Hera's scream startled Xander from his sleep, wand lashing out he readied himself to do damn near anything to survive whatever could make someone as potent as Hera scream. "Wait, didn't she... leave for her Foster parents?" Another scream, this time that of a child, young and utterly afraid, sent the boy out of hiding. The sight before him was... confusing as it was painful.

  Zeus was hilding a girl by her hair, a girl that could be no older than ten, a smile of utter malice on his divine face. "Do you like it, young mage? This may have been Nemesis' best curse yet!" The God King's laugh was a terrible thing, cold and cloying. "I knew she would go to Oceanus and Tethys, they had indulged her tantrums far too often. It was effortless to lay a trap, and yet the best part came next... when I summoned Nemesis, and let her have free reign on how to punish Hera... do you want me to tell you what she did?" His sneer shifted, turning predatory and utterly deranged. "My Beloved Ex Wife hurt so many of my lovers and children, curses a bound were called against her, all Nemesis had to do... was forced Hera to endure them... all of them, at once.

  And here she is!" He dropped the girl, who fell limply to the side. "From Leto, she is cursed to wander helplessly, stripped of home and safety. From Medea, she has been released of her own control, her memories of power and divinity bound. From Hephestaus, the burden of vunerability is hers to bear, reducing her to the form a child. From Heracles, she is bound to another all the while suffering under the misery of a Demigod!" And the god, with the wave of hand, sent the young, Hera to him. Xander did not hestiate to catch the cursed Goddess, holding her close to his chest, looking at Zeus with a rage he could not fully explain. A look that made Zeus laugh. "Be careful boy, less you come against someone that will not tolerate such foolishness. Hmmph, you wished to serve the world, to help others, well help Hera... and pray we allow her to survive the countless many seeking her destruction. The Fates have bound me from killing her, but the bitch has oh so many foes."

  With a flicker of lighting and a clap of thunder, Zeus was gone though waves of his laughter echoed around what was supposed to be a safely warded place.

  Feeling weak, the boy lifted Hera into his arms, leading her into the hut he just left, noticing almost immediately as the glimmer of gold power shimmered from within his own body and into Hera's. The Once Queen's eyes opened, just as a wave of weakness washed over him, to the point he almost dropped her.

  "My blessing, that which I gave you." Hera whispered, her voice soft and pained, and oh so young. "My body, void of my old powers... Zeus... he... could not have anticipated that by making a void where my powers were, that they would draw in the essence of my blessing within you... if you were a demigod born, it would have cost your life, but as the power as a blessing... you will not perish. I am so sorry, dear one."

  Shaking off his discomfort, he placed her on the bed and pulled out his wand. With graceful sweeping motions, he allowed his magic to wash over her. "You... My Lady, you... are essentially a Demigod, a pure demigod born, a reduced manifestation of your previous power." Letting a sigh, she stood, looking at him with a sorrow that made him snap out with a growl of his own. "What right do they have, any of the gods? Zeus raped you, cheated and pillaged for eons. Apollo and Poisedon are no better in that regard! Hades kidnapped Persephone and tricked her into eating those damn seeds! Demeter nearly ended all of mankind and..." Power, meager and oh so mortal, rippled around him like waves of heat. "I... Chaos,... I hate this. I want to help others, that is all I want, and yet by helping Dian I kill him... and healing you, I set into motion all of this... will my attempts to help and heal not cause endless suffering?"

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  He would said more, but Hera slapped him with enough force the he would actually fly to the side, almost ramming into the wall. The goddess would look at her hand in shock for a moment, before shaking her head.

  "No wonder two of my children are War gods..." Her gaze met his, eyes filled with warmth and passion. "I brought this on myself, no one... not even a God can continue to make so many enemies without suffering. You were but the final push, more of a brush to the side really... No, this is not your fault, dear one." Her eyes went cold, before a smile crossed her face that made her relation to Zeus very clear. "I may have earned my fate, but you and Medea did not...I will help you, to get your vengence... not that I have much of a choice."

  "How so?" He asked softly.

  Hera actually cringed, turning to away. "You are a skilled sorcerer, I am sure... but there are facets of magic you could not understand with your current training. When I blessed you, we became tied... my power flowed into you, through love and empathy. The void within me, seeking the power once there, draw in that power I gave you... a power thas was melded with your life force." The Goddess held her hand out, stopping his next words. "We are bound entirely, if one dies, so does the other... I will repay you, child, and help you find all you desire.... relaly, it is the least I can do."

  Standing, he walked over and kneeled by her, grabbing her hands. "And what would you want, if you could maniest it?"

  Her words were soft, but the power that filled them was raw. "As much as I wish to say Growth and Heaiing, I am a creature of habit... I want... need revenge. It's all i can think of, I ache for it! To strike down Zeus and reclaim my throne... I am conflicted."

  Xander could not help but smile at her. "Why... why stop at one? I mean, you can get revenge and grow... but first things first, I don't want revenge... I want control. I am so tired of having no real control over my life. My Family, Hecate, Medea,Zeus, the Fates... I just want the ability to do what I want to do without suffering following!"

  "Vi... we must find Vi." The Goddess said, her voice short and strong. "Zeus... there is a reason he took magic from mortals, what your people called Fire in the Ancient days. Magic allows even humans to defy the gods, to rise to power. It is why Magic users almost always are tied to a god through blood or worship... but some, rare few, have managed to escape from that. Vi is one of them... she was a survivor of the Trojan war, her Mother was Elia, a War Bride of one of the many men that sacked Troy. Watching her mother endure such horrors, knowing the gods... allowed it..." Hera turned grey, swaying as tears fell down her face. "That we allowed it...she turned to Magic... and she is why Reign was made.

  Eyes wide, the boy looked at Hera in utter shock. "What?"

  "Vi grew up in Troy, watching the endless suffering of a war the gods caused, encouraged even... participated in. Defiant by nature, she ran away before she too was taken as War Bride... vowing to undo the gods by any means. We did not take it seriously, why would we... we were fools. She reemerged, leading her own coven into destroying temples and undoing the ties of the gods...The Fates decreed Reign's creation, not to end our conflict with each other, but to ensure she could be defeated. " Hera looked up, eyes in the past. "We managed to isolate her on Crete, the base of her operations... but before we could destroy her, a barrier erupted from the Island of Crete. No power, be they god or mortal, has ever found Crete ever since.... and yet, we know she is alive still. Reign, the Academy and the Olympian rites... are all a faux excuse to maintain a powerful army that will keep her at bay... and must keep her at bay... for, as we discovered...she was searching for a means to kill a god... forever. That is why we must find her... not just for my vengence, but to ensure that you get the chance to actually taste the freedom so denied to you..."

  Xander nodded, slow yet defiant. "And for all of those, like Medea,...who have never known peace due to your kin." Those last words, woven by the boy's humanity, trickled into the listening essence of a very tiny being hiding behind a shelf... reporting the oath just heard to those that could and would use the knowledge properly. "Where do we start, My Lady?"

  She looked at him with something akin to amusement. "We both need to understand our powers, were we stand... you as a mortal sorerceress, and me... as a demigoddess... amd pray to Chaos above that it will be enough."