Breaking the Titan's Curse
Chapter 10
When the train finally stopped and woke the group up, they got out only to notice they were in a small ski town nestled in the mountains. They had made to Cloudcroft, New Mexico and boy did it look boring there.
The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.
Despite the cold, Naruto was fine, but he did notice that Percy was shivering despite his own nemean lion coat. Oh well, not much he could do about that.
"Grover, we need to somehow get to the coast, Apollo said I should try and find Nereus in San Francisco." Percy said, getting the goat boy's attention.
Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."
"Good point." Percy said a little shaky.
The grouped stopped in the middle of town. They could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.
"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."
"Sounds like a bad horror flick." Naruto commented, making the girl laugh at the joke.
"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.
"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."
"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."
Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Naruto, Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."
They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca happily stood next to her elder brother as they walked in.
Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.
"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."
The clerk looked so lonely that Percy went and bought a rubber rat. Then they headed back outside and stood on the porch.
"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."
"But the clerk said—" Percy tried to agrue
"I know," she told him. "I'm checking anyway." Percy just sighed as he trudged along with her. Thalia looked annoyed by that, but didn't say anything. It was obvious that she wanted Naruto to tag along with her, but she noticed that Bianca had not much to time to her brother on this quest.
Once they were further along the street, Naruto looked at the rat that Percy had set down on the porch and chuckled to himself. "I still can't believe Percy bought that thing."
"I think he was just being nice, that Clerk looked bored out of his mind." Bianca offered.
"Heh, I think your right, but I would have gotten something different." Naruto laughed. "But you know, I would be bored out of my mind here as well, way to quiet."
"I can agree." His sister replied.
"Hey." Naruto said, "I am glad you decided not to join the hunters. I mean, I would not have gotten another sister if you had join up with them."
Bianca smiled a bit at that. "You know, if you had not been there, I probably would have." She said, making Naruto raise an eyebrow. "At the time, I was tired of taking care of Nico since we were born. I wanted a way out and seeing how Percy acted, I was sure Percy could have taken care of him for me. However, with you in the picture, that idea was thrown out the window. I had an older brother to take care of me and in a way; we would take care of each other, as a family should."
Naruto smiled brightly at that as he pulled his sister into a hug. I would like nothing more than that. You are not alone in this anymore."
"Thank you." Bianca said into his chest as a few tears escaped her eyes, she felt very lucky to have him as he brother. Then she got a smirk on her face. "So, here comes Zoe. I can tell she is starting to have a thing for you, are you going to take her away from the Hunters as well?"
"When you say it like that, it makes me look like a bad person." Naruto said nervously as he watched Zoe and Grover come out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks.
"Oh don't take it so seriously." The girl laughed, making the blond laugh as well.
"So…where did you guys go to school before Westover…..and I guess before going to the Lotus Casino and Hotel?" Naruto asked.
She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."
"You never lived with you mom, your mortal parent?"
"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."
"Why?" The blond asked.
She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere, the Lotus I think. Yeah it was the Lotus, because I met you there."
"Dang, you guys must have been there a long time." Naruto whistled. He was starting to think that she was older than him! But then again, he was from another world where the time difference is crazy.
"Yeah, and then one day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover." Bianca then narrowed her eyes. "Wait, am I older than you if that is the case?"
"I doubt it." Naruto chuckled nervously. I am from the ninja world, remember?"
"Oh right." Bianca replied, "Oh well, it does not matter anyway. You're still my older brother no matter what."
The blond ninja smiled at that. " Good to know."
"You two seem to be getting along." Grover said happily as he and Zoe came over and handed them their food and drinks. Naruto and Bianca got Hot Chocolate while Grover and Zoe got Coffee. It seemed they got the same for Percy and Thalia, who had yet to be back. Grover also gave Naruto his Chocolate chip chocolate muffin. "Heh, it is not Ramen, but it is just as good!"
"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said, wondering why Naruto liked Ramen so much. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"
"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—"
He froze.
Naruto was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.
Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."
Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. Percy's rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.
Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. They gathered around
him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.
"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just…What's wrong with Grover?"
"I don't know," Naruto said as Percy came over and looked worried. "He collapsed."
"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover groaned.
"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."
"Yeah…they are here." Naruto growled as he felt their follower's presences.
XXX
The group made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes. They drew their handguns.
Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their yellow eyes just stared at Percy, boring into his soul.
Unsure how a sword would do against their gun, Percy brought out his sword anyway with a glare at them. He would not go down without a fight.
Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her.
Naruto growled as he brought out Fear and Destruction, oddly making the skeleton warriors pause for a moment. However, he was the only one to see that.
"Back up," Thalia said.
They started to do just that, but they heard rustling in the branches of the trees behind them and Naruto cursed. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind them. They were surrounded.
One of the warriors then raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it. Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon the small group of demi gods would have a full party on their hands.
"It's near," Grover moaned.
"It's here," Percy said.
"No," The satyr insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."
"Is that the odd energy I have been feeling along with their dread?" Naruto asked, which Grover only nodded. Naruto scowled. "I'll make a clone to make sure he doesn't get hurt."
"Good thinking." Bianca said as she tried to keep the satyr steady. "He is in no shape to walk, much less fight."
"We'll have to come up with a plan to fight them." Thalia suggested while eyeing the creatures.
Zoe nodded. "Bianca and I can shoot one of them down with our bows while you three take the others, one on one."
"Good plan." Naruto said as he readied his weapons, taking the stance of one of his favorite video game characters, Starkiller.
"The Wild!" Grover moaned as a clone of Naruto appeared next to him to make sure he was alright.
A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but Percy kept his eyes on the skeletons. Naruto knew the boy was thinking about Annabeth and whatever was said when he encountered the General. He is going to charge! Naruto thought.
The blond was right as Percy did just that with anger on his face. Shit! Naruto thought as he boy blindly charged and they could not stop the boy.
As the boy started his charge, the skeletons opened fire on him and for Percy, things just slowed down for him. Naruto saw the looked in Percy's eye for a second and smirked. Kid's mastering his battle reflexes."
Naruto's smirk grew as he saw Percy deflect one of the bullets.
The skeleton drew a baton and Percy sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then the boy swung Riptide through the monster's waist and cut him in half.
The creature's bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at me and tried to fire, but Percy knocked the gun into the snow.
Seeing that Percy was doing well on his own, Naruto was fighting off his own skeleton creature in the meantime. Naruto shifted left and right as he dodged the bullets the creature was firing at him. It seemed that it was frustrated with him as it dropped it gun toting arm and swung at him with its baton.
Naruto smirked as he ducked under the weapon and he use the hilt to knock the head off the creature. He was not going to refer to it as a him…not like it had any genitals anyway. "Nice try bone head."
It just chattered at him angrily as it reattached its head. With it in place, it pointed its gun right at his head, point blank. It grinned darkly at him as it cocked the gun. "Hell no." Naruto deadpanned as he use his honed ninja reflexes to get around the bullet that came for his head and then use Fear to stab into the skull of the creature and then used Destruction to slice the bones to bits.
It didn't reform, the pieces just shook in place before they evaporated in black flames, leaving behind the shredded remains of it police uniform and some ashes. "That was weird…"
"PERCY!" Thalia screamed after a gun shot.
Looking out the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Percy fall face first on the ground and Naruto's blood ran cold, Fear looked to be glowing and pulsing for a moment. That was when things got a little too quiet as the skeleton creatures backed away from their respective opponents. The blond didn't notice that Percy had gotten back up. The Nemean Lion coat was bullet proof!
Zoe looked a little scared, but most of it was confusion. These creatures looked to be ready to tear their heads off a moment ago. Was Naruto's anger that scary to them? Was he that ready to put his life on the line for his friends
Bianca took one look at her brother and knew that look, it was the same look she had when someone messed with her brother. She nodded to herself and got ready to attack one of the creatures with the kunai that Naruto had given her.
Thalia smirked, she too knew that Naruto was about to explode, however she didn't know how.
Percy saw that look before as well. It was when they first became friends and some idiots decided to pick on him and Grover. That old look was bad news for the idiots because they got hung from their underwear on top of the school flag pole. However, this look was far severe. He was kind of scared of it.
Fear glowed blood red before it glowed very brightly and shifted into a glove of sorts. There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, like a bulldozer. It could have been the reinforcements, which were bad news. However, that was really nothing compared to what Naruto was going to do.
The ground started shake violently, most likely scaring the crap out of the people in the town they were in. The deep red glow of the glove was shining brighter and oddly enough, it was making Naruto's eyes go red. It was a scary sight for the group and they wondered what was going on.
Percy, however, knew a bit of what was going on. Apparently, Naruto thought he had died and was channeling his anger. That anger had changed one of Naruto's weapons and it was causing the tremors. However, this was bad. If Naruto went through with killing these creatures in the state he was in, Percy feared that Naruto would go down a dark path. Chiron had warned him about the Children of Hades' Darkness. Damn thing caused a war. So he did the smartest thing he could think of.
Before could do anything he would later regret, Percy shouted, "WAIT!"
His voice alone stopped everything. The tremor, the deep growling of the blond ninja, and the deep red glow of that glove. Naruto shakily turned his head to Percy and the water boy noticed that Naruto's eyes where back to normal as well! "You're alive?!"
"Yeah, the coat is bulletproof." Percy said happily.
"Oh….that is awesome!" Naruto shouted with a big smile on his lips.
Everyone but the still dazed Grover dropped their jaws at the display. One moment, Naruto was raging up a storm and looked ready to kill something, the next moment, he was like a kid in a candy store when the secret of the lion's pelt was revealed. The hell!
Bianca, having almost gotten used to her big brother's antics, recovered first and managed surprised hit on one of the dumbfounded skeleton creatures. Right in the chest. Like the event with Naruto's skeletal opponent, it erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.
Not having seen the event with Naruto's opponent, Zoe jumped out of her shock and asked, "How did you do that?"
"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"
"Well, do it again!"
Bianca tried, but the remaining two skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed the demi gods back, keeping them at baton's length.
"Plan?" Percy asked nervously as they started to retreat.
Use the glove! Naruto heard his father shout in his head. "Just one." Naruto said as he thrust the glove forward, making something actually happen. He kind of thought the glove was just for decoration, but when the earth rose up and then crashed down on one of the remaining skeleton creatures, it was a shocker because the skeleton died like the other two did.
That made Zoe narrow her eyes at her crush and Bianca, a bit. Wondering if they were related. However, she did get a chance to question it because the ground started shaking again.
"A gift," Grover muttered.
And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig any of them had ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.
"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed, and raked the remaining skeleton aside with its tusks. The force was so great, it went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where it smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.
Then the pig turned on the kids.
Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it.'"
The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.
"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it."
"So what do we do?" Naruto asked, ready for anything.
"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"
The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. Percy had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express. Unfortunantly, that's what happened to Naruto's clone as it was sent flying. Thankfully, the real Naruto managed to get to Thalia as they crouched below the tusk just in time.
Yeah, I feel blessed!" Percy said. "Scatter!"
They ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.
"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.
"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"
"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.
"I wanna know too!" Naruto shouted as he ran. "I am still going by the rule back home, if it wants to kill you, it is not friendly!"
It seemed a fair question, but the pig was offended and charged Bianca. She was faster than they had realized though. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.
"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him while Percy kept rolling out of the way But Thalia and Naruto won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on them, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged the two teens.
They only managed to keep ahead of it because they ran uphill, and the two could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.
On the other side of the hill, Naruto found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow. "Oh this is getting familiar!" Naruto growled under his breath as he took Thalia's hand. "This way!"
The duo ran along the rails while the boar roared behind them, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods. Looking ahead, Naruto spotted what looked to be a tunnel and then an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge.
Taking in his surroundings, Naruto looked around with a deadpanned expression. "Oh this is getting too like that mission in the Land of Snow and Spring!"
"Huh?" Thalia asked as they ran.
"Nevermind, I have an idea!" Naruto stated as they ran along the tracks to the gorge.
Thalia slowed down a bit when she saw where they were going but kept on running with the blond because the ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased them. "ARE YOU NUTS?!" She screamed as they entered the tunnel.
"Yep!" Naruto laughed, but that did not seem to help the girl's mood. She was still afraid of heights after all. "Do you trust me?"
Thalia looked right in her boyfriend's eyes to see that he cared for her and was not going to let anything happen to her. That same phrase was used when he took her into the sky that one time. Also, if the reaction of what happened to Percy was anything to go by, Naruto would surely keep her safe. "Yes!"
Naruto squeezed her hand reassuringly as they exited the tunnel and saw the approaching gorge. "Hand me Aegis!" Thalia did so without question and before she knew it, they had jumped off the cliff. In a quick motion, Naruto put Aegis under his feet to use as a snowboard, he put an arm around Thalia's waist, and use the other to keep their balance.
However, none of that stopped Thalia from screaming all the way down the mountainside.
They slid on Aegis like a snow-board, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!
The two demi gods were coming up to the crash site of the boar with a snow bank right next to it. Naruto used that opportunity to pull off a trick. He use the snow bank as a ramp to go vertical before landing on the top of the back with Aegis in one hand and Thalia safely in the other. Plus, even though Naruto ever snow boarded before, they looked none the worth for wear because Naruto managed to dodge all the trees.
Next to the two, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All they could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.
Despite all that, they were still breathing pretty hard. Thalia sent a glare Naruto's way and punched him in the shoulder. "Never do that again!" Then her expression softened. "I am glad I put my trust in you." And she leaned in to kiss him.
Naruto smiled into the kiss as he wrapped his hands around her. It was weird for him, but he could actually feel the love she had for him in that kiss.
But that was not meant to last long.
"Helloooooo?" called the voice of Grover.
Naruto chuckled. "Down here!" he called.
A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, Percy, and Grover joined the duo. They stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.
"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.
"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."
"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."
Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"
"Fun," Percy said. "Like…pig cowboys."
Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish… I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."
"What's gone?" Percy asked.
Grover didn't seem to hear Percy. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.
"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great." She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of the group. Naruto quickly got on behind her, making the girl blush a bit.
Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.
"Wait a second," Percy said. "Zoe, do you know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?"
"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong…I never thought I would sense that presence again."
"What presence?"
She stared at him like he was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."
"Oh, so that was the power I felt." Naruto said as the girls and Percy got on the boar and left.
A few minutes into the ride, Thalia blinked and said, "Hey, why did we just fly of the cliff instead of snowboarding on Aegis?"
Naruto blinked as well. "Huh, I never thought of that. Oh well, Hakuna Matata." That made the Thalia, Percy and Grover roll their eyes.
"Wait, you can fly?" Bianca asked, a bit shocked.
"Yes, I can fly!" Naruto said happily. "Should I start singing that one Peter pan song?"
"NO!" Percy, Thalia, and Grover shouted.
XXX
And that chapter is done. Ugh, I got a headache this morning. This is all your getting today. Now I have to work on the next chapter of Grim Reaper of Iwa….tomorrow.
Now, I am going to be finishing this story soon. Then I will take a break on this series to release two more stories. One is An Alter Path where it is one of those neglect stories, but with my special twist! The second is a Naruto/Dragonball story. Eventual pairing is Naruto/Bulma. With some slight Naruto/Launch stuff in the beginning. Sorry Vegeta…but you might be getting someone better. Yeah, I got all kinds of ideas for that story. Plus it will span DB and DBZ…not sure about GT.