turned into a scream and then lights exploded behind her eyes and Ruby found herself back in the Hotel Valhalla.

 

Sarah’s concerned expression was the first thing that Ruby focused on. Relief coursed through Sarah as she saw Ruby’s eyes flutter open. “Thank the Aesir you’re awake.”

 

Ruby touched her head where Sarah had hit her with the mug. “Yeah, no thanks to you. You hit me over the head.”

 

Sarah frowned and looked sheepishly down at the bedspread. “You were going to tear Valhalla apart, they would have killed you. It’s you against thousands of Einherjar.”

 

Ruby sat up and shoved Sarah away from her. “I would have taken them all on. You are protecting Ronda! The same person who murdered my best friend.”

 

Toppling off the bed, Sarah let out a groan. “I was trying to protect you. I am not happy that Ronda’s back either, but we can’t be foolish Ruby. We have to have a plan if we go charging into battle more innocent people than just Liv will die.” She pleaded to try to get Ruby to understand.

 

Ruby launched herself at the bigger girl, punching at Sarah’s chest. “You don’t get to say her name traitor.” She roared, still beating her fist against Sarah’s frame, eventually, she stopped and just broke down. “She was all I had Sarah.”

 

Sarah didn’t do anything to fight back, she allowed Ruby to get her feelings out before she hugged her. “We’ll find a way to keep Ronda and Loki’s resurrected minions out of Ragnarok. I promise you, we’ll find a way to get Liv to remember you. We just need a game plan, I need you to trust me.”

 

“I don’t know if I can Sarah.” Ruby wasn’t sure where the Einherjar’s loyalty lay and she didn’t trust her. She pulled away from Sarah’s hug and put some space between them. “I had this dream about Liv, it felt so real.”

 

“What did she say?” Sarah asked curiously, trying to ignore the way Ruby’s words and actions had hurt her. “Anything about Ragnarok?”

 

Ruby tried to think back to what Liv’s parting words are. “She thinks she found Persephone, something about her being at Demeter’s desert Oasis. She had to go, so we didn’t get to finish our talk.”

 

“A desert Oasis, that’s interesting. That’s where the others are going?” Sarah wasn’t sure what it all meant, but she hoped that they could all figure it out soon. “We need to tell Alexa. See if she knows what we can do to help.”

 

“That’s probably for the best. No more hitting me with stuff though.” Ruby warned, slowly getting to her feet.

 

“I won’t hit you again, I promise,” Sarah said, crossing her heart. “Now come on, there’s somebody I want you to meet. If we need some loyal soldiers in this fight, there’s none more loyal than my boyfriend Rowe.”

Chapter 11: Chapter 11 AKA Lost in the Garden.

Summary:

Sasha, Bayley, Charlotte and Liv make it to Demeter's Garden and get the prophecy, but it isn't what they expected.

With the clouds whipping around them, Sasha couldn’t help but feel cold. She had lost track of how long they had been flying in Liv’s chariot. True to her word, the minor goddess was taking them to the Sahara Desert. It was a much longer trip then Sasha had anticipated, but then again she didn’t know the flying speed of magic pig-pegasi. Of course, Liv would create pigs with wings, Sasha didn’t know the girl particularly well but it made sense.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Charlotte asked as she took a seat next to Sasha.

 

“I don’t think you want to know my thoughts right now. We see so much crazy crap, and I’m stuck on the fact that we’re in a flying chariot that a formerly dead demigod has modified into a little bus. Not only that, but that bus is being pulled by pigs who fly and have wings.” Sasha said, shaking her head. It would have been hysterical, except for the fact that it was honestly tripping her up.

 

Charlotte thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “It can’t be any stranger than being the praetor of a legion of demigods or sailing around the world the last two years, fighting monsters.” Charlotte pointed out. She could tell that something else was bothering Sasha. “Are you okay?”

 

A lie was already on Sasha’s lips, but she couldn’t force herself to lie to Charlotte. The blonde had been one of the few people that thought Sasha was worth redeeming and had stuck her neck out for her. “Why did you save me during the last war, I spent most of that time hurting people you cared about. My life was forfeit, why did you save me?”

 

“I stripped you of your praetorship and I exiled you from Rome, I am not sure that counts as saving you.” Charlotte pointed out, her mind flashing back to the final battle. She remembered how broken Sasha had looked on the battlefield.

 

“I wouldn’t have given you the same kindness back then.” Sasha pointed out. It gave her chills to think about how power-hungry she had been back then.

 

Charlotte chuckled and gave a knowing smile. “Yeah, I am aware of that. Both my brother and Ruby still have the scars from where you flogged them. I have no doubts you would have had my head if you had the choice.”

 

Sasha gave her an apologetic look. “The past two years serving at your side made me realize I was meant for more beyond the legion.”

 

“You are capable of so much Sasha. If we manage to prevent Ragnarok then you can consider your time served. You’ll have a fresh start.” Charlotte wanted the best for Sasha. She had witnessed first hand how much the girl had changed for the better.

 

“What if I fail again? I don’t know if I am capable of a normal life. I know that I am meant for something, I just don’t know what it is. I can’t go back to New Rome.” Sasha had always expected that she would retire from the legion, maybe go to college in New Rome and live out her life there.

 

Charlotte could see Sasha struggling inside. “Well, maybe you could try something else. There is a lot of things you could do in this world, Sasha. You already have military experience, so you could enter the regular military.”

 

“Maybe I could try being a regular college-kid.” Sasha knew she could try and make something out of herself. “Do you think you or your brother could help me apply for some different colleges.”

 

Charlotte nodded and smiled at her. “If we survive this, I’ll apply for college myself.” She said laughing softly. She wasn’t sure what the future held, but Charlotte was hoping it would be a good one. The blonde had always wanted to attend college herself, she was ready to start putting the wards behind her.

 

Up at the front of the chariot, Bayley was watching Liv as the minor goddess shouted orders to the Pigasi. Bayley could feel a mixture of emotions radiating off of Liv, the blonde seemed troubled.

 

“So you came up with this Pigasi by yourself?” Bayley asked, trying to break the ice. While they were getting closer to the desert it was still a long flight.

 

Liv grunted and gave a quick nod. “They even have names. Mr. Piggles is my right-hand pig though.”

 

Bayley had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing because of course, Liv would have named her pig that. “Do you want to talk about what happened back at camp? You seemed to be remembering things.”

 

Liv gave a sigh. “I have a feeling even if I told you no, you’d badger me until I broke. I am starting to have flashbacks, it’s headache-inducing but I think I remember everything that happened.”

 

“Do you remember being killed?” Bayley asked curiously, wanting to know how far her memories went.

 

A dark glint entered Liv’s eyes. “I died when Ronda impaled me with the spear, but I saved Ruby and Sarah’s lives. I didn’t want anything to happen to Ruby, and I would gladly die for her again. I just didn’t think she’d forget her best friend so quickly.”

 

“Whoa, wait for just a minute. Ruby never forgot about you, not even for a minute. Everything she’s done the past two years has been motivated by a need to avenge you. The day you died something broke inside of her.” Bayley protested. Ruby hadn’t exactly been sunshine and rainbows before Liv’s death, but a deep depression had engulfed the daughter of Hades. For months after the ship set sail, Bayley had awoken to Ruby having terrible night terrors.

 

Liv’s face softened. “She didn’t forget about me? Why didn’t she try and find me then? Once she knew that the Gods had given me immortality?”

 

Bayley gave an exasperated sigh, wondering if her mother ever got tired of the other deities being so needy. “Hades wouldn’t let her, multiple times Ruby pleaded with her father and the other Gods. She is Hades’ heir and she has his fiery temper, but they wouldn’t allow her to see you.” Bayley explained.

 

“I wish she got to live a happier life, that I could take away her sadness.” Liv knew one day that Ruby would get to make her home in the underworld and they could be reunited then. She just didn’t want her best friend to be miserable in the meantime.

 

Before Bayley got the chance to respond, Charlotte and Sasha made their way over. Charlotte was looking rather confused. “I know I must be seeing things, but is that an oasis or a mirage?”

 

Liv turned her attention out to the horizon and managed a small smile. “That would be Demeter’s garden. We should probably approach on foot when we get closer, she might not take too kindly to this surprise visit.” Liv warned, flying the chariot closer before putting them down about half a mile from the oasis. “This is probably where we should walk. I hope you brought comfortable shoes, we’ll be slogging through the sand.”

 

Sasha groaned and dismounted from the chariot. She wasn’t looking forward to confronting her mother or her grandmother, but it was time to talk to them. At the very least, they needed to get the Oracle of Delphi back, she just hoped Rachel Dare was okay.

 

------

By the time the heroes made it to Demeter’s doorstep, they were all sweaty, except of course for Liv who thanks to her powers managed to look decent. None of them felt particularly at ease, but it was Sasha who seemed to be having the hardest time with everything. She could feel her mother’s presence and it was making her heart race. The last time they had seen each other, Persephone was ordering Sasha to kill Hades, and when Ruby had disarmed Sasha, Persephone had been willing to sacrifice her daughter. Sasha had believed at one point that her mother loved her, but the betrayal had shattered that illusion.

 

Sasha took a deep breath, trying to build up the courage to enter her grandmother’s garden. She wasn’t sure what would greet her once she got inside and confronted her mom. She placed a hand on her hip, running over the coiled leather of her whip. Her gladius was on her other hip, but even with all of her weapons, she didn’t feel prepared enough for what she was facing.

 

Charlotte seemed to notice Sasha’s nerves and casually put a hand over Sasha’s wrist, applying just a little bit of pressure. She wasn’t trying to hurt her, but rather reassure the other Roman Legionnaire that she was with her.

 

“Do we need a game plan?” Bayley asked, looking at her friends. “Or should we just march in there?”

 

“I am all about the big entrances,” Liv answered. The minor goddess knew Demeter would be pissed about them showing up unannounced, but a big entrance was going to be Liv’s way of ringing the doorbell.

 

All around them the sand began to shift, spinning around in a sort of twister. The sand stung as it blinded the three demigods, but Liv just looked mildly annoyed and tried to shield her eyes. As the sandstorm died down, the heroes found themselves in the middle of a lush garden, near a pond that had fish swimming in it.

 

“What are you doing here?” A voice boomed from underneath a shade tree. Woven from branches and roots was a throne, Demeter sat on her throne looking bored out of her mind but also irritated. “The one vacation spot I have and now the tourists have shown up.”

 

“Demeter, I have come to ask for the return of the oracle you stole from Camp Half-blood,” Liv said, taking the lead.

 

Demeter stood to her feet, fury flickering through her eyes. “Stole? You dare accuse me of being a thief?”

 

“If the shoe fits…” Liv trailed off, the implication clear.

 

Bayley could see this going off the rails. “My lady, please forgive us for showing up without an invitation. We believe that your daughter Persephone and the Oracle of Delphi are here.” Bayley said, lowering herself down to a knee as a show of respect. If she had learned anything from her own mother, it was that she needed to be the peacekeeper, not a warmonger.

 

Demeter’s brown eyes seemed to soften just slightly as Bayley paid her honor. She watched as the two Romans besides the girl dropped to their knees as well. “You’ve brought the legion to my door as well it seems. This one is Persephone’s… No, Prosperina’s.” Demeter stepped forward to study her granddaughter, carefully regarding Sasha. “I have not met a grandchild in a while.”

 

“Grandmother.” Sasha dropped her head, staring at the ground. She could see the flowers and the peaceful atmosphere in Demeter’s sanctuary. “We need to find the Oracle. My mother tricked her and took her. I know your love for my mother, but do you know what she did?”

 

The flowers around Demeter’s feet began to wilt, the grass turning brown as Demeter turned to walk away. “What she did? You demigods have such a convoluted sense of right and wrong. You see only bits and pieces of a story, never the whole picture. Do you know the story of Hades and Persephone, and what he did?”

 

“Yes, my lady. Hades saw Persephone in a field, picking flowers. He was so in love with her, he conspired with Zeus to trick her. He opened up the earth and he brought her to the underworld. She wanted to leave, but he convinced her to stay for the feast. Hades didn't tell her that if she anything at all like a pomegranate she wouldn't be allowed to leave. She ate the fruit and was forced to marry Hades.” Bayley answered, recalling what she knew of the myth. She also knew that Demeter had been so angry with the gods that she had almost caused the world to starve.

 

“I was so angry that Hades had dared to take my beloved daughter. I refused to allow the crops to go, I wanted everybody to suffer the same grief I did. Hades wasn’t in love with my daughter, I doubt the man knows what love is. He lusted after her and kept her as a trophy. Not only that but Zeus helped him.” Demeter growled, clearly she wasn’t over what had happened thousands of years ago.

 

“Persephone tried to kill Hades.” Charlotte pointed out, before gesturing towards Sasha. “She tried to manipulate my friend to kill Hades for her. When Sasha wouldn’t, Persephone offered up her daughter’s life.”

 

Sasha swallowed hard but forced herself to meet Demeter’s eyes, she could feel her grandmother's grief radiating in waves. “None of the Gods are perfect. You have all made mistakes, but something bigger than you is coming. It spells doom for all of us, we need the oracle. Please Demeter, where do you have her chained?” She hadn't liked Hades, but none of the Gods that she had met were innocent.

 

Liv had been slowly wandering around the ever-expanding Oasis, exploring it while the demigods talked with Demeter. “I think I found her.”

 

Rachel Dare was not in fact chained to anything, instead, she was laying on a blanket in the grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun. "Do you mind, you're blocking my light." Rachel said, lowering her sunglasses to stare at Liv.

 

Bayley made her way over to Rachel. "We've come to rescue you. We need your help, you are the oracle of Delphi, you belong at the camp."

 

Rachel sat up and laughed. "Rescue me? I am safer here than I am at the camp. Ragnarok is coming, this is one of the few places on Earth that will be untouched by the chaos."

 

Liv scowled a little bit. "Look, oracle lady, we need to get a move on."

 

Sasha's mind was spinning a million miles a minute as she watched Rachel. She could see that Demeter was studying them all. "Leave her alone, she is here of her own free will."

 

"Sasha?" A voice from the other side of Demeter's garden called out to her. Persephone looked wary as she made her way towards them, afraid that they might attack her at any moment. Two years of being on the run hadn't been good for Persephone's complexion. The goddess of the underworld looked utterly exhausted. "You shouldn't be here Sasha," Persephone said, her form flickering between her Greek and Roman sides.

 

"I didn't come for you, I came for Rachel. I can see that she isn't a prisoner, but we need her help." Sasha said, struggling to meet her mother's gaze. It was hard to be near her after everything that had happened. Sasha felt like her insides might split apart at every passing second.

 

Demeter folded her arms across her chest. "Even if you had come for Persephone, I will not let anybody take her from me again," Demeter warned.

 

"Nobody is going to take her," Bayley interjected, trying to keep the peace. She didn't want things escalating, even though it was clear tensions were rising. There was no way even with Liv that they would be able to fight to Goddess in their domains of power.

 

Sasha swallowed hard. "You do what you must to protect your daughter, I respect that grandma." She said to Demeter, before focusing in on Rachel. "Can you give us a prophecy? We need a hint at least, so we have a fighting chance to stop Ragnarok. We promise we will leave after."

 

Rachel sighed and rose to her full height. Smoke began to billow around her, as her eyes glowed. She began to chant in ancient greek, before switching over to English to give them the prophecy.

"In the twilight, the Gods must fall
Deaths are undone in the All Father’s hall
An ember will ignite the beginning of the end
A daughter must pay for her mother’s sin
The great wolves clash as the ground shakes
The heirs resigned to their fates"

 

Sasha stared down at the ground, of all the lines she had a feeling the one about a daughter paying for her mother's sin was her. "Thank you, Rachel." She turned to look at her friends. "We need to go."

 

"Wait for a second, the lines about the gods falling, you guys have to fight," Charlotte said as she glanced at Demeter and Persephone. "You have roles to play in this!"

 

A dark look entered Demeter's eyes as she stepped protectively in front of Persephone and Rachel. "I will not allow my family to be put in jeopardy. You got your stupid quest, now get out of my garden, you are no longer welcomed!" Demeter roared, she snapped her fingers and it was as if an invisible forced plucked Charlotte, Bayley, Sasha, and Liv and tossed them back out into the desert.

 

Liv grunted as she pulled her head out of the sand. "That was rude! You're not longer on my Christmas list!" Liv shouted in the direction Demeter's Garden had been, but it was already disappearing from view.

 

"We should go. We have to go warn the others." Bayley said usually quiet. She helped Charlotte and Sasha out of the sand, dusting her friends off. She wasn't sure what the prophecy meant, but it didn't sound good. Bayley was Hestia's heir and Ruby was the heir of Hades, but she had a bad feeling about the 'Heirs resigned to their fate' line.

 

Was their fate to die in Ragnarok?

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 aka reunited and it doesn't feel so good

Summary:

Well the group is finally reunited all together. So go team go.

Having to complete every task to the death was not something that Ruby could get used to. After everything that had gone down two years prior, being back in the Hotel Valhalla without Liv didn’t feel right. Ruby had busted her way into the place to rescue Liv last time and now she was busting her way in to save everybody else. It was a weird sort of full-circle moment and Ruby didn't like it.

 

Her last great memories with Liv had been in this place. It felt bittersweet being back and even if Liv was technically alive again, it didn’t feel the same. What made things feel worse was the fact that Liv’s killer had been brought back to life. Ronda had been given a second lease on life and despite what Ember said about the warrior being watched every second of the day, it didn’t feel like a fair trade-off.

 

Ruby laid in Sarah’s room, staring up at the stars that littered the ceiling, trying to count them all. It wasn’t all that surprising that Sarah wanted her room to feel like she was living in nature. For Ruby, all it did was bring back memories of her summers at Camp Half-blood, watching the stars with Liv. There were some friendships that not even Death could separate, no matter how much it tried. Ruby was pretty sure that she would have fought her way through her Father and all the other gods to be reunited with Liv, it didn't matter if she died, because then at least they'd be reunited.

 

Sasha and Sarah had both chided her often about her death-wish. The first few months on the ship, Ruby had fought almost recklessly, she had finally been able to grieve properly but that hadn't stopped the flood of emotions. She had treated every battle like the one that took her best friend from her. Charlotte had finally pulled her aside after a rather aggressive battle and talked some sense into her, but Ruby carried the pain of losing Liv like armor.

 

Closing her eyes, Ruby allowed sleep to finally claim her. She was exhausted from all of the events to the death that she had taken part in. She just wanted to sleep for a while and forget her troubles. As weird as it sounded, sleeping was the only time she felt at peace because she would see Liv in her dreams. She didn't have to deal with people judging her for the way she carried herself or how she felt. As a daughter of Hades, many people expected her to be a certain way, but Liv had never forced her to be anything other than herself.

 

It didn’t take long at all for dream Liv to find her. Apparently, the minor goddess had been waiting for Ruby to go to sleep. They were out in the middle of a grass field, Liv was sitting on an old picnic blanket waiting for her. There were tall sunflowers in the distance and the skies were beautiful hues of purple, orange, and pink.

 

“Took you long enough to show up.” Liv quipped, giving Ruby a playful glare. “I have news for you that I need for you to pass on to Sarah, Alexa, and Ember.”

 

Ruby plopped down next to Liv and drew her knees to her chest. “Sorry I was busying having to do arts and crafts to the death. Valhalla is a weird place. Anyways what is the news that I need to pass on?”

 

The smallest of smiles graced Liv’s features. “There is a new prophecy. I am not sure Ragnarok can be delayed. Tell the others about the prophecy.” Liv pulled out a crumpled napkin, handing it to Ruby who read the words on it aloud.

 

In the twilight, the Gods must fall
Deaths are undone in the All Father’s hall
An ember will ignite the beginning of the end
A daughter must pay for her mother’s sin
The great wolves clash as the ground shakes
The heirs resigned to their fates

 

Ruby frowned deeply. “I know what at least one of those lines mean. Ronda is back alive, she was somehow resurrected.” She sounded a little bit bitter about that but was trying to hide it. She didn't want to ruin what time she had with Liv.

 

“Who does she think she is, Jesus?” Liv’s smile turned into a scowl, her good mood evaporating. “If I see her…”

 

Ruby let out a small laugh. “Revenge doesn’t suit you Liv,” Ruby said, using her thumb to smooth the frown lines on Liv’s face. Liv was many things but a revenge-seeking person wasn't one of them. It just didn't suit the once-playful girl that Ruby knew.

 

Liv leaned into her best friend’s touch and for a moment she looked younger, almost peaceful. “Just tell the others to meet us in New Rome. Maybe the Einherjar can drop you guys off.” She said quietly. Liv tried not to dwell on the circumstances of her death and resurrection. It wasn't like there was anything she could to change it.

 

“I’ll talk to them,” Ruby promised. She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself to ask the question that was on her mind. “Can you stay with me just for a little longer? I feel like I haven’t slept well in over two years. Can we just stay here...just for a few minutes.”

 

Liv’s eyes locked with Ruby’s and she nodded sadly. “For a few more minutes.” She said, cuddling into her best friend’s side. She couldn’t change the past or what had happened, but Liv at least wanted to give Ruby a few minutes of peace.

 

Shifting positions on the blanket, Liv allowed Ruby to lay her head down on Liv’s thigh. She then slowly began to run her fingers through her friend’s hair, lightly scraping her nails along the edges of Ruby’s undercut. It wasn’t long before she felt the daughter of Hades go limp against her and drift off to sleep. When she was asleep, it was like all of the pain and anguish melted from Ruby’s features, and she looked happy and not weighed down by tragedy or depression. It was probably the most beautiful sight Liv had ever seen. Liv watched Ruby sleep for a few minutes, committing to memory what a happy Ruby looked like. Liv wasn’t sure what Ragnarok would bring, but she wanted to remember this.

 

------

“What did she say exactly? Say it again, but maybe a little slower,” Alexa was trying to scribble down the prophecy over the sound of both Sarah and Ember interrupting. Roman had a confused look on his face as if the prophecy had been spoken in an entirely different language and Ruby was just looking pissed off at having to repeat herself for the sixth time.

 

After Ruby had woken up from her nap, she had gone to tell the others the information she had found out. Except that whatever good mood she had been in, evaporated by the time she had to tell her story for the third time. Ruby had left out the part about her and Liv cuddling, she didn’t think they’d care about that. Instead, she focused on the meadow and told them about the prophecy.

 

“Are we sure we can trust Liv?” Ember asked quietly. It wasn’t that she doubted Liv’s loyalty, but she wasn’t sure what the minor goddess knew about prophecy.

 

If looks could kill, then Ember would have definitely been pushing up daisies. Ruby looked like she was about to strangle Ember, but was cut off by Alexa.

 

“I am certain that we can trust Liv. I just want to make sure we have thought this prophecy through.” Alexa said, trying to stop the argument in its tracks before it could actually get underway. She didn’t want to have to try and pull Ruby off of Ember and Ruby was still pissed about getting hit over the head with the pitcher from before.

 

“Ruby said she would meet us in New Rome. That’s where we need to go.” Ruby said sternly. She knew that something big was coming and she wanted to get ahead of it while they still could.

 

“Ember can you get us to New Rome?” Sarah asked, turning to look at Ember. “Will the Bifrost stay open long enough to get us all there?”

 

Ember shrugged her shoulders. “It is worth a shot.” She wasn’t sure she could do it all on her own but she was willing to at least try.

 

"Perhaps we could ask one of the other Valkyrie's to help us get there," Roman suggested, he had built up a good friendship with some of the Einherjar during his time in the Hotel Valhalla.

 

"Go ahead and go ask them," Sarah said nodding for him to go ahead. She turned to look at Ruby. "Did Liv say anything else useful?"

 

Ruby shook her head. "No, not really. She was really angry about Ronda being alive, but she can join the club."

 

"Evidently Loki is growing stronger, it won't be long before he escapes his bonds complete and brings about Ragnarok." Ember rubbed her temples. She was starting to grow weary and her faith was starting to fade a little. "Without Odin, I am not sure we have a chance."

 

"Odin is fated to die in Ragnarok right?" Alexa asked she had been doing her research.

 

"If all the prophecies about Ragnarok are correct, then Odin isn't the only one fated to die. The whole world is fated to suffer and most of the Gods will destroy each other." Sarah explained to Alexa and Ruby.

 

Ruby frowned, a feeling of irritation rolling off of her. "Well as long as Ronda is dead at the end then I'll feel justified. But if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not be in Valhalla when I die. I am my father's heir and when I do eventually kick the bucket, I want my seat of honor at his table."

 

"Don't you hate your dad for keeping you from Liv?" Alexa gave Ruby a quizzical look.

 

"Family is complicated, we all know that by now. Besides if I want to change things in the Underworld, I have to actually be there. I do love my father but there is a lot he could learn." Ruby replied quietly. She averted her gaze and sighed. "Let's just get to New Rome, we have to meet with the others."

 

Roman by this point had returned with some of the other Valkyries. "They said that they would help us."

 

Ember gave a nod of understanding, before moving to stand close to her valkyrie-sisters. Together they managed to open the Bifrost. "Focus on New Rome, that's how you'll get there. Don't get sidetracked and stick together." Ember warned, as the group stepped forward and into the blinding rainbow light.

----

 

“You know it’s been kind of quiet lately, aside from Sasha and the other demigods showing up.” Finn mused as he leaned against a gate. As one of the current praetors of New Rome, he had followed in Charlotte’s footsteps of going on patrol. He had handpicked Becky Lynch to go with him, mostly because he valued her friendship and she was easier to talk to than some of the other members of the legion.

 

Becky glanced at her friend and rolled her eyes. “You should know better than to jinx us by now. Seth wasn’t happy when Sasha showed up. I thought he was going to blow a gasket.” Her boyfriend had been furious but Becky didn’t need to remind Finn of the reaction that Sasha had earned.

 

A dinging sound on Becky’s wristwatch drew her attention. It was alerting her to the fact that the perimeter around the camp had been breached. She let out a low groan and shot a glare at Finn. “Looks like you did jinx us after all. I’ll go get Seth, it seems we have company.”

 

Finn picked his helmet up off the ground donned it. “So it seems we do. Grab Seth and sound the alarm. I may end up needing backup.” As the son of Mars the war God, Finn didn’t want to appear weak but he knew he’d fight better with the legion at his back.

 

Becky ran from the perimeter towards the middle of the camp, calling out to the few legionnaires that were out and about to arm themselves and form ranks. She found Seth in his praetor quarters looking ruffle like he had just rolled out of bed.

 

“Hey, babe.” Seth greeted lethargically, his words were accompanied by a tired yawn. He shrugged on a shirt and rubbed his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol?”

 

“Hey Seth, we um...might have a situation.” Becky showed him her watch, pulling up the location of the breach. “It might be nothing but it could be something.”

 

Seth steeled himself as he turned, grabbing his armor and began pulling it on. “Alright, we need to be prepared for anything. I don’t think it’s nothing.” Seth had a sinking feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worse.

 

Becky nodded and helped him pin on his purple praetor cloak. “I already sounded the alarm and Finn is already out there on the front lines, prepared to meet whatever it is head on..”

 

“It is always the dramatics with that guy,” Seth grumbled sarcastically. He walked out of his quarters not surprised to find his Pegasus waiting for him. He swung up into the saddle, thanking the legionnaire who had assisted him. He offered a hand to Becky, pulling her up in the saddle behind him. “Let’s go see what this is about.”

 

“Do you think it has anything to do with Ragnarok?”

 

“It’s possible.” Seth had been content to just stay in New Rome and avoid any future quests. He had his position as praetor and Becky, and he didn’t want to jeopardize that. If the apocalypse was coming, however, nobody would be safe. "Camp Jupiter is a fortified location so it'd be stupid to attack us like this, but maybe they think they'll catch us by surprise."

 

That response troubled Becky, she had witnessed what surprise attacks could do to camps. She glanced over her shoulder as Seth urged the Pegasi to go faster. Behind them, all of Camp Jupiter was coming to life and the cohorts were forming ranks to start marching. If there was something coming to attack New Rome and Camp Jupiter, the legionnaires weren't going to go down without a fight.

----

Charlotte was thankful when Liv's chariot finally touched ground on the beach just outside the Camp Jupiter boarder. Liv had many talents as a minor goddess, good driving was not one of those talents. Charlotte would have kissed the ground but she didn't want to act undignified.

 

Bayley and Sasha looked equally as green around the gills, but Liv was unaffected. The minor goddess dismounted from her chariot and began to feed her pigasi, though Charlotte did note that Liv didn't seem to want to approach the borderline to the camp.

 

"I think it would be for the best if I stay here with Liv. I know we need to tell Seth and everybody about what is happening, but if I am there it might not be a good thing." Sasha said shifting uncomfortably.

 

"No, you don't have to stay out here. You've served your time, you can come with me." Charlotte promised, giving her a meaningful look. She had been the one to banish Sasha in the first place, but the girl had proven herself more than once.

 

Bayley stayed out of the discussion, instead, she was staring out in the distance. She could see a figure approaching them and on further inspection, she realized it was Finn. "It looks like we have caught their attention. It seems the rest of your legion is coming to us."

 

"This is probably my cue to go," Liv said quietly. She knew Ruby was counting on seeing her, but she had stayed around long enough. She wasn't really supposed to be interfering as much as she had. It was only going to make things more complicated when she was forced to go back to Olympus and Ruby was stuck at camp.

 

Before Liv had the chance to remount her chariot there was a blinding flash, that shifted into various shades of the rainbow. The group had to glance away and shield their eyes until at last the light faded.

 

Ruby, Ember, Roman, Sarah, and Alexa all stood where the light had been. Ruby was the first one to move, crossing the distance and hugging Liv tightly. The minor goddess allowed the embrace though she seemed to stand there awkwardly.

 

"Well, it looks like you guys know how to make an entrance," Finn announced as he made it to the border. By this point, Seth and Becky had caught up to him and formed up ranks. He was rather relieved that it was their friends and not some enemy attacking them.

 

"You lot gave us a heart attack." Becky chided though she was thankful as she slid off of Seth's horse. His pegasi gave a nervous sort of sound as it eyed Liv's flying pigs that were pulling her chariot.

 

Seth patted his Pegasi's mane before dismounting. "I assume you guys are here for a reason?" He inquired giving Sasha a questioning look.

 

"Yes, we came to discuss the prophecy," Bayley explained, quickly describing to Becky, Seth, and Finn what had transpired since she had left them. She tried to condense it as much as she could, while also detailing how big of a help Sasha had been. Bayley didn't want them to continue to ostracize Sasha anymore, she had helped them a lot.

 

Finn let out a low whistle. "Well, you lot have certainly been busy. We should call a senate meeting."

 

"That would be a good idea." Alexa mused folding her arms over her chest. "We need a battle plan and to try and figure out what this prophecy means."

 

"Come on then, welcome to Camp Jupiter," Seth said, gesturing for them to follow him.

 

As the large group of demigods and the minor goddess turned to head back towards the camp, there was another flash of blinding light to their left probably two football field lengths away. Except for this time the light wasn't completely rainbow-colored, it looked somewhat corrupted.

 

"A friend of yours?" Finn asked glancing at Sarah and Ember, he was trying to shield his eyes. "They're a little far away..."

 

"No..." Ember replied warily, trying to block out the blinding light as well. She had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen. "We weren't expecting anybody else, were you?" She called to Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley.

 

Sasha's eyes widened in horror. "No, no we weren't." Her words were cut off as a loud wolf's howl sounded in the distance, but it was getting closer. As the light faded she could see a large black wolf, larger than even the Roman Goddess Lupa, running towards them. "What in Hades' name is that?" She questioned.

 

It was Sarah who answered. "That is Fenrisúlfr or Fenrir, son of Loki. The great wolf."

 

Seth drew his gladius, preparing himself to hold Fenrir off so the others could escape. "I've got this, get to camp!" He called.

 

Ember took one look at him and rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to stand a chance. He bit off the arm of the god Tyr, and he's destined to kill Odin during Ragnarok, don't be stupid." She said, shoving Seth back towards the border of Camp Jupiter. "I'll hold him off."

 

And then with that, the giant wolf lunged for the kill.

Chapter 13: Chapter 13 aka Ragnarok

Summary:

Ragnarok is finally here

Ruby watched horror-struck as Ember surged into battle. She didn’t exactly consider Ember a close friend, but she didn’t want to see her die. Ruby unsheathed her daggers from her hips and dove forward to slice at Fenrir’s flank. The wolf was massive, almost as big as Cerberus. Apparently, all the time it had spent being chained up had only served to make it angrier. Ruby wasn't sure who had freed the wolf, but she didn't have much time to think about it, as Fenrir began to charge again.

 

“What are you doing?” Ember hissed, barely rolling out of the way, Fenrir’s teeth snapping just a few inches from where she had been. She swung with her spear, bashing the giant wolf in the nose. Ember had never thought that she'd be the one to fight Fenrir, but she realized that if that was her fate then she could handle it. "I told you guys to leave and save yourselves."

 

“Don't know if you are aware, but I'm a horrible listener. Besides, I’m not letting you die,” Ruby said, stomping hard on the ground, causing the Earth to tremble a little bit. "I've already had somebody sacrifice themselves for me, I won't let it happen again. I can have another death on my conscience." Ruby had barely survived Liv's death, Ember dying would be too much guilt.

 

Fenrir growled and swiped out at Ember, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying backward. She hit the dirt hard, rolling to a stop a good twenty feet away from Ruby. Fenrir then turned and launched himself at Ruby, pinning her down under his mighty paw. He bared his teeth, a menacing snarl ripping from the back of his throat.

 

Ruby stared up at the wolf, her eyes emotionless. She was the daughter of the king of the dead, she didn’t fear death. “Come on, do it!” She wheezed, fighting to draw breath with the wolf’s heavy paw on her chest.

 

“Not today Rue!” Liv yelled. The minor goddess had seen Ruby in trouble and had come back. She kept up, kneeing the creature right in the snout, sending it staggering off of Ruby. Ordinarily, if somebody else had done that it would have been ineffective, but since Liv was a minor goddess she packed a little bit more power in her punch.

 

Fenrir turned its attention to Ruby, but by this time Charlotte, Bayley, Seth, Sasha, and the others had circled back. Sarah was helping Ember up, who had barely moved, and trying to shield her from the battle.

 

Suddenly a different sort of growling was heard, a flaming chariot from the east was riding right towards Fenrir. As it got closer, Ruby seemed to realize it was Hades himself in a chariot pulled by Cerberus. When they were close enough, Hades used his weapon to cut the rope allowing the hell hound to tackle and begin fighting with Fenrir.

 

Hades dismounted from his chariot and walked over to Ruby, his eyes blazing. He extended a hand and pulled his daughter to her feet. “You’re either incredibly brave or stupid.”

 

“I take after you.” Ruby was panting hard. She glanced over to Emer who Sarah had finally helped up. There was a weird sort of vibe in the air and it was making the hair on the back of Ruby's neck stand up. “Something feels off.”

 

Hades sighed. “Because child, Ragnarok is starting now. Your little friend just started a war by getting involved.” He said nodding to Liv. "She pulled our whole Pantheon into the conflict. This is the day the Gods fall."

 

Liv scowled at Hades. “The war was already going to happen.” She muttered. She didn't appreciate the god of the dead blaming her for this. She had been the one to just save his daughter of course.

 

Before Hades could respond, the corrupted Bifrost opened again, this time large frost giants and more of Loki’s dishonored dead forces began to descend and let out a war cry. The Norse villains took one look at the small force and then charged.

 

Charlotte drew her gladius and looked to Seth. “It’s time to call the legion.”

 

Seth nodded and raised his gladius to the sky, sharing a look with Finn who copied him. “For Rome!” He cried, trying to rally the legion behind him. He could hear them taking up the cry and starting their march up the mountain to meet with Loki’s forces.

 

Sasha looked to Hades and swallowed hard, she hadn't seen him since she had almost killed him in the underworld. She gripped the whip at her side and glanced at Charlotte. "I don't know if the legion will even be enough." She whispered.

 

Fenrir was still battling with Cerberus, both large beasts rolling and snarling. It was like a massive dog fight and they were in the middle of the clearing between Loki's approaching army and the heroes. Fenrir managed to land a particularly nasty blow and pinned Cerberus down, ready to rip the hellhound's throat.

 

Ruby let out a scream and started to run towards Cerberus, wanting to help him. Hades caught her around the waist and shook his head. "You can't interfere this time. I need you to listen to me Ruby, we don't have much time."

 

For a moment all the sounds of the battle died away and Ruby found herself alone with her father. "What are we doing?" Ruby asked, confusion evident in her tone.

 

Hades stared at her for a long moment. "Cerberus won't die today, but a lot of people are going to fall, including the Gods. Ragnarok will bring the destruction of the Pantheons are you know them, but you and your friends will rebuild it. You are meant for so much more." Hades whispered, cupping her cheek.

 

Ruby had never known her father to be particularly affectionate. Was he really trying to tell her that he was going to die? Weren't the Gods supposed to be immortal? "What are you talking about?"

 

"You will take my place, Ruby. I thought I would have time to prepare you, but it seems that Ragnarok has struck sooner than I thought. Your little friend has been a thorn in my side, but she will be your greatest asset. Don't lose her again." Hades said, giving her a long look.

 

"Why are you giving me this fatherly advice now?" Ruby asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "You are leaving me?"

 

"I must, but it is your destiny. You are meant to rule the underworld. You can correct the mistakes I made and maybe this time you'll be a better ruler than I was." Hades nodded over to where Sasha was. "Learn from the past and resolve to do better in the future."

 

With that Hades snapped his fingers and the sounds of the battle filtered back in.

-----

Charlotte was watching as Loki’s forces got closer. In the distance, she could see the corrupted Bifrost shimmering as a tall figure stepped out of it. She had imagined that Loki would look like the marvel-movie, instead, the face that stared across the battlefield at her was grotesque. Loki’s eyes were wild and dancing with a chaotic flame. His nose and his cheeks were burned and even from a distance, he looked to be in a large amount of pain. Charlotte had fought a lot of commanders and in a lot of battles, but Loki looked weak, even though she knew he wasn’t.

 

“How is he here?” Bayley asked as she and Sasha moved to flank Charlotte. “I thought he was supposed to be chained up with a snake dripping venom on his face or something.”

 

“Clearly he got free.” Sasha deadpanned but then gave Bayley an apologetic look. She hadn’t meant to snap at her, she was just nervous about seeing Loki. She hadn’t forgotten how Loki and her own mother had tricked her.

 

Charlotte looked at her friends, before focusing on Sasha. “You don’t have to stay here. You can help Sarah get Ember to safety.” She felt like Sasha had been through enough, heck they all had.

 

Sasha’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I won’t leave you. That prophecy said a daughter must pay for her mother’s sins. That means me, if I die then at least I’ll do it trying to take Loki out.”

 

Bayley frowned, her grip tightening on her staff. “How about we plan on surviving this? Let’s get Loki!” She didn’t want to see Sasha die, not after she had redeemed herself.

 

The battlefield was now densely populated as Loki’s forces slammed into the legion. It was already a hellacious fight, both sides going at it full force. Cerberus was still tangled up with Fenrir, fighting for his life. Charlotte could hear more howling now and she turned her head just as the Roman Wolf goddess Lupa burst onto the field, with her pack of wolves streaming behind her. They leaped at Fenrir, biting at him and trying to help Cerberus win.

 

Charlotte, Bayley, and Sasha all tried to fight their way through the thick of things, trying to get to Loki. Charlotte and Sasha were using their gladiuses and Bayley was using her staff to fight back the dishonored dead.

 

The sky seemed to rumble and crack as chariots appeared on the horizon. Apparently, the pantheons had decided to get involved as well. It wasn’t only the Greeks but the Norse Gods as well.

 

Loki seemed to notice this and rolled his eyes. He held up a fist, opening the corrupted Bifrost again, monsters poured out of it as the Trickster god smiled. He didn’t care much for the reinforcements, he had spent thousands of years plotting his revenge and the monsters were just a means to an end for him. If he got to kill some other gods and their pesky demigod children then so be it.

------

While Ruby was busy fighting side by side with her dad, Liv had made her way over to Sarah and Ember. Ember was looking more than a little unsteady on her feet but at least she was up. Sarah was trying to keep the monsters at bay, but even as tough as she was, there were just too many.

 

Ember was trying to help, but her left arm hung limply at her side and was throbbing in pain. Fenrir had knocked her for a loop earlier and she still felt disoriented. Liv could sense that the girl probably needed to leave the battlefield, but knowing Ember, it was unlikely she’d be willing to.

 

“You both look like you could use some help,” Liv said as she joined them. She was wielding her godly weapon, her chain-wrapped bat, Ratchet.

 

Sarah nodded slowly, throwing an ax and decapitating one of the monsters that had edged to close. “We could use a little help. I need to get Ember into the camp.”

 

“I’m not leaving!” Ember protested though she did give a sort of violent lurch to the side. She really wasn’t steady on her feet and yelling like that had almost made her vision turn white.

 

“You have a concussion and your shoulder is out of the socket. You’d be more useful if you were out of danger and calling the battle from a distance.” Liv said, ignoring the girl’s arguments. She let out a low whistle, signaling her chariot and Pigasi. “They’ll take you to the camp.”

 

“My place is here, Ragnarok is my fight!” Ember didn’t want to miss out on what she had spent a millennia training for.

 

Liv stared at her curiously before frowning. “You lit the match for the battle, you did your part. Now go and be safe, if we all fall you’ll get your chance to keep fighting then.” Liv said, helping the shorter girl onto the chariot.

 

Sarah patted Ember’s good shoulder. “We’ve got the fight from here. Go and be safe.” She whispered, wishing she had something more eloquent to say.

 

Once Ember was securely in the chariot, Liv gave another whistle to her trust pigs and sent them flying back towards the camp. Then the minor goddess turned to look at Sarah. “The battle isn’t over.”

 

“I know,” Sarah said summoning her ax back to her hand. “The battle is never over, try not to die this time though.”

 

Liv let out a laugh. “Well no promises, but I’ll try to stay alive. Supposedly I’m somewhat immortal now. The question is, where to begin?”

 

She glanced out to the battlefield, watching as Ruby and Hades fought back to back. She could see Sasha, Bayley, and Charlotte charging towards Loki. There were shouts in Latin, as Becky, Seth, and Finn commanded the legion forward.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Liv could see something hurtling toward her. She narrowly ducked out of the way and managed to catch a javelin with her hand. She followed the trajectory of where it came from and frowned. In the distance, she could see a familiar smug-looking blonde staring right at her.

 

“I think you got your answer,” Sarah said, not even questioning how Ronda got there. Loki had resurrected his daughter and used his magic to summon her and her cronies. “I cut off her friend’s head last time, I’m looking forward to doing it again.”

 

Liv tested the weight of the javelin and then used her godly strength to throw it back and impale one of Ronda’s cronies with it. “It’s showtime then.” Liv gripped her bat tightly and then with Sarah flanking her, ran off to face Ronda. They had a score to settle.

----

Sasha had gotten separated from Bayley and Charlotte, they had been attacked by a frost giant and then Sasha had been cornered by a sort of small fire demon. She had managed to slay it, binding it with her whip before stabbing it through the chest, but when she had finally broken free the frost giant was gone, but so were Charlotte and barley. Distantly she could hear Charlotte shouting something, but she was too far away to make out the actual words.

 

Sasha kept pushing her way towards the rival mountain that Loki had been on. She had lost track of him too in the midst of the chaos. All around her the battle raged as Loki's forces of chaos, the dishonored dead, frost giants, and monsters collided with the legion and the pantheon of Greek and Norse gods.

 

The former praetor wondered idly if this was going to be the day that she died. The Prophecy kept playing over and over again in her head. She wasn't sure if she would be considered her mother's heir but she knew the part about paying for a mother's sins was about her. It was bittersweet to think about, Sasha had wanted to die at the end of the last great war, she had thought her life was over.

 

“You know, you’re almost as beautiful as your mother.”

 

Sasha shivered in disgust as she heard a voice behind her. It sounded like a bunch of voices speaking at the same time, overlaid and extremely creepy. Sasha turned to find herself staring into the scarred face of Loki. His armor was stained with blood no doubt the blood of people that Sasha had cared about.

 

“Your mother didn’t believe in you, but I do. I knew you could have killed Hades, Persephone was always so short-sighted. Do you know who else was short-sighted? Odin, the all-father definitely didn't see much when I stabbed his good eye out and killed him.” Loki was definitely uglier than she had expected but there was a certain charm about his voice, it was like honey despite the vile words that he was saying.

 

Sasha glanced away and gritted her teeth. She was angry and partly scared, she didn’t think she could take Loki down on her own, but she was going to try. She lashed out with her whip, only for Loki to dodge. The edge of the whip caught him on the cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

 

Loki snarled and summoned his staff. “I would advise you not to do something stupid like that again or so help me I’ll end you right now.”

 

“I am not scared of you.” Sasha lied, trying to act braver than she actually felt.

 

Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. “Your knees are shaking and I bet your insides are like jello. Your mom used to boast about how great her daughter was, the brightest star of Rome, I can see she was mistaken.” Loki taunted, advancing on Sasha and forcing her to give up ground.

 

Sasha tried to use her whip on him again, but this time Loki was prepared. He allowed the whip to wrap around his arm and then grabbed a hold of it and began dragging Sasha towards him. Sasha frowned, for a moment panic almost threatened to overwhelm her. Loki’s expression was both hungry yet sinister and it set her on edge. She hefted her sword, trying to swing at him, but Loki parried it with staff.

 

“Now, you die little girl.” Loki struck her hard, knocking her down to the ground. He kicked her gladius from her hands and stepped forward to drive the blunt end of the staff into her face.

 

Suddenly vines shot up from the ground wrapping his arms and body up so that Loki couldn’t move. Demeter and Persephone landed in their chariots a few feet away. Anger was radiating off of Sasha’s mom as she moved to take a defensive dance in front of Sasha. Persephone was not going to let anything else happen to Sasha, not again.

 

“What are you doing?” Loki screeched, glaring at her. “You should be on my side.”

 

“Never underestimate the love of a mother for her daughter,” Demeter growled, she drew her scythe. “I’m getting real sick of gods trying to use my daughter. It won’t happen again, I won't allow it!” Demeter then flew at Loki, tackling him clear across the battlefield.

 

Persephone glanced over her shoulder before looking to Sasha. She bent down to check on her daughter. “Are you okay?”

 

“You saved me.” Sasha was stunned. “I thought you and grandma weren’t coming.”

 

Persephone gently caressed her cheek. “I guess I had a moment of clarity. Something, some people are worth fighting and dying for. There is nothing like a mother’s love.” Persephone whispered, tugging Sasha to her feet. “I am sorry I wasn’t a better mother, someday I hope you will be everything I wasn’t. I need to go help Demeter now, the battle isn’t over.”

 

Sasha trembled. “I was so mad at you after you abandoned me. Two years I’ve been holding on to it, but I forgive you, mom. Not just for you but because I need my own peace.” She hugged Persephone tightly, before picking up her weapons. “Go give Loki hell for me.”

 

Persephone’s eyes glittered with tears. “I love you, Sasha,” Persephone said quietly, she turned then and mounted her chariot. She had her own mother to save, as Loki and Demeter were now engaged in explosive combat to the death.

----

Ruby was bleeding from half a dozen scratches, but somehow she was still standing. Her talk with her father had energized her and Ruby could feel fresh power crackling through her veins. Loki might have had his dishonored dead, but Ruby had the might of Hades behind her.

 

Raising her daggers high into the air, she brought them down forcefully into the earth, causing the ground around her to crack. Hordes of skeleton warriors from the underworld began to claw and fight their way out of the cracks. She had always been strong, but now Ruby was starting to border on downright terrifying feats of power.

 

A large feathered beast woman flew at Ruby, but the daughter of Hades grabbed her out of the air and slammed her forcefully to the ground. "Go to Tartarus," Ruby commanded, ignoring the monster's screams as the earth swallowed her hole.

 

Summoning her dagger back to her hands Ruby scanned the battlefield looking for Liv. The grass field was now stained red with blood and monster dust. Godly chariots were wrecked all over the field, the tide of the battle seemed to ebb and flow. Ruby wasn't sure who was going to win in the end, but it didn't seem to matter all that much at the moment. Everything felt like utter chaos and carnage.

 

Locating Liv proved to be difficult but Ruby found the minor goddess with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. If anything the blonde just looked irritated and inconvenienced by it. Liv let out a yelp as Sarah none to gently pried the arrowhead out of her shoulder.

 

"Are you two okay?" Ruby asked, wiping some of the blood from her face. Her eyes were still wild from the heat of battle, but her face softened as she studied Liv, making sure she wasn't hurt worse.

 

"Yeah, we're okay," Sarah said, barely catching her breath before launching herself into battle.

 

"I killed Ronda," Liv said smugly. She was clearly winded from the fight, but she had taken Ronda's javelin as a trophy and then used it to impale the rest of Ronda's friends.

 

Ruby wasn't sure why she found that funny, but she did. "Good for you." She twirled one of her daggers and then threw it right into the gut of a gorgon who had been sneaking up on Sarah.

 

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up. The gods who are still alive are tired and Loki's forces feel limitless." Liv's tone was almost somber now. Even she was starting to feel tired as she watched explosions detonate all around the battlefield. "Alexa's been trying to rally the everybody."

 

Ruby followed to where Liv was pointing. She could see Alexa had donned Athena's armor and was trying to break through the enemy's line. Ruby had often dreamed of the end of the world and what an apocalypse would look like and Ragnarok was definitely living up to the hype. "The prophecy said that in the twilight the Gods must fall." The thought struck a chord and she turned to look at Sarah. "Sarah, are any of the gods supposed to make it out of Ragnarok?"

 

Sarah nodded her head. "It's supposed to be the end of the world but some do survive."

 

"What are you thinking of doing?" Liv asked, trying to follow Ruby's thought process.

 

"We must accept our fates. We are the future Gods and Goddess, for us to take our place we can't interfere with the Gods as they fall." Ruby locked eyes with Liv. She couldn't risk losing her again though. "Will you stay by my side, please?"

 

Liv took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Win or lose, we do it together." She promised.

 

"Good, alright Sarah, tell our troops to fall back. We have to let it happen." Ruby glanced out to see Hades fighting back to back with Posideon. She felt guilty about the fact that they were going to die, but she had read that Pantheons fell and rose frequently since the dawn of time. Her father had even proclaimed earlier that today would be the end of the Gods. "Liv does your chariot still work? We need to get to Sasha, Bayley, and Charlotte. They'll be important for rebuilding the world."

-----

It took Liv some time to round up the heroes. Alexa and Charlotte in particular were not happy about being pulled from the battlefield. The Roman Legion had been willing to pull back since they had suffered a lot of casualties and wanted the chance to regroup, there were more than a few legionnaires who needed medical treatment.

 

Not everybody had retreated though, many stood on the edge of the battlefield shooting arrows and killing any monsters that got to close. As promised Liv hadn't left Ruby's side and was following the daughter of Hades, as Ruby tried to fill everybody in on what was going to happen.

 

"We're just supposed to stand by and let out godly parents die?" Sasha asked, a little miffed. Of course, her mom would make amends right before she went to her death. "If they fall, then what?"

 

"It's mutually assured destruction. The Gods will take out Loki, but it will use the remaining essence of all those who are left. As they fall, we will take their place." Ruby frowned, it was hard to explain and she could see that not everybody was following. "We can build a better future, we can rewrite the past and atone for their mistakes." She added, this time looking pointedly at Sasha.

 

"That's easy for you to say, you're the chosen heir of Hades. What about the rest of us, it could result in a civil war between half-siblings over who gets to claim the thrones." Finn interjected, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

"Then we gather all the members of the two camps and we put it to a vote. We'll figure it out." Bayley said, putting her support behind Ruby. She didn't want there to be more bloodshed."

 

Ember limped over to the group, her wounds having been bandaged. "The Einherjar will back you in an alliance. Our pantheon will have fall too and we'll have to rebuild Asgard."

 

Charlotte was a little bit hesitant. she had to agree with Finn. It was very likely somebody would try and seize power, there had to be checks and balances. "There will have to change. Our parents ruled from Olympus with treachery and cruelty."

 

"We'll put checks and balances in place then. The marriage alliances between the different gods will be void and there will be new agreements forged." Ruby promised, still looking at Sasha. She knew of the torrid history between Hades and Persephone. When she became the new ruler of the underworld, she was going to set Sasha free from Persephone's obligations. "We can make this place better."

 

Sasha studied her and then nodded. "Fine, I agree with Ruby. We let the gods fulfill their own prophecy and fall. All in favor?"

 

Though there was not a unanimous agreement, the majority of the Greek and Roman demigods liked the idea of a fresh start. One that wasn't plagued by the bad decisions of their parents, a better future.

 

In the distance, Loki stabbed Demeter right through the heart with her own Scythe. "Enough!" He roared, his voice echoing around the area. "You want war, I'll give you war. Come forth Surtur, put an end to this once and for all."

 

A giant devil-like creature came through the corrupted Bifrost. Flames seemed to lick at its feet, killing the grass as it made its way towards Loki armed with a giant sword. There were not many gods left standing at this point, Hermes, Ares, Posiden, Hades, Persephone, and Hestia were all that remained for the greeks and the Romans. A few of the Norse Gods remained as well like Heimdall and Freya, with a couple of valkyries.

 

The god all clashed together with Surtur and Loki, the light of the battle so bright and loud, that the Demigods lost their senses for a few minutes. Then the bright light faded away and all that was left was dust and a giant crater where the Gods had impacted and hit the ground. There was nothing left except a single solitary sunflower.

 

"Is it over?" Sasha asked quietly unable to look.

 

Charlotte nodded and simply hugged her friend. All of the demigods look tired and shell shocked by what had occurred, though none of them really had the words to express that. "I think we need to gather our dead and mourn them and also tend to our injuries. We need rest, I know I do."

 

"Our parents are gone." Seth pointed out, collapsing against a nearby rock. "Who would we even offer the prayers on the purse?"

 

Ruby looked out at the battlefield and let out a heavy sigh. "There will be no prayers today, but I will make sure that the Underworld welcomes our fallen comrades into Elysium." She promised. Her father had never been great at affection, but she knew he'd be proud of her. "I must go to the underworld now, but I'll be back in the morning. We can sort the rest of this out tomorrow." Ruby turned to leave, before extending a hand to Liv. Now that she was going to take over the Underworld she was going to make sure there was a place for Liv.

 

She didn't know for certain what the future of Olympus and Valhalla would look like, but for once Ruby was optimistic.

Notes:

Honestly this story has been a ride and I'm not sure if it was everything I imagined but I tried. The next chapter will be the epilogue. Thank you for joining me on the ride.

Chapter 14: Chapter 14 AKA The Epilogue

Summary:

The Epilogue

Bayley took a deep breath as she checked her appearance in the mirror. She was dressed in a Roman-style toga, her hair styled into an intricate bun, but she didn’t feel much like celebrating. Unlike some of the others, she had been fairly close with her godly parent, the grief of losing Hestia felt like a heavy burden on her heart. She stood resolute not to cry though, her mom would want her to be strong and to keep the peace.

 

That was her main priority, to keep the peace as the different demigods sorted out who would get to rule in the place of their parents. The pantheon had been almost completely wiped out, a few of the minor Gods and Goddesses had survived, namely Liv. They had found Hermes clinging to life but he had named Liv his successor before passing out of existence.

 

A few disputes had broken out about who would get to rule in Zeus and Hera’s place. Zeus in particular had quite a few heirs and a lot of the demigods had been split between Reid Flair and Seth Rollins. In the end, Reid had stepped aside and agreed to merely assist. Some of the other positions had been filled more easily, nobody disputed Ruby’s claim to Hades’ throne or the underworld, nor did they dispute Sasha or Charlotte’s claims to Persephone’s and Hera’s respectively.

 

Everything else was voted on by all the surviving demigods, they tried to pick somewhat evenly between the two camps. Roman was picked as Posiden’s replacement, Mickie James as Demeter's and Alexa as Athena’s. Bianca Belair was to be Nike’s replacement, Lacey Evans would be Aphrodite’s replacement, Finn would be the Ares’ replacement and Becky would be Hephestus’ replacement.

 

Bayley was happy for her friends, but there was still aching in her chest. She wasn’t sure she was fit to be the new goddess of the Hearth. Every time she looked at the flames she wondered if there might have been something better out there for her. She didn’t want to live forever, she wasn’t sure she was worthy of it. Yet, as she listened to the soothing crackles, she knew she would do everything she could to make her mother proud.

 

“You got that look in your eye again lass,” Finn said as he walked up behind her. He was dressed as a praetor still, though he was now the God of War. He seemed as uncertain as she did.

 

“What look is that?” Bayley asked, glancing at him.

 

“The look of longing, of wishing for something better. Ragnarok extracted a great toll.” Finn locked eyes with her. “Sometimes duty is the death of free will.”

 

Bayley nodded slowly. “We have an obligation to leave this world better than we found it, but I hope we can avoid another war. I’m tired, it’s been a long three years Finn.”

 

Finn gave her a sympathetic smile. “Just wait until we get to Olympus, I think we’ll get all the rest we need up there.” He offered her his arm. “Come on, we have a senate meeting to get too.”

 

The senate meeting in question was more of a feast and to say goodbye to the remaining Einherjar who were going back to rebuild the Hotel Valhalla and Asgard. Ember and Sarah had been elected to lead that particular mission.

 

Bayley took his arm and followed him. “Yes, let’s go. I could eat right about now.”

----

 

Charlotte Flair slowly sat down on her mother’s throne, she had always had a love-hate relationship with Hera, but now she realized the Queen of the Gods had done her best. She was flawed because she had loved fiercely, Charlotte could understand that. When Charlotte had felt unseen, Hera had picked her for a champion, had always promised that the blonde would be one of the greatest demigods ever. When she had felt like giving up, Hera had always given her the kick in the butt that she needed to preserver. Charlotte was starting to think that was the thing she was going to miss the most about her mother.

 

Her father Ric had told her that a love like that was once in a lifetime, and as Charlotte watched the interaction between the different groups, it all made sense. Her eyes lingered on Sasha who looked just as uncomfortable on Persephone’s former throne. She cleared her throat, waiting until Sasha looked her way before beckoning the other woman over.

 

Sasha looked confused but made her way over. Even though she had been banished from New Rome two years prior, nobody said anything about her being there now. Seth and Finn had initially been against Sasha succeeding Persephone, but everybody else had voted in her favor.

 

“You called me?” Sasha asked, keeping her voice low.

 

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” Charlotte admitted. She had grown fond of Sasha, two years at sea, their friendship had been forged through fire and war. She had never thought she’d count Sasha as her closest friend, but she did.

 

Sasha rubbed the back of her neck and shifted uncomfortably. “Would you believe me if I told you I had mixed feelings about this? I am not sure I am meant for this.”

 

An amused smile graced Charlotte’s features. “Two years ago you would have jumped at the chance for power, now you say you don’t want it. Perhaps you’ve grown up after all. You deserve to rule Sasha. I believe in you.”

 

“Thank you, I’ll try and be worthy of your faith in me.” Sasha wasn’t sure how to take the compliment, but it meant a lot to her that Charlotte cared.

 

“So what’s next for the Queen of the Underworld?” Charlotte asked curiously. She wasn’t sure how Ruby and Sasha were going to split their domain.

 

Sasha cast a wary glance over to the dark throne in the corner. Ruby was seated there looking a bit sulky. “I am not sure, I need to talk about it with Ruby. Technically my mother’s powers were tied to the time she spent in the underworld. I am not sure I want to have to spend six months of the year in hades.”

 

Charlotte laughed softly. “I am sure you can convince Ruby to change that. I do believe she has a soft spot for you.”

 

Sasha rolled her eyes. “She has a soft spot for somebody alright. I’ll talk to her though.” Sasha said, excusing herself from Charlotte so she could go talk to Ruby.

 

Ruby was indeed looking every bit the sulky ruler of the Underworld. A dark crown laced with obsidian stones sat on her head, her armor was various shades of red and black. Truly she looked bored as she sat with one leg over the armrest of her throne. She did sit up a little straighter when she saw Sasha approaching her though.

 

"Hello, Sasha." Ruby greeted politely, setting down the dagger she had been playing with. "You look like you have something you want to talk about."

 

"I do actually want to talk about something with you. As the heir of Persephone and her successor, my powers are tied to the Underworld too. I know my mom had to stay in the Underworld-"

 

Ruby cut her off, an amused smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I am not my father Sasha. You are not property, you are free to do whatever you want. You are a goddess, free to roam." Ruby studied her for a long moment. "You will always have a place to reside in Elysium, but you don't have to stay... maybe you could visit sometime though, I have grown to cherish our friendship." Ruby wasn't good with feelings, but she was trying. Liv had encouraged her to try and reach out and not just seclude herself in the Underworld.

 

Tears seemed to pool in Sasha's eyes but she refused to cry. "I will be sure to stop by. I've lived my life always trying to fit into what everybody else wanted, maybe it'd be okay if I just see the world without having to fight monsters or go on quests. I'd like to find out who I am outside of the legion and the battles."

 

Ruby stood up from her throne and offered her hand to Sasha. "Go find it then. You are Persephone's daughter, but that is only one layer to you."

 

Sasha glanced over her shoulder to where Charlotte was watching them. "I think you're right, there are more layers to who I could be. I was always so ambitious but now I'm ready to just be present at the moment." She shook Ruby's hand, feeling a weird warmth transferring from the normally cold woman. It took her a second to realize that Ruby was breaking any ties that bound the powers of their parents together. Ruby was giving back the freedom that Hades had taken from Persephone thousands of years before.

 

"Don't tell anybody I said this, but I'll actually miss you, Sasha."

 

"I'll miss you too Ruby." Sasha hesitated for a second before reaching up to touch Ruby's throne. She focused her powers and every so slowly sunflowers began to sprout along the base of Ruby's seat of power. The Lord of the dead gave Sasha an odd look but didn't interrupt her. Once the flowers bloomed, a small smile crossed Sasha's features. "You told me they were Liv's favorite once. Try to remember to get some sunlight and don't forget to let people in, you have more friends than you think."

 

Ruby actually smiled at the sunflowers, they reminded her of Liv. She was a bit sulky since Liv had gone to help Sarah and Ember fix Valhalla, but she knew the blonde would come back. Liv had made a whole big deal about Ruby giving her a room in the Underworld Palace. "Thank you, Sasha."

 

Sasha just nodded, excusing herself to go back to Charlotte. "Hey, I know there's supposed to be a big meet, but what do you say we grab Bayley and get out of here? I kind of feel like going somewhere and not being responsible for once."

 

Charlotte chuckled and nodded. "You read my mind. You sure you aren't sick of me yet?"

 

"Nah, I managed two years with you breathing down my neck, I think I could take one more night." Sasha teased, linking arms with Charlotte. "Now, let's find Bayley and go. Our future awaits."

Notes:

Thank you to everybody who has been on this ride with me. Big shout out to AttackPlaytpus, without him there never would have been a sequel. He encouraged me to write and work on it, even when I felt like a failure.

Thank you for all reading my stories. I hope you check out my other ones.

Also can I just say that Sasha had the redemption arc of the century and now she a fricken God!

Notes:

Thank you for taking the time to read this story. It means so much to me, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Be sure to subscribe, bookmark, comment, kudo this story. I pour my heart into this, it's my labor of love.

Buckle up my faithful readers, you're in for a treat.

Until next time

~ Relentlass.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of WWE - Percy Jackson AU