Slayer: We're back on this story another chapter, although it's still mostly on hold.
Judan: Yeah… but really what else is to be expected? We're still working on the void emperor and the Black dragon stories. Mostly because they're our most popular.
Shadow: Indeed although I'm glad to be back to one of the main series. And today you Slayer get a new powerup!
Slayer: Yeah! I mean it was shown in the void emperor story, but now I actually get it in my own story!
Mizore: That's great to hear dear!
Shirone: That's my older brother for you!
Slayer: Aww you guys are going to make me blush.~
Shadow: I know you two care for him but please stop making his head bigger than what it is.
Slayer: Shadow… say anything like that again and I'll erase you.
Shadow: Okay…
Slayer: Anyways… last time we beat up Percy and co! Now let's see what happens today!
Luke: Is that why I'm here to do the disclaimer?
Judan: Yes now hop to it!
Luke: Alright… Now we here at the Dark Guard own nothing but OC's and reality building concepts, everything else belongs to their respective owners. Now without further ado…
Everyone: Here's the story!
Nero
Thoughts/talking to inner voice
'Masamune'
(J/N- Judan's note)
(S/N-Slayer's note)
Arc Two: path to might
Chapter Twelve: A kidnapped Sister equals a Pissed off Brother
The Void Walker
A few hours after beating Percy and Co
Well this is just boring… after killing that sphinx nothing interesting has happened for a while. Yeah after meeting up with that Percy Jackson guy we ended up meeting a very strange sphinx. It kept talking about quizzes and asking us trivia questions. So after the tenth question I ended up shooting it in the head. And then boom! No more stupid sphinx. Anyway after that we kept on following the strange light I saw coming from the floor.
What was also interesting was that the labyrinth seemed to become more modern the further we went in. And just when I say it the stupid maze decides to change its design. Around us was now an ancient mosaic of Greek paintings, before it had lights and even a cement floor. Really the whole place was messing with us.
"Onii Chan… can we take a small break I'm a bit tired." Looking behind me to Shirone I smiled a bit as I saw her exhausted expression. Really it was kind of cute that she was trying to keep up with the rest of us. And by the rest of us I mean me and Judan. Tsukune seemed to be just as tired as my adorable sister. Shaking my head I immediately stopped before speaking to her.
"Sure I think Aono could also use one. Or we could ignore his plight while you ride on my back?" Looking at Tsukune's shocked expression made Shirone giggle a bit, when she stopped Shirone shook her head before finally answering.
"No that's alright, let's be nice to Aono San and just stop here for a bit, plus that way we can eat some lunch." Smiling still I quickly reached into my pocket dimension and pulled out a blanket. Setting that down I then pulled out a basket and sat that down as well.
With a grin I spoke while placing out different foods. "Alright… so we have sandwiches, chicken, fish for a certain young lady, ham, and turkey. Then on the side we have some variety of chips, delicious apples, pears, and even grapes. Then for drinks I have water, orange juice, and milk." Quickly Shirone sat down and poured herself some milk, before grabbing a fish sandwich along with some potato chips and an apple. Sitting down next Judan grabbed a ham sandwich, along with a pear and some water before questioning me.
"I must say Hunter you are quite prepared. But tell me what else did you pack for this trip? Because I doubt all of this will last us the whole trip."
Thinking for a bit I answered him. "Well I also have some fried chicken in there, some pizza which I can easily heat up, ramen, more sandwiches, hamburgers, hotdogs, s'mores just because, some ice cream, pie, and even whole fishes. So yeah you don't have to worry about starving. As an old hunter I must be prepared for anything." As he nodded his head to my answer I sat down and grabbed a chicken sandwich. Eating it I didn't bother to even move, when Shirone came over and plopped down in my lap.
Smiling I used my right hand to eat, while I used my left hand to just scratch and rub her ears. Thus electing cute purrs to come from her, although Judan looked a bit confused and Tsukune amused. After a bit Tsukune even asked me a question along with giving a statement.
"You know… it's always surprising to see you like this." As I raised an eyebrow at him he elaborated. "What I mean is that to everyone else you're actually rather mean and cold. But to Shirayuki San, and Shirone Chan you're quite kind and caring. Even tender really, not that it's a bad thing! I'm just saying it's a bit strange to see you like this, and I bet it'll continue to be strange as time moves on." I couldn't help but give out a small hum at his words.
He does have a point after all.
'Yeah! Maybe you should be a bit nicer to other people!'
Oh I wouldn't go that far… After all most people still suck!
I have to agree with Nero on this one again. Sorry Masa. At that I could actually hear Masamune growling in frustration, but decided to ignore her and just eat. Once we were done I packed everything up again before putting it away. I then picked up Shirone and put her on my shoulders.
"Just rest for a bit longer while, I'll be your legs for a bit okay?" Giggling she nodded her head before I activated my new eye power. Seeing the same strange light on the ground I started following it once again. After a while things started to become modern again making me grin. "Sorry but it seems as if you can't fool these eyes." At my words I could actually feel the labyrinth rumble a bit, this quickly made Tsukune nervous.
"Um… Hunter San maybe you shouldn't say things like that. After all didn't you guys say this place is actually alive?"
Sucking in some air I conceded that he had a point. "Well… you're right but it's not like it can really hurt me or even Shirone, since she's on my shoulders. Really I just have to blink away and I'll be fine." My words did nothing to reassure Tsukune.
"I can get that… but what about me and Judan?" Pausing for a second I shrugged before continuing to move. "Hey! You'd help me right?! Right?!" Purposely ignoring him much to Shirone's amusement I kept walking. However after two more hours we began to hear chanting and shouting. Confused I let Shirone down before motioning everyone to move forward quietly. Eventually as the sounds grew louder we made it to a large arena like area.
Though it would be more accurate to say it looked like an underground coliseum. Though the railing had some… interesting decorations. As in hundreds of skulls attached to it, in fact there were skulls all over the place. Including chains hanging from the ceilings, attached to benches and even the actual walls.
"Okay… this is too chaotic even for me… I must learn to become better! Also I must get the name of this guy's decorator!" Only taking a second to stare at Judan I looked back across the whole area. Monsters of any shape and size were all over the place, shouting and cheering as two cyclops fought to the death in the arena. I even had to grimace, as one of them bashed the other on the head turning it to dust. Although I was confused as to why the monster turned to dust. I mean the sphinx didn't when I killed it. All it did was bleed some strange gold blood before dying.
Still next to me Shirone whimpered before grabbing ahold of my left arm tightly. Allowing her to hold me for comfort I continued to examine the room. Eventually I saw who must've been the overseer of the place. He was a giant, and I mean a giant! Sure I had fought bigger in Yarnham but he was still huge. But that's what being thirty feet tall would do for you, he was also highly muscled and had dark red skin with blue tattoos over his skin. But he was also wearing a loin cloth disturbingly.
Behind his chair was also a green banner with a trident on it. Still already I could tell that the giant would be trouble. Looking next to the giant I saw an older teenager. He was wearing camo pants and had on a white t-shirt. He also had a two edged sword, and was wearing some kind of bronze breastplate. But most notable about him was a long thin scar running down his jaw. Still as the cyclops completely disintegrated the giant spoke.
"Very interesting pitting two of the same race to a fight to the death. But still… it was rather boring. So tell me, Luke Son of Hermes what else do you have?" At his mention of Hermes Luke seemed to become angry but also reined it in before speaking.
"Well we also have a few giants and centaurs. But perhaps you'd like to see some more demigods fight lord Antaeus?" Humming in thought Antaeus searched through the crowd before actually spotting us.
Knowing where this was going to go I sighed before speaking two words. "Ah crap…" He must have heard me because quickly his face formed into a blood thirsty grin.
"How about those four over there? They seem to be rather interesting, especially the girl with the cat qualities. Truly I've never seen anyone like her before."
Luke looked confused before looking at us. "Strange… I don't remember ever having those four. And I know I would've remembered the one in stripes, along with the cat girl. But are you sure? After all she is only a child." Hearing that they were going to use Shirone in this barbaric game, made me growl before yelling out to them.
"Sorry but what makes you think I'll let you use my sweet adorable sister for your entertainment? Really if you want a fight then fight me instead, although I must say you won't last long." Quickly rising to my taunt Antaeus stood up and shouted at me angrily.
"Really?! A weak mortal such as yourself versus me?! I'm the son of Poseidon and the son of Gaea! The very earth gives me strength! How can you possibly beat that?"
Shaking my head I turned to Shirone. "You might not want to watch this; it might just be a bit too much for you." Nodding her head she gave me a quick hug before letting go and closing her eyes. I then turned back to Antaeus grinning before blinking down to the arena, making the monsters mutter in shock.
Then I looked at Antaeus and continued speaking. "Simple… because I plan on killing beings much stronger than you. Beings so powerful they could destroy you with nothing but a look. And if I can't kill you… then that's a far away dream." Around me the monsters started laughing while Luke looked at me with narrowed eyes. Although I got the desired reaction from Antaeus.
"Stronger than me?! Bwahaha! Such nonsense! But fine, for giving me such entertainment I guess I'll crush you myself!" He then jumped down to arena causing it to shake, however I stood my ground and only took out Masamune and quickly going into shikai. "Alright mortal prepare to Argh!" Having enough of talk I quickly shunpoed behind him and slashed at his back. And just like before a strange golden colored blood poured from the wound. Then it suddenly stopped as a bunch of dirt jumped on him.
It then fell away revealing flawless skin. "Cheap trick, but you need more than just that to beat me! However I am curious as to how you managed to make a true wound on me. That sword is different from others isn't it?"
Hmm… so the earth literally heals him. Well that makes things a bit simpler. But what does he mean by true wound? Oh well I'll just finish him off now. Smiling maliciously I gathered up ice magic into my left hand, before slamming it down onto the ground. I then froze the entire arena floor making Antaeus slip on it and fall; however I made it so thick that the ice didn't even crack.
"What is this?! Tell me boy what have you done?!" Again being myself I didn't answer him as I slowly walked towards him. I even threw in a ton of Killers intent, making him start to scramble away from me in fear. "No… Stay back you monster!" I couldn't help but stop and raise an eyebrow at that.
"Really… that's the best you could come up with? You know how many times I've heard that line? Seriously can't you be more creative. After all it seems you have lived for quite some time after all, surely your vocabulistics are much greater than that." Blinking at me he started speaking.
"What are you-" Not letting him finish I appeared before him as I stabbed him through his skull. Gold blood dripped down his face as his eyes became lifeless, and then as I moved to the left pulling my sword out blood spurted from him. At his death I felt his blood echoes flow into my container while the monsters grew quiet for a moment, then they started shouting for my head but I only looked up evilly.
"Are the lot of you sure about this? I mean I killed your boss here in thirty seconds, what are your chances?" At that everyone went quiet as they actually thought about my words.
However it didn't last as that Luke guy quickly shouted at them. "Don't be such cowards! There are only four of them! Quickly avenge Antaeus and let us move on to camp half-blood!" His words quickly rallied the monsters as they roared and charged at us. Shaking my head I was about to kill all of them when Nero spoke up.
Wait a minute! I think now is the perfect time to finally use me! Confused I questioned her.
Use you how exactly?
Remember the pistols I used inside your mindscape? Well you can summon them easily enough, just concentrate and I'll do the rest. However you can't use the flat chest along with me.
'Hey I'm not flat chested you dairy cow!' Quickly stepping in before an argument started again I questioned Nero further.
Enough! Just tell me the strength of these guns and then hand them over.
Fine… they're like your Zanpaktou they get stronger along with your soul. Just try them and we'll know their true strengths. Sighing at the vague answer I did as Nero instructed, and just like she said Masamune disappeared and instead two pistols appeared in my hands. Grinning I aimed, and fired at the monsters. With this they started to drop like flies, and really I always did like gun fighting. It was quite fun zipping around the area. However no matter how many I killed there were always more, but the bright side was that I felt that I should gain quite the power up from this.
Over to the side Judan was swinging around his staff, destroying every monster tha the hit with it. Even Tsukune was helping by blasting away at them, although he did seem a bit panicky. However I frowned when I didn't see my sister, looking around I eventually sighed in relief as I saw her. She was using her small size and fast speed to her advantage. Disabling her opponents with her wakizashi, although she did look rather uncomfortable with the violence she was committing. That was until she came face to face with Luke.
"And here I was thinking that you were just some scared child. I guess looks can be deceiving." Hissing at him Shirone backed up a bit. "Oh no need to be like that. I just want to take you on a small trip, but don't worry your brother will come soon enough." Gritting my teeth I started to make my way over to them while Shirone slashed at Luke. However we were both surprised to see the sword skid harmlessly off of him. "Sorry but it will take more than that to kill me." Luke then used his bigger size and greater strength to pick up Shirone, and despite her best attempts she couldn't get free since her attacks were doing nothing.
"Shirone!" Yelling out I blinked over to them only to see Luke take out his own sword and teleport away. "ARGH!" Yelling out in anger I started lashing out at the monsters around me. Believe me when I say it didn't take me long to cut down their numbers.
Eventually as there were only a few left I looked around, that's when I saw a human or what was probably a demigod. He was sixteen and had black hair; he also had an eyepatch covering his left eye. He was also wearing what I looked like Greek armor however with his thin frame it hung on him loosely. He also had a two edged sword and a Greek shield. He also froze as soon as I saw him.
Grinning menacingly I left the rest of the monsters to the others and approached him. "So… I see you that you're human, or at least mostly human. So tell me where exactly your leader Luke has gone. If you tell me I might reward you, if you don't… well let's just say I'll eventually make you talk." Shaking his head he charged at me with his shield raised defensively, and his sword to the side. Sighing I shot his sword shattering it, and then launched a bolt of lightning at his shield. This quickly numbed his arm and made him drop it.
That's what you get for using bronze. Now weaponless he looked at me hatefully as I approached him. As I got closer he started backing away. Seeing him about to bolt I blinked behind him and grabbed his arm. Shoving him to the floor, I then forcibly pinned it against his back before speaking with a steel edge.
"Let me tell you this… my little sister is more important to me then you are. So you're going to tell me anyplace she might've been taken to. If you don't I'll break you, then fix you only to break you again! This isn't an idle threat, it doesn't matter how long it might take. Eventually the pain will be too great and you will tell me. Really it's just up to you on whether or not you want me to do this. So… what will it be?"
Gritting his teeth he spoke with determination. "I'm Ethan Nakamura, I have already decided to put everything on the line. For my lord Kronos I wi- Ahh!" Getting tired of his talk I sent electricity through him while twisting his arm even more.
"Listen, Ethan… I don't care about who you work for. I don't care about why you joined him, and I certainly don't care about any of your opinions. All I care about is getting you to tell me, the location of any place where my adorable younger sister might be! Tell me these things and I'll let you go. If not than I will make you no matter how long it takes, and I know for a fact that you have your breaking point. Because if you didn't… then why would you try and run away from me?" His eyes seemed to widen at that, but he still didn't say anything. "Very well… let's just see where your breaking point is." I then shot electricity directly into him.
Line breaks that sparkle! Just like a Christmas tree!~
The White cat
How could I just let myself be taken this easily! Right now I was quite angry with myself, as my captor ran down one of the tunnels. I was in his arms still struggling to no avail. No matter what I did I just couldn't hurt him! Originally he was trying to teleport us both back to his main base. But somehow thanks to both trying to take me, and also because of the labyrinth itself he couldn't. In fact now that I observe the place the labyrinth actually seems to be trying to throw him off course.
All around us the walls kept shifting and making new passageways. This quickly frustrated Luke as he stopped and threw me against a wall. Waiting for some pain I was surprised as I felt myself land on something soft. Looking down I saw that I had somehow landed on a pillow. What's more was that it was actually coming out of the ground and wall.
Seeing this Luke shook his head. "What is going on here?! How is it that you can control this place so easily?" Looking up at him I shrugged as much as possible, seeing how he had me tied up.
"How should I know? I just got here! And besides you have to worry about something else… Really once Onii Chan finds you then it'll be the end!"
He looked at me for a second before speaking. "Onii Chan? Japanese? What are the lot of you doing here? More importantly what exactly is your "Onii Chan"? Because what he did back there wasn't exactly normal, in fact you're not normal either. Not like any monster I've ever seen." My answer was to just glare at him.
Narrowing his eyes on me he walked up to me and slapped me across the face. "I'd start being more cooperative if I was you. After all you're only a bit of leverage. I saw what he did back there. Your so called brother, really I knew that if I tried to force him to do what I wanted right there. Than he'd just teleport behind me and cut me down. Now however he'll have to follow my orders in order to keep you safe. So really if you want your stay to be a bit more comfortable than you'd best cooperate."
Despite the stinging on my face I spit on him before speaking. "Sorry but he's the best hunter in any world! He'll easily find me and quickly catch up to us." Growling while wiping off my spit Luke slapped me again even harder. After that he stood up and took out his sword and pointed it at me. It was a strange weapon, looked to be made of steel on one half. But I had no idea what the other side could be.
"Maybe he'll enjoy saving you if your eyes are gone! You may appear like a little girl, but you're still nothing but a monster. So really… I won't feel all that bad if I just happen to disfigure you. So really jus-" He was cut off as a piece of the labyrinth actually extended out and struck him in the face. Completely dumbfounded I didn't even react as one sharp piece cut through my binds. When I finally gained back my senses I quickly looked at the wall and smiled brightly.
"Thank you very much!~ Now can you lead me up? Or even to my brother?" The maze seemed to shake for a moment before a passageway up opened to my left. Still smiling I kissed the wall despite it being rather dirty. "You're the best thanks!~" At that moment I actually saw the wall turn a brick red as I ran up the passage. Really I had no idea why it was helping me, but I didn't complain too much.
"No I won't let you get awa-" As Luke started coming after me a wall slammed down between us cutting him off. Smiling I thanked the Labyrinth again.
It freed me after all! And Onii Chan always says to use what you got. Eventually finding the exit, I looked around for one of those blue triangles when the wall opened itself. Giving one last thanks I exited only to find myself in some forest. It also just happened to be in the middle of the night. Scratching my head I looked back only to see the wall close behind me.
Frowning I calmed my nerves and quickly hid my tails and ears. After all if Luke's reaction was anything to go on those aren't normal. Looking around I saw a bunch of rocks piled up in a way that made it seem like a pile of dung. Okay weird… Shaking my head I started moving towards it. After all while it might look weird it was still high enough for me to get my bearings.
Eventually after I climbed it I looked around for any landmarks. Or really anything that might seem familiar. Unfortunately nothing did… but I did see what looked like a camp. Glad to see some sort of civilization I got off the rocks and made my way towards it. Unfortunately the woods I was in was actually rather large. Well that and there were a bunch of what I believed to be nymphs running around. Wood nymphs to be precise.
All of them kept peeking out of their trees to look at me, and or running up to another to whisper about me excitedly. But each time I took a second to try and talk to one, they'd mumble an apology and then run off. All the while saying something about me stopping to speak to them in a giddy voice. It got kind of old after the first ten minutes.
Just what is going on here? First the Labyrinth and now a bunch of Nymphs? Shaking my head as I eventually made it to the actual camp I looked around. Now that I could get a better look at it I saw that there were a few buildings of interest. In one area there were twelve cabins all lined up with one at their head. Each cabin seemed to have some sort of theme and were all strangely decorated. A particular gold looking one was rather tacky. There was also a large climbing wall that seemed to be sizzling. I had no idea why that was…
I then saw what looked like an eating area, an arena, and then what was probably the main building. I figured my best bet would be to make my way over to that last one. So as I walked I saw that pretty much no one was awake as I made my way over to the big building. Eventually I stood right in front of the door. Gulping a bit in nervousness I swallowed my fear and just knocked. After a few moments nothing happened so I knocked again. Then again… after the fourth time I grew a bit impatient, and just continued to knock until I heard a gruff voice from inside.
"Just give me a moment! I'm sure whatever it is can wait a couple of seconds." I couldn't help but frown a bit at that, mostly because I've been at this for seven minutes.
Or maybe Onii Chan's impatience is just rubbing off on me. Deciding to think on that later I put my hands behind my back and just waited. After about another minute and me almost deciding to just kick down the door a man appeared. Well I say man in a rather loose way; he was actually a centaur with brown fur and brown hair. He was also rather rugged looking and was wearing what looked like a night shirt. It was then that I realized that I must have woken him up.
So as he spoke I was smiling sheepishly. "Now what do we have here? I don't think I recognize you, yet your presence is familiar somehow. Tell me what you're doing here so late in the night child." Although I was confused that he said my presence was familiar he did sound rather kind.
So deciding to trust him I spoke. "Well… It's a bit of a long story. But the short of it is that I have no idea where I am right now, and I was separated from my Onii- sorry Big brother." Humming he beckoned me inside before speaking again.
"Well how about you come inside and tell me the long version. For some reason I think it'll be more interesting." Giving a short bow in thanks I walked inside and quickly looked around. It was nice, and had plenty of room in it. Hearing the door close behind me, I turned around to see the centaur walk up to me before moving off to another room. Following after him as he approached a big table he gestured to a seat before going up to some counter. "Would you like some coffee or tea Miss…"
"Shirone Infinium and no… but if you have any milk that'd be nice mister…"
Smiling at what I did he told me his name although it shocked me. "My name Is Chiron Ms. Infinium. And yes we do have milk, which I'm sure you'll be able to drink if you close your mouth. After all I think you might catch flies. Though I must admit to you having a very unique name, the first is Japanese and the second is something else." Quickly closing my mouth I stared at him in observation. After all Chiron in Greek mythology taught many hero's. So if this was the same guy… then you can understand my surprise.
I have to thank Onii Chan for reading to me Greek myths later. Shaking my head as I sat down I waited patiently for him to finish. Making some tea for himself, he stood on the opposite side from me before passing to me a cup of milk. Thanking him I took a sip as he just stood there observing me. Really it was starting to get uncomfortable. Eventually clearing his throat he spoke.
"So what is the long story as to why you're currently here?" Stopping to think of what I should tell him I ended up doing what Onii Chan does… Just telling the complete story. So I did as to what was going on, and as to why I decided to come along. Although he stop me when I told him about Onii Chan beating Percy and his friends.
"Are you sure he said his name was Percy Jackson?"
Shrugging I answered him. "Yeah that's what he said he was called. There was also Grover, Annabeth, and a cyclops named Tyson. I mean Onii Chan feels kind of bad about beating them, but both then and Judan didn't really give him much of a choice."
Sighing Chiron rubbed his hands down his face. "Those four were sent on a quest thanks to a prophecy Annabeth was given. Though I thank your brother for his assistance in getting rid of Janus… I would have preferred that both sides didn't take such a violent approach to each other." Shrugging I spoke indifferently.
"That' what Onii Chan said, but Judan used his aura to manipulate both sides into fighting. It's kind of his job after all."
Sighing he nodded his head in agreement. "Yes I understand, after all I've had the un-pleasure of meeting Modaga in person. So I can understand exactly what his apprentice would be like, still I wonder how this will affect the prophecy they were given?"
"Oh Onii Chan said that as soon as we arrived, all previous prophecies given active in this world were basically broken." Looking at me incredulously I explained further. "Well that's what he said, something about messing up timelines and whatnot with our presence. Especially since we are outside forces, and that the fates only work in this world. As such they have no control over what happens if there is interference. Well that and if he kills anyone he wasn't supposed to it could really mess things up. Like that Kronos guy… I'm pretty sure he's going to permanently kill him."
Looking at me Chiron sighed. "Why is it that I actually believe you here? Really common sense dictates that I should call you a liar, yet I feel as if you're telling the complete truth."
Shrugging again I spoke calmly. "Well Onii Chan always told me that if you tell the truth and no one believes you… then they're a bunch of idiots. Mostly something about being to blind to actually see what's happening. Then again… he also said something about some truths being too ridiculous to actually be lies. Anyways after meeting Percy we walked further in and found the sphinx. Who also just happened to take to a liking of grading machines and trivia questions. After the tenth one he got annoyed and shot it in the head."
At that Chiron slapped his face. "And I assume that ended up killing the sphinx?" I just nodded my head making him sigh again. "Typical… still I'm beginning to believe that this… Onii Chan of yours isn't really a good influence on you."
Smiling brightly I spoke up happily. "Oh no… he's a horrible influence!~ And he even admits it! But I think he's the best brother ever!" At my words I heard him mumble something about it being too late as I continued my story. "After that we had lunch and continued onwards. That when we came to some large underground coliseum, where these two guys Antaeus and Luke were forcing monsters and people to fight to the death." At this Chiron interrupted me.
"Wait Antaeus? As in the one born of Gaea and Poseidon? Also Luke was there?!"
Not seeing why he was so panicky I just nodded my head. "Yeah but I don't see what you're so worried about. Onii Chan defeated Antaeus in like thirty seconds. Then we all pretty much destroyed the monsters that were there, and that was before Luke used his weird skin hardening technique to kidnap me." Again there was a long pause as Chiron kept muttering things under his breath. But eventually he began questioning me again.
"Tell me did he explain to you how this… skin hardening worked?" As I shook my head he rubbed his chin. "Interesting… that must be how he managed to survive. Still if he captured you how are you here?" Smiling sheepishly I told him how the labyrinth actually helped me to escape.
"So why do you think it helped me? And also why do you think the nymphs acted like they did?" Humming in thought he looked me over quietly trying to find the answer to my question.
Eventually as his eyes widened he spoke. "I think I've figured it out. You see when I first met you I said your presence felt familiar correct?" Nodding my head he continued. "Well that's because you have a very strong connection to nature, to the earth itself really. In fact it's so strong you almost feel like Pan the god of nature. So more than likely feeling this, the labyrinth helped you. As for the nymphs… they quite easily felt out of place in your presence. Still I guess this means that for some reason Pan has influence over the labyrinth. Which is strange since he's been gone for a quite a while. Over a thousand years in fact."
As things became silent I went over what he said. And it made sense mostly; after all as a Nekoshou I do have a strong natural ability for senjutsu. But… after what happened with my sister I was still scared to try and use it. But if everyone acting this way around me now… then maybe I should give it a try in this world.
However before we could continue someone burst into the room. Looking over quickly I saw that I was a teared faced Annabeth of all people.
"Chiron! We have a major issue! Tyson and Grover went after some trace of Pan, and Percy went into Mount St Helens!" Looking at her in surprise Chiron didn't say anything; unfortunately this left me to ask a question.
"What's wrong with a mountain?"
Turning to me Annabeth's eyes quickly widened as she yelled at me in anger. "You! I recognize you! You're friend gave us quite the beating you know!" Deciding to play to my strengths I quickly started whimpering and crying. At this everything she was going to say quickly died in her throat. "No! No please don't cry! It's not your fault, I'm not really mad at you. I'm just a bit frustrated at having been beaten so easily."
Sniffling I spoke softly. "Really? You're no really mad with me or Onii Chan?" For a second a look of confusion crossed her face before she nodded and turned to Chiron. Who was my only witness to my evil grin. I then heard him mutter something about it truly being too late. Huh I wonder what he's talking about?
Line breaks that sparkle! Just like a Christmas tree!
The Void Walker
A few weeks and destroyed bases later…
Looking at the ship in front of me I turned to a now rather singed Ethan. "The Princess Andromeda… really? Was that the best you guys could come up with?" Not even bothering to argue with me Ethan nodded his head. Sighing as I Looked upon the ship crawling with monsters, I turned back to an exhausted Tsukune and bored looking Judan.
The latter of whom spoke up. "You know… not that storming fortresses and prenatally killing thousands of monsters isn't fun… but I want something that would actually be a challenge. Like maybe I could go and kill that dragon Ladon! Ooh!~ That'd be a fun fight! I mean that titan of light guy was kind of fun, but we killed him way to quickly."
Shaking my head I quickly vetoed him. "You can do that after I save Shirone. I still can't believe that stupid maze got rid of the tracking charm I placed on her." Pulling Ethan up by the shirt I looked at him dead in the eye.
Which seemed to be a bit out of focus. "Okay so far you've been telling me the truth on locations. However we've yet to actually find my little sister. So tell me is there one last place for me to look after this place. You know… just in case this place turns out to be a dead end as well." Unable to really talk at the moment he nodded his head. "Good Tsukune you know the drill. Watch him and if he does anything funny shoot his face." Rolling his eyes the only human, human of our group nodded his head. "Okay let's get going again then." Standing up I took out my new pistols and started blinking my way over to the ship.
Following close behind me was Judan and his magical stabby staff… named by Modaga. Even Judan thought the name was rather stupid. Which gave me some hope seeing how he wasn't completely corrupted by the god of Chaos yet. Shaking my head from those thoughts I focused on finding Shirone. Eventually making it to the side of the ship, I jumped up and grabbed the railing then peeking up I looked around.
And just like I said there were monsters walking the deck. All the way from cyclops and giants, to even empousa, or in other words strange vampire like creatures. Well… I say like but they're only female and have a donkey leg and a bronze human leg. Alucard would kill them on pure principal alone… not that he had any of course…
Still looking around I saw no sign of my little sister, but I did see a Minotaur holding onto a large axe. He was also wearing some kind of Greek armor which enhanced his abs. I had to grin as I saw all the other monsters either stand clear of it, or follow any order it gave them. And that's my target. Basically my idea was to take out the biggest monster, and then use fear and intimidation to get them to tell me what I want to know. So jumping over the railing I ran up to the Minotaur and kicked it in the face. Reeling back it held its nose in pain.
"So mister fluffy I think we have a few things to talk about." At that point everyone noticed my presence as the Minotaur looked at me angrily. However he also made my plans much easier. Because when some of the other monsters tried coming in close, he bellowed at them making them stay back. "Oh? A one on one fight eh? Well I'm sorry but that's not really fair… for you that is." Roaring in anger he charged me with his axe. Smirking I just took aim and fired. As the quick silver bullet met the axe, it shattered into pieces while the bullet kept going. And it kept going even as it went through the Minotaur's head.
It's head promptly exploded leaving behind his horns. Casually walking over to them I picked them up and put them in my void pocket. I then turned around while twirling my gun and stepped on the Minotaur's body. Already I could see the other monster look angry and or afraid.
So smiling evilly I spoke to them. "So we can do this the easy way where you tell me what I want to know. Or we can do it the hard way. This involves me killing all of you, and searching the ship from top to bottom before blowing it to kingdom come. As a side note I can say that I don't care either way." A few of them looked at each other nervously before an empousa walked up in front of them.
She had dark curly hair and dark skin. And also sounded pissed off. "I recognize you! You're the one who's been going around destroying or armies! You've ruined everything you stupi-" Bored I shot her in the face before looking around.
"Anyone else?" Looking at me, then back to the empousa's dead body then back to me. They quickly decided that it wasn't a good thing to fight me. Well a quarter of them at least. They were the smart ones who jumped over the side of the ship. The remaining ones must've been the angry and aggressive types, hence why they attacked me as one. However I didn't really care and used shunpo to pretty much get behind them and wreck them. That was also when Judan came up and started beating them to death. We ended up clearing the deck in three minutes.
Ah well looks like I just have to check this entire place over then. Deciding to just follow my new found destiny, I kicked the doors to the resort part of the ship open. They promptly flew off their hinges and crashed into two other monsters, who were for some reason trying to get a tan. As everyone quickly turned around and stared at us in confusion, I also looked around carefully. Now while I saw quite a few demigods I saw no little sister. So with a sigh I spoke up loudly.
"Okay I'll give you guys the same speech I gave the other morons. But since I don't like repeating myself I'll just say this… get off or die." At my words they realized what must've happened. So this time a lot more of them actually heeded my words and quickly ran off to jump over the sides. However as usual there were the aggressive types. Unfortunately a few of them were even demigods. I couldn't help but sigh at this as I brought my two new pistols out in front of me. "Alright… but don't say I didn't warn you."
With a yell they charged me and Judan who still looked rather board as he bashed in a… I actually didn't know what it was. But it was some kind of human half something. Still ignoring that I kept on firing until I ran out of bullets. Looking in my pocket I searched for more, except that there wasn't any. I was actually completely out of ammo.
Well crap… first time this has happened in a while. Sorry Nero but it's back to Masa for this. I could hear an excited squeal from Masamune, and a disappointed huff from Nero. But thankfully they didn't argue this time. So quickly switching out for Masamune, I started cutting a bloody swath through our enemies. It wasn't long until we made it to the boats elevator. Looking at all the floor numbers made me grimace. There are about five floors on this thing, not including this one. How will I ever find her?! Growling I shook my head before turning to Judan.
"Alright I'll take the bottom three floors, you take the two right below us. If you find Shirone please tell me, if not then meet me back up here." Nodding his head as we stepped into the elevator her patted my shoulder.
"Don't worry too much man. I'm sure we'll find her eventually." Smiling a bit I nodded my head. I then pushed the button and waited as the elevator slowly descended. When it stopped Judan quickly got out and whacked the first monster he saw. In this case it was a dracaenae, if you don't know what that is I suggest you look it up. Definitely one of the more interesting creatures, if a bit common in Greek myths. Sighing I pressed the button for third floor and quietly meditated while I waited. During this time I also finally used up the blood I accumulated in the container. I quickly regretted that as pain shot through my body.
"That's… a… bit to… Much!" Yelling in pain I took deep breaths as my body got used to the changes. "Whew… if I wasn't a voidwalker I could've died back there."
'You should be more careful Hunter! We actually saw your own blood crystal crack for a bit!'
She's right; all that power could've killed you. Next time you should do it much more slowly. After all we don't have any help to sort through the blood anymore. Grimacing I agreed with them as the door opened. Walking through it I cracked my neck before activating my eyes. Looking around I saw that there wasn't actually too many monsters on this floor. If I had to guess most of them were probably on the top floor, well before we killed them all that is.
Chuckling I kept my eye power active as I searched the whole floor; I also killed and or interrogated everyone I found. Unfortunately none of them knew who I was talking about. After the twelfth guy I came to a realization.
Just great… she's not on this stupid ship is she? Sighing I decided to search the whole thing anyway just in case. And as expected I found absolutely nothing, no sign of Shirone at all. Though I did steal a whole bunch of things. In fact I've been stealing things ever since I started my search for my sister. Growling in frustration I punched the head clean off of the next cyclops I found. After that I took deep breaths before making my way to the boiler room. I then messed with a few things and placed a small bomb of my own design in the middle of it. Then I left to join Judan on the deck.
Upon seeing my face he spoke. "So I assume that you didn't find her either?" Shaking my head he sighed before speaking again. "Now ain't that just perfect?! Now I'm not trying to sound insensitive but seriously… destroying armies of monsters like this isn't our job. We are supposed to find those connected to the abyss and nether. Then we're supposed to destroy them." Looking down sadly I nodded my head while his gaze softened. "Look I know you care about her but maybe we should hold off until we destroy our real targets. After all she'll be in more danger if they figure out their allies have her captured."
Realizing that he was right I nodded my head before speaking. "In that case I guess we should head on out. But first we should get any information out of Ethan, and then drop him off at that half-blood camp place. They can take care of the rest while we focus on our real enemies." Nodding his head in agreement, he was about to say something when we heard an explosion.
"Really? You are actually sinking the whole ship?" Shrugging I blinked back to where Tsukune was. Apparently he got bored and was playing alphabet game with Ethan. However as they both saw us he stood up quickly.
"You're back!" He then saw the ship sinking behind us. "And you destroyed the ship… at least tell me you raided their food, money, and equipment?" Smirking I nodded my head before handing him a bronze scimitar. "What's this for?"
"That's a celestial bronze blade, nigh indestructible and good on gods, monsters, and demigods. I figured you could use something like that for close range combat. Now… Ethan…" Gulping as I turned to him with a smile I continued speaking. "You're going to tell me everything you know, and I mean everything. If you leave anything out I'll know, and we both know what happens when you lie right?" Nodding his head fearfully he began to spill his guts.
An hour later we were back in the Labyrinth. A knocked out Ethan on my shoulder as I led them towards the entrance to the camp. However for some reason the maze was being rather… easy to work with at this point. Shaking my head I eventually led us to where we needed to go. Looking around for the weird blue triangle on what should be the exit I pressed it. As soon as I opened up we all froze as we saw at least a dozen people in armor pointing spears at us.
Of course Judan was sarcastic about the whole thing. "You know… maybe next time I should lead. For some reason you're always getting us into places with people trying to kill us." Giving him a stink eye for a second I turned to our aggressors.
"Could you put those things away? We aren't your enemy and we're in a rather big hurry. You know monsters to slay, world to save and all that." Most of them seemed to falter until one who I assumed was the leader stepped forward.
She was a rather tall girl with blonde hair and rather large muscles. "And just how do we know you mean us no harm? You just came out of the labyrinth with a knocked out person on your shoulder. He also looks tied up; no we'll let Chiron judge you before letting you out of our sights." At this I couldn't help but get rather annoyed.
"What is with everyone always giving me orders?! I only take orders from one person and one person only! So if you want us to come with you… then you have you have to ask nicely.~" I actually heard a snort come from one of the spear wielders. But the girl gave him a glare before turning to me.
She then smirked. "Okay wise guy… would you please allow us to escort you at spear point to our camps director?" Smiling I just nodded my head causing her to frown.
Sorry sister but it takes a lot more than that to beat me at my own game. Eventually shaking her head she motioned us to follow her. Doing so we got a good look at the camp, even the climbing wall which had lava coming out of to ignore that for now I looked forward to where she was taking us. However I noticed something familiar. It was a centaur talking to Annabeth and Percy. The same people I beat up on the first day here. However I did notice that the cyclops Tyson and the satyr Grover were missing.
Shaking my head the girl with the spear stopped in front of them before speaking. "Chiron we found these four coming out of the labyrinth. Not knowing what to do with them we took them here." Quickly all three of them turned to us; however Annabeth's reaction was predictable.
"You! What in Hades are you doing here?!"
Not really caring about her I turned to Centaur who I assumed was Chiron. "So you're Chiron… I've read quite a bit about you but never really thought that I'd meet you in person. Anyways we came here to drop of Ethan Nakamura before moving on." At that I promptly dropped Ethan like a sack of potatoes, while Chiron looked at me confused and Annabeth gritted her teeth in anger. Percy however looked to be observing me carefully. He also seemed rather worn out, but seeing how it wasn't my problem I didn't care.
Finally Chiron spoke up. "Yes… thank you Clarisse that will be all. They aren't our enemy; in fact we are actually on the same side." Giving the centaur a salute the now named Clarisse left with her men. Chiron then turned to me. "So you're the one who defeated two of my strongest campers, and kill Antaeus? I must say I pictured you a bit differently."
Shrugging I spoke normally. "Well everyone pictures everybody differently. I certainly didn't expect the sphinx to give out trivia game show questions. But really what can you do sometimes. Anyways here you can take Ethan here and then we'll be on our way. I still have to find some people crush them horribly, and then find my adorable sister."
At my last words Chiron smiled lightly. "Oh I don't think you need to worry about that… in fact I believe she just found you first." Confused I would've questioned him but I heard a familiar voice.
"Onii Chan!" Looking behind me in surprise, I almost didn't catch the leaping form of Shirone as she latched onto me. As I came to my senses I returned the hug and spoke softly.
"Thank the Outsider you're alright." At that moment I couldn't tell you how relieved I was. Because despite the short amount of time I've known her… Shirone had already become an important part of my life. Still as we hugged the life out of each other I questioned her. "How did you escape? I saw it you couldn't hurt that Luke guy."
"I don't know why but the labyrinth helped me escape. It led me here where I met Chiron, he let me stay until you found me or they located you." Still smiling I put her down before turning and bowing to Chiron in respect.
"Thank you… thank you for looking after my sister." For a second he looked at me in surprise before nodding his head with a smile.
"No thanks are necessary. Really she's been a… joy to have here." Still wanting to do something for them I frowned.
"But I need to do something to repay you? After all… all those titan bases I destroyed were something I took care of because I was looking for Shirone." At that everyone paused and looked at me strangely. "What?"
Eventually Percy spoke up. "You said you destroyed a bunch of bases commanded by the titans… Just how many were there? And how many did you destroy?" Thinking for a bit I answered him.
"There were about eight that I completely wiped off the face of the earth. Including that weird cruise ship one. We would've assaulted that last one mount Othrys, but I realized I still had another job to do." At this Chiron, Annabeth, and Percy were looking at me in utter shock. "It's not that impressive! Those monsters were weak! I doubt any one of them could survive a day in Yarnham. Now that place is a horrible, nightmarish, disgusting, bloody, and actually quite beautiful city."
Eventually Chiron spoke up calmly. "So you're telling us… that you pretty much wiped out the titans army by yourselves?" I just nodded my head. "Well… thank you I guess..."
Turning to Judan I questioned him. "Was the titan army really that dangerous?" He gave me a shrug before I turned back to Chiron. "Well I still need to do something for you. Preferably after I kill those trying to rule or destroy the entire planet."
At this Percy seemed to freak out. "WHAT?! Destroy the planet! Are you serious?!"
"Yeah but it's not that big of a deal, that's what were here for after all. And I must say I've grown quite stronger thanks to the thousands of Greek monsters that I've killed. Even killed that titan of light guy."
Annabeth quickly said I was a liar at that point. "You can't kill a titan! That's impossible why are you lying like that? Besides that titan of light… his name was Hyperion one of the strongest titans. He was second only to Atlas. I doubt you could defeat him." Looking at her I shrugged before making a ball of light appear in my left hand before speaking.
"Well I did, and I may have also absorbed his powers." She stood there gaping at me like a fish as I put out the light and turning back to Chiron. "Anyway how about after I beat up those I mentioned before, and then take out Kronos for you? Seems like a fair trade to me, plus I'm wondering if I can take his time powers." Shaking his head while letting out a sigh, he mumbled something about seeing where she gets it before answering me.
"If you truly want to try and match Kronos that's up to you. But I don't think you're ready yet. Shirone told me about what you can do, and even if you defeat the ones helping the titans. You may not be strong enough to stand up to him. Still you'll be a welcomed edition in the final battle." Grinning I rubbed my hands together.
"Oh yeah… I'll help out all right. But if I end up destroying all of the titans before then… please don't get angry with me. Still thanks again for looking after Shirone, really that is something I can't thank you enough for… except maybe these!" Pulling things out of my void pocket I dropped over half the weapons I stole from all my raids. The pile ended up reaching up to half the height of the building. Blinking at it Chiron just stared as he spoke.
"If I had any doubts… they're all gone now. Still thank you, I'm sure we'll put these too good use." Giving him a thumbs up I turned and started leaving, leaving Ethan while everyone else followed me.
When we reached the forest Shirone stopped before speaking. "Hey… Onii Chan can I ask you a question?" turning to her I pet her head before answering.
"You should know the answer to that already. Anything you want to know just ask me."
Giggling for a second she became serious as she spoke. "Well… I want to learn senjutsu. As it turns out it was because of my connection to nature, which made the labyrinth want to help me. So I want to learn how to use it, but I also don't want to end up like my sister. So I was wondering if… after all of this… you can maybe take me to someone who could teach me the right way to use it?" Smiling at her I gave her a small hug. Knowing how important this was to her I pulled back and gave her my best smile.
"Of course!~ Once this is all done I'll get you the best teacher I can find!" Smiling she quickly threw herself around me and I quickly held her.
"Sorry I hope I'm not interrupting…" Blinking I let go of Shirone before turning to look at Percy.
It confused me as to why he was there. "In a way yes… so mind telling us why you're here?" Rubbing his head sheepishly he answered me.
"Sorry about that… but I need to ask you a favor. Shirone said you guys were from another dimension right?" I nodded my head prompting him to continue. "She also said because of that pretty much all the prophecies we have which are in affect are now useless. And seeing how you really did pretty much demolish Kronos' forces I can believe that. So I was wondering if you could do this for me, you see a while ago I managed to blow up a mountain. It was actually one of Hephaestus' forges, and it was being used for less than noble purposes. While I was being blown sky high I blacked out and eventually landed on an island."
Looking at him strangely made him chuckle. "Yeah I know… get blasted up in the air and-" I quickly cut him off at that point.
"Listen I don't care about your reasons or any story just get to asking me the favor. At this point you're kind of rambling."
Apologizing sheepishly he continued. "Okay yeah sorry… well I met this Titaness named Calypso. You see she's been trapped on an island called Ogygia. You see she's imprisoned there for supporting the titans in the original war. But she only helped them because they were family. But as usual the gods hold grudges and are making her stay there forever, and I mean forever. She didn't even know what an apartment was!"
Humming I finished for him. "So you want us to rescue her and take her back with us? Because once she's out of their reach the gods can't do anything. That's a good plan but I don't think we-" I was interrupted by Judan who seemed a bit too excited.
"I'll do it! Really this is a chance to instill some controlled chaos! I just hope I can see their faces once they realize she's gone! Alright give me a second I can discern her location through your memories!~"
"WHAT?!" Unfortunately despite Percy's protests Judan still forcibly read his mind and took off.
I then gave Percy a bored look. "Great… there goes our mission guide. Now what am I supposed to-" Again I was cut off when Judan appeared with a clearly shaken girl.
"What happened?" She had almond like eyes that were wide opened in shock. She also had caramel colored hair that was braided over her right shoulder. She also had light skin and was wearing a sleeveless white Greek dress with a golden circular neck line. She also looked about fifteen but since she was a titan it she was probably much older. At the sight of her Percy's mouth dropped.
Of course Judan didn't care. "And there you go!~ One damsel in distressed saved by yours truly." It was then that I realized something.
"You can actually teleport long distance within a world! Why didn't you do that sooner?! And if you say it's because you didn't ask…"
"It's because you didn't ask." Quickly I lost it for a moment and punched him in the face… sending him through a tree. Calming down I turned to the now clearly distraught Calypso.
"Sorry about that Miss. But Judan has a bad habit of just doing things spontaneously. You see Percy here asked us to rescue you, and then Judan read his mind and took off just to instill some chaos." At Percy's name she finally realized he was there and started crying.
"Oh Percy… you shouldn't have done this! If the gods find out what you all did." She was cut off as Judan appeared right next to her causing her to jump back.
He then spoke with a grin. "Oh you don't have to worry about that my dear. They'll never find out what happened. Instead how about I take you off this world and into a new dimension! I'm pretty sure Hunter has the room to house you."
"Oh no you don't! You can't just invite people into my home without my permission!" Again I was ignored as Judan took Calypso by the hand and teleported again. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Gripping my head I screamed in frustration. "Just why did I agree to do this job?!"
Line breaks that sparkle! Just like a Christmas tree!
The Yuki Onna
Sighing I was looking out over the void thinking about Hunter and Shirone. Really I was kind of worried, already it has been over a month since they've been gone. I would've thought of this more when suddenly someone appeared right in front of me. Surprised I jumped up and quickly got out my ice claws ready to attack. However I calmed a bit when I saw that the girl the guy in stripes was with looked shocked.
Quickly I started questioning them. "Okay who are you two and why are you here?" The girl who looked my age was the first to speak.
"In truth… I have no idea why I'm here anymore…" Not expecting that answer I turned to the guy he was with.
"Then can you tell me why you two are here?"
Grinning he quickly answered me. "Well first introductions, I'm Judan Kunai a disciple of Modaga. And this is Calypso a wrongfully imprisoned Titaness. And I know you since Hunter talked about you a few times Mizore Shirayuki." I was caught off guard at that. But he kept talking despite my confusion. "The reason why I'm here is to drop of Calypso, she'll be staying with you. Don't worry Hunter already gave her permission. Also we should be done with our mission in about two to three weeks. So bye!~" He then disappeared leaving me alone with Calypso.
Staring at each other awkwardly I cleared my throat before speaking. "So… do you want to discuss this over tea?"
Nodding her head she smiled awkwardly. "Yes… I think that would be lovely."
Character notes
Monster classes… SSS, SS+, SS, S+, S, A, B, C, D, F+, F
Moka-Vampire: Natural S class monster-current class S
Mizore-Yuki Onna: Natural B class Monster-current class A Verge of S
Kurumu-Succubus: Natural A class monster-current class A
Hunter-Voidwalker/Beast hunter: Natural D class monster-current class SS
Tsukune-Human: Natural F class-current C verge of B
Shirone-Nekoshou: Natural B class monster-current class Verge of S
Shizuka Nekonome- Nekomusume: Natural D class monster-current class ?
Yukari Sendo-witch: Natural C class monster/border being-current class B verge of A
Ginei Morioka-Werewolf: Natural S class monster-current class S+
Percy-Demigod: Natural C class-current class B verge of A
Annabeth-Demigod: Natural C class-current class C verge of B
Judan-?: Natural ? class-current class SS
Chiron-Centaur: Natural B class monster-current class S
Luke-Demigod: Natural C class-current class A
Ethan-Demigod: Natural C class-current class B
Antaeus- Demigod monster: Natural S class being- current S also deceased
Hyperion- Titan: Natural S+ being-current class S+ also deceased
Calypso-Titan: Natural S+ being-current class S+
Slayer: And that's a wrap… Also… Judan get back here! My place is not some kind of refuge!
Judan: Oh come on! Just have a little heart will you!
Calypso: I'm still quite confused.
Mizore: Don't worry you'll get used to it eventually.
Shirone: Will she? Or will she go insane?
Calypso: What…
Shadow: Now calm down things aren't that bad here-
Modaga: Way to go my youthful student!
Shadow: And I stand corrected…
Judan: Oh hi master!
Slayer: I see you're still spouting off that youth stuff… even in this story!
Shadow: Oh my gosh will this ever end.
Slayer: Sorry but it probably won't. Anyways how about we let Calypso finish this off?
Mizore: Sounds good to me, after all you did kill a titan, destroy an entire army, and also killed a son of Gaea. I think you deserve a break!
Calypso: I'll ask about that later… Anyways this had been a Dark Guard production now signing off!
Everyone: Goodbye!