"You just had to do it again, didn't you?"

"Wasn't my fault."

Before either could respond, a roar of applause from the opposite side of the room drowned the air around them. Both entities looked over toward the sound. The sight of a large crowd of held their attention for a few moments before they looked away.

"My office is filled with angry sea people. Do you know how bad they smell when they're not in the water?"

A small chuckle escaped past his lips at the man's words. A sip from his glass managed to silence any more laughter. The orange, fizzy liquid bubbled and popped in his throat with fervor, pushing him to drink more.

"You've toppled two Olympians. The Greeks are demanding answers. Can you at least slow down a bit? Maybe aim for a minor god next time?"

"And I told you, it wasn't me this time."

Oh, he was glad it was not him this time. For once, his luck was playing in his favor. He found it sort of ironic that it came to fruition in Las Vegas of all places. He certainly could have used it a bit earlier.

Another sip from his drink drive that thought out of his head. At this point, he would take what he could get. Luck was luck and beggars could not be choosers.

"I don't care what you say. The fact of the matter is that Poseidon's people saw you fighting him then he's dead. Gone."

"Lilith ate him."

A part of him felt bad for the jackal-headed god sitting next to him. The exasperated look on Anubis' face spoke volumes of the crap the god had been going through because of him.

That part of him was silenced with another mouthful of his fizzy drink.

"Look." Anubis ran a hand through the bush of braids that sat at the back of his head. "Can you just slow it down? Maybe switch up your target group? The Hindus have millions!"

"I can't promise anything. Zeus apparently has it out for me."

Watching the god slam his against the bar shouldn't have been amusing enough to make him laugh yet it did. Maybe it was the image of a dog banging his head in exasperation or maybe his empathetic abilities had been worn down by his own experiences.

Either way, he was laughing on the inside

"I give up. There's no point in fighting it. Go ahead and commit deicide. Who cares?"

The god's groan ranged out beneath the cover of his arms. Naruto reached over and gave the god a comforting pat on the back. He may have been inwardly laughing but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the man's pain. He could relate to the crushing futility of trying to change a situation.

He could relate all too well.

"Boy, Vegas is the place to be!"

If the god wasn't in public, Naruto was sure he would be screaming in frustration based off of the dread that populated his face. With a sense of foreboding, Anubis raised his head up and turned it toward the voice.

"Without golden boy Hades, luck is finally headin' my way!"

Out of the crowd of came strutting Osiris. The full suit the blond had seen him in was abandoned; In its place, a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of khakis covered the man's mummified skin.

"That scythe-wielding bastard ain't holding me back anymore. Egypt is gettin' her gold back!"

Another sigh from Anubis drew Naruto's attention back over to the jackal. If looks could kill, he was sure that both Anubis and Osiris would be dead as the jackal's gaze was equal parts embarrassed and resentful.

"Anubis, it's going to be a tight ride home for ya!"

If the mummy dressed in vacation clothing wasn't ridiculous enough, the fact that the man had a literal armful of casino chips clutched to his chest was enough to make even Naruto question the situation. The mad grin that sat across the god's green lips only seemed to tease the absurdity of the scene.

"Dad, we didn't come here to gamble."

"Boy, I didn't help give birth to my brother to have him assassinate me and cut my penis off. Life is full of the unexpected!"

In an odd sort of way, Naruto found himself relating the interaction between father and sony with his own interactions with Jiraiya. Osiris' crude yet sagacious words reeked over the toad sage. And the absolute disinterest and loathing that sat in Anubis' eyes reminded him of his own youthful self.

Oh, how he pitied the jackal god.

"We'll make i-"

"And, you!"

Osiris cut off his son as he rounded on Naruto. The blond leaned backward to avoid the slight spill of the man's ebony chips while meeting the dead eyes of the Egyptian god.

"You got the scythe and the trident in ya possession right now. You're going for the crown next?"

"I'm not going for it but it's probably going to come to me. And, I don't have any trident. That belongs to Lilith."

The God released a laugh before settling into the seat next to him. With a loud heave, he allowed his chips to spill onto the bar in front of him while he leaned back into his seat.

"I had you pinned wrong, boy." The God gave a long stretch of his limbs before settling his arms on his small mountain of chips.

"I thought you were a trouble maker. Now, I see you're just an unfortunate son-of-a-bitch who is surrounded by trouble."

That about summed it up for Naruto as he downed the last bit of his drink. An unfortunate soul surrounded by trouble. The thought brought a grin to his face as he rose up from his seat.

"I have to get back to my room before Lilith stabs someone with that thing."

He offered a wave of his shoulder despite how useless it was. He could already hear the two gods of death arguing. Their words managed to reach him over the bustling casino and its ambient noise. A smile graced his face while happy memories of his time with Jiraiya danced through his mind.

"Dad, did you use my money to gamble again?"

"Your money? Boy, continue acting selfishly like that and you'll be the next one chopped up."

Yup. All happy memories.

"How dare you?"

Teenagers. Couldn't live without them. At least, that's what he told himself when he decided to take this young, angry brat under his wing.

"You put my name on this? My actual name? What is wrong with you?"

Okay. Maybe putting the boy' humiliating defeat in print and allowing the full supernatural world to have access to it for a simple five dollars plus shipping was a little harsh on his party. Maybe he should have asked Vali first. Maybe he overstepped a bit.

"Can you actually talk instead of sitting there looking like an idiot?"

His inner monologue came to a crashing end with the devil's words and along came a focus on the outside pen that he had been balancing on his nose for a record-setting four minutes came clattering down onto his desk as he turned his chair to face the devil.

His outside focus dissipated almost immediately at the sight of the devil Prince dressed in a sugar-dusted, orange apron. It was only under the strength of his own will and the terrifying anger that radiated from his charge, that he managed to stifle the giggles that wanted so desperately to erupt from his mouth.

"My bad. My mind got lost in the clouds."

Admittedly, that response wasn't much better than him outright laughing in the devil's face but it served its purpose in not getting him punched in the face; If only by the slimmest of margins.

"Explain this trash to me."

He didn't have to look down to know what Vali had just slammed on his desk. The devil's response was all he needed to know.

"Well…" He leaned back into his plush and leather seat, recently bought under the profits of his new hit-seller while picking up his pen.

"Some of the factions leaders and I decided that a great first step of solidarity would be to work on a collaborative project."

"And my life was the first choice?"

"Not exactly your life. Just a strong dramatization of it all."

Oh boy. That was not the right thing to say. His butt left his ultra-comfortable seat as he was forced to duck beneath his desk. Vali's fist tore through the air above him, sending his chair flying across the room and scaring the dickens out of him.

"Everything but my name! Now my name is attached to this … garbage."

He took a risky peak from his safe place. Burning hazel eyes peered back at him, making him want to do nothing but crawl back beneath his desk.

Vali was scary when he was angry.

But, so was he! He wouldn't be bullied by the piss-filled brat. He worked hard on those illustrations and he would not allow them to be written off as garbage. They were art, dammit!

"My drawings are not garbage. I slaved away at my computer to get your every little detail just right. My art is perfect!"

Sometime during his little rant, he had risen from his hiding spot and now stood over the devil. He had on his best mean face, the most intimidating visage he could muster up. Whole armies of devil and angels had been forced into retreat from a mere glimpse of this look. This look had helped end the Faction Wars.

"I look like an overweight infant in this mess. Your art is nowhere near perfect. I don't know who would even publish this crap. And, stop making that face. It looks like you're constipated."

Apparently, the look wasn't good enough to defeat a teenage devil. He allowed his ass to reunite with the ground as defeat rolled through him. Why did he have to adopt such a mean son?

"For the record, Heaven itself published my work! That's who would publish this 'crap'."

He had to slip in that piece of information, if not for himself then for the pride of his work. His work was heaven approved after all.

"Michael approved of this crap. Is he apart of this? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

"A lot, Vali. A lot. Much more than you would ever be able to guess."

"Did you hear? Did you hear what Na-"

"Yes, Gabriel. I heard."

It would have been almost impossible to not hear about the boy's beating of the Olympian. The supernatural world had been set aflame by the news. Naruto Uzumaki, thought to be a mere candy god months before, had now slain two of the three Greek brothers. A candy god now held domain in the realm of death and the sea.

"Will you relent now? Will you believe?"

He had to hold back a groan as she approached his desk with those doe-like eyes full of hope. She had been like this since her visit to the shop owner. Where she had been repetitive before she was now incessant in her questioning.

"I still don't know, Gabriel."

Oh, how quick those doe eyes could turn sharp. Before the full sentence could even leave his mouth, she was upon him, her hands planted across his desk and her face inches from his own.

"Why are you being so stubborn, Michael? Do you enjoy this struggle?"

"I do not, sister. But I have not reached the point where I am willing to put my faith in theories. The question I have for you is why you continue to press this issue?"

After a few moments of staring, he watched the lines of her face soften while she stepped away from his desk. For that, he was grateful. He knew his sister was the most angelic being in existence but that did not mean she couldn't put up a scary facade.

"You weren't there, Michael."

The wistful tone his sister had taken up told the angel he was in for a ride. A low sigh, inaudible to the yearning angel in front of him, slipped out of his lips as he settled back into his chair.

"It was only a glimpse, brother. The smallest of instances. Yet, I felt it. The room was filled with it! With him."

Michael leaned further back into his chair. His sister's misty eyes danced in front of him, beckoning for a response.

Who would've thought that this is where he would find himself? The golden child of God was now as confused and unremarked as the day he was brought to life.

A long exhale left through his nose. His father had left him in charge, to carry on his legacy. Was his job over? Had another truly come to shoulder this burden?

Had his father come back?

"I'll meet with him again. "

As the words left his mouth, a weight lifted off of his shoulders. Maybe it was the bright smile Gabriel flashed him at that moment or maybe it the prospect of not being nagged anymore. Either way, Michael knew something changed that day.

He could only hope that it was for the best.

"She … is a menace with that thing."

He found it hard to disagree while looking at the current state of their hotel. It was chaotic to say the least and Lilith stood at the center of it all, wielding a trident that looked like it was three times her height. The young dragon looked proud of herself while she twirled the weapon around herself like a child would twirl a baton. Unfortunately for her surroundings, she was just as clumsy and the sharp edges of the weapon were not forgiving in the slightest.

"...You should take it away."

Him? The inward shock he felt showed on his face as he looked down at Ophis.

"Why me?"

"...You're the father."

He always knew the day Ophis gained a sense of humor would be an interesting one. Such a dry personality would lead to a dry sense of humor. He had only wished he wasn't among one of her first victims.

Ignoring the small smile tugging away at the dragon's lips, he began his steady march over to Lilith. A laughed sat at the back of his throat as he walked. Would it have been weird for him to admit his trepidation at the moment? Not at the prospect of being stabbed with the trident; he had faced far worse when it came to fighting. No, the prospect of being a father - even if it was only for a second - struck at his heart. The hit landed and made him freeze up in front of the girl. Instead of her stopping him, she stopped when she took notice of his presence.

"Father."

Father. That word snapped him out of his trance. He may not have been an actual father but at this moment, for his own safety, he needed to act like one.

"I need you to give me the trident. I'll give it back later but now it's time to put it away."

He held out his hand in what he thought was a fatherly manner. At least, in his mind, he seemed fatherly. He didn't have much experience when it came to fathers and the like but he was trying his best.

The blank stare at Lilith showed him made him quickly doubt how fatherly and authoritative he actually came off as. Of course, the dragon's default setting was apathetic but the nervous blond wasn't thinking straight at the moment. He was trying his best not to get pierced by that trident.

Lilith stared at him. She stared in silence for several long moments. The moments dragged, dragged on to the point where he began to sweat. The feeling only grew worse when the young dragon decided to turn her attention away from him and look at the Trident. The way her eyes ran over the weapon's golden surface was a bit more than worrying. The burning in his stomach seemed to agree with him.

"Okay, father."

And just like that, the burning in his stomach was doused by a wave of shock. He nearly jumped back when the dragon held the trident up to his face. He had to look back at the dragon's face to confirm that he was seeing straight. When he was met with her patent blank stare, he decided that he had enough with questioning and took the weapon out of her hand.

"Don't worry. I'll give it back later."

A nod. His face nearly split apart at the sight of that nod. A part of him realized that a large part of his happiness came from the knowledge that things could have gone so much worse. Though, his recent habitat on looking on the brighter side of things made him ignore that part as he sealed away Poseidon's - now technically Lilith's - trident.

"For now, let's try and relax without swinging around giant wea-

His words died in his mouth when a door knock echoed through the room. He turned his head toward the door to see Ophis already standing with her hand on its knob.

He had never considered himself paranoid but in that singular moment where Ophis was pulling the door open, a chaotic swarm of thoughts and worries bombarded him. As relaxed as he tried to be, he couldn't ignore the fact that he undoubtedly had a whole faction of gods on his ass after killing two of their leaders. So, he felt no shame in donning his sage cloak at that instant.

"I bought some stuff."

Luckily for him, hs paranoia would be for naught. Instead of a god or some hitman, Koneko was the one standing behind the door. On either of her arms sat a ludicrous amount of clothing. He allowed his cloak to die away while he watched the Nekoshou step into the room and shot Ophis a grateful nod before dropping her bags to the ground.

"There are some snac-"

There was no hesitation in him this time when the sound of knocking reached his ears. He was across the room in a second, his hand wrapped around Ophis' wrist, stopping her from opening the door. He only needed a single look to silence any questioning from her before he devoted his full attention to the closed door. The flames of his sage cloak licked away at his vision as he moved his eye towards the door's peephole. He pressed his eye against the tiny window and squinted hard to see who was on the opposite side. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he saw who it was.

"Who is it?"

"It is I, Artemis."

He didn't bother turning away to see Koneko's reaction. He wasn't quite sure if he had told the girl about his immortal stalker but he couldn't afford to take his eye off of the goddess. After what had gone down between him and Poseidon, there was no way he was trusting her to be anything but hostile.

"Do you need me to kill her, father?"

If it weren't for his past interactions with the girl, Naruto was sure he would have to turn away from the door out of pure shock at her words. Instead, he held strong and shook his head in reply while his hand crept toward the knob of the door.

"I'm going to handle it."

Oh, he was going to handle it. And by handling it, he meant flashing her away as far as he could and hoping she wouldn't manage to find her way back.

"Just to prefix this, I have no plans on harming you."

Those words froze him in place. A curse leaped from his mouth as his hand rested on the door knob.

"I'm not dealing with this crap on my vacation."

From Artemis' perspective, she went from staring at a wooden door to staring at the human equivalent of the sun in the matter of a moment. Before she could even think to reach for her weapon, her uncle's trident sat inches from her face.

"Tell me what you want."

Her eyes traveled from the tip of the trident up its shaft and eventually landed on the now orange eyes of her blond target. A smile, one strained from the power radiating from Naruto and the awkwardness of the situation, popped on her face while she locked eyes with the boy.

"I came to deliver an offer."

The narrowing of his eyes nearly made her hands reached for her now. But a part of her, the part that remembered watching the god in front of her battle, knew it was for naught. The speed at which he could manipulate those orbs of his outpaced anything she could produce. She would be dead before she could even notch an arrow.

"I honestly don't want to hea-"

"It's from Zeus."

She knew she was taking a risk saying that name considering the bad reputation it carried; One she had helped build. The narrowed look she received in return told her how close she was towing her personal line of safety. Though, the fact that the blond had chosen not to skewer her with her uncle's weapon prompted her to continue.

"He would like to sit down and talk with you. Today. He is waiting in the lobby right now. Feel free to come prepared."

With her piece said, she dared a step backward. When Naruto didn't decide to attack her, a sigh broke past her lips before she turned her back and began walking. She managed to make it several steps in her calm pace before she broke out in a sprint, disappearing around a corner and out of Naruto's sight a few moments later.

"I think you may need to give Lilith her trident back."

Naruto's attention was brought away from the hallway by the sound of his girlfriend's voice. His eyes cut over to her form leaning against the doorway.

"I have no use for it. It was fun to play with but it would only slow me when serving my father. You can have it, Aunt Koneko."

Both Koneko and Naruto turned back toward the dragon after she spoke. Did they hear her correctly? It took a shared look between them both to confirm that the words that came out of Lilith's mouth actually came out of her mouth.

"Ah…" The sound slipped out of his mouth while the sage's chakra faded from his body. His eyes cut between Koneko and Lilith for a few moments before landing on the golden weapon in his hand. His hesitation lasted for several more moments before a shrug announced his decision to the world.

"Sure. I think that's a good idea."

He held the trident out toward the girl and within a second it was out of his hands. He blinked at the sudden change before he lowered his gaze down to the girl.

"You feel any different?"

He had to ask the question. Holding the weapon, he hadn't felt any noticeable changes. Lilith seemed to feel the same way. From the nonchalant look on Koneko's face, the same seemed to go for her. The shrug she offered him as she twirled around the weapon.

"I feel … more wet."

Her words, along with the small smile tugging at her lips, dragged a laugh out of him. Leave it up to her to make him laugh despite the fact that a god, one that he had killed two of its brothers, sat waiting for him in the lobby of their hotel.

"I also felt a bit of dampness while holding the weapon."

Lilith's words sucked the amusement right out of him. It seemed to do the exact opposite for Koneko. The small grin on her face erupted into a peal of laughter. Even Ophis seemed amused by her daughter's words. The slight hum of Kurama's chuckling within the recesses of his mind tipped him off that even his partner was laughing it up at him.

"I rather talk to Zeus than stay up here."

His words went ignored in the room full of laughter, excluding Lilith, of course. As soon as the young girl saw her father step out of the room, she bolted after him. It was only after he had turned on his heel and was halfway down the hallway that the duo of Nekoshou and dragon noticed his disappearance. With a quick jog, the two girls caught up to their favorite blond.

"You can't fight Zeus without us."

He took a moment to look down at the girls by his side. One dragon god, her clone-daughter and one devil-nekoshou that now held the trident of a Greek God in her hands. The sight of the odd group brought a chuckle out of the blond as he stepped into an elevator.

"Yeah, together we'll be alright."

The elevator ride down to the lobby had to be one of the oddest trips Naruto had ever taken despite its length. Luckily for him, his group were the only ones to hop in. He had no doubt that the god's presence below played a part in that. That left him alone in a mechanized box with his three companions while sub-par music played from a broken speaker.

Definitely one of his more odd elevator rides.

The door to the machine sprung open, freeing the group of four. He was the first to step out, followed by his girlfriend and their two dragon companions.

The emptiness of the lobby floor was their first warning that something was definitely off. Not even the greeter was present in the building. No, the only thing that stood in the room was his group…

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

And the glimmering man who had burst through the hotel doors. His presence was undeniable, his loud shouting and glowing body made sure of that. Everything from the man's blond hair to his teeth and even down to the bronze skin that made up his toes glowed. The white toga that covered most of his body offered some reprieve from his shine.

"You're the man I wanted to speak with!"

The man didn't stop at the lobby door. With several long strides, he began making his way over toward the group. He managed to make it halfway across the lobby before stopping. Not on his own accord, of course, but because of the two dragons and the trident-wielding Nekoshou that met his advance.

"Woah!" The god's hands shot up at the sign of their assault. Luckily for him, that actually managed to stop them in their tracks. Whether it was out of willingness or pure confusion, he didn't know but the man wasn't going to question not being attacked.

"I meant no harm! Really! I just want to talk to Naruto."

"You will not get close to my father."

The man's eyes drifted over to Lilith for a brief moment. That moment was all he needed to know that taking any more steps would not be best for his health. So, instead, he turned his attention away from the dragon and toward the blond standing at the other side of the room. He sucked in a deep breath before shouting:

"Hey, kid! How would you like to rule Olympus?"

AN: We draw closer to the end. Another chapter down, another 'twist' I'm sure someone picked up on and another headahce for our main blond boy. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to PM me if you're confused about anything in this chapter. PM or review if you had any questions, comments, concerns and questions. Have a good rest of the day!