Yeah, it's me. Merry Christmas even though I know this is a little late. Have a happy New Year as well. Make sure you have a safe rest of the holidays, and be sure to enjoy. Other updates are coming, but they're being pain in the necks to write. This one was just the easiest of them to write for, so bam, here you go. This chapter is a doozy, as several things go down, and a timeskip happens. Yeah, a timeskip. There needed to be one here in order for me to be able to get to the HoO storyline, and get the ball rolling. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Once again, do all that favorite, follow and reviewing jazz, and have Happy Holidays. And drink some eggnog, that stuff is the bomb. Well the pumpkin spice flavor is, I'm not too sure about the others.


kakakure- The versions of Hephaestus are not very different, because as I see it he had no need to become different like the others do to conform to the Roman society. All he had to do was make weapons, and essentially do the same job he's always been doing. His Vulcan aspect is just a little bit more work oriented and professional. They might confront each other, or a tomato might come flying through the window. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and here is that update.

animemaniac66- Cool to see that this interested you. I wanted to make it a little different from the other Naruto Percy Jackson crossovers I've read.

Xsanoxx- Yes it does my friend, yes it does.

DannyPhantom619- First of all love the name, it's like a great big flash, anyways the answer to those is to keep reading and you'll find out in time.

NeutralPanda123-Thanks yo, I'm glad you're liking it so far. I'm glad that my fight scene was up to par as well. Here's that chapter you've been waiting for.

Naruto-phenex- Ah, portugese. I don't know it, but that's what translate is for, and I will continue it.


Ch.7 starts now...

Hephaestus looked at his mother with no type of emotion at all. It was like looking at a stranger for him. He held no warm emotions towards her. After what she did she was not his mother, his friend, not even an acquaintance of his. She was just Hera, Queen of Olympus in his eyes. He would show her the proper respect her title demanded, but that was it. It took him a few centuries, but he finally was able to release all of the anger, resentment, and hurt at what she did and what she didn't do afterwards. So now he was just stuck with…nothing. He didn't really care about her or most of the Gods that actually held seats, but his loyalty wasn't in question. When it will comes down to it, he would stand by his family against anyone or anything, and that was that.

A fiery brow raised in self-contemplation, then again that might've been a result of all of his talks with Hestia, but back to the main problem. He stood up as straight as his mechanical leg would allow him to and crossed his thick arms across his burly chest. He wanted to know why she wanted him here after all of the years of not speaking him or even looking at him.

"Why have you called me here, mother? After so many years of no interaction outside of meetings, and even those are few and far between, what could be so important for you actually taking time out of your day to speak with me?" He asked with a heavy mocking tone. On second thought maybe that resentment and anger hadn't fully dispersed.

Oh well.

His mother hadn't changed over the many centuries of him knowing her. Her light brown hair was pulled back behind her ears into a curly ponytail that draped itself over her left shoulder. From her ears dangled glittering earrings that shined in the light of her chambers. Her slightly pointed chin and delicate facial features added to her elegant beauty. Finely shaped eyebrows, full eyelashes, with a slightly rounded nose which sat above two full lips completed her face. She wore a brilliant white robe that wrapped itself around her left shoulder and fell to her feet in elegant white waves. The robe was embroidered with golden highlights along the hem. She wore a golden belt around her waist and had multiple other golden accessories on her neck and wrists. She wore no sandals upon her feet due to her being inside her personal chambers. All in all Hera was a beautiful woman, and that was what people saw when they looked at her.

But not him, as, after being married to the goddess of beauty herself, most women tended to fall a little short in the looks category.

He looked into her amber eyes with his own matching ones, and waited for her reply. As he looked at her he noticed something was off about her. Instead of the icy, confident Hera he had always seen, this Hera looked rather uncomfortable, unsure.

Something was up.

His inner thoughts ceased when he heard he heard her speak up in that same level tone as she always had despite what Hephaestus believed," I called you here because I wanted to speak to you about something," She said.

His curiosity was peaked even more at that," What about?"

He wanted her to get to the center of whatever this was about. He'd rather not talk to her for any longer than was absolutely necessary. He had several projects he wanted to get to, and this was cutting into his time. There was that one with the-

"Why didn't you tell me?"

What?

His inner musings on all the projects he could've been working on were destroyed at her question. Now he was curious and slightly wary of what she was talking about," What are you talking about? I haven't spoken to you since when you were telling me what you wanted inside of your personal chambers, and we both know how long ago that was."

Now, he may or may not have meant that in a mean way, but it was a fact nonetheless.

His mom gave him a particularly annoyed look, and replied in an angry tone," Why didn't you tell me that you found yourself an actual WIFE!" She revealed to his shock. He had no words for, and his gaping expression left him open to even more words from Hera," I am the patron of Marriage, di-did you not expect for me to find out?! Unlike those other women that you decided to entertain, I felt your connection with her Hephaestus," Her voice went into an out-of-place downcast tone," Now I know I haven't been the best-,"

Hephaestus's shock at her finding out wore off at the words he just knew were about to come from her mouth. Pure heat wafted off of his skin, and smoke rose from his feet. His eyes burned light miniature suns or the center of a volcano, and, to his and Hera's surprise, a snarl rose from his lips.

Apparently that anger hadn't actually left him, go figure.

His beard began to flicker with embers and crackle like an open fire, and he allowed himself to embrace his anger this time around," Do not dare and try to say what you know. You do not know just the degree of pure awfulness you've been to only me. You commit such a heinous act to one of your own, to your own CHILD! And do not try and apologize, you do not try and speak with me, you do not try and fix the mistake you made. You did not even raise me. I did not know who the Hades you were until I was told by Hestia! I even tried to win back your favor by protecting you from Zeus's deplorable and insulting advances, only to be thrown off again which caused this!" He indicated to his now metal leg which was whirring and clanking with steam pouring out of it in order to adjust to the extremely high temperatures it was being put under due to Hephaestus's anger," You did not do a Gods damned thing about it either. I had to limp back to Olympus, and was only accepted back because I was now useful to you all. And through it all, all of my trials, you just sat back and watched my miserable life unfold."

Hera visibly flinched back, as if struck, by the words he spat at her and her expression became even more sorrow-filled. Her shoulders drooped as if a heavy weight now sat upon them, and her face flipped from its once youthful image to that of a weathered woman with more problems than what was deemed healthy. She stumbled back and reached for the long lounge chair that was behind her, and sat down on it heavily. Her arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and she just sat there.

Hephaestus opened his mouth to release more of his anger at the woman who ruined his life before it could even be classified as one, the woman who he could honestly say was one of the only people he ever hated in his entire life, but was stuck speechless with no more words on his lips as gazed upon the weathered woman before him. His righteous anger left him, and he was stuck just standing there feeling nothing. He looked at the woman who he should be yelling at, screaming at for what she did to him. He should be yelling at her about just how much of a shitty life he had and how it was her fault. About the loneliness he felt when he was thrown off of Olympus for the second time, about the pain he felt physically and emotionally, about the betrayal he felt when she turned his back on him all those years ago. He should be yelling at her for having the audacity to try and bring him here and demand from him why he hadn't told her of his relationship with Kushina.

But none of that was there.

The heat coming from his body dimmed, the smoke lessened, and his leg stopped whirring from him calming down considerably. At this moment in time all he felt at the woman who he willingly called Queen and nothing more was…empathy.

Empathy or pity, he really couldn't tell.

He looked at Hera from where she now sat, and saw the slight shake of her shoulders and hiccups that came from her. She was crying. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, crying was something he never learned to deal with, mostly due to him living in isolation and having little to no interaction with other living beings. He heard murmurings coming from her, and, against his better judgment, stepped closer to hear what she was murmuring at the floor.

As he got closer his ears picked up what she was saying,"-orry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

That stilled him for a moment before his iron will stamped on the feeling and left him standing there. Her apologizing persisted on for longer and longer still until he decided enough was enough," Stop apologizing! It's getting annoying," He added the second part under his breath, too low for her to hear

Her head shot up and Hephaestus hid the wince from seeing the bags under her eyes and redness in them from crying. She sniffled a little and asked," And why should I gods damnit?! All of my life has been mistake after mistake concerning my family and my relationship. Most of you aren't even my own children except for Ares and you, and that is where I am the worst. With my own blood!" She cried," My own flesh and blood h-hate me! One's a blood hungry maniac who doesn't even see me as anything more than that lady who stand next to Zeus, the bastard, and the other would rather live with Cyclopes alone than bare to even look at his own mother for what she did to him! For Olympus's sake I turned my back on you, my own son! That's not what a mother is supposed to do!" She looked up at the roof before looking him in the eye with her own filled with regret and sadness and whispers," It used to hurt me so much, every single day, to see you as you are and to have the only person to blame for it being…me," She managed out before sobs rose once more from her throat.

Her hand rose to cover her mouth and took a sharp breath in, halting her tears for the moment before looking at him once more and continuing," I have done nothing, but wrong you for your entire life, and have done naught a thing to try and fix it. Maybe it was because of my own fear of one of my only sons truly hating me, but that is no excuse for all of the pain you had to endure. And now all I'm left with is an empty heart and a broken family."

This was not at all anything he had been expecting when he realized he was in Hera's chambers. He had given up any chance of him receiving any sort of an apology from her, but to actually hear the admittance come from her mouth in this form was…strange and unexpected. In his mind he had doubts of her actually telling the truth, but if the one thing he knew about Hera was that she never ever wished to look vulnerable in front of anybody. She was a lady who demanded respect from any and all who knew her, and would be satisfied by nothing less. That is why as he looked at her in the fragile state she willingly set herself in, in front of him of all people, he felt that what she was telling him was the gods honest truth.

I just know I'm going to regret this. Hephaestus ran a hand over his bald head and sighed deeply. As he thought about it, maybe it was due to the past few decades of his life and his recent relationship with Kushina that he found himself acting differently than he would have before.

He began, "Her name was Kushina and…"


Time skip 3 Years.

"FIRE!"

At the command the Roman Artillery unleashed their ammunition upon the deathly black walls of Mount Othrys, headquarters of the Titans. For the past three years the fragile peace there once was destroyed with the resurrection of the King of the Titans, Kronos. With his mysterious, to the Romans, return the balance of power between Gods and Monsters shifted, and the Gods were pushed onto their back foot. As it were the Gods did not have the manpower to combat each threat the plagued them during what was being dubbed the Second Olympian War. The threats of the terrible children of Ouranos and Gaia, backed with the seemingly limitless supply of monsters, and irrefutably the most fearsome monster of them all, Typhon. These threat painted a bleak picture for the Gods and their place on Olympus. Their reign seemed to be at its end, it all seemed hopeless.

That was where they came in.

Demigods. The children of the very Gods who were now in peril, were now tasked with becoming the backbone of this war. They would be the ones taking the brunt of it all, fighting in the name of Olympus. Their numbers would counter that of the monsters' and give the Gods a chance to do what they had to. They would become what was going to change the tide in this war.

But even amongst themselves, there were those who believed that the Gods' time was done and over. Those were the thoughts of the unwanted, the forgotten, demigods who never got the chance to find out who and what they were. They blamed the Gods for all the wrong they had experienced in their lives, and joined the side of the Titans. It was cruel having to strike down another human being, someone who could've been your brother or sister if the right choices were made, but that was the reality.

For the past three years they were given no reprieve. The monsters seemed to have a limitless reservoir of things to throw at them, but they were driven back time and time again. With them being Roman, they were trained for times like these, but it didn't stop it from taking its toll on them. Some crumbled under the pressure and retired, others died in battle, but some flourished under the flames of battle.

Three in particular.

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, and Naruto Uzumaki son of Vulcan. These three demigods became somewhat legendary during the past three years. They each were powerful, and literally changed the tide of several battles. Some monsters even fled when faces with one of them, tartarous forbid all three. Together these three were unstoppable. It did not matter what Cohort they were from, they were just that good. Young they may've been, but their skills more than made up for it.

It was early August when the Praetors were told by the Gods to strike a fatal blow to the Titan army. What were they ordered to do? They were meant to storm the Titan's base, Mount Othrys, and destroy it. They were to take 200 of their best demigods to take the mountain and destroy the Titan's base.

So 200 demigods from Camp Jupiter were chosen, the trio included, and they marched on the Mountain (which wasn't that far due to it being located in the same city as the camp). Once the mountain in range they were immediately under attack by the monsters that defended the base. The initial force of monsters were repelled and forced into a retreat, giving the Roams enough time to set up their artillery. They most likely were not expecting such a force to be banging on their door, as it seemed a little too easy.

Way too easy.

BOOM! CRASH!

The walls of Mount Othrys cracked and crumbled under the heavy fire, and Naruto could smell the fire and smoke in the air. He himself was covered in a layer of golden dust from the monsters he had destroyed. To his right stood his best friend and brother in all but blood, Jason grace who was staring ahead at the black fortress they were meant to destroy. The past three years had been something else. They had lost a lot. Tyler had died a year ago defending the younger kids in the from a Hellhound raid. Naruto and Jason arrived too late and found him dead without his left arm sitting in a pile of golden dust, and the younger kids hiding in the storage closest with the door locked.

It was after that day he and Jason picked up their training in earnest, somehow getting Reyna to participate as well, and allowing the three to become close friends. After the funeral, Jason was elected Centurion of the Fifth Cohort to fill the space Tyler left open, and Reyna was elected as one of the Centurions for the First Cohort as well. From there skirmishes to full on battles occurred one after the other and week after week for the demigods of Camp Jupiter. Over the course he had grown substantially. He now stood at 5 foot 9 and was well muscled across his entire body. He switched up his battle gear too.

He now wore a dark red long-sleeved undershirt. Atop of the shirt were pieces of armor that covered his chest, back, shoulders, forearms, and elbows. The pieces were sewn onto the undershirt and were interconnected almost like an exo-skeleton. On his legs he wore black straight legged pants that ended close to his foot, and had knee pads and shin guards also colored black. His red hair had grown even longer, and Naruto was now having to pull it back into a ponytail in order to keep it out of his eyes. On his right shoulder, engraved in gold, was the symbol of his father, Vulcan, and on his left shoulder in red was the Uzumaki swirl, the symbol of his mother.

In his hands were his distinct tonfa, but instead of them being dulled, they were now bladed. Where there were once just blunted ends were now sharp blades. Like the color of the tonfa, the blades were also different. The red one held a polished black blade with a jagged edge, while the blue one held a sharp gleaming silver blade. They were absolutely perfect in their design, but one thing kept nagging him about them.

They did not have a name.

All great weapons had a name, or at least that's what his dad told him. Once a weapon had a name it, and the wielder, became undeniably bad ass. It also just seemed like the right thing to do for the tonfa. They were his main weapons of choice, besides his fists, and he didn't see that changing any time soon.

"FIRE!"

VWOOSH! BOOM!

His train of thought was derailed as the next salvo of artillery was let loose, and impacted against the heaven-reaching walls and towers. The dark colored walls cracked and gained scorch marks upon their walls.

Naruto watched the damage, but his attention was quickly taken as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Jason, who, in the three years, did not change much. His blonde hair stayed short and a little spiky, and while his features matured, they essentially stayed the same sharp features as before. The only other difference was the helmet he wore, as the plume now depicted his new rank of Centurion.

Jason flashed a smile at his best-friend, receiving one in return, before it was replaced by a look of focus and determination.

"It's time to get this done," He said aloud to Naruto.

Naruto nodded his head, and shook out all of the pre-battle jitters that plagued him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit nervous, he had heard the tales of Mount Othrys and seeing it in real life blew whatever image he created clean out of the water. The fortress, as there is no better term for it, even had the dark circling clouds above it like those evil castles you see in movies. Everything about it put his senses on edge, and it didn't help that they knew next to nothing about what they would be facing inside. It was a surprise to all of them that the resistance was this soft so far.

It made him wonder where the Titans actually were.

Naruto gave a side glance to his friend and asked," What do you think is in there, cuz you know as well as I do that this can't be all there is," He turned and faced his friend front on," Where are the Titans that got all of Olympus all worked up? They couldn't be that stupid to leave their main base defended with a few subpar monsters?"

Jason furrowed his brow as well," I know. This entire thing is giving me a bad feeling," he shrugged," but I'm not going to complain if this is just going to be easy for us," He shook his head," Come on, whatever is in there we can handle. The Gods wouldn't task this to us if they didn't think we could handle it," Jason padded his friend on the shoulder one more time before turning forward, face in complete seriousness, and moving up to the front with the other selected leaders, the Centurion of the First Cohort, Centurion of the Third Cohort, and the two Praetors.

Naruto took one last glance at the shadowy fortress, before falling in line next to Gwen, who was chosen along with himself. She flashed him a quick smile that he reciprocated.

One of the Praetors, a daughter of Vesta and not too shabby with sword from what he'd seen, raised her sword in the air, making everybody silent. She then dropped her hand, and began marching forward.

Her counterpart, a legacy of Mars, bellowed," Forward!" and began marching next to the daughter of Vesta with Jason and the Centurions of the First and Second Cohort marching a few feet behind them. As one the 200 Roman demigods marched their way up to Mount Othrys, the sounds of their footfall creating a deep bass in the otherwise silent area.

Methodically they scaled upwards to their destination. As they got higher the visibility got worse, but they continued on. Naruto grew a small grimace on his face. They had to be getting close, and they had met no resistance yet. No Hellhounds, no empousai, no Cyclopes, no nothing, and that made him worry.

"Be on your guard here. There is something going on in this place. It smells of cold, reptiles, and ozone," Naruto heard the Kyuubi say.

Naruto was puzzled at what the Kyuubi said. What could possib-

THWACK

"BRYCE!"

THWACK

It was like everything slowed down. Before Naruto could even react he saw two arrows appear in the throats of the two Praetors. Like a house of cards the two collapsed to the ground, red liquid spurting from their necks from the puncture wound. He saw them futilely clutch at their throats, their own minds not processing what had happened before it was too late.

"Tetsudo formation!" Jason's voice rang through his ears.

Everything came back to him in an instant, and he became on guard. The Roman demigods around him snapped into their missile protection formation, front row lowered shields to the ground while the rest raised theirs above their heads. He would mourn the two now dead Praetors after this was all over, he had to see where those arrows came from. He strained his eyes to see through the fog, but it was too thick. He raised his tonfa in a defensive position. There were bound to be more where those came from.

He was right in his assumption. His keen eyes caught the arrow speeding towards him, and he swung at it, snapping it in half. He was ready for more arrows to be loosed in their direction, but strangely no more came. In their place came hissing. Cautiously the demigods looked past their shield to see what was making the hissing sound.

The fog was swept backwards until it all disappeared to reveal what awaited them. His eyes widened at the sight. Literally hundreds of Scythian dracanae stood there, all armed with sharp double headed axes, halberds, sword and shield, or dual swords. They stood there, hissing and sitting at them, weapons held ready to cut them to pieces. Their two reptilian legs, or tails, writhed in anticipation, ready for battle. Naruto felt a drip of cold sweat slide down his face, and he gulped down the lump that had formed. He felt a shiver run down his body, and a cold feeling overcame him.

He readied his tonfa, something else was coming.

A chill suddenly overcame him, which had never happened to him before due to the Kyuubi and his own unnatural body heat. He breathed through his nose, releasing an acute amount of his chakra, and heating his body back to normal. He glanced to his left and saw the shivers Gwen was trying to not let affect her, but he knew better. He quickly surveyed all of the demigods around them and saw that they were all affected by the sudden chill. He saw the minute shivers that ran across their muscles like electrical currents, and decided to do something about it.

Unlike his chakra, which could only heat himself up due to it being attuned only to himself, his godly side was able to effect outwards as well. And since his father held volcanos in his domain, that made his godly energy hot.

Very hot.

He pulled at his godly energy, feeling its warm touch, and pushed it outwards. He felt it release outwards, but held it contained to just circulate himself. His body gained a light crimson hue, and his muscles flexed and tensed at the use. Like a warm summer breeze, he saw the effects immediately. The demigods stopped shivering and refocused their attention back to the hundreds of dracanae in front of them.

The dracanae began to move, and they all prepared for their charge, but instead of moving forward, the hundreds of dracanae split right down the middle, almost in fear. Down the makeshift aisle walked an absolutely massive figure. Naruto could feel with each step the behemoth took, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees more. He saw the trail of icy flakes and mist the creature left in its wake, and as it got closer, it shrunk and its identity was revealed.

"Hmm, you demigods have causing me more trouble than it's worth, but I expected this to happen after all," The creature said in a matter-of-fact manner. His orotund voice leveled out in a deep baritone, and his breath left his mouth in a frosty mist.

It was Koios, Titan god of intelligence, foresight, and Lord of the North.

He stood at an intimidating eight and a half feet tall, and was built like a lumberjack. His skin was a pale blue, and his eyes were a blue-white as cold as a glacier. On his face he had a beard the same color as his eyes that constantly dropped large snowflakes he guessed were only a little smaller than his own fist, and his face was marked with a multitude of scars, some big some small. His tree trunk like arms were behind his back and his feet were squared forward like an army general would stand. His chin was round, and his jawline looked like it had been chiseled out of ice. He stood ramrod straight, making himself seem even taller than he was.

He was draped in elaborate pale black armor, Stygian Iron was what his mind was telling him, with a single diamond in the breastplate blazing like a star from the sky. His helmet was formed like a bear's head, and the eyes on it seemed to be staring into him particularly. On his back lie the biggest piece of weaponry he had ever laid his eyes on. The sword was massive and looked to be the size of a surfboard. It was all black, probably being made out of Stygian Iron as well, with pale ice crackling across its length. It was from that sword that Naruto could feel nothing, but pure frigid cold.

Utter silence enveloped the soon to be battleground at the appearance of the Titan, and Naruto could see some of the demigods slackened with disbelief or shifting with unease.

The Titan unlatched his hands from his back and pointed a finger in their direction.

Or to be more specific, at Jason.

The Titan's clear voice rang out," You. You lead this assault, spawn of Zeus," His pale lips opened a little, like he just realized something, before speaking again," Ah, not Zeus. That's the other one. You are a son of Jupiter, are you not?"

Jason shivered at the feeling of having the Titan's finger being just pointed in his direction, but he stamped it down and relished in the feeling of his energy running through him. Without a mental command he stood up, and addressed the Titan," Yes, my dad is Jupiter, but no I do not le-,"

"DO NOT try and correct me half-blood filth!" the Titan's voice cut Jason off in a sudden exclamation," You, who is lower than even the monsters next to me, hold no authority nor merit to even begin to speak to me like an equal. I am the Titan of intelligence as well as foresight, do not try and correct me," he finished.

He pointed again, but this time it was not at Jason, but at him and Reyna. Naruto felt an unnatural force overtake his muscles in a cold iron grip, and try and force him to move forward. Suddenly a quick burst of the Kyuubi's own chakra broke the hold the Titan had onto him. Naruto stopped abruptly, still reeling from the sudden clash of energies within his own body.

Wha-

A guttural snarl came from the Kyuubi," Do not let him get ahold of you again," was all he heard before he felt the connection fade away once more.

The Titan turned his frigid stare onto him, but this time Naruto could not feel the cold. He stepped forward and he yelled," What's the big idea trying to control me, huh?!"

Koios raised an unseen eyebrow, the boy breaking free from the mental suggestion he had placed was not something he predicted. Nevertheless, he had garnered the attention of the ones he wanted. He had foreseen these three to be the biggest problems, but ultimately deemed them not a threat. They might be children of some the more powerful gods, but they were not them.

Completely ignoring the question yelled at him he spoke," You three, son of Jupiter, daughter of Bellona, and son of Vulcan, have become a thorn in the side of Kronos's army," he reached for the giant sword on his back," and he has tasked me the duty of removing you," He gripped the handle and began to pull," Trash such as you do not deserve to feel the touch of my blade, but out of my respect for Kronos," He pulled the blade from his back and pointed it towards the three," I'll make an exception this time," He slashed downward with his sword in a show of power, and the air could be seen splitting in half," You, dracanae, kill the rest, but do not touch those three."

At this the Titan began walking forward while the hundreds of dracanae began to charge, more like half slithered half ran, them hissing and spitting curses.

Naruto moved forward to stand next to Jason and Reyna, who wore similar looks of alarm and trepidation, and he was sure his own face mirrored theirs. They had just been told that a Titan was going to go out of his way to kill them. Naruto gripped his tonfa in a white knuckled grip, he had no plans to die by some overgrown snowman.

The dracanae got closer, and so did Koios.

"I don't know about you two, but getting killed by frosty over there is not something I planned for to happen," He joked aloud to the two of them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a little bit of the trepidation leave them at his attempt at alleviating the weight of the situation.

Jason chuckled a little and Reyna smirked a little as she spoke," Only you could joke at a time like this, Naruto."

They got closer.

Jason twirled his sword, a trick he learned and mastered, and smirked," But what he said goes for me too. Thanks for that Naruto. I almost got cold feet, Get it?"

They were only a few meters away now, and the dracanae split into two halves, making sure they wouldn't run into the three Koios deemed for himself.

Reyna tightened the grip she held on her spear, and hoisted her shield in front of her, and shook her head in amusement," That was utterly horrible, Grace."

Naruto groaned and shook his own head at the terrible pun," Come on man, I thought we talked about you and your puns?" He twirled his tonfa, and held his arms up next to head as a boxer would and turned his gaze onto the towering figure before them.

Jason just smirked, hoisted his own shield, and readied his gladius," Come on guys don't be so cold."

Their groans were lost in the sound of the opposing sides clashing in a cacophony of colliding metal, grunts, and hissing.

The trio charged at the Titan with Jason at the head, but Naruto was the one to attack first. He pushed chakra into his amrs increasing their strength, and leaped at the Titan. His unorthodox move was unprepared for if the widened eyes of the Titan was anything to go by. As a result, an attempt at any defense failed, and Naruto's slash across the jaw sliced across the Titan's face. He landed behind Koios in a crouch, and spun around on the balls of his feet. He twirled the tonfa in his right hand, and jabbed out at Koios's back leg with the blunt side of his tonfa. The powerful jab bent the knee forward, and staggered the Titan.

Jason followed next, and bashed his shield against the Titan's knee, feeling something give way and earning an alarmed cry of pain. He jabbed at the nearest arm with his gladius, but the Stygian armor held, and his gladius bounced off. The failed attempt allowed the Titan to regain some of his bearing, and he swung a fist in Jason's direction. The fist barreled toward him like a freight train, but his reflexes were enough and he rolled under it.

Dashing in after Jason's failed jab, Reyna swung around to the side of the jarred Titan, and took advantage of the unarmored underarm the Titan exposed when he swung at Jason. She thrust upwards with her spear, carving a gash into the Titan's armpit and earning yet another yell of pain from the Titan. She pulled back her spear, which was now bathed in golden ichor, but had to roll away from the backhand strike that came at her.

During Reyna's assault on Koios, Naruto continued his own by slashing the Achilles tendons of the Titan, furthing his crippled state. His danger instincts flared, and he had to duck under the blast of frigid icicles that came from the Titan's back. He dashed underneath the now kneeling Titan, and came back up in front of his face. He held up the royal blue Tonfa and channeled his chakra into it, now he had to get the Titan to look at him.

"Hey! Jack Frost!" He hollered right in the face of the Titan.

Koios snarled rabidly, and looked at the half-blood who gave him yet another scar on his face.

Naruto smiled at him," Gotcha."

The Titan with control over the entire north suddenly began to feel uneasy, and woozy. He knew something was up, as the arrogant blonde with the insufferable smile on his face became three, and then five.

Naruto smirked even wider when the Titan groaned, and dropped his giant broadsword onto the ground, leaving himself wide open for attack.

Just when he was getting ready to attack a blast of cold air blasted him off of his feet and onto his back a few meters away. He landed with a thud, and groaned at the dull pain in his back. He heard two similar groans to his left and right, and realized that Jason and Reyna were in similar situations. Naruto gathered himself up as quickly as he could, and stood set himself in a defensive position. If he was still able to send them back with a blast in the state he was in, they needed to not let him get any type of offense flowing.

The trio exchanged a look, and Reyna was the one to speak up," We need some way to knock him out, and keep him down. We can't kill him, and the Gods are the only ones with the power to banish him back into Tartarus."

Jason kept a wary eye on the trying-to-recuperate Titan, and added," I can summon a lightning bolt on him, but after that I'd be done for the day, and we don't know if he has some sort of plan b hidden still inside of the fortress."

The other two nodded in agreement. They had him on the ropes, but didn't have the fire power to put him down for good. They needed something with enough fire power to put him down for good, or at least capture him.

Naruto saw the Titan begin to rise and notified the other two, breaking them from their thoughts," Well, we can think of a plan later. We need to keep him on the ropes."

He got two determined nods before the trio rushed into battle once more with the godly level being.

Koios staggered up, a thin but deep line across the bridge of his nose oozing golden fluid, and snarled that kind of snarl that seemed like between a wolf and a lion. He grabbed his sword once more, his anger allowing him to regain his senses.

"You impudent half-breeds! I will wipe you from this plane of existence!" He yelled at them.

He swiped his sword at them, sending a blast of frigid air that was dodged quickly. Naruto again took the lead, and instead of leaping at the Titan, he took a normal route. He reinforced his arms with chakra, and deflected the blow from the great sword upwards leaving the Titan's midsection exposed. Jason followed, and took advantage of this. He bull rushed the Titan with his shield up and rammed it straight into his belly. This knocked the wind out of Koios, but did not stagger him. Jason rolled under the Titan, and jammed his shield into his calf trying to hurt his legs even further but he did not have Naruto's unnatural strength. Koios did not even feel the blow, and Jason was unprepared for the icicle that slammed into his chest with the force of a sledgehammer.

After Jason was blasted away, Reyna and Naruto attacked either side of Koios. Koios swung his sword downward at Naruto, but his enhanced strength was able to deflect the blow away. As a testament to the Titan's mastery of the sword, an even quicker slash came cutting towards Naruto who had no time to dodge. He crossed his arms, and braced for impact.

CLANG

The sword connected with his tonfa, and Naruto was sent into the air as a result. He slid across the ground, and had to bite his tongue to not scream out in pain. He looked down at his arms, and could see that they were bent at an unnatural angle. He hissed in pain as he heard the bones reset themselves, and begin healing due to the Kyuubi's chakra. He knew he was no good until his arms were completely healed, so he took this time to think of a plan to keep this Titan down.

Reyna huffed as she ducked under yet another deceptively quick swipe of that absurdly giant sword. Honestly, who needed such a large sword? She rolled under yet another strike, and saw an opening for her to thrust her spear into the side of his leg. Her attack failed to even scratch the unnatural armor the Titan wore, and she cursed under breath as she backed off in an effort to regain her breath. Oh how she wanted to wipe that stupid grin of his stupid face.

"Are you getting tired there, half-breed?" His arrogant voice asked," Those two aren't here to help you."

As much as she hated to admit it, she did not hold the destructive power Naruto and Jason did. Yes, she could more times than not kick their butts six ways to Sunday in a straight up sword fight, but when you included the other stuff, there was no contest. She could hear Naruto groaning in pain behind, and she couldn't see Jason due to the Titan's bulk. She felt the air around her turn even colder, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Koios's sword began to glow an unnatural pale blue, and his eyes and the diamond in his breastplate responded in kind to the rise in power. The ground around his feet cracked, and icicle rose into existence from his power alone. She could feel the heavy pressure his monstrous power in the air, and it made it hard to breathe. She began to lose feeling in her limbs, as if she was frozen in an entire block of ice. Her breaths came in shorts gasps for air, and her breath came out in short huffs. She could see the frost edging up onto her shield and spear, slowly moving towards her like icy fingers reaching for her throat.

This was the power of a Titan. This was what they had to face. This was unreal.

Koios laughed boastfully," So long, demi-god!"

He brought his sword downwards into a heavy two handed strike that cratered the ground it impacted against. From his sword came an engulfing wave of pale energy that carved through the ground, uplifting dirt, rock, and whatever else was in its way leaving a fissure that was frozen solid in its wake.

Jason, who finally regained his bearings, saw the crescent shaped attack travelling towards his friend with despair and desperately cried out to her," REYNA!"

Naruto made it back to his feet, but his arms dangled uselessly from there sockets. He had to sit and watch the entire exchange, as he came to the conclusion that nothing short of God or something with similar power would be able to take that thing down. He knew what he had to do, and was prepared to before it all went down shit's creek when that surfboard Koios called a sword began to glow.

As it got closer he whispered," No."

THU-THUMP

His muscles flexed, as he pulled onto the only power source he knew would be able to get him there in time. Damn the consequences. It got closer, ripping into the ground as it went.

"No."

THU-THUMP THU-THUMP

He began running. Faster. His quadriceps pushed and pulled, as they abided to their master's will. Powered by unearthly power. His hair grew shaggier, and the ponytail it was in blew apart. His canines grew longer, sharper, and the whisker marks on his face darkened.

In a more guttural voice," No!"

THU-THUMP THU-THUMP THU-THUMP

His legs pumped like steam pistons, as he got closer and closer. It bubbled out of him like a fresh wave of lava, but he didn't even feel it. He was locked onto one single thing. Faster damnit! It cloaked his body, covering his body. Around his eyes black lines encircled them, enhancing their vision. His vision changed, as his pupils became slit, and his eyes were imbued with the same power as the rest of his body. His hair stood on end, making it into a blood red mane. His nails were forcefully grown until they resembled claws that looked like they'd cut you if you stared at them for too long. He was getting closer, but so was it. He had to make it, he had to, and there were no alternatives.

"NO!"

He yelled, reaching for her, digging deep for something, anything to grab his friend, and he felt something come from his hand. He felt whatever it was dig into the ground, and he pulled himself with it. He tensed his muscles, and flared his chakra cloak, forming two thick, bubbly arms to form out in front of him. A half second later the Titan's attack connected, and the world erupted into white. It was a second of aching pain, and then complete darkness.


Reyna could do nothing but watch as the thing ripped and roared its way towards her, tearing up the ground in a terrible show of power. She knew even with her enhanced reflexes, she could not dodge it. It was coming too fast. Her mind went into a state of peace. She could hear nothing but her own heartbeat and breathing. In her mind she thought of the short but tough early life that formed her into the girl she was.

She thought about her older sister, and realized she'd most likely never get to see her again and thank her for all she had done for the two of them. She remembered the day she fully entered the camp, and her first meeting with Jason Grace which wasn't a pretty one for sure, and realized she'd never get the chance to actually apologize to him for her foul behavior towards him because of her own petty jealousy. She remembered the past three years, and how she formed unbreakable bonds with the two boys she wouldn't trade for the world, and realized that she would miss the laughs, the training sessions, and Naruto and his uncanny ability to get her to laugh at the oddest things.

In the back of her mind she swore she could hear Jason's voice call out her name, but it fell quickly as she gazed at her approaching doom. Lastly, she remembered the voice of her mother singing her a lullaby back when she was younger on the days she couldn't sleep, and realized how she would never actually get to meet her in person.

A lone tear dropped from her eye before she closed them for what she believed to be for the last time.

"NO!"

The world exploded into white.

.

.

.

.

.

"Open your eyes my dear daughter. It is not your time yet."

Dark brown eyes snapped open in shock.

Mom?


Jason's eyes blurred as tears rose in them, as the attack landed with an explosion of shards of ice and snow. His heart felt like it had been crushed, as it tried to hold onto the barest possibility that his friend could still be alive after that, but his logical side knew better. He doubted a God would've taken such an attack.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The laugh brought his attention back, and with it anger. Pure fury bubbled through his veins, and he let it empower him. He slowly stood up, shield forgotten, and gladius in hand. Electricity sparked along his arms, and across his body. He grabbed at his inner power, and dark clouds rolled in. The wind whipped up, but this one was not frigid. The clouds became a dark gray and rumbled with a deep base. His eyes became blue lightning, as he screamed in rage and despair at what was just taken from him. He raised his gladius to the sky and prayed to his father aloud.

"If you can hear me, lend me the strength to strike this Titan down where it stands!"

Thunder boomed overhead, but nothing happened. He growled in anger, out of all times to not be listening.

"Oh, it would seem as if your father is not listening to you now child. Perhaps he can't hear you. By now Kronos would've been done cutting your Olympians into pieces. He's probably sitting in the throne as we speak," Koios taunted.

Jason seethed in anger, but he could do nothing as he garnered no response from the sky or his father.

"Your Gods have been defeated, half-breed," He raised his sword," and now it is your turn."

Hot, angry tears ran down his face, as he realized the situation he was in. He fell to his knees in despair, and began to sob. There was no way for him to defeat this Titan, he had nothing.

"Do not fret, young demi-god. Us Gods were just wrapping things up."

CLANG

The sound of two sword colliding met Jason's ears, and when he looked up, he gaped in disbelief. She wore dark black armor with red and gold highlights. She wore no helmet so he could see that her hair was inky black and cut short. She had her back to him, but he could tell she was around the same height as Koios. In her hand she held a broadsword as big as he was tall, and a round shield. She was locked in a stalemate of strength with the Titan. His breath caught in his throat, he knew who she was.

This was the Goddess Bellona, Roman goddess of War, and Reyna's mom.

In a show of strength she pushed the Titan away from her, and began a sword fight with him. Jason was utterly speechless, as the two Godly beings showed skill he had never seen before. The strength behind the blows were nothing to scoff at either. The air was displaced whenever their swords collided, and the ground was uprooted and destroyed. It was amazing.

He was hit with a flash of realization. He couldn't just sit there all day. He had to finish what they all started. He turned around, grabbing his gladius, and ran towards the shadowy fortress that was Mount Othrys. With his back to her he missed the quick look Bellona sent him, before she charged at the Titan with a war cry.

Jason entered Mount Othrys, and if he wasn't about to wreck the place, he would admire the craftsmanship of it all, but he refocused on the pitch black throne that sat before him, and the figure that sat in it.

He had broad shoulders, and his black armor looked like he was wearing the night sky itself. His helmet was shaped like a ram's with horns extending out and around it. His skin was pitch black, and if it wasn't for his glowing, all white eyes, Jason would've assumed it was an empty suit of armor.

"So, I would assume that you were able to make it past my brother?" He stood from the seat, standing shorter than Koios, but still topping out at around seven feet. He unsheathed his sword, a massive sword, similar to Koios's, and pointed it at him," I am the Titan of the Stars and Constellation, and Lord of the South, but today I am your executioner young half-breeds."

Jason, despite the previous battle with a Titan did not fear the one before him. No, this time he felt a sense of confidence. He felt revitalized, and ready. His vision became sharper, and he gripped his gladius reassuringly. He felt like he could beat this guy. He charged the Titan, deflecting the opening swipe at him, and countered with a jab across the belly of the Titan. His attacked earned a cry of pain from the Titan, as his midsection began to drip with golden blood. Jason smiled dangerously at the wound he was able to deal the Titan, and twirled his sword.

Stars and constellation didn't sound so tough.