NPU4: Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 4

XXXXX

Naruto and the others made it back to Chiron and other campers who had finished their own hunt to win the game. However, when they saw Clarisse with the prize and others in her group with runner up prizes, they just through up their hands.

The blond Demi God of Hades looked around and asked, "So….where is Percy and Annabeth?"

"I doubt that punk is dead." Clarisse stated. "Probably just got lost."

"With Annabeth as his partner?" Thalia asked.

"I suppose anything is possible." Clarisse replied with a shrug.

"In any event, we should go look for them." Chiron announced with many campers, who were already in a bad mood for not winning, grumbled tiredly as they fanned out.

XXX

"Percy! Annabeth!" Tyson's voice bellowed the loudest, but others were calling out too.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other worriedly as they climbed out of the hole they got stuck in, which Annabeth already knowing what it was.

While very worried about the possibility of being attack, Annabeth barely noticed the shadow above her. Looking up, she smiled at seeing Naruto. Said blond crouched as he held out a hand for her to talk to climb up quicker and then helped up Percy.

"Thought you two disappeared on us, but I sensed you just now…odd." Naruto replied.

"Where have you two been, anyway?" Clarisse demanded as she jogged up to them.

"We've been looking forever." Silena stated as she too came onto the scene with other campers.

"But we were gone only a few minutes," Percy said.

Chiron trotted up, followed by Tyson and Grover.

"Percy!" Tyson said. "You are okay?"

"We're fine," Percy said. "We fell in a hole."

The others looked at Percy skeptically, then at Annabeth.

"Honest!" Percy said. "There were three scorpions after us, so we ran and hid in the rocks. But we were only gone a minute."

"Oh, so that is why those scorpions were all grouped together." Naruto replied, making others sweat at the possibility to fighting the horde of scorpions while Naruto's group just groaned a bit. "But no, you two have been gone for more than an hour."

"Yes and the game is over." Chiron replied.

"Yeah," Grover muttered. "We would've won, but a Cyclops sat on me."

"Was an accident!" Tyson protested, and then he sneezed. "Besides, Naruto and the others had it."

Clarisse was wearing the gold laurels, but she didn't even brag about winning them, which wasn't like her. "A hole?" she said suspiciously.

Annabeth took a deep breath. She looked around at the other campers. "Chiron…maybe we should talk about this at the Big House."

Clarisse gasped. "You found it, didn't you?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "I—Yeah. Yeah, we did."

A bunch of campers started asking questions, not knowing what she was talking about, but Chiron and Naruto shared a look and the camper leader raised his hand for silence. "Tonight is not the right time, and this is not the right place." He stared at boulders as if he'd just noticed how dangerous they were. "All of you, back to your cabins. Get some sleep. A game well played, but curfew is past!"

There was a lot of mumbling and complaints, but the campers drifted off, talking among themselves and giving Percy and Annabeth suspicious looks.

"This explains a lot," Clarisse said. "It explains what Luke is after."

"Wait a second," Percy said. "What do you mean? What did we find?"

Annabeth turned toward me, her eyes dark with worry. "An entrance to the Labyrinth. An invasion route straight into the heart of the camp."

"Well, this makes things interesting." Naruto replied, thinking that this could be a good opportunity to get out of camp to look for his brother and if they want him to join in on their quest, that was good too.

XXX

In order to prepare himself for the incoming conversation he would have with the kids, so naturally, he took the dusk and everyone's tired state and told them he would explain to the group of demi gods in the morning. That left Chiron to fret about how he would explain it all, especially to Percy, since he knew the boy would want in on this and Naruto would too to protect him friends.

Speaking of Naruto, he was tired so he went to sleep rather easily. Which was concerning for him because if he went to sleep that easily, he learn that the God of Sleep wanted to show him and by proxy, Percy, something important about the past.

And he was right.

The dream started out like all others in the form of a misty haze until things came into focus. That was when he noticed that he was once more part of the dream sequence. What could that mean since he was Hercules in the dreams of the man and Zoe?

He saw that he was a young boy in a Greek tunic and sandals, almost alone in a massive stone room. By almost, that meant that Percy was in there too, looking around and at the boy in shock. Percy's shock became even worse when the boy flickered a moment to reveal that Naruto was taking the place as the boy. However, they both were confused about that, so they would wait until things actually progressed to figure anything out.

Back to the massive stone room, they noticed there was a skylight so they could see the night sky, but the walls were twenty feet high and polished marble, completely smooth. No one could actually climb that. Scattered around the room were wooden crates. Some were cracked and tipped over, as if they'd been flung in there. Bronze tools spilled out of one—a compass, a saw, and a bunch of other things the boys couldn't recognize.

That was when Naruto felt the condition of the boy and the dream starting its sequence and he was forced to play along. The boy huddled in the corner, shivering from cold, or maybe fear. He was spattered in mud. His legs, arms, and face, were scraped up as if he'd been dragged here along with the boxes.

Then the double oak doors moaned open. Two guards in bronze armor marched in, holding an old man between them. They flung him to the floor in a battered heap.

"Father!" The boy ran to him. The man's robes were in tatters. His hair was streaked with gray, and his beard was long and curly. His nose had been broken. His lips were bloody.

The boy took the old man's head in his arms. "What did they do to you?" he yelled at the guards. "I'll kill you!"

"There will be no killing today," a voice said.

The guards moved aside. Behind them stood a tall man in white robes. He wore a thin circlet of gold on his head. His beard was pointed like a spear blade. His eyes glittered cruelly. "You helped the Athenian kill my Minotaur, Daedalus. You turned my own daughter against me."

"You did that yourself, Your Majesty," the old man croaked.

A guard planted a kick in the old man's ribs. He groaned in agony. The young boy cried, "Stop!"

"You love your maze so much," the king said, "I have decided to let you stay here. This will be your workshop. Make me new wonders. Amuse me. Every maze needs a monster. You will be mine!"

"I don't fear you," the old man groaned.

The king smiled coldly. He locked his eyes on the boy. That was when Naruto felt things change for just a moment. The room blackened and he was his Him and the King. The original Naruto staring at a Ghost from the Past, who was giving off a cruel smirk. Then, thing suddenly were back to normal for the dream. "But a man cares about his son, eh? Displease me, old man, and the next time my guards inflict a punishment, it will be on him!"

The king swept out of the room with his guards, and the doors slammed shut, leaving the boy and his father alone in the darkness.

"What shall we do?" the boy moaned. "Father, they will kill you!"

The old man swallowed with difficulty. He tried to smile, but it was a gruesome sight with his bloody mouth.

"Take heart, my son." He gazed up at the stars. "I—I will find a way."

A bar lowered across the doors with a fatal BOOM, and Percy woke in a cold sweat, while Naruto woke up with confusion written across his features.

XXX

"Percy, you ready for what Chiron has to say?" Naruto asked as he jogged up to the boy as they walked to the Sword Arena, where Chiron was calling for a War Room meeting.

"I was last night, but after that dream last night, I feel a little shaky. What was that anyway and why were to in the position of that kid?" Percy replied and then asked.

"I honestly don't have an answer to that right now." Naruto replied with a shrug, "But there is something that happened that I doubt you saw."

"And what would that be?"

"There was a point when the King looked right at the kid. That was when the room darkened and me the ghost form of the King were glaring at each other."

"Yeah, I didn't see that part." Percy replied, a little freaked out that that had happened. "But what could this dream mean?"

"Well, Morpheus hasn't really showed us things from the past without a reason, so just let him work until thing are clearer." Naruto replied.

"I guess, but this is kind of getting annoying." Percy stated.

"True, but the Gods don't do anything without a reason." Naruto stated as they entered the arena, where they were met with an interesting site. Mrs. O'leary was chewing on a life sized rubbed toy of a yak…..and Tear was trying, keyword, trying to take it for herself. It was quite comical to see the little dog take something bigger than itself from something even bigger.

Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table: Juniper the tree nymph, Silena Beauregard, Travis and Connor Stoll, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus, their hundred-eyed security chief. Yes, it was that serious. Argus hardly ever showed up unless something really major went going on. The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so hard his whole body turned bloodshot. Zoe was not there as she had border patrol.

"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."

Naruto looked bored as he listened, but he did notice hop annoyed Percy looked when they noticed the small amount of Pride in her voice when she spoke Luke's name. Naruto understood that Luke was her first crush and had it for a long time, so naturally she still had hopes that she could still change him. But he had to side with Percy on this one, it was kind of annoying.

Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell you last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it."

Silena Beauregard frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?"

Juniper's face turned green. "I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."

"She has good taste," Grover said.

"I wouldn't have paid any attention except…well, it was Luke." She blushed a little greener.

Grover huffed. "Forget what I said about good taste."

Naruto smirked. "Well Grover, ladies love bad boys, remember what I told you about Sasuke and his horde of fan girls?" At this, Grover's head banged on the table and then let out a groan, making the blond chuckle.

"Interesting," Quintus polished his sword as he spoke, basically ignoring Naruto and Grover's mini conversation. "And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"

"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."

"What about me?" Naruto asked which Clarisse understood the question while Quintus looked on in confusion.

"I am sorry Naruto, but your almost endless shadow clone army can easily be wiped out in a single hits and I am not sure how much energy you actually have to use before you get tired. It seems to vary, especially with that technique you used the other day."

"Fair enough." Naruto replied.

"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said, picking up where they left off. "We know because…because we found one."

"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look.

"Ah," Quintus said. "The one that Mr. D. cured before leaving."

"Right, and I do not recommend sending him back." Naruto replied with a dark look.

"We won't." Clarisse replied with firmness. "But the point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop."

"The guy who created the maze." Percy replied, remembering the dream from last night.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted—quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then…to Olympus."

The arena was silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak getting disemboweled: SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

Finally Beckendorf put his huge hands on the table. "Back up a sec, Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"

Quintus grunted, which seemed a bit odd to Naruto as it sounded nervous. "I would hope so. He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"

Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors…well, there are many disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be there."

Percy was trying to picture that with what he saw last night and could not believe the guy was still alive since he looked too beaten up. Naruto shrugged though. "Who knows, I believe he could still be alive. I mean anything is possible." He said, trying to remember some of the old stories about the guy.

"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."

"Wait a second," Percy said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"

"Great idea!" Grover said a little too eagerly because he did NOT want to go down there. "I'll get the dynamite!"

"It's not so easy, stupid," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."

"I doubt the man wanted his ultimate creation being bombed anyway." Naruto drawled. "Must be magically protected."

"Correct." Annabeth replied with a nod. "It is a magical architecture, so naturally it is magically protected. It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet. The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."

"We could fight," Lee Fletcher said. "We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows."

"We will certainly set up defenses," Chiron agreed. "But I fear Clarisse is right. The magical borders have kept this camp safe for hundreds of years. If Luke manages to get a large army of monsters into the center of camp, bypassing our boundaries…we may not have the strength to defeat them."

Nobody looked real happy about that news. Chiron usually tried to be upbeat and optimistic. If he was predicting they couldn't hold off an attack, even with Naruto on their side, that wasn't good.

"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Luke from using it."

"Hey, if we find it, can we destroy it?" Naruto asked.

Annabeth looked horrified at first but then that turned to understanding and then uncertainty. "I….i am unsure." She replied. She really didn't want to destroy it, but if they had to, she wasn't sure if it was possible.

"But wait, if nobody can navigate in there," Percy said, "what chance do we have?"

"I've been studying architecture for years," she said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."

"From reading about it." Percy dead panned.

"Well, yes."

"That's not enough."

"It has to be!"

"It isn't!"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

That was when they realized that everyone was watching them like a tennis match. Mrs. O'Leary's squeaky yak went EEK! As she ripped off its pink rubber head and tear running after it, barking all the way.

Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp."

"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Either Annabeth or Naruto"

There was a murmur of agreement. "You've done as much as I have, Clarisse,"Annabeth said. "You should go, too."

Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."

Travis Stoll laughed. "Don't tell me you're scared. Clarisse, chicken?"

Clarisse got to her feet, Percy thought she was going to pulverize Travis, but she said in a shaky voice: "You don't understand anything, punk. I'm never going in there again. Never!"

She stormed out of the arena.

Travis looked around sheepishly. "I didn't mean to—"

"She hasn't recovered from her first time in the Labyrith and you want her to go back? Bad move Trav." Naruto replied. "She is better suited to help protect everyone here. And I am NOT leading this quest, but I will go to protect me friends." Besides, he was saving his quest for later….when the Eclipse happened and that was quickly approaching, which they all knew about.

Chiron nodded and stood up. "Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"

They all nodded except Quintus. He folded his arms and stared at the table, which Percy and Naruto noticed and sent a quick look at each other. What was his deal?

"Very well," Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next."

XXX

Initially, Annabeth did want someone to come along with her, preferably either Percy or Naruto, but she decided to brave the oracle on her own. So now, Percy was pacing and in freak out mode as he waited for his almost girlfiend.

"Um, I think I should come along." Silena stated as she walked up to the blond.

"I don't see why not." Naruto replied. "I mean, Clarisse and her cabin has the camp protected and Zoe is working with her, so for now, they are good. Taking an extra person with us won't hurt."

"I am glad." Silena replied with a smile. "It also help me interact more with your friends and I get to be more involved with camp activates!"

"What and being the camp's health inspector isn't enough for you?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Nope!" She chirped with a smile but then frowned. "You might want to keep an eye on Percy, since he is leaving."

Naruto smiled. "I wish those two would get together already..." Naruto replied as he kissed the girl and then went after Percy. He had to make sure that the boy wouldn't interrupt Annabeth at all.

When he caught up with the kid, he saw that Percy was just staring at the Big House, more specifically at the attic.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Naruto asked as he silently walked up next to the boy.

"AGH!" Percy screamed. "Don't do that!"

"Ninja, remember."

"Yeah, well, I am just worried about her."

"No kidding, I can already see your hair losing its color over your worry." Naruto drawled.

"Ha ha." Percy replied, loosening up just a bit.

"Percy, Naruto!" a voice called out that turned out to be Juniper. She was standing in the bushes. It was weird how she almost turnedinvisible when she was surrounded by plants.

She gestured them over urgently. "You need to know: Luke wasn't the only one I saw around that cave."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

She glanced back at the arena. "I was trying to say something, but he was right there."

"Who?" Percy asked.

"The sword master," she said. "He was poking around the rocks."

Percy felt a little nervous at that point. "Quintus? When?"

"I don't know: I don't pay attention to time. Maybe a week ago, when he first showed up."

"What was he doing? Did he go in?"

"I—I'm not sure. He's creepy, Percy. I didn't even see him come into the glade. Suddenly he was just there. You have to tell Grover it's too dangerous—"

"Juniper?" Grover called from inside the arena. "Where'd you go?" Juniper sighed. "I'd better go in. Just remember what I said. Don't trust that man!"

She ran into the arena.

"I don't like it." Naruto replied.

"What?"

"I was there when he arrived and I didn't feel much then." Naruto replied.

"Um…feel what?"

"Chakra." Naruto stated. "I guess Juniper is right to feel a little unease around him…..but I need more information about the guy and that is hard to come buy."

"I see." Percy said quietly, a little distracted

Naruto rolled his eyes and groaned. "This doesn't make you any less nervous does it?"

"No."

"Are you going to check on her?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then, let's go."

"Wait what?" Percy asked.

"You heard me; I want to make sure my little sister is ok as well." Naruto replied, getting a nod from Percy as they walked forward.

"Where are you two going?" A girl's voice asked.

"To go check on Annabeth." Naruto replied without looking. "Well, I am fine for now, but thanks for the thought."

"Wait what?" both boys turned around and looked at her dumbly.

"Yeah, I just passed you while talking about Quintus."

"Oh." Percy replied, feeling stupid.

Naruto, however, was steaming that Annabeth snuck past HIM!

"But yeah, I do feel that something is off about him." Annabeth replied. "It never hurts to keep an eye on him for just in case." That made Naruto nod. "Now let's get back to the arena.

XXX

Chiron saw Naruto and Percy turn to the arena with Annabeth closely behind them. He raised an eyebrow at that seeing that Naruto looked a little distracted, but shook that off seeing that Annabeth looked nervous. "Ah, my dear, you made it."

Annabeth walked a little closer to the boys, something that Chiron noticed as a form of protection from whatever fear she was harboring. He understood the need for that since the Oracle did leave a few campers insane from being in her presence. Naruto and Percy were obviously her safe zones, with Percy being close to her, almost to the point of love and Naruto was close to her in a brotherly sort of way.

"I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop." She declared from between the boys.

Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah…well, it said, you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze..."

The group waited.

"The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."

Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"

"With the dead and the traitor," Percy added. "Not so great."

"True, but I have a connection to the dead, remember." Naruto replied.

"Oh right." The both replied.

"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"

"You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand," Annabeth said, "the child of Athena's final stand."

Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good.

"Hey…we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"

"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.

At this, both Naruto and Percy looked a bit nervous. It seemed that spectre had more of a role in this than they thought.

"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she heard.

Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about…Destroy with a hero's final breath.

"And?" Chiron asked.

She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And…I need help." She turned to Percy. "Will you come?"

"Yes." Percy replied without any hesitation in his voice.

She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile to Percy. Yeah, he had it hard for the girl. "Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."

Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"

"Naruto, I know you are coming with us and I am really glad for that." Annabeth stated with a big smile.

"Oh yeah, you ain't got nothing to worry about with me there." Naruto boosted. "I'll protect my little sister with ease!" Of that made Annabeth feel a bit younger at this and blushed, but smiled all the while. "Oh and head, can we bring Silena, I promise she will be of use." Annabeth looked at Silena for a moment and hesitated for a second before nodding, making the girl smile.

"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."

"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs.O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner with Tear after they had gotten done chewing on the rubber yak.

"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."

"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."

"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, six went on a quest to save Artemis. Only ficve came back. Think on that. Three is a sacred number. There are three fates, three furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Seven…this is risky."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."

They all could tell Chiron didn't like it. Quintus was studying them, like he was trying to decide which of them would come back alive.

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."

"Oh cheer up." Naruto replied as he walked along the man, we usually break the rules and thing still turn out well. Remember what I said about my sister, that I didn't feel her die."

"It is still ricky, but I see your point." Chiron replied nervously.

XXX

Quintus pulled Percy aside as the council was breaking up.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he told the boy. "Even if you have the ninja on your side."

Mrs. O'Leary came over, wagging her tail happily. She dropped her shield at Percy feet, and he threw it for her. Quintus watched her romp after it. Percy remembered what Juniper had said about him scouting out the maze. So he didn't' trust him, but when he looked at the boy, he saw real concern in his eyes.

"I don't like the idea of you going down there," he said. "Any of you. But if you must, I want you to remember something. The Labyrinth exists to fool you. It will distract you. That's dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted."

"You've been in there?" Percy asked.

"Long ago." His voice was ragged. "I barely escaped with my life. Most who enter aren't that lucky."

He gripped Percy's shoulder. "Percy, keep your mind on what matters most. If you can do that, you might find the way. And here, I wanted to give you something."

He handed Percy a little silver tube. It was so cold he almost dropped it.

"A whistle?" He asked.

"A dog whistle," Quintus said. "For Mrs. O'Leary."

"Um, thanks, but—"

"How will it work in the maze? I'm not a hundred percent certain it will. But Mrs. O'Leary is a hellhound, like Tear. She can appear when called, no matter how far away she is. I'd feel better knowing you had this. If you really need help, use it; but be careful, the whistle is made of Stygian ice."

"What ice?"

"From the River Styx. Very hard to craft. Very delicate. It cannot melt, but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once."

Percy thought about Luke, his old enemy. Right before Percy had gone on his first quest, Luke had given him a gift, too—magic shoes that had been designed to drag him to his death. Quintus seemed nice. So concerned. And Mrs. O'Leary liked him, which had to count for something. She dropped the slimy shield at his feet and barked excitedly.

Percy felt ashamed that he could even think about mistrusting Quintus. But then again, he'd trusted Luke once.

"Thanks," Percy told Quintus. he slipped the freezing whistle into his pocket, promised himself that he would never use it, and he dashed off to find Annabeth.

XXX

"Chiron, Morpheus gave me another dream last night and you know how that goes." Naruto said as he and the centaur played cards.

"Oh, you mean with how both you and Percy get those dreams?"

"Yeah, but like last time, I took the role of one of the people in the dream." Naruto replied as he played a few cards.

Chiron grimaced at the cards. "Yes, you told me about your first time with that. You were Hercules and effectively replaced him with you in Zoe's heart. What is it this time?"

Naruto looked nervous for a second before he shrugged it off. "This time, I was in place of Daedalus' son, Icarus."

Chiron visibly paled at that, and it went even further when Naruto explained the stare off between him and the King in Ghost form.

"Naruto, you need to be very careful on this quest….or you could very well die."

"I feared that much."

XXXXXX

And there we go. I hope you all liked that entry and hopeful plot point.

Review!