AN: I guess shadespace said it best, "because he (Michael Myers (the killer)) is secretly a son of Hades". ...We're all doomed. On a side note, we're nearing the end...*sobs*
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian
XXI
Naruto looked at the rather distant boat littered with fire before looking at Percy. The raven-haired teen was still uneasy since his best friend and newest friend (or pet if you asked Thalia) left for his father's realm far beneath the sea just moments ago and was rubbing his wrists where the silver bracelets once rested. After giving the youngest demigod present a not too subtle nudge, Percy snapped out of his funk for a moment. Percy glowered at the blond, only to receive a pointed look from Naruto. Percy furrowed his brows in confusion, but he seemed to get it when the whiskered blond looked from the boat and back at the teen.
Reaching out to his bond with the sea, Percy willed the oceans to rise and douse the flames like he had done earlier to clean the group. Thalia whistled in amazement after he was done, never being clear headed enough to see his abilities in action, but consequently she broke his concentration. The water, as quickly as it rose, suddenly dropped.
"Damn it, Thalia!" Percy grumbled as he glared at his snickering cousin. The two Hunters shook their head, both also having slight smirks on their faces.
"Ah, lighten up Jackson," Naruto defended the punk demigoddess with a smirk, "Besides, at least you're getting better. Maybe we should loan you out to the local fire department for practice. Hell, maybe we should call you Noah."
"Ha-ha," grumbled the Son of Poseidon as he walked towards the edge of the dock and took some deep breaths. Thalia smirked at Naruto, who winked back at her before jumping out onto the ocean while Percy dove into it. A silent challenged was shared between the two demigods and suddenly Percy shot off underwater like a torpedo. Naruto's eye twitched.
"You little cheating son of a bastard, no one said go!" Naruto swore before he pumped chakra into his legs and he began to run. Soon enough he and Percy were neck and neck in their small race, but he lost when Percy gave himself a bit of a boost by forcing a small jet stream of water behind him. Consequently, the son of Poseidon slammed headfirst into the side of the boat, rocking it after he did. The dazed demigod surfaced with a groan, making Naruto laugh.
"Serves you right, Squid Boy," Naruto taunted before he suddenly became drenched in water from a mysterious wave. One eye was visible after his soaked hair covered his head and he spat out some of the seawater that got in his mouth like one would see in cartoons.
Percy chuckled at the Guardian's appearance. Naruto gave him a glare in response, and Percy retorted by holding his hands up defense and insisting, "It wasn't me."
"...Stupid hotheaded Sea God...can't take a joke..." grumbled the blond as he turned around and jumped onto the boat. Percy chuckled while he shook his head, but then winced at the pain he had in it before it ebbed away to nothing. He silently thanked his dad for the bonus healing powers of the ocean, as well as the defense from Naruto's teasing, before a metal ladder popped over the side.
"C'mon, Jackson, we haven't got all night," Naruto insisted before he grabbed a dead mercenary's body, "Tch, fucking scumbags. Get off my new boat."
Percy rolled his eyes as Naruto shoved the body overboard with little to no concern over it, "You know my Dad's not gonna be happy if you litter in the ocean."
"It's not littering," began the Guardian, "It's...more like I'm feeding the sharks."
"I'm sure the sharks would turn their noses up at that," Percy deadpanned. Naruto paused as he hoisted another dead corpse onto his shoulder.
"Well something will eat them," Naruto said after a moment of thinking. By the uneasy face his fellow demigod was now sporting, the blond shook his head and mumbled, "You've gotta be kidding me. He gets queasy at the thought of an animal acting like an animal, but not at killing mercs?"
"I never killed them!" Percy retorted. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Technically, you didn't stop me from doing so, either," returned the blond before he put a hand on his chin, "Come to think of it, neither did any of the others...Wow, we're all a little crazy, aren't we? Must be from having Mr. D as camp counselor."
"How do you think Nico and Bianca are holding up?" Percy asked, thinking of the newest members of the camp being left alone with the demigod hating Olympian. Naruto grinned as he grabbed another body.
"Oh, they're probably too sore to even think about his bias against demigods," the blond commented before scowling, "Which is totally hypocritical considering he's technically a demigod according to some sources."
"He's a what?" Percy asked with wide eyes. Naruto gave him a confused look.
"You didn't know that?" he inquired. The Son of Poseidon shook his head in the negative. Dropping the body on his shoulder over the edge, Naruto turned and stared at him incredulously before looking up at the changing sky.
"Annie, by the gods, why him?" he asked pleadingly, "Why do you like someone that's so...dumb?"
"Now who's being hypocritical?" Percy grumbled. Snapping a glare at the younger boy, Naruto just whacked him over the back of the head as he walked past to get another body.
"OW!"
"Go steer the boat while I convince myself not to do the world a favor and cram thousands of years' worth of history into your head," grumbled the blond.
While Naruto continued to clean the deck and put out whatever fires were still threatening to sink the ship, Percy went to the cabin as instructed (under silent protest mind you) and looked at the controls. A few moments passed and Percy continued to stare at the controls, confused as to why he couldn't understand what to do. When the older demigod popped in and looked over the younger teen's shoulder at the boat controls, he cupped his chin.
"And we're still here because...?" Naruto asked, getting Percy to look at him.
"I...I have absolutely no idea how to operate this thing," the befuddled teen explained, "I mean normally I do, but this...I don't get it."
Naruto gently moved Percy out of his way, looking at the controls with furrowed brows. The blond gripped the handles and pressed various buttons, but got nowhere. Following a guess, Percy examined the console with furrowed brows. He noticed a missing screw along the side panel that had a large gash going through it. The son of Poseidon showed this discovery to the blond messing the controls, making Naruto groan as he saw it. Reaching into his kunai case, the blond withdrew one of the weapons, using it as he was trained to when in this sort of situation; that was the beauty of the kunai, it was a Swiss army knife for shinobi. Unscrewing the rest of the small screws, Naruto popped the panel cover off and revealed a mess of wires, a few of which were cut beyond his ability to repair.
Duck Tape would not be the universal savior here.
"Well, that explains why we're not moving yet. And here I figured you'd have learned how to operate one of these without it all intact...Or I might be mixing up demigod perks again," Naruto commented before shrugging, "Oh well, guess we go to plan B."
"Plan B?" Percy asked. Naruto merely gave the teen a grin that made the son of the sea god's spine slowly wither away. The blond held his hands up and took a step towards the teen, making Percy instinctively back away.
"Just hold still for one second, Jackson," said the older demigod as he continued his slow approach.
"I...I need an adult?" Percy mumbled out of fear.
"I am an adult," Naruto replied as his grin widened.
"Hey, they got the boat to work," Thalia said as the ship made its way back to the docks. She then furrowed her brows as she spotted something on the deck, "Is...Is that Whiskers?"
"What makes you think its Uzumaki and not Jackson?" Phoebe inquired. The figure on the boat shifted slightly before an arrow flew into the air. The arrowhead suddenly ignited a bright blue with the contrasting rising sun.
"Yep...It's Whiskers," Thalia deadpanned at the obvious flair that seemed to follow the blond due to his father's genetics. Obviously she failed to realize that Apollo got said genetics from a certain Thunder God, along with many other traits that she shared with her godly siblings. Such as a temper that many of the gods, save a few who shalt not be named (one does have the Pig Latin name of Ues-Zay), had already mastered over the millennia.
"I'm going to brain him," Thalia said with a twitching eye as she watched her crush, if she could still call him that, make several stupid poses, including that of the 'King of the World' lean made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio, before he leaned forward over the edge and a small splash was made. Obviously, she had not had the same amount of time the immortals had to reel in her temper. Zoë just shook her head over the whole thing while Phoebe smirked. The taller Hunter was beginning to lighten up around the blond, and daresay she might start to enjoy his company. Were it not for the fact Artemis was missing, she was sure Zoë would have as well.
"LAND HO!" a recovered Naruto called out as the boat came in. The boat slowed to a stop along the right of the docks and Naruto opened the gate, "Next stop on our Frisco Bay Tours, just a small distance from Mt. Othrys, the Garden of the Hesperides!"
Zoë glared at him, "Dost thee have to make an announcement?"
"I'm not a fan of boats," Naruto said with a frown, absentmindedly wiping at the corner of his mouth with his thumb. Thalia was the last to board, and upon walking past Naruto, she slapped him upside the head. Immediately the teen grabbed the back of his head and cried out in pain, "Ah! Why? Gods above why do you hit on me?"
"Stop saying it like that!" Thalia snapped with a blush on her face for his choice of words, "Where's Percy?"
"Oh yeah, I should help him back out," Naruto hummed before going to the aft and peering over the edge, "Alright, Jackson, have you ever been canoeing?"
The panting teen looked up and glared at the blond, "What?!"
"How else do you think we're going to back out?" inquired the blond with a smirk, "Okay now use your arms like oars and back us up."
"How about you get down here and do it?!" Percy cried out. Naruto sighed.
"Whine, whine, whine, bitch, bitch, bitch," murmured the older teen mockingly as he shook his head before hopping over the edge and grabbed onto the side with chakra. He pulled Percy up out of the water and tossed him onto the boat. Grunting as he pulled the boat out of the dock, Naruto continued to mumble under his breath.
Thalia, curious as to what the boy was mumbling, looked over and asked, "You say something?"
"Just thinking about ways to tortu-er, train Jackson to better use his abilities," Naruto replied. Percy immediately turned pale and hopped over the edge as Naruto got the boat to turn around. Just as Percy went to put his hands on the aft, the motor turned over, causing the two males to cry out in fear: Naruto for his feet and Percy for his hands. Naruto's surprise caused him to fall under the water.
"Looks like Nightshade got the boat to work!" Thalia laughed out after he broke the surface with a gasp. The soaked blond felt his eye twitch and ground his teeth. Oh, she found this funny did she?
"Jackson," Naruto started, getting the raven-haired boy to look at him, "Think you can give us a boost with the water?"
"Yeah, maybe. Why?" asked the younger teen. Naruto just gave him a toothy grin.
Thalia recovered from her bout of laughter and called ahead, "Alright, Nightshade let's stop so the two idiots can get back on board."
"I still fail to see the humor in wasting time like this," Zoë said from her place in the cabin.
Phoebe looked at Thalia, who was looking behind them for the two boys, and gave a small smirk of her own, "She teases Uzumaki to show him her affections, I suppose. Lady Artemis explained it to us once long ago, if you recall Zoë. To recognize when one of our own was enamored."
"Tis possible," Zoë murmured with a frown, "This nonsense of romance...I fail to see the point."
"I agree, but we can't let our beliefs distract us at the moment," Phoebe stated before stepping forward and putting a hand on the slightly shorter Hunter's shoulder, "Are you sure you can handle this?"
"Dost thou question my loyalty?" Zoë asked harshly as she turned to face her sister-in-arms, "Thine concern is touching Phoebe but unwarranted. All that matters is rescuing Lady Artemis, nothing more and nothing less."
"Many of our sisters would be sad if we lost you, Zoë," Phoebe said after a long pause before she left to join Thalia. Stopping just outside the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, "I am one of them."
Artemis' Lieutenant said nothing and continued to steer towards the beach of the Garden of Hesperides. She shook her head as Phoebe's words echoed in her head.
"Though we're not related by blood, I still think of you and the other Hunters as my cousins."
The blond Guardian's words surfaced from being buried in the back of her mind and the Hunter's frown grew. The term 'family' always brought bad memories forward, but other words like 'sister' have been reconnected with better memories. Happy times with her fellow Hunters and her Goddess came forward and determination started to shine in her eyes like never before. Looking at the mountainside they were approaching, Zoë silently vowed to ensure that her old family bonds would die today.
Phoebe sighed as she leaned against the cabin door before looking up at the sound of a yell. Her eyes widened and she ducked back into the cabin before Percy landed on his stomach where she once stood with a grunt. Naruto had much better aim and landed just next to Thalia, using his momentum to bring her to the deck with him.
"Naruto you jackass, what...was...that...for?" Thalia's fury ebbed away to sheer disbelief as she found herself face-to-chest with the drenched, clinging shirt of the older demigod. Naruto chuckled and pushed himself to his feet.
"That was for not telling us Zoë-chan could fix the boat's controls," Naruto said as he offered Thalia his hand. She took it and got back to her feet, still staring at him. The blond, noticing her still hormone induced staring state, grinned and leaned forward. With a whisper, Naruto asked, "See something you like, Thalia-chan?"
She slowly started to nod before snapping out of her daze and growling at the teen, "Pervert."
"Maa, but I'm your pervert, Tha-lia-chan," Naruto said, punctuating her name before stealing another kiss. He slipped away before her mind caught up with what just happened and looked down at the sitting up Percy with an arched brow, "I told you to lean forward before the water would shoot up. See what happens when you go too high, Icarus?"
"Ugh...Just wake me when we get there," Percy mumbled as his eyes drifted shut and his head leaned back against the boat's cabin, the action taking a lot out of him. Naruto shook his head in amusement, patting the teen on the head as he walked past. As far as he was concerned, Percy earned his rest. Sure, he should be able to swim for longer while pushing a boat, but Naruto will remedy that with some training.
"Do you enjoy risking your life, Uzumaki?" Phoebe asked him as he strode towards the bow. Naruto gave her a knowing smirk.
"I could ask the same of you, Phoebe," Naruto said before gesturing for her to follow him. Naruto led the girl to the bow and leaned against the raining, facing away from the ocean. He took a deep breath and fought down the sickness that was soon to emerge.
"What do you want?" Phoebe asked with her arms crossed. Naruto looked up at the slightly taller girl with a grin.
"I just wanted to thank you," he started, making her blink in surprise, "For backing me up against those Root. Although you shouldn't have interfered, I could've handled it."
"Tch, as I would expect from a man," Phoebe scoffed, "Your pride ruins any heartfelt apology you would bring forward. That warrior would've killed you with his magic had I not interfered."
"It's jutsu, but whatever. In case you haven't noticed, I heal faster than the average demigod," Naruto pointed out with a frown, "And there were civilians that aren't ready to see what my homeland can bring forward. This world may have guns and fancy machinery, but we have abilities that make the latest technology look like a joke."
"Your point?" Phoebe asked.
Naruto groaned, "If any of those videos get tagged by the wrong human officials, my homeland would be brought into a world that isn't ready for them."
Phoebe hummed before looking forward, "Well, there's not much we can do now aside from our quest."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Naruto mumbled before groaning and holding his stomach, "Ugh...Give me a minute."
He turned around and bent over the railing, releasing his stomach's contents into the ocean once again. He gave a silent apology to Percy's dad for pollution before he repeated the process, this time silently cursing the God for making waves. Before it could become dry heaving, a hand was placed on his shoulder and turned him around to face the Hunter that helped him. Phoebe suddenly shoved something into his mouth.
"Eat it," she insisted, and upon doing so, the Hunter then offered him a small flask, "Drink."
"Ugh, Gods, what was that?" coughed Naruto after eating the incredibly dry leaf. He took the flask and drank with vigor before the taste got to him. Handing the flask back to the taller girl, Naruto asked through his coughs, "What the Hell are you giving me?"
"A root that soothes the nerves and some ginger tea," Phoebe replied before catching Naruto as he stumbled, "Easy, you're going to be a bit out of it with the first dose."
"You're telling me," Naruto mumbled before coughing, "Mn, damn if that stuff doesn't taste like shit, though."
"An unfortunate side effect," Phoebe admitted as she helped the blond steady himself, "Are you alright?"
"I'm...speechless," He replied, followed by a light chuckle, "And here I thought that I tried everything. Let it be known that just because my dad's the God of Medicine, I know everything about plants. Where did you learn that?"
"Lady Artemis teaches some of us how to make use of the plants around us," Phoebe said with a small frown, "I would've thought Apollo would have her teach you the same."
"I needed help with my tracking and hunting. Auntie Arte was more available than my Dad. Not to mention I couldn't go to the Camp considering my duties," Naruto informed her with a small frown of his own, "What do you mean 'Apollo would have her teach me'?"
"We assumed that Apollo was blackmailing our lady into helping you...considering you're...a boy," Phoebe said, forcing her malice at the gender to stay hidden.
Naruto clapped his head onto his face before giving her a stern look, "Dad didn't blackmail his own sister. He called in a favor. Why do you think he was able to stop to give us all a ride back to Camp after we found Nico and Bianca? He owes Auntie Arte for teaching me some of her exclusive tricks of the trade. Why do you think I could smell the Boar coming?"
"I...We never thought of that," sheepishly replied the Hunter. Naruto just gave her a grin and patted her on the shoulder, ignoring the way she tensed when he touched her.
"It's your nature to be wary of men," Naruto said before he started to walk away, "You ever need anything, Phoebe, just give me a call. That's what family's for."
Phoebe just stared at the blond as he started to walk to the aft once more, only to get punched in the arm by an embarrassed and infuriated daughter of a certain thunder god. The Hunter crossed her arms and clenched her jaw, her thoughts running wild. Unbeknownst to Phoebe or Naruto, when the Guardian patted the Hunter's shoulder, there was a small flare in his chakra and the slowly setting moon slightly gained a brighter hue.
"There it is," Naruto said nearly an hour later from his place at the bow of the boat. He was looking at an overly misty mountain that seemed to glisten thanks to his father's chariot, save for the top of the mountain. "The new and slowly improving Mt. Othrys, home to the big baddies themselves: The Titans."
"I can't believe that used to be Mount Tamalpais," Phoebe murmured as she looked at the ominous silhouette hidden by darkening clouds.
"You think my Dad's causing that?" Thalia whispered. Naruto shook his head with narrowed eyes.
"No fucking way," Naruto answered, "Your Dad has more thunder, seeing as he likes to conserve his lightning. That's a fucking lot of lightning. If anything, we've found where the Sky tries to reach the Earth. Our ancestor Ouranos is throwing a hissy fit...whether it's because he's horny or for another reason, we'll soon find out."
AN: The end is near, only a few more chapters before this story comes to a close. I'm...conflicted. Will Naruto and co. manage to find Artemis? What was up with the strange reaction between Naruto and Phoebe? Will Percy be set to fight or not? Will Zoë fall as she did in canon? And is anyone else excited for Thor: The Dark World?
NOW REVIEW!