Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Reading: Son of the Earthshaker
VII
Reyna cleared her throat and turned the page.
The road to the coast of the Columbia River was not generous to the chariot. Naruto paid it no heed, but the constant swears from Zack started to grate on his nerves. The way Misaki pressed herself against him throughout the trip didn't help either. It made some...weird feelings appear and frankly, had Naruto not been very distracted by the task at hand, he would've been asking Zack about them.
"Daddy, what's an erection?" Apollo asked in a high voice.
"Apollo!" Artemis glared as most of the guys snickered at the joke.
Zeus glared at Apollo, for the sun god was facing his way. What was really annoying was that Apollo really had asked that question a long, long time ago.
After, of course, he made the son of Fortuna shut up.
There it is, M'lord! Balius' voice snapped Naruto out his thoughts. The two stallions started to slow as their hoofs left dirt and touched down onto the sand. The air was cold, but the sounds of the crashing waves were oddly soothing.
"Finally!" Zack leapt from the chariot and fell to the ground on his knees. He lifted his arms up and crowed to the sky. "Sweet relief! Oh, Fortuna, thank you! Thank you, kind gods!"
"You're welcome," the gods answered back.
Drama queen. Xanthus snorted as he tested the sand with his hoof. Troy.
Yes, Xanthus. Much like the beaches of Troy, Balius nodded to his brother. He looked around. Far less...debauchery and war going on, though.
"Whoo!" Ares cheered.
"Good times." Apollo nodded in agreement.
Naruto let the reigns fall and Misaki continued to hold onto his arm after they got off of the chariot. Naruto gave her a bewildered look. "Uh, Misaki? You can let go of my arm now."
"Must I?" Misaki asked with a small frown.
"I say let her snuggle more." Aphrodite protested.
"Yes, let the quest go on longer, by all means." Artemis rolled her eyes.
"...Yeah, it's starting to feel really weird." Naruto partially admitted. His arm was feeling numb around where Misaki was hugging it, and that weird tingling had started to come back. Misaki almost reluctantly let go of his arm and took a step or two away.
Content, Naruto turned and looked at Zack. "Hey, knock it off. Where's Lois Island?"
Zack huffed and got to his feet. He dusted the sand off of his jeans. "Yeah, sure. How are you not rattled by the chariot of damnation?"
"He's got no idea how wrong he is." Percy chuckled.
"Big time," Annabeth said with a grimace.
How rude! Balius neighed in offense. It may not have been the proper form of transport for M'lord, but we traveled smoothly! That, and M'lord has the same skill Patroclus did!
"Who?" Leo asked with a confused look.
"Achilles' friend." Annabeth told him.
"His really good friend." Aphrodite giggled.
"That's just a rumor that Apollo and the Trojans started," Hermes said.
"But it's so juicy!"
Natural. Xanthus nodded in agreement.
"Thanks guys," Naruto said with a smile. He turned to Zack. "So where is it?"
"There." Zack pointed to the left, across the moving water to the fog covered land in the distance. The beaches were barely visible, and the trees that adorned the land mass were just as difficult to make out. Naruto looked back at Zack, who was looking at his map. "Maybe five, ten miles to the island?"
"How are we supposed to get there?" Misaki asked. She walked closer to the edge of the beach and peered out with her hand covering her eyes from the slowly rising sun. "There's no natural land bridge and if we did need to find a boat, it would set us back a few hours."
"Not to mention that'd mean we'd have to ride that thing again." Zack glared at the chariot.
Misaki shivered. "Yeah, that's not happening."
They looked to Naruto, who looked between them. Misaki gave him a sweet smile that was slowly growing
"That's a scary smile," Jason shivered and looked at Piper. "Please don't ever do that."
"I'll try," Piper said with a small growing smile.
"Please!"
while Zack smirked. "What?"
"Well, it is a large body of water and you're a son of Neptune." Zack chuckled.
"Get to work, that's an order!" Leo barked out.
Naruto looked at him for a moment before it clicked. "What, you want me to swim? I've never swam that far! And, I'm-I'm an Earthshaker! I'm not good with the whole water thing!"
"…Oh, that's just embarrassing." Percy palmed his face while everyone laughed.
"He didn't just say that." Poseidon grimaced. He rubbed his temples.
"Does the baby water brat need some water wings?" Ares asked snidely.
"No, but you will in a minute." Poseidon growled while he glared heatedly at the war god.
Misaki walked over to him oddly, her hips swished from one side to the other. The advance had Naruto on the retreat until he nearly fell over, but by then Misaki had closed a significant amount of distance between them. She put a finger on his chest and gave him a sweet smile, the stars in her eyes sparkled oddly. Her finger began to make circles slowly.
"…And she's twelve, right?" Frank asked cautiously.
"My baby's got the moves." The love goddess tittered.
"Moves like Jagger~" Apollo sang out.
"Naruto..." Her smile became far too sweet. Naruto felt a sudden rush of fear go through him, like when he'd stepped on an active land mine in a war game when he was seven. Misaki's hand gripped the front of his shirt and she pulled him closer. "Either you start swimming, or we see how well you do at digging your way under the water."
"Evil Annabeth."
"Stop that, Leo!" The blonde glowered at the chuckling son of fire.
"Nope. She's got him whipped like you do your water boy."
Percy pouted. He wasn't whipped…Right?
"...Right, yeah, swimming. I'm gonna go swimming. Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Naruto nodded frantically, which made Misaki's smile become a normal form of sweet. Misaki released his shirt and patted him with both hands on the shoulders.
"Good boy. Now, take this off..." Misaki started to tug at his Camp Jupiter shirt.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"So she can get in your pants," Hermes pointed out.
"Far too soon! She just wants to see the candy under the wrapper." Aphrodite huffed. Her girls weren't that forward. Mostly. There were those rare few.
Misaki gave him a look. "So you don't get hypothermia by wearing all those clothes."
"But I can will myself dry." Naruto frowned in confusion. That was a well-known power of his.
Zack chuckled. "He's got a point, Misaki."
Misaki's cheeks puffed up as she pouted. "You're not helping, Zachary."
"Yes, he is not!" The love goddess frowned. "He should watch himself."
"Hey, he's an honorary legacy. Leave him be." Hermes frowned.
"You're holding him back, Princess," Zack said with a knowing look. His eye looked over at Naruto. "Go on, water boy. Get started on swimming."
Misaki continued to pout as Naruto slipped away from her and quickly trudged over to the edge of the water.
He waded into the Columbia River, willing it from not dowsing him, until he was waist deep in it. Then, Naruto dove, propelling himself through the water faster than he had ever moved on land. He couldn't feel it, but at the same time he knew the water was cold. Instinctually, most likely. On the bright side, that weird feeling Misaki had made start to churn around in his gut had finally went away as he imagined how cold it was.
"A cold shower will do that to you." Jason chuckled.
"Speaking from experience, Jason?" Piper asked slyly.
"…No."
"Good, because I so don't want to hear about that." Thalia grunted.
Many fish had come near him, brushing alongside him with ease. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when he realized that fish brains were too small for coherent thought. Animals of instinct, it seemed.
"It says a lot about their creator." Athena couldn't resist the dig to her rival.
"Says the bird brain." Poseidon shot back, earning a frown from the goddess.
That train of thought made Naruto remember that somewhere there was a monster under these waters. A monster that had killed a Roman. It made him pause and suspend himself in the ocean, looking around for any sight of the Cetus. That made another thought come to the forethought of Naruto's mind: what exactly did the Cetus look like?
"They tend to come in many different shapes and sizes," Poseidon confessed.
Naruto shook his head. He didn't have time to worry about it. He didn't even need to worry about the Cetus. All he needed to do was get Scaevola's Dagger and go back to Camp Jupiter.
"A fetch quest is never that easy," Percy said. "I had experience with that. Big time."
"Still got detoured in Vegas." Ares snickered.
"And whupped your butt!"
"You wanna try again!?"
"Anytime!"
"NO!" Poseidon and Zeus barked.
The whiskered son of Neptune went back to swimming, his goal firmly in his mind.
The bottom of the river started to rise closer and Naruto swam up. He broke the surface easily and took in a soft breath of the fresh air that surrounded him. Naruto noted that the beach was nice and clean, and the fog that surrounded the beach added to the ambiance. There was a faint yell and Naruto turned around to see who he assumed to be Misaki waving her arms wildly.
"Sharks in the water!" Leo cried out.
"That's such an overreaction." Poseidon frowned. "Do you know how many sharks were killed because of that movie?"
"...A lot?" Leo ventured. Poseidon nodded.
"A lot."
"Jaws was awesome." Ares grinned.
Naruto lifted one arm to wave back and then walked up onto the beach, completely dry.
"If I were a dagger, where would I be?" Naruto asked himself. With no real leads, Naruto resigned himself to wander along the beach. The waves crashed again nearby and the son of Neptune let out a small groan as his hands slipped into his pockets. "This is going to take forever."
"It's been hours," Misaki said with a small pout as she sat on the beach, her shoes and socks set in the abomination that was called a chariot while the waves crashed over her feet. She crossed her arms over her knees and rested her chin on them. "And I didn't get to see him wet."
"That's what she said!"
"Leo!" Piper, Thalia, and Artemis glared at the snickering Latino.
"Good response time." Ares praised with a nod.
"How old are you again?" Zack asked as he looked up from cleaning his crossbow.
"Old enough." Misaki smiled lightly. She suddenly giggled. "Besides, Venus has been sending me signs, confirming some questions I have."
"Do I like boys? Check~!" Aphrodite smiled brightly. She sighed. "Oh, this is going to be a beautiful match!"
"Signs? ...I don't think I want to know," Zack said as he looked back at his crossbow. Xanthus whinnied and he glanced over at the two stallions, who he had long since released from the chariot. The chestnut colored stallion did not like him, and frankly, the feeling was mutual.
Misaki played with a lock of her hair, her golden starry eyes staring off into the distance. "Do you think it's a Neptune thing?"
"The stupidity? Yes." Athena nodded, getting a glower from Poseidon.
Zack dropped his crossbow slightly and looked up dryly. "Seriously? Do I want to know what you're talking about?"
"The obliviousness," Misaki said with a roll of her eyes. "Mind in the gutter much?"
"Well, he is a teenage guy." Thalia rolled her eyes.
"I'm seventeen. I'm supposed to be thinking about these things." Zack retorted swiftly.
"See?" Thalia scoffed. "Guys are so predictable."
"Tell me about it." Annabeth sighed and gave the sheepish Percy an amused look.
"You're, what? Twelve?"
"Twelve and eight months, actually," Misaki said haughtily. Zack rolled his eye and she turned to look at him. "But seriously, do you think it's from Neptune?"
"...You're going to ask me that while we're sitting on a beach next to two divine horses?" Zack arched a brow, his lone eye asking her silently if she was sane.
Misaki nodded nonchalantly. "Yes."
"Now answer the girl's question." Aphrodite demanded eagerly.
"Just checking." Zack sighed. "Honestly? No. It's just him." He chuckled and went back to cleaning his crossbow. "You've got your work cut out for you. Especially if you want to monopolize him. Word's been spreading around the older legionnaires, some other girls are starting to notice Naruto, you know, since he's been training twenty-four seven after the thing with the quake."
"Girls like muscles." Frank smirked and winked at Hazel, who gave a flushing smile.
Misaki sighed irritably and looked back out to the water. "I was afraid you'd say that."
She pursed her lips together and frowned at the thought of some of the other girls trying to sink their claws into Naruto. That just wouldn't do, she had seen him first. She'd made her claim known, but apparently not as well as she'd thought. A calculative gleam appeared in her eye and a wry smile spread across her face. She had a few ideas on how to deal with this revelation.
"Evil. Annabeth."
"…I will kill you, Leo. You will not see it coming. This I swear."
Those thoughts left her as Naruto walked up the beach a ways down, but to her disappoint he was completely dry. Misaki pouted slightly and got to her feet as he walked back over to them. He gave them one of his large carefree grins that stretched up to his sea green eyes, making them twinkle beautifully and reached behind him.
"Is that what you see, Annie?" Thalia smirked, getting a small flush from her friend.
"None of your business."
The response made Thalia chuckle in amusement.
"So guess what I found stuck in a stone not too far from the beach?" Naruto asked as he brought his arm forward. In his grasp was a pugio, a dagger, with a highly decorated sheath. Rubies, diamonds and gold decorated the black leather. It was about ten inches long, perhaps one and a quarter or one and a half inches wide. Naruto carefully unsheathed the pugio, revealing a bronze dagger with Latin inscribed on the hilt.
The Romans looked at it in awe, but Leo popped their bubble.
"Did he just say he 'pulled it from a stone'?" the mechanic asked.
"…Oh, man," Percy said with a grimace. "This isn't going to end well."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Nico deadpanned.
"For the loyalty and bravery displayed in the face of death, I bequeath this dagger to Gaius Marcus Scaevola," Zack read softly, translating as he did. He held his hand out. "May I?"
"Here," Naruto said as he handed the pugio over gently. As Zack inspected the dagger, Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "...I found the, um, last owner."
Misaki put a hand on his arm in support. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...I buried him and put some gold down for the passage. Asked Pluto to forgive him for the late...arrival." Naruto swallowed. "The ground rumbled after I took the dagger, so I think he...heard me."
"Wasn't me," Hades said with a quirked lip.
Zack looked up. "The ground rumbled after you picked the dagger up?"
"Yeah...Can, we go now?"
Zack sheathed the dagger and handed it back to Naruto. As Naruto bound the dagger to his belt, urgency reflected in Zack's eye and he took a calm breath. "Yes. Leaving now would be for the best."
The ground rumbled again and about a mile off the coast, the water began to bubble.
"He pulled an Indiana Jones." Leo shook his head. "Should've done the swap."
"With what? A stick?" Annabeth scoffed. "The chances of him finding the right dimensions were about as high as Harrison Ford's quick swap working in the first place."
"Yeah, but, that was great suspense!" Leo protested.
"Whatever."
The three legionnaires turned and took notice of a large mass of dark scales that started to break the surface.
"I have a bad feeling about that." Zack swallowed.
"Obviously." Reyna rolled her eyes before she continued on.
Misaki shook her head. "That doesn't look like a whale."
"There she blows! The white whale!"
"Hm, I wonder if there really is a white whale..." Percy mumbled.
Poseidon chuckled. "Perhaps."
"...We need to hook Balius and Xanthus back up. Now," Naruto said. Zack and Misaki nodded in agreement before the three of them ran over to the divine stallions.
M'lord! Did you accomplish your mission? Balius asked with a smile in his eyes.
Naruto grabbed the harness of the chariot and tossed it over Balius' back. "Yeah, we got Scaevola's dagger, but we need to go."
Are you all right, M'lord?
"No, we're about to have a big boss battle!" Apollo wailed.
"But we don't have health potions!" Hermes gasped.
"No!" Apollo wailed. "My loot! All my glorious, glorious loot!"
"Oh grow up!" Artemis snapped at them for their immaturity. The two gods just laughed.
"Balius, look over there and tell me what you see!" Naruto said, pointing at the dark scales slowly getting closer.
Balius followed his finger and whinnied. My word! Yes, post haste we shall leave! Xanthus, stop fussing with Sir Zachary and allow him to hook you up! Lord Naruto is in danger!
"Oh, Jupiter's beard, don't call me 'lord'!" Naruto groaned as he tightened the harness around Balius. He looked at the still slightly fussing Xanthus and frowned at him. "Xanthus! Behave!"
The horse snorted in distaste as Zack put the harness on him. Zack grimaced in return. "You know, this isn't exactly my choice of arrangement either."
"Oh, boys! Boys!" Misaki called as she ran back from putting her shoes and socks back on. "It's getting closer!"
Ares started to hum the jaws theme, and soon, everyone was joining in except for a brooding Poseidon.
"Stupid Spielberg..." The sea god huffed.
Xanthus looked beyond the girl and at the mass of scales in the distance. He reared back and whinnied in fear, making Zack back away.
"I didn't do anything!" he said.
CETUS! Naruto winced at the volume Xanthus yelled at.
"Dumb and quiet's got a set of lungs." Nico whistled.
He nodded at Zack to finish up Balius while he calmed the younger stallion. He snorted and shifted uneasily in the sand, making it difficult for Naruto to put the harness on.
"Easy, easy buddy. Just let me get this on so we can go," Naruto softly.
"Um, Naruto? It's, it's almost on the beach!" Misaki cried in worry.
"I know!"
Zack suddenly ran away from the golden stallion and pulled his crossbow from his back. He looked over his shoulder as he primed a bolt tipped with Imperial Gold. "Get them hooked up, I'll try to buy us some time!"
"Don't be a hero!" Leo cried out. "You don't have the extra life hack!"
"You shouldn't have had that stupid hack." Hades grumbled.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Naruto shouted back as he tightened the harness around Xanthus. "Misaki, fix Balius' harness. It's too loose."
"Um, yeah...how do I do that?" Misaki asked sheepishly.
"…What?" the Romans asked flatly while Reyna paused to rub her head. Percy even went as far as to palm himself in the face.
"That was basic training!" Frank groaned.
"So embarrassing." Hazel groaned.
Naruto looked at her over Xanthus' back with disbelief on his face. "How? It's required by all cohorts to learn how to hook up a chariot for the annual races!"
Misaki giggled weakly. "About that...I might've...skipped...out?"
"…Come again?" Reyna frowned at the words on the page. "How'd she manage that?
"Seriously?" Naruto asked flatly.
"The stables were smelly!"
"I agree." Aphrodite nodded sagely.
"And now it bites her in the rear," Athena scathingly noted.
"...Drat!"
...Frankly, M'lord, you can't blame a child of Venus for wanting to be clean. Why, I remember Julius absolutely refusing to go anywhere near the stables, preferring to be on polishing duty as punishment. Balius defended the girl.
"Julius was such a good boy," Aphrodite smiled fondly.
"Shame about how it all fell apart for him." Dionysus chuckled.
"Balius, do you want us to die?"
W-what? No! Never, M'lord!
"Then shut up!"
"Yeah, shut up, Mr. Ed."
"Don't be mean to the horses!" Hazel glared at Nico.
Nico held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay. Relax, I was just making a joke."
"Outdated one, but gosh darn it does that makes sense." Leo chuckled.
"Zing." Thalia smirked.
Balius hung his head slightly. Sorry, M'lord.
Naruto shook his head and finished adjusting Xanthus' harness. He went over to Balius, giving Misaki a small frown that made her cringe, and then fixed Balius' harness.
"Double drat." Aphrodite clicked her tongue. "That made my baby lose some points."
At the sound of a loud roar and an explosion of water being parted. Naruto turned around to call Zack back. He looked just in time to see a massive four-fingered, clawed and scaled hand slam down near the son of Fortuna.
Naruto followed the arm up, up, and up to the top of the scaled head that was easily seventy feet off the ground. It looked like a horribly evil monkey, with fins on either side of its head. The eyes were white, without pupils, and its mouth was contorted in a snarl that revealed layers of sharp yellow teeth. Four massive, scaled arms sprouted from its torso and a powerful build led down to a large serpent-like body that disappeared into the water. The underside of its arms and clawed hands were suckled, like an octopus' tentacles.
"…He's got to fight that?" Piper asked with a dropped jaw.
"I could take it." Percy huffed with a determined frown.
"Sure you could." Annabeth teased.
"What? It's in water. Unlike Naruto, that's my turf."
It was truly a terrifying creature.
"More like fu-ugly." Leo grimaced.
"GO!" Zack cried out as he loaded another bolt and took a shot that made the Cetus bellow. He dove away from another fist that would easily crush him. He primed another bolt and fired, striking the Cetus in the cheek. "RUN! GO! I'LL CATCH UP!"
"I can guess where this was going." Nico frowned. "And it wasn't going to be good."
We should listen to him, M'lord. Balius flinched as two hard sea green eyes turned to him. The rage that swirled in those eyes made the immortal stallion shudder. This was certainly a son of the sea god.
"We all go home or nobody goes home," Naruto said firmly, quoting one of his favorite movies shown to him by his mother. Sgt. Slaughter was so awesome.
"Sir, yes sir!" Apollo saluted eagerly along with Ares.
"Ah Slaughter. I love that son of a bitch," the war god grinned. "His act during the Gulf...The best."
"Ares, watch your language," Hestia frowned.
Almost as cool as Optimus Prime. Almost.
"Prime for the win." Jason nodded in agreement. He looked around in confusion. "What? He's awesome."
Naruto brought his fists together and let the gauntlets appear, he turned to Misaki. "Get ready to leave once we come back."
Misaki nodded, muted by the determination that came off of Naruto in waves. Convinced that she would listen to his orders, Naruto turned and ran towards Zack. He wouldn't lose anyone on this quest. Not Misaki, not Zack, not Balius and not Xanthus! They had the dagger, they could go back to camp and reap the spoils.
"Fame and fortune!" Apollo cheered.
"And a celebration feast." Reyna added.
"That means a party..." Dionysus perked up.
"No." Zeus drawled.
"Bacchus isn't punished...Is he?"
Naruto pumped his arms and legs harder, trying to run faster as he watched Zack get cornered by the Cetus' hands. The sky started to darken overhead. Zack kept his crossbow aimed at the monster, bolts fired as fast as he could load them.
"The time to prepare the shots sucks." Ares pointed out.
"Should just use a traditional bow," Artemis said with a huff.
"Bah, just stab the stupid thing." Ares huffed.
The Cetus bellowed and brought its upper arms up, the hands clenched tightly into fists. They came down in almost slow motion, and Zack never let up on his defense.
Naruto felt and heard himself cry out Zack's name. It was weird, watching someone he could call his older brother die. Naruto didn't take in every detail of the scene, but at the same time it was like he saw every moment. Like it was a frame by frame showing of Zack's body being engulfed by the Cetus' fists.
All the demigods looked down. This was the risk of being one of them, they were all aware of it. Though, it still hurt to see it.
Naruto felt a burning anger – a fury – build up inside him as the Cetus' hands lifted and turned to him.
The Cetus roared at him.
Naruto roared back.
"Yeah…that berserker button just flipped." Leo winced.
The sky responded with a loud boom as rain began to fall.
Zeus frowned. "I didn't do that."
"Perhaps his Atmokinesis kicked in with his anger." Poseidon piped up innocently.
"That better be the case," the lightning god said sternly.
The son of Neptune ran at the monster, rage and bloodlust in his eyes. He was going to make it suffer. Punish it. Make the Cetus wish it hadn't been born. These thoughts shot through his mind at a rapid speed, but overall each outcome of the plans that passed by were the same: Naruto was going to kill the Cetus.
"All rationality out the window…yes." Ares grinned, finally!
Naruto was numb to his actions, and what happened next went by in a blur. He vaguely remembered suddenly being off the ground and rapidly approaching the Cetus with his fist brought back. Either he or the Cetus roared, or maybe both did, but Naruto remembered that his fist collided with a massive canine, easily twice his size. The Cetus' head reared back and the tooth fell to the ground, Naruto not far behind it.
"I'm here to remove your cavities…of doom!"
"Leo, enough," Piper said.
Leo slouched. "Yeah, hard to be funny here. Sorry."
"It's okay."
He recalled a small jolt of pain that went through his legs, and the slight sting in his eyes from the cloud of sand his landing made. Naruto remembered being on the move. He avoided strikes and delivered his own to the Cetus' hands, breaking them when their fists collided. The Cetus healed remarkably fast, most likely due to the element they shared in common, and grew angrier with each miss. Naruto didn't really care how mad he made the monster. It wouldn't measure up to what Naruto felt.
It was beyond rage, an indescribable fury. Naruto remembered the burning of his blood, the intensity of the waves seemed to respond to it. He had tunnel vision and at the end of the tunnel were two things: The Cetus, dead on its back, and himself, standing tall and the cause of the former's position.
"Oh come on, tell us in details!" Ares whined.
"He killed it, that's all." Poseidon told him.
"Tch, boring."
The only thing Naruto remembered clearly were the moments that lead up to the end of the fight. The Cetus had tried to corner him like it had Zack, but Naruto refused to let that happen. He forced the Cetus to back off, to the point it had to fall to its arms in an effort to support itself. The son of Neptune grabbed the fallen canine he had knocked out of the Cetus' mouth and picked it up over his head. The tooth was thrown and imbedded itself in the right eye.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Ares cheered.
"Brutal, but effective." Frank nodded in agreement.
While the Cetus tried to cover it and support itself off the beach, Naruto didn't relent. He pried a hand away and began to hammer away at the tooth with his fists, driving it further and further into the skull. By the time Naruto realized the Cetus had already disintegrated, he had pounded the canine tooth deep into the ground, to the point he couldn't pull it out if he tried.
"Revenge is blind brings a whole new meaning," Thalia said.
"Tell that to Nemesis." Percy told her, remembering Ethan.
It was around this time that Naruto came out of his rage induced fight, and the rain began to stop. Droplets continued to fall even after the rainfall ended.
It was at that moment Naruto realized he was crying.
Naruto stayed on his knees, his fists pressed against the sand. He ducked his head down as he let it all sink in.
He found Scaevola's Dagger.
He just killed the Cetus.
He let Zack die.
"That's horrible," Hazel said in a quiet voice. Everything was going so well…and poof. A life lost.
Naruto took in a shuddering breath as he came to terms with all of it, well, mostly the last one. Zack was dead. The first of the Cohort to show unwavering support, the first friend he made outside of Jason...
Jason.
How would he react? Zack was as much Jason's brother as he was Naruto's. Jason would blame him for what happened. Naruto didn't doubt it for a second.
"I wouldn't." Jason said firmly. He was a touch sad that he and Naruto were still quarrelling in this other dimension.
After all, he was too slow to get Zack out. They had plenty of time and the Cetus moved slower on land than in the water.
"Naruto?" Naruto stiffened at Misaki's shaken voice. The gentle touch that landed on his shoulder made him flinch. Another hand made him turn to look at her. "Oh, Naruto..."
"...Z-Zack's d-dead." It was the only thing that Naruto could think of to say. The next thing he knew, Misaki's arms were around him and his were back around hers. "Zack's dead...and it's all my fault."
"No!" Misaki pushed him away, giving him a glare that was trying to be intimidating, but the effect was lost with the tears in her eyes. "No! Naruto, what that thing did to Zack...it was not your fault."
"No charmspeak needed on that one," Piper said. Blaming himself wouldn't accomplish anything.
"But I-!"
"But nothing!" Misaki's hands cupped his face. "Zack died doing what we have been trained to do: Fight to protect our people. Romans and Mortals alike. He died protecting us. He died like a true Roman."
"Indeed he did." Reyna nodded. "While tragic, this is what we train for."
"Still sucks," Percy frowned.
"It always does."
"...Right..." Naruto swallowed and nodded. "Right. Right, he-he died like a true Roman."
Misaki nodded with him. "Zack was a hero of Camp Jupiter." Naruto continued to nod and Misaki stopped him, making him look at her. "Say it."
"Zack w-was a hero of Camp Jupiter."
Misaki gave him a stern look. "Zack's death was not your fault."
"I must say, she's being quite…level headed," Athena said hesitantly.
"Why thank you!" Aphrodite beamed.
"Zack's d-death was n-not my fault." Naruto repeated. As the words left his lips, he knew he didn't feel like they were honest.
"Oh, they are. It's just the unbelievable levels of guilt in him that's preventing him from believing in them." Apollo pointed out.
"Naruto," Misaki said softly. "Naruto, this is going to be very hard, but we need to get Zack on the chariot."
"...Bury him at home..." Naruto nodded in agreement. He pulled away from Misaki and rubbed the back of his gauntlet over his eyes. He nodded and said, "We're going to take Zack home and give him a proper burial."
"Right, that's right." Misaki smiled softly. She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. "Okay, let's...let's get Zack and we can go home."
"Home is where the heart is." Hestia smiled.
"You've been waiting for that one, haven't you, sister?" Hera asked with amusement.
Hestia smiled shyly.
Naruto looked over at the chariot, still attached to the two stallions. "He's not going to fit on that..."
The two had to turn at the sound of sand rapidly shifting and the feeling at a small tremor. Where the top of the Cetus' tooth once was, there was now a glimmering white pearl on the end of a sword hilt, with the blade impaled in the sand. At the base where the hilt met the blade was an engraved trident. The hilt was a bright gold, a dark leather wrapped around it for the grip.
"…That's one hell of a BAS!" Ares smiled.
"BAS?" Athena asked him.
"Big ass sword," Hephaestus said while he examined the weapon.
"Duh." Ares drawled and crossed his arms. "How'd the cripple know that, but you didn't? I thought you were smart?"
Athena glared heatedly at him.
"Pretty good looking sword." Hephaestus rumbled softly. He rubbed his chin. "Looks familiar...And Arthurian."
"Hephaestus." Hera gave her son a look and the smith grunted.
All the while, Annabeth's eyes narrowed.
"...Well, I guess that would be for me..." Naruto said, his voice tight. He got up off of his knees and went over to the sword. Naruto grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled it slowly from the ground. The blade was nearly a foot longer than he was tall, and Naruto was grateful his gauntlets hadn't been willed away yet. The side of the golden blade was reflective and pristine, about a foot and a half wide.
"Hey look, it's Cloud Strife." Apollo happily pointed out.
"For Gaia!" Leo cried out. The demigods and Olympians gave him dry looks. "Er...I mean...The life stream!"
"Much better," Apollo said with a smirk. "Nice save."
"Enough with the references." Artemis rubbed her eyes. "They're giving me a headache."
"Ouch, way to Aeris it, Arte."
"It's beautiful," Misaki said softly.
"...It's Zack's." Naruto stabbed the sword partially into the sand. He didn't look at it, couldn't. "I...don't know how well I would've done against the Cetus in a real fight. I...I don't remember it...But, I know that I couldn't have won today...without Zack."
Naruto rested his hand on the hilt. "This will be hung within the Fifth Cohort."
"The sword hung in memory, forever gleaming its light upon those gaze upon it by a hero's sacrifice."
"…That was beautiful, Jason." Piper whispered. Jason gave her a small smile.
"Thanks, Piper."
"That thing is massive. How are we going to get it and Zack back to Camp Jupiter on that rickety old chariot?" Misaki asked. "I can't hold onto it and Zack."
M'lord? Naruto looked over at Balius as he and Xanthus approached. I know it isn't my place, but...perhaps we could ask Lord Neptune for some assistance?
"Of course!" Poseidon perked up. "I would help, and I know Neptune would."
Naruto frowned. Neptune wasn't exactly at the top of the list of his favorite people at the moment. Sure, he got a very beautiful – and massive – sword for killing the Cetus, a monster that Neptune had sent after a city. However, that monster just killed his older brother figure so, the reward was rather moot.
"What? What'd he say?" Misaki asked, getting to her feet and putting her hand on his arm.
"He wants me to ask Neptune for help."
"That's...actually a very good idea." Naruto turned to her and she gave him a small frown. "Neptune was one of the two creators of the chariot...and we shouldn't exactly try to ask the other for help."
"Really a smart girl," Athena said.
Aphrodite smirked haughtily.
Naruto agreed with that. The last thing Minerva would want would be to be asked for help by a Roman son of Neptune. He was certain that his request would not only be rebuffed, but most likely end with his own death.
"So...what do you think? The river is freshwater, Neptune's lord of the sea." Naruto pointed out.
"The Columbia River exits out into the Pacific," Misaki said. She shrugged. "Hierarchy goes a long way."
"I've got a lot of connections." Poseidon nodded. "Seventy percent of the world to be exact."
"And you say I'm prideful." Athena rolled her eyes.
"I've got the sky," Zeus lorded the fact with a smirk.
"And I've lordship over the dead. Yes, Zeus, continue to tell us what we don't know." Hades rolled his eyes, gaining a glare from his brat of a brother.
Bribe. Naruto looked at Xanthus.
Balius nodded. Yes! Er, well, I would call it more of an offering myself. But you could offer something up to one of the river gods, M'lord! That would help with getting the message to Lord Neptune! The sword-
"Not the sword." Naruto flexed his jaw and nearly glanced over at where Zack was. They hadn't even checked his body yet. He could've been clinging to life, but they left him to die.
"No…he's gone." Nico said firmly. "You'd have to be extremely lucky to survive that. That blow destroyed whatever organs you had. Death would be a mercy at that point."
"Stop it." Misaki frowned at him. "Stop feeling guilty."
It was kind of hard to stop feeling guilty when you were the reason someone died. Naruto decided to humor Misaki and focused on the task at hand. He needed to give a sacrifice to the Columbia River god to get a message to Neptune, and he probably should give something to Neptune as well. Maybe even something more to butter him up...
"Three sacrifices." Naruto dug around in his pocket and pulled out the pendants he received from the Blemmyae.
"I don't know," Poseidon said uncertainly. "I...might. But Neptune...Those're pretty…flimsy for a sacrifice."
Misaki stared at them oddly.
"When did you get those?" Misaki asked. She pulled one from his hand and looked it over.
"When I was rescuing Xanthus." Naruto looked to the stallion, who had the decency to appear slightly bashful at being captured by the headless monsters. "They're just some pendants."
We can't give those to someone under Lord Neptune! Even if it came from his son, it would be a slap to the face of that god! Balius neighed, affronted. Naruto agreed with the horse, but this was all he had.
"No...Naruto, these are cases." Misaki reached into her purse and retrieved her dagger, a brilliant gold pugio that was shorter than Scaevola's by three inches and thinner by one. She turned the pendant upside down and slid the tip of her pugio across the seam, opening the pouch. Her thin fingers slipped into the small pendant and pulled out a small gem that reflected light perfectly, looking just like the sea. Misaki's eyes sparkled. "It's an aquamarine crystal...Naruto, do you know how rare this is in the United States? These are usually exported from Brazil!"
"Hot damn!" Leo whistled with raised brows. "Where do I find those face body guys?"
"They spawn randomly," Thalia said.
"Gosh darn it!"
"Leo!" Hazel whined. He loved making fun of her and she was getting sick of it.
"...That makes a much better offering than I thought."
Misaki looked torn. "Do we have to offer it?"
"Ugh, get your priorities straight." Reyna groaned.
Naruto gave her a look. "Misaki...We have to get Zack home..."
Misaki looked at the crystal in her hand with a whimper before she held it out and looked away. "If we must...For Zachary."
Naruto took the stone and cut the other two cases open. Two more equally beautiful crystals slipped into his hand and Misaki let out another whimper. Must be a Venus thing.
"No, it's a girl thing," Aphrodite corrected.
To Naruto, these were just pretty stones. And if they helped him, all the better.
Naruto walked into the water and looked at the gems in his hand. He couldn't exactly just throw them and say "Hey Neptune! Give me a ride home!" Yeah, getting on the wrong side with his sire wasn't on his things-to-do list today. Instead, Naruto knelt down and let his hand disappear under the water.
"Um..." Naruto felt bad that he didn't know the name of the god in control of the Columbia River, so he faltered for a moment. "Hi, uh, mister god or goddess of the Columbia River...can you, uh, send a message to Neptune? One of these stones are for you and the others are for him."
"At least he can be polite." Dionysus sniffed, looking at Percy as he said it.
The boy just rolled his eyes at the wine god.
A crystal shone brightly before it vanished, which made Naruto blink. "Oh...thanks. Tell Neptune that...Naruto Uzumaki, his son, needs a way to return his friend's b-body to Camp Jupiter." Naruto paused for a moment before he lowered his voice. "And tell him that I have a lot of other questions for him...that I'll ask at Camp."
"Which will hopefully be answered." Poseidon muttered. He felt sorry for his son.
The water passed calmly around him, crashing lightly on the beach. He waited for a moment before the aquamarine crystals vanished. Misaki let out a sharp gasp shortly afterward and Naruto turned to see the chariot glowing.
When the glow dissipated, a beautiful chariot that was gold and had aquamarine details had replaced it. The proud trident decorated the front, and images of running stallions and flying eagles were engraved on the side. Hooked at the back of the chariot by a sturdy chain was a low wagon with four wheels, a purple bed with a cloth that was large enough to be wrapped around a body.
"That's…adequate." Athena said tersely.
"What? Are you blind? That's beautiful." Hephaestus corrected her with a snort. His compliment got a light glare from both the wise goddess and the Lady of Doves.
"Why thank you," Poseidon said with a smirk.
"All compliments to your Cyclopes, Poseidon."
"...Fair enough." Poseidon sighed.
Naruto looked back to the water just in time to see a small ripple appear in the distance. He could've sworn that he saw a guy with green skin and black hair for a second...No matter. Grabbing the broadsword, Naruto went to the wagon, set the sword within, and grabbed the purple cloth. He and Misaki went to Zack's body, both of them paused at the sight.
Zack wasn't flattened, per say, but it was obvious that he did not survive the attack from the Cetus. If he had, it would've been a cruel death. The son of Fortuna had several bones jutted out of his skin, and a shallow crater surrounded his body. His one eye was open, blood trailed from the side down his cheek like a red tear.
It was heartbreaking.
All the demigods gained solemn looks. Each wondered if that could be one of them someday.
With a determined swallow, Naruto knelt at Zack's side and prepared the cloth. Then, with the assistance of his control over the earth, Naruto moved Zack to rest atop the cloth. Misaki helped Naruto bind the body and the both of them carried him over to the wagon, resting him on the padded bed, concealing the sword from view.
The two stared at the wrapped body for another moment before they went to the chariot and climbed aboard. Naruto grabbed the reigns and took one last look at the water, his sea green eyes narrowed, before he cracked the reigns.
Balius and Xanthus neighed and they moved.
The Quest for Scaevola's Dagger was completed, it was time to go home.
"The aftermath shall be interesting." Reyna commented, holding the book up. "Any takers?"
"I'll have a go," Frank said with a smile while he took the book.