Battle of the Labyrinth
Chapter 12
Here we go! I was busy the last few days and didn't get a chance to do this so I am doing it now. Now, some of you were happy that there was no singing in the last story. There is a reason for that and it will be explained in this chapter because I personally liked it.
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"Oof! What the…." Naruto said as he tripped on a root. Looking around, he noticed the part of the maze they were in, was made of dirt and roots. It was strange. Plus, he was getting a different vibe from it…sort of like the presence of a Satyr.
Now, not many at camp knew this, but thanks to his connection to the toads, he was able to use Sage Mode, he just never used in much in this world because Nature Energy was connected to Pan, God of the Wild. Therefore, whenever he would use the energy, he would also get sick because Pan was known to be sick thanks to his connection with the slowly dwindling nature in this world. So that Satyr Presence he felt had to be Pan since Grover was back with the Smith God.
Looking ahead of him, he saw Annabeth stop and call out to him to hurry up. Looking back to the root area and then back to Annabeth, he created a clone that went deeper into that area while he caught up with the Daughter of Athena.
"What was that about? Why did you leave a clone behind?" Annabeth asked.
"I felt something that was off and I think it could help Grover with his goal."
The blond girl stared at him for a moment before her eyes widened and then she nodded before they continued to follow the spider, something that she was still reluctant to do but was thankful that her brother figure was around for just in case.
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It wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.
The stone walls glowed. The air felt as if they were walking through an oven. The tunnel sloped down and they could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. The spider skittered along, with Annabeth right behind.
"Ugh….I hate hot places." Naruto groaned.
"This coming from the Prince of Hell?" Annabeth asked with a smirk.
"Surprisingly, there wasn't much fire down there, remember?" Naruto asked.
"You have a point." The blond girl replied.
"Hey, I am still learning about Greek Mythology/History and I find it weird that while Athena is basically born from Zeus' head, that she decided to stay a virgin and have brain babies of her own…..which I am confused as to how that goes but I don't think I want to know."
Annabeth smiled sadly at that. "You know, there are part of our history that are a hidden and only the children of certain gods know their full story."
"Huh? Like what?"
"Like the fact that the reason that Athena is still a literal virgin is because of Hephaestus?"
"What? That's news to me. How does that work?"
"When Hephaestus was flung from Olympus, it was said that a Sea Nymph known as Thetis took care of him until he was ready to be on his feet." She stated, "But that is only half of it. Athena actually visited him and that how he because the Smith God. While Athena liked making arts and crafts, that was not her strongest asset. That was Intelligence, Wisdom, and Battle Strategy."
"So I am guessing that the Smith God took over for her in the forging stuff area." Naruto commented.
"Correct, but he took to it so well that it intrigued Athena that she became partially attracted to him and she planned on having a brain child with him. However, his physical appearance scared her and she decided to stay friendly with him. It is said that if Hephaestus ever fixed himself, then there would be a great chance that the two would get together and Zeus wasn't very fond of that since he was still ugly, so to kill two birds with one stone, he wed Aphrodite to Hephaestus to stop a war based on lust towards her and to keep his favorite daughter in Athena single."
"What a crafty bastard." Naruto deadpanned. "That just proves that all fathers are over protective of their daughters."
"I guess, but it does make me wonder what the kid of Athena and Hephaestus would be like." Annabeth replied before he face took on a half urgent and half disgusted look. "Come on, that spider is getting too far ahead of us."
"Wow, don't sound too enthusiastic." Naruto sarcastically replied, making them both chuckle.
Soon the roaring got louder as they got closer to the forge. After another half mile or so, the two emerged in a cavern the size of a Super Bowl stadium. Their spider escort stopped and curled into a ball. They had arrived at the forge of Hephaestus.
There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. The two stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal bridges spanned across it. At the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil they had ever seen—a block of iron the size of a house. Creatures moved around the platform—several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details.
As Annabeth took the balled up spider and put it in her pocket Naruto looked around and then said, "Ok, let's go invisible"
"Right." She replied as she took out her baseball cap and put it on to disappear while Naruto used his darkness jutsu.
The duo crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, hoping they could get a better angle to see what was happening in the middle.
The heat was horrible. Geryon's ranch had been a winter wonderland compared to this. In no time they were drenched with sweat. The smoke stung their eyes to the point they were watering. As they crept away from the edge, they found their way blocked by something. That something was actually a cart, but not any cart, the like of which seen in old coal mines. Naruto lifted up the tarp and found it was half full of scrap metal. "What the…" Naruto asked aloud, only to stop when he heard voices coming toward them. So he jumped away from the cart with Annabeth and made a motion to stay quiet.
Annabeth nodded as strange…creatures entered the area. They had faces like dogs, with black snouts, brown eyes, and pointy ears. Their bodies were sleek and black like seals. They had stubby legs that are half flipper and half foot, and human-like hands with sharp claws. It certainly was a strange sight. Naruto looked to Annabeth to see if she knew, but she only shrugged her shoulders.
"Bring it in?" one asked.
"Yeah," another said. "Movie's just about done."
"Oi,"The first one said as its voice got gruffer due to the strain. "Thing weighs a ton."
"It's celestial bronze," the other said. "What did you expect?"
The first just grumbled something and the two demi gods followed the strange creatures to wherever they were headed. Annabeth was being as quiet as she could for not being trained in the ninja arts but she was still making sound. She was very thankful that one of the wheels on the cart was squeaking loudly…even if it was annoying as hell.
When they entered a new room, they saw another creature, only this one was six feet tall and looked over and more menacing. Not a friendly sight. Plus there were dozens of the creatures behind it only much smaller and they were all watching some video. It was just strange.
"Just set it in the back," The larger creature replied offhandedly. "Now, younglings, please attend to the film. There will be time for questions afterward."
The voices of the obvious younger creatures quieted down, and the two could finally hear the film.
As a young sea demon matures, the narrator said, changes happen in the monster's body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters.
Excited snarling filled the room. The teacher told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. However, when the room got loud, Naruto slammed his face and said, "Oh Gods, it is a freaking monster based puberty video."
"Shh, I want to see this." Annabeth replied with a look in her eye that she usually got when she wanted to learn something new. Naruto just gave her an 'are you serious' look, but she ignored him.
Naruto just softly chuckled and whispered, "Neeeeeerd!"
"Ninja brute." Annabeth replied with a smile of her own. It was ironic though. The ninjas of this world were the purely stealthy kind and his kind where the brutes. Naruto just found that hilarious.
"Love you too little sis." Naruto mumbled, making the daughter of Athena blush, but not say anything.
So, they suffered through a highly detailed video about monster puberty as it talked about growth spurts and acne problems caused by working in the forges, and proper flipper hygiene. After twenty minutes of that, it was finally over.
"Now, younglings," the instructor said, "what is the proper name of our kind?"
"Sea demons!" one of them barked.
"No. Anyone else?"
"Telekhines!" another monster growled.
Next to him, Naruto heard Annabeth say oh no, like these creatures were actually that bad to be worried about, but considering where they were, that was expected.
"Very good," the instructor said. "And why are we here?"
"Revenge!" several shouted.
"Yes, yes, but why?"
"Zeus is evil!" one monster said. "He cast us into Tartarus just because we used magic!"
"Indeed," the instructor said. "After we made so many of the gods' finest weapons. The trident of Poseidon, for one. And of course—we made the greatest weapon of the Titans! Nevertheless, Zeus cast us away and relied on those fumbling Cyclopes. That is why we are taking over the forges of the usurper Hephaestus. And soon we will control the undersea furnaces, our ancestral home!"
"Yeah….this is so not good." Naruto whispered.
"You think?" Annabeth replied quietly but heatedly.
"And so, younglings," the instructor continued, "who do we serve?"
"Kronos!" they shouted.
"And when you grow to be big telekhines, will you make weapons for the army?"
"Yes!"
"Excellent. Now, we've brought in some scraps for you to practice with. Let's see how ingenious you are."
As the youngling monsters, telekhines, all rushed for the cart, Naruto and Annabeth slipped away. They found a door and went through it, but the door made a noise as it shut, catching the attention of the instructor. It took a whiff of air and growled.
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"Ok, we found out what Hephaestus wanted and it seems that the Telekhines are the ones using his forge. We should go….like now." Annabeth replied quietly because even if they left the main room, that didn't mean they were free just yet.
"No, we have to do something because old Hephaestus was already having problems with these guys. I suggest to we do something." Naruto replied.
"Like what? Did you not see the six foot monster in there? And if you haven't noticed, I am not built for heavy combat!" Annabeth raged.
"Well…I was going to suggest my special ability…in charmspeak." Naruto shrugged.
Annabeth's eyes widened before she got in his face and said, "NO! Not after last time when you made the camp think the Mr. D decided that we were not worth the trouble and made us all think we had gone insane. But in reality, it was you and the whole Aphrodite cabin singing Pink Elephant's on Parade! That illusion made Chiron ban you guys from singing in camp! No! Hell no!"
Naruto smirked at the comment, making Annabeth nervous. "Ah, but key words, IN CAMP."
Annabeth smacked her face. Of course Naruto would use that loop hole! Now she had to dissuade him somehow. Her face lit up when she thought of something. "But Hephaestus needs us back real quick so he can get rid of them somehow."
"And we'll go, I can just leave a clone to deal with the problem." Naruto replied with a smirk.
"But, your special brand of charmspeak tends distort reality, what if you make this place blow up!?" Annabeth asked worriedly.
"Then I'll take responsibility for my actions, now let's go." Naruto replied, ushering her out with their invisibility letting them go unseen, but Naruto did manage to create a Shadow Clone, who quickly went its own way.
"Geez you are stubborn, but you wouldn't be you if you weren't stubborn." Annabeth replied with a sigh but she was smiling.
"Exactly, otherwise I would be boring!" Naruto stated with a smirk. "And you like me just the way I am."
"True." She said thoughtfully, "But don't try to get me in your harem now."
Naruto gave off a mock hurt expression. "Now Annie, why would I take someone else's girl? Percy would kill me!"
Annabeth blushed at that. "We are not together yet." She mumbled as they got back into the labyrinth and let the spider out so that they could return to Hephaestus.
"Key word, YET." Naruto replied, making the girl blush even more. "Trust me, it will happen!"
"Argh! I am going to get you for that! He is as dense as you are!" Annabeth hollered as she chased after him, making the blond make just laugh. If it had emotion, the mechanical spider would be laughing at this sibling bonding moment.
XXX
Meanwhile, the Clone of Naruto was quietly observing the younglings make random objects out of the scrap metal that was in the mine cart. He found it odd and entertaining because the younglings acted like normal human teenagers. Stupid. However, their caretaker seemed to be on edge, like it knew he was there.
So as he observed them, he thought on which song to mess with them with before he offed them. A lot of Disney songs were thrown out because they usually revolved around love, like Hellfire, and preparing for war, like Be Prepared. He just didn't feel that they were good enough.
However, as he observed how they acted, he did find them to be stupid like they didn't use their….brains. Oh this would be good! The clone gained an awful, nasty smile. Oh yes, this would be dark and humorous!
So, throwing one of his Hiraishin kunai high into the air, near the top of the volcano they were in, he flashed his way up there. While in midair, he used a transformation technique to turn himself into the Emperor from Star Wars….just for that creepy vibe.
As he landed on the platform, his entrance caused a shockwave that caught everyone's attention….and confusion as violins seemed to be playing in the background. Naruto smirked and started singing. "Well hello there little guys, don't be shy. Step right up, I'm a reasonable guy. Don't be afraid of the look in my eye, I'm just your average evil doer from out of the sky."
Naruto loved his charmspeak abilities that produced strange Genjutsu all over the place. As soon as he mentioned his eye, one of them turned into the sharingan. He also looked over to the leader of the telekhines as he said this and put it under his spell. This caused it to dance awkwardly and stream to rise up all around them, making the place just a little bit hotter.
"Well I'm just shy and scared of this place, I'm just a fish out of water from out of this place. You can see that the trip has left me tired and drained. So why don't you be a pal….and bring me some BRAINS!"
As he said this, he wiped out a waiter's tray, with the lid on it only to quickly take it off and reveal what he was talking about. A plate full of brains. They youngling creatures were confused at first until they saw their teacher and they all had smirks on their faces. So they brought over their teacher, making the clone smile brightly. He then proceeded to step up an illusion, making it seem like he was eating it brain by just sticking his hand into its head when in reality he was throwing it off the platform and into the lava below.
If they knew what he was doing, it was already to late for they were all under his spell and he was having a blast. "Go down to your neighbor's place, see the dull expression on his face, you'd be doing him a favor if you brought him to me. He ain't using his brain, he's just watching TV."
"Go down to mister Mcgee's, he hasn't had a though since '43. His brain is the portrait of atrophy. He ain't using his brain, why don't you give it to me?"
"Brains, Brains, I won't lie, I'll eat their brains till their zombified. Sure they might think it's deranged, but they won't give it a thought after I've eaten their brains. Brains, Brains, It's okay. It's not a matter if it isn't grey, and if at first they think it's strange, they won't think twice if they don't have a brain."
One by one, Naruto booted of the telekhines into the lava below while still under an illusion of eating their brains. Sure it was weird, but none of them were using their brains as they all were having too much fun. Naruto included because he was building his self an illusion dance party! However, as they danced and were thrown into the lava, more stream, smoke, and fire rose up, making the place so much hotter. Soon, this place would blow.
"Go down to the Wanton shop, my fortune cookie says that I just can't stop. I suck the noodle right out of their heads and half an hours later, I'm hungry again!"
This time, Naruto made it seem that the brains were turning into bowls of ramen, making him feel like he was in heaven.
"Creep in to the donut shop, sneak in tip toe past the cop. Pick me up a cruller and cupful of tea, and any other sweetbreads you happen to see."
"Brains, Brains, I won't lie, I'll eat their brains till their zombified. Sure they might think it's deranged, but they won't give it a thought after I've eaten their brains. Brains, Brains, It's okay. It's not a matter if it isn't grey, and if at first they think it's strange, they won't think twice if they don't have a brain."
"Brains, brains, I love em…I need um…My tummy jumps for joy when I eat um. Big one, fat ones, short ones, tall ones. They're to delectable, especially the small ones. No time to cook them in the skillet. My tummy rumblin', I got a need to fill it. I don't fry em, the heat will only shrink em. I just grab a pair of chop stick and stick them down my gullet. Ohhhhhh!"
Somehow, this song literally went from brains in name to the illusion being Naruto obsession with all that is ramen. He and it were also dancing a knock off version of the thriller dance as the place got hotter and hotter. The pressure by this point was just too much at this point, making the volcano blow its top, engulfing everything thing in fire and lava
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BOOM!
The blond heard the boom and stiffened, as did the mechanical spider for some reason. They were near Hesphaestus' place when the boom came and Naruto assumed that the volcano exploded, something he would have to answer for later. However, he never got the memories from his clone, making him wonder what happened.
Annabeth, on the other hand, looked to where the boom came from, only to see fire headed their way. "Oh no."
Naruto heard her and looked as well, only to have a dead panned look on his face. Since they were in front of the Smith God's place, they could just as easily go it, but would it be safe? He couldn't risk that. He would just have to shield them and the door from all that fire.
"Hellfire Style: Hell Protection!" He called out as a wall of black flames covered the two blonds and the door just as the tunnel lit up with flame.
Good thing the Labyrinth was magical and could fix itself.
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And there we go all. I hoped to like it all, even the demented song I put in there. Ugh…it is raining, so I will have a head ache in the morning…not looking forward to that, but I can't help it, I have allergies.
Anyway, back on track…I hope you all liked it and I have a question for all of you? Should Athena and Hephaestus get together in the end? If so, I plan on doing a few shorts at the end of each chapter, detailing his transformation.
Review please! Now if you excuse me, i'll be working on the next chapter of Neglect.