11. Digressing And Side Questing

I was shaken awake by Annabeth when we were coming in for landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. I stretched my arms even as I noticed the monster Thunderstorm was nowhere around us and I said "How long did the storm last?"

"About an hour after you fell asleep. I guess Zeus got tired of trying to knock us out of the sky." Annabeth said and I smirked as I said "Yeah well, that's what happens when you try to take down an aircraft that's protected by a seal master." Standing up in order to stretch some more, I clicked on my radio and said "Andrew, how long do you think we are going to be in Detroit?"

"That'll be up to you Naruto. Los Angeles is a good one thousand nine hundred and eighty four miles from here. At cruise speed that's easily fourteen and a half hours nonstop, which normally a Chinook couldn't do but thanks to your seals we can. Sunset is in four. It'll take roughly an hour and a half for the engine parts to be brought from their factory and loaded. After that we can either continue on course and take shifts throughout the night or wait till morning. Like I said, it's your call, but I would go with waiting until tomorrow."

"Noted. David, do you feel the same?" I asked as I gave one last twist of my back groaning in relief as I felt the joints all pop.

"I do. We still have nine days before you need to be back in the Big Apple. No need to rush right out of the gate." David said as the Chinook's wheels touched ground and I saw the two began flicking switches as the rotors overhead began to slow down.

I absentmindedly shrugged and said "Then that's what we'll do. You guys want any help with the parts?"

"Nah, we'll let the loaders handle it. It's their job after all." Andrew said as he began bringing the chopper inside their designated Hangar. Once inside, the two pilots fully shut down the Chinook and exited the cockpit. We joined them at the exterior hatch and followed them out once the door lowered. As Andrew began talking with the mechanic who had walked over to discuss if any maintenance was needed, David began talking with a much more well-dressed man about acquiring lodgings for the night.

I wasn't paying any attention to that though since as soon as the Chinook's hatch had opened, I had sensed something aggressive in the air and the hairs on the back of my neck was beginning to stand up as I looked around trying to find the source. Annabeth noticed and frowned as she said "What is it?" Her question drew Grover's attention and he frowned when he saw the look on my face and began sniffing the air.

I shrugged as I said "I'm not sure, it just feels like the air around us is pissed off for some reason."

"Well we did just get through a massive thunderstorm without any problems." Annabeth pointed out but I shook my head and said "That's not it. This feels like it's coming from someone other than the guy upstairs."

Before Annabeth of Grover could respond to that, David came over with the Airport representative and said "Alright, I've got us one of the airport's bigger rooms to spend the night in. there's two queen sized beds and the sofa folds out so we have enough space for everyone. Naruto, you and Grover well be sharing one of the beds while Andrew and I will take the other. That leaves the couch to you Annabeth. Now, since we won't be leaving until tomorrow morning, who wants Outback?"

All four of our stomachs choose that moment to growl much to Annabeth and Grover's embarrassment and to David and my amusement. We chuckled at the sound and the airport representative had a grin on his face as he said "I think that would be all of you sir. Enjoy your night out sir."

David thanked the man and led us back over to Andrew to ask if he wanted to join us. One cab ride later, we were seated at a table in the closest Steakhouse ordering our entrees. The next hour and a half was spent with Andrew and David telling us about their time in the Air Force and all of the crazy missions they had flown as well as some of the men they had served with. I returned the favor by describing some of the ninja who I had both worked with and had serve under me back when I was in the Elemental Nations. A hour later, we were walking out of the restaurant's doors laughing about the time one of David's squad mates had dumped a bucket of ice on him at three o'clock in the morning.

Our laughter was cut short though when the oppressive feeling I had felt before came back as the loud roar of a motorcycle filled the air. A few seconds later a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pulled into the restaurant's parking lot and rolled towards us. I rose an eyebrow as I studied the machine coming towards us. Its headlight glared red, the gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather-but leather looked like… well, Caucasian human skin. Then there was the driver.

This guy would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen-and I had seen a lot of them, believe me-with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. However, the face had the same features as those from cabin five. This, coupled with the now oppressive atmosphere gave me a very good idea as to who and what was in front of me. As the man dismounted his bike and walked to stand in front of me, I crossed my arms and said "Ares, god of war, I would never peg you as a steakhouse kind of guy. What are you doing here?"

Andrew and David stared at Ares in surprise while said god lifted an eyebrow as he grinned and said "Oh ho, you already know who I am. Sharp little knife aren't you?" The eyebrow dropped back down as he said "I've got a little proposition for you kid."

I rose an eyebrow of my own as I said "What proposition?"

"I need you to do me a favor. You see, I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little…date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

My eyebrow stayed raised and my arms crossed as I said "And what small detail are you leaving out that prevents you from retrieving it yourself? I was a shinobi in my former life Ares, I can tell you're not giving me important mission details. Actually no, let me take a guess. It is no secret that you and Aphrodite are having an affair. It is also no secret that Hephaestus takes great pleasure in catching you two at it whenever he can. With that in mind, he must have found out about your little meeting with her and set a trap that you managed to detect before it could activate. Which is why you want us to go in your stead. You're hoping we'll trip the trap ourselves. Which either means you know the trap is geared towards gods and nothing else or you want to test me for some reason and this trap is a convenient excuse to do so. So am I warm yet?"

Grover and Annabeth stared at me with slack jaws and paled faces while Andrew and David gave each other amused looks since this wasn't the first time I had metaphorically ripped the rug out from underneath a person. Ares however had a much more unusual reaction. The man threw his head back and let out a loud bellow of laughter that caused the ground to shake like there was a minor earthquake was occurring.

Then his head snapped back forward with a grin on his face as he said "You've got guts kid! And I like that! You are actually right on both points. The trap is set with gods in mind, obviously. But after hearing how well you managed to handle dear old dad's storm on the way here, I wanted to see how well you could handle a situation on the ground." His grin turned more mean as he said "So how about it kid? You get to show me what you've got, and I'll even throw in some information that could help you on this little quest of yours."

My arms dropped as I said "Well any information you could provide will certainly prove useful. That said, I'm not the only one who is doing this quest, so can you give me a moment to talk with my fellow questers?"

Ares gave a nonchalant shrug and said "By all means. Just don't take too long."

Ii nodded my thanks before I turned towards Annabeth and Grover and I drew us into a huddle as I said "What do you think guys?"

"I don't see how we cannot do this for him. I will be the first to admit I have no love for Ares but ignoring a god is a big no no for heroes unless they want that god giving them trouble later on." Annabeth said with a frown on her face.

"I agree. We really don't have a choice in doing this." Grover said while shooting a nervous look at Ares who gave a casual wave that saw him ducking his head back down. Naruto frowned when he heard Ares chuckle at that but shook it off and instead broke the huddle as he looked towards their pilots and said "Andrew, you and David can head back to the airport if you want. We'll meet you back at the hangar once we're done."

Andrew gave a salute as he said "Sure thing Naruto. Come on David let's go make sure the loaders didn't scuff the floor with their lift."

David actually growled as he said "They better not have. Richie had me clean the inside of that chopper until it sparkled just last week." The man proceeded to stalk towards the entrance of the parking lot in order to hail a cab back to the airport. Andrew chuckled at his copilot as he followed giving a jaunty wave towards us as he passed. Once the two were hopping into a cab, I turned back to Ares and said "So where is this waterpark?"

The sun was setting behind the mountains by the time we reached the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D. The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.

Looking through the fence at the sight, I couldn't help but mutter "Not the first place I'd choose for a date." Annabeth and Grover nodded before my face grew serious as I said "Well, daylight's wasting, let's get in there, find this shield and get out of here." I put actions to words and created a shadow clone before I took a running jump and cleared the fence before I landed ten feet past it. Turning around, I said "You next Grover."

Grover took a steadying breath before he shouted "Maia!" and his shoes sprouted wings. He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled on his landing. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing, grinning at me as he did and said "That wasn't so bad."

I chuckled at that before I brought my attention back to where my clone was placing himself five feet in front of the fence with his hands cupped. Annabeth looked at him unsure for a moment before a determined glint entered her eyes and she backed up to stand twenty feet from the clone. Taking a steadying breath, she seemed to count to three before she rushed towards my clone. Once she reached my clone she jumped onto his hands and he launched her into the air, easily tossing her five feet clear of the razor wire on the top of the fence and getting a shouted "Whoa!" in the process. As she came back down to the ground, I took a step forward and caught her under her shoulders minimizing the shock of her landing on the concrete. As my clone dispersed, I grinned at her and said "Now tell me that wasn't fun."

Annabeth blushed a little at how close we were even as a soft "Heh" escaped her lips. But then she sidestepped around me and began walking further into the park as if nothing had happened. I blinked as I turned my head to look at her over my shoulder before I shrugged and thought 'I'll never understand girls.' Shaking my head at the thought, I turned around and followed. Grover looked between the two of us before he fell in step with me as we searched for the Tunnel of Love.

The shadows began growing longer as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions as we went. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit? among them. I chuckled at the last one even as I kept my senses open for any monsters that would take this chance to attack us away from any unwelcome witnesses.

When we reached the Tunnel of Love, I blinked and said "Anyone else think the people who designed these rides were trying too hard?" Annabeth and Grover both nodded in agreement with me. In front of us was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl. Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover crept toward the edge and looked down. He motioned us over as he said "Guys, look." Annabeth and I joined him at the edge and we saw that marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.

"Alright, there's our objective, now we have to figure out how to get it out of there, hopefully without tripping the trap. First things first, let's see what we can figure out about this trap from up here. Grover, I want you to fly up to the top of the tunnel and tell me what you see. Try to see what kind of lanes of fire these Cupids have and if there is anything else that could potentially be used to capture someone. Annabeth, you and I are going to be checking these statues and the surrounding area up close. For now look, but don't touch. We meet up at the tunnel to discuss our preliminary finds. Here, these should help." I took out my emergency seals paper and unsealed a collection of high powered but compact hand held LED flashlights out of the emergency supplies seal and gave one to Annabeth and Grover. Grover took his flashlight with a determined look on his face before he trotted over to the tunnel and proceeded to fly to the top and began scanning the immediate area.

Annabeth took her own flashlight with a determined nod and headed clockwise while I went counterclockwise. Clicking on my flashlight and shining it on the first statue as I crouched to be closer to its level, I frowned as I saw that there was a split line running around the skull of the Cupid. The Cupid's arms also were not one solid piece if you looked closely enough but actually jointed. This and the fact that the bow string was slightly different than the rest of the bronze pointed to the fact that the bow could be drawn. At the base of the statue I saw the Greek letter Eta carved into it. Frowning at the letter, I muttered "Eta, Greek for H. Well if we didn't know this was a trap made by Hephaestus before, we know now."

Turning while still in my crouch, I played my light over the area surrounding the statue in increasing arcs. On the tenth sweep, I saw the outline of a one foot diameter circle that was finely cut in the concrete ten feet away from the statue. Another sweep from beside the circle revealed two more of the circles, one on either side twenty feet from the circle I was standing next to. Another sweep revealed nothing beyond the circles so I went back to the Cupid statue and applied chakra to my feet before I leaned over the rim of the pool and shone my light over the edge. My light hit a mirror and reflected down to land near the abandoned boat and after I saw another mirror on either side I muttered "Well now I know why those two would come here, everywhere they look they would see themselves. Talk about being vain."

I brought my light along the rim of the mirror and noticed that there was an odd shape on the back near the top of the mirror that looked like a very small hinge meaning that the mirror was covering a hole behind it. Preliminary search of the first statue complete, I moved to the second statue and checked to see if there was anything different about this one. Finding none, I moved onto the one after that and repeated the task until I came to the entrance of the tunnel where I used a chakra leap to reach the other side where Annabeth and Grover were waiting. I landed in front of them and said "What'd you guys figure out?"

"Um, the Cupids are lined up so that each one is facing another. I didn't see anything else that could shoot anything though unless all the mirrors are hiding something behind them." Grover said nervously.

Annabeth nodded as she said "There's a good chance that there is something behind the mirrors since there is a whole ring of them down there providing complete coverage around the bowl. That's where I would put whatever I was using to catch a god with. The Cupids appear to have hollow heads implying that there is something in each of them. Most likely some kind of camera to record the activation of the trap."

I nodded and said "Good observations you two. Now here's what I found. Starting with the Cupid, the head does appear to be hollow and able to be opened. Considering the point of this trap, I agree with Annabeth's thinking about those hollows holding cameras. There is the letter Eta on each statue implying that it was put there by Hephaestus as a way to mark his property. Next, the arms of the cupids actually have some hidden joints and the bow string is slightly different to the rest of the statue implying that whatever Hephaestus used in designing this trap to trap Ares and Aphrodite in the bowl, they are used either alone or in combination with whatever is behind the ring of mirrors, which have a hinge on their tops implying that there are tunnels behind them. One last thing, ten feet from the edge of the pool are circles cut into the concrete one foot in diameter. Bearing in mind the nature of this trap, I believe that there are light sources hidden under the concrete there. I did not come across any trip wires or obvious sensors implying that the trap is triggered in the boat." Looking down into the bowl, I said "Like I said, however this trap is triggered, it's down there, so I want you two to tread carefully alright?"

Getting nods from my two companions, I turned around and began making my way down to the center of the bowl and the boat inside keeping my light focused on the area in front of my feet in order to avoid any potential trip wires. When we reached ten feet to the boat, I held up my right hand in the universal sign to stop before I made a slow circle around the boat playing my light over the entire area between me and the boat. Once I had made a complete circuit and had made sure that there were no trip wires on the outside of the boat, I gestured for Annabeth and Grover to join me by the side of the boat on the opposite side than the shield. As they joined me, I shone my light inside the boat and frowned when nothing immediately obvious appeared in the way of wires or sensors. The sight of a lady's silk scarf raised an eyebrow but I ignored it in exchange for focusing on finding the trip wire that I was sure was somewhere in the boat.

Ten seconds later, I let the arm that held my light drop and let out a "Huh." Then I walked to the front of the boat and got on my knees and shone the light underneath. When I saw an extremely thin shadow form, I smirked and said "There's the wire, now where do you come out?" Getting back to my feet, I moved to the side of the shield and crouched putting my eyes level with the shield and shone the light down in the foot space. I smirked again seeing the same shadow that connected the shield to the floor. Gesturing Annabeth and Grover over to my side, I pointed at the shadow and said "See that? That's the shadow of a very thin trip wire that is connected to the shield. My guess is the lightest increase of pressure will snap the wire activating the trap. What I find odd is that that wire could not have been placed until after Ares and Aphrodite came here. Which means that he intentionally allowed Ares and Aphrodite to figure out there was a trap and scared them off long enough to place the trip wire knowing that Ares would have to come back for his shield at some point." I gained a fox like grin on my face as I said "Oh man, I bet a shogi match between this guy and Shikamaru would last for hours, if not days." Chuckling at the mental image of Shikamaru sitting in front of a shogi board opposite of the blacksmith god, I stood back up and said "Alright, now that we know what triggers the trap and what most likely happens when it is sprung, do either of you have any thoughts on how to get the shield without one of us having to be down here tripping it?"

Grover squinted his eyes for a moment before he sighed and shook his head as he said "I've got nothing, sorry."

I looked over at Annabeth who was muttering under her breath with narrowed eyes. However, a minute later, she too shook her head and said "I've got nothing. No matter what I came up with, the trap would still be tripped with one of us in here. Even if we tied a rope around the shield, there's still a chance that would break the trip wire."

I nodded at that since I figured as much when it came to conventional methods of trap disabling. Which left the unconventional. Thankfully, unconventional means were my specialty. Gaining a grin, I said "Alright then, looks like we're going to have to go with shinobi means."

Annabeth and Grover blinked at that and Annabeth gained a frown on her face as she said "And what would those means be?"

My grin turned into a smirk as I turned off my light and lifted my pointer and middle fingers off the handle as I said "We have two routes to take. Number one is we leave the shield in the boat and I hit the string with one of my kunai from outside the circle of cupids, which activates the trap and we let it run through before we come back down and collect the shield." My middle finger dropped as I continued "The second option is that I use the Substitution jutsu using one of my shadow clones to bring at the very least the shield, at the very most the entire boat out of the pool in an instant tripping the trap that way. This way we don't have to come back down after the trap runs through but it also has the risk of tripping the trap prematurely if there are any unknown preemptive measures that could tamper with the jutsu."

"Hm, the possibility of there being such countermeasures is low, but not out of the question. I say we trip the trap with your kunai and wait for the trap to run its course before retrieving the shield." Annabeth said while Grover shrugged and said "Either way works for me."

I nodded and said "Kunai it is then. Well, no point in wasting time so let's get out of here."

Putting action to words, the three of us made our way out of the bowl. Once we were out and behind the Cupids, I made a shadow clone who handed me a kunai earning confused looks from Annabeth and Grover. Seeing the looks, I raised an eyebrow and said "What, you think I'm risking one of my kunai if this doesn't work? No thank you, not when I can use a shadow clone's just as easily. Now stand back, watch and learn." I tossed the kunai up into the air above the bowl and waited until it reached its peak at fifty feet and began to fall before I ran through a set of hand signs and called out "Ninja Art: Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The one kunai turned into fifty and the metal blades gleamed in the last rays of sunset before they fell below the rim of the bowl and slammed into the boat and the surrounding area forming a five foot circle of metal. My clone smirked at the sight before he dispelled himself and all of the kunai disappeared into clouds of smoke as well.

The effects of the kunai were made immediately obvious as noise erupted all around us, like a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine. Up on the rim, we watched as the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Then they fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.

As the net of golden threads was completed, The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras while behind us, the circles I had seen earlier began to rise, revealing spotlights that turned on as they rose casting the pool into false daylight. Then a loudspeaker voice boomed out "Live to Olympus in one minute…Fifty-nine seconds, Fifty-eight…" As the countdown continued, the Cupid closest to us spun around surprising us as the lens turned obviously putting us in focus. My eyebrow rose as I waved and said "Yo." When the Cupid statue made no other moves, Grover and Annabeth calmed down. Or at least she did until the next part of the trap was revealed.

The mirrors surrounding the pool raised on their hinges and the sound of millions of tiny legs moving across metal sounded before hoards of metallic spiders spilled out of the now open tunnels and began crawling at a rapid pace towards the boat at the center of the boat. I had just enough time to realize what that could mean before Annabeth's scream pierced the air as she shouted "AHHHH! Sp-Spiders!" I spun around in time to see her whole body lock up and her eyes dilate in fright before she began to fall backwards staring at the bowl in horror. I sighed out an "Oh brother." as I caught her before I slapped her face and said in my most official Hokage's voice "Snap out of it Annabeth, they aren't real. Besides their trapped in that net, remember?"

Annabeth blinked as my slap and words brought her away from her panic induced state and she blushed as her body relaxed and she said "Oh, right." Then she realized the position she was in, and she blushed like a certain Hyuuga I remembered as she scrambled out of my grasp and moved to the side spluttering out incoherent words, looking anywhere but me and the pool. I rose an eyebrow and let out a chuckle at the sight before I turned my focus back to the pool where the spiders had reached the boat and were now swarming all over it in one big mass of moving metal trying to find something that resembled what they were programmed to target. Finding nothing, they continued searching the target area in a broiling mass that continued to grow as more spiders joined it. And all the while, the booming voice continued its countdown. The countdown finally reached zero and I blinked as a thought crossed my mind.

Glancing at the Cupid that was facing us, I shrugged and muttered "Ah, what the hell." Turning to fully face the statue, I said "I must congratulate your trap building skills Hephaestus, you make one hell of a trap. However, I doubt you ever had to deal with someone like me, which is why those spiders down there are currently swarming around no one and me and my companions are safely outside your net. That said, Ares, you wanted to see what I've got, so watch this."

Turning away from the Cupid statue, I focused my water manipulation skills and searched for the water that I knew was around us. Finding the water that was in the reservoir that led to the Tunnel of Love ride, I drew the water up the tunnel under me and sent a shot of it out with the force of a fire hose. The water shot clear to the other side of the pool where the force of its hit divided it into several streams. I threw both of my arms out and took control of the streams and directed them all to curve towards the mass of spiders. The water streams slammed into the roiling blob of spiders with the force of a Minor Water Dragon jutsu crushing all in their path as they met in the center and exploded outwards from the force of colliding into each other hurling the entire mass outwards. The explosion of water hurled all of the spiders outward and slammed them into the walls of the pool shattering the first outward layers of the spiders into the walls of the bowl, leaving only about two hundred of them still functioning. That didn't last long though as I brought my two hands together joining all of the water back together just over the boat before I clenched my right fist and the water contracted into a highly pressurized sphere. I then let go of my hold on the water and it shot out in all directions spearing the rest of the spiders and leaving pockmarks in the pool. The boat and the lady's scarf inside was shredded beyond any hope of recovery but the shield that we were sent to retrieve wasn't even scuffed. The water that was aimed upwards shot out of the golden net and flew for a good hundred feet before it all fell back to earth. Annabeth and Grover had instinctively flinched at the water rushing towards us but it easily cleared our heads due to how low its starting point had been.

I clapped my hands together in an act of finality before I created a twelve member strong squadron of clones and said "Alright boys, let's get this net off. Try not to damage it too much though, could come in handy later." My clones gave a shouted "Hai!" in response and darted towards the Cupid statues and began examining them trying to figure out how to detach the net. Meanwhile, I turned towards Annabeth and said "Hey Annabeth, got anything you'd like to say to your mom?"

Annabeth looked at me in confusion before I jerked my thumb at the camera that was still on us and she gave a soft "Oh." Before coming over and stood next to me and began thinking about she would say. I chuckled at that before I turned to the clone that was with us as he said "Boss, I don't see anything that looks like a detachment switch. We may have to try cutting the cable." I nodded and the clone pulled out one of its two Celestial Bronze kunai. It poured chakra into the blade causing it to hum before it placed it under the wire right next to the statue and jerked upwards. The kunai cut through the cable like butter and after a shouted command from me the other clones were quick to replicate the results. As the now free net was dragged away to be properly folded and later sealed, I walked back down into the bowl and collected Ares shield which I sealed into one of my storage seals in the notebook I had made when I had first reached the camp. That done, I chakra jumped back to the top and followed my clones to where they had folded the net and proceeded to seal that away as well. Once that was done and my clones had dispersed, I walked over towards Annabeth and Grover absentmindedly noticing that the Cupid heads were back in place and the spotlights were lowering as they dimmed now that the show was over. Reaching their side, I said "Come on, we've got a God of War to talk to."