Somewhere in the far distant past, a portal opened up in the air and several male teens fell out and landed on the ground with a small sound of pain as they had the wind knocked out of them.
"Ow... Damn it!" Alex complained as he paused to get his breathing under control.
"Kuro! Why the hell did you set up the portal to drop us off from all the way up there?" Desmond complained as he hugged his side and rolled around in pain.
"Hey! It's not like I did this on purpose, I just forgot to set the trajectory, that's all." Kuro muttered in embarrassment for forgetting such an important part of his task.
"Ah... at least we made all out alive!" Luke said with a happy smile as he stood up and stretched his sore muscles. "So where are we?"
"Somewhere in Greece." Jin said as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Greece is a literal gold mine for anything related to heroes, so I thought this would be a good place to start."
"Although, I suggest we be careful." Alex said as he stood up and cracked his back. "Greece during the old days wasn't exactly... Peaceful. I wouldn't be surprised if we got attacked by a monster, right now."
"Don't say that." Desmond said as he looked down and grinned. "Well, perhaps, but I'd say we are well equipped ourselves."
Everyone else looked down and grinned in excitement at what they saw. Each of them had the trademark black and red cloak of the Akatsuki surrounding their bodies, but the real things that caught their attention was the weapons on their back.
They were very exotic looking weapons that were definitely not like standard traditional weaponry in Greece. Jin had a huge looking sword on his back that was way too big and thick to even be called a sword and more like a heap of raw iron. It was the main weapon of Zabuza, The Executioners Blade.
Kuro had a strange bandage sword strapped to his back that was almost the same size of the Executioners blade, but it looked far less threatening to people who didn't know about it's true potential. The blade was the great sword: Samehada. The weapon of Kisame Hoshigaki.
Alex himself had two twin short swords the looked impossibly sharp. They were the used tools of one of the Seven ninja swordsmen of the mist, and had the ability to channel lightning with minimal amount of chakra. They were called Kiba, used by Ameyuri Ringo.
Luke had a long blade that closely resembled that of a sowing needle. It even had a small at the base of the handle to thread needle through it in order to use the swords full abilities. It was the sowing needle: Nuibari.
Desmond was the only one who didn't wield a weapon of the ninja swordsmen. Instead, he possessed an ordinary looking katana that belonged to a lesser known Naruto character in the series. It was called Kokuto, and the blade was covered in poison that would subdue the target if even the slightest scratch was inflicted on the opponent.
"So it actually worked..." Kuro breathed out as he observed his weapon.
"I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting this to actually work." Desmond said as he held his weapon carefully so he wouldn't cut himself. "Although... we're going to surely get a lot of attention. These weapons shouldn't even exist in this era."
"Ah, we'll be fine. Let them admire these beauties all they want, they're not getting their hands on them." Luke said gleefully as he swung Nuibari around. Alex chuckled and quickly grabbed Luke's hand before he impaled someone.
"Now, now, don't get so excited just yet. We still have to test out if we have chakra in our system or not." Alex said as he looked around and found a nearby tree. "Perhaps it'll be best if we start by simply trying to walk up a tree."
"Like this?" Everyone turned and found Desmond hanging upside down on a tree branch without any look of strain at all.
"Seriously? You got it down that fast?" Kuro questioned as Desmond vaulted off the tree and landed gracefully without a sound.
"It wasn't really that hard." Desmond said as he looked around and frowned when he realized that it was getting dark. "Perhaps we should find some a town or shelter. It's getting late, and I'd rather not find out what lives out here at night."
"You have a point." Jin said as he shouldered his blade. "Alright, lets move!" Everyone nodded and quickly began heading north.
They didn't even get ten steps in before the sounds of foot steps quickly surrounded them. The teens frowned when they saw several men in greek armor step out of the tree line and surround them.
"Halt! You are trespassing on Colchis soil! We demand that you come with us peacefully or we will have to result to force!" One of the men, who everyone presumed to be the leader, yelled like he had recited this all to memory.
Of course, they came prepared for something like this. None of them have ever learned the greek language before, but the computer codes they had imputed earlier allowed the to understand other languages and respond in kind.
Kuro knew these guys wouldn't hesitate to gut them like a fish, so he had to tread carefully.
"Colchis? When did we cross Colchis soil?" Kuro questioned with a frown as he turned to look at his companions. The others got the hint and quickly shot confused looks between each other.
The man frowned. "The Colchis boarder is not that far from here. How can you not tell when you passed the border?"
Kuro shrugged. "We never really pay attention to our surroundings. We must have just passed by without a thought." He gestured to the others. "Since we understand your concern, we will allow you to take us wherever you want us to go. All we ask is that you don't take our possessions away."
The man was silent as he thought the offer over. Eventually, he just gave a nod. "Very well, but do not try any funny business, lest you wish to die."
"Thank you." Kuro said before he turned to the others. "You heard the man, follow him." Everyone nodded and fell behind the man silently as he turned and began walking off. As they walked, Kuro could practically fell the whispers and looks the rest of the men sent them as they tried to make heads or tails of who they are.
"This is uncomfortable." Luke whispered quietly enough for Alex to hear. "They keep staring at us..."
"Human nature." Alex whispered back. "humans fear what they don't understand, and we don't look like a normal greek warrior."
"It's still weird..." Luke muttered, causing Alex to let out a small smile.
"Relax. Worst thing they could do is try to impale us with their spears. By then, they'll all be dead before they have a chance to react." Alex said as he glanced at the guards out of the corner of his eyes. Slow, clunky, but obviously well trained. Still... against ninja's they won't know what hit them.
"So where are we going, sir?" Jin asked innocently as he placed his hands behind his head in a leisurely manner.
"We are going to see King Aeetes. He will decide what to do with you." The man said without pause.
"Don't you guys have someone else to do that?" Desmond asked with a confused look.
"Ah... we did, but too many people have been breaking through our borders recently, and the king wants to judge them all in person. Makes things easier on us, but it does put him at risk." The man said, obviously a little bit against such an idea.
"So how's the whole process going to go?" Alex asked.
"Usually he just asks a bunch of questions. I don't exactly know all the details. He keeps the guards all outside when he does this since we unnerve his questionees a little bit too much." The man said.
"Seems like a nice guy." Luke commented.
"He's a nice ruler and an excellent practitioner of magic, but he's a little bit too trustworthy." The man said before they came out of the forest and found themselves at the gate of an extremely beautiful looking palace.
"Pretty!" Luke gushed as he gazed up at the structure with literal stars in his eyes. He always did have a fine liking for art and has seen many kinds of artworks before, but this castle was clearly nothing no man from the twenty first century has ever seen before.
It was made out of stone and shiny marble that gave it an almost fearsome, but serene look. The marble glistened in the night sky, and looked like it produced its own light to illuminate the area.
"Indeed. It took several years for us to build it, but it was finished thanks to King Aeetes magic." The man said with an amused smile when he saw the stars in Luke's eyes. "Come on, the king will be waiting for you." The gates opened and they all walked through into the palace courtyard.
The courtyard was just as stunning as the building in a sense that it showed off nature's beauty instead of a man-made structure. Beautiful flowers of every kind bloomed along the path, and the trees winded together to make forms of art. It was a form of nature that shouldn't even be possible to make.
They pushed through a set of doors, and headed straight into the castle. Many people roamed around the halls doing their duties, and some even sent them curious glances as they walked by. They finally found themselves at another set of doors and the man turned to them with a serious expression.
"We're here. Like I said, don't try to pull any funny stuff. You even make a single move towards King Aeetes, and he'll burn you to a crisp." The man warned.
"literally or figuratively?" Jin asked.
"both." The man said simply, causing the teens to raise their eyebrows a little. The man pushed opened the door and they all walked in silently.
The king of Colchis was nearly exactly how the teens thought he would look like. The man sat on a grand looking throne with his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. He wore gold silk robes and sported a beard that made him look like one of those wise asian monks.
"Ah... Stefano, what brings you here?" The king asked with a kind voice.
"My king, I have found these strange people during one of our patrols. I had no idea if they are spies or assassins, so I brought them here for you to judge." The man now known as Stefano said with a bow of his head. The king turned his gaze on the teens, who simply gazed back at him with patience.
"I see... You may leave, Stefano." Aeetes said. With another bow of his head, Stefano quickly left the room, closing the door behind him.
"So... I guess you're going to ask us questions, right?" Alex asked. The old man smiled and gave a small nod of his head.
"I'm assuming Stefano told you while you were walking here, correct?" Aeetes asked.
"Pretty much, old man." Luke replied with a bubbly smile before Alex gave him a smack over the head.
"Luke, that's not polite of you." Alex scolded while Luke held his head with anime tears flowing out of his eyes. However, instead of being angered or annoyed, the old king just gave a hearty laugh.
"It is quite alright, young man. I have two daughters and a son who looks to be about your age, and they still calls me that to this day." Aeetes said with an amused smile.
"Ah... I see." Alex muttered as he let his hand go from Luke's head.
"Anyways, back to the matter at hand." Aeetes said as he put on a bit more serious face. "As I understand it, you five have wandered into my territory, correct?"
Desmond nodded. "That's correct, sir. All of us don't have parents, so we just wander from place to place like nomads living off of the land."
Aeetes raised an eyebrow. "None of you have parents?"
"None of us knew them." Jin lied.
"I see..." Aeetes muttered before he eyed the weapons that they had. "And where did you get those weapons?"
"We made them ourselves." Alex said as he held up his twin swords. "Protection only."
"So you learned how to fight as well?" Aeetes asked with an impressed look. To learn how to kill and fight at their age wasn't that uncommon, but when they were living off of the streets?
"Self taught." Jin said quickly.
"I see." Aeetes hummed as he gained a thoughtful expression. "So you don't have any family to go back to, or a home to live in, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir." Kuro said with a light bow.
"Hm..." Aeetes hummed as he continued to think to himself. "Then... how about I propose for you to live with me?"
The teens stared at him with surprised looks. Living with a king? That was like getting an invitation to spend the night at the white house with the president, only better!
"L-live with you, sir?" Alex stuttered with a surprised look.
"Correct. Like you said yourself, you have nowhere to go." Aeetes said with a small smile. "You can stay here and live within my castle as long as you work for me as my children's body guards.
"That's all?" Jin asked with surprise.
The king nodded. 'That's all." Aeetes suddenly leaned in and whispered, "Besides, my children don't really have anyone other than each other to look to. It would be good for them to get to know other people their age."
The teens looked at each other and found that acceptable. A father only wants what's best for their children, and will go to any lengths to take care of them. Besides, this man was said to be the father of Medea, the witch who married Jason and ended up becoming a villain after he broke up from her.
Their job right now was to give people some happy endings, right? Well, Medea does deserve some happiness considering what will happen to her in the future.
"I see... We all accept your offer, King Aeetes." Kuro said as everyone bowed their heads in acknowledgement. Aeetes smiled, please with the outcome.
"So how do you want us to protect your children?" Desmond asked.
"Just simply be by their sides at all times. They don't really leave the castle grounds often, but my children's safety is my first priority." Aeetes said.
"And what should we do with any... suspicious people?" Jin asked.
"Try to take them in, if you can. Otherwise, just keep them from hurting my children through any means necessary." Aeetes said.
"Great! So when do we get to our charges" Luke asked with excitement at being put in charge of another person.
"One of my daughters should be coming to see me right about now. She's been begging me to train her in the art of magic, so I began teaching her several years ago." Aeetes said with a hint of pride.
"Oh? Is she good?" Kuro asked.
"She has progressed faster than I expected, and is an excellent learner. Still, she won't be as good as me until she has gained a few more years on her." Aeetes said with a proud smile.
"Amazing." Alex commented since it would seem rude not to compliment him. Magic, from what he could tell, was like a harder form of science and must be very tedious to learn.
Perhaps he could find the differences between magic and his jutsu's. There may be none, but it still wouldn't hurt to experiment a little.
Suddenly, the doors were gently flung open, and a very beautiful woman strolled in. Her hair was unusually purple, and she had strangely pointed ears like an elf. She wore a purple dress that immediately made everyone recognize who she was.
She was much younger now, probably about their age, but there was no doubt as to who that person was.
The princess of Colchis, Medea.
"Hello father, I'm here for my lessons." Medea spoke with an elegant voice that sounded like literal music to everyone's ears. She gained a confused look when she realized that her father wasn't the only one in the room. "Oh? am I intruding on something? Perhaps I can come back later..."
"It is quite fine, Medea." Aeetes said with a wave of his hand. "My soldiers just picked up these boys on one of their little patrols and brought them here for a chat."
"Ah... I see." Medea spoke quietly with a little bit of shyness.
"So I'm guessing she is one of your daughters?" Desmond asked.
"Quite. She'll be who you will be protecting from now on." Aeetes said, causing Medea to shoot him a confused look.
"huh? What do you mean, father?" Medea asked.
"Since these kids have nowhere else to go, I'm letting them stay here as long as they work for me as your bodyguards, sweetie." Aeetes said with an amused smile.
"Again?" Medea sighed as if she has done this before. "Last time you did this, we had to spend several weeks repairing property damage after the last batch tried to touch Chalciope."
"I can assure you, these kids aren't like those last ones." Aeetes said with a smile. Although, it was clear that he was cringing at that blatant reminder to a bad memory.
"They'd better be. i'd rather not have a repeat of last time." Medea said as she sent her father a semi-crossed look. Aeetes coughed before turning back to the group.
"Medea can show you around the castle and introduce you to her brother and sister."
"Chalciope and Absyrtus are sleeping." Medea cut in.
"Fine, she can show you around the palace." Aeetes quickly corrected.
"So does this mean we have to cancel lessons?" Medea asked with a pout on her face.
Aeetes gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sweetie. But I'm busy with my work, and it wouldn't be polite of me to leave them to wander around the castle blindly." He leaned in and whispered. "Plus, you could spend some time with these fine young boys. Who knows? You might even take a liking to one of them."
"Father!" Medea hissed as her face turned red.
"Is there anything wrong?" Desmond asked obliviously. Medea straightened herself up and coughed.
"No, nothing is wrong." Medea said as she regained her composure. "Father just wants me to show you around the castle, are you okay with that?"
"That is no problem at all." Jin said before he turned to Aeetes and bowed once again. "Thank you for your generous offer. We promise, we won't let you down."
Aeetes chuckled. "I'm sure you won't. Now, go and follow my daughter. She'll show you all this place has to offer." The teens gave the man a bow once again, before they left with Medea out the door.
Medea actually wasn't a very bad person considering about her legend. She seemed pretty carefree, but shy at the same time. She showed them around the castle, and it was an even more amazing sight to behold from the inside.
Aeetes practically pimped out the entire castle with miniature hot tubs, a brewery, and a literal armament that held thousands of weapons that were waiting to be used.
"How long did it take to build this place?" Kuro asked.
"It took about several weeks to build. Maybe two months at best." Medea said. When she noticed the confused looks on their faces, she giggled. "Magic, dummies. You think father could build all this in the span of several weeks without magic?"
"Ah... No." Jin muttered as the crew rubbed their heads in embarrassment.
"So when do we get to meet your siblings?" Luke asked with a smile which basically screamed 'CUTE!' in the princess's mind.
"Well... You'll most likely see them tomorrow. They're sleeping right now, and I don't think they'd like having me wake them up to introduce you, so it'd probably be best to introduce you tomorrow." Medea said as she silently willed herself not to run over and crush Luke in a hug squealing the word 'cute' over and over.
"Does your siblings have any kind of quirks we should watch out for?" Desmond asked. It's always best to figure out a person's do's and don't's before talking with them. After all, it wouldn't do to get on their bad side if they were going to be protecting them.
"My younger brother, Absyrtus, you shouldn't have any problem with him. He always wants to make new friends but it's my sister you'll have to be a little bit careful around." Medea said.
"Why? Does she hate men?" Alex asked.
"Not, really. You see, Father used to have a bunch of guards around us all the time. Far older than us, but they were apparently one of the finest warriors in his army. Unfortunately, she kicked all of them out with force after one of them... groped her." Medea explained with a hint of discomfort. She remembered how angry her sister was, it was like watching a god go ape on a bunch of humans.
"Oh." Desmond said simply while they tried to process that.
"Scary." Luke muttered.
"She's not a bad person, but she'll probably need some time before she starts warming up to you guys." Medea said quickly. She didn't want these guys to get the wrong message about her sister.
"So we should just give her a wide area?" Kuro asked.
"Probably best if you do." Medea said with a shrug. She lead them down the hallway and stopped in front of two sets of doors. "These will be the rooms you are going to stay at. Should be enough beds for you inside."
They opened the doors and were surprised at what they saw. The bedrooms were made of pure marble like the rest of the castle, and there were several expensive looking furniture decorating the room.
They were the most absolutely pimped out bedrooms ever. Practically worth more than an entire house in the twenty first century.
"Wow." Jin said in awe while the rest of the boys nodded in agreement.
Medea smiled at their reaction. "I trust that you're okay with these arrangements?"
"This will suite us just perfectly. Besides, we never lived in a room this nice." Jin said as he watched the others run into their room in excitement.
"I'm glad that you find it suitable." Medea said as she watched the boys explore their rooms.
"Believe me, this is more than what we've ever had." Jin said.
"mmm." Medea hummed before she turned to face him. "If you need to know anything, don't hesitate to call me. My room is the last one on the far right."
"Good to know." Jin said with a thankful smile. "Go get some rest, Medea. You missed out on your fathers lessons today, and I have no doubt he will be extra hard on you tomorrow."
"A-ah, your absolutely right." Medea stuttered as she felt her face light up at those words. "I-I'll see you tomorrow, Jin."
Jin nodded and entered his room before shutting the door quietly behind him. Medea stood there for a couple seconds as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her.
"What is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this?" Medea thought to herself in confusion as she recalled her reaction to his words. Eventually, she shrugged and headed back to her own room. "Questions for later."
She needed a nap.